Flamewind stumbled out of the elder's den as if he were walking in a dream. And he so desperately hoped it was a dream. He so desperately hoped that at any second he would wake up, any second now... How sweet would it be if it had all been just a dream. Now he would wake up beside his clanmates in a full warriors den. Greyflower would be talking with Mousewing by the entrance, Cedartail would be prodding him and Cloudstream awake at any moment. Any moment now... Flamewind looked up to find himself back by the moss bank. He looked around and gave a small choked sob. It wasn't a dream. It was a nightmare, but one he would never wake from.

Everything had happened. Everything was real. Flamewind felt so mixed up, but so angry. He was angry at the whole clan for keeping things from him, but angry for finding the truth. He was angry at them for doing what they did to his parents, and above all he was just angry at the world for making all of this happen, at StarClan for allowing everything to go so terribly wrong. Longingly he thought of that day, was it only a few sunrises ago? When he had watched Cloudstream train Cypresspaw and Ashpaw in the pool. It seemed so long ago, so long ago since things were perfect. Very confused and just exhausted, Flamewind fell into a restless and fitful sleep.

"Flamewind." a voice called him.

"No," Flamewind murmured. "I don't want to be here! I don't want to hear you!" he screwed up his eyes and looked down. Deep in his heart a cold ember of fear had settled itself. If he looked up, would he see his parents in StarClan or... Then another icy hand gripped his heart. If he saw them, would he even recognize their faces?

"Flamewind." the voice called again, firmer. Reluctantly he raised his eyes, meeting the gaze of a dappled she cat. She was a light cream she cat with brown and black dapples and mesmerizing amber eyes. "I am Sparrowfrost, and I hold the answers you seek."

"I'm not seeking answers." Flamewind retorted quickly. She only stared back with her cool amber gaze. Flamewind looked around at no part of StarClan he recognized, but then he'd only seen a tiny portion of it anyway. He was in a dark forest, sitting on a rocky outcrop beside a waterfall. The murky water thundered behind the she cat, Sparrowfrost, and when he looked up the sky was dark and starless.

Sparrowfrost smirked, as if reading his mind. "You are in the stars." she said. "What you see is the real sky." she said smoothly, and something about her calm voice was soothing, and made him want to believe her. But still a nagging doubt dwelled in the back of Flamewind's mind. Something seemed off about this place. "You say you're not seeking answers," Sparrowfrost's voice jolted him out ofhis thoughts. "But don't you want to know the whole truth? The real truth?"

"I-I know the truth." he replied shakily. And it was eating him up inside.

"Oh sweet kit, but do you?" her amber eyes glittered at him, drawing him into their depths. "You know only what they've decided to tell you."

"What?" Flamewind said.

"Half truths, shrouded in lie." She hissed, her voice mesmerizing. "Would you like to hear the real story?" Flamewind nodded almost in a dream-like state. Sparrowfrost smiled. It sent a chill down his spine but he didn't register what it meant. "Well, sweet kit, the story goes like this."

The shriek of an owl caught Flamewind's attention and he turned swiftly, looking up. For one moment he thought he could see a familiar outline of a cat and a bright speck of light. She seemed to cry out to him, telling him something, but all he could grasp was a sense of urgency. He blinked up at her before Sparrowfrost's growl made him turn back. She looked dangerous and menacing, but she sighed and returned to her normal appearance. "They're always doing that." She said dismissively. Flamewind nodded nervously, but he was beginning to feel odd about this place, this part of StarClan felt...wrong.

"I'm not sure if I should be here..." He began nervously. "I should go."

"Don't you want to hear?" Sparrowfrost said. "Don't you want to know?" Flamewind paused and she smiled. "Yes." She hissed, her voice washing over him. "Sit, listen, learn." Flamewind hesitated. "Yes." Sparrowfrost purred. "I feel your anger. Give in. Anger is healthy. They've lied to you. Cheated you. They kept secrets all your life."

