I know the POV is jumping around a bit but stay with me. We'll get back to Sagekit soon, I promise. I just needed to give a bit of background info you know? Well please review, review, review!

Chapter 3: Shame

Vorago peered down at her prize, glad for a good meal. She usually feasted on berries or mice and sometimes the occasional rabbit. The tiny black and white cat was lying at her paws, unconscious. She bared her teeth in a cunning smile. She like eating her food when it was still warm. Her bushy red tail swished over the moss-covered floor excitedly. She licked her lips, finding that she was salivating. Vorago scratched at the ground, getting sick of waiting.

"Domito is always late," she spat angrily, glancing over the still body of the cat. She was supposed to share her prey with her mate, that was the rule. But Domito was always out hunting for the Fire Tails. Vorago was only a Defender. Her duties consisted of patrolling the borders and keeping the camp safe and clean.

She pricked her ears forward, listening for the familiar footsteps of her mate. The forest was quiet. Vorago cursed softly under her breath, her mouth watering at the sight of the plump kit. She glanced around. She was waiting the den she shared with Domito, tucked away under the raised roots of an ancient elm tree. Moss lined the walls and made up small nests for the foxes.

The cat suddenly made a small noise as it turned over, still not awake. Vorago growled quietly. She couldn't wait anymore! Domito was taking too long. She would just tell her mate that the cat woke up and she had to get rid of it.

Parting her jaws slightly, letting the scent of young cat wash into her mouth, Vorago tiptoed up to the form of the kitten, her hunger gnawing away at her belly.

Vorago was so concentrated on her soon-to-be meal that she didn't scent the other fox until he was right behind her.

"Good morning Vorago," a deep voice said, "I see you've caught a kit?"

Vorago spun around, her teeth bared and her lips pulled back in a snarl; she knew it wasn't her mate. Domito had a high-pitched voice and a distinct scent of crow.

"Who's there?" she demanded, staring at the black shape in front of her. The fox standing in her den was blocking the early morning sunlight from streaming in through the roots: her visitor was unrecognizable in the sudden darkness of the nest.

"Don't you know your own leader when you smell him?" the voice laughed meanly.

Vorago flattened her ears, embarrassed. "Oh! Acerbitas! Uh, how are you?"

"I'm fine," the Fire Tail's leader replied, "except for the fact that one of my Defenders is breaking the Fox's Policy."

Acerbitas moved to the side, letting the sun flow into the den. Vorago blinked as she took in the alpha male's amber eyes and black-tipped ears. He was staring at her with a look of disappointment and irritation on his face.

"I was going to wait for Domito," Vorago insisted hastily, "it's just that he was taking so long!"

"That's because he was fighting off Leto's group of foxes from the White Teeth," Acerbitas said cooly.

Vorago gulped. "I-I didn't know. Someone should have told me. I'd have fought too."

Acerbitas looked unimpressed and unconcerned but continued talking as if Vorago hadn't spoken at all. "And anyway I wasn't talking about that. You do remember our newest rule right?"

Vorago immediately looked ashamed and shut her mouth.

"Vorago!"

"Yes Acerbitas, I remembered."

"Recite it to me."

Vorago took a deep breath and avoided eye contact with the male fox. "We're supposed to bring any cat we catch or come across straight to you."

"And why was that rule made?" Acerbitas was positively fuming now.

"Because the Star Walkers said that a cat would save the Fire Tails," Vorago answered, growing more and more nervous.

"And," snarled Acerbitas, his tail sticking up in the air dangerously, "what kind of cat did the Star Walkers say would bring peace?"

"A two-toned cat," whispered Vorago, humiliation making her tail lie flat on the ground.

"And what color is this cat?" barked Acerbitas.

"Black and white," wailed Vorago, "I'm sorry Acerbitas!"

The leader snarled at the vixen and stepped over to the body of the kit. "Luckily he's still alive," Acerbitas remarked, picking up the cat in his teeth, making sure not to pierce the kit's skin. "I'll take him to the GlassPuddle. If the Star Walkers say he's the one, YOU will take care of him. If he's not the one, I shall be the one to feast on his flesh."

"Take care of him?!" Vorago asked, stunned. She hated cubs! How would she deal with a cat?

"Yes," Acerbitas said, fixing the female with a stern look, "you caught him, you care for him."

With that, Acerbitas turned and flounced out of the den, whipping Vorago with the tip of his tail, carrying the black and white kit in his mouth. Vorago stood in the center of her nest, resentment, anger and embarrassment bubbling in her stomach. The mouth of the den darkened again as a scrawny fox entered.

"Domito," Vorago greeted dryly.

Her mate looked around the den, noting the upturned moss and scent of cat. "What happened in here?"

Vorago sighed heavily and looked into her mate's eyes, dreading telling him the truth. She took a deep breath and scuffled her paws against the soft earthy floor as she opened her wide jaws.

"We might have to be parents very soon. And not to a cub."