The dark, night covered forest was silent as a pretty, slender black she-cat soundlessly stalked through the undergrowth. She looked anxious, with constant glances over her shoulder and her fervently flicking tail. Upon closer inspection, one could see that her belly was swollen with unborn kits. That, however, didn't at all hinder her surprisingly swift and agile movements through the forest. She continued on, even when the underbrush grew thicker and harder to maneuver. She was panting, short of breath, by the time she reached a small clearing in the high grass and thick ferns. Her face twisted in pain as a low groan escaped her tightly clamped together jaws. Yellow eyes scanning her surroundings, she nervously called out; "S-Shadowclaw?"

For a few minutes, silence met her words. Then, a soft rustling made her ears perk. She whipped her head around, fur bristling and lips pulling back until she saw the newcomer coming through the parted ferns. "Shadowclaw," she mewed in relief at the large, dark gray tom with piercing green eyes came towards her. "I'm so glad you came," she breathed, standing and approaching the tom, rubbing her muzzle against his. "I-It's almost time," she told him with concern filling her sweet voice. "I-I left as soon as I felt the signs..."

"You'll be fine," the tom meowed in a deep, rumbling voice. He encircled the she-cat as she dropped onto her side, panting and trembling. His voice and face betrayed no emotions...Only cold silence. He watched as the she-cat strained and let out small whines and groans of pain. Her body would occasionally spasm painfully before it returned to weak spasms. The tom bent his head and calmly began to groom the she-cat's cheek as she let out a high-pitched wail of pain. Flicking his ears, Shadowclaw turned his green gaze to the she-cat's stomach as it convulsed with pain and an even louder cry escaped from her jaws. "Push," he hissed out, a bit of excitement slipping into his voice and body as the fur on his shoulders bristled and his claws dug into the soft earth.

With a loud, agonized cry, the black cat pushed powerfully, and it was done. A tiny, soaked, trembling kit lay beside her, its coat color undecidable due to its soaked body. The she-cat sat up slowly as Shadowclaw stared silently at the kit. The she-cat began to frantically lick the tiny kit, not stopping until it parted its mouth and let out a small, pathetic mewl. She paused in her licking to look at Shadowclaw with an expression of pure joy before she returned to grooming the kit. Soon, its fur color was revealed as a solid, steady shade of gray. "He looks like you," the she-cat breathed, her eyes glowing with pride and love as she stared at the tiny kit. She helped him find her belly, where he instantly began to suckle against her.

Shadowclaw was silent for a long time, just watching the kit suckle, before he suddenly stood. "Nightwing," he murmured, "Give him to me."

Her yellow eyes snapped up instantly. She stared at the tom she loved in silent confusion. "W-what? Shadowclaw...he's just a newborn! He needs to stay with me-"

"I'll have one of my clan's Queen's nurse him," he said, bending his head in an attempt to pick the kit up.

Nightwing curled around the kit, her ears flattening, her eyes wide and frightened. "S-Shadowclaw, no! He has to stay with me...I'm his mother! I thought we agreed I'd raise him, a-and you could see him at Gathering's-"

"Give the kit to me, Nightwing," Shadowclaw growled, a look of aggression flashing over his face. The Queen's fur bristled and a look of terror entered her face. Shadowclaw gave a quick snort, licking his paw and running it over his face. "Nightwing, I'm sorry," he mewed softly. "I didn't mean to frighten you...but, the kit will be better off in ShadeClan. DawnClan can't care for a newborn kit, not right now-"

"My clan is perfectly able to care for my kit!" Nightwing snapped, standing, dislodging her kit from her belly. He cried and squirmed helplessly beneath her. "What makes you think I can't provide for our kit in my own clan?" She demanded, staring at him angrily.

Shadowclaw remained silent, his ears flicking in the direction of Nightwing's camp. Her own ears perked and she looked in the same vicinity, quiet except for her quickening breathing. In the distance, she could hear the screaming of many cats fighting desperately for their lives. She suddenly looked like she had been struck by a monster. "No!" She cried breathlessly, whipping around to look at Shadowclaw. "S-ShadeClan is...!"

"Give him to me, Nightwing," Shadowclaw said quietly, standing and slowly advancing towards her.

