𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦 | 𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘴

Chapter Six - Face-To-Face With A Ghost

"𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙨 𝙄 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙜𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙨, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚, 𝙄 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣'𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜"

"So?" Rain prompted Smoke as they climbed up the rocky slopes.

The blue-gray she-cat ruffled her fur, glancing back at him. "What?"

"You know too well what I'm talking about." Rain responded, narrowing his eyes. "I want my answers-from you, Smoke."

He didn't bother Smoke with his questions on the way here because she had to pay attention to the routes they were taking; they would've been surely lost in the wheat field if he distracted her. It took almost a whole day even like this. But now, he was getting impatient; he just had to know.

The sun was setting slowly but surely as the two cats were making their way up the highlands, painting the landscape into a beautiful red-golden color. The light caught on Smoke's fur, making it look like blazing flames. Rain found himself staring at her for a bit too long; tearing his gaze away, he shook his head.

"Smoke!" He meowed impatiently. I have to know what she is hiding from me! "Tell me, how do you know about StarClan and the Star Stones, hm?"

Smoke shrugged, fixing her gaze strictly ahead. "It's not too big of a story, really. I don't know why you're so interested in it." She flicked her tail dismissively, picking up a faster pace.

Rain darted forward to match his paw-steps with hers. "Then why are you so secretive about it?" He growled through clenched teeth, his tail swishing to and fro with irritation.

"Why are you so keen on sticking your stinky nose into other cats' business?" Smoke grumbled, her fur ruffled in annoyance. That's it, I've had enough! Rain thought, anger washing over him.

"You expect me to trust you when you don't do the same with me? How is this supposed to work?" He snapped, stepping in her way to make her come to a halt.

Smoke returned his glares without wavering, her blue eyes sparkling with a mix of stubborn determination and irritation. "Why is it so hard for you to understand that you can trust me? I saved your life; not once, but twice!" She hissed, leaning a bit closer in the heat of the argument.

So close, Rain thought, but only for a moment. He quickly steered his thoughts back to their quarrel. Suddenly, his anger seemed to melt away all at once, though he didn't understand why. "And I'm grateful for that," he meowed softly. "But trust has to be mutual in order to work..."

Smoke dropped her head, understanding his words. "Okay, fine." She muttered, standing up and shaking herself. "Come on, we're almost there. We can talk about this on the way."

Rain stood up obediently, following Smoke as she made her way through a narrow gap between a tree and a rock. He let his pawsteps match the blue-gray she-cat's, staring expectantly at her.

Smoke's shoulders were a bit hunched and Rain could tell she was avoiding his eyes purposefully. "So," she began, fixing her eyes strictly onto the rocky path ahead of them. "It isn't too much of a story, like I said before. It's not too complicated. It's just that I haven't always lived in this barn."

"Really?" Rain asked, stifling a yawn. He expected something much more interesting than that; she was protecting her backstory like it was the greatest secret in the world. Oh, come on! This was the notorious secret she couldn't tell me?