((Well, my old computer completely died and for some reason, the original version of this story did as well. So here it is, rewritten...))
"Aren't they beautiful?" asked the snow-white she cat. Her lithe body was curled around three small kits who wriggled about and cried. A dark ginger male padded over and looked over the she-cats shoulder. A hint of confusion glistened in his jade eyes. He said nothing, but lay down behind her, placing his chin onto her rib cage. The white female turned her head around to look at her mate. "Aren't they, Firefury?" she repeated with a slight edge to her graceful voice. The red male glanced down at the three small creatures. His noes twitched slightly, as if to show his discomfort.
The white female turned away from her mate with a snort. The three kits writhed about, searching for milk. "What shall we name them...?" she asked, mostly to herself. The tom grunted and stood.
"That," came his deep voice as he stalked off, "is entirely up to you." The she-cat's eyes followed his, then returned to the little bundles at her chest.
The brush was silent as a small white figure padded through. His snout parted the leaves ever so slowly. His target: a small, red kitten, her flanks rising and falling with sleep. With a quick flick of his hind legs, he was in the air, and he landed heavly onto his sister. The red kit let out a shriek and writhed about under his stronger paws. "Leave me alone, Icekit!" she wailed. Her back claws dug wildly into the air, missing the young tom by inches.
"That's enough, both of you" snarled Firefury. He picked the white kitten up by the scruff and tossed him aside. The white tom began to snicker.
"It's not my fault if Bloodkit can't defend herself," he replied, but a hiss from the older tom silenced him.
A small ginger tom nudged Bloodkit, helping her stand. She shook him off. "I'm fine, Firekit," she hissed. He said nothing in reply.
The white female padded up behind her mate, dropping her paw between him and the three kittens. "You," she whispered to her mate. "Come with me."
The ginger tom followed his mate's white tail as she climbed into the brush, just out of earshot of the three kits. Firefurytired his best to follow close, but she slid so easily between the leaves that he could hardly see her white form. But he knew where she was going. Emerging into the clearing, he saw his mate sitting atop a small stump. Her head was bowed and her teeth were parted slightly. She turned to him as he entered and softly hissed, "What are we going to do?"
Firefury's chest rumbled. "What /you/ are going to do is trust me. There is no reason for you to stay in the forest." He padded around her, his eyes avoiding her entirely. "It's my duty to keep you safe at any cost." He paused. "Which is why you are going to find the remaining clan cats." He glanced at her. Her head was down again, as if she were counting the rings of the stump.
"Snowshimmer?" the red tom whispered, an unusual weakness to his voice.
Snowshimmer sighed. She didn't want to leave the land she was born on and that her clan had died on. Silence held the two cats for a few moments before the she-cat broke. "You are right, Firefury" she whispered "If thing aren't better by next moon..." She was cut off by the sharp bark of a dog. The two cats held completely still. The barking grew, before fading away into the night. Firefury looked at the white she-cat, but her aqua eyes held no fear. She looked at her mate and said sternly, "We should get back to the kits."
Watched her disappear into the brush. Only then did he sit in the dirt and sigh. In the moonlight, his age showed through silver hairs on his snout. "How could this happen?" he whispered. "How could I let this happen?" But the forest offered no reply...