"No!" Cried the young she-cat, her eyes as round as the full moon, her fur bristling all over. She grabbed her kit by the scruff, who squealed in protest, before she shot off through the ferns, running as fast as her paws would allow her. Pain shot through her, her body screaming at her to stop and lay still, but she couldn't. With every paw step, the voices of screaming cats grew louder and louder, and she began to recognize some of the screams. She ran even faster, her kit crying in fright as it bounced around in her jaws.

Finally, she reached a tunnel leading into a dense overgrown patch of ferns. She burst through the tunnel, running into a clearing full of cats, clawing, biting, kicking and writhing all around. Fur and blood flew everywhere and several bodies lay limp on the ground, blood pooling around them. Her eyes stretched wide in terror, Nightwing began to race towards a moss covered den only for another cat to slam into her, knocking her over. Her kit flew from her, landing a few feet away with high pitched squeals of horror. "Hang on, little one!" Screeched Nightwing, scrambling to her paws only to be leaped on by a wiry brown she-cat.

She snarled ferociously, pain like fire searing through her body as the she-cat dug her claws into her flesh. She reared back, throwing the she-cat from her with a furious yowl. She bit the cat powerfully on the shoulder, making it scream in pain before bolting out of the camp. Nightwing turned sharply and raced to her crying kit, quickly curling around him and protecting the tiny creature with his body.

She hissed in terror when a boom of thunder sounded overhead and a sudden, blazing streak of lightning spat down from the sky and struck a tree hanging over the camp. Cats screamed and yowled in fear as branches ablaze with fire dropped into the clearing, crushing some cats beneath them and catching many belts on fire. A shriek of fear escaped Nightwing when a large, roaring and crackling branch of fire fell dangerously close to her. She could feel the fire singing her whiskers and fur as she laid there, the flames licking dangerously close to her kit.

"Nightwing!"

Turning her head sharply, she felt fear hotter than the flames course through her as she saw Shadowclaw racing towards her, the flames reflecting in his forest green eyes as his large paws thundered across the blood ridden earth. Right before he reached her, a tan and black body slammed into him, knocking him off of his feet. Nightwing watched as the two cats rolled around, hissing and spitting coming from both of them. She soon recognized the cat protecting her as Blackpatch, her brother.

Blackpatch fought with the strength of a million warriors, his claws ripping and shredding Shadowclaw's fur. He looked like he had the gray tom beaten until, suddenly, Shadowclaw's back legs slammed into the smaller tom's stomach, throwing him off of his body and landing him dangerously close to the spreading flames. Nightwing could only watch as Blackpatch struggled to his paws and, with a ferocious hiss, sprung at Shadowclaw.

He was intercepted, however, by a small, fast as lightning brown tom. Blackpatch fought with the cat as Shadowclaw got to his paws and slowly turned back towards Nightwing.

"Give me the kit, Nightwing!" He hissed, baring his claws and teeth as he approached the fallen Queen.

"...Shadowclaw...why!" She cried, hardly able to see the face of her mate as the flames screamed behind him. "I-I thought y-you loved me...!"

Shadowclaw stared down at her with eyes the shade of grass covered in ice. "I never loved you, Nightwing," he hissed. "I just wanted the kit."

Terror and heartbreak overtook Nightwing. She wanted to just lay there and let the fire engulf her, but she couldn't let her kit die...nor could she let him be taken by his father.

She leaped to her paws, sudden strength to protect her dear kit from the danger that faced him. She scooped him up and raced away from Shadowclaw, the flames growling and clawing at her black fur, trying to grab her and fling her back to the tom she had loved, who was hot on her trail. She looked around desperately as she evaded them, soon spotting the center of the camp, a large stone known as Lion Stone. It was a huge rock that their leader addressed them from. At the bottom, it parted into a yawning mouth, like that of a lion's, leading into a darkness that was their leader's den.

Nightwing flew towards the rock with the speed of a panicked rabbit, bounding up onto the rock, sides heaving, her kit crying and coughing from the smoke. All around her the camp was ablaze, cats still fighting amongst the flames that lapped at their legs, trying to drag them into the hellish inferno. Nightwing, looked around helplessly, seeking out safety. She waited too long and whipped around as Shadowclaw leaped onto the rock, his head low, his claws out.

