A/N: Well, just something I wrote up in like thirty minutes. I was just rereading Silverstream's death and was thinking about Stormfur. I feel so bad for that cat. But he's got it good now. Also, I have my next chapter of 'The Sun Rises Again' written out, for those who are waiting for it. Just haven't bothered to type it yet. Have a great day, and please feel free to check out some of my other stories.
Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors, or Stormfur, or Brook. I wish I did. But I don't.
It can be hard to adapt into a different society. You have to learn new beliefs, new ways to survive, and be familiar with new territory and new people. Most cats couldn't learn to hunt or even move around in the mountaintops. Most cats couldn't give up their old family and learn to be loyal to a new one. Most cats couldn't give up everything they had ever known and loved, and everything they had ever learned to believe in, for someone they loved. Stormfur isn't like most cats.
But every once in a while, Stormfur needed the occasional break from his new life to think about his old one. He needed to remember his past to keep up with his future. Sometimes it was painful- No other cat had been through what Stormfur had- but he had to remember for his own sanity. His own future. His own morals. His own life.
Stormfur found it easier to sit on the peak of a cliff as the sun was setting, when no cat noticed his absence, to think. Sometimes he would get sad and miss everything he left behind. Sometimes he would be happy for what he had become. Other times it was a mixture of the two feelings, which made his mate wonder exactly what was going on in the toms head when he returned home.
It was a day in the middle of leaf-bare that Stormfur could finally come to terms with himself. It started out like a regular day: he accompanied his mate, Brook, and a few of their other tribe-mates to go out hunting. The prey was brought home, the Tribe ate together, and they went out to hunt again. Extra hunting needed to be done in this kind of weather, so Stormfur had come to his favorite peak a little later than he normally would. He sat there, staring out at the direction his former home was in and wondered what everyone was doing. His father, Graystripe, was probably sharing a meal with his mate and kits, or maybe even Firestar himself. Mistyfoot and Leopardstar were probably discussing problems RiverClan was facing, and what they would do about it the next day. His good friend Reedwhisker, Mistyfoot's only living son, was probably already sleeping in his den. His mother, Silverstream, and sister, Feathertail, were probably sitting in Silverpelt watching over the Clans, and maybe even him.
Stormfur almost didn't notice the sound of a cat's pawsteps as it came up behind him if it wasn't for the familiar scent that accompanied it. He flicked his ears to acknowledge his mate as she came up to sit next to him. They sat in silence for a little bit, just staring out at the horizon together.
Finally Brook asked, "Are you thinking about the Clans?"
"Yes." Stormfur grunted.
It was silent once again. Only the chirping of the birds as they passed overhead sounded through the mountains. Brook was comfortable in the mountains because she had been born there, and lived there the majority of her life. But from her time spent with ThunderClan, she knew there was an enormous difference between the mountains and the lake. She wanted to help Stormfur, but she wasn't sure what she could do.
Quietly, Brook requested, "Could you tell me about the Clans again?"
Stormfur gave her a curious look, but he answered her anyway. "Well, there are four Clans that live side by side around the lake. The Clans are-"
"I know that already, Stormfur!" Brook chided, giving her mate a quick lick on the shoulder, "I want to know about your life from the old forest. I want to know everything that has ever been important to you."
Stormfur looked away, back toward the lake and the Clans. Brook thought that she had offended Stormfur, and that he wouldn't say anything more to her. She knew this was a touchy subject. She was surprised when the gray tom finally spoke, but she listened intently. She refused to let his words fall upon closed ears.
"My mother and father met one day when my father fell into the river. My mother saved his life. His name is Graystripe, and he came from ThunderClan. ThunderClan lived in the thickest part of the forest, but I only lived there a short time, so I couldn't tell you much more.
"RiverClan is where my mother, Silverstream, came from. Their camp, where I grew up, was located on an island. You had to swim over to it most of the time, but that was alright. RiverClan cats are born knowing how to swim. It was natural to us. The large river around RiverClan territory separated most of the boundaries, but where my parents met, RiverClan had some territory on the other side of the river.
