It was Greenleaf. The sun was unusually hot that season, making cats hide in the shelter of both shade and their dens. The later times in the day were thankfully cooler, but not by much.

Right now it was Moon-high. A pale redish brown she-cat padded threw a pine filled forest. She stopped at every sound, her eyes wide and alert and her ears forward. It seemed forever until she had made it into a large clearing. Pine trees and thick Oak trees surrounded the clearing. In the middle a stream gently lapped below.

The she-cat settled down beside the stream, opening her mouth to pant. She waited until what felt forever.
Glancing up, she looked at the sky and the moonlight that filtered into the clearing. It seemed to make the area a small tint of silver, and the pale redish brown she-cat loved it.

Suddenly there was movement in the bushes. The she-cat looked up quickly, only to relax when a familiar shape padded forward. He was a huge grey and white splotched tom, broad shoulders and sharp blue eyes. Battle-scarred yet warm and kind to the touch.

"Hello." The pale redish-brown she-cat mewed with a honey voice as the tom easily crossed the stream. The tom dipped his head and gently licked her cheek. "Hello my love." He purred, settling down beside her. The she-cat purred, rubbing her cheek against his. "I arrived just as you asked the last gathering. Now tell me, what is it you wanted to say?"

The she-cat sat up, taking a quick breath. "I spoke to Tawnypool a few days ago. Tonight I moved into the nursery. I'm going to be having our kits. The ones we dreamed of since you came here. Tawnypool told me yesterday that I'll have three of them, and they'll be born soon."

The grey and white tom gasped with a purr, wrapping his tail around hers. "I'm so happy Petalbrook." He purred with excitement and with love. Petalbrook also let out a purr. She knew the tom usually hid his emotions, yet with her he was true.

"Let's stay here for the night, then we shall leave at dawn."

The pale redish-brown she-cat shifted, opening blue eyes. She looked around, yet her mate was gone. "Back to his clan." She mumbled aloud, shifting and yawning. She got up and padded off, hoping the lingering scent of the grey and white tom would vanish before she returned home.

What she had not known was that, someone had been watching.