Asha's Path Book 1: Famine

Chapter 2

"Make sure you don't catch a cold!" Snowy called after them.

Asha bounced alongside Storm as she followed him to the forest. "We will, mama! Don't worry, I'll be back soon!"

Snowy nodded and turned away as she walked back into the barn. Minty was grooming herself in her nest.

"Storm seems happy to finally have his daughter along with him," Minty began. "She'll be safe with him."

"I know she will, mother."

"I understand your worry," Minty began carefully. "But Storm has good ways of healing ailments."

"I know. I know. Snake is perfectly capable. It just feels unsafe."

"The forest felt unsafe to you when you were a kit," Minty reminded her. "When you came home from Storm's camp your fur was brushed out and you could hardly talk to anyone."

Snowy rolled her eyes. "So?"

"So, maybe now it's Asha's turn to feel that way. You used to fantasize about the forest, what it was like. Then I made a deal with Storm's parents, and from that deal came your daughter."

"How do you think Asha would feel if she knew she was born because of some deal you made?" Snowy snarled. "She'd be so upset! She loves both of us, but if she knew that a deal made us fall in love, she'd be furious!"

"She's a kit, Snowy, she doesn't feel as much loss as you do."

"What if she lost Storm? Or Caramel? Or me!" Snowy's breath was coming in gulps now. "She would be so heartbroken, she'd lock herself away in her den and never come out! Do you not understand how fragile a kitten is?!"

"I understand, Snowy, I've known about kittens a lot longer than you have. I've fostered countless litters, found them caring homes, sent a few to live in the woods! Then you were born, and my priorities changed. The reason I was so lenient with you was because you were my own daughter."

"Maybe you should have been more strict."

"Maybe I should have. But that's in the past now. You can learn to be a mother, copy my methods, find new ones that fit you better. But you'll never know more about children than I."

"What about the litter of mice I fostered when I was three months old? After you killed their mom and dad."

"So that you could eat."

"I drank milk! I had no idea what prey was back then!"

"Snowy, I'm going out to hunt. We'll finish this discussion later."

Snowy glared at her mother as she walked away and squeezed through the narrow opening in the barn wall.

Rage seeped into her veins. She willed for it to burn out, but a fiery heart can only be tamed by a liquified heart.

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"Wow! This place is huge!"

Storm and Asha were walking through the woods on their way to the camp.

"It's much bigger from the top of a tree," he said, grinning. "How about a look?"

Asha jumped onto Storm's back. "Yes, please!"

Storm dug his claws into the bark of the tall oak. He pulled his weight, plus the weight of a four week old kit, and got up to the top branch.

Asha climbed onto his head and gripped his head with her small claws, her back claws digging into his neck.

"Wow!" She said, looking around the trees. "This is amazing!"

The way the trees mixed together with the contour of their leaves and their branches. There were bird nests very visible in some trees. She could see the human place, her mothers barn, and the farmyard which held the horses and cows.

She saw cats stalking along the fences in the human place.

"Why do cats go so close to the humans?" Asha asked her dad. "I thought they were dangerous."

"They are. But some cats choose to live with humans. We call them house cats."

"Are they dangerous?"

"Oh, God, no. They're softer than a newborn kits fur."

Asha was still curious about them though. She wanted to know why they lived with humans. Didn't they want to hunt? Or stalk? Or spend a night sleeping under the stars?

"Come on, we'll go see Caramel and then she'll take you on a tour of the camp."

"Okay!"

They found Caramel sitting on a tree root awaiting their return.

"Asha! It's nice to meet you, I'm Caramel. Your step mother."

"Hello."

Storm left them alone, and Caramel began to tour Asha around the camp.

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CHAPTER 2!!!!!!