The sun was bright, its rays gleaming from where it stood in the middle of the sky as Chrissy and Sparrow led me through the forest of pine trees.

Where were we going? I had absolutely no idea, but apparently it was a surprise!

It had now been a few days since we had left Barley and his farm, to my complete disappointment. I had told my parents about my reluctance to leave, and luckily they had promised that we would stop by to visit again soon the next time we passed the area.

But since then, we had been traveling intentionally yet aimlessly as usual. However, this morning, we had been traveling since the sun had just barely risen, and both of my parents had seemed very excited to take me to some particular place that would "take almost an entire day's travel".

I had to admit, I had been a bit mopey since leaving Barley's barn – I had loved the change in atmosphere and the older tom's kindness and warm presence. Our next visit already can't get here fast enough! But I also had to admit – my sadness was already quickly going away with the day full of adventure I was already having.

For the first time in my entire life, I had actually been able to cross a thunderpath for the first time. Up until this point, my parents had been too nervous to even cross while carrying me, but according to them – we had no choice but to take this path in order to make it to our destination.

And thank goodness our attempt to cross had been successful, considering how busy the thunderpath had been – monsters pelting from both sides, but luckily not seeming to notice us at all. Once there had been a free moment, Chrissy, Sparrow and I had run like we were being chased by hungry foxes. And despite Sparrow initially telling me that he would let me cross by myself, I still felt his jaws grip my flank and carry me the rest of the way.

And he had gently placed me back onto the grass, a monster actually passing by, its wind brushing our fur, just a few moments later. Hm, next time for sure, then, I thought jokingly as I stood up and gave a shake of my fur. I suppose I got a bit of a thrill for the first half!

I then forced myself to push away my disappointment, but also humored thoughts as I then excitedly turned to look at my parents, who were already padding ahead through some trees. "Alright, what now? Are we close at all?"

Chrissy briefly slowed down her pace and looked over her shoulder back at me, waiting for me to catch up and stand in between her and Sparrow. "Well, funny that you ask that now," she purred, flicking her tail forward where the trees were already beginning to disappear to reveal the territory ahead. "That thunderpath actually was our landmark to let us know that we're nearly there!"

I let out a gasp of surprise and excitement at those words, and before I could even give a reply, I fell speechless and I felt my mouth drop open as I processed what was in front of me – stone for what looked like infinity, which surprisingly looked like the neatest thing ever.

Not only was the ground itself stone, but there were several tall, miniature looking pointy mountains and cliffs spread everywhere. There were also a couple of tunnels that led who-knows-where. I had truly never seen a place that embodied fun or cool so perfectly for me.

And if all of that wasn't exciting enough, I quickly realized that I recognized this place – I had easily been able to spot it from the view at the top of Barley's barn. "No way!" I finally breathed after a few heartbeats of simply taking it all in. "I've seen this place before!"

I then let out a purr of amusement, fully having anticipated the confused look on my mother's face when she looked back at me. "You've been here, and we haven't?" she muttered, a single eyebrow raising on her face.

I then let out a full mrrow of laughter as both of my parents exchanged a glance. "No, of course not!" I reassured them. "I saw it from far away once – Barley took me onto the roof of the barn the last night that we spent there."

To my surprise, my mother simply nodded quickly before exchanging another amused glance with Sparrow. "Oh, we know about that."

I flicked my ears, my mouth dropping once again in shock. "What? How did you all find out?"

Sparrow shrugged, and then brushed his fluffy tail along his mate's shoulder. "Well, for one, Chrissy woke up and seemed to immediately notice that you weren't next to her anymore..."

"Motherly instincts can't go wrong!" Chrissy purred, flashing an affectionate look back at my father.

"And secondly," he then continued as he gave me a wink, "there's really no way that you can climb up stacks of hay silently."

"And thirdly..." Chrissy went on as I let out an annoyed sigh and closed my eyes. "We heard you two talking, I suppose."

