The ground shuddered.

Yes, it did, oh how it did; creaking and splintering and all things terrible; crevasses scarring the moor and the forest and the ground. From the lake, water flooded into the cracks and way past banks, while it's counterpart, the sky, rumbled and boomed with thunder, lightning racing up and down, faster and faster, closer and closer, rain pounding down. The rippling, smoky gray storm clouds marched across the sky, swirling in an abysmal storm.

Down, in the moor, in a hollow surrounded by stones, laid the WindClan camp, where cats were rushing out of dens, paws beating the trodden-down ground, eyes wide in terror.

And in this camp was a feather.

"Cloudstar!" a yowl cut across the sky, barely heard amidst the chaos. A small and slim yet fluffy she-cat turned, her black, gray, gray-blue and white-patched fur slicked down. Even though her small size and rather delicate looking frame, she had the authority and lean muscles showed from under her fur.

The speaker, and sleek and definitely WindClan-built golden tabby tom, stood near the entrance where he had been ushering the clan out.

Cloudstar tipped her head at her deputy. "What?"

"Where should we go?"

She had hesitated for the slightest moment before quickly shooting out Moonpool.

She then turned to three kits-her kits-who were huddled on the ground with two other kits.

One of her kits was a large, sleek, skinny golden mackerel tabby tom with large pricked ears and wide amber eyes. Beside him was his younger sister, a small and delicate she-kit with slate gray and black patches and terrified pale green eyes that held a hint of blue. The last kit was the oldest. She was a large and strong looking yet beautiful and skinny silver mackerel tabby she-kit, with an extremely smooth and sleek pelt, long legs, tail and body, large pricked ears, long wet whiskers and striking ice-blue eyes.

The two other kits, who were only a couple of days older than the three littermates, were a golden and white tom with his eyes screwed shut in terror and a small and skinny blue-gray she-kit standing up straight and with calm, clear sky-blue eyes.

The silver tabby she-kit, Rainkit looking across the camp, not really paying attention the fleeing cats, her brother Lightningkit and sister Poolkit, noticed that feather mentioned earlier.

And the extremely young kit started to totter towards it.

Away from her mother, Cloudstar, away from her littermates, away from her close friend Bluekit and her brother Swiftkit. Away from safety.

Towards a wall of flames.

"Cloudstar?" a voice startled the she-cat and she looked at her mate, a slender pale gold and white tom with clear, pale green eyes. He stared at her, and then said in barely a whisper, "where's Rainkit?"

Cloudstar's breath hitched in her throat as slowly looked towards where her eldest kit and daughter was tottering towards the soft, beautiful light brown feather.

A scream escaped from her lips, making cats jerk their heads towards her. The golden tabby deputy, Breezepelt, followed her gaze. Bunching his hunches, he leaped across the ground and tried to reach Rainkit, but to no avail as he skidded to a halt, the merciless flames sped in front of him. Attempting to try what her deputy could not do, Cloudstar threw herself at the flames with a wail, only to body slammed by her mate.

"No," he growled. "I'll get her."

"Morningdew-" Cloudstar started only to have the words wither in her throat as the fire engulfed the shrieking Rainkit.

"No," she whimpered, her breath ragged. "No."

She slumped to the ground and the lightning subsided a tiny bit and the rain poured down even harder. Howls of horror reverberated among the stricken camp, adding to the cacophony.

"Rainkit…?" mewled her brother, where he was trembling on the wet, shaking ground.

Beside him, still standing up straight, the blue-gray she-kit with a black head and those deep pools for eyes, Bluekit, cocked her head towards the fire, where no one could bear to look. Her ears pricked in surprise.

Poolkit followed her gaze, eyes widening even more.

The flames were dying down in one section, revealing a silver tabby she-kit.

A living tabby she-kit, to be precise.

"Mama!" she gasped in her tiny kit voice. "Look!"

Cloudstar wearily raised her head, eyes widening so far you could see the whites of them easily, and the next moment she was racing through the gap in the fire, ignoring the burning heat of the flames, and snatched up her daughter before lunging back into the safe part of camp. Collapsing to the muddy ground, she covered Rainkit in kits as cats let out exclamations of amazement and relief.

"How is this possible?" whispered Breezepelt, as cats once again filed out of camp.

Rainkit, in her mother's grasp, looked up at the storming sky, and whispered in a low voice, "I'm okay."

A hiss, so quiet only she could hear, rang through her ears.

"The Roar will sound, the frost will bite.

The world will crumble and be saved by the light.

And in from the storm will come the fire of rain, to stop the fight."