Under the raining sky, Amity and her siblings were looking at the grave. The stone was small and boring, only paid by insurance companies. All that was written on it was "Odalia Blight. An awful mother. Shotguned to death by Blackcrimson453"

(Okay fine. I was joking... for now XD. Back to the one shot.)

"And that's it I guess. I'll have to go now. See you later Hugo."

The young adult got up and walked away from the statue with a light heart. She didn't come as often as before, but Kipo would never forget her brother. She always came to talk to him when something interesting happened. And today would be a especially important day. When she got off the hill, Kipo transformed into a mega and rushed towards the forest. No way she'd be late!

Even after all these years, the feeling of the wind on her fur as she ran had never ceased to impress her. From time to time she would run around the surface plains with her huge paws just to experience that amazing feeling, sometimes even with a passenger on her back. But today, Kipo managed to stay focused.

The mega jaguar reached the forest in just a few minutes. Once at the edge, Kipo turned back to her human form and continued on foot. As she walked between the huge trees, Kipo found herself nervous and began to dust her clothes, which were already perfectly clean. The young woman was wearing a black jacket, but not the same as usual. No spikes or leather. This one was more classy, like a suit. She wouldn't be the star today, but she really wanted to prove her full support and looking good at the event was a good start.

It was almost noon when Kipo reached the center of Timbercat village. The place was packed with people. Obviously the timbercats, but also a very large number of humans and a few other mutes. After a few moments of searching in the crowd, the young woman finally found her friends. Wolf, Troy and Benson were all sitting on a wooden bench and welcomed her with joy when she joined them.

"You got lost or something?" Wolf joked. "I was starting to think you'd be late."

"You know I would never have missed this!"

"Ah yes." The boys sighed, rolling their knowing eyes. "We sure know that."

Kipo could only blush as her three friends laughed. Even if she wanted to, she could never hide anything from them.

They were suddenly interrupted by the cries of joy of the timbercats and realized that Molly had arrived. The leader of the clan stood proudly on the stump of the Scarching Tree. The stump itself was surrounded by many logs planted vertically in a circle around it. These were fragments of the sacred tree, cut with infinite precision to separate the patterns without damaging them. The place was different from how it used to be, but it had perfectly regained its majesty. When Molly raised her ax, silence immediately returned to the forest, allowing the leader to speak.

"Dear friends and family. We are gathered today to welcome two new warriors to our proud clan. Dahlia, Asher, if you will join me."

To the applause of the crowd, the twins left the front rows and joined Molly on the holy stump. They had changed over the years. Dahlia had gained a lot of muscle and had let her hair grow to her waist. With the purple plaid shirt she wore, all she needed was the fur to pass for a timbercat. With Asher, the change was less obvious. They had also grown, but had kept their hair short and were more fond of sweatshirts than shirts. The twins knelt in front of Molly as she resumed her speech.

"These two young people have lived by our side for six years. They have mastered the art of the axe, learned and accepted our lifestyle and proven time and again that they have the bravery of warriors."

Following these words, two timbercats appeared on stage. They both had an axe in their hands. They stood in front of the twins and respectfully handed them the tools. The twins took them with equal respect. Dahlia's was barely smaller than the axes cats used, and thin purple patterns where paint near the hilt. Asher's was smaller, but still much larger than anything in use 200 years earlier, and had a turquoise spiral starting from the blade and circling around the handle a few times before stopping in the middle.

"These axes are yours." Molly continued. "Use them to protect this forest, your family and all that is dear to you. Asher Berdacs, Dahlia Berdacs, under the gaze of the past axe lords, you are now members of the Timbercats clan!"

The audience let out their joy as the twins brandished their very own axes toward the canopy. Kipo and her friends joined their applause to the ovation. Kipo, however, was the only one of the four to shout her joy. But after all, who could judge her? Her lover was living such an honor, she had every right to be proud! However, after a minute, Molly raised an empty paw asking for silence.

"I know you all came to celebrate this event, but there is one more ceremony due to take place today. Kipo, come here please."

At the other end of the place, Kipo thought for a moment that she had misunderstood, but seeing the incredulous looks of her friends, she realized that she hadn't. So she got up and timidly went to the center. The mutes and humans moved aside to let her pass, just as surprised as she was.

Finally, the young woman climbed on the stump and stood in front of Molly, curious to know what was going to happen. To her surprise, the mute said nothing and it was Asher who cleared their throat to get her attention. Their face was burning but their gaze hold incredible determination. After taking a deep breath, Asher planted their ax on the ground, the handle extended towards Kipo, and dropped to one knee.

"Kipo, I love you with all my heart. Now and forever, I swear to use my ax to protect you from any harm. Do you accept my ax and my heart?"

The square was then plunged into absolute silence for a few seconds before Kipo lifted the ax from the ground. The young woman then knelt in front of Asher and put the ax between them. She then answered with a moved smile.

"Of course I do."

The two young people then exchanged a tender kiss as the assembly cheered them. Only humans seemed not to understand.

"What just happened?" Wolf asked out loud.

"No clue." answered Benson as confused.

That's when a Newton wolf came by and explained them.

"This is called the vow of the ax. It's a Timbercat ceremony where two lovers swear to stay together forever. I think you humans used to call it 《wedding》".

The wolf has spoke with such calm that it took time for the friends to understand the meaning of his words. Wolf was the most shocked of all.

"So you mean ... KIPO JUST GOT MARRIED!?"