I then let out a huff, lowering my head in embarrassment, but also simultaneously trying to hide my rising laughter. "Whoops..." I murmured shyly before slowly lifting my gaze to look at my parents. "Hopefully you don't think of me too badly. Being that sneaky isn't something I'll do..."

I then shuffled my paws back and forth, tilting my head as both of my parents flashed me a skeptical look. "...often?"

Sparrow let out a chuckle and gave a slow shake of his head. "Hm, alright," he meowed warmly before then turning to face the mounds of stones ahead of us. "So, then you've gotten to see a bird's eye view of these stones already, huh? I suppose that takes away from the surprise a little bit, however..."

He then shyly looked back at me over his shoulder. "I hope that you're still excited?"

I immediately gave my father an eager nod, my heart practically soaring as I continued to look around at my incredible surroundings. "Of course I am!" I assured him. "Seeing it from a distance is nothing like being there!"

"Well, we're glad," Chrissy then purred as she gave me a lick on the head. "We figured that you might like to practice your jumping and climbing on something that wasn't practically a pebble... and it's also just a pretty neat place to explore. What do you think?"

"Oh, it's absolutely incredible!" I quickly replied. I then tilted my head as I looked to both of my parents. "How did you two find out about this place?"

"Just about in the same way you did, actually!" Sparrow answered, taking his own wide glance around the area before padding up to flank Chrissy. "Mist, do you remember that night that we spent next to that tall cliff? You were just barely a moon old, so you probably don't, but your mother and I saw it from that view and committed to bringing you here someday."

I let out a purr as I shook I head. "You're right, I definitely don't remember! But either way," I then took a moment to press my head affectionally against both of my parents. "Thank you for doing it!"

I then continued to purr as my mother pulled me closer to her with her tail, giving me another lick on the head. "Thank you for actually showing enthusiasm so that this plan didn't have a very anticlimactic result!" Then, after the three of us shared a laugh, she then gently pushed me forward with her tail. "Well, go on and have fun! We're right here watching you!"

Well, as my mother had commanded me to, I went on and had fun!

This large cluster of stones, to me, was a kit's dream play-place, and I definitely treated it as such. I definitely was climbing up and down rocks for at least half of the time – all of the different kinds of stones giving me so many different ways to practice.

I also tried something a bit new, under my parents' supervision, of course, and began to make attempts at making small leaps from one rock to another as well as jumping off of a taller rock onto a shorter rock. Both Sparrow and Chrissy watched me the entire time, as they had promised – giving me tips, demonstrating things for me if I was unsure, and freaking out every once in a while if I tried something a little more risky...

For the second half, I actually watched my parents make their own use out of the tall stones, and I watched in complete awe as I watched them climb and then leap of off the tallest stones, and then race around the entire stone area – leaping over and under stones and climbing up and down the, in what felt like half of a heartbeat.

Sparrow came out on top this time. I was sure he was going to be subtly gloating for the next few days...

Then, as the sky was beginning to turn yellow and orange, and the stone area almost brightened as it reflected against the lowering sun, Chrissy, Sparrow and me played a game of tag – my personal favorite to play with them.

I could never tell if my parents intentionally slowed down in order for me to catch them more easily, but either way, I didn't care – my heart was light with happiness, and I was having the most fun that I thought that I would ever have.

Eventually, after what only felt like a few heartbeats of playing, Sparrow tagged me by tapping his tail on my flank. After letting out a sigh and rolling my eyes, I pelted forward to go after my mother, who was anxiously waiting with bright hazel eyes just a few tail-lengths away. No tag-backs!

I was then taken aback when my mother practically flew to her right, running away from the flat area we had been running in the entire game.

Instead, she began running up a large hill made of stone – so tall that I couldn't even see anything on the other side of it. "Hey, Mist! Up here!" she called down as she continued to run. "Bet you can't climb it!"

Just a moment after I began to veer in that direction, she actually paused briefly, looking back at me with her eyes wide. "But if you can climb it, which I have the slightest suspicion that you can, please do it carefully."

"Please, for goodness sake," Sparrow then whispered to me as he also began to run up and join my mother.

