The forest was quiet, other than the hushed whispers of the wind as they weaved through the leaves of towering trees and their gnarled roots. A silver moon was fading behind the treetops, casting it's final beams of misty light onto a cluster of prickly bushes.
The forest seemed to rattle in dismay as a feline's pitiful screams were heard, the yowls glazed over in a burning agony. After what seemed like moons, the screams were silenced, and faded away into the gloomy atmosphere.

      A dark blue-grey tom was seated next to a yellow tabby she-cat, hunched over and frowning. His bright yellow eyes danced with a mixture of emotions, almost impossible to pick away from his gaze. The feline looked exhausted, her own blood splattered on the leaves and moss of the bush the two were concealed under. The tom's stare shifted so he looked down at the two she-kits writhing vigorously against the she-cat's flank, shoving each other over in hopes to begin their feeding.

      At last, the blue-grey tom's yellow eyes lightened up a bit, relaxing his tensed mussels. He smiled warmly, hunching over a bit more so his head was pressed affectionately against one of his kits. "They're beautiful, Nikki," he murmured, glowing with pride.

      Nikki smiled at one of the kits, whose pelt was jet-black. "They are, Lakeshade."

      Lakeshade peered through the leaves of the bush, up at the sky. The sun was rising, painting the land with an almost sudden brightness.

      "What are we going to do about our kits? Gingerslash will send out the patrols soon. The cats will find us!" Lakeshade fretted, glancing at his mate and kits.

      Nikki didn't say anything, and just looked down at the kittens. With a slight growl, the yellow tabby unsheathed her claws and pushed over a kitten with them, pricking the small cat's skin slightly. The kit let out a cry. "Take it," Nikki told Lakeshade, "and I'll take this one," Nikki pulled a black-pelted kit closer to herself.

       "W-what?" Lakeshade couldn't keep his jaw from dropping in astonishment. "You're choosing now? You can't favor one of your kits!" He protested angrily.

      "Well I do favor this one," Nikki meowed bluntly in response, "besides, there are two kits and two of us. It is more than fair we each get one."

      Nikki didn't say anything for awhile, and the two cats just stared at each other in silence. Finally, Nikki continued, her eyes glazed over with annoyance. "Lakeshade, you are well aware I didn't want kits. These kittens are a mistake. I don't love you, Lakeshade."

      "I know that!" Lakeshade hissed almost immediately.

      "That kit is just a plain, weak, runt!" Nikki continued, pricking the tabby kit with her claws again, "look how helpless it is! It's not even moving anymore," she hissed through gritted teeth, "the strongest survive in this world, Lakeshade. I'm sure you've learned that."

      Lakeshade twitched madly and he quickly grabbed the tabby kit. He yelled from around the kitten's fur, "stop!"

      Lakeshade couldn't believe this. How could the cat he once loved be so cold-hearted and mean? He set the tabby kit protectively between his two broad paws, and vowed silently, "I'll protect you, my kit." After a pause, he looked back at Nikki, "fine, I'll take this kitten to Emberclan."

✎...

      The forest was alive once again. A she-cat trotted hastily down a leaf-coated trail, looking up as the branches of the massive oak trees seemed to wave welcomingly at her. However, this forest was far from welcoming. The feline knew herself that stepping into this woodland very well could cost the cat her very life. Did that matter to that cat though? No. Of course not. This cat was confident; too confident most would say.

       The feline flinched when she heard a shrill cry, coming from the lump of fur she was carrying in her jaws. The cat parted her jaws, letting the creature drop into bristles of wispy moss with a thrump.

Sunlight shone through the canopy of leaves, shining onto the cat's yellow-tabby pelt. Her eyes glared down at the kitten, scanning it's ruffled fur. Her nose twitched in disgust as it let out another cry, "shut up, you mangy piece of crowfood!"

        The kitten had not yet opened it's eyes and hadn't understood the hostile words it's mother had directed towards it. It's ruffled and unkept fur was a jet-black other than the hints of white on it's paws and tail-tip.

"Look," the she-cat continued, speaking to her kit as if it would understand her words, "we just need to wait here for your father, okay? I can't take care of you."

         The kitten continued to mew.

