Warriors: Shadows Incoming ~Series 2 Book 5~

Chapter 9

Stormstar's POV:

The voices echoed around him, all of them different and mixed together into a jumble of murmurs.

"Avenge my death."

"Liar."

"Fox-heart."

"I wish you died in that wave."

"I forgive you."

Stormstar pricked his ears at the last voice. Who had spoken? His blue gaze stared around the empty darkness, trying to pinpoint where that voice came from above all the other mingled meows. He heard it again, fainter this time.

"I forgive you.."

"Who's there?" He called into the darkness, tail swaying nervously behind him. There was no reply and he let out a low sigh. He should have known better than to be affected by the voices in his dreams. They were meaningless- made only to confuse and mislead him.

To his surprise, the voice returned and something inside of him jolted towards the sound. "Stormstar. I forgive you. Come back to me." It was a she cat's voice. He felt his heart beat faster.

"Who are you?" He asked the darkness. "Is this a trick?" He prayed it was, for he did not want to encounter who he thought it was.

To his dismay, her white and brown striped tail flicked at the edge of his vision before disappearing into the inky blackness again. "Stormstar..." She spoke in a sing-song voice, as if she were speaking to a kit. "Follow the sound of my voice."

Stormstar felt his paws move towards the voice but he stopped himself, hissing. "Stay away from me, Petalstar."

"No Stormstar." She purred, her bright grey eyes coming into view only tail-lengths away. Stormstar fixed his gaze on her, glad to finally know where she was lurking. "I will never leave you alone."

Stormstar parted his jaws to give the brown furred she cat a sneer-filled answer, but something tapped his shoulder and he jolted awake to see a pair of familiar, deadly green eyes burning a whole right through his muzzle. He snapped his head up to call an alarm but all he remembered next was a flash of blood-stained teeth and then darkness.

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Silvershy's POV:

It was late at night and Silvershy was dreaming. She appeared in a dark, shadowy clearing. Midnight black mist floated lazily around the empty clearing, blocking out any possible light. It was oddly cold as well- the sky above her head just a dull, dark grey. No stars or moon.

Silvershy's thoughts immediately went to the worst possible scenario she could think of; she was back in the Dark Forest. Her paws itched to move but she didn't want to go anywhere near the black mist that kept her trapped in the clearing. She feared that if she ventured in, she would get lost and never come out.

So Silvershy stayed perfectly still, her ears pricked for any sounds of movement in the darkness.

It wasn't long before she heard something. The steady beat of wings sounded behind her and she spun around to stare into the darkness, praying to Starclan that it was simply a bird.

The sound grew gradually closer until suddenly the cat she dreaded most appeared from the darkness, his bright blue eyes glowing eerily in the strange lighting. He burst from the shadows, his magnificent blue wings creating a wave of dark mist that streamed quickly toward Silvershy. She sucked in a breath of surprise as the mist encircled her, nearly falling off her paws.

When the darkness cleared from around her, Tyler was seated a tail-length away from her. His wings were tucked neatly behind him and an odd look was on his face. "Silvershy." He began, his blue-tipped tail sweeping around him.

"What do you want?" Silvershy hissed, glaring at him. What could he possibly want now? He stalked her during the day, and now he was visiting her dreams? Was this some kind of sick and twisted plan to get her to join the Dark Forest? Or was he studying her and her powers so that he could kill her? All the unanswered questions swam around Silvershy's head, making her dizzy. She just wanted to be left alone.

Tyler's dark furred ears twitched and he meowed in a soft tone. "I'm sure you've been wondering why I have been following you all this time."

"Yes, and I'd like you to stop." Silvershy growled, silently awakening her powers incase they were needed. "I don't want you to be watching me all the time. Surely NoName has other ways of gathering information from her enemies?"

Tyler spoke slowly, as if he were carefully thinking through his words. "I'm not watching you under her orders."

"Then why are you doing it? For your own personal entertainment?" Silvershy spat, not noticing the way the Dark Forest tom flinched at her harsh tone.

Tyler's gaze was fixed on her's and he meowed. "Silvershy... I.. I.." His head lowered slightly as he fought for the right words. Silvershy narrowed her green eyes, wondering what he was trying to get at. She didn't say anything as the tom began pulling at the dull soil with his claws, his jaws open but no sound coming out.

Finally, he choked out. "I like you Silvershy." He repeated his sentence under his breath, as if for reassurance, but Silvershy had stopped listening.

Is this a trick? Silvershy was staring at Tyler, her eyes wide and body rigid. It had better be a trick. She didn't want him to like her. They were enemies. They couldn't like each other. And besides, I have Eagleflight. He knows that. This must be a trick. Silvershy refused to believe that the brother of the cat who was planning the demise of her clan, liked her.

"Silvershy?" Tyler was staring at her, eyes hopeful.

Silvershy opened her jaws to say something, but nothing came out. Instead, she closed her mouth and shook her head.

That seemed to be enough for Tyler to understand how she felt about him. She watched as his whole body seemed to droop and he gave a slight nod of his head before standing up and walking back into the darkness.

Silvershy felt herself grow tired and she fell onto her side, darkness threatening to cover her vision. Only moments before she fell asleep, she heard a she cat's voice from the darkness that Tyler had disappeared into.

"I told you, Ty, she will never love you." The voice held a cold tone to it, as if she were scolding Tyler for being so foolish.

Silvershy heard a slight sigh from Tyler. "I'm sorry for doubting you NoName."

Then, Silvershy awoke in her nest.

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