A weird feeling tingled in Amber's stomach. She blamed it on nerves. They had just eaten, and she and Coal were about to leave the barn, never to return. She took in the smell and looked around one last time. They had already said their goodbyes to Smokey, and Amber knew that if anyone said anything right now, she wouldn't be able to leave.
She looked back at her brother, her eyes stung, holding back from the tears that wanted to drown her. They nodded and smiled sadly at each other, and Coal wrapped his tail around Amber as they left the barn and headed into the cold snow.
They had picked a clear day; no clouds were to be seen in the sky, but it was still terribly freezing. She was so thankful that she had Coal with her. He was like a backbone, the main part holding her together. If she had had to leave without him, it would've broken her.
She heaved a sigh and saw the cloud of fog exit her mouth as she exhaled.
"Did we make the right choice?" She asked, looking up at Coal. His shiny black fur blew in the cold breeze that chilled them to their cores.
"You said that you had a dream." He pressed against her to provide the warmth they both needed from each other. "Do you think it was wrong?"
She thought for a moment without responding. She thought of her father, the old Clan leader. She thought of the other cat who had visited her in her dreams. She thought of the annoying pain in her belly as they walked. Indigestion, she'd decided.
"No..." she began. "I think those cats were real and that I am meant to find the Clans." She concluded decisively.
"Good." Coal murmured as they continued walking. Both of them were freezing their paws off, and were desperately hungry and tired. Catnip used to talk about how there was a small Twolegplace if you kept walking straight. There would be a warmer place to sleep and the two if them could find some food, or better yet, be fed by Twolegs.
They continued walking for what felt like moons until little lights blinked in the distance through the snow. They quickened their pace so they could reach it faster, both of them eager for the hospitality of Twolegs once they got there.
They arrived in a few minutes and their breath was taken away by this new place. They ducked into an alley, the ground still cold on their paws, but not as cold as the snow.
"What do we do?" Coal asked, clearly still shivering despite the protection from the wind.
"Go to a Twoleg's nest and wait, I suppose." She said, already looking around for nests that they could go to. Many of them were dark, and there were no signs of anything inside, but a few had light coming from them. "Let's go there," she meowed, flicking Coal's chin with her tail as she bounded towards a nearby, lit-up nest.
When they got there, they waited in front of the door, meowing a couple times. After the third time, a loud growl came from inside and they could see a dog's ugly face through a window. It began barking loudly and a twoleg from inside yelled something loudly, causing the dog to stop and move away from the window.
"Not there." Coal looked and spotted a nest.across the thunder path that seemed promising. "Let's go!" He said, dashing off. He began crossing the path, which was clear of any monsters. When he was nearly across, a monster turned the corner quickly, its large, round, black paws emitting a deafening screech sound. The monster growled loudly as it sped right for Amber's companion.
"Coal look out!"