The patrol padded slowly across the leafy late-autumn ground. The four animals--one cougar, two wolves, and a fox--all had their noses wide open to pick up any suspicious scent. Their ears were pricked and moved constantly. All was at ease, though.

Silkey led the patrol through the thick, leafless bush, walking only a meter or so away from a local pack's Clan territory. She sniffed and picked up the scents: Rotting leaves; scent markers from the pack that lived here; a grouse had passed here earlier, as well as the dawn patrol.

"All is clear," she told the animals behind her. They nodded and followed their patrol leader through the woods.

Silkey tried her best to be a second-in-command. Okay, do as Mom told you. Stay quiet, don't talk unless you have to, lead them straight, no detours to catch anything like last time. She twitched her ear in annoyance. Was she ever going to be a good second-in-command? Even though her mother had pushed so hard to make Silkey like herself in the past year, Silkey still felt she lacked the skills. Her friendship with One-eye may have been long past, but there was somehow something still missing. Maybe I'm too soft, like Dad was, Silkey thought grimly, remembering her father. And you know what happened to him. Shot by Silent Pangs.

She pressed on, the patrol placing their paws in her pawsteps. Just keep going on like this, Silks. This is going better than expected. Just wait until the sun is down and you'll have one perfect patrol-leading session. You got this.

She suddenly looked up. Something was wrong.

"Halt," she said, and the patrol did as told. She sniffed, and so did the others.

A somewhat familiar scent came drifting her way, but she couldn't place it. Connecting scents to the right Clan member was something Silkey found very difficult. In fact, remembering the right name of each member was already seemingly impossible.

Not a second later, a dog shot out of the bush, panting. The animal looked up at the patrol.

Silkey held her tail up dominantly and tried to prick up her usually-down ears. She knew this dog and she'd seen him before, but she couldn't remember his name for the life of her. Steve? Aerdean? Fang? Thunderblast? Who are you?

She knew she couldn't ask him, or else he'd know she'd forgotten his name, and Arrow might hear of it.

"Greetings, Silkey Jones," the dog said as he stopped in front of them, still panting heavily.

Silkey could see the slobber dripping from his lips. Her expression changed to that of slight disgust, remembering that One-eye had a tendency to slobber when he got upset. Stop letting him enter your mind, you fool! That's what he wants!

"Greetings," Silkey spoke. "What are you doing here?"

"Your mother has summoned you. She asked me to get you as soon as possible. You seemed to have led the patrol in a bit of a hurry, so it took longer to find you than expected. Please forgive me!" The dog closed his eyes and bowed his head in respect.

It's not me you should be asking forgiveness from, but my Mom, Silkey thought, as she turned to the patrol. "You finish this without me. I must go." She looked at the dog again. "Thanks for relaying the message," she grumbled, before she began rushing for the Main Base.

***

It was night by the time Silkey arrived at the Base, where Arrow sat in front of her den, her tail twitching and her usual grumpy frown.

"Ma'am, I have come!" Silkey said formally, after bowing in front of her mother. She'd never really been taught that, but since she never wanted to get on Arrow's bad side ever again, she just thought she might as well do it to show more respect.

Arrow didn't show any emotion beyond being stoic as always. "I see. Silkey, this is important. I want you to stop panting and sit down. And do it formally, like I've taught you."

Silkey breathed deeply a few more times before quickly stopping. She sat down, tail dripped over her front paws, ears up as far as they could go, a stern frown on her face, and no trace of slouching to be seen. "Ma'am," she said as she sat down.

"Good. It's time for a new phase in your journey to become a second-in-command, Silkey."

Silkey tilted her head. I wonder what she means? More tough-as-balls training? I can't take that; I'd die if I trained more than I already do! She didn't show any emotion, though.

"An important thing to readying the next generation of deputies is to make sure there is one," Arrow started.

Silkey nodded, though she didn't really understand where her mother was going.

"It may not seem like it, but even I won't be around forever, Silkey. I knew that. That's why I decided to have you."

Not even mentioning Velfet, are you?

"However, by the time you are ready to take over my job after my death, I want to make sure a...decent new generation starts."

Please don't go where I think you're going, Silkey thought, panicking inside.

