Prologue

A small black figure was the only movement anywhere in the piles of rubbish that surrounded the dim, musky air. It maneuvered over overturned and demolished monsters and large shiny sticks that lacerated the dry, lifeless ground with endurance and a certain flair in determination in their step. It knew where it wanted to go.

The sun submerged beneath the horizon as the cat, a tom, picked his way through the wreckage. The stench made him want to gag, but he kept going, stupidly determined to get to his destination. He had a message to send, and he knew to whom he wanted to send it.

At last, he arrived at the place he was trying to get to: a small clearing amid the piles and piles of garbage. In it, he found a she-cat, reasonably sized for her age, curled around two kits, one mottled with cream and bracken-stained fur and the other with intense black fur, as if he had been pulled from a pile of soot.

He picked his way down to the group, making sure he didn't fall. He held his breath until he was besides the small family. He sat down and curled his tail over his paws, waiting for the sign he had been informed to look for.

At last, after a couple of tense moments, he saw a flicker under the she-cat's belly. The black kit, a tom as he saw, had shifted in his position, his legs kicking out behind him and his tiny ears shooting skyward. The tom felt his breath hitch and his nerves prick sharply. He was nervous, no doubt about that, even though he was usually confident in deliverance of messages. But this cat felt...special, something he didn't usually pick up on right away. The aura around him give him a feeling he knew was dangerous when doing these tasks. He was familiar.

Oh yes, familiarity was only something that raised the stakes of his job. He'd rather not have to deal with it at all.

He got his thoughts straight. He had a job to do. Quietly, he leaned down and pressed his muzzle against the top of the kit's head, his breath tickling the kit's ears. The kit stirred, but did not wake, like he had been told.

"Hello, young kit," said the tom quietly, reciting his message to perfection. "Don't be scared. I am not going to harm you. Just to give you a message." His eyes flickered between the she-kit and the other kit, who hadn't moved at all, before continuing, "You have been bestowed with a great power, one you will have to discover as you continue your life. Use it well, and allow it to help the world around you."

The tom felt his heart skip a beat as the kit's head emerged from his body. On his forehead, he saw a long scar-like line, a birthmark from the looks of it. He was breathing hard now, a noise that should have woken up the others. He knew this kit. More than that, he knew he was connected to this kit is a way that should have been impossible.

A protective feeling blossomed in his chest. He knew that he could not let this kit come to harm, even though this would likely not see the likes of him anymore. So, still deep in his nerves, he leaned down back to the kit and whispered one last thing.

"Stay safe, Raven. You may never see me, but I will be with you. Trust me."

He was forbidden to say the name to the recipients of his message, and what he said didn't really make sense in his head, but the urge of speech in his belly was relieved, and that would make the next part of his job less painful.

Sighing, he felt around the shelter where the cats were sleeping and found what he had been told to look for: a sharp pole filled with rust. Slowly, he removed the pole from the roof of the shelter and clamped it in his jaw. I really am a terrible cat, but he's gonna kill me if I don't do this part. Closing his eyes hard, he stabbed the pole into the she-cat's flank. The she-cat flinched and squirmed, obviously feeling the pain, but he did not stir from her slumber. Just as he had said. Still refusing to look, the tom drove the pole deeper and sliced a scar across the flank of the she-cat. Blood poured from the wound as it swelled from the cut, but the tom did not treat it.

He had been forbidden from it.

He tossed the pole to the side and spared a look at his work. The cut was bleeding profusely, and even if the blood stopped in time, the inevitable infection from the oxidation of the metal would finish her off. This she-cat would be dead in less than a day.

His job finished, he withdrew from the shelter and clambered back over a pile of rubbish to see a bracken-colored tom waiting patiently for him. Newfound rage pulsed in his body as the two toms went to greet each other.

"You lied to me," growled the black tom, his face contorted into a snarl. The bracken tom nonchalantly shrugged it off, "Funny. You're mad at me for one slip of the tongue yet you broke one of the only rules I told you that you couldn't break."

"Oh, that doesn't matter!" the black tom was walking briskly, keeping pace with the other despite his anger, "You said I would die if this happened! Don't think I forgot what you said." "I never assumed you would," said the other tom with eye contact, "In fact, I knew you would. Think about what you've just done. You know the events that would happen if you did what you did to anyone else, but do you see or feel anything resembling it now?" The black tom thought for a moment but didn't get to answer before the bracken-colored tom continued talking, "Exactly. I told you. With the power you have, everything you do is predetermined. It's one of the first things I told, and I know you haven't forgotten. Now, come. The sooner you return to your Clans, the better."

The black tom didn't make any more effort to argue anymore. He had just thought of something. Something about his power that he was confused he didn't figure out before. Something the other knew he was thinking and would try to stop. But he could not use it now. He knew that. Too many mistakes had forbidden it. But the kit he had visited could do it. Figure it out. Find a way to free him as well as himself.

As they turned left on a sidewalk, the tom prayed that the kit wouldn't make the same mistakes he did. Sure, it seemed hopeless because of the circumstances, but there was a chance. He had figured it out himself, after all.

As the thoughts swam in his head, the two toms turned and walked down an alley. However, though any cat can confirm they went down the alley, no one would ever see them emerge from the other side.

Hey everyone!

So this is my very first story using some of my own OC's! I tried to be as broad as I could since it's a prologue, and I've found that writing this is much more fun than I expected initially. I'm really excited to present this story!

And since I still have to figure out final allegiances, I am accepting OC's! feel free to submit them in the review section or PM them to me! I'll be glad to use them!

So yeah! Keep a lookout for the next chapter and, as always, may StarClan be with you!

~Res