Moon opened her bright green eyes to the world for the first time. She marveled at the terrific sight unfolding before her, gasping as her innocent gaze took the world in. A slight chuckle sounded behind the tiny she-kit, and she repositioned herself in the bed-like nest to meet her mother's brilliant blue gaze. Her mother was a lithe, scarred she-cat that was practically built to survive in the wild; she looked as if she could kill a cat with a single swipe of her claws. But as she looked into the face of her thirdborne kit, she smiled warmly, and soothingly groomed her astounded kit's head.
But her mother was not the only other occupant of the nest; Moon could sense two other fragile bodies curled up near her. One perfectly matched her mother's ginger, red, and white pelt, while the other was the color of the midnight sky. The thin ginger kit seemed to be Moon's sister, and the other her brother. Glancing down at herself, she saw a gray pelt with intricate white markings dotting her body. Her plumy tail disturbed the nest around her as it swished around excitedly. "Momma, I can see!" the enlivened she-kit squeaked. "Yes you can, my dearest," her mother replied with a silky purr.
Her two siblings were beginning to experience what Moon had, both of them wondrously drinking in their surroundings. The enthralled kits gazed upon each other, squealing in happiness after discovering their new keen ability to see. The three tumbled around in their nest, coordinating themselves with their surroundings, while their mother looked on happily. After the kits had finally tired themselves out, a question arose: Where was their father? The siblings crowded around their mother, eaglerly anticipating her response.
"Well, children, you father is.." she sighed, "away." the beautiful she-cat explained to her kits. "When is he coming back?" the black kit, now named Nightfall for his exceptionally dark pelt, asked curiously. His mother, Ginger, sighed heavily. "He.. won't be coming back," she managed to choke out, before containing her voice for fear it might crack. "Why won't Dad come back? Does he not want us anymore?" Moon called. "Yeah, doesn't he like us anymore?" the russet kit, Ruby, added. A chorus of distraught yowls commenced, and Ginger struggled to quiet them whilst maintaining her own composure.
"Kits! It's alright. Your father most certainly loves you.. and.. misses you," the ginger she-cat spoke softly. Despite her best efforts, a single tear rolled down her worn face. "Momma, why are you crying..?" Nightfall questioned quietly, as if he were afraid an unseen being could hear him. He received no response other than a muffked sniff. The kits comfortingly curled against their mother, and a rattled purr radiated from her chest. "Thank you, my kits.." Ginger's voice drifted off. The kits didn't reply, they simply allowed their wary mother to cry softly, soon joining her.
[Time Lapse]
Yowls of battle echoed off of the alleyway walls. The rogue group of cats' paws pounded into the damp soil as they charged forward. "Leave! This is our home now!" the muscular gray tom that appeared to be the leader of the small band yowled as the four invaders drew nearer and nearer. "Never!" Ginger and her now-grown kits yowled in unison. With a hiss of pure hatred, a light brown she-cat launched her full body weight at the nearest defender, which happened to be Nightfall. The black tom screeched as unexpected claws slashed through his shoulder.
Her motherly instincts becoming too much to bear, Ginger hurled herself at the she-cat, throwing her viciously into a wall. Showing no remorse, she clawed the stricken intruder until she struggled no more. Meanwhile, the three remaining cats had leaped for the four defending their territory. Ruby was then joined by Ginger as she fought against the leader, while Moon and Nightfall individually fought the two other followers. "Show no mercy!" Ginger called to her kits through the cries of battle. Finally, the invading cats began to tire.
Luckily, the family had gotten plenty of rest the previous night, and still felt the raging desire to defend their home. The leader gave a sudden hiss of pain as his underbelly was clawed. He fell, and Nightfall leapt upon him with sudden agility, clawing at his throat. The tom made a horrific gurgling sound before his eyes glazed over, and blood trickled from his abundant wounds.
The two remaining rogues retreated, their thudding pawsteps fading slowly away. Nightfall pursued them, still yowling in raging anger. Ginger and Moon stood, soaked in blood, gasping heaving breaths. Hunched over, still with firey hatred burning in the depths of their eyes. Their pupils unglazing from the adrenaline of battle, they both asked themselves the same question: "Where's Ruby..?" Neither could answer. Slowly turning, they saw Ruby's body lying on the ground, almost perfectly still.
Ginger, stunned, stood in silent awe with her jaws slightly parted, and her pupils little slits as she stared at her dying daughter. Moon immediately ran towards her sibling, repeatedly murmuring, "No, no, you can't.. Please.. Don-Don't go.." and other things of the sort. Nightfall, upon losing the rogues, proudly trotted back, only to stop dead in his tracks as he saw his bleeding sister. Bolting over to crouch beside Moon, he stared frantically at Ruby. Ruby's life was ebbing away quickly. The four cats teared up as Ruby murmured, "Avenge... Dad..." before her eyes glazed over, and her body fell limp down to the concrete ground. Ginger had walked over in time to hear Ruby's haunting final words, and, along with her two remaining kits, buried her nose in the fur of the cooling body.
Nightfall buried Ruby and the two rogues later that day. The trio was determined to comply with Ruby's words in her final moments - to avenge their deceased father and mate.
