The first battle

A few hours later, Tessa returned to the spot, finding Whiskers asleep.

"Hey, Whiskers!" she nudged him awake.

"Huh? Oh, it's you!"

"Who else would it be, dummy," she rolled her eyes.

"Well, uhhhh... no idea, but no need to be so sassy!"

"Relax, Whiskers. And how did you even fall asleep during the day?"

"You don't sleep during the day?" he looked confused.

"No, I spend the daytime hunting and finding a safe spot to sleep. Oh, right, you aren't a wild cat. What do you do during the day?"

"Uh, sleep, play, eat, and get pets."

"What are pets?" Tessa sounded confused.

"You don't know what pets are!?" he looked at her, shocked.

"What's wrong with that, huh!?" she started getting a bit angry.

"It's just a bit weird for me that you don't know it, but I'll explain it. Pets are when hum—"

Suddenly, Tessa pushed him into a bush.

"Hey, what was that for!" he exclaimed.

"Shhhh!" she put her paw on his mouth. "Be quiet, I heard a wolf," she whispered before removing her paw.

Whiskers stared at her with shocked eyes. "A w-w-wolf? I-is this a joke?" he said, scared.

"Why would I joke about something like that? Now shut up and be quiet, it might pass," she hissed at him.

They waited a few minutes, hoping it would go away.

"Shit, it's not leaving. We might have to fight it."

"I uh, can't fight."

"Are you serious?" she sighed. "Well, I guess you have to learn because it's coming here. Get ready!" she unsheathed her claws.

The wolf appeared, its eyes glinting with menace. It growled, baring its teeth. Tessa pounced on top of the wolf, scratching its back before running away and hiding in a tree, out of its reach.

"Quick, Whiskers, attack its back while it's focused on me!" she shouted.

Whiskers, gathering his courage, ran up to the wolf and scratched its back, copying the same movements he saw Tessa make. The wolf howled in pain and fury. Whiskers quickly climbed into the closest tree.

"Great job, Whiskers!" Tessa said as she jumped down and landed behind the wolf, which had turned to Whiskers. She bit its paw and ran up to the tree again. "Your turn!"

Whiskers jumped down and copied Tessa's movements, biting the wolf's other paw before jumping back into the tree.

The wolf, realizing it was outmatched, growled one last time before accepting its defeat and running off.

"Woohoo! Nice job, Whiskers!" Tessa cheered.

They both jumped out of the trees.

"That was... scary," Whiskers admitted.

"Oh, please. You did amazing! It looked like you had fought wolves for years!"

"That wasn't me, I just copied what you did!" Whiskers said.

"Huh, of course, I'm also an amazing teacher, but you're just a natural. Well, we need to find a new place to stay in case the wolf comes back, so let's go!" she said, running off into the forest.

"Wait for me!" he called out before running after her.