I let out a mrrow of laughter before beginning to follow my father and mother up the taller rock, a bit confused, but incredibly excited about the challenge that my mother was giving me.

To my own surprise, I actually made it up the little hill no problem. I guess my practice recently is already beginning to pay off.

Once I made it to the top, more than prepared to tag my mother, I actually paused almost immediately, my mouth dropping yet again as I saw what was in front of me.

It was no Barley's-barn-roof view by a long shot, as we weren't as high up, but I was still absolutely blown away by everything that I saw, and I almost immediately forgot about tag altogether.

Territory that I had never, ever seen before stretched beyond where we were standing. Just in front of us, the river that I had seen from a different point flowed just along a small thunderpath, and beyond that were more fields and plains with animals that looked like little specks scattered around. Beyond that, was another large Twolegplace, with a large stretch of mountains behind it that I could imagine that cats would enter into without ever coming out.

And bringing it all together was the absolutely beautiful sunset, its rays breaking through the clouds and casting over all of it. Wow...

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Chrissy whispered, quickly noticing my amazed expression. "I figured that this would be a great spot to watch the sunset!"

"It's definitely not ugly," Sparrow then meowed, his dark gray eyes full of affection as he wrapped his tail around my mother's shoulders. "Good work, I guess."

"Oh, come on," Chrissy then purred, rolling her eyes as if she were annoyed. But I then couldn't help but laugh when my mother nevertheless nuzzled her head into my father's neck fur.

Without hesitation, I ran up to join my parents' embrace, a purr rumbling in my throat as I squeezed myself in between their flanks, leaning my head on my father's front leg and wrapping my tail around my mother's.

I then simply stared at the view ahead, the purr in my throat continuing to rise and feeling as if my heart was rising in the sky to replace the setting sun.

I really hoped that I expressed it enough, but I honestly could not have been more thankful for my parents, who took me on so many adventures and did so many things just to make me happy. They put me first in absolutely any situation needed, and they seemed to receive joy just by seeing me feel joy.

They have gone out of their way countless times to teach me and show me new things. If it wasn't clear already, me doing new things clearly scared them a bit, but they still never stopped me from learning or achieving, and no matter how much doubt I ever showed in myself, they showed very genuine, very convincing confidence that I would be able to do whatever I wanted to someday, even after they were gone and couldn't be there for me anymore.

I then flicked my ears as this thought crossed my mind. When they are gone, and can't be there for me anymore...

It was the most horrible thought that I could ever conjure up, so much so that I could never think about it fully without wanting to curl up into the grass and wail. The most horrible thing about it is the fact that that will happen, for sure, no matter how much I don't want it to... I thought, my heart suddenly feeling as heavy as the rock we were standing on. One day, I will be on my own, and Sparrow and Chrissy won't be with me anymore.

Barely even realizing that I had done it, I found that I pressed myself harder against my father, screwing my eyes shut and then tightening my tail's grip around my mother.

Chrissy seemed to immediately notice that I had done this, looking down at me with concern in her hazel eyes. "You alright, honey?" she meowed softly, stroking my head with her tail.

And with that, I found myself spilling everything – I mean, these were thoughts that crossed my mind countless times, but I never thought about them too much, as I didn't want them to ruin the current moment, but still... I thought to myself. And... I suppose saying them out loud makes them feel more like a reality... "I..." I hesitantly began, my head low to the ground. "I just... I get really scared and sad sometimes..."

"Scared and sad?" my father then meowed as he touched his nose to my cheek. "I'm sorry. What are you scared and sad about?"

I found myself shutting my eyes for a moment as I shook my head slowly. "About... growing up, being on my own, and... not being with you two anymore. I just..." I then found myself having to hold back a whimper. "The fact that things can't be like tonight... forever. It's impossible. And the fact that it's going to happen no matter what..." I then screwed my eyes shut even tighter. It's absolutely horrible...

I then forced myself to open my eyes, and then look at my mother and then my father. "I love you both so, so much... how am I supposed to handle... not always being beside you? I can't handle it!" I then nearly whimpered. "As amazing as nights like this are, they also remind me that it all won't last forever, and one day, nights like this won't exist..."

