CHAPTER ONE:
ENTER A DESTINY
"Misti?"
"Scourge!"
"Is everything alright, darling?"
Misti, a skinny, light gray she-cat with light blue eyes looked at Scourge. Smaller than herself, the black cat with the famed dog-teeth collar gazed at her with a flicker of something in his eye that no one, not even his wayward brother and sister, had seen: love.
She purred softly, touching his nose gently. "Everything's fine."
Scourge's eyes hardened again, putting on the mask he so often wore. "Why are you out here? Get back in the den. The kits are due any moment!" A growl crept along the edge of his voice, weaving in and out of his words, giving them a threatening meaning.
"They aren't coming."
Scourge bristled. "How do you know?"
Misti laughed, undaunted by Scourge's threatening manner that had other cats cowering. "Because I'm a she-cat and I know such things."
Growling, Scourge attempted to herd her back into the alley where Bloodclan lived. Misti laughed again. "Isn't it beautiful?"
Pausing, Scourge looked up. The sky, a blend of pinks, purples, yellows, and oranges of various shades were smeared across the horizon, the sun a ball of fire touching the treeline in the distance. Clouds, stained various hues by the sunset, drifted lazily in the final rays of the setting sun. They sat on a white fence overlooking a small but well-kept garden, the alley some distance away.
When the sun completed it's descent into oblivion and the full moon was rising nonchalantly, Scourge gently guided Misti away from the twoleg-place, and back to the dumpster that served as their den. Misti's swollen belly made the journey slow, but Scourge showed a tenderness that had long since been buried deep down since the time when he was called Tiny (a name he had only told to his mate). Long, skinny tail draped over her shoulders, Scourge led her underneath the stinking dumpster.
Misti sighed contentedly, settling in for a long nap, the bones on her purple collar pressed against the rough concrete. Scourge, who's collar was a shade darker and had twice as many bones, curled against her, and listened to her deep breathing as she drifted into the land of dreams.
He liked to pretend (although he'd never admit it to anyone, not even Misti) that he could hear the heartbeats of the little kits Misti carried inside her belly.
Hello, little kits. It's a big, scary world out here. You will probably be afraid. But don't worry, you're my kits. No one can harm you. You will be feared by all of Bloodclan, all of the dogs that roam the streets, the soft kittypets with their twolegs, and above all, the forest cats. You will be strong someday. And one of you will lead Bloodclan when I grow too old and tired to hold it together. I'll see you.
And with that final thought, he curled up to sleep.
He was awoken by a yowl of alarm. "SCOURGE! Scourge, the kits!"
Scourge jolted awake, eyes adjusting to the darkness of midnight. Gasping, he went to his mate, who writhed in pain, eyes wide and glassy.
"They're coming," she hissed, closing her eyes in pain. She yowled again.
"Shh, don't worry!" he whispered soothingly. Bone, right on schedule, appeared beside him.
"Scourge, shall I get the prisoner?"
"Yes, yes hurry!"
Bone took off, yowling orders at the other cats. He returned moments later with a terrified cat. A tortoiseshell, she glared at the Bloodclan leader.
Suppressing the terror he felt, Scourge gestured at his mate. "Deliver the kits, Leafwhisker."
The Shadowclan medicine cat stood there, torn between conflicting thoughts.
"If I do, I get to return to my clan?"
Scourge put on a mask of fake hurt. "Of course. We may be savages, be we are honorable." Leafwhisker hesitated a moment longer, but he, too, was an honorable cat, raised in the Clans. Always help a cat or kit in need.
He got to work quickly, placing a stick in Misti's mouth. Running his paws along her swollen belly, he spoke quietly to the Bloodclan queen.
"When I say push, push."
Misti nodded, eyes glassy.
"PUSH!" With a caterwaul, Misty pushed. Her body tensed, and her teeth gripped the stick tightly. A bundle of fur slipped out, wet and small. Completely black save for a gray paw, he was almost a spitting image of Scourge himself.
The second kit slid out. A sand-colored kit, with darker marks on her paws and tail.
"Lick," Leafwhisker ordered, giving him the first kit. Leafwhisker licked the other kit roughly to warm it, then gave it to Misti, who was barely paying attention.
Scourge growled, not liking the tone Leafwhisker used with him. However, he licked the little black kit, setting it by the other one.
A shudder passed through Misti's body, and the third kit slipped out. A light gray like Misti, with white paws and tail. Leafwhisker licked this one, placing it once again by Misti and the others.
The fourth kit soon followed, a tom like the first and third one, but was a ginger color with darker flecs thrown in. Repeating the licking and placing process, Leafwhisker praised Misti.
Misti smiled at Scourge and their kits, three toms and a she-cat.
"Scou-" she began. With an almighty shudder, she bit down on the stick hard.
"Misti? Misti!" Scourge looked at his mate with wide eyes, fearing what was happening next.
She pushed, heaving, taking large gulps of air. Her eyes were bigger than ever before, and she yowled. A bundle of dark gray fur with white markings peeked out. With a yowl, Misti pushed like never before. The kit slipped out, and the tail-width stick, sturdy as it was, snapped in two pieces. Misti screeched in pain, throwing her head back and caterwauling.
On the other side of the town, a ginger tom was playing in his yard. He cocked his ears, hearing the noise. Green eyes sparkling, he went back to his game.
Gwyn, daughter of the feared and respected leader of Bloodclan, Scourge, knows she's destined for great things. However, "great" doesn't necessarily mean "good". Her siblings, Crow, Venus, Bruce, and Thorn, don't notice, but Gwyn's slowly slipping into the limbo world between right and wrong. But what do you do when everyone you know and love are on different sides of an impending war?