Warrior Cats: Sky of Storms

Prologue

The wind howled furiously, whisking through the fur of the dark canine and whistling in his ears. It pushed against the few dark trees around them as if they were trying to bring the trees with them.

He yawned nervously, brushing against the Twoleg's body. He felt cold, colder than he had ever felt before.

The forest around them consumed all sense of life as if it constantly called to whatever it could reach. It was dark, but it called to the dog's heart whenever he looked at it. He wanted nothing more than to be running after squirrels, dodging trees, and spending hours looking at the stars.

He looked up at the towering house leaning to one side and glanced at the tree that had fallen over beside it, wincing. He could understand what was happening, even if he didn't want to.

The wind and the storm were going to destroy everything.

The furious hurricane was destroying everything as if the world was a clump of dirt separated from the ground.

And worst, with the stars covered, the dog felt like he was losing a part of himself. Like he needed the stars to survive. As if the stars were the only ones that understood him.

"Pop, what's gonna happen to our house?" The Twoleg beside him asked. The dog could sense he was nervous and scared, and it radiated off the two Twolegs standing next to the dog, making him just as nervous as the Twolegs.

"I don't know, son." He said, taking a small step forward, but then he took another step back. The Twoleg glanced at the dog, and his eyes widened for a moment and narrowed again. "I better go fetch the other mutts."

The dog took a step forward but pulled back on his curiosity about going into the forest to get the other dogs with the Twoleg. He would want any excuse to go into the forest. He whined and looked up at the Twoleg left standing there.

He crouched down to scratch the dog's ears. "I'm sorry, Buddy. I know you don't want to be here."

The Twoleg sat down, leaning against the dog's fur and the dog wasn't sure if he felt warmer or colder.

Another big gust of wind swept over them, and the Twoleg wrapped one arm around the dog, and the other around himself, as if he was afraid of losing the dog to the wind.

He's right. The dog thought. I definitely don't want to be here. He glanced at the forest again. I want to be there. Living off the wild, hunting for my food. He frowned. Not sitting here doing anything.

But he figured he wasn't doing nothing. The storm was fierce, and it made the Twoleg scared, but pressing close to the dog seemed to comfort him, so at least he was pleasing his Twoleg, but that wasn't much of an achievement.

They waited for a long time, pressing close against each other and waiting for the other Twoleg to come back, and when he did, the dog ran forward to greet his family.

But the Twoleg wasn't accompanied by the other dogs, instead, he was alone. The dog could smell annoyance on him along with delight and enjoyment.

The dog pawed at the ground anxiously.

"Where are Blaze and Lucky?" The younger Twoleg asked.

The other one looked up at him and shook his head, but the dog couldn't smell any sadness in him, which was odd. The Twoleg next to him gasped in horror.

"Come on." He said, gripping an arm around the Twoleg who was shocked. The dog winced as he smelled something as bright as grief, sorrow, and sadness. He easily believed that something horrible had happened in this weather.

The dog felt all the sadness himself. Even if he didn't understand Twoleg's words, he could still feel the younger Twoleg's grief, (the other still not sad), and the dog could only begin to imagine why that feeling had taken over the Twoleg.

The dog and the Twolegs walked to the forest, and the dog's heart leaped and jumped and faltered at the same time.

The forest! He had only been here a couple of times (something about being too young) but he loved every moment of it, but he was also worried about what had happened to his brother and mother.

The dog ran ahead of the Twolegs, instantly picking up the forest smells. He turned, lifting his snout into the air. He could smell a squirrel that had nibbled on an acorn. An old vole nest, and the stench of...

He wavered. What was that? He had never smelled it before. It was almost a mixture of the forest and an animal. He stepped forward and his eyes began to water from the scent. It was scattered all over the forest.

He hesitated to take another step forward. What kind of monster lives in this forest?

The Twolegs walked right past him, and he followed with delight and apprehension.

He could smell the trail his family had taken to find prey. He could separate his brother's and his mother's, but there was something odd there. The dog couldn't think of what it could be.

He sniffed the air and felt a gust of wind come by. The trees made the storm less unbearable, and it was easy to forget there was even a storm with the big towering trees above them, blocking their view of the sky.

The sky... He thought. The dog felt uneasy for a moment as he remembered that the stars were covered. Even in his excitement about going into the forest, he still felt like a piece of him had disappeared.

He turned toward the Twolegs, who were both standing next to a fallen tree. The younger one radiated sadness and grief so brightly that he had to sit down for a moment.

Still, the older one didn't have any feelings of sadness. Only...

The dog frowned, growling.

Triumph?

The dog looked down at the two crushed dogs who lay motionless under the tree. He whimpered and howled, nosing the dogs and pressing his fur to his brother and mother. Nothing could have prepared him for the grief and sadness he was feeling right now.

The dog sat up, breathing deeply. He thought of all the memories of the two dogs. His mother licking his head, and his brother play fighting him. All the hunts he had shared with them, and all the nights he had slept with them.

Will I ever be able to live without them? The dog thought.

He bowed his head and closed his eyes, feeling his tail drooping.

The dog looked up and bared his teeth, anger taking over his grief but suddenly, a human-made rope caught his eye. It smelled of wood and hands. The dog followed the rope, walking next to it, still growling.

The rope ended on something that made the dog bark furiously. The rope was tied to a stick in the ground! This was set up!

Whoever tied my family to this rope, He thought furiously. Wanted them to get crushed by the tree.

His anger was soon overcome by his sadness, and he trudged back to the other Twolegs. He was too sad and too tired to get more angry or figure out who had done this to his family.

"I'll give you a moment." The older Twoleg said, walking back toward the Twoleg nest. The dog watched him go, still noticing that the Twoleg still did not show any signs of sadness.

The other Twoleg stayed next to the two dogs' bodies, his eyes closed and his head bowed. Small droplets of water dripped down from the Twoleg's eyes.

The dog sniffed him and glanced at the forest, and the Twoleg looked up at him. His eyes were red and swollen, and the dog wondered if his eyes looked like that too.

"I know, Buddy. I know." The Twoleg took a deep breath. "I'm so sorry this happened."

The dog pressed his head against the Twoleg's knee, wanting to be comforted and petted, and for a moment, the Twoleg stopped crying.

"You don't have a reason to be here anymore." Said the Twoleg. "Now that there-" The Twoleg took a shuddering breath and closed his eyes, but then opened them again. "You belong in the forest. Go on, Buddy."

The Twoleg stood up and took a step back, and the dog stared at his family's bodies, then up at the boy, and blinked to show he understood. The Twoleg started to cry again, but he took a deep breath and nodded at the dog.

The dog turned, walking into the forest, away from the Twoleg and the only dogs he ever knew.