The sun gleamed brightly over a verdant forest as a gentle breeze stirred the air. A flowery meadow was blooming with greenleaf blossoms, but even the floral smell couldn’t hide the rich scent of milk. Hidden inside a fallen tree overrun with mushrooms was a young queen with three kits curled up beside her belly.
The she-cat, Daisy, was beautiful with fluffy black and white fur that the kittens loved to snuggle into. One of the she-kits, Raven, was dark gray like their father, while the other was pure black. This one was named Shadow for her color. The lone tom was a grayish-brown tabby, identical to Daisy’s father, was Soot.
“I already told you a story, Shadow,” Daisy said, her voice barely suppressing a purr. “It’s time to rest. Soot and Raven already fell asleep.”
“But Momma,” Shadow replied as she fought back a yawn, “I’m not tired at all. Can you tell me about the tigers again? Then I’ll be able to sleep.” She loved the legend of tigers more than any story her parents told her, begging almost nightly to hear it.
“Shadow,” Daisy said firmly, but then she sighed. “Okay. Just this one story. A long time ago, great cats called tigers ruled the land. They were the fiercest and strongest of all cats but also kind, and their leader was Brightest Star. He protected everyone in the land, and it was a peaceful time.” As Daisy recited the legend, Shadow felt herself be slowly lulled to sleep by the melodic voice of her mother. Then, just before she finally drifted away, she thought, One day, I’ll get strong like Brightest Star, and I can protect everyone in the forest too.
As the season turned, the forest’s leaves turned golden and red. The vibrant wildflowers had withered and died, and a carpet of fallen leaves had overtaken the ground. Shadow stood among the swirling leaves beside a big gray tom with a glorious mane of darker fur.
“Shadow, you need to adjust your paws a little more.” Smokey, Shadow’s father, instructed sternly. “If you leap like that, you’ll never catch any birds.”
Shadow mentally noted the way Smokey was crouched beside her and adjusted her stance to match him. Leaffall was well underway, and she needed to learn how to hunt to help support her family. “Like this, right?”
“Good.” Smokey nodded and turned back to the ball of moss they were pretending to stalk. “You must practice until you can do it by instinct, okay? You’re talented, but talent will only bring you so far in life.”
“I understand.” Shadow took a breath and focused on the moss, envisioning it as a mouse. Then, with a decisive leap, she flung herself at her target and landed with her paw firmly fixed on the moss. Chest puffed out in pride, she looked up at Smokey. “I did it!”
Smokey’s eyes shone with approval, making Shadow’s heart soar. “You did very well. Soon you’ll be better than even Daisy.”
“Are you talking about me behind my back again?” Daisy’s gentle voice called from across the leaf-strewn meadow as Shadow looked up eagerly. Her mother was sitting on top of their fallen tree, a pair of trout at her paws.
Shadow raced over but stopped short of tackling her littermates into a wrestle. Soot looked half-drowned and miserable with all his fluffy fur sleeked to his sides, and Raven, ever so bright, was giggling. “Shadow, Shadow, look! Soot fell into the river while we were fishing. He tripped over his paws again!”
Soot huffed and shook himself, sending a torrent of water flying at Shadow and Raven. “At least I caught something.” The tom was awkward with his massive paws and tiny kitten body, and he had fallen behind the others in training. He seemed to be in a rather foul mood, and Shadow was sure he intentionally got her wet with all the water he was shaking out.
“Hey!” Shadow jumped back and fluffed out her fur. “I didn’t do anything. Why are you getting me wet?!”
“Kits,” Smokey said sternly as he made his way over. “Stop fighting.”
“They did well today,” Daisy said as she leaped off the fallen tree and began to groom Shadow’s now-wet fur. “Soot caught his own fish, and Raven managed to swim across the entire river.”
Smokey nodded at the two kits, who were puffed out in pride, but quickly changed the subject. “Shadow’s training is progressing well. I think it’s time.”
