Allegiances

WingClan

Leader: Goldenstar - beautiful golden she-cat with amber eyes

Deputy: Halfcloud - pale gray and white tom with blue eyes
Apprentice: Grasspaw

Medicine Cat: Nightwing - black tom with piercing green eyes, part of his left wing is torn

Warriors

Creamfur - sleek-furred creamy white she-cat with a brown muzzle and blue eyes

Leopardflame - dappled golden tabby tom with amber eyes
Apprentice: Shadowpaw

Oakclaw - light brown tabby tom with amber eyes
Apprentice: Cinderpaw

Splashpelt - smoky gray she-cat with amber eyes
Apprentice: Sandpaw

Ashwhisker - gray tom with amber eyes
Apprentice: Cloudpaw

Lightbreeze - small pale brown she-cat with amber eyes

Leafstorm - dark ginger she-cat with piercing green eyes
Apprentice: Skypaw

Foxfang - russet red tom with amber eyes

Snowflower - white she-cat with yellow eyes

Frostleaf - silvery white she-cat with light green eyes

Apprentices

Sandpaw - light ginger and white tom with amber eyes

Cinderpaw - ginger she-cat with amber eyes

Grasspaw - light brown tom with amber eyes

Shadowpaw - sleek-furred black tom with green eyes

Cloudpaw - dappled gray she-cat with amber eyes

Skypaw - white she-cat with blue eyes

Queens

Ambermist - dark golden she-cat with amber eyes. Mother of Flightkit, Pouncekit and Spottedkit by Oakclaw

Daisytail - black and white she-cat with amber eyes. Expecting Foxfang's kits

Sundapple - dappled golden she-cat with amber eyes. Expecting Ashwhisker's kits

Elders

Cloudfoot - gray tom with white paws and tail-tip

Waterwing - gray-blue she-cat with amber eyes

Kits

Flightkit - light brown she-cat with amber eyes

Pouncekit - golden brown tom with amber eyes

Spottedkit - tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes

...

Chapter Eight

"The first thing you need to do is understand how our Clan works," Leafstorm explained as she led the way out of camp. This was Skypaw's first trip outside the camp. Two days had passed since she became an apprentice, and by now she had made a full recovery. There were even signs of wings beginning to show. "Our Clan is different from how CaveClan works, in the fact that we actually know how to have fun while training."

Skypaw looked at Leafstorm in confusion as she suddenly whipped water across Skypaw's muzzle with her wings. Like everyone in the Clan Leafstorm could control each wing individually. Skypaw couldn't wait for the time when she could do that. For now she just shook the water off her muzzle and grinned sheepishly.

"When do apprentices learn how to fly?" Skypaw suddenly asked. She knew that she wasn't anywhere close to learning how. But she was eager to know when that would happen. Her wings might be fully developed by the time she became a warrior. Leafstorm seemed to sense this and purred in amusement.

"Have some patience young one," she meowed. "You've still got to learn the basics of Clan life, and first thing's first, you need to show me what your old mentor taught you." Well, that was better than having to sit and listen to someone who would lecture her all day. "Now, show me what you know."

Without a second thought Skypaw lunged forward, showing exactly what Ferntail had taught her. She tried fighting Leafstorm head-on. But Leafstorm only swung to the side, using her wings for momentum. Skypaw's claws dug in the ground in frustration. She whirled around and nipped at Leafstorm's paws, causing the dark ginger she-cat to stumble in surprise. But the moment Leafstorm was distracted, she used her wings to keep Skypaw from attacking her. Skypaw swung her paw across Leafstorm's muzzle just as the older she-cat was ready to doge. By the time she was finished Skypaw was gasping for air.

"Not bad, not bad," Leafstorm purred. "You had the spirit of a warrior, and show that you have been listening." Skypaw couldn't help but burst with pride at Leafstorm's praise. "But it is obvious that you lack judgement. I was using my wings to block your moves, every time. If you know where to strike when the enemy isn't expecting, than you will always win."

