Maplekit's Path

~Prologue~
Four cats surrounded a small pool of water, heads lowered. Then, a russet-colored tom raised his muzzle and meowed, "The time has come, a great darkness is coming... " A black she-cat spoke. "What do you mean, Thunder?" A chilly breeze ruffled Thunder's pelt as he spoke. "The Clans are going to face an old enemy in a great battle... " A silver tom mewed quietly, "Is there any hope?" When he had finished speaking, a maple leaf drifted in on the breeze. It slowly floated down onto the water, seeming to hover between the light and shadows of the pool's surface, before landing gently on the space where light and shadows met. "There is always hope," a lean brown she-cat said, her voice strong. "The Clans have handled all of Dark Forest before, who is to say they can't defeat a single cat?" She glanced at the three others, as if defying them to prove her wrong. The silver tom cleared his throat and meowed, "She caused great unrest in my Clan, cats questioning warriors who had proved their loyalty ten times over." The black she-cat looked into the pool, scrutinizing the single leaf that hovered there. "It is an omen," she murmured. "The maple is in neither darkness nor light, but the ripples influence it into one." The black she-cat took her gaze from the maple and mewed, "It is up to the Clans now."