"Coral Rose!" A dark gray tom yowls, "get down here this instant!"
Coral Rose freezes where she is at the sound of her fathers voice. He must have found out what she had done.
Coral Rose drags her paws as she leaves her level of the cavern. Her family lives in a large cavern and Coral Rose got to sleep on the second, and highest, level.
"Yes father?" Coral Rose squints her eyes, preparing for more yelling.
She sees her three little brothers in their corner of the cave, staring at her.
"It has come to my attention that you snuck out last night!" Her father growls.
Coral Rose flinches, "Fa-"
"Not only that," her father lowered his voice but maintained the growl, "you were out with-"
"Who was out with who?" A lighter gray tabby she-cat with pink paws pads into the cavern through the long dark tunnel.
"Tiffany," the tom cowers a bit.
"Ferrin, why are you yelling at our daughter again?" The tabby asks.
"She snuck out with someone," Father growls.
"Who?"
"That's what in trying to figure out," The tom looks away from his mate and towards Coral Rose again, "who was it?"
Coral Rose sits down and looks to the floor, "my friend," she whispers then adds even quieter, "Bear."
"Is Bear a she-cat?" Ferrin steps closer to her.
"Yes," Coral Rose lies.
Bear was her friend that she had only known for about a moon. His mysteriousness and rebelliousness amazed her so she kept meeting with him. This was the twelfth time she had met him in secret.
"Then bring Bear here tomorrow," Ferrin growls.
"Last night was the last time," Coral Rose whimpers, "She's leaving tonight."
It wasn't a lie. Bear was leaving to go find himself a place to call home, away from his parents and sister. He had asked Coral Rose to come with him and she accepted. She would sneak out later tonight to meet him and leave everything behind.
"You're 11 moons old, you must abide by our rules. One of them now being no leaving the den without authorization," Ferrin mews.
Ferrin looks to Tiffany and then to their three sons, "you three better not behave this way when you reach her age."