"Anyway, they fell in love almost instantly. My father thought my mother was beautiful and wise. My mother thought my father was amusing and determined. They met in secret, my father stepping onto the boundary before the river, and my mother crossing the river. They met there for moons, I hear, but Firestar- known as Fireheart back then- convinced them to only meet at Fourtrees- our gathering place like the island at the lake- because RiverClan had become suspicious. So that was where they met from then on.
"It was while my father and Firestar were breaking the warrior code and bringing my Clan food during a prey-bare thaw that my mother told them that she was having Graystripe's kits. When she thought she was going to have them, she crossed the river to meet my father. She had my sister and me there, between RiverClan and ThunderClan. Even with the help of ThunderClan's medicine cat, my mother went to StarClan. There wasn't anything they could do for her. Feathertail and I were brought back to ThunderClan. My mother was the daughter of RiverClan's leader, and the two clans almost had a war over us. Imagine that! A war over two half blooded kits."
Stormfur stopped talking and shook his head. It was obvious he was thinking of his youth and missing the mother he never got to meet. Brook watched him and didn't pester him to continue. He continued on his own.
"My father took us to RiverClan to live when we were only kits. We never remembered being in ThunderClan the first few days of our lives. Our father, he gave up everything he had ever known for us! He left ThunderClan and joined RiverClan. He didn't fit in there, and when we were apprentices he returned to ThunderClan. I didn't blame him, and I don't believe Feathertail ever blamed him either. ThunderClan was where he belonged, just like we belonged in RiverClan. But it was hard.
"My mentor's name was Stormfur, the deputy of RiverClan! My sister had his sister, Mistyfoot, as a mentor. Both were great mentors, and they were both also half ThunderClan and half RiverClan! None of us knew it then though. They were the kits of one of our deputies, Oakheart, and the leader of ThunderClan, Bluestar. We lived a good life, protecting our Clan, until Tigerstar took power."
Stormfur spat angrily as he mentioned Tigerstar. Brook knew that most Clan cats acted that way when they heard his name, but she was never sure if she could believe the stories elders told to the apprentices, or the ones queens told to their kits.
"Leopardstar, our leader, joined forces with ShadowClan and Tigerstar. Tigerstar knew about our birth, he used to be ThunderClan's deputy," Stormfur continued, "so he was ready to kill us. He also knew about Stonefur and Mistyfoot's birth. He killed Stonefur in cold blood, and almost killed the rest of us if it wasn't for my father and Firestar. They took us back to ThunderClan, and we helped them to fight off ShadowClan."
By now, the sun had sunk below the horizon, and it was dark and cold. Brook could barely see the gleam of hatred in Stormfur's eyes as he talked about Tigerstar, and how he had ruined RiverClan. It scared Brook a little bit, but she could understand why Stormfur hated him.
"Are you finished?" Brook asked, when she realized Stormfur didn't plan on continuing.
"Yes," he answered, "for now, anyway. Besides, you know the rest of the story."
Brook nodded her head slowly. They sat in silence for the third time that night, before Brook finally said, "Thank you for sharing with me."
Stormfur pulled his eyes away from the distance and focused them on his mate. He gave her a loving smile and said, "Of course. I feel a little better now. Let's go back to the rest of the Tribe. Surely they're wondering where we are."
Brook smiled back at him and stood up. "Yes," she answered, "and it is cold out here. I am surprised we have not gone to the Tribe of Endless Hunting yet!"
Stormfur laughed along with Brook at the joke, then stood up and started toward the waterfall. He flicked Brook on the shoulder with his tail as he walked by her.
Brook's eyes glittered in the still night as she followed after her mate. She was glad that she could help Stormfur feel more comfortable here. It was alright that he thought about the Clans, after all that was where he had lived most of his life, but he should remember the happy times instead of the sad. She thought he could come to terms with his past, one day, and maybe with her help. But for now, Stormfur seemed happy, and that was all that mattered.
Her mate's happiness.
She couldn't help but be proud she had such an amazing cat like Stormfur as her mate.