A/N: Hi, Guys! I just wanted to say THANK YOU for so many story views, and if you haven't read my other stories, be sure to read, rate, and review! No flames, PLEASE, and I love constructive criticism. This is my first fanfiction that has characters all owned by ME, so please tell me how I do! (p.s. I am accepting two lucky cats, one male, one female, to play super important roles in the story! P.M. me the charries- reviews will not be accepted.)
~Prologue~
A short-furred auburn she-cat lay underneath the light of the crescent moon, her belly round with unborn kits. She tried not to wail as her mate and sister helped her, gritting her teeth as each ripple of labor coursed throughout her body. "H-how much ... lo-onger!?" she gasped, tears rolling down her face in pain. "N-not much longer now ... I hope." her mate, a longhaired black tom, murmured as he licked her ears with claws unsheathed.
"Don't worry, Vixenleap," a brown she-cat said to the auburn one, "Nightsong is right. There will be new lives arriving soon." the experienced medicine cat massaged her sister's tight belly, whispering comforting words. They all tried to remain as quiet as possible; ever since the ruin of the First, laws for all cats of OneClan had been laid down, and every cat was strictly advised to follow them. If not, punishment would follow.
Vixenleap lifted her head, breathing heavily. Looking about, she lowered her ears. "We should've stayed at camp ..." she breathed, her neck fur slowly begining to bristle. Panting, she could feel her babies squirming, begging to be relieved of their airless cocoon. "Hurry, Mallowfrond, or they'll find us!" she begged her sister. Nightsong nuzzled his mate's head. "Sh, it's alright, you're just paranoid. It's your motherly insticts blurring your mind." he cooed, trying desperately to comfort her.
Of course, the two cats knew why their pained friend was afraid. The attacks on OneClan had been more frequent. "Your kits are ready, Vixenleap." Mallowfrond murmured, hope sparking in her chest. Often, pregnant she-cats and their kits didn't survive on the Outside, slaughtered before their kits were even ready for birth. "We might have a chance." she whispered encouragingly to her sister.
Nightsong's chest swelled with the same hope Mallowfrond felt, and Vixenleap's indigo eyes shone with determined strength. "Now ... push!" the medicine cat ordered her sister, and Vixenleap grunted in pain. "There's one!" Nightsong cheered, and he licked his son dry, the brown-and-black tabby tom curling up to his mother, feeding quietly. "Only two left." Mallowfrond breathed, and as soon as the words left her mouth, a second kit, also a tom, slid into existence.
Nightsong dried the little cat, both of which were, thankfully, quiet. A good sign. He caught a glimpse of the bright green eyes the little ginger tom had. His eyes. He nosed the kit towards it's mother's belly, and he, too, began to feed. "One more!" Vixenleap gasped happily, tears filling her eyes, when an unearthly, earsplitting screech filled the air.
"No!" Nightsong spat in fury, rounding upon the creature that had flung itself down the hill that held them. He raked his claws across it's misshapen face, and one of it's eyes popped loose from its socket, leaving the thing wailing as the cloudy eye dangled from a single tendon. It lashed out with claws of it's own in anger, blueish-purple blood spouting from it's new injury.
Nightsong ducked, but his throat was diced by a second blow, his head hitting a rock with a horrid crack. Vixenleap wailed, her panic causing her to push out her final kit- a longhaired tortoiseshell she-kit with her mother's rare indigo eyes. A runt, but a beautiful runt, nonetheless. "M-Mallowfrond ... t-take Spiritkit and go ..." the she-cat sobbed.
"I love you, my sister." Mallowfrond touched noses with her, the tears quickly streaming down her face as the creature finished feasting upon Nightsong's body. She picked up the kit, her blue eyes gazing into Vixenleap's. "I love you too, sister." she whispered, and stood shakily, preparing to battle this monster to the death for the sake of her two kits.
Mallowfrond ran and ran, before despair forced her to look back. The last thing she saw before entering the safety of OneClan's territory was her sister fighting the beast. When it looked like her sister was going to lose, she turned away, and heard what sounded like her sister's dying wail. Mallowfrond nearly collapsed, until the tiny kit brought her back to reality. "You must be hungry," she mumbled behind the downy fur, "Let's get you home, young one.
