A Warrior's Truth Fan Novella

Silverstream's Love - Chapter five

Silverstream padded along the RiverClan border, feeling a buzz in her heart. This is where I used to live, she thought wistfully, staring over the rushing water.

Sometimes she wondered if the ThunderClan camp would ever be home to her. The RiverClan camp truly felt like the place that she would belong, forever and ever.

How did I get here? She thought, nausea eating at her stomach. I should be back at home, gathering colorful plants and shells to put on the den and in my nest. Her stomach twisted and she couldn't help hopping across the stepping stones.

Once she was on the other side, she saw Stonefur, Mistyfoot, and Mosspelt murmuring to each other about her. "I wonder if Silverstream is okay," Mistyfoot mewed, lowering her head. "Camp just isn't the same without her." 

Silverstream dove into the bushes and stared at them through slitted eyes. Stonefur, the best tracker in RiverClan, didn't seem to smell her. Wow. I don't even smell like ThunderClan. I swear I belong on this territory, she thought desperately. 

"UGH, you're so right. Now everything's just so empty, and talking to Crookedstar is like speaking to a rock. He can't even crack jokes like he used to. So upsetting," Mosspelt sighed.

Silverstream stiffened. Crookedstar? Really? Has my loss really affected him this much? Her heart sank. Willowbreeze, now me. She stared off into the distance, ignoring Stonefur's tangent about how Mudfur needs to practice mental healing.

"Anyways, Silverstream made life so much better. I hope she's really having a good time," Mistyfoot mewed wistfully.

"I bet she's making new, perfect ThunderClan friends and forgetting about us, spending her time marking her borders with ShadowClan, and having babies with Graystripe!" Stonefur sneered, turning away from Mosspelt and Mistyfoot. "I'm going back to camp! All you two talk about is Silverstream now. Just forget her!" He spat, tensing and pelting away. 

Mistyfoot and Mosspelt stared after him, and most surprised of all, Silverstream's jaw hung open. Stonefur...did he hate me? Her heart pounded louder than ever. I have to go after him. I have to know. 

_

"Yes, Graystripe!" Silverstream yowled. "This happened! Stonefur was one of my closest friends! Did he really feel so terribly about me?!" 

"He didn't say he hated you," Graystripe reminded her. "He said that they should just forget you..." 

Silverstream turned away. "I know! But it implies that he was like, counting down the days of it happening!" 

"It actually kind of seems like he missed you more than all of them. Mistyfoot and Mosspelt are able to calmly converse about you, sharing good memories and talking about what you might be doing in ThunderClan, while Stonefur complains about you not being around, and talks about his general jealousy to the cats you may be spending time with here, getting unnecessarily stressed and running off, not being able to calmly speak about you and pushing unhealthy forgetfulness on those around him-and most likely himself as well," Gaystripe told her. 

Silverstream stared into the trees, barely convinced. "Graystripe, I simply cannot go on thinking that Stonefur might dislike me in any way. I need to know. I'm..." she tensed. I can't get in too much trouble, right? Worst case scenario Bluestar kicks me out and I go back to RiverClan... she paused. Would that really be the worst case scenario? 

She shook her head to clear her mind and straightened her posture. "I'm going."

Graystripe pricked his ears and whipped towards her. "Where?!"