"Save some finch for the kits," Falcon Swoop pawed the bony finch away from her son's nose before he could eat any more of the precious prey.
"But, but, I haven't eaten in two days!" Jay's Wing trembled as he stood up, his legs trembling.
"Well, I think that the kits need to be fed before the Sharpclaws. Come on, lets go back," Falcon Swoop picked up the two voles she had managed to find hiding half-starved among some tree roots.
Jay's Wing weakly picked up the finch in his jaws and struggled back onto his feet. Following his mother back to the main gathering place, he looked back at the forest. Instead of the lush foliage he was used to, the plants had withered and shriveled up, everything now a dead brown.
When Falcon Swoop and Jay's Wing got back to the clearing, they dropped the voles and finch in the meager fresh kill pile. Usually they made cats hunt for themselves, but at this time of drought and danger, Furled Bracken decided for everyone to pitch in and share all the prey they find.
"I'm going to deliver some prey to Shy Fawn and her kits," Falcon Swoop picked up a dormouse and started towards Shy Fawn's den. "And you can't eat any fresh kill," She added, seeing out of the corner of her eye that Jay's Wing was eyeing his finch hungrily.
Sharpclaws in Training. Falcon Swoop rolled her eyes as she entered the nursery, seeing her skinny littermate watching her kits tumbling around.
"Shy Fawn?" The smaller tom paused in wrestling with the bigger she-kit and looked at his mother with huge yellowish amber eyes.
"Yes, my dear?" Shy Fawn looked at her kit.
"Why did you call me 'Fish Leap'?" Fish Leap waddled away from his sister and sat down in front of mother, wrapping his tail around his paws.
"Falcon Swoop!" The white kit interrupted the conversation and ran over to the she-cat.
"Hi Half Moon. How are you doing?" Falcon Swoop bent over and licked the kit on the head.
Half Moon ignored the greeting, immediately asking, "Where is Jay's Wing? I want to see Jay's Wing!"
Falcon Swoop suppressed an mrrow of laughter. She was also a kit when she had fallen for Falling Rain, her mate. He was the oldest Sharpclaw in Training at the time, and she was the runt of the nursery. There was nothing especially striking about herself, she was a faint cream colored cat with pale brown spots and plain green eyes. Falling Rain was a muscular gray tabby with vibrant azure eyes. They had fell in love when she had turned down Furled Bracken, at the time the leader's first born son, making him next in line for leader.
"He is outside," She mewed, watching the kit's face light up.
"Thank you!" Half Moon squeaked, running out of the den to greet Jay's Wing.
"Ha! Jay's Wing is the only thing she can talk about since she was able to see," Shy Fawn watched her kit bound out of the den. "I won't be surprised if they become mates when they are both Sharpclaws," Shy Fawn shook her head, chuckling.
"MOM!" Fish Leap whined, pressing his face even closer to his mother's.
"What?" Shy Fawn snapped, looking back to her tom-kit.
"Answer my question!" Fish Leap's usually calm amber eyes became sparks of anger.
"I'm sorry my little one," Shy Fawn purred, pulling the small kit near her and starting to groom him. "I named you after the first fish I caught. Right before I caught it, it jumped into the air,"
"Mommm!" Fish Leap frowned. "Why didn't you call me something cool like Falcon Swoop's name? 'Fish Leap' is about as boring as you can get,"
"Falcon Swoop!" Jay's Wing burst through the curtain of ivy that covered the den, urgency breaking up his voice.
"What?" Falcon Swoop dropped the vole and guided Jay's Wing back outside.
"Half Moon's gone! She said that she was going to go play and disappeared into the woods. When Falling Rain and I went to go hunt, I couldn't see her anywhere, and she wasn't at that place near the stream where them two like to play," Jay's Wing's eyes displayed pure fear.
"I'll try to pick up her trail," Immediately, the fresh scent of the kit hit the roof of her mouth. She beckoned with her tail for her son to follow her. Racing off into the forest, she darted around the dead plants, hoping to find where the scent would become fresher. The scent became sharper near the giant spruce tree, and soon she found herself at the very edge of the Thunder road. The white kit was in the very center of the trail, playfully batting a bright yellow butterfly.
"Half Moon! Come here right now!" Falcon Swoop barked hoarsely, her heart beating like the fluttering of a trapped bird.
A rumble vibrated the ground just as Half Moon looked up- a giant red Twoleg monster appeared at the very top of the road- and it was fast- as if it was chasing some invisible prey.
Not thinking, she darted out into the middle of the road. A muffled cry sounded from Jay's Wing, but the only sounds she could hear was the rumble of the monster and her own blood roaring in her ears.
She grabbed the kit by the scruff and hurled her to the safety of the badger's side of the forest. She turned to run back to the other side, but something hit her in the side as quick as lightning. She was pulled to her side, stomach throbbing, sight blurred.
I'm dying! For some reason, she wasn't scared. In fact, she was relieved. She saw three figures in the last of her sight, one dark gray, and the other light gray and a small white face. Hazy sounds of grief reached her ears. There will be no more hunger, no more thirst, nothing.
She took one more breath with much difficultly, and her last thought was this: Do not grieve, my children, for I will watch and protect you wherever you go.
Then everything was now cloaked in comforting black.