Snowfire

Rainfur raced to the nursery as he heard wailing, and gasped as he saw his new son and daughter. He purred, curling himself around Mouseclaw, clearing his mind of his previous conversation. He nuzzled the kits, tucking his tail into the nest.

Rainfur lay his head down, closing his tired eyes.

When he woke, he was in a black-like forest, and he knew he was in the Dark Forest. "Tank! Show yourself you fox-heart!" He yowled. Suddenly a golden tabby padded from the woods, his pelt surrounded with black flames. "Tank." Rainfur snarled. "Oh little Rainfur, too bad it was your father instead of you!" Rainfur lunged at the tabby, ripping his throat. He fell to the ground, but he wasn't getting back up. "How...did.....you?" He started to ask the question that was troubling Rainfur, but cut off as his flank stopped moving. Rainfur looked at his paws. How did he kill a Dark Forest cat?

Rainfur looked up to see that the cat's body had vanished, leaving only a pool of blood. He awoke with a sharp gasp, He saw a few deep scratches from his previous fight, and he twisted, hoping Mouseclaw wouldn't notice.

He dropped his shoulders. "I saw Tank in my dream, I was in the dark forest, and I...I....killed him. I shouldn't have lunged at him." He meowed, grief washing over him.

Rainfur didn't feel anything, just the cold horror that he had killed a cat. Sunstar stepped into the nursery. He lay by the kit's, looking at them, then noticing Rainfur. "We'll discuss it later." He whispered. Then Rainfur remembered that Tank had killed his father.

Rainfur licked his wounds clean then lay his head by Mouseclaw, licking the soft fur on top of her head until he heard her breathing slow. He put his head on his paws and kept watch over the kits while they slept.

Rainfur heard Mouseclaw start to purr in her sleep, and he started to purr with her.

Rainfur got to his paws and padded to the fresh-kill pile. He got a squirrel and brought it back to his mate, setting it at her paws. He turned and padded out into the misty morning forest, hoping to catch some prey.

Rainfur soon had caught two blue jays and a big rabbit. He took the rabbit in his mouth and slung the limp body over his back, then picked up the two blue jays. He padded back to camp, the sun disappearing behind the trees. He dropped the bluejays and brought the rabbit to the nursery, sitting next to Mouseclaw and the other queens. He let all the queens eat first before picking up the remains. The rabbit had been so big that he could give the rest of the remains to every cat in camp, before grabbing his two blue jays and padding to Sunstar's den. He sat beside his leader, passing one of the blue jays to him. He ate his bird hungrily and cleaned off his face after he was done. Sunstar looked at him after he had finished his blue jay. "Thank you for the prey. Your wounds?" He asked Rainfur. "I killed Tank." He mumbled. Sunstar's eyes just glittered. "I'm glad I could be the leader of the cat who took down a threat like him." He replied.

Rainfur heard Mouseclaw's joyful yowl and raced to the nursery. Shadekit opened wide, leaf green eyes. He sat by his mate, purring so loudly he thought the walls of bramble shook. "Her eyes are gorgeous. Just like her mother." He meowed, covering her ears with loving licks.