A/U: I can't believe I'm at chapter nineteen already! And thanks Son of The Sea 100896, PieInYaFace, and TheVampLuvr1 for reviewing! To answer PieInYaFace's question, I have a lot of free time on my hands. That means I have plenty of time to work on my writing. By the way, everyone gets Stormpaw plushies!

Chapter 19

Fury swept through Rockpaw as he caught the familiar stench of the rogue that had crept around his territory for the last couple of moons. Leafpool had been creeping around and stealing prey from the WindClan cats over the last two moons. Now WindClan was beginning to pay the price for allowing her to live. Cats were starving as time passed on. The rabbits they relied on were growing scarce as leafbare quickly came.

He could hear a yowl of alarm from the distance. It sounded like it was coming from ShadowClan's territory. A primitive snarl rose within his jaws. This time he was not going to hold back. This time Rockpaw knew that he could end Leafpool's life once and for all.

The WindClan apprentice stalked towards the grove of trees, where the yowl of alarm had come from.

With his ears pricked forward, Rockpaw pinpointed the area. He recognized the lithe tabby shape of Leafpool. She was fighting with another creature of some sort. Rockpaw couldn't make out what it was until he drew closer. Than his eyes widened in surprise.

It was a dog-like creature, with broad shoulders and gray fur. The creature swung around when it heard Rockpaw's approach. This gave Leafpool enough time to flee. She hissed in agony from a bite that the creature had given her. Rockpaw growled furiously when he spotted her scurrying away from the scene. He didn't have time to react when the creature leaped forward with its fangs bared.

Rockpaw stood his ground and concentrated on a small rock nearby. The creature didn't know what hit it when the rock hovered above its head. It yelped in shock from the impact.

"That'll teach you to stay away from our Clans!" Rockpaw spat as the creature shook its head.

He was about to hurl another rock when a yowl echoed from the trees around them. Rockpaw's eyes narrowed menacingly when he spotted a tortoiseshell pelt moving across the undergrowth. Her amber eyes were wide with alarm and panic when she spotted the dog-like creature.

"Wait, don't hurt her!" she yowled.

The WindClan apprentice chose to ignore her. A moment later he sent another small boulder hurtling after the dog-like creature. It snarled viciously as blood splattered on the ground it stood above. Rockpaw hissed in agitation as the dog-like creature staggered forward.

"Copperpaw, stop," the tortoiseshell pleaded. "He's one of us!"

One of us? he thought. He skidded to a halt when the creature shook its head in confusion. Who was this apprentice aged cat? She reeked of ShadowClan, indicating that she had come from their side of the territory. The tortoiseshell stopped when the creature turned to face her. Blood dripped from its fangs, causing Rockpaw's fur to crawl in disgust.

"You're hurt," she murmured gently. Without waiting for the creature's reply, she stepped forward and touched its mouth with her muzzle.

Rockpaw's jaws had dropped by now at the sight. A strange looking light flashed as soon as Flowerpaw touched the creature's mouth. He had to squint against the harsh light. As quickly as the light appeared, it faded. Rockpaw didn't think his jaw could drop any lower when he realized that the wound on the creature's mouth was gone.

"You're...A Marked?" he asked.

The tortoiseshell glared at him as the creature lowered its gaze. "Yes, and so is she," she hissed. "You could have killed her."

"Who's her?" Rockpaw stared around in confusion. He couldn't see any other cat aside from himself and the tortoiseshell.

Before she could explain, the creature suddenly began to tremble. Rockpaw stared at the creature in utter shock as its body began to change. The long limbs of a dog soon changed into the powerful muscles of a cat. Pale amber eyes were replaced by sharp green eyes. Dark ginger fur lined the cat's pelt.

"C-Copperpaw?" he stammered. "I thought you were joking when you said you could change into animals..."

She glared at him coldly. "I guess I wasn't, right?" she hissed.

The WindClan apprentice flattened his ears in embarrassment. Normally he would have clawed her pelt off at her rude remark. There was something about Copperpaw that reminded him of a cat in WindClan. Her attitude towards other cats made him think about Sootpaw, a fellow apprentice he'd grown close to over the past couple of days.

The ShadowClan apprentice took a step forward. Her amber eyes gleamed with wariness as she looked at Copperpaw.

"What exactly were you doing on our side of the territory anyways?" she asked.

Copperpaw lowered her gaze. She suddenly looked as though she might burst from guilt. Rockpaw smirked when he realized that her intentions weren't as good as he'd expected.

"Bramblestar thinks that ShadowClan are invading the borders," she murmured. "He sent me to see what was happening."

The ShadowClan apprentice stared at Copperpaw in dismay. "You mean...spy?" she hissed.

"I'm sorry Flowerpaw," Copperpaw mewed. "I was just following orders."

Rockpaw watched the exchange silently. He could sense the tension building between Flowerpaw and Copperpaw, and it made him feel slightly amused. Normally it was him who caused the arguments. After all he had fought with Copperpaw when she tried to convince him that he needed to meet with the other Marked. He had spat at her paws when she told him that their meeting was important. Now it appeared as though the tables were turned.

He turned his gaze towards his own territory. The moors were silent as the sun began to sink down the mountains. He knew that a patrol could come by at any moment now.

"Look, I like this whole argument as much as the other WindClan cats, but we need to go," he finally meowed after a few stinging moments of silence.

Flowerpaw whirled around to face him, eyes burning with outrage. Than her gaze softened into understanding.

"You're right," she murmured. "Next time I see you on my territory it won't be so friendly," she growled to Copperpaw.

The dark ginger apprentice didn't say anything. Instead she skirted into WindClan's side of the border. Her green eyes were dark with embarrassment and guilt as she watched her friend leave. Rockpaw remained silent until Flowerpaw disappeared.

"You can get off of my territory too," he hissed irritably.

Copperpaw sighed and lashed her tail. "I never asked to be a Marked cat," she muttered. "All I wanted was to be normal."

For once Rockpaw felt sympathy towards her. He too had wanted to be a normal apprentice. To train alongside his sister and become the best warrior he could. Yet they had no choice but to follow what seemed to be a prophecy. Somehow their lives were never going to be normal. Not with the powers that coursed within them.

A/U: I hope you liked it! It was a bit random, but I think the ending was worth it. Anyways, please remember to leave a review, and this time you'll get Leafpool plushies!