Pepper shivered. It was winter, when prey was hardest to find. Beside him, Bright and Orange were also screwing their faces up against the blizzard. Anxiety knawed at his belly; they hadn't seen Rush all day. What if she'd died in the night? Her bed was inside of a hollow rock.
"I'll be back in a minute,"he had to bellow against the snow storm. With a lot of effort, he managed to trudge over to his mother's room.
Good god, she'd better be alright!
"Rush?"he called. No reply. With some hesitance, he swept in. It was cold, silent and unwelcoming. "Rush?" Nothing. He crept in further. It was surprisingly large in there.
Then, Pepper spotted her. She was curled up in the furthest corner. He winced when he saw how skinny she was; ribs jutted out of her form, and she groaned with hunger.
"Pepper,"she whispered, before he could mutter a word,"Go to your littermates; I need to tell you all something,"
He gulped, but obeyed. After quietly telling Bright and Orange, Pepper settled down to wait. The storm was still going, only less fierce.
"Children,"Rush rasped as she emerged from the rock,"We aren't going to survive this,"
"O-of course we are!"Bright protested, looking depressed at the thought.
"No, we aren't and you know it as well as I do,"Rush hissed,"So, I have come to a difficult decision; I'm abandoning you,"
Pepper gasped,"R-Rush! You can't mean it!"
"I mean it. I'm sorry my kits but I need to live. I know I'm sending you to your deaths, but I must,"she continued. If she'd been crying, her tears weren't seen through the blizzard.
Orange let out a shriek of terror. Pepper supressed a wail that rose in his chest. He could see that Bright was just holding back from begging their mother.
"Come along,"Rush flicked her tail for the littermates to follow. The three's pelts brushed as they obeyed. You can't do this! Pepper wanted to scream to the currently invisible stars.
When they reached a clearing of dead violets and pansies, Rush halted.
"I was trying to find a place with a fox or a badger so you'd get quick deaths but that's too risky for me,"she admitted,"So you can die here, amongst the flowers,"
"If you think we'll just die without a fight, you're wrong!"Pepper snarled, unsheathing his claws.
"Three kits verses me?"Rush purred, "Grow up. Oh, wait!"
Rush disappeared over the rise.
"We aren't going to die here...are we?" Orange whispered.
"We won't!"Pepper declared,"I swear on everything that we will survive!"
                          ☆☆☆

Three days passed. Pepper didn't eat, and neither did the others. As kittens who hadn't learned many skills, they couldn't hunt and couldn't fight they were easy, skinny prey.
They'd moved further away from the dead-flower hollow and were searching for a better home. Pepper was hunting alone. At last a scrawny mouse crossed his path.
Yes! I can't miss this!
Unfortuantly, someone intercepted his prey and gulped it down in a few bites. Why are my littermates so greedy? He was about to wail, when the cat approached.
It was Defence.
 

"Congratulations, Rush. I name you worst mother of the year,"