Shadow purred as her mother’s gentle tongue groomed the water out of her fur but stopped when she noticed the irritated looks Raven and Soot gave her. She cleared her throat and shuffled away from her mother. “Can I go fishing with you two tomorrow?”
Daisy and Smokey exchanged looks before Daisy flicked her tail. “Come closer, kits. Your father and I have to talk to you.”
Shadow sat beside her father, trying to mimic his posture, while Raven and Soot sat a bit away. Raven groomed their brother’s still-soaking coat. Shadow felt a pang of envy but pushed it down – they were closer to each other while she was closer to Smokey. That’s just how things are.
“You kits are almost six moons old,” Daisy began. “That means we need to start moving. Greenleaf is over, so there will be more predators in the forest from now on. We have to keep moving to keep safe.”
“Can’t you two protect us? I don’t want to leave.” Soot objected.
Smokey shook his head solemnly. “Even the two of us can’t fight against a badger. Maybe we will have a chance when you three are older. But for now, we will keep moving and stay alive. Do you three understand?”
“Yes, Father,” Shadow said, but she noticed her littermates scowling. “It won’t be so bad. We’ll get stronger, and then we’ll return to this place.” She said, but Shadow could tell they were unconvinced.
“We’ll leave tomorrow,” Smokey stated with an air of finality. “Get some rest now, all of you.”
Leafbare had struck with ferocity. The forest lay dormant underneath a thick coating of ice and snow, and prey was scarce. Sunhigh’s heat barely helped the frigid chill in the air, and every mouse or squirrel in the forest was deeply burrowed in the ground to wait out the cold.
“Did you two find anything?” Shadow asked, feeling a wave of desperation rise in her chest. All she had found was a vole that was so skinny it could barely be called prey. Her entire family was skin and bones, and such meager food would hardly quell their hunger.
Soot, who had finally grown into his paws, shook his head grimly. “There was a quail, but we sank into the snow when we tried to chase it, and it got away.”
Shadow felt irritation rise up in her chest. “Soot! Are you kidding me? A quail would have fed everyone!”
Soot’s tail lashed. “Oh, and your vole is much better? We should have never left the meadow! It had enough food for us.”
“Hey!” Raven interjected, stepping between the two. “We shouldn’t argue. Shadow, even you wouldn’t have been able to walk on top of the snow. Soot is twice your size, so of course, we sank in. Let’s see if Mother and Father caught anything. If not, Soot and I can try and break the river ice open.”
Shadow shook her head. “That won’t help. You two will just get wet and freeze again.”
Raven and Soot exchanged a glance but said nothing, silently following Shadow as she led them back to their family’s current densite. She held her vole, feeling her mouth water at the blood dripping onto her tongue, but forced herself to not bite down. Daisy was sick and would need to eat first, then she and the others. Smokey refused to eat until everyone else had, so Shadow decided she would eat after her littermates did.
Will the ice ever melt? Shadow’s heart sank as the thought came to mind again. Daisy had said leafbare was an awful time for everyone, but newleaf would always come. Yet this season felt like it would last for an eternity, making Shadow’s blood run cold.
Soon the trio came to the cats’ current camp – an old badger’s den protected by old brambles that Smokey had dragged out from underneath the snow. Smokey himself was sitting huddled at the entrance to guard Daisy inside. The tom looked up when the cats approached and asked Shadow, “How was hunting?”
“Just this,” Shadow replied softly as she set down the vole at Smokey’s paws. “What about you? Did you catch anything?”
“We were lucky and found a rabbit to share.” Smokey sighed. “It was already dead, so we didn’t waste any energy to catch it.”
“You shouldn’t eat crowfood!” Shadow was appalled. “I can always go hunt again. Crowfood will make you sick-“
“Shadow.” Smokey’s voice was stern but not harsh. “You have limited energy too. Leafbare is always like this, but we will get through it. Now, eat that vole and get some rest.”
