Battlecats - The Path to the Trees

Chapter 2

          Honeykit waggled her haunches and leapt into midair, snagging her claw on a butterfly's wing. Slamming it to the dusty ground, it fluttered helplessly in her grasp. She bit down on its head, letting the bug's juicy insides explode into her mouth. Delicious! She purred.

          "Honeykit!" A she-cat's mew echoed in the distance. She turned her hazel eyes towards the sound. Someone had finally realized she wasn't at the podgrounds.

          "Coming!" Honeykit called squeakily, scooping up the butterfly in her jaws. Half of it sagged to the ground, tripping her up, but she determinedly padded on. The forest canopy hung above her head, shadowing every deep crevice there was. Dark. Just like their pod name. I'm a Darkpod battlecat, bringing dinner back for my pod!

          Honeykit puffed out her chest but instantly detained it when her "prey" tripped her up even worse. She stumbled lightly before lifting her head even further than before and marching on determinedly.

          When she'd arrived at the podground entrance, covered with thick vines and bramble, her mother burst through, immediately dashing toward Honeykit and then lapping furiously at her honey-colored head. Her voice was cut into segments as she mewed softly, "Where have...you...been?!" Worry laced her caring and panicked mew.

          "Mistyfall!" Honeykit squeaked, pawing her mother's pale gray face away. "I just brought you a piece of prey!" She dropped the butterfly at her mother's paws and shooed it toward her. Mistyfall purred, her blue eyes brimmed with love.

           Come now," Her mother mewed gently, "it's time you got back to the den. It's nearly dawn." She picked up Honeykit's butterfly and gently guided Honeykit toward the entrance.

          Honeykit bounded through the entrance, tail high. She could hear Mistyfall purr lovingly behind her. "You found her Mistyfall!" A voice called from the center of the podgrounds. Honeykit blinked and spotted a white tom with black paws and ears as he made his way over to them, his head shaking in exasperation, but his eyes shone with relief.

          "Just like your father," He purred as he reached them. "You're his spitting image!" He purred once more, and he licked the top of Honeykit's head gently.

          "And you look just like a ferret!" Honeykit teased as she snatched her head away and stood on her hind paws to reach his face. She whipped her tiny tail to keep balance but fell on top of the black and white tom's head. He'd caught her fall.

           "Even ferrets can be ferocious!" He purred with amusement as he slid his head slowly from beneath her downy belly.

           "Ferretpaw!" A tom's deep meow rang from the other side of the podgrounds. It had come from a large brown and white tom. His green eyes flashed with amusement. "Come on, battlekit! Stop wasting time! We have battle practice!"

           "Coming Duckfeather!" Ferretpaw returned. He turned to Mistyfall and Honeykit, adding softly, "See you guys later." He made his way over to Duckfeather quickly.

           Mistyfall wrapped her tail around Honeykit and led her over to the suckle den. When they'd padded through the thorny entrance, her brother was waiting, snuggled into the pine needles and starling feathers of their nest. He resembled Mistyfall the most of the two with his light gray coat but had their father Dogswipe's green eyes.

           "Hey, Birchkit!" Honeykit mewled as she tumbled into the shallow dip with her brother. She tramped lightly on his head with her forepaws. He replied, "Hey, Stickykit!" Since they had started to mewl, he nicknamed her Sticky because of her first name. They giggled and romped around in the cluttered nest of pine needles and feathers. Finally, Honeykit was pinned by Birchkit.