The Storm Empire (Completed)

Chapter 4

The group of neko cats ambled through the woods. They were taking a shortcut to the gathering, one that involved sneaking through abandoned human houses and into the forest. A colorful blist of leaves had just sprouted on most of the forest trees. A dirt pathway curved through the forest, and it was stamped with footprints that belonged to the Storm warriors.

"Will Hawkwing be there?" suddenly asked Acorn.

"Yeah, he will. Along with his twin, a girl named Moonclaw," answered Crystalfur. "We were all born near the same day. They were born before midnight while I was born after. We were decently close as children, but then for unknown reasons, our relationship turned sour and he started to bully my twin brother." Crystal clutched at her heart, as if it hurt. She remembered that she had a heart condition, but she was pretty sure that she was just emotional right now.

Pebble was the older twin, but he had always been a bit quiet and strange. Hawkwing often teased him and Moonclaw, who was a songwriter and singer who was fairly popular, didn't do much to help, since they were just young males fighting. It seemed to be more common in other clans then in StormClan, who used their brains to work it out, instead of using brute force.

"What did he mean by Gray being his half sister?" Acorn inquired.

Gray sighed before speaking up, "Basically, we all had the same dad but different mothers. My dad had me and Crystal with his first wife, who was in Storm empire. He had Moon, and Hawk with his second wife, who was in the sky empire. It's also part of the reason why Hawk and Moon are eagles, but me and Crystal are cats. Crystal hung out with her half siblings more than I did though, I was usually occupied most of the time."

"The term for it is called uterine siblings," added Crystal. "It means we had the same father, but different mothers."

"I'm confused. Why did Crystal leave the clan and join a tribe then if her sister was in the Storm empire?" Acorn blurted out. Tribes were similar to clans, but less organized as well as much more small in size and often were dismissed as useless. No one in a clan wanted to join a tribe, but it was often the other way round.

"You ask too many questions do you?" Gray snapped.

Acorn looked down, as the atmosphere around them suddenly grew silent. As they walked, they finally arrived at the gathering, a large open field with a few of each of the kingdoms there. Eagles and Wolves and many others were staring at them. Acorn was in relief when she saw Hawk, although she was a bit nervous when she saw a female next to him. Whispers surrounded them as soon as they arrived.

"Are those cats?"

"Why are they here?"

"Have they been in a gathering before?"

"That's strange, the one with white hair and blue eyes looks like an arctic fox, but the ears are those of a cat's."

"It isn't another tribe making a mess is it? What cheek! They should just go away. Even if they are a clan, everyone knows the cats are the most weak!"

"Greetings," Gray was the first to speak, breaking the mutters through the crowd. "I am Gray, leader of Storm Kingdom. We are cats and we-"

"Get out of here, you kittens! You're too cute for us!" A yelp erupted from a wolf sitting next to Crystal. Laughter burst from the crowd. The wolf had a muscular build, with jet black fur and neon yellow eyes that reflected like a mirror.

Crystal turned around, "Lovely to meet you. I am Crystal, the ceremony holder," Crystal smiled a familiar smile, imitating the way that she was as a child. She would not let them overrun her. The young crystal, the strong, but kind Crystal was needed for this situation. The one who could defeat the others with a flick of her arm, but remained peaceful and kind, only tough when absolutely needed. A pair of eyes flickered with amusement as he saw her.