Treacherous Skies

Prologue

Far away from the forest, high in the mountains, a dark brown tabby tom sat alone in the darkness of a cave deep within the mountains. His body shook from the cold. Even though his den was in the very back of the cave, the freezing weather still penetrated through the rocky walls. His whiskers twitched as he heard the sound of kits' scuffling paws outside his den; despite the cold, they still played.

He sat in silence, lost in his own thoughts.

The brown tom twisted his head as he heard the sound of pawsteps approaching his den. Any cat who did not live here would have never heard the quiet sounds of the cat's footsteps above the roaring of the waterfall outside the cave. But since the brown tom had lived here his whole life, the roaring had died down to a gentle lulling, until he hardly heard it.

A small silver she-cat stepped through the entrance to his cave. "Good evening." The she-cat politely dipped her head. "You have summoned me?"

"Indeed, I have," replied the tom in his deep, husky voice.

"And what is it that you need? Screech needs me on his hunting party, and everyone needs food. It is the season of frozen water." The she-cat sounded impatient.

"Patience, Rain. Another cat can take your place if needed. I need to confide to you in something our ancestors told me a few dawns ago. I've thought through it and concluded that you'd be the best cat to tell this to. I can't just go on not telling someone."

Rain stood shocked at what he had just said. Me? The best cat to tell something to?  "I'm not sure I know what you mean," she managed to get out.

The brown tom chuckled. "Oh, Rain. You always were the humble one of your kin. That is why I have to tell it to you."

Rain flicked her ears in embarrassment. Then she straightened up. "Alright, if that's what you wish."

He nodded, pleased. "A few nights ago, I visited the Cave of Pointed Stones, and our ancestors came to me in a dream." Rain blinked in curiosity, but she said nothing as the brown tabby continued. "They told me that a group of foreign cats would visit us soon, seeking our help. Their ancestors told this to ours: that these ancestral cats' kin are in trouble. This warning, this... visit we'll be getting, is going to affect us all, the foreign cats and us."

Rain stood motionless, staring at the dark brown tabby tom in front of her. "What? A different group of cats will come to us?"

"Apparently."

"And they have different  ancestors in a different  sky?"

He shrugged. "That's what our ancestors told me."

"B-But that can't be right!" Rain couldn't believe how there could be anything other than their very own ancestors! What other unknown things lay out there? Her mind was spinning uncontrollably, and she became dizzy and lightheaded.

"I just wanted to tell you, Rain. I just needed to confide in someone; I don't like having a secret trapped inside me." He paused. "Now, Screech will need your help hunting."

Rain nodded distractedly. She stumbled across the cave, hardly thinking of hunting anymore.

"And Rain, I expect you won't repeat this conversation to any cat," the brown tabby tom meowed with an edge to his voice.

Rain nodded weakly. "Of course not."

"Good." He watched the befuddled silver she-cat leave the cave, then he turned, sighed, and laid his head down on the cold stone floor. His yellow eyes, dark in the shadows, flickered shut shortly afterwards.