A/U: Hard to believe it's been two days since I updated. Thanks WildCroconaw for reviewing! Hopefully I'll get more reviews? *Puppy dog eyes*

Chapter 14

Pale rays of moonlight filtered through the trees as Flowerpaw followed Hawkflash. She was both mystified and worried about how her first meeting with StarClan would go. The time for medicine cats to meet had finally arrived. Beside them was Jayfeather, who barely stumbled much to Flowerpaw's surprise. It was almost as if the gray tabby could actually see with his nose rather than his eyes.

She had felt a strange sense of wonder when he gazed at her as Hawkflash padded forward to meet him. Jayfeather didn't seem like a bad cat, but he was grumpy. There was something about the way he had stared at her that made her feel uncomfortable.

Flowerpaw sighed as she tred across the thick undergrowth. She knew that sooner or later they would reach the Moonpool, which was where medicine cats could communicate with StarClan.

Thoughts of meeting her ancestors made Flowerpaw's belly flutter with excitement and anticipation.

The forest around them began to shift as they drew closer to the Moonpool. Flowerpaw could sense a growing unease from Jayfeather. His ears were flattened as they trotted towards a path that led downwards.

Much to her surprise, Kestrelflight, the WindClan medicine cat, was already waiting. Beside him was a ginger she-cat with darker ginger paws, and pale green eyes. Her gaze brightened slightly when she noticed Flowerpaw's arrival. Than she narrowed them as Jayfeather approached.

"Greetings Kestrelflight," Hawkflash meowed with a dip of her head. "I see you've brought Fallenpaw this time." Her voice held the slightest tang of smugness as she stared at the apprentice.

"Her cough has cleared, thank StarClan," he replied. "We don't have to worry about greencough until leafbare arrives."

"Where's Littlecloud?" Fallenpaw asked as the two settled down.

Hawkflash turned her gaze towards the apprentice, who was crouched over a pile of leaves. "He retired early due to a sign," she muttered. "This is my apprentice, Flowerpaw."

Fallenpaw tilted her head in confusion when she spotted the mark on Flowerpaw's forehead. Than her eyes widened in disbelief.

"You're...their Marked?" she nearly choked out.

"Yeah," Flowerpaw replied sheepishly. She felt slightly embarrassed when Kestrelflight also turned to stare at her. "I can heal wounds, no matter how deep."

As she explained how it worked, Fallenpaw's gaze turned from dark to awed. Only Jayfeather remained silent. She turned to see what he was thinking about, only to find that he was looking away. A slight twitch of his whiskers told her that he was thinking about the Marked cats.

She sighed as the RiverClan medicine cats arrived. By now the moon was almost fully risen. Soon they would communicate with StarClan.

Willowshine ignored Fallenpaw and Flowerpaw as they were led into the hollow. Flowerpaw closed her eyes, and was surprised to feel the presence of other cats around the Moonpool. Their bodies shifted and flowed through the group as though they didn't exist.

The Moonpool itself was a vast pool of water, where a stream fed into it. Flowerpaw stared at it in amazement as the moon rose to its full height. The water itself danced with the reflection of the moon. As she stood there the other medicine cats crouched down before it. She followed suit, noting how Hawkflash kept her distance from the others.

"Let us hope we receive good news," Kestrelflight murmured.

After that, the group drank from the water. Flowerpaw lapped at the water gently and shivered in shock as waves of icy claws gripped her throat. She nearly gagged on the water, until her eyes began to grow heavy. Once they were closed, Flowerpaw quickly found herself fast asleep.

Her eyes opened when she heard the sounds of birds singing to one another. Flowerpaw gazed around in shock when she realized that trees were not visible in her dream.

Instead she stood on the top of a ridge, overlooking a vast prairie. Bushes and ferns grew here and there, but that was it. She spotted shadows racing each other near a flattened part of the prairie. They seemed to move as one.

Flowerpaw's eyes widened in shock when she realized that they were cats. Cats whose pelts glowed brighter than the stars. They skidded to a halt when they spotted her.

"A trespasser?" asked a black and white tom. Flowerpaw noticed that one of his eyes was darker than the other. It was a shade of smoky gray.