"You try my patience, Nightwing," he snarled, eyes flashing in the fire light. "Give. Me. The. Kit!"

"No!" Nightwing hissed, backing up as far as she could until her back paws were half on the rock, half in the air. "You won't have him, Shadowclaw! I won't let you touch him! I won't let you get anywhere near him!"

That was the end of Shadowclaw's mercy. With a vicious hiss, he sprung forward, slamming his paws into Nightwing. In her terror, she released her kit, which flew through the air before landing with a pained squeak on the edge of Lion Stone. Nightwing stared at him, time seeming to slow down as Shadowclaw's weight made them both tumble from the rock. Her kit lay unmoving on the stone for a moment before he slowly lifted his head parting his jaws and crying for his mother's warmth.

At seeing he was safe, Nightwing felt relief wash through her, like water cooling the flames. The fear of the situation returned, however, when time resumed its normal pace and she realized she was still falling from a great height, Shadowclaw's dagger like claws sunk deeply into her chest.

She felt herself hit the ground with a powerful shudder through her body and a loud snap. Pain raced through her and she suddenly had no control of her body. She could hardly breathe through the pain as he back made odd popping and cracking sounds. She saw through her blurring gaze Shadowlcaw standing above her, his eyes stained red in the light of the fire.

"I pity you, dear Nightwing," he breathed as he stared at the broken and burned she-cat. "You could have visited him during Gatherings."

Before Nightwing could even register his words, his teeth sunk into her neck. She didn't even feel it. She felt nothing as his claws shred her belly and his fangs tore at her throat. Blood bubbled up from her mouth and guzzled from her neck as her sight began to go black. The last thing she saw was her kit on Lion Stone, crying desperately for her. "D-...Drag...on...k-ki..t..." She gasped through the blood filling her mouth before her body fell still.

Shadowclaw released her neck, her head dropping with a small thud. He stared blankly down at the blood covered black cat, his eyes showing no remorse or care for the Queen who had birthed his son. He let his eyes dwell on her for a moment longer before he turned and started towards Lion Stone, his eyes locked on the crying kit that was born of Nightwing and himself.

He was stopped when Blackpatch, Nightwing's brother, leaped over him and landing between him and Lion Stone, whipping around and glaring hatefully at the tom. "Leave, Shadowclaw!" He snarled, his eyes filled with grief and pain.

Shadowclaw paused and glanced around, seeing that his clan had fled and that the clearing was filled with DawnClan cats who were staring with grief and shock at their dead and were gradually noticing him. Another boom of thunder came from above and rain began to pour from the sky, the fire hissing as the rain attacked it where it sat.

"Move," growled Shadowclaw to Blackpatch, turning back to the tom as DawnClan slowly came closer, all of them staring in horror at Nightwing's body.

"Leave!" Blackpatch hissed, swiping at the gray tom. "This kit is my sister's! You will not lay a claw on it!"

"Oh, didn't dear Nightwing tell you?" Shadowclaw asked with a low chuckle. "That kit is also mine!"

A collective gasp of shock moved through the surrounding cats as they looked from Nightwing's body to Shadowclaw.

Blackpatch stared at him, his eyes wide and unseeing before he quickly shook his head, trying to clear his mind. "F-foxdung!" He snapped. "Nightwing would never-"

"So she never told you, her dear, dear brother?" Shadowclaw asked with a false tone of pitying sincerity. "We've been meeting in secrets for moons. I'm surprised she never even told her brother, who she was so close to, that she was in love with a ShadeClan cat and was having his kits. Tut tut...well," he shrugged his massive shoulders and smirked around at the shocked throng of cats. "I'll just take the little half-breed off of your paws. I mean, how embarrassing it must be, for the grandkit of your previous leader to be half ShadeClan...I know you don't want him, so I'll take him."

The clan was, surprisingly, silent. Some looked like they agreed with his words while others remained silent, glancing around in confusion and concern. The only cat who spoke up was a furious Blackpatch. "No!" He snapped, blocking Shadowclaw. "I don't care if he is half ShadeClan! This kit will remain with his mother's clan!"

"I will kill you if I have to to take him home!" Snarled Shadowclaw, Blackpatch hissing in his face as a response.

