The sun began to tilt from its highest point, and Lucy realized her uncle's eyes were shut. Luna was hiding in the grass, ready to pounce on her, but Lucy hissed attention to her discovery.
"Is he sleeping?" Luna whispered. Lucy put a paw to her mouth, her tail too short to do the job. The brown she-kit paid Soren one last look to make sure he wasn't paying attention before lowering herself to the ground and beckoning for her sister to follow. The two kits snuck away, tall grass hiding their pelts before they were out of earshot and were able to stand up. Luna hopped excitedly. "I can't believe we got away with it!"
"Of course, we did," Lucy snickered. "I'm gonna be a smart Chief. Right, Luna?"
Luna rolled around in the new grass, camp a speck against the horizon. "Yeah, I guess so."
Lucy jumped on her. "Ah ha! So, you finally admitted it!"
Luna kicked her off easily and dashed into the distance, Lucy chasing close behind her. "If... Soren... didn't fall asleep... what would... you have done?" she shouted as she ran.
"Hey!" Luna had leapt into a tree, scrambling to the top with ease, and looked down at her sister, a dot against the green grass.
"I think you just got lucky," Luna teased. Lucy snorted and tried to follow her sister up the trunk, but it was a lot thinner and smoother than she was used to, and she couldn't find her footing. Luna laughed at her.
"Stop making fun of me," Lucy snarled. "How did you get so good at climbing anyway?"
Luna bounced on her branch, riding the trembling for fun. "It's so easy! I don't know what you're talking about." She weaved around the branches, dropping leaves with every step.
"Hey!" Lucy barked. "Hey, are there any feathers up there?"
Luna stopped shuffling and popped her head out from the leaves to look at her sister. "Even if there was some, I'm not gonna run all the way back home with them. Ya know they could poke an eye out."
"Stop making excuses and help me up there!" Lucy demanded, jumping as high as she could, flailing her tiny paws. Luna held out a paw, but the two were still tail-lengths apart.
"Aren't ya a little too old to not know how to climb?" a deep voice echoed from beyond the tree trunk. The two she-kits froze and searched the clearing until they spotted a young, brown tom heading towards them. Luna hid in the canopy of the leaves while Lucy was exposed at the bottom of the truck, hackles raised in electric spines. The tom chuckled, circling them. "I'm not gonna hurt you. Your dad'll kill me. You're his kits, right? Father Blackbird?"
Lucy swallowed. The tom didn't seem significantly older than her, but he was so much taller and muscular than she was. "Y-yeah," she stammered. "That's him."
The tom cackled again. "There's no need to be scared. Like I said: I can't hurt you without gettin' my whole family in trouble. I'm Hawthorn." He stuck out a paw, and Lucy flinched. "What's yours?"
Lucy didn't return the gesture. His yellow eyes were burning through her fur. Luna exploded onto the ground with a loud thump, stumbling off balance as she was trying to watch the scene from her perch. She leapt up and shook the leaves from her thick, black pelt before welcoming the newcomer, "I'm Luna, and that's my sister, Lucy!"
"Luna and Lucy..." Hawthorn echoed. "I'll remember that." Lucy shuttered. She knew she wasn't allowed to converse with Lencho's family, and it was all her fault that they had run into one of his sons. Hawthorn eyed her, smiling a toothy grin. "Now... what are you two doing so far out, hm?"
"Me and Lucy were playing..." Luna started. "And I guess we went a little too far and got lost." Lucy nodded enthusiastically, mouth shut.
Hawthorn clicked his tongue. "Ah, you have no idea where you are, do you?" The she-kits shook their heads. "Well, lemme tell you: you're on our land. You're lucky you ran into me and not anyone older. If my dad woulda caught you..." Hawthorn laughed and Luna's fur began to tingle in fear now. "Your dad ain't letting us hunt in the shared land no more. We're gonna starve 'cause of you. If my dad caught you, you wouldn't be gaping at me right now." Lucy clenched her jaw. She hadn't realized her mouth had been hanging open in disbelief.
"We're really sorry, Hawthorn," Lucy pleaded, tail stub between her legs. "We promise it won't happen again. We'll stay in camp like Father said. We'll never go outside without permission again!"
"Yeah, we'll never go outside ever!" Luna joined in.
Hawthorn placed a heavy paw on Lucy's shoulder, nearly crushing her. His eyes drooped, losing his more playful demeanor. "Now hurry back, you two," he growled, voice as deep as his youthful throat would allow him. "Wouldn't want your lives to end so soon." Lucy and Luna didn't need to collaborate, as they shared the same thought. They nodded, eyes wide open in terror, before fleeing back where they came from, running as fast as their little legs could take them, wind whistling in their ears. Lucy could still feel his yellow eyes piercing her skin....
