Moonlight bathed like a silver blanket over the endless forest, topping the trees with a glorious shimmer that seemed almost ethereal in appearance. Speckled among the full moon's light were the stars, giving off their own glimmer that illuminated the otherwise shadowy world beneath.

The forest floor was alive with the pattering of tiny pawsteps. Mice and squirrels emerged from their homes as nightfall sent the predators into a deep slumber.

A single mouse scampered over the leaf litter, hardly making a sound as it searched for small seeds away from the safety of its burrow. Nose pointed downward, shuffling leaves and dirt aside in favor of nibbling upon tiny morsels buried beneath the surface, the tiny creature was completely unaware of the danger lurking in the shadows of the undergrowth, pinning it with eyes of shocking green.

In a burst of motion, a large and slender figure burst out of the darkness, landing a pace away from the mouse and startling it into a bolt. It scampered toward the safety of its burrow, only to be cut off when thick tendrils rose up from seemingly nowhere, blocking the entrance to the little hole which served as its home.

Changing course, the mouse bolted for the cover of the undergrowth, but the figure shifted and scuffed a paw up, showering dirt over the frightened animal. As it stumbled, the large shadow laughed, lashing out and catching the mouse with a paw.

Now with its tail trapped between the toes of what was obviously a night-dwelling predator, the mouse could only struggle and squeak helplessly, thrashing its legs around in a hopeless attempt to get free and make a run for it.

The shadow stepped into the moonlight, mouse gripped in one paw, revealing itself to be a feline of sorts. Green eyes the color of a pine tree's bristles and a pelt the color of wet sand — clearly a beautiful young cat, with a crown of leaves circling her head and flowers growing from her fur, swirling muted colors into her otherwise plain pelt.

Gaze glimmering with amusement, she brought the mouse closer to her muzzle, white teeth glinting in the shimmer of moonshine.

"What a poor, unfortunate little thing," she cooed, voice reminiscent of that of a singing flower — if flowers could sing, which this individual knew they could. "Walked right into my trap."

The creature screeched and thrashed, but couldn't free itself from the feline's grip. Less than spider-length from her terrifying teeth, about to be devoured and thrown aside—

"Flora!"

Turning away from her prey, the feline scanned the other side of the clearing, just in time to see another cat-like figure drop down the trunk of a large oak tree, landing delicately upon the grass. Her distraction was enough to save the mouse, for it managed to struggle free of the grip on its tail amd scamper into the bushes, safe from harm.

The young brown cat sighed as she watched it disappear, before she stood up and turned to fully face the newcomer, twitching the tip of her long tail in irritation.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded, clearly annoyed by her presence. "I was in the middle of something."

"Yeah, tormenting that poor mouse." This newcomer was slightly larger in size, with a darker and longer brown coat. Her eyes were unusually blue for a cat of her color — similar in shade to the feathers growing among the strands of fur. However, one noticeable feature that would cause any head to turn was the massive crown of antlers which donned her head, as though she were some mix between a deer and a cat. "Father and I have told you time and time again not to play with your food."

Flora's expression soured slightly, and she flicked the tip of her tail. "I wasn't playing with it."

"Sure you weren't." The larger cat shook her head, rolling her eyes. "The poor thing was terrified. Either you kill it mercifully, or you don't kill it at all. Traumatized prey isn't ethical, and you know the Law."

"Yeah, your Law." The lighter cat scoffed. "Which is only in place because you share empathy with them."

Bristling, the darker feline bared her teeth. "I created all living creatures of the sky, sea and ground. The least you could do is show them some respect."

Flora shrugged. "Why should I respect what I'm going to eat, anyway? They all go to the same place." She curled her tail, pointing to her stomach.

"Your chilling lack of ethics is concerning to me, Parva Soror." The elder scoffed.

"Whatever," she swished her tail in a dismissive manner. "Why are you here, Fauna? Surely not to lecture me again."

The feline who was named Fauna narrowed her eyes slightly, her expression shifting into one of more disappointment at the figure before her. "Actually, I am not. There is something we need to discuss."

"And what might that be?" Flora demanded, seeming unconcerned as she bent her head and began to lick her chest fur.

Fauna circled her younger sister, the short and fluffy stub that was her tail flicking in annoyance. "Pay attention — this is important."

With a sigh, the lighter-colored feline followed the circling figure of her sister, never removing her eyes from the other she-cat.

After some deliberation, Fauna halted, staring down her muzzle at Flora. "I felt a disturbance last night — in my very essence. Something irritated the Coelestis Columna."

The younger sister tilted her head, tapping the tip of her tail against the earth almost boredly. "Okay? What has that got to do with me?"

"I think you know exactly what it has to do with you, Secunda Soror." Fauna pushed her muzzle against that of the lighter-colored cat, teeth bared. "I can smell the stardust on your pelt — you cannot wash it off."

Flora pulled away from the closeness of her sister, shifting so that there was space between them. She glared at the elder cat scornfully. "So what? I just went for a look."

"You know very well that it is forbidden until you have unlocked your full potential." Her blue eyes glimmered with rage. "Why did you approach it? Did you think I wouldn't find out?"

Kind of. "It's not fair!" Flora complained. "You have already been given your Celestial Blessing, and now you have so much power at your clawtips — why do I have to wait?"

"Because father decides if you are ready for the Blessing, not you." Fauna pulled back, antlers creaking. "Wait until he finds out that you took your Blessing without his approval. He will take it back from you — for good."

The light brown molly shot to her paws. "Why would he? I'm already showing signs of better control. I know how to use my gifts!"

"That doesn't matter! You aren't meant to take the Blessing — it's something you earn!" She stepped closer. "Has Father taught you nothing?"

