Chapter 4:  Stormy night by the fire

The sky was pitch black with angry dark clouds covering the land. The wind blew hard, rain fell heavily from the clouds. Thunder range through the forest, Lightning lit the sky as it streaked across the forest. Star Cluster slept soundly under the dark red blankets. When the thunder rang loudly, Star Cluster jumped awake. He felt warm in the room and noticed Amaryllis had started a fire in the fireplace. She sat in front of the fireplace wrapped in a blanket staring at a picture she was holding.
Star Cluster wondered what was in the picture that would interest her so much?
"Are you alright?" Star Cluster whispered still feeling tired.
Amaryllis jumped and turned her head, "I'm..fine," She stood up and place the picture on the fireplace, "I was...just remembering ...the old times," She sat on the other couch rewrapping herself in the blanket, "I'm sorry if I woke you. The storm started and I couldn't sleep."
"I woke up when I heard the thunder," Star Cluster quickly said, he stood and walked to the window curious to see how bad the storm is.
"It's pretty bad. It'll probably storm all night," Amaryllis guessed.
Star Cluster stood and stared out the window. It was so dark he couldn't see only when the lightning lit the sky. Rain hit the window like pebbles smearing his view.
Suddenly there was another loud thunder that seem to shake the house. Just then Peaches ran out of her room to her mother's room and when she wasn't there, she ran to the livingroom. When the lighting lit the window, Peaches froze and screamed, not realizing the dark green eyed figure at the window was Star Cluster.
"Peaches," Amaryllis called to her.
Peaches ran to her, hugging her and crying.
"It's alright, Peaches. That was just Star Cluster at the window," Amaryllis assured her, stroking her mane. Peaches turned and saw Star Cluster walking away from the window and into the light.
"You see?" Amaryllis asked.
"Sorry about that," Peaches told him.
"It's ok," Star Cluster replied, he walked to the couch and sat down.
"Aren't you scared?" Peaches asked.
"No I'm not," Star Cluster replied, "It's just a storm. It's outside and I'm in here, that's all it matters."
Peaches smiled feeling better at what he had just said.

They sat on the couch listening to the thunder and rain as they stared at the fire. Amaryllis noticed Star Cluster staring harder than she or Peaches.
Star Cluster stared comfortably at the flames of the fire and watching it burn the last wooden log. He imagine the flames in a shape of a dragon.
"Star Cluster?" Amaryllis called to him.
Star Cluster blinked a few times, "Yes?"
"Are you ok?"
"I'm fine, I was just...thinking," He looked at the fire again and wondered why he was imagining a dragon, "The fire is burning the last log."
Amaryllis stood up and looked, "It sure is." She walked to the side of the fireplace and looked in a wooden box for logs but there wasn't any.
"I'm out!" Amaryllis exclaimed worriedly.
"Out of what?" Star Cluster asked.
"I'm out of wooden logs. I'll have to go outside and get some or the fire will die before the storm is over," Amaryllis replied.
"Mommy!" Peaches cried from the couch.
"I'll be right back, peaches. You stay here with Star Cluster," She walked to her room and got a long yellow cloak from the closet. Then she left and went to the dinning room. She put her hood on and prepared for herself to go outside. Star Cluster and Peaches stood in the Kitchen watching. When Amaryllis opened the door, she was caught by surprise as the door flew open. She forced the door the close and walked to the side of the house.

Star Cluster and Peaches waited patently but worried. Peaches stood close to Star Cluster as the thunder rang through the house. Star Cluster looked out the window watching the storm. Suddenly they saw a streak of lightning and then a loud crash echoed through the walls.
Peaches jumped and stood under Star Cluster, "W-what was that?"
"I don't know," Star Cluster answered.
The longer they waited the more worried Star Cluster was getting.
"Peaches, wait on the couch."
But Peaches was to scared to move so Star Cluster picked her up and carried her to the couch, then he wrapped her in Amaryllis's blanket, "now, wait right here. I'm just going to check on your mother." He could tell Peaches was worried but he had no choice but to leave the house. He walked through the kitchen, to the Dinning room and went outside. The rain hit him like needles, The wind blew the rain in his face making it hard to see.
"Amaryllis!" he yelled loudly but there was no answer. He continued to yell her name till he heard a faint voice calling his name. Star Cluster followed the voice even though he didn't know where he was going.
"Star Cluster, help me!" Amaryllis cried in pain.
Star Cluster bumped into Amaryllis and saw that her right leg was caught under a fallen tree with wooden logs scattered all over the ground. He felt the tree and noticed it wasn't to big but it was big enough to pin Amaryllis to the ground.
Star Cluster took the end of the tree and tried to lift it but it wasn't working. Then he tried to roll it off of her but only moved it an inch.
"You'll have to help me push!" Star Cluster yelled.
Amaryllis used her other leg and pushed hard, inch by inch the tree finally fell off her leg. Star Cluster hurried over to her and picked her up. Then he hurried into the house. The door flew open making Peaches scream. Star Cluster temporarily put Amaryllis down so he could shut the door then he picked her up and hurried into the livingroom. He sat Amaryllis on the couch with Peaches.
"Your mother needs that blanket now," Star Cluster told her.
Peaches handed her the blanket while Star Cluster took off her cloak and sat it on the floor next to the fireplace. Amaryllis quickly wrapped herself in the blanket shaking from the cold. Peaches looked at her with tears streaming down her cheek.
"I'm alright, Peaches," Amaryllis managed to say from the moaning she was making, "Just really cold." Peaches hugged her mother and nuzzled up to her blanket while Star Cluster looked at her leg.
"Well, your quite lucky. It's not broken but it'll be sore and bruised for awhile. You have to have your leg cleaned though," Star Cluster told her.
"Get the white box with a red X on it and a wet towel,' Amaryllis told him.
Star Cluster stood up and went to the kitchen. He immeaditly saw the white box on the floor next to the door. Star Cluster picked it up, then he got a towel and got it wet. Then he hurried into the livingroom. Amaryllis was on the couch feeling even more pain in her leg.
Star Cluster sat on the floor not sure what to do with the white box.
"I forgot...get the rubbing alcohol form...under the sink," Amaryllis groaned.
Star Cluster hurried to the kitchen got the rubbing alcohol and hurried back to the couch.
"Now clean my cuts," Amaryllis told him moaning in pain.
Star Cluster could tell her cuts were large and she had gashes on her lower leg. He took the rubbing alcohol and put drops on her cuts. Amaryllis moaned even louder. When he was done, he took the towel and lightly touched her cuts.
"Now...wrap it," Amaryllis moaned.
Star Cluster opened the white box and saw a rolled up gauze laying inside. He took it and wrapped her leg where the cut was.
"Now I got to get those logs," Star Cluster told her. He took the rubbing alcohol and the white box, then he went to the kitchen, placing then on the counter then he left the house.

Amaryllis sat still, afraid to move her leg. As she and Peaches waited they heard Star Cluster return. He walked into the livingroom with three logs and sat them in the wooden box. He took one and placed it in the fire.
"You got to poke it with the poker," Amaryllis told him.
Star Cluster could only guess the long iron stick next to the fire place was the poker. He took it and poked the log around till it caught on fire. Then he put the poker back and sat on the couch.
Star Cluster took his blanket and wrapped himself in it. He and Amaryllis were soaking wet from the storm.

Amaryllis eventually fell asleep with Peaches wrapped in the blanket with her. Star Cluster fell asleep on the floor in front of the first place. The storm slowly left the area when morning came.