         Lashing her tail in annoyance, she snatched her kit back up harshly in her mouth and scratched her way up one of the broad oak trees, her sharp claws sending loose bark crumbling down under her, onto the bright green grass.

   The she-cat knew where the father of her kitten would be, after all, it was where they always met in secret. She should've known that he would be seated in that very place as the sun blossomed into the sky. It seemed the specific location had a special meaning to the tom, from what she knew he always sat there in the morning and watched the sun rise. Will the she-cat ever know why that place was so special to her former-mate? Probably never, and frankly, the yellow-tabby could care less.

          The branches creaked eerily as the feline padded along them. Her tail waved behind her, and it seemed effortless as the she-cat leapt from branch to branch. She paused and set her kit down on a branch. The kit, terrified, clung onto the branch with it's tiny claws.

The she-cat's jaws parted and she inhaled, letting the scents of her surroundings bathe her tongue. A glimmer of satisfaction flashed in the she-cat's eyes and she plucked her kitten off the branch and continued in the direction she was going.

Finally, the yellow-furred cat sat down casually on a broad branch, digging her claws into the tough oak's bark and staring down below her. There was a pond with variations of plants flourishing around it. Bushes were clustered tightly around the trunks of trees with colorful flowers blooming from their leaves. The grass was bright green with dandelions sprouting proudly from the ground.

The she-cat set her kit down securely between her paws and wrapped her tail over it's black fur.

"Lakeshade!" The she-cat called confidently, a smirk tugging at the corners of her lips.

A skinny blue-grey cat was crouching by the pond, watching the sun rise over the treetops. The cat's fur prickled and it's head turned, looking at his surroundings with his eyes as round as two yellow moons.

"Nikki?" Lakeshade's voice was hardly heard by the yellow feline. It was barely more than a whisper.

"It's me," The she-cat meowed simply. Lakeshade, ears perked, was now able to pinpoint where Nikki's voice had come from and had completely stood up. He glared up at the tree with her seated in it.

"What are you doing here?" Lakeshade asked slowly, and Nikki scoffed when she knew he was trying to contain his rage, being that his past mate had come to visit him yet again.

Nikki raised her tail off her black kitten. "This is why I'm here," Nikki said, her voice smooth.

         "What do you want now? I took my kit, and you have your's," Lakeshade said, continuing to glare coldly at the yellow tabby she-cat.

         Nikki rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. She snatched up her kit and stood up from her sitting position, unfazed by the rocking of the branch as she did so. She leapt down, landing on her four paws.

         Nikki glanced at Lakeshade, who was now looking down at her as she set the kitten by his paws.

          "I don't want it," Nikki sighed.

          "You've barely had it for over a sunrise!"

          "That doesn't matter. I can't mother it. I have no mothering qualities."

          Nikki watched as the yellow-eyed tom paced back and forth. His ears flattened when Nikki spoke again.

          "What did you do with my other... Other kit?" Nikki asked slowly, her voice lowering, her attitude changing a bit.

           Lakeshade stopped pacing and stood by the black-furred kit again. He looked down at his daughter and smiled warmly as he replied to Nikki. "Brownfeather just recently had her kits. She agreed to take our kit in. Her kits were newborns too. The clan suspects nothing. It's a secret between Brownfeather, her mate, and I. They can be trusted."

Nikki nodded, "good, so you can do the same with her," she meowed, directing the statement towards the black kitten.

"Not exactly," Lakeshade meowed, shifting his paws uncomfortably. "The clan now knows that Brownfeather is raising three kittens," Lakeshade's ear flicked with annoyance, "but I'll figure something out. As long as I get to say I'm protecting my kits."

"What are you protecting them from?" Nikki challenged with a small giggle.

"You," Lakeshade hissed gravely.

Lakeshade's words pricked like claws on Nikki's heart for a heartbeat before her claws unsheathed and her teeth bared. She leaned forward, her muzzle pointing threateningly in the blue-grey tom's face.

"You don't need to protect the kittens from me. You need to protect me from my kits!" Nikki rasped. With that being said, Nikki whirled around and started padding away.

"Wait!" Lakeshade called. Nikki turned to look over her shoulder at the warrior.

"What?" Nikki spat.

"What's her name?"

Nikki stared at Lakeshade. She inhaled, her breath shaky.

"Ivy. Her name is Ivy."