"Of course he has!" Flora protested. "But I was tired of waiting for something that might never come. Look at the power I have — I can make this world more beautiful than it has ever been." She lifted a paw, and almost instantly, beautiful white flowers sprouted from the ground, blooming in the light of the silver moon.

Anger burned hot in Fauna's heart, and she lifted one paw, smashing the new flowers beneath it. "You have no idea what kind of responsibility this power needs. It is linked to your emotions, which you have not learned to control. You have the mental state of a kitling barely dragged from the belly of her mother."

"My emotions are fine!" Flora hissed, rage bubbling up in her chest at the sight of the destroyed flowers. "You're the one who is being overdramatic! There is beauty in what I can still learn while I have the Blessing!"

"Beauty, or innocence covering up insolence?" The darker brown cat demanded. "You have disobeyed the Law which Pan himself placed for us." She stepped back. "That is an offense against the natural order of things."

"So what?" Flora stepped back as well, eyeing her elder sister with cold disgust. "Maybe it's time for the natural order of things to change."

Fauna's eyes seemed to glow in the silver light as she bared her teeth, body going tense. Overhead, a raven let out an ominous cry, circling the two sisters like a shadow against the moon.

Flora drove her claws into the grass, and a moment later, large tentacles of vines rose up out of the earth, weaving in manners similar to that of serpents before the strike. She smirked at her elder sister as Fauna stood her ground, watching with rage-filled shock.

"See? Your emotions are controlling your power? You aren't ready to bear the full force of the world's vegetation!"

The lighter brown cat sighed, though the grin never left her face. "Oh, Soror Maior," she purred, her tail swishing in time with the weaving plants. "I am in complete control." Her own eyes were glowing in the darkness, showing the power she wielded — the power that was addicting. It had always been. "Now, let me show you just how powerful my plants are against your beasts!"

Flora lurched forward, driving the vines into the earth in an attempt to strike the other feline, who didn't move, but managed to redirect the attack with her own power.

"That isn't fair, Soror Magna," her voice was nearly sing-song — grating against Fauna's ears. "You shouldn't cheat."

"I should if you're trying to kill me!" The darker brown feline shouted in rage.

"Kill you?" Flora echoed. "Oh, no. I'm just proving to you what happens when you take what you want!"

Fauna jumped back as another tendril came down, bruising the ground with its impact. The raven's cry became even louder in the background, but she tuned it out in favor of glaring once more at her little sister, her Parva Soror. "Enacting violence against a Celestial is a crime. You know that. I will not fight you, for your power has not come fairly, nor are you in any state to start a war that you will not win."

The younger sister's eyes were gleaming with rage and hatred, but her next attack was not directed at the elder. Rather, one of the tendrils shot straight up into the air, impaling the raven which flew above. The strike ended its life almost instantly, and Fauna hunched over with a gasp, as if it had been her own heart that had been brutally torn out.

Something inside of her snapped, at the same moment she noticed a white-hot glow emitting from her sister's chest, surprising the both of them.

A moment later, the wind was knocked from Fauna's body as something blazed from deep within her — a part of her soul feeling as though it had been torn from her entity. It snapped toward Flora, who had fallen as a similar glow shot from her own chest.

The two collided midway between the sisters, spiraling up and eventually shattering as if they were not pieces of individual souls, but rather, shining gemstones. The remnants sprinkled like stardust over the clearing, vanishing as they touched the ground.

An ominous chuckle came from the shadows, deep and masculine, before a third feline joined the first two in the clearing. Unlike the sisters, this one was a male, with fur as dark as the shadows that danced around him, and eyes the color of death itself.

Flora got to her paws, catching her breath and turning her glare upon the newcomer. "What are you doing here, Mors?

The black cat tilted his head innocently, the movement shifting the darkness around him. "You summoned me here, Soror. Your little feud was enough to grant me a visit to the Living World."

"Shadowcasts aren't welcome among the Living, Mors — you know that." Fauna felt an ache in her chest as she slowly got to her paws.

"Shadows can be summoned if enough hatred is driven through the roots. I was summoned because the sweet taste of death bathed my lips, and you know my calling is to the dead."

"The evil dead."

"Perhaps. But corpses, rot, and chaos are also my calling. All things dead and dying, though only those who worship wrong join me in the shadows." Mors licked his lips. "Gave me just enough time to slip through a crack in the veil and meet you here."

Flora narrowed her eyes. "You did . . . " she gestured to her chest, indicating what had just happened. "This?"

Mors blinked, his eyes seeming to glow with the shadows around him. "Are you asking if it was I who stole a fragment of two living souls? Yes. I was the one who did so — the sweet taste of your hatred gave me enough power to destroy them."

"Why would you do that?" Fauna demanded. "Pan will have your head for this!"

"Pan is the guardian of Life. My power is Death." Mors replied, still grinning unnaturally. "By destroying a fragment of two pure souls, there is now only the hatred you feel for one another. There will never be peace between you two — not as long as your souls remain as they are. By this decree, even Pan himself cannot end your hatred."

His claws scorched the ground, leaving black gouges in the earth beneath his paws.

"By this decree, death and hate have leaked into your world and poisoned your hearts."

The moment his claws scored the earth, the two sisters fell to the ground a second time, writhing in pain as though his claws had torn into their very flesh and bone.

Mors stepped back as the two got back on their paws, eyes now rimmed with the glorious shadow of hate and decay. He watched them lunge for one another, dismissing his presence as his power took them over, corrupting their once-pure souls into the darkness he tainted them with.

This was only the beginning. A thousand generations from now, the war would still be going on, and Death will have permanently left his mark in the flesh of Life.