The Flight/Prologue

*I guess we can start from the beginning...*

...*The beginning, is after all, where everything starts...*

The night rolled on, unstoppable and relentless. It's empty pit of blackness they call the dark blocked out most of the stars with blackened clouds. Many believed the dark was evil, so that was why the clouds turned black. The night seemed empty, dark and soundless, but in fact it was bustling with the critters of the night.

Mice, voles, shrews, bats and many more night dwelling animals hoped around, searching in the safety of the dark for food and water, the basic supplies to survive another day. But the howl of a wolf in the distance, followed by responding howls sent the poor little creatures running for their lives.

*Is this truly the very beginning, you may ask...*

*...Yes it is. But you must be patient for the real story to start...*

Not just wolves were the predators at this time. A few daring cats traveled, fearlessly strutting along as though they were the kings and queens of the land. They kept to the shadows, occasionally ambushing a mouse or two.

Some cats were not only hunting for themselves. For example, a black tom prowled on, determined on feeding his family back home. He let himself be swallowed by the shadows, his own terror being prominent in his scent trail. This very tom was terrified of what the night held, but he was determined to keep hid family alive another day... Even if it meant he did not live to see their survival.

*Why is this tom so important in this story, you may ask...*

*...It is not him that is important. It is his kin...*

He started home when he thought he had caught sufficient for his family to not starve. The night was still rolling on, scaring the tom to go even faster back to his home. He did not want to run into a wolf at this hour. He bounded through the moorland, towards the pine forest and he raced over the border, glancing over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't being followed.

He started once more for his home. In his hast, he reached his home in less than five minutes. Of course, he did not know what time meant. He was greeted by a fellow tom, this one an Aegean and one much younger than the black tom. He passed hurriedly and went straight to a rather large den, but it was overly crowded by Queens and kits alike, the tom's own mate and kits in the fray. Except they were waiting patiently in their nest at the back of the den, the Queen's eyes lighting up expectantly when she caught sight of the black tom.

*What is so important about this Queen and her kits, you may ask...*

*...They are the kin I spoke of earlier...*

The tom gave two of his caught mice to the Queen, one for her, the other for the three moon old kits. They were his and the Queen's, the oldest kits in the Clan. He licked each cat in the nest over the ears affectionately before leaving the den to go to his own nest in an even larger den, one near the large den he had just exited.

He slipped inside, stepping on a fellow cat's tail. He ignored their grumbled protest and searched frantically for his nest, also near the back, like the Queen's. He found it with much difficulty, having to avoid many tails and paws, but when he did he slumped down into it's mossy contents with a gentle and soft sigh. He dreamed with much difficulty that night, constantly waking to think he had been followed back to his home.

This tom was smart, but he did not know the reason he kept on waking. He blamed it on thinking he had been followed, but the true reason was his thoughts were disturbed by pools of blood, dying cats...

And his kits in the middle of it all.