By Kesadawn
Prologue
The wind roared and rain pelted down. Instinct told the cat to seek shelter and rest, but she had to continue. Somewhere out there, in the swirling darkness, were her kits. Three of them, barely two moons old.
The queen let out a desperate caterwaul, but received no reply. She let out another, this time it being a fresh wave of grief. Shimmerstar, SwiftClan's leader, had refused to send a search party until the storm had ended. Now Rapidclaw knew why. Giving in, she stumbled to a thick bramble patch, squeezing inside. He eyes widened and she yowled in surprise. Lying in front of her, were her three kits. A small ginger one raised it's head and gave a pitiful squeak.
"Sunnykit!" Purred Rapidclaw, licking the kit as it staggered towards her on unsteady legs. She licked her for a few heartbeats to warm the she-kit up. It was then she remembered her other kits. A brown kit lay on top of a white one. They were Galekit and Ivorykit. Rapidclaw swallowed, nosing them gently. Neither moved. The depressed queen tried again. This time she heard a faint mewl.
Nudging Galekit away, Rapidclaw picked up the runt of her litter, Ivorykit. The tiny white tom mewled again, but this time happily as he recognised his mother's warm scent.
Glancing over the top of her two remaining kits, Rapidclaw saw Galekit. Standing up and leaving Sunnykit and Ivorykit to play fight, she padded over to him and touched her nose to his fur, murmuring her last words to him before he joined StarClan.
Worn out from the journey to reach her kin, Rapidclaw lay down. Sunnykit and Ivorykit padded over and curled up beside her, and they all fell asleep quickly. For about an hour, she lay there undisturbed.
A loud bark pierced the air. Rapidclaw leapt up, her fur bristling. She stood over her kits as she realized what stood at the entrance of the bush.
It was a dog.