Silvershore

Chapter Ten

Stormjay had gone to sleep quite early that night. He had been exhausted from climbing up the mountain in the West Forests with Bright Moon, and a little bit overwhelmed by what had happened there. As deep as his love for Bright Moon was, knowing she felt the same way frightened him a little bit for some reason. Did he even deserve her love?

He was so tired that he didn't even wait on Sky and Loki to get home. He'd usually wait for them to say goodnight, but he just needed to get to sleep right now.

He found himself in an starry, open-field. Unlike anything he had seen before. Or was it?

The field reminded him of the vision he received after his trainee initiation. Where he met his late grandmother, who gave him advice he could never forget.

The galaxy sky above swirled as if it were a steamed hot chocolate stirred by the stars in a joyful and whimsical mood. It observed the motions of lifeforms upon planets that had entirely different notions of time and reality.

Stormjay seemed to be aware he was dreaming, just like the visions he received after both of his ceremonies.

The stalks of wheat in the field bent lazily in the wind as he marveled at the grains. Each one was distinct and though different from the others, still perfectly formed. He ran his paw along the edge to feel the combination of rough and smooth and then held his face upward to feel the warm light of the shining galaxy sky.

Suddenly, he noticed a ghostly figure of a slightly small, reddish-brown she-wolf with scarlet brown eyes ahead of him. She looked oddly familiar for some reason, but couldn't quite remember who she was.

"Hello," he greeted the wolf of The Pack of the Stars.

"Hey, there." She gave him a small upwards nod. "How've you been, Stormjay?"

"U-Um...I'm doing pretty well!" He smiled, pretending to know who she was.

"You're acting awfully casual, right now..." She snickered. "Considering what you did to me."

"...What?" Stormjay's smile faded.

"Do you remember who I am?" She asked, approaching him slowly.

"U-Uh..." Stormjay began sweating nervously, his ears flattening slightly. "I-I'm sorry...would you please remind me of your name?"

"Ah...I guess I wouldn't expect you to remember. You don't seem to share memories with...him."

"...Him...?" Stormjay backed up, as the she-wolf continued to approach him slowly.

"The Homocider." She scoffed. "Don't pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about."

"Y...You...wouldn't happen to be referring to..."

"That's right. Your split-personality."

Stormjay suddenly couldn't move. He tried to lift his legs to back up more, but he was paralized.

"I-I can't move..." Stormjay whimpered.

"Do you know who I am yet?" The she-wolf growled under her breath.

"...N-No..." He denied it.

"That's alright." She took a step back, giving him a quick, sweet smile.

"You murderer."

Stormjay's eyes slammed open, awakening from the lucid dream. He panted, looking around the den. Everything was back to normal. He was home.

That couldn't have been a wolf from The Pack of the Stars. It had to be just a strange nightmare. Were wolves from that pack even allowed to speak to mortals in that way?