A shimmering cat sat quietly in a meadow. He seemed like he was waiting for someone. Suddenly, a cat formed in front of him, she looked like she was forming out of stars

"Welcome, SoftWillow." The tom smiled, as she finished forming. The she-cat sighed.

"I'm dead, aren't I?" The tom gave her a solemn nod, as she sighed again.

"Things were just looking up for me too," she looked away, "I hate a mate...and I could've lived happily with him and my kit." She noticed the tom flinched at the sound of her kit. "What's wrong?"

"I cannot understand why you would live happily with that kit." He said, with such scorn is surprised the she.

"What are you talking about? I died giving birth to that kit!" She hissed angrily at him. He didn't even flinch.

"I hope you remeber the prophecy that you medicine cat received." He growled. SoftWillow paused for a moment, thinking. Then she shook her head.

"That's fleabrained for it to be real, even the medicine cat doesn't think it's real." She growled. The tom snorted.

"Oh please, you medicine cat doesn't believe half the things we tell him! We didn't even approve of his apprenticeship!" He yowled. The she-cat fliched. She sighed.

"But...he's my son." she murmured. The tom relaxed.

"Even Starclan can't control destinies," he sighed,"We would change his if we could." A silence fell between the cats. Finally, Softwillow broke the silence,

"What will become of him?" she whispered. The tom looked away.

"In time, he will fall." He sighed. He looked away. "They will be born soon." SoftWillow's whiskers twitched.

"The four? Like, in the prophecy?" The tom solemnly nodded.

"What's your name?" She asked out of nowhere. He looked away.

"You will learn in time." He sighed at last. "You remeber the prophecy, right?" The she-cat chuckled for the first time.

"I thought it wouldn't be an issue, so I kept quiet." The tom nodded.

"Steam will rise over the mountain, engulfing all the clans in it's smoke, Four will rise, different from each other, the smoke will die , and the clans will once again be united"

A tom waited patiently, yet frightened, outside the nursery. Hearing his mates wails, and not doing anything to help was unbearable. All he could do was wait. His tail lashed , as the cat next to him noticed.

"Stop, if she hears you hissing, it'll make it worse." She nudged him. He reluctantly stopped hissing underneath his breath.

"Sometimes, I wish that she wasn't so good at hearing." He chuckled to himself, for the first time at night. The she-cat gave him a sympathetic look.

"I get what you feel, you worried she'll end up like SoftWillow." She looked sadly over the she-cat's body across the clearing, recalling the events during the morning. The tom everted his gaze.

"At least her kit made it through, BlackCloud." He muttered, losing any happiness he had. BlackCloud sighed. It was unual for two litters to be born in one day. Suddenly, the yowling stopped, and instead their was a mewling. She saw her friend stand up, his ears perked. The medicine cat's head poked out.

"You had one kit, SilentStorm, a tom!" He purred. SilentStorm smiled. He padded inside the den, trying to hide the bounce in his step. When he got in, his heart burst with joy. All though the tiny tom seemed meek, he was definitely a fighter. The silver she-cat purred when she caught sight of her mate.

"Come and see our new son." She laughed weakly.

"Are you okay, SilverLake?" He asked when he was settled beside her, making sure she was comfortable. She nodded, then turned to their son.

"I want you to name him." She smiled. The tom considered it for a moment, not wanting to name his son for his weak appearance. Finally, he got a name.

"Ashkit, after tail being darker than the rest of his body." He smiled. His mate purred, as she gazed at him.

"Perfect. Our little Ashkit." Then her gaze turned over to the other tom. "I guess he could be his brother, no one else can fend for him." The other kit was a smoky black, with gray stripes. "How about we name him Steamkit?"

BlackCloud nodded,"Even though he's not our son, he deserves a good name, like you gave him." The purred, and looked at both of their sons, unaware of what the future would bring for their kits.