A/U: How's that for a long chapter? Almost three thousand words long. And hopefully descriptive enough to make you happy. Alright, two more chapters to go and than the epilogue. And I bet you can guess where the two cats came from ;P

Chapter 22

Anger pulsed through Flowerpaw as she searched through the piles of herbs Hawkflash had gathered for her. Memories of seeing Copperpaw fight with the light brown tabby still coursed within her. She couldn't forgive Copperpaw for trespassing into her territory. Even if Copperpaw was her friend, she still put ShadowClan above everything else. Her devotion to the Clan would lead her to success.

Hawkflash had always told her apprentice that she should put her Clan first. Flowerpaw knew now that what her mentor said was important. Copperpaw's latest attack had not gone unnoticed. She had warned Rowanstar about what happened when she was looking for the herbs that Hawkflash had requested. The ShadowClan leader had been prompt in sending out more patrols to check the border.

As she sorted through a rotting leaf that belonged to the chervil Hawkflash kept, Flowerpaw wondered why all confrontation ended in a fight. Her argument with Copperpaw had ended on a bitter note. She had a feeling that her friend would not forgive her so easily either.

The tortoiseshell apprentice snapped the leaves that were rotten and tossed them into another pile. Tonight she would be traveling to the Moonpool with her mentor and the other medicine cats. The thought sent a thrill of excitement through her.

I'll be earning my full name, she thought to herself. Her two brothers had also earned their warrior names two nights ago as well. They were now known as Spiderfang and Vinefur. Both had acted boastful to Flowerpaw when she approached them. She tried to ignore their continuous kit-like behavior, but now they were getting to her. She too wanted her own full name. One that would show the rest of the Clans that she was fit to serve her own.

After she was finished organizing the leaves, Flowerpaw moved to her next assignment. Hawkflash had told her that Oakfur and Whitewater were complaining about aching joints again. Her mentor wanted to know if she could tell what was wrong with their muscles. Flowerpaw had already guessed that they were just stiff from lack of use. Whitewater rarely left the elders' den, since she was partially blind in one eye. Oakfur refused to leave even if he had to. He was becoming lazier than a well-fed mouse.

She padded past the patch of mushrooms that grew around the boggy ground. Fallowtail and Pinefrost were sharing tongues with each other near the fresh-kill pile. Bluepaw and Webpaw, the Clan's newest apprentices, were play fighting in a patch of sunlight. With leafbare on its way, Flowerpaw was sure that the sun felt good to them.

"Going to the Moonpool tonight?" Olivenose asked as she watched the apprentice. She had left the nursery soon after Dawnpelt had given birth. The cream furred queen had given birth to a litter of three kits, and their father, Redwillow, couldn't be more proud.

"Yes," Flowerpaw replied. "Hopefully it'll be clear out."

Olivenose flicked an ear tip in amusement. "You sound like Littlecloud when he used to leave," she murmured. "He would always complain about the clouds covering the moon."

Guilt stabbed at her heart as Olivenose mentioned the former medicine cat. Littlecloud had died last night, close before moonhigh. The Clan had sat vigil for him most of the evening. His death had sent waves of shock through Flowerpaw for most of the day afterwords. She was only just recovering from it.

"Maybe you'll see him in StarClan," Olivenose whispered when she noticed the look of sorrow in Flowerpaw's eyes.

No I won't, Flowerpaw tried to say. StarClan have been ignoring me, and I don't think I'll ever see them.

She mewed a goodbye to the mottled gray warrior and headed for the elders' den. It was located underneath a fallen boxelder tree. The den itself was much roomier than it looked. Inside it was a small dip in the ground, which provided many spots for the elders to relax in.

Sure enough, Whitewater was busy complaining about stiff joints as Hawkflash had warned. Oakfur just grumbled in agreement, occasionally telling Whitewater to shut it. The two cats would continue rambling on unless some warrior told them it was time for sleep. Flowerpaw chuckled in amusement as she pictured the look on Oakfur's face when a cat would tell him that. She could only imagine how furious Whitewater would be.