Skypaw watched with interest as Leafstorm demonstrated. Again she was using her wings to block Skypaw's attacks. But then Skypaw noticed an opening on the left side. Skypaw wasted no time in rushing forward and swiping her paws across Leafstorm's flank. If her claws had been unsheathed Leafstorm might lose more than just fur.

"Ferntail never taught me how to fight like that," she admitted. She never wanted to admit that she felt guilty for leaving her mentor. Although Ferntail had always been rough around her, the she-cat had a caring side. Now it was likely Shadestar would punish Ferntail for her 'failure'. He had no idea what Skypaw was up to now. "But she was always so busy with her duties as a warrior," Skypaw suddenly added, looking down at her paws.

"I won't allow such things to happen," Leafstorm told her. "Now, let's see what else I can teach you."

They worked throughout most of the morning. Her muscles were screaming in protest by the time they got back to camp. Leafstorm was impressed though with how quickly Skypaw was learning. And she enjoyed the praise more than she would ever admit. Cats might look at her funny if they knew how much she loved it.

"Hi Skypaw, how was your training?" Cloudpaw was the first to greet her. Grasspaw and Sandpaw were there as well, but it looked as though Cinderpaw and Shadowpaw were either out hunting or patrolling.

"It was great, Leafstorm's an excellent mentor," Skypaw replied, flicking her tail happily. They had already cleaned out the elder's den earlier in the morning, so they could all share some fresh-kill together. Skypaw was more than grateful to share a mouse with Cloudpaw.

"I heard some apprentices were afraid to have her as a mentor," Sandpaw murmured through his mouthful of shrew. "Apparently she can be really strict on those younger than her." He glanced at his brother Grasspaw warily.

"Oh come on, you know that's just a rumor," Cloudpaw retorted. "Besides, if there's any cat you want to look out for, it's Lightbreeze. She may be small but she's got an attitude that makes Cinderpaw look like a spirit from StarClan."

She had to purr at Cloudpaw's description of both cat's personalities. That was mostly because Cloudpaw was right about Cinderpaw. Since arriving at the Clan, Cinderpaw still took out her attitude on Skypaw. Though she couldn't really blame Cinderpaw for her attitude, it was getting a bit old. Maybe eventually Cinderpaw would warm up to her.

As they continued eating Skypaw began to wonder whether or not she would truly belong in either Clan. WingClan had welcomed her with open paws. But she knew she would never truly belong because of how close she had been to CaveClan. And she knew there was no point in returning to CaveClan. Not after the way Brackenpaw had nearly killed her. She shook her head at the thought. She had found a place here, and she loved it. She would never change it for the world.

"Alright, who wants to go hunting?" Skypaw flinched when a smoky gray she-cat with the same colored wings approached them. She was Sandpaw's mentor, if Skypaw remembered correctly. Splashpelt was her name, and she was a bit friendlier than most cats. Yet her sudden appearance still made Skypaw flinch.

"I do!" Cloudpaw jumped to her paws, using her wings so that she hovered in the air. "Come on, it'll be fun! We can show you what a real hunt in the air looks like," she added to Skypaw. Skypaw looked at her friend doubtfully. She wasn't sure if going out right now was such a good idea. Yet the urge to watch had suddenly overwhelmed her. Eventually she gave in and nodded as Sandpaw got to his paws as well.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to stretch my legs," he murmured before taking off. Skypaw watched in amazement as he flew in the air, making it look easy. Splashpelt only shook her head in annoyance, clearly not liking the fact that Sandpaw was flying like that. Apprentices didn't have fully developed wings, according to Leafstorm. But in some cases it was better to just let them learn the hard way.

Skypaw trotted after Cloudpaw and Splashpelt as they headed deeper into the forest. WingClan territory stretched on for foxlengths. To one side of the territory was open grassland that marked the border between WingClan and CaveClan. To the other was a huge waterfall that came crashing down from the mountains that stretched over the forest. That was where WingClan apprentices learned how to fish. And finally there was another field that, according to Cloudpaw, was the most beautiful sight in the entire territory. The field was surrounded by huge oak trees, and it bloomed every newleaf with vibrant wildflowers. Skypaw couldn't wait to see what that looked like when newleaf arrived.