"Stop!"

Blackpatch froze, right before attacking the tom. He turned his head to see a slender, beautiful she-cat approaching. Her fur was died red with blood, but it was still clearly a brilliant shade of white and gray. Her green eyes glittered intensely in the dying flames. "Flowerstar," gasped Blackpatch, relief entering his eyes. "Thank goodness you're alright...I was worried...N-Nightwing-"

"I know," Flowerstar's green eyes passed along the dead she-cat's body before she looked at Shadowclaw. "Leave our camp, Shadowclaw. Return to Eaglestar and your own camp."

"Not until I have my son," he growled.

"The kit will stay with his mother's clan," Flowerstar said calmly. "Now leave. You are outnumbered and even you, Shadowclaw, know better than to attack a leader. I know you are smarter than that."

Shadowclaw looked at her, his eyes narrowing as he looked around him and saw he really was outnumbered. Despite the losses DawnClan suffered in the unexpected attack, their numbers were still many and, despite their wounds, they remained strong and ready to fight at their leader's command. "This isn't over," the tom growled, glaring at both Flowerstar and Blackpatch. "I will have my son yet." He then turned sharply, stalking through the flames and out of the camp.

The clearing remained silent except for the falling rain and hissing fire for a long time. The first to speak was a small calico she-cat. "Flowerstar...what do we do..?" She whispered as Blackpatch slowly walked over to his sister's body, dropping beside it in exhaustion and sadness.

"We will restore the camp and bury our dead," murmured Flowerstar.

"No, I mean-"

"The kit," Flowerstar interrupted her, "Will stay and grow in DawnClan and, with time, become a loyal DawnClan warriors, as he would have if Nightwing was alive."

"But he's a half-born!" Snapped a red she-cat with blazing yellow eyes. "The son of a ShadeClan warrior and a traitor!"

"My sister was not a traitor!" Snapped Blackpatch, leaping to his paws and staring furiously at the red, pregnant she-cat. "Nightwing was as loyal to her clan as any other cat!"

"Then why did she have a kit with another clan's warrior!"

"Shut up!" Snapped Blackpatch, looking ready to pounce when Flowerstar intercepted him.

"Stop this!" She growled, glaring at them both. "This is no time to fight amongst ourselves! Nightwing will be judged for her actions by StarClan. The kit stays. Now...Cottontail, I want you to take a patrol out and start hunting. We need fresh-kill. Cederfur, Gingermoss, go find materials to rebuild the dens. Spiritmoon, go wait in my den. I need to speak with you. Blackpatch..." She looked at the grieving tom, staring at him for a moment before sighing and touching her tail to his shoulder. "Sit with Nightwing. Share her last night with her." She turned away from him and leaped onto Lion Stone, picking up the trembling gray kit before leaping back down from the rock. She walked into the nursery, where the snappy red she-cat had gone. "Foxtongue," she mewed quietly. "Your kits will be born soon and you are heavy with milk...will you feed this kit?"

"What!" Gasped Foxtongue, her eyes widening in disgust. "There's no way I'll feed this half-born son of a traitor!"

"Please," Flowerstar pressed, putting the kit down. "You do not need to be a mother to him...just feed him."

Foxtongue glared at her for a moment before huffing. "Fine. What will we call him, so I know what to scold the little scrap with?"

"Nightwing told me she always wished for her first born tom to be named Dragonkit..." breathed Flowerstar, staring at the kit, "So that will be his name."

"Will you hold a ceremony to celebrate his birth?"

Flowerstar's green eyes grew cold. "No."

Blackpatch sat alone beside Nightwing's body as cats moved about, all of them carefully avoiding the dying fire as they worked to hunt and rebuild the camp. Blackpatch was the only one to stay beside Nightwing. No cat even gave her the slightest glance as they passed her body. He sighed and laid down, pressing his nose into her glossy, cold black fur.

"I'll take care of him, Nightwing," he breathed. "I'll watch over him for you..."

Yay, prologue is done! I know it's kind of short, but it's a prologue, so it's okay! In the written plot-out of the story, my friend likes the prologue more than the first few chapters! XD I don't know about that, but it was fun to write. Not much to say just yet, just thank you for taking the time to read my story! Peace!