"It's about time you got here," Whitewater growled as Flowerpaw cautiously approached. "My joints have been acting up again, and I think it's the weather."

Flowerpaw ignored her and padded to Oakfur's side. The small brown tom only looked flustered when she sniffed his pelt.

"Have you been moving around much?" she asked.

"We don't have room to move around mousebrain," Whitewater snapped. "Why do you think we're outside all of the time?"

"You have to move around, otherwise you will lose strength within your muscles," she explained. "Perhaps I can take you out into the forest for exercises?"

Whitewater narrowed her eyes at such a suggestion, but Oakfur looked intrigued. "Exercise..." He mumbled the word until it sank in. "I suppose it could work, but what if we want to go out at any time?" he asked.

Flowerpaw had thought of that before Oakfur asked. She knew that they would hate her for it, but the apprentices could keep an eye on the elders. It could be used as part of their training. When she explained her idea, Oakfur looked even more interested. Even Whitewater seemed to like her plan. Soon Snaketail and Cedarheart were also in on the plan. All of the elders looked very keen to get started.

"I'll tell Rowanstar about the plan after I get back," she told them as the sun began to sink behind the trees.

The elders meowed their goodbyes as Flowerpaw raced after Hawkflash. The brown and ginger medicine cat was eager to get started on their journey. Flowerpaw knew that she had been listening to Flowerpaw's conversation with Olivenose and the elders. Hawkflash wanted to make sure that her apprentice was ready to take on the responsibility of a full medicine cat. She was pleased with the progress that her apprentice had made since they began training.

Not only was Flowerpaw a quick learner, but she had already memorized all of the herbs that were needed. It had taken Hawkflash several moons to memorize all of the herbs. Even the medicine cat apprentice before her had taken quite a long time. Though with the powers that Flowerpaw had, she wouldn't need herbs that often. Unless of course a cat got sick. As far as Hawkflash could tell, Flowerpaw didn't have the power to cure sickness or disease.

Soon the trees began to part into the rocky moors as they passed ThunderClan territory. The rich scents of ThunderClan mingled with WindClan. Flowerpaw recognized Kestrelflight's scent from the last time she had seen him. Jayfeather's scent was also strong, but she couldn't really see either medicine cat.

Hawkflash stopped when she reached an open spot of grassland. Flowerpaw was surprised to see Jayfeather sitting with a new cat at his side. It was a tortoiseshell and white she-cat with bright amber eyes.

"Hello," Flowerpaw meowed in a friendly tone.

"Hi," the apprentice replied shyly. "You smell like ShadowClan," she added with a wrinkle of her nose. Her reaction made Jayfeather cuff her over the ears, causing her to squeal in surprise. "Sorry," she murmured.

Flowerpaw purred in amusement as the apprentice lowered her gaze. "It's okay, I probably would have done the same," she said. "My name's Flowerpaw, what's yours?"

"Hollypaw," the apprentice mewed.

"Greetings Jayfeather, Kestrelflight," Hawkflash meowed with a dip of her head. "How are your Clans fairing against the colder weather?"

"We're doing fine," Jayfeather replied curtly. "Honeyfoot had a bit of a cough, but she got over it."

"Has anyone received news about the Marked?" Kestrelflight asked when he finished speaking.

Hollypaw's eyes widened at the mention of Marked. Flowerpaw guessed that the young apprentice never heard of her or Copperpaw. Or Copperpaw could have earned her warrior name by now.

"I'm afraid not," Jayfeather muttered with a shake of his head.

"I'm sure we will find out soon enough," Hawkflash growled as the medicine cat of RiverClan approached.

Fallenleaf, Kestrelflight's apprentice, sat patiently at his side. She had ignored Flowerpaw and the other medicine cats for the most part. Yet there was a calculating look within her eyes that sent a chill down Flowerpaw's spine. Fallenleaf was definitely a cat Flowerpaw didn't want to anger.

Soon Willowshine was at their heals. The gray tabby panted for a few heartbeats before she relaxed.

"We're is Mothwing?" Kestrelflight demanded.

"She couldn't make it because Minnowtail was giving birth," Willowshine explained in between breaths.

