A hazy full moon hung in the pitch black expanse of the night sky. Even though it was well past midnight, the air still vibrated from the calls of the animals that lived inside the zoo. The chuffing of the jaguars and the hoot of a howler monkey were loudest next to the aquariums, which were housed entirely in their own building.

A solitary cat stood in the darkness, his light green eyes narrowed as it stared at the single door that led into the room of saltwater aquariums. His pelt practically blended into the shadows; his twitching tail tip was the only indication that he was even there. But he wouldn't be waiting for long.

Click. A towering two-leg came stomping from behind the door, too focused on the clip board in its hands to notice the cat sitting only a step away. Those twoleg zookeepers never pay attention, he thought with a twinge of satisfaction.

As the two-leg's foot steps faded into the distance, the cat turned to look back towards the door way. It stood ajar, unsuspectingly left open by its last occupant. But this was a typical occurrence, and was the cat's only way of entering the building.

The tom pricked his ears, hearing the faint voices that always echoed out towards him from inside. Beastmaster. The Beastmaster is here. Beastmaster has come to speak with us.

Ahh yes, the aquarium was his safe space. Here, the voices of Great Mother speak loudest, the creatures of the aquarium were his strongest connection to their ancestors. In this building, he would hear everything StarClan and the Great Mother had to tell him.

The black furred tom took a short breath before he started to walk into the building, the scent of salty water wafting across his senses. During the day, the aquarium was lighted and welcoming to any of the two-legs who had come to see the marvelous sea creatures that lived here. But at night, the scant shimmer of the stars from outside the windows sent waves of teal and sea green reflections across the ceiling and walls.

When the cat first entered, he was faced with an entirely open and sweeping floor that was lined with glass habitats along the edges. Near the front was where the small, passive fish were kept; mostly clownfish, wrasse, and tangs of all colors and shades. A good many of them swam in schools, which appeared as flecks of color that shifted about the water.

He could see the fish watching him as he passed, their bodies turning in the water as he continued onwards towards the rear of the building. In the next cages were the larger fish; the parrotfish, the many different varieties of angelfish, puffers, groupers, and lion fish. The cat stopped to look at the nearest tank, which contained many more saltwater fish that he'd most likely never know the names of.

But a husky voice called from further into the building and echoed in his ears. "Beastmaster, I have news I must share with you." The tom turned towards an enormous tank that lined the back wall, where a gigantic bull shark hovered by the glass.

He picked up his pace until he was finally standing at the foot of the enclosure, staring up at the massive shark. "It is nice to see you again, Brutus. I had that dream, about darkness and blood again. I had hoped you would have something to tell me," Beastmaster meowed.

The bull shark flicked his tail to one side, his razor sharp teeth bared. "The blood and darkness still haunts you, but a light shines in the grasslands. It is time for you to take on an apprentice," he explains, "she has been chosen by Great Mother to follow in your pawsteps."

Beastmaster's ears flatten against his head. An apprentice, he thinks, I hope they will be safe. "Has StarClan still not spoken to you?" Beastmaster asks seriously. It had been many moons since they shared with him the dream of darkness and blood, when would they tell him what to do?

"Your StarClan may watch over you but they are powerless to stop the future," Brutus scoffed, "light is the only thing that can stop darkness. You will not need to face this fate alone."

Beastmaster nods his head, feeling only slightly better at what Brutus had to tell him. "Thank you for your wisdom," he meows.

"My wisdom? It is Great Mother you should thank," he grunts, "now it's time you should leave. The zoo keepers will be back any moment."

Beastmaster knew better than to argue. He had been hoping for answers but was only leaving with more questions. But I'm not alone, he reminded himself. I will have an apprentice, and things will be ok, I hope.