The grass beneath Fern's paws was delightfully soft. Willow's pads were still cracked, but the bleeding had all but entirely stopped and she could lay more weight on the paw. Dusk and Night raced forward, nudging each other like kits until they rolled in the grass. Fern purred and leaped after them, leaving Willow to limp rapidly behind.
"Got you!" Dusk yowled triumphantly as he pinned Night down. The black tom refused to give up however, and pummeled his hindpaws into the gray tabby's belly. Dusk flew a foxlength away and landed dazed.
Fern purred in amusement and propelled herself at Night. "Revenge!" she growled good-naturedly and smacked the tom's ear with her sheathed paw. Night ducked and head butted Fern into some heather. He pranced away with his tail held high as his head.
"Not so fast," muttered Fern and burst from the heather. She skimmed across the grass like a rabbit and bowled the black cat down. His white paws flailed in the air for a moment before Fern managed to pin him. "Ha! Take that, rogue!"
Night went limp, and as Fern released the pressure and shot up onto her back. She let out a surprised yowl and began dashing around. Dusk's amused face flashed past as he got from the brush, but Fern kept running. Picking up speed she didn't realize the grass was growing sparser until it entirely vanished.
"Woah, slow down, Fern," Night meowed in her ear. The she-cat skidded to a stop, wincing as a stone dug into her pad.
Night slipped off her back and padded forward. Fern hung back and trotted over the hill to see down where Dusk and Willow were. The two gray cats were walking steadily, and when Fern beckoned with her tail they picked up speed excitedly. Fern turned and ran down the slope to the rocky hill. It was steep, but over the ridge she could just see a few treetops.
Night was staring at the slope determinedly and began padding up. Dusk was beside Fern by now, and Willow was just coming up on her other side. The black tom kept walking however, and small stones clattered down to his friends.
"Careful!" Willow called as Night's hindpaw slipped a mouselength. The tom quickly pulled himself up until he was on the ridge. His fur was on end though.
Fern's neck fur rose. What was making Night bristle like that? But when the black tom turned, his face was bright and his eyes wide in disbelief.
"We're here!"