I don't know if anyone will read this, but this is a prequel of sorts to

Leaves in the Wind and Fading Light, meaning that it happened before those two stories.

It won't be a happy story, either.

. . .

Prologue

Darkstar raised his head to the sky, sniffing curiously.

He could smell something crisp and cool in the evening wind.

It would rain soon.

A large, smug smirk covered his lips, and he silently swept his gaze over the camp.

He was sure everyone was asleep, but at that time, he couldn't care less.

They would wake up soon, they had to.

. . .

The little kit stared at his Mother's back in dismay.

He was sure that she was sneering, but by this point, he couldn't care less.

He knew it was a mistake when he called after her, as it was a mistake when he padded after her on tiny, unsteady feet.

He was tiny, half-starved, and without his Mother, he would die out here in the wilderness.

"M-Mother...!"

She froze, her back going stiff.

When he continued to call after her, he knew that he had made a grave mistake.

She swiftly dropped whatever she was holding, the thing hitting the ground with a soft whimper, and turned toward him faster than he could blink.

"What do you want?!" she hissed lividly.

He gazed back at her with wide eyes, taking in her snarl and her livid eyes.

Not for the first time, he felt afraid.

He looked at her almost shyly, mewing timidly, "W-Where are you going?"

Her snarl deepened, and she spat, "Away from you!"

And she advanced on him, her paw raised to strike.

He was confused, sure his Mother wouldn't hurt him, right?

When she still approached, he murmured, "W-What are you g-going to do?"

"What I should have a done a moon ago when I found that I was expecting kits!" she mewed, and she almost sounded mad with the way her words were going.

Instinctively, he flinched, his falling onto his back, his paws covering his face protectively.

It was the wrong thing to do.

His instincts only served to make her angrier.

She snarled, raising her paw into the air, and he panicked.

"Why would you hurt me?!" he wailed, piercing her with huge amber and green eyes. "Don't you love me?!"

This also appeared to be a mistake.

"Stupid kit!" she hissed. "Nobody will ever love you."

And then her paw descended.

He saw the blow first, but a moment later, he felt unbelievable pain explode on his face.

He whimpered, holding a paw to his face.

Why would his Mother hurt him? Didn't she love him?

"Let this be a lesson to you!"

And then she was gone.

He stayed there on the ground, feeling stunned, still holding a paw to his bleeding face.

Something mewled pitifully.

His eyes followed the sound, and he saw a tiny lump a few tail-lengths away stir.

It was the lump that his Mother- no, that cat dropped.

His face was stinging and thobbing horribly, and he constantly had to blink away blood from his left eye.

He still dragged his body over there anyway.

The scrap of fur blinked bright, vivid green and blue eyes.

"Are you my brother?" it whispered, looking up at him with hopeful eyes.

The little kit knew that the scrap was his brother, and despite being only a moon old, he remembered another.

A little she-kit with the sweetest smile and laugh.

Their sister.

And despite the enormous pain and betrayal in his heart, he bent down and licked his brother reassuringly, tears streaming down his face.

"It's okay," he sobbed. "Everything's going to be okay."

But it wasn't.

And it never would be.

. . .

Darkstar growled in displeasure, shaking out his thick, dark tabby pelt.

Shaking it out did nothing.

The rain still came, and with the rain came cold, chilly wind that soaked him to the bone.

At least the patrol would be finished soon, he reminded himself.

But he was ShadowClan's mighty leader, and he couldn't show weakness.

Not to his damned apprentice, anyway.

His deputy, Grayclaw, suddenly appeared in front of him, and Darkstar growled, feeling the noise rumble in his chest.

"What?! he hissed.

Grayclaw shuffled somewhat timidly, and ut struck Darkstar then how weak his deputy appeared.

Why did he even choose Grayclaw as his deputy?

He didn't remember.

Oh wait, Darkstar thought with a vicious smirk, he was the only choice I had. The others were too soft, too weak.

"I thought I heard somrthing," the ShadowClan deputy explained nervously. "It sounded like the crying of a kit."

"Oh?" Darkstar regarded his deputy with new interest. "Kits, you say?"

Grayclaw nodded, casting his eyes about fearfully.

Darkstar felt a chuckle rumble in his chest at the sight of the terrified ShadowClan deputy.

It really was too easy to scare his Clan into submission, it seemed.

"Take me to them," he ordered.

Grayclaw did as he asked.

When they arrived, it was near the Thunderpath, and by then, the rain was already starting to clear, the clouds giving way to a bright, near-full moon.

There were two kits slumped on the ground, thin to the bone and shivering with the cold.

Darkstar padded toward them, and it appeared as if they were just beginning to wake up.

The largest one- a kit with patchy grey fur, eyed him in distrust, and he huddled closer to his younger sibling.

Dried blood matted the fur on his face, standing out drastically.

"Who are you?!" the kit, being mindful of his brother.

"Me?" Darkstar returned smoothly. "My name is Darkstar."

The kit's amber and green eyes swam with wariness and distrust, and he backed away as the ShadowClan leader approached him.

"What's your name?" Darkstar asked in his kindest voice.

"I don't know," the kit shifted, continuing, "my Mother never gave me a name."

Darkstar glanced at the sky.

The moon was covered by a wisp of dark cloud.

That wasn't a good sign.

"What about your Father?"

"I don't know, Mother said that he didn't want us."

"Well," Darkstar mewed, "what your Mother wants doesn't matter right now. I want you, and you will come home with me."

"You're our Father?!" the kit demanded.

Darkstar smirked, as it really wasn't the case.

The kits wouldn't need to know.

"Yes," he murmured. "I'm your Father, Darkstar. And you are my sons."

"What's my name then?"

Darkstar didn't really look at the kit as he answered, "Your name is Shroudkit, from the clouds covering the moon. And your brother is Stormkit, from the savage storm that ravaged the area."

Shroudkit and Stormkit.

Like storms and clouds.

Yes, Darkstar decided, it suited them rather well.