The moon shone high above the town, casting a silvery glow upon the rooftops. Sitting precariously on the wooden fence that surrounded his entire backyard, Sammy paid no attention to the small urban community behind him. Oh no. He was completely focused on the forest in front of him, the one that was beyond his fence.

"Sammy, what are you doing out here?" a small voice asked. Hearing it brought a smile to the young kitten's face. Sammy turned around to see a white she kit about his age padding through the soft green grass of the backyard. Hopping up onto the fence beside him with little effort, his little sister Amaya squeaked, "It's time for bed. Our humans are getting ready to go to sleep right now."

"Have you ever thought about heading out there?" Sammy asked suddenly, surprising his sister. Following his gaze out towards the woods beyond their fence, Amaya sighed softly before she admitted, "I used to." Lowering her blue eyed gaze, she went on, "When Grandma was still alive."

Sammy's ears pinned against his head, the memories flowing to the forefront of his mind. Their grandmother, Duchess. Four months ago it was discovered that she had died from an internal illness. At least, that's what their mother Snowy had told them. She was gone too, still living with her housefolk. Sammy and Amaya were fortunately adopted by the same humans.

"Come on Sammy," Amaya meowed, snapping Sammy out of his thoughts. Realizing that her brother hadn't been listening, Amaya rolled her eyes. Shoving him playfully, she repeated, "Let's get inside. I think it's going to rain tonight."

"I'll be inside before that happens," Sammy promised. Bunching his muscles together, he hopped down from the fence and landed on the wild side. Her eyes wide with shock, Amaya hissed, "Are you crazy?!" Dismissing her with a wave of his golden tail, Sammy reassured her, "I'll be back before the rain comes, I promise! I just wanna explore. I feel like... like there's something beckoning me."

"Probably the stupidity in your brain," Amaya retorted. Giving up, she got ready to head back into their yard. Before she jumped down from the fence though, the white she kit called over her shoulder, "Don't come yowling to me if something gets you while you're out exploring!"

"Okay Mom!" Sammy responded teasingly, laughing to himself. Gazing at the forest that laid before him, he sighed softly. Giving himself a brisk scratch near his brown collar, the tom kit murmured quietly, "Nothing to worry about. Just a quick exploration and we'll be back home soon." Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, the small white cat with golden patches bravely entered the forest ahead of him.