With a deep sigh, Shadow turned to her littermates and pushed the vole to them. Raven wordlessly took a bite before nudging it back to Shadow. The two she-cats shared in silence while Soot simply slipped past his father and towards the river.
The vole was gone in a few mouthfuls, and Shadow felt hungrier than she had before eating. Judging by Raven’s face, her sister was having the same thoughts. Turning to Raven, Shadow declared, “We should go see if we can break the ice on the river with Soot.”
“Don’t fall in,” Smokey called out to the she-cats as they padded away. Shadow nodded at him over her shoulder and sighed. She wanted to ask for Raven’s advice, but she wasn’t close to her sister even after so many moons.
Soon, Shadow spotted her brother standing still at the river bank’s edge. The ice was already shattered, but he was deathly still, eyes fixed on the nearby reeds. “Soot, what are you doing?” She called out. “Shouldn’t you be fishing?”
Yet, as Shadow grew closer, she saw how her brother’s mane was bristling, and his tail was fluffed out in alarm. He looked back at her with wide eyes and shook his head slowly.
It was then that Shadow noticed the fox snarling at the edge of the holly bushes. The beast was skinnier than even the cats and had a look of insanity in its eyes. Then, suddenly, it gave a loud screaming noise and charged at Soot.
Shadow instantly broke into a sprint, but the fox was faster. Soot tried to run and was caught as the fox bit deeply into his back leg. He yowled in agony, the sound clear and echoing across the snow.
Heart pounding, Shadow couldn’t think clearly as she rammed into the fox with a caterwaul that she hoped was loud enough for her parents to hear. A moment later, Raven was beside her, clawing at the fox’s eyes and ears. The beast screamed in pain and let Soot go, who dragged himself slowly away on injured legs, and turned on Raven. To Shadow’s horror, Raven didn’t react fast enough. The fox’s teeth sank deep into her sister’s head, and there was a terrible crack before Raven went limp.
Fighting back the urge to retch, Shadow desperately flung herself away and tried to run, but she felt intense, burning pain as the fox bit her leg. She yowled and wanted to sob with the certainty of death looming over her.
Then Smokey was there to fight the fox away, and Daisy was trying to drag Shadow out of danger. Shadow could barely move from the pain and could do nothing but let herself be pushed into a snowbank.
Daisy purred gently, but Shadow could tell it was forced. “Stay still. We’ll come back for you.” Her mother’s eyes were full of love and grief, and a moment later, the she-cat raced away to help Smokey fight.
Shadow could do nothing but listen in growing horror as the fight continued. She was tucked away from it and could see nothing, but the sounds were horrible. There was a sickening crunch nearby, followed by her mother’s agonized wail of grief, then a shriek of pain.
Then nothing.
Dread, sorrow, and horror swirled in Shadow’s chest, but she forced herself to play dead. Stay still. Just stay still. She repeated those words in her head, squeezing her eyes shut and remaining absolutely still. Even when she heard the tale-tell sounds of a fox eating, she held back her sobs.
Night fell before the fox had finished. By then, Shadow was delirious with pain and anguish. When she heard the fox’s pawsteps slowly recede into the night, Shadow forced herself to stand. Her back leg burned with pain, but she forced herself through it anyway. The air reeked with the scent of death and carnage, and blood stained the snow.
Underneath the light of a half-moon, Shadow witnessed the desecrated bodies of her family and wailed to the uncaring sky. Her paws ached to bury them, but the ground was completely frozen, and the scent would soon attract more predators. Not to mention the state of their bodies… Shadow gritted her teeth and forced herself to look away from the half-eaten carcass of her mother. Blood and gray fur were all that remained of Smokey and Raven, and Soot appeared to have entirely been consumed. Only a bloody trail remained.
