The Rising Storm

Chapter 10: Secrets

        Stormpaw was laying in his nest looking at Dark and Silver. Questions were roaring in his mind like a raging river, he got up, his tiredness forgotten. "What do you mean my mother was killed?!" He meowed demandingly, he began to pace as his fur started to bristle slightly. "Why!" Looking towards Dark and Silver with flashing eyes, he noticed there was horror in their eyes and he took a step back. Cursing under his breath he forced himself to calm down and sat back in his nest, his tail was twitching like crazy. Forcing himself to keep calm he meowed,"why was she killed?"

        Dark and Silver both exchanged uneasy glances, both looking unsure of what to say now that Stormpaw was raging. Silver took a small step forward and mewed, her voice quiet "we don't know why she was killed... We just know that she vanished from the camp along with you and we found her a day later dead and you were missing." Stormpaw just looked at Silver in disbelief.

        "Is that all? Surely you must know something more then that?" Frustration pricked under his pelt when Dark and Silver both exchanged uneasy glances, they know something! "Well!" He demanded, "whether you tell me or not I will find out one way or another." He began to walk towards the den entrance when he heard Silver meow.

        "Wait!" Looking over he saw her walking towards him and he gave her a hard stare, waiting for her to give him the answer he wanted. Instead she looked at him with a shadowed look in her eyes and mewed "i'm sorry but we can't tell you anything more then that. To be honest we were just kits when you vanished so we barely even know how everything happened ourselves. But... if you wait tomorrow when your settled in Shadow might be able to tell you what happened." Stormpaw narrowed his eyes at her, wondering if she was just trying to avoid letting him find the truth. Glancing back over to the den entrance he narrowed his eyes wondering if he should just ignore her words and find the truth but he then thought about what she said and saw the sense in it. Looking back at Silver he meowed "are you sure Shadow will tell me if I wait till tomorrow?"

        Dark stepped forward to stand beside his sister then meowed "we don't know for sure but I can tell you that absolutely not a single cat will be able to tell you what you want to hear after you just got here. Rest and see if you can find out tomorrow, i'm sure there will be more cats willing to tell you after your well rested." Dark's eyes had a shadowed look just like Silver but instead of challenging them any further he just sighed and nodded. Suddenly feeling more exhausted then he had ever been in his entire life he went over to his nest and laid down. As he drifted into sleep he could hear the whispers of Dark and Silver as well as the noises of the cats outside in the clearing.

        As the wave of sleep began to consume him he heard another voice, one that sounded as sweet as honey and seem to calm every nerve in his body. It sounded strangely clear in his mind as everything else gradually became one silent sound. Feeling strangely drawn to the voice he felt himself slip into sleep and in a split second he found himself curled up against a warm body. He could pick up the strong scent of milk and he felt a tongue rasp over his ear, he mewed sounding strangely weak and quiet from his normal voice. As the smell of milk gradually lost its sharpness on his senses he picked up the scent of other cats. He could scent many cats around him however none of them smelled familiar, except two... He began to fight against the darkness that blocked his vision and slowly opened his eyes. A ray of weak light touched his vision and he slowly tried to survey his surroundings. Why is everything so dark? Not even the nursery is this dark! Then he froze, he began trying to focus his vision on the cats around him, am I dreaming of when I still lived with these cats when I was a kit? He could hear the happy murmurs of the cats around him but he didn't understand what they were saying, his eyes then focused on a she-cat that was looking down at him. He began trying to see if he'd seen this cat anywhere before within the camp, she seemed familiar to him but he could not place where or why. Just as he was about to talk he suddenly felt as though someone kicked him in the stomach and everything around him vanished in a shrouding mist. 

        Opening his eyes he held back a growl of frustration and looked over to see what hit him, he rolled his eyes when he noticed Silver and Dark play fighting against each other. He grudgingly sat up getting out of his comfortable position in his nest and began to groom his fur flat. He looked over when he heard Silver speak to him, she sounded out of breath but also happy at the same time. "Morning Storm! Sorry for waking you up, this stupid furball threw me into you!" There was a playful growl in her throat as she launched herself at her brother and they once again wrestled with each other on the floor. He rolled his eyes then looked towards the entrance of the den and narrowed his eyes remembering the conversation before when he had fallen asleep. He flexed his claws wondering if he would be given the answers without any issues, standing up he walked to the entrance of the den. As he walked he could hear the sound of tussling and friendly growls slowly fade and he felt the gazes of Silver and Dark watch him. Exiting the den he noticed that he had gotten more accustomed to the dark place around him and was able to see more of the cats. He noticed the tom that had spoken to him before as well as Shadow, both cats had their heads bent close together as they talked quietly to each other. He slowly walked over to them, wanting to get his answers but he was intercepted by a black she-cat with one white ear. He looked at the she-cat, even through the darkness he could see sharp blue eyes that seemed to stare into his soul.

        He narrowed his eyes at her and was about to go around her when she spoke to him, he flicked his tail in slight frustraion as he glanced impatiently at the two toms to her. Her voice was smooth and kind but there was also a edge of roughness to it that caught him slightly off guard. "Hello Storm, I am surprised you slept in so late, but hearing about what you went through recently I suppose I can understand..." Uneasiness pricked at him, does every cat in this place know what happened? The she-cat seemed to pause as though she wanted to see his reaction. After a few heart beats she then continued "You slept off most of your relaxing time so its time you began your training. My name is Night, Moon put me in charge of your training, follow me." Without giving Stormpaw any time to reply she walked away towards the camp entrance leaving Stormpaw with the option of obeying her or ignoring her.

        With a flash of irritation he turned to follow her, muttering under his breath "I guess I will have to try and ask her instead..." While they walked he tried to look around the territory, since his eyes were still adjusting he could not see as far as any other cat, however up close he could see things almost as clearly as if it was day. Looking over to the she-cat he meowed to her, his tone sounded flat but determined "What do you know about my mother? She lived here didn't she, how come I haven't seen her?" He looked at her with a defiant look in his eyes. When Night turned to look at him he once again felt his uneasiness return and the tone in her voice seemed to drain all the fight out him, replacing it was a chilling uncertainty. 

        "You will know when the time comes, but not before or after. You are being too impatient, and that will lead to recklessness, when your able to control that hot head of yours better maybe then you'll learn what you want." She then contined on walking silently. Anger peirced Stormpaw leaving him clawing the dirt in anger. He felt a small growl on his throat, too soft for Night to hear but loud enough for it to be clear to him. Why can't they just tell me! Why are there so many secrets!? He watched as Night walked away and he slowly followed her, his eyes narrowed with suspicion.