The air was quiet and unmoving, bringing an eerie silence with the warm colored dusk. There was barely a sliver of sun left above the horizon, which cast everything in long, mysterious shadows. It was getting cooler, sending chills through the cats fur who were seated in the shadow of a grouping of trees, their tense bodies unmoving. All except one.
He paced up and down, his tail slowly waving back and forth and powerful muscles showing through his dark black fur. He was the only cat who seemed the least bit relaxed. Finally, the massive tom was still. He sat in front of four young cats, with two cats on his right and another on his left. They were almost as big as him. He had dark yellow eyes; they looked as cold and hard as rocks. His intense gaze travelled to each of the smaller cat's faces. They did not flinch, but one slightly trembled.
Finally, he spoke.
"As you now know, your training is finished. I expect for you to provide me with your abilities as the ones before you have. We all know the consequences if you do not..." His deep voice trailed off, and a strange look of darkness appeared inside of his eyes. One of the cats sitting beside him twitched its tail, almost excitedly.
"Your first task is coming up quickly. I know you are all prepared, so I will expect nothing less than perfect from you. All of you." The last three words were spoken with ferocity one of the smaller cats flinched, the same one that had been trembling moments before. The large cat's gleaming eyes focused directly on him. He growled, but then a smirk was pulling at the corners of his mouth.
"Why, thank you for reminding me," he drawled. "I knew there was another matter that needed addressing." The smaller cat looked terrified. He had a dark tabby coat and large, frightened hazel eyes that were darting about nervously. The black tom shot forward and gripped the tabby's scruff in his teeth. He pulled the smaller cat farther into the trees, past a few bushes and ferns. The remaining cats could hear the dragging of the tabby's body across the forest floor grow softer, until it was as quiet as a whisper.
They were all still, the only sound was their soft breathing. The smallest cat of the three left, a black she-cat, pricked her ears as a piercing screech echoed through the empty air. Her eyes widened in horror.
Only moments later, the black cat returned alone. There was blood staining his paws.
"Your first task begins now," he said, and the three young cats rose and and trotted away in opposite directions.
His only watched one of the cats leave, his eyes twisted in a sick, desperate longing.