Stomach churning, Shadow forced herself to limp over to the riverbank. She couldn’t just leave her family here to be consumed. The river that Soot had loved so much was still flowing where he cracked it earlier, so she would put them to rest in the only way she could. Though the water was icy, Shadow still hauled rocks and placed them over her family’s bodies. She made a small pile for Soot before closing her eyes and saying a quiet prayer that their spirits would find peace. It was what Smokey had done when they found an old cat dead, and she knew it was what he would have wanted for himself.
Then, Shadow took a deep, whimpering breath and started limping away before more foxes came sniffing around. She retched several times and almost collapsed, but eventually, she found herself in a dense marshland. The she-cat dragged herself into a stone overhang and curled up, sobbing as she felt the wind’s chill for the first time. Whenever she was cold, her family had always been there to warm her…
Clenching her teeth, Shadow shook her head. They’re gone. I couldn’t protect them. I couldn’t do anything. “The forest is dangerous.” She whispered, but for the first time in her life, no one was there to hear her.
As seasons always did, leafbare passed. Newleaf brought life to the marshland, and Shadow learned quickly how to catch the frogs and waterfowl that held claim to the land. She also discovered that predators scorned the damp swamp in favor of the prey-rich forest. It was a peaceful time for her as newleaf became greenleaf, then leaffall. At last, it was leafbare.
Shadow trudged through the snow, feeling a deep sense of melancholy. This leafbare wasn’t as severe as before, but it was worse for her. She no longer had Smokey to break through the snow and create a path, and Daisy couldn’t tell her stories to keep her strength up when their hunts had failed.
Shaking her head to clear the thoughts, Shadow increased her speed. With the frogs and rodents dormant and all the ducks and geese flown away, prey was scarce in her marsh. She was forced to go outside her boundaries and seek food, though she staunchly avoided the predator-filled forest. Instead, she took to the wide-open moorland. Her trip had brought her almost half a day’s journey away, and nothing looked familiar. The blizzard brewing in the air didn’t help at all – Shadow debated calling it quits and returning home.
Suddenly, a scream of anguish rang out from beyond the dead gorse. On instinct, Shadow raced towards the noise before stopping as she saw a badger snarling into its burrow. A few dead cats were laid out by its massive paws, and the eyes of more peered out, full of fear.
Shadow dug her claws into the frozen moor but shook her head. She couldn’t help them now. Something caught her eye just as she turned away to leave the cats to their fate. Among the swirling snowflakes was a shape that she barely could see, shifting and changing with the wind. Her breath caught in her throat as she recognized her mother’s graceful form in the blizzard’s gale.
Isn’t this just like then? Shadow’s heart seized. She could see some of the other cats clearly now – a young tabby tom; he almost looked like Soot. And there was a silver she-cat that almost resembled Raven. Shadow knew immediately that she couldn’t leave these cats to die. Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself before racing towards the badger.
Sometime in the past, a muscular tom with a thick mane of gray fur paused in a flowering meadow. The newleaf had brought the flowers into bloom once more, and bees flitted around, busy as they collected pollen. A fallen tree was beginning to rot from the inside, the bare remnants of a long-forgotten nest still nestled inside.
The tom put a paw on the tree’s bark, feeling the training claw marks of long-grown kits. He could still hear the protesting cries as they were shuffled off to bed and could smell the rich milk as their mother quietly whispered bedtime stories about tigers and leopards.
“Are you daydreaming over there? Get a move on.” The tom glanced over to see a grizzled, one-eyed tom and a beautiful cream-colored she-cat watching him expectantly.
“Not daydreaming,” the tom replied with a deep laugh as he bounded over to his companions. “I thought I recognized this place from somewhere before. It doesn’t really matter. Sorry Bee, sorry Lily, we can continue now.”
The she-cat, Lily, purred and leaned against the tom as he took his place beside her. “Daydreaming is okay. Don’t listen to that grumpy old tom.”
“Perhaps,” the tom replied blithely. “But for now, we have a job to do. So, Bee, please lead the way.”