The Roaring Winds

Chapter Fourteen: Impending Fate

Chapter Fourteen: Impending Fate

The blood-red streaks of sunset made Stormpaw's gray tabby pelt prickle. He tried to swallow down the lump of dread and anxiety that had formed in his throat. He closed his amber eyes and took a deep breath.

The temporary loss of one of his senses strangely helped to calm him down. It was an odd concept, and Stormpaw couldn't quite describe how it worked. There was just an idle sense of content whenever he controlled himself. It was though he told himself that he was in control of his own fate.

His ear twitched at the thought. Could cats control their own fate? Fate was an idea that the tom always found peculiar. From the start, cats were told that they could control their own destinies. But, over the same course of time, cats were also told that fate was an uncontrollable concept. Weren't destiny and fate the same thing? Therefore, cats were told that they could and could not control their lives.

Didn't StarClan control their lives? Swiftfoot told him that every cat got some sort of mystical encounter with StarClan, as long as they belonged. As Swiftfoot had put it, "StarClan will follow those who follow them." She did also tell him that, "StarClan will watch over all cats who refuse the path of evil." She also stated, "StarClan will watch over every cat, even when they are at their darkest points." Stormpaw mentally screamed to himself. Swiftfoot's words greatly confused him, and now, he didn't even know who StarClan watched over.

But, maybe, he just needed to stop his thoughts. He had wasted enough time to just dwell on the ideas of StarClan, fate, and destiny. The gray tabby couldn't wrap his head around all of the controversies. Why did he have to analyze every single detail of what he was told, when he could instead let it all go?

Stormpaw re-opened his amber eyes. The spark in his eyes was shaky due to the anxiety that had piled itself inside. It was almost time for his mission to begin. Any moment now, some cat would fetch him and tell him that it was time to leave. It could be Gorseclaw, Sageleaf, Thrushtalon, or...

"Stormpaw," he heard the scratchy call of a familiar tom. Stormpaw mentally sighed before he looked over his shoulder. He was not surprised, only disappointed, to see his mentor.

Stormpaw's eyes always looked toward Scareye's scar whenever he saw the ragged tom. The jagged cut was above the tom's pale green left eye. The scar seemed to crook around the top of his eye before it dropped to a slant near the edge of his eye. Whoever or whatever made the wound almost managed to blind the ginger-brown tabby.

          Many cats had their own theories and spread rumors about how Scareye had gotten his iconic scar. No cat seemed to know the full truth, but there was a common consensus around the story. Scareye had gotten his scar back when he was only an apprentice, and his name was changed to Scareye at his warrior ceremony. Cats speculated that Lilacflower, Scareye's mother, was the reason for his name change.

Scareye's eyes narrowed slightly and he turned his head so that Stormpaw could only see his right, uninjured eye. "Come on, the mission is about to start. We're all outside of camp."

Without another word, the ginger-brown tabby stalked away from him. Scareye didn't look back at his apprentice as his pelt slipped through the gorse tunnel entrance of the WindClan camp.

Stormpaw watched him leave, and his tail twitched behind him. He couldn't help but be irritated that his mentor hadn't bothered to offer him any advice or teach him a new battle move. His anger–no, his hatred–toward his mentor was quite extreme. This was the first time he had 'spoken' to his mentor in over a quarter moon.

Stormpaw despised how absent his mentor was. Scareye had no reason to neglect to train him. Scareye didn't have a mate or kits to tend to. The tom didn't even have friends. The light ginger-brown tabby often stalked off on his own escapades, and he wouldn't come back to camp for days occasionally. Some cats muttered that it would be better if the tom never came back at all.