The soft moonlight shined above the silent forest. Wind murmured through the leaves in the trees as two cats dashed swiftly across the forest floor. Not a twig cracked under their careful pawsteps. A she-cat's soft green eyes flashed in the darkness and in the she-cat's jaws was a small kit. She stepped into the moonlight; her snow-white fur sparkled like dewdrops.
The other tom followed her, barely visible, his pelt as black as night.
"Coalfur," the white queen murmured from the corner of her mouth as the kit squirmed feebly. "Are you sure about this? Won't Froststar come for you? Does she know?"
The night-black tom slowed down and set the kit he was holding down softly. His cold brown eyes narrowed as he hesitated to answer. "Yes," he meowed softly. "She knows."
The white she-cat bristled with shock, "Won't she come after you?"
Again, the tom paused. "Yes. She's probably sending her warriors after me right now, but I won't go back. I'm staying with you, Whiteflower! Not even StarClan can stop me."
Whiteflower put the little kit she was holding down on the fallen leaves. "Where will you go?"
"Where ever you go," Coalfur replied simply. Suddenly Coalfur stopped talking and picked up his kit by its scruff. With a flick of his tail Whiteflower realized a patrol was coming. She grasped her kit as softly as she could. It let out a defiant squeal. They bristled and turned around to run but a big dark brown tabby tom leaped in their path.
The ShadowClan stench poured off the large tom. Whiteflower's lip curled back in distaste. Coalfur put the kit down and stepped forward, putting himself in-between Whiteflower and their kits to face the newcomer. "What are you doing in ThunderClan territory, Rockclaw?"
The dark brown tom curled his lip over his stained yellow teeth and growled as fiercely as he could, "I wanted to ask you the same think but I already know the answer!" His icy blue eyes flicked from Whiteflower and back. He crouched down low to the ground and bristled.
"Don't take another step," Coalfur raised his head. "I can't beat you easily!"
"Coalfur?" A slender white she-cat with black patches padded forward, her eyes widen with disbelieve. Beside her three more cats stalked forward, surrounding the two cats. "I-I'm sorry." With a low growl she leaped onto the black tom. Coalfur gave a caterwaul and rolled onto his back, flatting the small she-cat.
The other two cats leaped onto Coalfur's exposed belly. Coalfur yowled and shrieked with pain as they ripped at his belly. Whiteflower slashed at the bigger cat making it recoil off her mate.
"No," Coalfur yowled as he slid his back paws under the other cat and flinged it off. "Get the kits out of here!"
Whiteflower struggled to back away but she grabbed her kit and ran. She would come back for the other as soon as the first born was safe. Coalfur fought on. The small white and black she-cat, terrified, ran away leaving Coalfur to face the other four warriors. "It didn't have to be this way," the sand furred tom spat. "If you listened to Froststar's orders the first time-"
"Froststar can eat deathberries for all I care!" Coalfur growled. If he kept talking it would give Whiteflower enough time to save the other kit. The sand furred tom slashed a turf of fur off of Coalfur's chest. He recoiled straight into the light ginger she-cat as she unbalanced him and pinned him to the ground. Rockclaw hovered over the pinned tom.
"Take him back to camp, I'll grab the kit." The two cats struggled with Coalfur as they dragged him away; Rockclaw watched them go as he looked at the black and white kit. "Poor scrap," he murmur as he picked it up and padded off to follow his other warriors.
