Blizzard [Warriors Fanfiction]

Prologue [REVISED]

      The wind whipped through the branches of the oak trees overhead. A slim she-cat raced as fast as her wounded leg would carry her, pale grey fur fluffed up and sticking out at all angles. In her jaws dangled a small white tom kit with his eyes still shut, mouth open in a silent wail. Perched on the queen's back was another white tom kit, digging his claws into his mother's fur in a desperate attempt to keep from falling.

      Behind the struggling she-cat, a larger black-and-white tom urged her on, carrying two more white she-kits, one on his back and holding the other by the scruff of the neck.

      "Keep going, Ivy! We're nearly there!" He called out, voice muffled by his daughter's soaking pelt.

      Ivy glanced over her shoulder to see her mate's side still bleeding heavily from the large claw marks that ran down his skin. "Don't... worry Storm. I-I'm not stopping." She gasped in reply, blinking thick snowflakes away from her eyes.

      The two continued on, fighting through the powerful gusts of wind until they collapsed beneath the cover of a large boulder that stood in a clearing. Panting heavily, Storm gazed lovingly at the she-cat he adored. "We'll make it through this, we always do."

     Ivy's only response was a slight whimper as she tried feebly to pull her kits to her belly. Storm's insides clenched in fear as he realized the amount of blood he and his mate must have lost on the tiring journey. Feeling the adrenaline of the run wear off, a strong, aching pain seized his body, draining every bit of energy he possessed. The pair's breathing became ragged and hollow, transitioning to shallow gasps until their flanks scarcely moved at all.

     Seeing darkness begin to seize him, Storm used his final scrap of strength to rest his tail on the four white kits that were squirming uncomfortably and letting out small cries. "Until we meet again, my kits." Beneath the agony and emotion, the tom remembered one final deed to be completed. "Goodnight Hail, Snow, Frost, and Ice."

      With the pure white kits named and a dead mate, Storm knew his time to leave the world had come. Letting go of consciousness, he willingly plunged into the darkness that beckoned him from all sides.