Rose waited in the loft of an old barn, awaiting her mate, Darkclaw to return. The dark warrior was out hunting, and would return by twilight. Rose layed in the warmth of the sunset rays that spread across the loft floor. The she-cat snuggled with her newborn litter under the last warmth before nightfall.
Rose thought of her mate, Darkclaw out in the forest, and hoped he would make it back to her safely.
Right then a pair of glowing amber eyes shown in through the darkness. Darkclaw stepped into the light. His lovely dark tabby pelt was covered in dirt, and a tick crawled behind his ear. His hunt was successful, and he dropped a plump vole at her paws.
"Darkclaw, you came back!" Rose purred, and gave him an affectionate lick on the nose.
"I brought you dinner," said Darkclaw. "So how are they?"
The dark warrior nosed the two furry bundles sleeping against Rose's belly fur. He especially liked the one that shared his tabby pelt who slept on top of his sister.
"They are sleeping right now. Thanks for the vole." Rose dove into it hungrily, finishing it in a few enormous gulps.
Darkclaw unsheathed his claws, and tore at the woodwork under his paws. "We may have trouble."
Rose's fur bristled, and her green eyes widened in terror. "What is wrong?"
"Please. Just relax, Rose. I am sure it is nothing. Just go to sleep. I will keep watch over the loft for the night." Darkclaw sat at the edge of the loft, leaving Rose in her protected nest in the center of the hayloft.
Rose did not ask any questions. She already knew. They were coming for her, to find her, to kill her. Were they following Darkclaw's scent right now in the night? She shivered, and layed her head down in the straw. Sleep did not come to her though. The very thought of danger creeping around outside made her far from sleepy.
The loft was silent for awhile. The kittens were sleeping soundly, and Darkclaw kept a silent look out over the edge of the loft. What Rose did not expect was a blood-curdling screech from below.
The air was suddenly full of yowls and caterwauls from the cats below. Rose leaped to her paws in an instant. "Darkclaw, what is going on?" she wailed frantically.
"We are being attacked. Run! Get the kits to safety. I'll hold them off!" he hissed. His thick-striped tail lashed angrily.
Rose scooped up the two kittens who squealed in protest, and made it a few steps before looking back. "Darkclaw, I can't leave you. What if I never see you again?"
"I will be fine. Now go! There is no time to lose." Darkclaw then vanished from sight, and his brave yowl chorused with the others.
Rose hurried as fast as she could to the back of the loft where she could slide through a hole in the side of the barn. She licked the two kittens comfortingly although she had no comfort to give to them.
Suddenly there was the sound of a cat in pain behind her. Rose whirled around to see her mate, Darkclaw, surrounded by two warriors. The dreaded scent of Shadowclan came over her along with the smell of blood. Darkclaw was bleeding from claw marks running down his back, and his ear was torn badly. Still he stood bravely, hissing threats at the attackers.
"Darkclaw, no!" Rose wailed.
She could only watch as the attackers pinned Darkclaw to the ground, and with a killing bite to his throat Darkclaw was dead. Rose felt tears stinging in her eyes at the sight of her beloved Darkclaw die before her. She wanted to avenge his death, and kill all the maurading Shadowclan warriors, but she remembered Darkclaw's last words before he sprang into battle. She had to get his kits to safety.
Rose did not look back again. She carried her kits through the hole, and ran away from the barn into the forest. She did not dare look back. She had to keep running or they would find her. And kill her. She was not safe anymore.
She stopped in a clearing deep in the heart of the forest. She was tired, and the kittens had to nurse. She stopped for the night in that safe spot as far away from the barn as possible. She tried to banish the memory of Darkclaw's death from her mind, but it stuck there and played repeatedly in her mind.
"Oh Darkclaw. What will I do without you? Where will I go?" Rose meowed softly. Only her dark tabby kitten would ever remind her of his face again. Out here in the forest she was vulnerable with everything to lose.