Russetstar

Prologue

Yowls of protest echoed through the walls of the twoleg place. A small grey she-cat trembled weakly at the corner of a metal cage. Her eyes were tired and full of pain, two kits suckled at her belly. The she-cat had just kitted and a tom in the cage beside her watched her with worried eyes, "Storm... Are you alright? Where's Sky?" the tom spoke in a gently tone to Storm. "H-he left. He never cared. He never cared, Snake." Storm's tone was full of sadness, but a hint of rage edged it. "I'm sorry, Storm. I forgot" Snake said. Storm sighed, "It's not like I've told you a million times before" Storm mutters sheepishly as she rested her head on her paws and went to sleep.

Storm woke up the next day to the sound of a loud bang. She turned around and saw Snake watching a door that was closed carefully. "What's going on, Snake?!" Storm asked, her bright yellow eyes wide with worry and danger. "They took a cat into the room then came the bang." Snake explained shortly. "But.. why?" Storm murmured softly, looked down to her kits. One had pure white fur with grey paws and black tipped ears, while the other was was so, so small with oddly red-orange colored fur and a black tail. She had already thought of a name for the white one, Crystal. But the red one didn't ave a name yet. Storm snapped back to reality when the red she-kit let out a mew and snuggled closer to her mother. The door swung open and a twoleg came out with a cage with a cat inside with blood covering the neck of the cat. Storm and Snake let out a gasp of horror as the two leg went past them. Then, another twoleg came out with a cage in its hand like the other one, but this time she cat was alive and its claws was stained red. Storm knew what had happened. Every time a newly born kit reached 8 moons they were taken to the arena where they battle another cat to the death and normally that cat was experienced. On the rare case when the kit won, the kit would have to continue in battles, by the time they reached their sixth battle, their original claws would be removed and replaced with long, ridged, and pointed metal claws. Storm had always been against that, so she wouldn't leave her twoleg alone until the twoleg wouldn't let her fight, that happened right before her sixth battle, but that meant that by not having to fight, they got less food and sometimes no food at all. Snake often gave Storm his leftover and she always appreciated that. Snake was a fighting cat, he had his metal claws and had been in about ten battles, but his twoleg hadn't brought him into a battle for a few weeks and Snake was thankful that he hadn't had to kill another cat. Another yowl sounded and Snake winced, knowing the cat who had won must of been getting their metal claws and getting their normal claws removed. Storm wrapped her tail protectively around her kits. The name suddenly came to her for the red colored she-kit. "Russet" she whispered to the red she-kit and the kit mewled in response and wriggled closer to her mother and Storm smiled and whispered to Crystal and Russet, "I hope you never have to experience the battles."

Little did Storm know her wish would never come true and it would become the opposite of what she wanted.