PROLOGUE
It was cold. Frost covered the leaves that littered ShadowClan's camp. Fresh blankets of snow lay on the ground. Snow fell onto the ground, soft and feathery. The camp seemed peaceful. One queen sat alone, looking out into the forest. Her belly was swollen with kits.
Sighing, the queen looked into the light grey sky. She recalled earlier that day when Harefall and said that this was the coldest leafbare any cat could remember. That afternoon, the elder had died, with a sudden blast of blackcough.
" Many cats thought when the Dark Forest attacked many seasons ago, that would be the end of the Clans." the queen murmured gently. Her black and white pelt shimmered in the dim light." But maybe the Clans will die out because of blackcough."
Blackcough was an ancient disease that was way worse that greencough. There was no known cure for it. Once you had it, you made your farewell wishes. You were going to die.
The queen blinked as the teardrops on her face turned to ice. She wrapped her tail around her paws as the memory of a swift, smart, muscular brown tabby tom filled her mind. Galefin, son of Featherwish, who was the daughtor of Nightblink, who was the daughter of Tigerheart, was her mate. He had died when he had blackcough and was in a war with ThunderClan. Pain rippled through her belly.
Galefin had been slashed in the stomach by Willowspring." I can feel his pain." she murmured.
Pain rippled through her whole body. She gasped and fell to the ground. Her legs flung out infront of her and she yowled. Just then, the snow thickened to uncover a blizzard. It shot through the clearing and blasted the dens. The queen could hear leaves being swept off trees and branches.
The screech of Frostpaw, an apprentice, filled the air as he was swept into the white flurry. The warriors den started to creak, and it flew away. The warriors all streamed out. Dappleberry raced out of the medicine cats den with her apprentice, Sunpaw, at her tail.
The queen yowled again as another pulse of pain went through her. Dapleberry raced over to her." Mintstream! Are you okay?" the medicine cat asked as she placed her paws on the she-cats belly." Oh, no. Not now! Can't the wait?" asked the medicine cat.
Mintstream looked up at Dappleberry." What's going on?" she asked." Your kits are coming." cried the calico.
Thornblaze, Galefin's brother, raced over." Don't worry." he meowed. Mintstream sunk her claws into the ground. Snow piled ontop of the cats. They were being buried alive.
Eelfur, another queen, carried a thick, long stick over. Mintstream bit down on it as pain rippled through her. A tiny place in the stick splintered. It, too, was frozen. The snow had already buried that cats. A small grey furry bundle slid out onto the ground. Thornblaze started to lick it. The kit let out a loud shriek.
Another small black bundle came out. Eelfur started to groom it's fur the wrong way and the she-kit wailed.
Thunder crackled in the air and lightning flashed as a ginger tom came out. Dappleberry licked him. A black and white she-kit came out and Sunpaw groomed it. A blue-grey tom came out and Eelfur got that one too. After one last light brown she-kit came out, All the kits and the queen rested under the snow.
Mintstream lifted her head. The snow had covered all of them, but Thornblaze and Sunpaw made a little cave where they were laying. The black and white queen looked at the grey tom." This kit I will name Blizzardkit, since he was born at the beginning of the blizzard.
" This will be Midnightkit," Mintstream meowed, pointing her tail at the black she-kit. Her sparkling green eyes opened, as did Blizzardkit's." This ginger tom will be Lightningkit, as he came out at the same time as lightning flashed." Lightningkit opened his peircing yellow eyes and set his hypnotizing stare into his mother's blue eyes.
" This will be Galekit, in honor of his father, who died in battle." she licked the blue-grey tom as he opened his eyes; his mother's eyes." And this she-kit who looks at me will be... hmm...."
Suddenly, lightning flashed and a muscular, handsome dark brown tabby with green eyes like Midnightkit appeared. His paws were starry, and everywhere he stepped he left a little sparkle." Galefin?" gasped Thornblaze. He nodded." I came to name the last two of my kits."
" The little beautiful jazzy kitten who looks like her mother," he mewed cooly." Ya'll be Twilightkit. And the other little light kitty'll be Silkkit." He touched his cold nose to Mintstream's." Bye." he meowed." Goodbye, my love." Then Galefin fadded into mist.
