Kate felt oddly far away. Far away from herself, like she had crawled into a deep pit and had buried herself inside. As if she were not even a part of herself, but rather watching from afar. The voice that broke her thoughts seemed to echo, and it took her a few moments to even understand what had been said. His voice vibrated and shattered that glass that had kept anything else from entering. Her brows furrowed as she tried to make sense of it, of the familiarity. Who..?

Father? The little suckling inside her screamed with joy, and only wanted to bury herself in his fur as she did when she were younger. He was always so warm, and the way he would curl around her made her feel as if she were indestructible. His rusty purr would echo in her ear, and she'd just wiggle even closer.

That was back then, that was before. Before Harley got so sick, before he drug them to this place where they were confronted with so many demons and whispers. Before she felt the pressure to be great, like Katie and Jynx. Before any failure resulted in laughter and quips. Before she grew a bitterness inside her, and before she suddenly had to be cold and reject her father.


However, she was a daddy's girl.


So Kate swallowed, and found herself slowly coming from the nest, of which she smelled highly of. As if she had not left in so long. Her paws felt heavy, and it was then she realized that her stomach was even grumbling. As she came from the den, her brows furrowed, being met face to face with Harley. "Daddy." She mumbled, pressing her nose into his chest, and sniffing softly. Ever so faintly, she could still smell the hay from the barn.

This side of Kate would never last long. She was a strong cat, but simply in a confusing place at the moment. When he spoke, she nodded. She was famished. "Okay." With that she made her way over to the pile, her eyes scanning the prey. She set her sight on a mouse, purely thinking of when they lived in the barn. It made her mouth water and she reached in and wrapped her teeth around it. There was other prey there she could have chosen, but she was not a fan of birds much. The feathers were annoying.

Little did she know, her grandmother felt the same, and preferred mice over birds any day.


Kate was quick to finish her meal, not wishing to waste any time. As her belly grew more full, the more the color seemed to return to her eyes. She didn't speak while she ate, she simply ate. Once she was finished, she swiped her tongue along her lips and did a quick clean of her whiskers. "Let's go then." Her tone had changed, but it didn't seem to of changed back to malice like it had been when they had joined. Instead, it seemed as if she were willing to open her heart back to Harley, perhaps out of feeling alone, even.

As they weaved through the wood, Kate's shorter legs worked a little faster to keep pace with him. Her eyes shifted along the territory, and soon realized she'd yet been around this way of it. She wondered briefly where he were taking her, but let that slip her mind. She'd find out when they got there. "It's... been." She muttered. In actuality, she had yet to really train at all. Which.. was not good.

Primal Instinct had many odd traditions that Kate hadn't quite figured out yet. She was a smart cat, but things were much more intricate here than they were at the little barn she had grown in for a huge portion of her life. The feline sighed slightly. "I suppose I mostly train with Mal." She admitted, but even then.. Mal had been a bit more absent in her life than she was used to. It seemed that the trio were no longer a trio. They were simply... their own.. Kate blinked at her sudden realization. Her life was more than Harley, and her two brothers, now.

Yet. Even with all the cats she was surrounded by, Kate felt alone. More alone than she ever had in her life.

Her chest hurt.


"Did we have to come here?"