The full moon shone brightly in the night sky. Shade poked his small head out of his nest and looked around. Still no sign of his mother. His head plopped back down into the nest and he gave a small sigh. His mother had promised him a story tonight, and not only that but she had said it would be a brand new one and there was nothing the three moon old kit loved more than a new story. He rolled around impatiently in his nest and stared up at the den roof. It was looking to be a boring night. His siblings were nowhere to be found, probably off hunting or doing something cool that only older cats could do. His mother always said that one day when he was older he could stay up later but to him older seemed like moons and moons away. It just wasn't fair. He was three whole moons old! And he could hunt! Well he could sort of hunt anyways. Just earlier that day his older sibling Ambereye had shown him how to catch a mouse. And he'd caught it! She did have to help him corner it but he had made the catch! His mind drifted away to thoughts of when he would be so big and strong. He could catch food for his whole family! Then he could stay up as late as he wanted!

Shade lived with his family in a large camp located in the forest. His parents, Great Shadow and Streaming Wind, were the leaders of a large group of cats. They weren't a clan, enough of those already lived nearby, but more like a simple group of cats who lived together and helped those who needed it. They were peaceful and, because of his parents, united and strong. They never fought with the clans and lived nearby in peace. He knew that one day his older sibling Dew would lead their group and he would be expected to help alongside her, with his other siblings Ambereye and Pearl. But those days seemed like forever away to him. Besides for Dew to lead his parents would have to be gone and he would never want that to happen! He was happy here and he wouldn't want anything to change.

Shade continued to lie in his nest trying to wait patiently, but still, his mother didn't show up. At this point it was really getting late. His mother always said to him that good kits went to bed on time and he knew it was starting to get way past his bedtime. He poked his head up again and this time climbed out of the nest. Maybe mom just fell asleep early he thought. Yes that would be it, she probably was really tired and wanted some sleep. She was probably in her nest with dad over in their part of the camp. He padded out of the nursery and into the larger camp. It was silent and he couldn't see another cat. That was odd Shade knew his parents opened their home to any cat who wanted to stay, so why weren't there any cats around? Shade continued onward to his parents little den and that was when he heard a sound. A terrible sound. It was like a scream and cry had mixed with a wail of agony. His heart began beating faster in terror and his pawsteps quickened towards his parents den. Why? Because that sound had sounded exactly like his mother.

Shade ran as fast as his kitten legs could carry him and burst into his parents den. There a terrible sight was waiting for him. His mother, his beautiful mother who loved him and was always there for him whenever he was hurt or scared or just wanted a story, was dead on the ground. He throat was slashed open and a pool of blood was forming beneath her. A lump started to form in Shade's throat and tears formed in his eyes. This couldn't be happening, it had to just be a bad dream. It had to be!

"Shade!" cried a voice, suddenly snapping him out of his thoughts. He whipped his head around to see his father, fear shining in his eyes. "Shade run! Run away from here and never look back! Go now!" he yelled in terror. Then a large shape came out of the shadows and leapt onto his father's back. Great Shadow struggled against them but the other cat had taken him by surprise because he had turned around to warn Shade. The other cat let out a laugh that made Shade's heart freeze with terror. He knew that laugh. Shade stood rooted to the spot and watched helplessly as his sister Amberye murdered his father. Shades eyes were wide with shock and terror. He took a pawstep back as Ambereye stepped off of his fathers now dead body and came towards him. Without another moment's thought Shade turned and ran, he ran faster than he thought he ever could, tears stinging his eyes and terror racing through him.

He raced out of the camp and just kept running, having no idea where he was going or what he was going to do. His mind could barely process what he had just witnessed. After what felt to him like days and days of running, he collapsed beside a stream, his lungs were gasping for air and his paws begging for rest. Shade felt like he couldn't move even if he wanted to. He saw the stream and leaned down to take a drink, needing the water to carry on. Suddenly his whole body began shaking violently and he burst out into tears, sobbing long into the night. Alone, that's what he was now, all alone. His parents were gone. He didn't know why Ambereye did what she had, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was his parents were dead. Dead and gone forever. As he cried leaves rustled in the wind and the full moon shined brightly on overhead.