"No," replied a creamy white she-cat. "She has a Mark." She pointed an unnaturally long tail towards Flowerpaw, who crouched before them in surprise and fear.

"We haven't seen a young Marked one for quite a long time, Sprucetail," he meowed after settling down.

Sprucetail let out a purr and stared at Flowerpaw. "It is true," she mewed. "We haven't seen anyone for so long. We were afraid our kind had died out."

"Died out?" Flowerpaw asked. She tilted her head in confusion. What were these cats talking about?

The cream colored cat exchanged a glance with her companion. He shook his head and nodded. After what appeared to be a debate, Sprucetail rose to her paws.

"I'll show you where we meet," she murmured.

Should I follow them? Flowerpaw wondered as they began to pad away. She was wary of their arrival. They could easily be leading her into a trap. Or worse, the Dark Forest.

Stories of the Dark Forest had always haunted the cats of ShadowClan. Ever since the Three closed the gap between the Dark Forest and StarClan, things had begun to get quiet. She looked down at her paws.

Sprucetail turned in confusion when she noticed Flowerpaw wasn't following them. "It's okay," she called. "We would have attacked you if you were a threat to us."

After a moments hesitation, Flowerpaw gave in. Her curiosity was growing. She wanted to meet cats who had been Marked as well. Copperpaw and Stormpaw were the only ones she had met besides these two.

The three of them trotted across the prairie. Flowerpaw was surprised she didn't feel any wariness in her muscles. Instead she felt an endless amount of energy course through her veins. She flicked her ears from side to side as creatures called out to one another in alarm over their presence.

Suddenly Sprucetail halted to a stop. The black and white tom flicked his tail and padded ahead, performing a strange call. It sounded like that of a bird chirping in alarm. Flowerpaw guessed that that was what he could do.

"He sounds like a dying cheetah," Sprucetail muttered as he disappeared into the thickets of a gorse bush.

Even as she spoke Flowerpaw could see shapes moving amongst the thicket. A pair of green eyes gleamed through the leaves. She blinked as a splotchy looking ginger tom stepped out of the bush. Following him was the black and white tom, and a dark gray she-cat.

"So it's true," she murmured as they approached. "The Marked have finally arrived at the lake."

Flowerpaw dipped her head respectfully. She could sense an aura of wisdom from this cat. Clearly she had been here for many seasons.

"Yes," she replied after surveying the area. It was surrounded by high walls. Thick bushes of gorse grow around them, while their camp must have been in the center of them. Boulders and stones jutted out of the earth here and there. Nearby a stream trickled by. "My name is Flowerpaw, and I've come to speak with StarClan."

The dark gray she-cat's eyes suddenly clouded in sorrow. "For generations we once lived amongst our Clanmates," she began. "But they grew jealous of our powers. And than the war broke out..." She narrowed her eyes into tiny slits. "After the war we were banished from the forest. Our so called Clanmates feared for their lives because of the war."

"Does that mean you can't speak with StarClan?" Flowerpaw asked.

She was curious as to why StarClan would close off communication to the Marked. Perhaps they too feared the abilities of the Marked.

"They are afraid of us," the dark gray she-cat murmured softly.

"Darksong, we should check to see if there are others," meowed the splotchy ginger tom.

"Of course there are others," she snapped at him. "Leopardfang."

They're arguing with each other, Flowerpaw thought with a flicker of amusement in her eyes. She guessed that these cats weren't as well laid out as they thought. Darksong seemed like a friendly enough cat, but there was something about the way she spoke that sent shivers down Flowerpaw's spine.

"Flowerpaw, the path ahead of you is a difficult one," Darksong suddenly meowed. "StarClan are not there to protect you, but we will do our best to guide you."

She blinked in disbelief as Darksong padded forward. Why wouldn't StarClan protect her? She couldn't imagine a life without them. Most of her dreams had come from the stars, or so she had been brought up to believe.

"Remember little one, that we will never abandon you," Darksong whispered.

As her words faded into darkness, Flowerpaw realized that it was all true. She and her friends were alone in this world. Only they could protect each other from the dangers that surrounded them.

A/U: Flowerpaw is definitely my second favorite character. Rockpaw is still my first. She'll have a bigger role as the story moves on...Anyways, please remember to review!