The Rising Storm

Chapter 2: The Truth Unfolding

        Stormpaw stood there, his brother Flamepaw at his side. Both were stiff with shock and grief, as the body before them was their younger sisters. Her body was still warm and her scent still fresh and warm from when she was alive. They both walked stiffly over and looked down on their sister, Stormpaw could hear Flamepaw starting to cry. However he did not. For some reason as much as he loved his sister he could cry, it was as though he already cried up all his tears from within that time of his blank memory. He looked closely at his sister and he could see her throat slashed open and the blood which still poured from her neck. A wave of sadness and despair washed over him as the death of his sister sinked in. He leaned forward to nuzzle her then looked at Flamepaw. "We need to bring her back to camp" as he said those words he could hear his voice choke. Flamepaw looked up at him, there was immense sorrow in his eyes and streams of tears were going down his cheek, he nodded silently and the two of them gently picked her up and carried her back to the camp. As he walked, he suddenly got an immense chill as a large gust of wind buffeted him. He shook his head then looked up and found himself looking into the eyes of a jet black tom. Suddenly something within him stirred, a feeling that he had never felt before, he was unsure if this feeling was good or bad. He quickly looked at Flamepaw to see if he saw the tom too, and though he was looking in the same direction there was no sign that he had seen the tom. He frowned then quickly looked back to where the tom was. Once again he found himself staring into the toms eyes. The toms eyes looked so sad and lonely, the toms eyes which were so much like his seemed to stare into his very own soul. He shivered, somehow afraid of what the tom may find. Shutting his eyes he began to think that it was his own imaginition that the tom was there and when he reopened them, the tom was gone. 

        Stormpaw shook his head, thinking that it was just his head playing with him. However for the rest of the way back to the camp he had this sensation that someone was watching him, and the scent from the tom he had seen did not fade. When they reached the camp they carried Honeypaw through the entrance in a straight line. They hardly heard the other cats when they came racing over to ask what had happened. They numbly looked at their clanmates and when they gently put her down in the clearing they began to explain what had happened to their leader, deputy, and med. cat. When they were finished explaining they were told to stay inside camp until it was determined safe for any other apprentice to go outside. Stormpaw laid in his nest, his mind reflecting on what happened throughout the day, he found himself asking questions to himself. Who was that cat? Why was he able to make so concerned when I just met him? Why do I even feel like I know him? How could that be possible! I was in this clan my whole life, there is no way I would know him... Suddenly a picture of the tom appeared in his mind again, although this time the tom appeared younger and for some reason he felt as though hewere attached to the tom. He frowned as all sorts of possibilities popped into his head. He stood up and shook his head, disliking all the doubt in his mind, he muttered under his breath. "There is only one cat out there that can answer all these questions... and that is my mother." He got up and began to walk out of the den, once he was in the clearing he saw his mother, father, and brother all curled around Honeypaw, they all had ginger fur while he had black and white fur. That was another thing he always wondered about. Why am I the only one that has black and white fur? Does it possibly have anything to do with the black cat and why I feel like I know him? He began to walk over to them, when he saw his sister his heart ached once again, the med. cats have both cleaned her and now she looked like she did when she was asleep. Fighting back the rising grief, he nudged his mother. "Can I ask you something? It is a little private so can we talk alone?" His mother looked up at him numbly but she forced a smile and mewed softly "of course sweetie, lead the way" she got up and followed behind Stormpaw.

        Stormpaw was now sitting behind the nursery with his mother as it was the most private place in the camp since there were no nursing queens at the moment. He looked at her, unsure of how to start asking all the questions that were buzzing around in his head. "Mothflight... I know this question may sound stupid but... where am I from?"

        Mothflight looked at Stormpaw, there was an expression of confusion and concern and she mewed gently and reasuringly "you are from Lightningclan sweetie."

        Stormpaw frowned and shook his head "I know but, I saw this tom today, a tom I had never seen before in my life, he was black and his eyes looked just like mine. When I saw him it felt like I knew him, like the purpose of my existence was because of him!" He could feel his emotions suddenly rising, as though he needed to express these words and how true they were to his heart. "How! How could I possibly know this cat if I have never seen him before in my life, it shouldn't even be possible. Why do I not look like my own mother and father but to a random loner, I am practically a copy. Why!?" He could feel his body shaking from many mixed emotions, above all was his sense of wanting to know who he was. 

        Mothflight looked at him and frowned, she looked sadly at her paws, and when she spoke, it hushed, barely more then a whisper, making Stormpaw have to listen carefully. "Honey, no matter what I say, you will always be my kit, no matter what happens. Stormpaw, you were not born by me. We found you passed out just on the brink of death, our medicine cat at the time had to keep a vigilent eye on you. At the time I was still carrying Flamepaw and Honeypaw..." her voice choked when she mention Honeypaws name and she paused, trying to calm herself down so she could finish speaking. "I was asked to raise you as well as my own kits and I just couldn't turn you away, when you awoke, I asked you for your name but you would only stare back at me as though you didn't understand. When I began feeding you, you were about the same size as Flamepaw and Honeypaw when they were born so we had assumed you were around their age. We do not know where you were born or who your birth mother was, but all that matters now is that this is your home and this is where your family lives." She licked him on the ears and hugged him before padding back to camp. 

        Stormpaw just stood where his 'mother' had left him, never before had he felt so alone. He slowly looked up and looked towards the Lightningclan camp, he took a step towards it before hesitating. His mind went back to what Mothflight told him, he knew that she was not lying but apart of himself wished that she were. He looked into the forest, more thoughts began flooding into his head. Who am I? Who are my real parents? Am I a loner, or a rogue. Or worse yet... am I a kittypet! He violently shook his head, trying to banish the thoughts from his mind. He quickly raced away from the camp, suddenly feeling the need for space and fresh air. Did Honeypaw and Flamepaw know I was a orphan. Did everyone besides me know I was an outsider!! He flinched at the thought. He continued crashing through the undergrowth and when he stopped he found himself at the Lightningclan outer border. He slowly started to slow his breath, when he had calmed down he found himself once again getting the feeling that he was being watched. He looked up and found himself a tail length away from the black tom. He stumbled back as the blue eyes once again seemed to be staring into his soul.