Prologue

Rain fell outside, steadily and heavily. I could see the lightning flash through my eyes, and I curled up tighter around my kits. Thunder roared, making me flatten my ears.

The rumbling never stopped. Was it really thunder? I've never heard thunder this strange before. Why was it getting louder, like it was rushing at me?

Then it happened, so suddenly that I felt my heart skip a beat. Water surged into the den, filling it up, blinding me and trickling into my nose and mouth. Panic rising in my heart, I thrashed out blindly and hit something hard.

It seemed ages later until my head finally broke out of the water. I drew in a deep, shuddering breath and splashed blindly until my paws hooked onto something.

I pulled myself closer to whatever it was and blinked my eyes clear of water, raising my head weakly. What I saw widened my eyes to their limit.

Water, raging and splashing, flowed almost endlessly from the direction of the river. Bits of wood and leaves flew by me. Almost all of the dens were completely submerged, and I was clinging onto the warriors' den, which was high on the back wall of the camp.

Jaws clamped themselves softly onto the scruff of my neck and lifted me out of the water. Surprised, I looked up as I steadied myself, and saw that it was my mate, Foxfoot, who'd helped me up. I thanked him and turned to watch as the water surged higher and higher. It looked like everyone was out...everyone...

Wait a second. My kits...they didn't seem to be here. I turned to look at the nursery, seeing a flash of dark ginger, and I gasped - Blazekit was clinging onto a small piece of wood, and I watched, stunned, as the wood hit the side of a den and spilt - Blazekit slipped, mewling, under the water.

"Roseleaf, we'd better leave - Roseleaf? What are you doing?"

I'd jumped into the water, swimming frantically against the currents to where Blazekit was, and dove under.

I saw a small, dark shape and I instantly reached out to grab it with my paws - but the texture wasn't right, this wasn't Blazekit, but a piece of driftwood!

Desperate now, I felt along the sides of the submerged den. My paws immediately found my kit, and I clamped my jaws around the motionless figure, and pushed up, my lungs and muscles screaming.

"Foxfoot!" I tried my best to call to him, but my meow was weak and strained. He saw me anyways, and quickly reached out to grab Blazekit. I grabbed onto the den top, which was now half submerged.

"Foxfoot," I panted. "Stay here and get the kits when I come up with them."

"But you're tired, and...Roseleaf..." I saw the fear and caring in his eyes. He was scared I wouldn't return, scared that nothing would go back to what it was.

"Trust me, please." I stretched up and gently touched my nose to his, and dove back under the water.

My kits would be near the nursery. I paddled forward, straining to see in the dark, surging water. It felt as if ten moons had passed before I'd finally managed to struggle to the nursery. My head broke through the surface of the sloshing water, drawing in rattling gasps of air and water.

A faint mewling reached my ears, and I turned in the water.

Nightkit and Ripplekit were safe, as far as I could see. They were trapped on a large, thick log, which was lodged firmly between two trees. Ripplekit was unmoving on the log, her tail and leg soaked in red, so unnatural and ugly against the silvery blue of her fur. Night was holding onto his sister, large golden eyes filled with fear.

I rode the current to the log and sank my claws deep into the soggy bark. Nightkit turned to me and stopped wailing, but the fear didn't leave his eyes.

"Nightkit, take your sister over here! Mother is going to take you to safety." I tried to give him a friendly smile, but it felt too forced on my face, and it ended up being a bitter grimace.

But the little kit obeyed, dragging his sister to me. I tried to ignore the scent of blood on Ripplekit, and picked my kits up by their scruffs, and paddled as hard as I possibly could to the warriors' den, where Foxfoot was waiting anxiously, reaching out already to take the kits.

Just a little further, I kept repeating tiredly in my head. Just a little further, and my kits will be safe. I'll have Fernwhisper take a look at Ripplekit's injuries, and everything will be fine.

With my last ounce of strength, I pushed myself forward and handed the kits to Foxfoot, who placed them next to him and quickly grabbed me, hauling me up onto the den, which was submerged completely by now.

"You were so brave! I was so worried there. Don't ever do something like that again." My mate kept licking me, the fear in his voice fresh.

I purred. "I won't, Foxfoot. You have my word." I reached up to touch his nose, but he suddenly froze, rock still.

"Roseleaf! Behind you!" Foxfoot screamed, trying to get me to move. I turned around, and saw - a huge wave of water, surging toward us. I tried to move, to run, to escape, but my legs were tired, and wouldn't obey me.

"Take the kits, hurry!" I screeched, shoving them to their father. "Run, run!"

"What about you?" Foxfoot cried, scooping the kits up in his jaws. "I can't leave you here! I won't!"

"I'll be fine. Foxfoot...as a favor, please take care of our kits." I smiled at him. "Watch them grow into big, strong adults."

The water surged around me, and I turned to look at Foxfoot one last time.

"Thank you," I whispered, and the water pulled me into its depths. My mate wore a mask of horror.

"ROSELEAF!"


A/N: I apologize for any grammatical or spelling errors in this. I'd had this idea stuck in my head since yesterday and I had to write it. I hope you enjoyed, if so, please leave a review, even if it's what to improve on. Reviews, favs, and follows encourage me to write and lessens the chance of my fanfic dying (due to procrastination).

Thank you for reading!