PROLOGUE
The black she-cat slinked through the undergrowth, the thorns dragging satisfyingly against her pelt, which glimmered in the moonlight. Silent as a ghost, she placed each paw lightly on the ground.
She wasn't going to be caught; she wasn't doing anything wrong. No, she was doing as she always liked to, to be out of sight, to hide in the shadows.
The shadows around her enveloped her like a nest of soft moss, washing over her pelt and becoming a second pelt. The she-cat breathed out softly, but a noise made her piercing blue eyes snap towards the sound.
Dropping so that her belly fur was against the grass, she moved forward, muscles rippling under her pelt after many moons of fighting and travelling. Her ears flicked back and forth, angling towards every tiny sound.
She wasn't afraid. Real, strong cats didn't show fear. This she-cat definitely didn't show fear, and she wasn't going to let sounds scare her. Instead, she was investigating, her blue eyes narrowed in concentration, not making a sound as she moved forward.
Finally, she reached the bush, bathed in darkness, where the noise was coming from. She stayed low to the ground, kept her eyes fixed on the bush. She knew that there was a cat in there - she could smell him.
"Come out, furball." The pretty she-cat hissed, straightening up as the bush rustled. Her eyes glinted as she waited for the cat, whoever he was, to step out.
She waited. The cat didn't come out. Growing impatient, she smirked. "Or are you a coward? I can tell you're from one of your precious Clans - I thought 'Warriors' are meant to be brave?"
The bush parted and a tom stepped out. Her jaws almost dropped. The tom was a dark tabby, muscles rippling beneath his tabby pelt, and ice-blue eyes glimmering at her. She composed herself immediately.
"Okay, she-cat." The tom stared down at her, towering above her slight form. "Firstly, I am not a Clan cat, and secondly, I am busy, so get lost, rogue."
The black she-cat let out a hiss, furious with the handsome tom's rudeness. "I am not a rogue." She fought to stay calm, fought to keep her claws sheathed and not score them down the tom's face.
"If your not a rogue, then what are you?" The tom countered, curious. The she-cat flicked her tail.
"None of your business." An idea formed in her mind. "If you are not a Warrior, then what are you?"
"A dead one." The tom replied calmly, his eyes glinting as moonlight reflected in them. The she-cat tilted her head to the side.
"Dead, eh?" She mewed, sitting down on her haunches and drawing a paw across her ears. "Well, you look alive to me. Aren't you meant to be up there?" She nodded towards the stars. "With, uh, that Starclan?"
"No." The tom was staring intently at her, curiosity burning his pelt. The she-cat was a smart one. He would call her brave, as well. She did, after all, speak to him. "I come from somewhere much, much different."
The she-cat gazed back at him with her blue eyes and snorted. "And what's this special business you're yapping about?" She smirks, shaking her head. "To remove fleas and ticks from your pelt?"
The tabby glared at her, his eyes like stones. Angry stones. "You've got quite a mouth, haven't you, she-cat?"
"Well thank you." The she-cat's eyes glinted with playfulness. "This was fun and all, but I have my own special mission to attend to, if you like."
"What is it?" The tom pricked his ears, interested. He watched as the she-cat frowned, her face one of concentration.
"Just visiting the Clans." She mewed and her eyes sparkled. "I'm sure that ThunderClan, or whatever, will appreciate a visit from an… old friend."
"Old friend?" The tom leant forward, and was almost immediately shot an angry look from the pretty but snappy she-cat.
"From a long, long time ago." The she-cat replied. "But I wasn't born then, let alone you." She added.
The she-cat stood and began padding away, before the tom called her again. She looked over her shoulder and swished her tail, anxious to be on her way.
"What's your name?" The tom asked, glancing around, seeming as if he wanted to be going as well.
"You first." The she-cat suggested. The tom shrugged and flicked his ears, tail tip flicking from side to side.
"Hawkfrost." He told her and tilted his head, confused, as a smile formed on her lips. She turned back to where she was heading, before replying.
"Do you really want to know?" She asked in a voice so smooth, like silk, that it almost made Hawkfrost fall over.
"Of course." He replied, puzzled as to why she was suddenly all so mysterious and, then he noticed, she was bathed in shadows, and he could only see the blue of one of her eyes in the dark.
"Well, you'll have to find me." The she-cat declared, before diving deeper into the shadows, leaving the tom alone in the dark.
