Prologue

Night lay cold upon the forest, as Silverpelt shedded it's frosty starlight over the snow barren land. A terrible and powerful blizzard had just been put to an end, leaving even the strongest looking trees snapped in half like twigs and thick blankets of snow burying everything in it's path. A powerful gust of bitter wind rattled the bare branches of the still-standing trees every so often breaking the dead cold silence.

As deserted and quiet the forest may have seemed that night, it wasn't.

From behind some frail thistle bushes on the very edge of the moor lands two cats appeared. A dark brown tom poked his head out from the thick cluster of thistles, checking for danger. The snowy forest ahead looked quiet, as he could tell. With a swift flick of his brown tail he stepped out with his mate close behind him. The two cats were loners who lived far from the land they now passed through. The she-cat, a slender silver tabby, carried in her jaws a very small blue grey she-kit, whose eyes were yet to be opened. The little kit mewled softly as the she-cat placed her carefully on a small stump of a fallen birch tree beneath her paws.

The silver she-cat glanced up and looked warily around at her surroundings.

"Flint, are you sure you know where we are?" she whispered to her mate.

The brown tom, Flint, turned to look at his mate and licked the back of her ear. " Of course I do Jade, we're almost there," he replied back. "Just a little farther."

"But I don't understand. Why do we have to leave her? She's our only kit." whispered Jade, as she stared down at the blue grey kit with a look of sympathy on her face.

Flint looked at her understandingly. "I don't want to leave her either. But you had a painful kitting, and you don't have any milk to give her. You're weak. She's weak. And the freezing cold isn't helping." He said, as a chilly breeze ruffled their fur.

It was true. Just earlier that night, Jade had given birth to that one single kit. She winced as she remembered the pain she went through her kitting. She wasn't as strong, and as a result she was very weak and couldn't make any milk to give to her tiny kit. The kit hadn't been able to feed, and so it was hardly able to move, only the slow thumping of it's tiny heartbeat keeping her alive. And the harsh cold just tired them both even more.

"There's no way she'll survive out here. It's what's best for her," Flint continued. "They'll take care of her, don't worry my love. But of course we can't stay there though, because...You know."

"I know. You've told me many times before." replied Jade softly, remembering something of the distant past.

"We should continue walking. The camp isn't far from here now," He said as he turned and continued walking through the snow."Follow me."

Jade sighed, her green eyes heavy as she picked up the kit again by the scruff and followed her mate in the cold darkness.

They had been walking for a while longer when something made Flint stop in his tracks, ears perked up.

"What is it?" Asked Jade urgently as soon as she noticed her mate's reaction.

"I smell something strange..." He answered quietly. Then suddenly, a loud growling noise was heard, and a split second later a huge, russet red furred fox jumped out from some bramble bushes, growling and bearing his fangs at the three cats. Jade's eyes went huge in shock, while Flint's ears flew flat against his head.

"Fox!" Screeched Flint. "Jade, go find the camp and make sure our kit is safe! I'll take care of this piece of fox dung!"

"But..."

" Go!" shouted Flint, right before the huge fox charged toward Jade and the kit, snarling. Flint pounced on the fox's neck just in time, digging his thorn sharp claws into the fox fiercely.

At that Jade ran off, the little kit dangling in her jaws while it mewed in frustration. Jade ran as fast as her tired legs could take her, sprinting towards the direction of the riverbank while dodging all the fallen trees in her way.

I hope Flint will be alright, she thought worriedly as she ran through the small forest area, through tall dry reeds and onto the snowy riverbank. She then halted to a stop as she panted and gasped for air through the kit's fur. Right in front of her, was a large island in the middle of the river. You didn't have to think twice about how to get there, since the river was frozen solid. Leaf-bare had been really harsh this year.

Jade quickly padded across the thick ice of the frozen river and leaped onto the edge of the island. The island was surrounded by a wall of reeds and bulrushes. She found a small hollow in the snow on the edge of the island near some reeds, just big enough for the kit to lay inside. She then very gently put the kit inside the dip in the snow.

"I guess this is goodbye, for now." Said Jade with sympathy as she crouched beside the kit. In response, the little she-kit ever so slightly lifted her head up, and opened her mouth in the tiniest, softest mew. Jade's eyes started to tear up, as a tear rolled off her cheek. It broke her heart to leave her kit behind, but there was nothing else she could do.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't take care of you, but I know you'll be better here." she whispered as more tears fell from her glowing green eyes. She then leaned over to gently lick the top of her kit's head, and whispered, "Be strong my little one. Be strong for me." With that, she then slowly got up to her paws, taking one last look at her only kit and quickly ran across the frozen river, vanishing into the reeds on the other side of the riverbank.

Throughout the rest of the night, the kit lay curled up in the dip in the snow, eyes shut tight and occasionally calling out helplessly to her mother in the cold dark. As dawn slowly approached, tinting the periwinkle sky with the first streaks of light, a lean sandy brown tabby tom emerged from the opening in the reeds, a couple tail lengths away from the kit. At first he didn't notice her, but then the little kit mewed weakly, capturing his attention.

"What was that?" He wondered aloud, as he approached the dip in the snow. When he finally saw the kit, his navy eyes went wide. "What is this kit doing out here all alone in the cold?" He exclaimed. And right then, the bluish grey kit's eyes suddenly flashed open for the first time.

The cat noticed her eyes seemed to reflect the early dawn starlight, like two glistening pools of crystal blue, sparkling like sapphires. Despite the harsh night she just went through.

What do you think so far? Please tell me by reviewing!

- Glimmershine