Fathers’ Day (c)

Sunflare purred as he padded over to his father between patrols. “Evening, Dad,” he mewed. “I… just wanna say I love you and I wish I’d told you that more often. We don’t have all the time in the world together, after all. I’m lucky that we’re both still here.”

Rookfire turned to Sunflare's voice. "Evening," he said, smiling at his son. "What's on your mind? It seemed like Sunflare had something to say to him, though Rookfire didn't have any idea what it was.

"I love you too, Sun," he said, smiling warmly at him. They didn't really say that to each other that often - certainly not enough. Rookfire said it all the time when Sunflare and his littermates are kits, but it was something he didn't say nearly as much once they all became warriors. He always tried to be there for them, but it was hard, and he felt like he could always do better. "Even if I don't say it nearly as much as I used to... I still love you. And that will never, ever go away. Even if you try belly-raking a wolf and get trapped under it. I still love you."

Sunflare shifted a bit. “How did you bear it, Dad?” he asked. “Losing Mom and all the others… It hurt me as well, of course, to lose kin, but the pain of losing the one you love and the kits you’ve devoted yourself to is new to me. I’ve never truly feared anything before this. Now I fear that at any moment everyone could perish.”