Forming Mist- Chapter 1

“Greyshade?” A small voice piped.

Opening a green eye, the queen looked at the speaker. “Yes, Mistkit?” She mewed to her oldest kit.

“Can we go play in the clearing?” the less reedy voice of Smokekit answered, beating his brother to the question.

“If you two watch out for Dawnkit,” she yawned before closing her green eyes again. The two toms glanced at each other, then went to get their sister to join them. As they past their mother, they could hear her worrying under her breath, as she often did, but they soon forgot that as they playfully woke up Dawnkit.

Soon, all three kits padded out of the den, green-eyed Mistkit next to orange-eyed Smokekit. Behind them, Dawnkit tripped over the mossball she had picked up on the way out. Smokekit turned around and picked it up for his sister, then he and Mistkit moved to wander beside her, one on either side.

With a twitch of his tail, Smokekit pointed out an unsuspecting cat in the nearly empty camp. As they snuck up on Spiritwind, she closed her eyes, resting after a long night of guarding camp. The three leapt, landing on the sleeping shecat, the mossball lying abandoned a few foxlengths away.

Spiritwind shot up, green eyes open wide and filled with shock, confusion, weariness, and a tinge of anger. The trio rolled off and ran away. As she turned to look, Dawnkit tripped over the mossball, and the two toms stopped and looked at her, worried. As Spiritwind noticed this, she must have figured out what happened, because she had returned to her well-earned rest. There was nothing she could do to stop these kits from their games, even if they were her brother’s.

With all the cats in camp distracted or in their dens, dark shadows stalked into camp, eyes glowing from the shadows. “Now,” came a low growl, unintelligible to the unknowing cats below. But this time, this was an actual danger, not just kits.

The creatures leap into camp, and Spiritwind, still not completely asleep, let out a cry as one lands on her, a warning before she felt another paw thud lightly onto her head.

The large creatures, larger than even Treetuft the lynx, surrounded the three separated kits. Dawnkit let out a whimper as one slowly bit onto her tail and dug claws in around her neck, stopping her attempts to get up, while Mistkit and Smokekit growled up from under the claws of the creatures, each afraid, but knowing showing it wouldn't help them.

From behind Smokekit there came a low growl, and Greyshade leapt onto the creatures, beginning a rough battle between the queens and the creatures on that front, while the elders attacked the ones near Mistkit, leaping from their den to defend the young. As the two kits were free, they charged towards the animals separating them from Dawnkit, but, as fast as they had appeared, the creatures disappeared.

From behind the kits, Greyshade, a deep wound in her flank, watched, blood roaring in her ears, as the shadowy attackers ran out of camp, one of them holding something lying limp, like prey.. something bleeding, something familiar. The creatures had taken with them one of her kits. With that thought, darkness consumed the gravely wounded queen, a mix of grief and blood loss.

Author's notes-

I’m sorry if it's confusing, and I'll try to make it make sense.. and I'll attempt to avoid it in the future, with set perspectives.. this one's a bit of a mess in that regard.

I consider myself a novice writer, so edits may happen here as I improve a bit.

Battle scene may be improved upon, but.. I guess we will see the outcome next chapter..

My apologies about the incorrect formatting of paragraphs, what I'm using doesn't have the ability to add them. I hope that doesn't bother you too much..

Chapter 2