"Hunting with wings is a bit different than hunting on the ground," Splashpelt began as she led the way. Skypaw was surprised Leafstorm and Ashwhisker didn't join them. Maybe because Splashpelt had already told them where she was going with the apprentices. "We have wings which could lead to a problem if there's any low lying branches or brush underneath us. So we hunt from the air. Our eyesight is better than most cats, have you noticed that?"

"Actually I have noticed," Skypaw admitted. "When I was in the cave I hated being in the dark, the first time I was outside it was almost overwhelming for me." She shuddered at the memory. But it was also a good one as well, because she had seen what the outside world looked like.

"Yes, for some reason CaveClan cats love living in the darkness. They don't understand the beauty of the outside world, or what they could have with that freedom," Splashpelt replied in agreement. "But for now we will focus on our aspects of life. I want to see what you can do from the ground, and than you can watch how we hunt."

Again Skypaw nodded, remembering how Leafstorm had said the same thing. Her first day of hunting in this forest had ended miserably. But she was going to prove them that she could hunt just as well from the ground.

Her mouth opened and closed as she tasted the air for any prey lurking in the area. And sure enough she could scent a mouse scuffling through the undergrowth, just like during her first trip with Ferntail. At once she dropped to a hunter's crouch, pinpointing the location of the mouse. She stepped as lightly as she could over the forest, careful not to alert it. A few heartbeats of this had passed before she finally lunged and caught it between her claws. She wasted no time in killing it and returned to Splashpelt's side heartbeats later.

"Well done," Splashpelt purred, looking mildly surprised. "Now let us show you how WingClan hunts."

She nodded to Sandpaw and Cloudpaw, who were both perched on a tree branch nearby. Both apprentices looked on eagerly before taking off into the sky. As they did so they were creating a pattern of some sort. Skypaw watched in awe as Cloudpaw maneuvered around Sandpaw, using her wings to guide them along. Eventually they spotted something in the forest, and Sandpaw rushed in towards the source. All at once he folded his wings until he was close to the ground, before unfolding them once again. The momentum of his move caused the leaves to scatter in all directions, along with any prey hiding underneath them. Cloudpaw took a chance and used the distraction to catch any prey left out in the open.

"That was awesome!" Skypaw exclaimed when they landed. Cloudpaw had a mouthful of prey, and so did Sandpaw. Splashpelt nodded approvingly at them both before flicking her tail at Skypaw. "The way you moved through the air, that was just… wow."

"It won't be long before you will join them," Splashpelt reassured her, nodding to the stubby wings growing out of Skypaw's shoulders. She couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement at the thought.

How could Redflower have taken this away from her all those moons? The thought made her realize just how much she hated Redflower now. Her foster mother had treated her so cruelly. It was only around other cats that Skypaw ever felt the love she longed for. And Redflower had torn her apart from Brackenpaw and Leafpaw. The three of them had been best friends until that fateful morning. And now everything around Skypaw was changing, all thanks to WingClan.

AN: Well, here's the next chapter. It would've been posted sooner, but I had something to do :P So, what do you think so far? I'm definitely enjoying writing this, it's too much fun for it's own good ;)

Nightclaw's Shadow - Yeah, I thought it might be an interesting concept to add into the story. Nightwing definitely did go through more than he deserves, and I might just write about him in Stories of the Past :) And yep, she has been pretty much accepted!

Leafdragon117 - Oh don't worry, she'll be staying... but I have a feeling she isn't going to like it in the near future. And yeah, this plot is definitely going to follow what the summary has read. It's going to take a while for that to happen though. I'm really glad you're enjoying it so far :)

Foreststar of WindClan - lol Nope, you didn't miss anyone. But your opinion might change in a few chapters ;)

Petalfur - I'm so sorry to hear about your friend :( I know all too well what it's like to lose someone I care about. I'll see what I can do about your OC; maybe she can be born into one of the queens' litters, but she probably won't appear for some time.