[Time Lapse]
Ginger detected a surprisingly fresh scent. She called Nightfall and Moon over, and they shared a single glance before entering the dark alleyway before them. The cave-like alleyway seemed to connect to a system that the three had become to know well over the past three years. Each cat all had a look on their faces that described the same phrase, "It's time." Stepping into the unwelcoming alleyway was like entering a new world of closed ceilings, unexpected puddles, and a constant stench of rotting Human garbage. "Well, well, well. You finally decided to show up?" a voice echoed down the dank cave.
"Who's there?" Moon called, whipping around in search of the owner of the voice. Her brother and mother did the same. "I thought you would have come sooner," the disembodied voice continued, ignoring the three cats' sharp retorts. "Well, hey, at least you didn't miss the party!" it finished. Suddenly, dark, indistinguishable figures appeared at random, quickly overtaking the unexpecting cats.
The trio awoke in a dark, gloomy atmosphere that smelled indescribably unpleasant. "You've all woken up? Great!" the voice boomed. The three started, jumping up in surprise. "We're enthusiastic, aren't we?" the voice mocked. The eerie shadows reappeared, and once again proceeded to enclose on the cats.
"You see, you all can be free soon. I honestly don't care about you or your family. The only reason I killed that foolish tom-" he was cut off by Ginger, who growled at the mention of her mate's murder "-was to lure you three here. The thing I DO care about is having a true living being to represent our kind in the real world."
"Your kind?" Moon asked, fur bristling. "Well, you see these shadows that brought you here?" the unidentified voice questioned matter-of-factly. No one answered, but more fur rose upon the spines of the enclosed cats. "They're dead," he stated bluntly, laughing amuseldy when he saw the cats's reactions. Stunned, they stared back up at him dumbly.
The three allowed him to enter backstory mode, therefore educating them on what was happening, and why. "Well, we began long ago when the first dead cat held enough hate for a living cat that they literally came back to haunt them from the dead," he began. "For the longest time, we never revealed ourselves. Until now. You may be wondering why. Well, I've already told you. We need a living soul to help carry out our deeds for us. One of you seems to hold the potential for doing just that."
Two cats continued to stare up at him with wide eyes. "Step forward now, and you'll receive no punishment," the voice finished. A mottled, battle-scarred tom suddenly appeared from behind a trash can, overflowing with Human waste. Only a single one of the three had not said a word, staring at their paws as everything was explained to them. Nightfall murmured a quiet, "I'm sorry," before stepping towards the strange cat.
The tom let out a little laugh as he seemed to walk right into Nightfall. Nightfall's eyes begged for forgiveness as they gradually began to blacken. The she-cats stared, mortified, at the scene unfolding in front of them. Nightfall mouthed the words, "Forgive me," before he was no more. "Hello, my family," the tom spat out the words as if they were curses. "Nightfall has taken a lovely little trip away for a while," the tom continued, a malignant smile forming on his lips.
Moon's eyes blazed as she stared at the tom. Snapping from her stunned trance, she leapt for the gray tom with a vengeance. The tom simply raised a paw, whose claws were extended to their full length. Time slowed down for Ginger; she'd lost enough kits already, and wasn't prepared to let them all go. Without second thought, she launched herself into the tom's claws, blocking the blow.
Moon thudded into her mother's back, hitting the uneven floor uninjured. Ginger, meanwhile, had been struck in her throat, and collapsed onto the asphalt. Blood poured from the wound on her neck, and her vision was already fading. "Mom!" Moon screeched, staring in shock at the cat who had just saved her life.
Ginger squeaked, "I love you, my daughter.. Run," before her gaze became vacant, and her eyes glossed over.
Moon, with tears in her eyes, turned, and dashed from the alleyway at full speed, barely noticing the wolf she ran directly into. Yelping, the stricken she-cat scrambled from the wolf who seemed to be just as surprised as Moon was. The long-furred she-cat bolted, streaking between Human legs to escspe the wolf pup, at one point almost getting crushed by an oncoming Human machine. The concrete tore at her pads, stripping away at the tender skin. She cried out, hoping some cat would help her. Not knowing the wolf's intentions was nerve racking.
The determined wolf pup left her mind as a Human hand reached down suddenly, and grabbed her scruff. Biting did no good as she was roughly pushed into a splinter-infested wooden crate. All went black as a final feeble cry escaped the narrowing opening.
As she laid in the dark space, Moon curled up and cried. It wasn't fair. None of it was. "Life isn't fair," a cruelly familiar voice echoed in her head. "Nightfall?!" the gray and white she-cat called aloud. "Nightfall died with Ginger. I am simply named Gray. And I will cause your living hell until you give in to us," Gray finished, finally revealing his name. "Oh, and we'll give you somewhat of a chance. We're not unfair demons," he added. Moon suddenly felt power surge through her abused body, and received the knowledge, presumably from Gray, that she had ice and healing powers, and could call upon wings of ice to form at any time. When angered, her right eye would turn into a blue slit, and her right paw would burst into blue flame, enabling her to use these powers. "Gee, thanks," the tormented cat replied to her sudden soft treatment with a sarcastic remark.
The crate was abruptly thrust open. It was roughly midnight, and she was dumped into a cage in.. was this a zoo?! The injured she-cat gasped in pain as her already torn shoulder was slammed against the cold floor of the cage. Moon looked around, abruptly realizing she wasn't alone.