A Broken Silence

Chapter 2

The faint echoing of voices echoed through the trees. ThunderClan was the last Clan to arrive for the monthly gathering, and every warrior piled into the clearing which was filled with bustling activity from top to bottom. Beampaw trembled with excitement next to Silverstrike,while Snowheart and Stoneclaw followed up closely behind. She could hear Hazepaw and Fangpaw whispering to each other eagerly and she rolled her eyes as the two young cats brushed past her and trotted into the clearing, clearly excited at the sight of so many of unfamiliar Clan cats. Cinderstar nodded to the dispersing Clan and rushed up to join the other four leaders perched on the lower branches of The Great Oak. She sat next to Hawkstar and Coalstar, who both dipped their heads in greeting to the young ThunderClan leader.

Silverstrike followed the rest of her Clanmates who were padding off to join the other Clan cats in conversation. She spotted Cloudwhisker chatting warmly wth the medicine cats of SkyClan and RiverClan. Silkrose's silver fur sparkled in the moonlight as she let out a friendly purr while Thorncloud blinked his amber eyes. Meanwhile, Pinefrost and Sundrop had joined a group of local ShadowClan warriors near the base of the tree. Silverstrike nodded greeting to a dark brown tabby ShadowClan she-cat staring at her from the group whom she recognized as Nightshade. It's been awhile since Iv'e seen Nightshade, she remarked silently. I wonder how ShadowClan's been getting along since the Final battle. After all, they were one of the Clans who helped us defeat Medea'a rouges. Without them and RiverClan, Who knows what could have happened......

Suddenly, her pelt prickled with the unusual sensation of being watched, and she let out an exasperated sigh as she searched for the familiar glimmer of amber eyes. Stupid Beetlefoot, she pouted as she continued to search for the glimpse of the WindClan tom's glossy brown fur in the mass of cats. He's probably admiring me from afar again. It's only a matter of time now before he comes up and tries to flirt with me. He's mouse-brained if he still thinks he can try to swoon me over with his dumb smooth-talking. It's been way too long; he needs to let me go.

But instead, her eyes met with the crisp shimmer of shady green. Confusion mixed with paranoia edged her thoughts as her gaze became fixed on a sleek, grey and black speckled tom staring at her from the group of RiverClan warriors from where they sat together. His luminescent eyes sparkled with all the radiance of the moonlight, and Silverstrike wrenched her gaze away only to look up again a few moments later to see him still gaping at her mischievously. He suddenly stood up and began to trot towards her, his spotted tail raised in a warm greeting. Silverstrike's throat went dry as the tom took a seat next to her and fixed his shining gaze on her. The stench of water and fish rose from his shiny fur and Silverstrike tried not to choke at it's reek. He's defiantly a RiverClan tom, she thought with a disdainful sniff. But I have to be polite, no matter what he smells like.

"Hello there," The tom mewed. He was sitting so close that their pelts almost brushed. "You looked lonely over here so I thought I would provide you with some company." His whiskers twitched. "What's your name?"

Silverstrike swallowed, forcing herself to look into the tom's forest green eyes. "S-Silverstrike," she stammered.

"Silverstrike," the tom repeated with a curt nod. "Wow, That's a really pretty name. I'm Junipershine."

Silverstrike's paws started to sweat. "Oh, um thank you. It's nice to meet you, Junipershine."

Junipershine seemed unnerved by Silverstrike's awkward approach. "You're from ThunderClan aren't you?" he remarked with a quick sniff at her pelt. "So you live in the forest. Do you come to gatherings often? Because Iv'e never seen you before until now."

Why is this tom asking so many questions?! "Yeah I usually come to the gatherings." She shoved down her negativity and looked up at the gray speckled tom teasingly. "How come Iv'e never seen you here before?" her voice was edged with a playful tone. I might as well be friendly. He seems nice, so it's nothing but rude of me to treat him unfairly.