Dark Moon: Tell-Tale

Chapter 6

Monty continued to cry in remorse as he dangled from his mother's jaws by the scruff. She raced through the dense undergrowth behind Jasper, with Venus, Homer and Blizzard on her tail. The group had fled from the burning village and into the nearby forest, and they weren't going to stop until they got a good distance away.
Jasper skidded to a halt in a small sunlit clearing, surrounded by a sparse number of oak trees. Tonks almost slipped off her paws as she struggled to slow down, and Venus nearly bumped into her as she abruptly stopped. Homer collapsed, panting as he neared the clearing, and Blizzard sat beside him with his head hanging with breathlessness.
Jasper dropped Marley from his jaws, and the kitten landed heavily on the grass. His father pushed him bitterly toward Tonks, his eyes squinted with indignation.
"Take your kittens." He hissed. "They're no use to me anymore. They'll only slow us down." He stood up and padded away from his mate, looking up the trunk of an adjacent tree.
Venus looked up dismally from licking her paw, Homer lifted his head to stare, perplexed, after his friend, and Blizzard glanced worriedly at Marley. The kitten gazed after his father, shivering in the cold grass he was sat in.
Tonks set Monty down carefully in front of her and wrapped her tail around Marley, pulling him close.
"Jasper." She murmured. Jasper's head snapped around, giving a menacing glare over his shoulder, before continuing to examine the sparrow at the tip of the snowy oak tree.
Venus, Blizzard and Homer all exchanged concerned looks, before Venus rested her tail comfortingly over Tonks' shoulder. The black she-cat stared down at her frightened kittens, before whispering under her breath.
"Why has he changed...?"
Venus thought back to the previous day; Jasper was smiling down at his two sons, his pelt pressed close to Tonks'. He nudged his mate's muzzle with his own, shutting his eyes and purring with contentment. Then her mind flashed back to the present. Images of Jasper sneering at his kittens, his tail lashing with hatred as he glared back at the cat he once loved.
"But Dad!" Monty bounced out of Tonks' grip, calling after his father. Jasper's fur fluffed out with annoyance, and he whipped around to face Monty, his teeth bared. Monty flinched, pulling back slightly.
Homer got to his feet and stood beside Monty, drawing him toward him with his tail. He glared at Jasper through slit amber eyes.
"I thought you were my friend." Homer rumbled, a growl rising in his throat.
"I have no use for pitiful friends like you." Jasper turned away, flicking his tail in Homer's direction. "I should have stayed in the wild. Humans cause these kind of things." Jasper glared down at his orange collar with ire.
"But then you'd have no family." Tonks' suddenly spoke up.
Jasper smirked, making a pfft sound. "Why would I need bothersome kittens like those?" He gestured to Monty and Marley with his muzzle.
"That's not what I meant by 'family.'" Tonks gritted her teeth. "I meant your father would have taken your brother to live with him in the mountain, and you would have been left all on your own to fend for yourself."
Jasper's eyes widened, his faintly ringed tail sticking up straight in the air. "How dare you?" He snapped, baring his teeth in an intimidating snarl.
Tonks kept a straight face, glaring levelly back into her mate's green eyes with ferocity, her ears flat against her head. She huffed, turning away from him to look at Marley and Monty.
"At least some of us here aren't heartless." She murmured to her kittens.