The Storm Empire (Completed)

Chapter 2

Crystal sat in the shade under the tree, the pile of dead birds by her side steadily increasing in size as the shadows covered her presence. A rustle came from the bushes. She quickly whipped around and grabbed her bow, her eyes glowing as she scanned the area. Standing in front of her was Eclipse, who carried a mouthful of herbs in her jaws.

"Sorry for scaring you," Eclipse chuckled.

Crystal looked up, "Oh, no problem." When she had entered the clan, Eclipse was quite welcoming. Nice and sweet, she was the perfect healer. Crystal glanced at her with a glimpse of a smile.

"I told you not to skip on the hunting!" Grey's familiar voice sharply appeared. Crystal sighed as she looked behind her at her older sister who carried a pigeon in her jaws. She watched as the leader approached towards her, and slid her sword into her belt.

"I hunted!" Crystal gestured at the pile of birds behind her. Grey relaxed a bit, but she was still glaring at Crystal. What's the big deal? I just did it individually! No biggie, Crystal thought.

Gray shook her head, "I'm gonna go hunt some more. When I come back, I better see five piles of mice." She scurried off into the bushes until her gray fur was no longer visible.

"She's a tough one, isn't she?" Eclipse purred as she sat by Crystal, who was glancing at the grass for the slight surry of a small mouse.

Crystal shrugged, "When I left my old tribe I didn't really want this. I still don't know what I was thinking. I'm starting to think that the reason that I am here is because I didn't think in the first place!"

"Don't get mad at me for asking this," Eclipse looked at her, "But what happened in your old tribe that made you want to leave?"

"Nothing, actually." Crystal answered. "I just felt as if it was the right thing to do."

There was a strange silence as the two stared at each other. Crystal took a long, deep sigh, appreciating the quietness. Talking about her past was always uncomfortable for her to do. It felt as if all of her gruesome childhood memories were locked inside of her, rattling in a cage, always trying to spill out her ugly side. Crystal shook her head, for it was no use torturing herself any longer. She had to tell someone about it.

"Do you remember Silver?"

Eclipse looked at her for a moment then nodded, "The crazy exiled woman who was cast out for killing one of her twins and beating the other to the point of making them run away?"

"...Yeah that one..."

Eclipse looked down, "Oh.. I'm sorry for asking."

"Asking about what?" Gray asked, suddenly appearing again from the bushes.

"Silverflow and Father," answered Crystal, without hesitation. She didn't refer to her mother as Mom and her father should never be known.

"Oh. Yeah, our parents sucked. We basically raised ourselves," Grey refered to her horrible childhood without a problem, but horror was shown on Eclipse's face. "Oh sorry if I'm bothering you, Eclipse. Me and Crystal were pretty tough though, we got through it together."

"...For about 4 years before I ran away," Crystal rolled her eyes. She saw the awkward noise and rolled her eyes as she slipped on headphones, her cat ears twitching a bit as she covered her human ears. Her tail swayed to the rhythm of the song she listened to.

"What song are you listening to?" Eclipse attempted conversation with the quiet seeming to envelop the place around her again.

"You wouldn't know it. It is called Stars. It is a story like thing."