It had been almost 3 moons since they had last seen the others. The two cats darted, side by side, between alleys of various shapes and colours. Quite frankly the pair of frantic scoundrels were too busy trying to keep their tails attached to their bodies to care about the pounding rain and bold skyscrapers. Dust burst into the air as they skidded around a tight corner, their silhouettes plastered to a brick wall as they hurtled past a streetlight. Another corner. Growls clashed behind the cats and a distinct barking sound erupted from the jaws of one of the predators. The tom-cat shot a glance backwards at the gaping jaws and savage claws, his amber eyes glowing like lasers. He stole a second to jab a mud-stained, ginger paw into the she-cat's shoulder. She flicked an ear in response and they took a right turn before sprinting out towards a monster-ridden street. Once at the foot of the street they split as halves of a whole.
A torrent of rain awaited those who dared to traverse into the unforgiving storm. This leaf-bare had been particularly harsh and the inhabitants were feeling the brunt of it. One particular house cat was enjoying the weather. His eyes drifted like sea waves bashing at the shores, calming and rhytmic. He was sat by an open window, enjoying the viscous droplets of rain plummet onto his head and slip down his whiskers and the sensation of wind ruffling his dark stormcloud-grey pelt. A purr rose within him as he stared out at the countless monsters invading the ground below. It was, however, cut short as he saw a flash of white and amber further down the street. Unsure of whether to risk a trip to the labyrinth below, the tom turned his head to look at his bowl. Filled to the brim and waiting patiently, the letter marked it as his own. Confidence flowed through his body and Rain lunged out of the window, gracefully landing on all fours just in time to see a sleek, jet black she-cat collide with himself. The pair rolled and tumbled until Rain flopped onto his side. His vision managed to correct its drunken slurr, focusing on the she-cat's white muzzle abs chest before seeing the annoyed glint in the vermillion orbs of her eyes. The light in his own blue eyes faded as he noticed why she had been fleeing. In front of a rather terrified Rain stood a gnarly, abomination of a mutt, with scars and burns and everything in between. Rain was drawn in by the oblivion of its black eyes...
Ravenflash was not having a good day. Nor was she having a good moon or even a good season. In fact, now that she looked back at it, she hadn't had such a great life so far. A lot of the time she had been bored out of her mind and wishing to be a kit again, able to frolic in the face of danger. At least this could be interesting had been her first thought when they had run whiskers first into that abnormal 'dog' and its pack of shameless puppets. At this point she was thinking something more along the lines of 'who in StarClan is this cat and why is he such a mouse-brain'. Instead of whimpering like the coward beside her, Ravenflash sprang to her feet and flattened her ears, a defiant hiss escaping her teeth. The beast tilted its head as if to ask why she was not dead already. Ravenflash's reply was a harsh slash across the muzzle and a piercing yowl followed by a subtle blow to its forepaw. The leg buckled and the dog lifted its jaws forward only to grasp air. Seconds later, the shadowed she-cat glided past, slashing at its haunches. This game of abstract cat and mouse continued for a while yet the predator was surprisingly durable. Eventually it caught on and Ravenflash was sent skidding after a cruel blow to the flank. It was then that the housecat from before toppled in front of Ravenflash. She looked up in shock at the lump of fur in front of her. He was quivering, clearly fearing for his life and had tears welling up in his clenched eyes but held his ground against the adrenaline junkie hurtling towards him.
Luckily, no more rain would fall on that day.
A ginger blur twisted past Rain, magnificently clasping a forepaw on either side of the dog's head and twisting it so that the vacuous animal veered off and imploded onto the ground. The ginger tabby tom merely flicked the chunks of dog hair out of his claws, his own fluffy fur standing on edge. Ruby eyes sent a glare so sub-zero that Rain could have sworn the dog contracted hypothermia. A raised bushy tail gave one signal. Back off slowly. The she-cat beside Rain clearly understood as she cautiously rose to her paws and started to edge away. Rain shuffled backwards and the ginger tom in front of him synchronised one paw after another. They were slowly moving in unison until...a hound burst through a nearby fence and another tore up the ground in front of itself as it charged forwards. The three cats all twisted around and raged forwards faster than a fox in a fit. Rain only noticed then how muscled the two cats he was beside were. They were pulling ahead and still accelerating. At this point Rain could feel the breath of hell briskly brushing the hairs on his tail. He tried to yell, but he was gasping for air as it was. The pair ahead of him looked back. How pathetic he must have looked, tail lengths away from assured doom. The black she-cat flicked her ears and suddenly leapt backwards. "Ravenflash!" The yowl escaped the tom's mouth at the same point the said cat plunged past Rain and pummelled the nearest dog with her hind paws. It tripped and fell creating a domino effect. She sprinted forwards once again and kept pace with Rain. The ginger tabby decelerated and joined them. "Any ideas?" He mewed.
"I have absolutely no idea." The reply was curt, this Ravenflash had a high yet rough tone of voice. "Grey you have any idea?" Rain was amazed they could converse so easily whilst running so fast.
"Um my name is Rain. Anyway, yes actually I do." It took Rain a while to spit out that sentence yet he felt somewhat proud of himself for doing so. "My den is nearby. We just need go turn and get passed the dogs." The three of them skidded to a stop.
"You want me to run towards those flea-ridden, mange pelts?" Ravenshadow complained, stamping a midnight paw into a puddle.
"It's the best way rea-"
"Not only did we have to save your pelt after you put us in danger-"
"-lly. Just trust me please. If we work together we can do it."
"You now want us to risk it again?"
The two of them finished at the same time, a tears blue gaze meeting a fiery, orange one. A sigh broke the silence and they both looked to see the ginger tabby. "Rain, that is your name right, I need you to take us to this den of yours and to do so you need to listen to Ravenshadow's and my orders." This cat was clearly a lot more positive than his companion. Rain wasn't quite sure what to make of that. "We are going to move towards them slowly, then she we are within leaping range we are going to jump onto their backs then past them."
"I...understand." Rain nodded. He was not sure what to think of attempting to jump on a dog's back but then again what choice did he have. "So you are Ravenshadow," The she-cat grunted "Just call me Raven."
"And you are?" Rain asked.
"I am Sunblaze." He smiled, "And we are going to get out of this."
Three cats observed the two warriors and housecat from a safe distance in the shadows. A short-furred silver tabby she-cat purred at Sunblaze's comment with mischievous blue eyes glinting. "What a fool that tabby is! Who does he think he is? He is no leader." She stifled another laugh.
"You would do well to be wary of those two, Lake." A posh, calm voice sounded out into the darkness". His pitch black fur blended in with the shadows allowing the tom to appear as two glowing emerald eyes.
"Oh keep your fur on Midnight. I'm just joking," She turned to another figure. "Right bro?"
"Fenrir?" Midnight also turned towards the third figure. He was huge for a cat and had thick dark brown fur the colour of oak marked by the darker stripes of a tabby. It only paved way to a long, thin scar that cut across his broad shoulders. His paws were huge and host to claws as sharp as a demon's. His eyes were of the darkest black and gave a vibe of emptiness, as if you could see into a hollow soul.
"Lake, Night." His voice was deep and gruff like that last piece of meat on a bone, impossible to tear off. "Let's move."