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βββ βΎ the pale light of a crescent moon struck the grass along the moor like the dawn frost of leaf-bare. a small group of cats sulked through the heather, pausing at the top of a ridge to peer into the hollow below. with a flick of the leaders tail, two cats broke away from the group, heading directly towards a gorse tunnel, their voices raised in loud yowls. with a silent nod to the remaining cats, the leader slithered down the slope, belly pressed as closely to the ground as it could get, and began sniffing around the edges of different bushes until they pinpointed the nursery. "over here!" they called in a light whisper to the other cats spread out around the outside of the camp. thankful to the distraction being caused at the entrance of the gorse tunnel, they reached into the nursery with one paw and started to feel around. paw met the soft pelt of a kit and they hooked a claw in the kits scruff and dragged them through the bramble walls of the nursery. "here take this and get back to the meeting point" the leader mewed to one of the members of their group, just as the kit began making scared, soft squeaks. with a quick glance to see their follower bound over the top of the slope, the leader thrust a paw back into the nursery and began feeling around for another kit. soft fur met paw again as they located another kit still sleeping peacefully in their nest. they drew the second kit out and passed it to another one of the cats with them, a quick nod indicating for them to follow the same instructions as the last. the dying yowls of fighting near the entrance to camp told the leader they were running out of time and they weaved their paw through the brambles a final time to grab the last kit. pain seared through their arm as teeth clamped down on their paw, followed by a low growl, "i wont let you take my kits!" hissing they withdraw their paw and peered into the brambles. "too late flea-pelt" the rogue snarled back, a grin spreading across their face before turning tail and pelting back up the slope, leaving the turmoil in camp behind them. after what felt like a lifetime of running, the rogue stopped beneath the roots of a big oak tree, flopping onto the ground to catch their breath. a couple of heartbeats passed, the silence only broken by the distant hooting of an owl. three cats pushed their way through the undergrowth, two of them carrying tiny, mewling kits. the third cat dipped their head to the rogue leader, a triumphant glint in their eyes. "you did well." they mewed, drawing closer. "two kits will work well for my plan, though it is a shame you couldn't get the third." the rogue shook their head. "we ran out of time, that mouse-brained mother of theirs caught on to what was happening." a purr rumbled in the other cats throat as they took one of the kits lightly in their jaw. "oakclan is indebted to you." nodding to the other cat with the kit, they began to walk away. "i will be in touch soon." they called over their shoulder before disappearing into the undergrowth.
