A/N: Special treat! Instead of having Sky tell Thunder and Lightning his story, we're going to go back in time to when it actually happened. Bear with me, and enjoy the ride!
3rd Person POV
"Sneeze, Snake," Sky meowed, beckoning to his friends with his tail, "Can you watch our kits while Shakra and I go hunting?"
The pale brown she-cat, Sneeze, padded up to stand beside the gray and black tom, Snake.
"Of course," she replied cheerfully, "They'll be perfectly safe with us."
Snake dipped his head. "You can count on us," he meowed solemnly, his silver eyes respectful. Sneeze and Snake's son, Falcon, bounded up to Sky.
"Can I come to?" he asked hopefully. His green eyes were shining, and he kneaded the ground with his white paws.
Sneeze narrowed her amber eyes at her son. "Don't you have a nest to pull brambles out of?" she teased. The small gray-brown tom whipped around in surprise.
"How did you know about that?" he demanded.
"Mothers know everything," she replied simply. Snake let out a rusty purr.
"Take care, you guys!" Sky called, as he and Shakra made their way toward the forest.
Shakra spotted a mouse in a bush in front of her. She stalked up to it, a gleam in her green eyes. Without a second thought, she pounced, killing the rodent with a quick bite to the neck.
"Good job," Sky purred from behind his mate.
She lifted her head up, the mouse clamped in her jaws. "Thank you," she mumbled, though it sounded more like, "Fang grlu." Sky chuckled.
As the two cats continued onward, Sky saw a bird sitting in a tree branch.
"Look," he whispered to Shakra, pointing towards the bird with his tail. He took a few steps back, then jumped, his strong hind legs pushing off the ground with ease. He swiped at the bird with unsheathed claws. It let out a cry of dismay, while Sky hooked one sharp claw through its neck. The bird's voice died down as blood dripped out of the wound. Sky jumped down from the tree with a successful plop.
Shakra dropped the mouse, and nuzzled up to her mate. "Good catch," she murmured into his ear. Suddenly, a loud crash sounded from behind the tortoiseshell she-cat. A badger burst out of the bushes. Sky and Shakra both whirled around to face it. Shakra raked her claws across the badger's face, causing it to roar in rage.
Sky took a step back, ready to spring onto the badger's back. Soon after, he let out an ear-splitting screech. His leg had gotten caught in a fox trap. Shakra looked back, momentarily forgetting the badger to make sure Sky was okay. The badger lunged, its long, deadly claws down her belly. She fell, and blood spilled onto the ground. The badger snorted, then lumbered away.
"Shakra!" Sky cried, "No, Shakra, you can't die. Our kits need you. I need you!"
"I'm sorry Sky. It's no use. Tell the kits I love them."
"Shakra, you can't leave me," Sky begged.
"Peace," she murmured, "We will meet again. I promise."
Shakra's flanks rose and fell one more time, then stopped, her spirit lost to him forever.
"I'll never know another cat quite like you, Shakra," Sky whispered, "I'll never forget you, and I'll make sure the kits never forget you either. That is my promise."
He heard a rustling in the bushes, and looked up. A large ginger tom padded forward, his amber eyes wide with worry.
"W-wh-who are you?" Sky stuttered.
"Thunder," the tom replied.
"Please help me. My leg is stuck in this fox trap."
Thunder nodded. "Okay. I'll be right back. I'm going to get my brother, Lightning."
"Oh, thank you," Sky breathed.
"One more thing," Thunder meowed, "When Lightning comes, don't say anything about his tail. He doesn't like having attention drawn to it." Sky nodded.
Thunder whisked around and trotted off into the other direction. Sky rested his head on his paws. He hoped that Thunder would come back, and soon.