Night sat in the cave, his gaze expectant as the prey filed in. His nose twitched at the surprise that he had waiting in store for them. Moonlight filtered through the hole in the roof as the moon moved overhead. He had told Squeakers the day before not to let any prey animal know about the rats. He smiled as the last of the prey animals filtered in. The rats were streaming in from the one of the side tunnels, but Flash had already given the ok for Night to start the meeting. He sat on his mound and began thumping it with his hind foot. Night waited as his comrades fell silent, one after the other slowly but surely.
"Tonight, we are here to welcome new members, and mourn the ones we lost." Night said, his fur fluffed up as a chilly wind moved through the tunnels. Snow had arrived early, and even now the prey animals still had snow clung to their pelts and whiskers. For some of them, Night knew that they had preferred to stay in their sheltered homes. Night had already expected the birds, lizards, frogs and toads to stay home to wait out the winter. Night bowed his head and the prey animals copied him, their eyes displaying their grief. "Now, I turn to a happier mission." Night raised his head and beckoned Flash forward. "This rat here is Flash. He and his rat army have gratefully volunteered themselves to our service. Before I forget, I need to tell you about when and where our first battle will take place. On the darkest night of spring, we will attack the cats on the moor!"
Roars of happiness and excitement rose from the gathered prey. Night felt joy rising in his paws as he thumped his hind foot on the ground for silence. As the prey calmed down, Night caught a glimpse of a familiar black and silver pelt slide into the gathered prey. Night supressed an excited squeal. His spy had arrived. Night knew that he must speak before anyone noticed the cat in their midst. "Flash is going to teach us how to fight against our enemies. I assure you that it will help when it comes to battle." He nodded to Flash to speak.
"My rat legion has never fought against our enemy before but our ancestors have. Though we've never fought a battle, we know moves and ways that will be of great help to each and every one of you." Flash pushed himself on his hind legs. "We have suffered for too long at the paws of our enemies! Now it is time to push back! To show them that prey is more powerful than they are! It's time to revolt and take over our predators!" Squeals rose from the assembled crowd as Flash concluded his speech. They had just noticed the newcomer in their midst.
"There's a cat in here!" A squirrel said, moving away from Nightkit. No…Night shook himself. Sky told him just yesterday that he was Nightpaw now. Prey were moving away from the cat, as the rats pushed their way forward. The rat's muscles were tensed, ready to fight as they waited for the command from Flash to attack.