"So, for the Clan's future sake, and to prevent further...hypothetically weak generations, like you because of your soft father and earlier problems, I have chosen three possible males for the third second-in-command the Clan shall have."

Silkey's jaw dropped. Well, it's where she was going, alright. Silkey's fur rose, and her mother frowned more deeply.

"Silkey, what did I tell you? Sit like a second-in-command. Jaw closed! Don't gape at me!" Silkey quickly did as she was told, and Arrow continued. "No, Silkey, I'm not expecting you to pick right here and now, but it certainly would be nice. Life is rough, and even in the Clan, unexpected things can happen, as with your father. I may not be around forever, and who knows when it's my time to go? I just wanted to make sure you'd have the right mate to produce the desirable offspring. Don't make the same mistake I did."

Mistake? So that's all Dad is to you now? A mistake? Silkey didn't think as highly of her father as she used to, knowing he had quite a few flaws that Arrow had loved to point out, but she still loved him. He'd been her father, her guiding figure throughout her early childhood.

"You are taking it well. As I expect of a second-in-command. Come, I shall let you meet your suitors."

I can't believe you got three guys to agree to this!

Silkey entered Arrow's den after her mother. She saw three young-adult catamounts seated there, all in the default pose Arrow desired. They clearly tried to not look at her as she came in, probably because Arrow had told them it'd be more professional, but Silkey could see them peek anyway.

She sighed. Just does as your mother tells you. If she needs a strong grandchild to take over when I die, she should get one. Silkey felt the need to shudder--just the mere thought of having to mate disgusted her. Why would anyone do so?

She tried not to think about having to inevitably spend a night with one of those males as she studied them.

Arrow insisted Silkey look at her first, though, as she pointed out with a stiff gesture of her tail. Silkey did as she was asked.

Her mother walked over to the first cougar, a muscular and handsome (at least, what the common denominator finds handsome) male.

"Meet suitor number one. He's very strong and an excellent fighter. The perfect genes to pass down to your child."

How do I raise a child? I'm hardly a grown-up! Why do I have to do this? Oh, please, no!

Silkey tried not to let her thoughts go wild as she greeted the suitor with a stiff nod, attempting to look genuine as she did so. She knew she looked desperate, though, as he gazed upon her with a funny face.

"Suitor number two," Arrow said, as she walked over to the second cougar, who had a brownish-gray coat. "Strong, but mostly intelligent. Came up with some new battle moves we could use, and will have a great job as tactician in the future, I can just tell."

Silkey nodded at him again. She wanted to ask the catamount's name, but thought that, if Arrow didn't mention it, it probably wasn't important anyway.

"And number three," Arrow concluded, pointing her tail at the last cougar, the smallest of them all. "No brawn, but he went against his own parents to join the Clan. That's the kind of loyalty I want to see. Loyal genes are maybe the most important. Think of that, Silkey."

Silkey greeted the final puma and then looked at her mother questioningly. I don't want any of these guys. I just want...well, no one, actually. Silkey surely had her past crushes on two or three guys, but after a few failed attempts at a relationship, mostly because Arrow disapproved of them, she didn't feel the need to try anymore, and that also felt strangely free. Now she was suddenly expected to just pick someone to randomly have a cub with after her mother died?

"Ehm, do I pick?" Silkey asked, after which she instantly regretted. Her mother had forced her to never use words like "err","em", or "um"--ever. Silkey felt herself glow red with embarrassment as she realized she'd done so, her mother's stern gaze glaring her down. Sorry.

"Anyways, I desire you to pick one of these cougars, preferably right here and now, Silkey. I know you may not like it, and you don't have to have a relationship with them if you don't want to, but these are the three most fitting fathers for the perfect child in all of the Clan. So, promise me that, by the time I die, you will have picked one of these three as the father. Understand?"

Not of they're dead by then, Silkey thought, and she immediately felt stupid and even more embarrassed for that dark thought. Where did that come from? That's dark, even for me, the offspring of Arrow, the greatest and strictest second-in-command of all.

Silkey nodded curtly.

"Promise me."

"I promise," Silkey said, but, as she did, she crossed the claws of one of her hind legs behind her tail. No way you're getting me to do this, Mother. I'm sorry.