Battlecats - The Path to the Trees

Chapter 6

           "Are there cats gathering yet?" Slenderkit mewed to Hawkkit, who was peeking through the opening to the suckle den. He glanced around the podgrounds and, sure enough, cats were beginning to gather, slowly but surely. Many were beginning to sit amongst themselves at the center of the podgrounds. Hawkkit pulled back from the entrance before turning to his sister, "Yeah, there are some cats gathering. It looks like it's almost time." Slenderkit smiled and hopped excitedly on her paws.

          "Oh, I hope Sharp Spirit is quick. I'm so excited!" Hawkkit smiled back at his sister. A whole phase had now passed and Slenderkit was finally six phases old. Old enough to become a brand new battlekit. Her ceremony was to begin very soon, and it seemed she could barely contain her excitement, at least from Hawkkit's perspective.

          "Don't worry dear," Snowcloud chimed in from the back of the den, where she watched her four kits play. "Sharp Spirit will start your ceremony soon. It usually doesn't take him long after dawn." Slenderkit nodded her thanks to Snowcloud before beginning to pace restlessly around the suckle den.

          "How does my pelt look?" Slenderkit worried, stopping her pacing to hurriedly search her pelt for any imperfection. "I want to be sure I look my best. I wouldn't want to embarrass myself." Hawkkit rolled his eyes in exasperation, making his way to his sister and laying a tail across her shoulders. "You look fine, Slenderkit. You're not going to embarrass yourself. You've practiced this with me and Silentkit. You'll be fine." He smiled lightly at her. "Don't forget, me and Silentkit will be out there cheering you on. At least, I will be." He chuckled lightly to hopefully dissipate the tension.

          She smiled affectionately, touching her nose to his cheek before making her way over to the entrance to the suckle den and peeking outside. Her tail swished from side to side as she examined the entirety of the clearing. Suddenly, her shoulders drooped considerably. Was she okay?

          "What's wrong?" Hawkkit meowed, stepping over to stand next to her. "Yeah," She meowed, her disappointment obvious in her tone. "It's just...I was hoping father would come to see me made a battlekit but...he's not there." Her ears fell slightly as she told him.

          Despite the hard effort Hawkkit, Slenderkit, and Silenkit made trying to help their father, he still hadn't gotten any better. He still hadn't spoken to anyone, including them, in phases. Even now, he was still a shell of his former self idling around the podgrounds most days. He had now holed himself inside the battlecats den, refusing to leave. Hawkkit had finally given up in the last phase or so. He had figured that another phase of encouraging his father to get better and move on would work but it seemed nothing would get through to him. Hawkkit bristled uncontrollably. How could he still be acting this way when his daughter was about to be made a battlekit? How dare he!

          "Don't worry about whether or not he'll show up," Hawkkit comforted, trying to get his fur to lie flat once more and running the tip of his tail down her spine. "It's his fault for missing it. You have me and Silentkit and Snowcloud. You have other cats that will be there to cheer you on. Cats who actually care about you."

          Slenderkit looked at Hawkkit with watery eyes. "I know," She mewed a little sadly. "It's just hard knowing he'd actually miss this." Hawkkit pressed his cheek to her comfortingly, attempting to reassure her that things would be okay. She backed away first, sniffling lightly. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up, Hawkkit." She touched her muzzle to his and Hawkkit reciprocated her thanks.

          Silentkit approached them from behind, coming to peer outside of the den just like the other two had. He didn't say a word as he watched what cats were doing outside.