Twist ate quietly, absent from the usual morning chatter. She was concerned about Dart, the conversation they had the night before ringing in her ears.
Why won't she tell me? Why is it a secret? I thought we were close. Twist pushed the last thought from her mind. Of course they were close, they were sisters.
"Attention." Petal called out. The group settled into silence, turning their attention to her.
"Mitten and I have an announcement." She said. Petal took a shaky breath, looking at Mitten for what Twist assumed was reassurance. Mitten silently nodded, but Twist noticed that she looked nervous as well.
"Mitten and I are in a relationship." Petal said. Everyone was silent. Twist was personally shocked, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. They actually made a pretty cute couple. Finally, someone spoke up.
"Come on, say something! Don't just stare!" Puck snapped. Everyone looked surprised at her outburst, even herself.
"Congratulations!" Benny said. Petal and Mitten smiled, and Puck looked pleased. One by one, everyone congratulated the couple.
"Um, why tell us now?" Puff asked. Mitten smiled a little.
"Because someone figured it out." She meowed. Petal shot a glare at Dart, who let out a nervous laugh.
"And it wouldn't be long before she spilled the beans to her sister." Petal said. Twist felt all the nervousness in her gut vanish. Dart was just keeping a friend's secret, not growing distant. It was all okay. They were still close.
"Sorry." Dart murmured. Mitten laughed.
"I mean, everyone knows now, so it's not a big deal." She said. Dart smiled.
"Yeah." She said.

...

Dart paced through the woods, her eyes on the sky. She remembered how she'd thought last time would be her last trip out here.
I just need one more. She promised herself. Just one, because last time I didn't get to do much...
Dart turned her slow walk into a run, then a sprint. Soon, she was racing through the forest, leaping over fallen logs and dodging branches. She closed her eyes for a second, enjoying the invigorating dash. Soon, she found herself stumbling over a log she failed to notice. Dart snapped her eyes open, but all she saw was dirt. Dart landed on the forest floor in a heap.
"Ugh." She muttered to herself. "Guess I should keep my eyes open." Dart was moving to stand up when she saw someone. She narrowed her eyes, and noticed that the "someone" was Luke. He was crouched low to the ground, his tail swishing the leaves behind him. Dart walked up to him, carefully staying out of sight. When she was close enough to reach out and touch him, she spoke up.
"What are you doing?" She meowed. Luke jumped, clearly startled. He quickly turned around to face Dart. All the blood had rushed to his cheeks, and he looked as if he was caught doing something much worse than crouching.
"Um, it's okay. Please calm down." Dart said. Luke let his bristled fur lay flat.
"I..." he paused. "I was hunting, to answer your first question." Dart's eyes widened.
"I didn't know you liked hunting." She meowed. Luke looked down at his paws.
"I mean, I didn't. Not until you showed me." He said. Dart laughed nervously.
"What's so special about me? Why did I change your mind?" She asked. Luke looked up at her.
"There's a lot that's special about you." He blurted. There was an awkward pause. Dart wasn't quite sure how to respond to that, so she went with a simple "Thanks."
"I uh, I guess I could show you how to do it properly." She offered. Luke frowned.
"I thought I was doing it properly." He said. Dart shook her head.
"You were swaying your tail. That moves the leaves behind you, which makes noise. You were also upwind from whatever you were hunting. It could totally smell you." She said. Luke flushed.
"Oh." He said. "I didn't know hunting was so complex." Dart smiled.
"I'll show you how it's done."

The pair had been hunting for a long time now, as the sun was high in the sky. Dart was growing tired, but Luke still looked excited, his blue eyes consistently fixed on Dart. Luke had been giving her complements for every piece of prey she caught, and made her feel quite nice.
"You know, you're a really good friend, Luke." Dart said as he was giving her another round of complements. Luke smiled.
"Thanks..." he seemed a little more drained at the words, but Dart couldn't fathom why he would be. She had called him a good friend, what was so bad about that? Dart let the matter drop, and they continued hunting.

Altogether, the two caught three squirrels and two mice. Dart was pleased with how much Luke had learned, and how attentive he was whenever she spoke. It really helped her a lot, and now they could feast on forest food, which was a bonus. The two ate together back in the clearing, splitting the prey equally.
"You always catch the best squirrels, Dart." Luke said as he was devouring one of them. Dart smiled, the complement warming her.
"Thanks. You're a really good hunter." She said, making sure to complement him too. Luke smiled, his eyes lighting up.
"Thank you." He said. Luke seemed really touched by the words, and Dart was preparing to ask why the complement meant so much to him when someone cut in.
"Dart!" Twist called from the other side of the clearing. "Wanna come talk with us?" Dart gave Luke an apologetic look before standing and walking to the others. She tried not to look back, scared that all she would see in Luke's eyes would be disappointment.

...

Twist patiently waited for Dart to arrive, putting the current conversation she was having with Mitten and Petal on hold. Dart sat down, and she resumed it.
"So, how long have you two been together?" Twist asked the new couple. They both smiled.
"I've had feelings for Petal for about a year, but we've only been together for four months." Mitten replied. Twist smiled.
"Nice." Twist said. She paused, a new question forming in her mind. "Did your parents ever know?" She asked hesitantly. Mitten and Petal both seemed surprised at that.
"Well, my parents died when I was a year old, way before I came here or met Petal. They might have suspected, but I'll never know." Mitten said. Twist frowned.
"Sorry about that." she said. Mitten smiled.
"It's totally fine." She meowed, turning her gaze to Petal. Petal titled her head to the side.
"Well, my mother never knew. She was killed by a hawk soon after I was born. But I guess my dad might have." She said.
"What were your parent's names?" Dart asked.
"My Mom was Candy and my dad was David." Mitten said.
"My Mom was Coco and my dad was Fern." Petal said. Twist's eyes widened.
Fern. That name was so familiar to her that it appeared in her dreams. It was a name that would always be a part of her. It was the name of her father.