(Cats above are Sage and Ice)

Sage scrambled out of the barn, her fur fluffed excitement. Her sister, Ice, came running after her, less gracefully than her sister. The sun had risen above the trees, its light hitting everywhere but their home, something Sage and Ice never quite understood. Slowly, Abbott padded out of the barn and leapt off the ledge onto the ground, wincing slightly in his old haunches.

"Abbott, are you watching?" Sage asked, shifting into a fighting stance. Ice was across from her, tense but ready for her sister's next move.

"Oh, I'm watching. Go ahead." Abbott answered, resting himself on the grass.

Sage turned and leapt at Ice. She landed on her sister's back and used a paw to sweep Ice's backlegs out from under her. Once her sister was down, Sage playfully batted at her neck. Ice pretended to go limp and Sage leapt triumphantly off her.

"I taught myself that move." Sage meowed, proudly. "I taught Ice how to do it too."

"I don't do it as well as you do." Ice's soft mew sounded from behind Sage.

Sage knew her sisted was a reserved kitten. She often spent her days lying outside in the grass or in the barn with Abbott. Sage, however, spent her days outside exploring and visiting the kittypets that lived in the neighboring twolegplace. Ice was different from her but Sage knew she had the best sister.

Abbott slowly rose to his paws. "Alright," he mewed. "You two stay at the nest. I'll go find us something to eat."

"Let us do it!" Sage exclaimed. "We can hunt!"

"No we can't!" Ice argued.

Sage glared at her sister. She sometimes hated how honest she was. If we don't go with Abbott then we'll never learn to hunt.

"But we won't ever be able to hunt if you don't teach us." Sage complained.

Abbott let out a small huff of laughter. "I'll teach you when your older."

"Okay." Ice mewed.

"But we're four moons old." Sage commented. "What does older mean? Twelve moons?"

Abbott said nothing but simply smiled and descended into the forest. Sage watched him leave then turned around and swiped at a pebble with her forepaw, sending it flying into a bush.

"How are we supposed to hunt if he never takes us with him?" She grumbled.

"Hunting's for bigger cats." Ice meowed. "Abbott said he would teach us when we're older."

Sage snorted. "We'll be as old as him by the time he teaches us."

Ice didn't reply. She lowered her head and shuffled on her paws. The two sisters sat in silence for a moment, waiting for Abbott to return. They were about to turn back and head into the barn when a voice called out to them.

"Good morning, Sage. Good morning, Ice."

Ice and Sage looked around for the source of the voice and they spotted a familiar reddish tabby pelt. A young, agile kittypet emerged through the bush. He lived at the twolegplace close by and it never a far walk for him to get to the nest. He could still hear when his twolegs called for him to return.

"Good morning, Henry." Ice greeted.

Out of all the kittypets they knew, Henry was a favorite of Ice and Sage. He was young, not much older than them, and lively. When Abbott was not around and whenever his twolegs let him out, Henry would be at their nest spending time with them.

"Where's Abbott?" Henry asked, looking around.

"He's out hunting." Ice replied.

"He didn't take you two with him?"

"No!" Sage half yelled. Then her eyes lit up with an idea. "Henry, do you know how to hunt?"

"I do." Henry answered. "My twolegs make me hunt the mice that get inside our nest and sometimes when they let me out, I'll go into the forest."

"You've been into the forest?!" Sage mewed.

"Across the thunderpath?!" Ice chimmed.

Henry nodded. "If I'm honest, I like it a little more than my twoleg nest. It's more adventurous and mice taste better than what my twolegs feed me."

"Why don't you leave?" Sage asked.

"Yeah." Ice agreed. "You can live with us and Abbott in our nest."

Henry let out a purr of amusement. "As much as I would love to live in the forest, I couldn't just leave my twolegs. They care about me."

"Well, if you ever decide to leave," Sage mewed. "You're always welcomed at our nest."

Hemry smiled. "I'll keep that in mind."

All three cats pricked their ears as from the bushes Henry had emerged from , they could hear someone calling for him.

"I better get going." Henry meowed."Tell Abbott I said hello."

"Bye, Henry." Sage and Ice mewed together.

Once Henry had left, Sage and Ice sat outside a couple more moments, until a few nearby bushes rustled and Abbott emerged with a three voles dangling from his jaws. He padded over and dropped two of them at Sage and Ice's paws.

"Sorry it took so long." He mewed. "I'm not as quick and skilled as I used to be."

Ice took a bite from her vole. "It's okay."

Once the three cats had eaten, Abbott retired to the barn to rest from his hunt. The rest of the day, Sage and Ice continued to practice battle moves that Sage had invented with Sage stopping every now and then to see if she could figure out how to hunt, until the sun began to set and Abbott called them in for the night. The two sisters raced each other to the barn, stumbling over each other. Once they were inside, they bounded over to where Abbott was sleeping and curled up next to each other, letting sleep wash over them.