The entire time I had been speaking, Chrissy had been lightly stroking my flank with her tail, her gaze full of love and sympathy. "Oh, honey..." she sighed. And then, out of the corner of my eye, I could just barely see her lean her head towards Sparrow. "There's an eloquently-spoken daughter for you!"

I was almost certain that I wasn't mean to hear her whisper, however, it actually cheered me up a little.

After Sparrow then let out the quietest chuckle, Chrissy pulled away and licked my head once again. "First off, let me say that these feelings of yours are completely normal and okay, as scary as they are," she began softly. "I am so, so sorry that they have you feeling so scared and sad. Trust me, your father and I have thoughts like that too."

I then heard her let out a sigh. "And as much as I hate to admit it, and as much as I hate telling you, you're right – there will come a time when you will be on your own, and your father and I won't be able to be with you anymore. But you know what?"

I simply looked up at my mother, my curiosity rising.

Chrissy continued, flicking my ear with her tail. "That's not now. But even then, Mist, it may not feel like it, but you will be ready when that happens."

"That's right!" my father them chimed in, his dark gaze actually warm as he looked down at me. "I mean, your mother and I can see it already, but with how strong, brave, and adventurous you are, you are going to excel on your own, go on so many adventures, and experience so much. Of course, there's always grief, but then you get to make life your own!"

He then gave Chrissy a light nudge and a look full of love. "You may even find your own friends, family... and take them on all kinds of adventures and experiences," he purred. I was then surprised to hear him let out a snort. "When it comes to finding the tom that you might create that family with... well, I certainly hope that I'm there for that..."

I couldn't help but let out a small purr at that comment.

"Sure, your parents come to be a very important part of your life that... well, you could say guide you through the first half of your life, you're going to meet so many cats that you come to care about just as much that carry you through the second half," Sparrow then went on. "It's exactly what anyone, your mother and I included, have experienced."

Chrissy then nodded, giving a small purr as she licked her mate's cheek. "Exactly," she then meowed. "While we both still had our parents when we first met, we only had each other once they passed on, but at the same time, we... had each other." She then gave a quick shake of her head. "Not that that necessarily means that you need to find a mate to cling onto, but like your father said, you will have other cats in your life that you've met that will give you love and support."

She then gave a small sniff of amusement. "I mean, look! You're barely passed three moons of age and you've met Barley, who you really don't want to seem to stay away from!" After I let out a shy laugh, she then gently stroked my ear with her tail. "But anyway, your father and I also have met friends on our journeys, and then, we felt more than blessed when we had you, and were able to love you and take you on more adventures than we've ever experienced!"

"And... we're glad to hear that we've given you a life full of excitement and adventure that you don't want to lose," Sparrow then continued, and I felt my heart sink all over again when I noticed that his voice was just a bit hoarse. I then looked up to him to see his warm, yet solemn expression. "And both of us really hope that you want to continue to pursue it once we're gone – we are certain that you'll achieve amazing things, Mist."

Chrissy immediately noticed my father's change in demeanor, flashing him a look full of love before touching her muzzle to his. "Dido to that," she nearly whispered. She then looked back down at me, her hazel eyes still overwhelmed with love. "But even then, Mist, we'll always be here, I guarantee you that. In whatever way that we can be, because we both love you very, very much."

For a moment, all I could do was stare back into my mother's eyes, so overwhelmed with emotion that I couldn't speak.

As scary as it all still was to think about and hear, my parents' words had put me at ease, as they always did. "Thank you," I finally forced out, pressing more tightly against both Chrissy and Sparrow. "I love you two, too."

Then, after a few moments, I then felt my father brush his tail against my shoulder. "Hey, Mist," he then murmured softly. "There's something I forgot to tell you in all of that. Do you know what it would have been?"

I sighed and rolled my eyes, but also purred as I immediately knew what my father meant. And again, as it always did, the tactic that my father always reminded me of put me at ease. "I can handle it," I whispered, almost just to myself. I can handle it.