Jayfeather grunted and rose to his paws, ignoring all of them. Flowerpaw was eager to reach their destination as well, but she had more self control. She glared at the ThunderClan medicine cat as he led the way towards the Moonpool.

There was just something about Jayfeather that unnerved Flowerpaw. It always felt like he was probing her mind, searching for any flaws she could have. The look he gave her each time he stared at her made her fur crawl.

She tried to shake the thoughts away as the sound of running water echoed around them. The medicine cats had grown silent as they approached the Moonpool's entrance.

Each time they came Flowerpaw felt mystified by the power that emanated from it. It was almost like something was drawling her closer to its depths. The voices she heard each time they entered made her wonder who had once lived here.

Sooner or later I will know, she thought as she followed Hawkflash down the path.

Hawkflash stopped when she reached the edge of the pool. All of the medicine cats gave her questioning looks, except for Jayfeather. Flowerpaw narrowed her eyes at his knowing look. There were some things she would have rather kept a surprise.

"Medicine cats of the Clans, I believe that my apprentice is ready to receive her full name," she announced as they gathered around Flowerpaw. "I, Hawkflash, medicine cat of ShadowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of a medicine cat, and with your help, she will serve her Clan for many moons. Flowerpaw, do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, to stand apart from rivalry between Clan and Clan, and protect all cats equally, even with you life?

Flowerpaw found it hard to reply. She swallowed what felt like a stone and meowed, "I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your true medicine cat name. Flowerpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Flowertail. StarClan honors you for your knowledge and abilities to care for every cat."

Flowertail. She grinned slightly at the name. It was one that suited her as she lifted her faintly spotted tail. She allowed Hawkflash to step forward and touch her forehead with her muzzle. The experience lasted for only a moment, but Flowertail knew that the memory would last forever.

"Flowertail! Flowertail!" The other medicine cats chanted her name, even Fallenleaf. Flowertail watched as they all joined her to share tongues with StarClan.

She couldn't imagine a better time as she leaned forward into a crouch. But once she had taken a drink from the Moonpool, all of her worries returned.

"Congratulations." Flowertail's fur bristled when she heard the familiar voice. She whirled around, only to meet the gentle gaze of Flametail. "I think she named you after me," he added with a widening grin.

"I'm sorry you never got to live the full life you expected," she murmured as her thoughts returned to normal.

Flametail cocked his head to one side, suddenly looking much younger than he was. "I always knew I was going to die," he meowed. "I didn't know when, but StarClan told me that my death would be quick."

She was surprised at how cruel that sounded. He didn't seem the slightest bit concerned about his death. In fact he almost looked happy.

"There's actually another reason as to why I've been following you," he added after she had settled down. "They didn't want me to tell you this, but I felt like it was necessary."

When Flowertail leaned forward, Flametail sighed. She knew that he was breaking some sort of a code for telling her. Yet she was surprised and furious that StarClan would have refused to give her any warning. What good was she to her Clan if she couldn't interpret messages?

"A time of darkness is coming. One will split into five, leaving the others in their path. The Marked must leave, or battles will wage on forever."

Her heart nearly skipped a beat when a vision unfolded before her. The clearing she had settled in changed into a field of flowers and grass. Only a couple of boulders lined the field. Yet out of the brightness of the field, was the stench of blood. Flowertail gasped in shock and pain when she saw the bodies of her Clanmates littered across the Clanmates. Cats from other Clans were there as well, soaking the grass in blood.

Flowertail tried to close her eyes, but something forced them open. What she saw next made her nearly cry out in horror.

Five cats paced along the outlines of the field. Their bodies were covered in different Markings. One was dark ginger, with dark green eyes. Another was brown and black, like the color of a boulder. The third was a dark stormy gray tom with yellow eyes. The last two were cats that Flowertail had never seen before. They looked identical to each other, yet both had different markings like the others.

She suddenly realized that this was the prophecy Flametail had warned her of. The dark times that lay ahead were because of the Marked. And StarClan wanted them to leave because of the prophecy.

A/U: So what did you think? Please remember to read and review!