Hope woke up suddenly from a nightmare about the vision of Sun's body, panting. She looked around, gaze flicking wildly at her surroundings.
She slowly calmed down as she felt another sleeping body next to hers, remembering where she was. She and Sun had dug out a temporary den at the base of a hill, and their nests were made out of leaves and stray feathers- not the most comfortable, but it was convenient.
Hope got up and stretched out her legs, whacking Sun with her tail to wake her up.
She earned a yelp from that, and Sun quickly stood up groggily. Hope snorted, and Sun pouted at her.
"Can't we sleep for a little longer?" She groaned in a pleading tone. "I'm tired."
Hope shook her head. "We have to follow the sun. Plus, we need fresh-kill and water. Up for some hunting when we find somewhere to drink from?"
Sun brightened. "Sure! My legs are aching, anyways. I want to stretch them out."
Hope nodded, padding out of the makeshift den with Sun close in pursuit. She gazed wistfully in the direction they had come- their territory was no longer visible.
"What does this make us?" Sun asked quietly. There was a tone in her voice, fear or nervousness, Hope couldn't tell. "Are we rogues now?"
Hope's head snapped towards her, pelt bristling. "Of course we aren't rogues! We are proud tenderfeet of The Rushing Fire of Dragon's Breath and nothing will ever change that," she hissed. "How could you say such a thing? We're on an important journey for them!"
Sun shrunk back and her ears flattened, making Hope feel guilty.
"Sorry," Hope mewed gruffly. "But you know how strongly I feel about our group- no, our family. Our home. We could never abandon them, not for anyone of anything," she said confidently.
Sun seemed to perk up at that, affectionately butting Hope's head. "I agree. But don't get in over your head, you proud furball! Just because the moons told you to explore the world doesn't mean you're special," she teased.
Hope rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's find some water."
Sun nodded eagerly and bounded after Hope. They seemed to have a burst of energy, running along the open field beyond. The wind buffeted their fur but they didn't mind. Maybe it was better to stop regretting leaving home for now.
After what seemed like moons of traveling, Hope and Sun finally found a small pond to drink from. They lapped up the water gratefully, and Hope could feel the strength coursing back up through her veins.
"Let's stay here for the day," Sun suggested, and Hope couldn't help but agree. They needed a good source of food and water if they wanted to travel for much longer, and their journey could wait a day.
"Let's split up and hunt, then meet back here with our catches. We don't need much, obviously, since we're only two cats." Even as Hope said it, her heart caught in her throat at the simple words. They really were only two cats- they were all alone. Who knew if they could ever find their group again? No, I can't think like that, Hope thought indignantly. I have to stay strong. For Sun. For the Moons. For everyone.
Nodding, Sun ran off to the Moons know where, and Hope headed in the opposite direction. It was a while before she found a thin forest, and immediately went into a hunter's crouch.
Sniffing the air, she caught the scent of mouse. It most likely wouldn't be a big meal, but it would do. Creeping forwards, she followed the trail. She found the source pretty quickly, but to Hope's dismay, the mouse she had been tailing was already dead. A crow was pecking at its body, probably trying to figure out how to pick it up and eat it.
Narrowing her eyes, Hope decided she would go for the crow instead. She crept around so she could approach it without being seen, but unfortunately she was downwind of it. She just had to pray to the Moons it didn't scent her.
Her hopeful wishing paid off, and the crow paid no attention to her as she leapt off the ground and tore down at its wings before it had a chance to react, killing it with a swift nip to the spine. She was proud of her catch and quick thinking, though she was lucky it was properly distracted and too engulfed in the scent of the rotting mouse to notice her own scent.
Whatever, Hope thought. A catch is a catch. With that, she picked up the crow and ran back to the pond as fast as she could.
Sun's golden ears pricked immediately when she saw Hope come into view, and she greeted her with a flick of her tail.
As Hope put her catch down and eyed a mouse that Sun had caught, Sun started to speak.
"Hey Hope, I was thinking- wouldn't it be super duper cool if we made our own group while we're on this journey? We could be called the, uhh… Blazing Skies of Hopeful Suns or something!" Her eyes shone as she spoke.
Hope's whiskers twitched. "It would be a good way to remember The Rushing Fire of Dragon's Breath," she purred. "That's a really cool name, too! The Blazing Skies of Hopeful Suns, I like it. Maybe you're not just a tiny lizard-brained furball after all."
"Hey!" Sun meowed indignantly. "You're right, I am not a lizard-brained furball! And I'm not tiny either!" She pouted.
Hope giggled. "Well you sure look like one! Come on, let's eat."
Sun rolled her eyes and dug in to her mouse, while Hope started eating the crow she had caught.
Hope looked up to see the sun setting, gazing at the beautiful array of reds, yellows purples and blues. It amazed her. She nudged Sun with a paw.
"Look, Sun. Have you ever seen a proper sunset before? The forest is too thick to see it through," she said in distant awe.
She felt Sun look up, and she inhaled sharply. "Wow…" she breathed. "It's so pretty. I'm glad I was named after the sun."
Sun pressed closer to Hope and Hope wrapped her tail around the small golden she-cat. Maybe everything would be alright, after all. They just had to follow the sun.