The night was crisp and clear, stars dancing in the sky as a soft sheet of clouds passed over the forest. An owl hooted in the distance, its call echoing through the birch trees and bouncing through the woods. A breeze lightly ruffled the branches, swaying leaves and passing on its way. The night was peaceful, undisturbed and beautiful at the same time.

Suddenly, an ear-splitting screech ripped through the air, tearing through the serenity with claws as sharp as a lion's. The owl's ears sprang with fear and it flapped its mighty wings, springing into the sky and quickly leaving the forest. Down below, a small silver tom wove through the trees, his breaths coming out in gasps, his tail whipping behind him. In the shadows ran the dark shadow of a she-cat, her yellow eyes colder than the river when it froze over during winter.

The silver tom was sprinting as fast as his little legs could carry him. Black dapples adorned his back and head, a large splatter of black on the side of his body, almost resembling lava pouring down a mountain and pooling onto the ground. His green eyes were wide with terror, his strides growing in length as he tried his best to flee. He suddenly stumbled, a scream wrenching from his throat as he collided with the ground, dust spitting in the air and gathering around his body. He whipped around and suddenly the black splatter on his flank began to glow, and out of seemingly nowhere, a downpour of lava began to seep from the sky. The she-cat craned her muzzle up and narrowed her eyes, narrowly dodging the erupting flames and springing on top of the tom. She sent him spiraling into the ground, ticking her claws and holding them close to his face. "Try anything and I'll slice open your throat. Stop using your stupid powers and listen to what I have to say."

The mortified tom nodded quickly, flicking his striped tail. Her eyes flickered over to the side, watching as the lava began to disappear as it caught fire on the trees, the flames evaporating as well. She whipped her head back to him, watching as his mark stopped glowing.

"P-Please," he begged, "don't kill me! I-I'll do anything!"

"Tell me where it is you stupid rat," she growled, her yellow eyes narrowing. "Or I'll kill you."

His eyes stretched as wide as full moons, his paws beginning to flail. "N-No! I-I don't know where it is! I swear!"

She snorted, sinking her claws into his throat, but not deep enough to draw blood. He let out a wail of horror and pain, jerking his head away, tears flecking the sides of his green eyes. "I SWEAR!" he screamed. "PLEASE! I DON'T KNOW!"

The she-cat huffed, her gray pelt almost looking nonexistent against the dark night sky. "Last chance, Spark."

"PLEASE DARK! I DON'T—"

Dark's pearly-white claws flashed in the moonlight as she brought them down against his throat, slitting it open and watching as crimson blood poured out. He let out many pained screeches and fell to his side when she let him go, the she-cat rolling her eyes as the liquid pooled around his whole body.

"Useless," she spat, twitching an ear. His cries turned into muffled sobs and eventually long, drawn out wheezes, until his breathing faded away, as did the once peaceful night.

Dark turned her head to the side and stared into the darkness with bright yellow eyes, her brows furrowing as she scanned the area for any strangers. Eventually deciding that no one had seen what she'd done, the gray she-cat turned and disappeared into the shadowy night, nothing being left behind except the FireClan cat she had just brutally murdered.

࿇ ༻༝ ✿ ༝༺ ࿇

A beautiful white tom sat in the midst of a cluster of stars, purple and blue flecks aligning his back, muzzle, and tail. His blue eyes flashed against his snowy pelt, a five-pointed star embedded in his fur, a splash of green branches sewn onto his chest. A sigh left his lips as he hung his head, watching the Clans down below, his tail curled neatly around his small paws.

"Icestar?" The familiar voice caught the tom's attention. He swiveled his ears back but didn't bother to look, too shaken to even talk. The graceful she-cat leapt over a boulder and slid next to him, violet eyes blinking with worry as she set herself beside the tom.

"Icestar." He still didn't answer. His blue eyes were pools of doubt against a snowstorm, his claws unsheathed and digging into the ground below him. The petite brown female turned to look over the ledge, twitching an ear and sitting in silence with the former EarthClan tom.

"It's happening," he whispered, his voice rough and raspy. The she-cat shook her head, tail flicking back and forth angrily.

"It's been happening for too long," she snarled, her words dripping with venom.

"DarkClan has their cat," he murmured, his head dipping into his paws. "And what does LightClan have? Nothing. We've been too cowardly to even fight back."

"We're fighting back just enough up here," she hissed, jerking her head back to motion to the sky. The stars disappeared into shadows of darkness, the clouds eating away at what was left to LightClan.

"It's not enough, Larkdawn."

A long silence was shared between the two once again. Larkdawn huffed and returned her gaze back down the slope, watching Dark slink through the trees with narrowed violet eyes. "What do you suppose we do, then?"

Icestar was quiet for a few moments before he staggered to his paws, his tail curling as it swept around his flank, a shudder noticeably passing through his body. His teeth were clenched, his jaws slightly cracked open to reveal sharp canines.

"We must fight back with the power of life."