A cat slinks out of a hole in the ground and looks up at the glowing moon. Beyond him skeletons of nofur dens stood still against the dirt thunderpath. The nofurs had left for the night leaving the mudlands seem unnaturally empty. Stalking along a dirt path he arrived at 4 stumps. He remembered when these were the size of the sky, and every moon cats would gather all around it. He remembered when he was a kit and he would watch as these clan cats would stay together, not fighting, for a single moon. He would watch his brother with his thunder type of cats talk to others. Then for two moons he didn't see his father, and the other loners he met were generally hostile. Then at the age of 5 moons he saw him again except with shadow cats. He didn't like these cats. They smelled of carrion and rats. And they were big and deadly. He smiled to himself. He probably smelled like those cats. And then, the last time he saw his father was dead with his stomach ripped out. He had died nine awful times.
Coming back to reality he got into a hunting crouch and put his head up to the air.
Next to him he felt a small twitch and a pitter patter of rat feet as a small black creature darted away from him. Crouching down he pinpointed where the creature is before pouncing. Feeling the satisfying feel of fur and blood on his claws he fluffed out his spit in satisfaction. He swiftly bends down to eat the rat, devouring it in two swift bites. He hadn't eaten in days and this was good. When the clans were in loners were protected from the evils that lay beyond the mountains and rouges hunting their own species.
Hearing a gurgle from the mud he looked up quickly, cats were desperate, knowing that the forest was gone. Flexing his claws he meowed: "who's there?" No hunting on my territory!", a voice hissed back. "There is no territory" he yowled "The clans left before you were born". A mass of black fur yowling a battle cry pounced on him and fighting ensued. Grabbing on to his ear, the cat attempted to roll him around onto his back, But before he knew it, he was pinned.
Looking around for an escape route, he realized he was surrounded, nearly 15 cats with claws the size of rats were crouched down all around him, their eyes gleaming in the moonlight. "That's what those two said" hissed the cat, motioning to two cats, one was dark brown with white patches, and the other one was jet black. Both looked malnourished, and their fur hung in clumps around their ribs. "They lived in the barn, keeping all the mice to themselves". One cat came forward, small kits mewling around her feet. "Claw," she mewled "That's enough". Claw came forward with a look of disdain before his eyes softened looking at the kits mewling around their mothers feet. Looking back at the cat on the ground he said "what is your name?" Looking around the cat trembled out a "Dark". "Well Dark" law said "You are now a warrior of the Harbor." he paused as the cat in front of him let out a tremble "You shall live and die by the battlefield, shall teach any kits you have to fight, and if you fail your kits will be slaughtered. These are the rules of the Harbor, do you understand them?" Letting out a scared shake he nodded. Smiling he turned to the mass of cats, and yowled out a victory cry. Standing up, dark looked at the yowling cats. He took three things from his brother. His fury, his claws, and his pelt, striped like a tiger.