Flamewind felt his anger mounting and gave in, letting it pour over him, consume him. Sparrowfrost's amber eyes narrowed and took on a dangerous glint. "Tell me." Flamewind said.

"What they told you is the truth, but not all of it." Sparrowfrost slowly circled Flamewind, her voice a deadly melody. It sent him to dream-like state, but he was fully aware of his anger and hate. "When they left your clanmates sang praises. 'Good riddance' they said, 'we're better off without them' they whispered. Shunning cats who'd been loyal all their lives, and for what. Because she wanted love." Sparrowfrost looked into Flamewind's green eyes, and he saw a flash of Briarpelt, and felt a spark of warmth before it faded into simmering anger. "Don't we all? It destroyed Emberheart. She couldn't be away from her clan, she knew where her heart truly was. Brackenflame loved her enough to go back, they were expecting a welcome, maybe not a whole hearted immediate welcome, but a welcome just the same. Into their own clan, where they'd grown up their whole lives. Where they'd trained, served, and lived for seasons." Sparrowfrost paused.

"Go on." Flamewind said in a hoarse whisper. He needed to hear. He needed to know, to satisfy the burning hate inside.

The calico she cat smiled menacingly. "They couldn't have been more wrong. They were in outrage when the two came back, toting three kits along with them." Flamewind's eyes widened in surprise. Sparrowfrost only smiled. "Yes, three. You were all born healthy and very much alive." She drew closer to him and lowered her voice to hissing whisper. "And the thing is, you could've all stayed that way." Sparrowfrost went back to pacing slowly. "Emberheart was shut off from her true calling, Brackenflame too. They were confined in a camp that was no longer theirs, with cats who they no longer knew. Confined to  a den in fact, never allowed out with a guard posted. And all for breaking one 'code'. Your brother found his way out of the nest, slipping past the guard. Who could blame him? Kits need their running around space." Sparrowfrost blinked, her gaze turning sorrowful.

"What happened?" Flamewind murmured.

"Brackenflame noticed first. He alerted the guard, who did nothing. He yowled to the camp and was told to shut up. No one did anything. To help a kit. A kit, who in their minds, shouldn't have existed, but a kit nonetheless. Flamewind, your brother died that night, a few fox lengths from the back of the camp. A five second long search would've found him. He'd died from cold." Sparrowfrost looked at him, her Amber eyes sharp. "A few days later Foxstar announced that they were to be exiled, never to see the Clan territories again. That destroyed your mother. They were to be given sparse traveling herbs, as is old tradition and set off that morning. That night your mother took you and your sister and snuck out of camp. She took you to the river and slipped in her hurry. She had been carrying Thrushkit and dropped her. They both fell, hitting a rock and your sister was badly wounded, your mother knocked out." Sparrowfrost paused. "Are you sure you want to know?"

"Yes." Flamewind said, anger mounting at every new thing he heard.

"Who should they meet but Mintleaf, faithful apprentice, or is it, not so faithful. He had the opportunity to heal Thrushkit, but he didn't. And so your sister died as well. Minutes later your mother woke to see him standing over her only daughter's body. She wasn't even there for her kit's last breaths. Everything piled up and tipped her over the edge. All she said was, 'Do better by him. He doesn't deserve this.' A final wish. She told them, treat him better than you've treated me and everyone else, treat him better. Nocat deserves what they put her through, her your father and your siblings. They were cruel and heartless, murderers. And with that she leapt into the river, and was swept away, killing herself because she could not bear to live any longer."

Flamewind blinked slowly, trying to make sense of what he was hearing. "No," he whispered softly. "No! You're lying!"

"Oh, Flamewind." Sparrowfrost purred. "I'm not the one who lied."

A/N.... Hehe... Sooo sorry for being away for so long, and not even a long chapter to make up for it... Sorry again. I hope you liked it though... Soo what did you think? Good? Bad? Constructive criticism is always welcome!