If Dawn Never Comes: Prolouge

                                                          |Prologue| 

The patchy tabby tom halted at the edge of the marshy moor, his tail flicking. He narrowed his amber eyes and sniffed. "Seriously? Here? Has Fallow`Star got bees in her brain?" he groaned, padding forward and grimacing as cold moisture seeped in between his toes. "Ugh." he continued trudging on, shuddering at the coldness. He looked around for the small tabby molly but didn't see her. The tom groaned again, and shook his paws, hopping up onto a semi-dry rock to wait.

From the distant horizon, a lithe brown shape was racing towards him as graceful as a hare. The mottled tabby cat leaped over a ditch, swerved around a swathe of heather, and came close enough for the patchy tom to recognize her.  The tomcat stood and waited as the graceful she-cat approached. 

The wiry female slowed to a trot and padded forward, dipping her head to the tom. "Greetings, Tattered`Tail." she meowed, her tail flicking.

"Fallow`Star." he grunted, ears twitching. "Why'd you pick here of all places to meet? Do you Wind`Clan cats like getting your fur all wet and cold?" 

"Impertinent as ever, Tattered`Tail." she said lightly, sitting down. "I needed a place where we wouldn't be overheard. Sheep`Tail has had a prophecy."

"Oh. Great. The moony Shadow`Clan cat had a dream." he growled, tail lashing. "Let's hear it."

"No. It's not mine to share. Sheep`Tail will be joining us shortly."  Fallow`Star said no more, and looked to the edge of the trees. The leader's spirit was fading around the edges, hinting at her age.

Soon, a small grey shape nosed its way out of the forest and darted towards them. It was Sheep`Tail. The gray cat was sturdy, and compact, with speckles adorning her face. Her ears were folded, and her eyes shone. She purred, and nuzzled Fallow`Star's chin, and Tattered`Tail remembered that the two had been forbidden lovers when they were alive.

"Great. We are here. Sheep`Tail, what do you have to tell us?" he snapped, tail lashing.

The grey cat binked. "It's strange, but... here." she steeled herself, and her eyes gained a faraway look.

"In shadows unseen,

 The sleek-furred vixen slinks.

As swift as the breeze,

 the hare flees. 

While afar, the tide roars,

 Echoing the fury of the raging seas.

 In the dark, as the snow falls down,

The truth, it frees. 

Banish the evil, restore the star's rule.

Else wind shall turn and forest burn.

 Buried deep 'neath ash and ghoul."

Tattered`Tail sighed. "What does that mean?" he asked, annoyed. "You medic cats, always so vague."

"A great danger is coming, Tattered`Tail. A warrior of your bloodline will save the clans." Sheep`Tail whispered.

"A storm is brewin'...." Fallow`Star murmured. "and we'd all best be ready when she comes."