Frostfeather felt her whiskers quivering nervously as they padded, blind, through the dense shadows. She bumped into the cat ahead of her, from the scent it had to be Meadowshine.

"Sorry," she mumbled, feeling Pineheart's nose brush her tail from behind.

A flash of light shone at the end of the alleyway. Frostfeather could see Elkleap's broad shoulders as he stepped into the open. Loud, happy voices erupted as the Clan cats walked into view. Frostfeather gazed about in wonder at all the cats gathered around her.

I haven't seen so many cats since we were back in IceClan territory, she marveled. On all sides of the open space, tall rock walls stretched into the sky. Boxes and shining garbage bins lined the walls, some stacked so precariously they seemed they would topple at any moment.

The ground was scuffed from countless moons of activity. The air was rich with the smell of the Dockside Cats.

"My friends, come meet our new guests!" The muscular brown tabby called out loudly as he led the Clan cats into the open.

Frostfeather stepped back as elated, friendly faces pressed forward to greet her. "This group of wandering cats challenged Cassius! They saved Drizzle and Blue from the likes of his tyranny," he yowled, "let us feast in their honor!"

Stone had reappeared at her side, carrying a fish the likes she had never seen. "Thank you for saving our group mates," she murmured as she set the fish down at Frostfeather's paws.

More cats stepped forward, each carrying a massive specimen of prey. Elkleap turned to the brown tabby, a purr throbbing in his chest.

"You will never know how much we appreciate this. We've been traveling so long. It feels like days since we've had full bellies," he meowed warmly.

"The pleasure is all mine," the tom purred, "for as long as I may breathe, you are welcome on these docks."

The Clan cats started to tuck into their prey, their tails swishing happily behind them. Lionpaw seemed thrilled to have an entire pigeon to herself. While Brokensong slowly picked over her plump pheasant.

"My name is Cairn," the brown tabby introduced himself. Elkleap licked the last scraps of rabbit from his jaws, taking a breath before responding.

"My name is Elkleap. We are all IceClan warriors," he began. He nodded towards Brokensong, who looked up with her good eye shining. "This is our medicine cat, Brokensong," he meowed.

"We do not know what warriors or medicine cats are," Cairn mumbled.

A dazzling orange she-cat stepped forward from the other Dockside cats. She flicked her tail at Cairn's shoulder, her whiskers twitching mischievously.

"I'm sure you could guess that their medicine cat is a healer of sorts," she teased, "you're not that daft."

He snorted, narrowing his yellow eyes, "of course I knew that!" he grumbled.

The fiery she-cat stepped closer to Elkleap, her eyes burning like hot coals. "My name is Sun'ka," she purred.

Frostfeather waited for Elkleap to continue introducing the others, but he seemed frozen with shock. His voice stuttered as he attempted to continue, "th.... this is Lionpaw," he meowed, pointing his tail towards the russet apprentice. "She is the daughter of Sootsplash and Meadowshine."

Sootsplash dipped his head while Meadowshine waved her tail in greeting. "You all have such fascinating names," Cairn commented kindly.

Blue stumbled forward, bumping into Sun'ka. She licked the top of his head, bending her paw forward to wrap around him. "Blue is my younger brother," she mewed, "it seems like he's always getting into trouble."

Cairn bumped Sun'ka with an outstretched paw, an amused expression across his face. "Yes, both of my kits seem to always get into trouble," he grunted.

Frostfeather took a couple steps closer, dipping her head to Cairn and Sun'ka. "My name is Frostfeather. The black tom is my brother, Pineheart."

"Have there always been so few of you?" Sun'ka asked boldly.

"No, we used to have many Clanmates," Frostfeather explained, "but we had to leave them to find a new home."

"Why would you leave them? I'm sure they could have came with you?" Blue squeaked, his eyes as big as moons as he listened to Frostfeather continue.

"They all got.. infected. It was a terrible sickness, one that could not be cured," she mewed quietly.

"That's certainly troubling," Cairn mumbled, "I'm sure it wasn't an easy decision to leave them behind. But all that matters is that you're here now!"

Frostfeather perked her ears, "Yeah, you're right," she purred.

"You are all welcome to relax and build up your energy," Cairn meowed loudly to the Clan cats. Elkleap was still staring, dumbfounded, at Sun'ka. Lionpaw was eagerly hopping towards Drizzle, who was laying near a tumbledown heap of cardboard boxes.

One of the Dockside cats approached Sootsplash and Meadowshine, his expression light and carefree. "My name's Sparrow! If you'd like a nest, I can show you to some open spaces in our den."

Stone was padding back up to Frostfeather, her tail waving in the air. "You and Pineheart can come rest with me if you'd like. There's two spare nests in my den."

"Sure!" she purred, jumping up to follow the silver and orange tabby. Pineheart was right behind, his black pelt rippling uncomfortably. But this seemed to be utter paradise, there really wasn't any reason for Pineheart to doubt their safety.

As soon as they curled in the soft moss of Stone's den, they fell into a cozy slumber.

~~~

Later that night, Frostfeather was fidgeting like a leaf caught in the breeze. She couldn't sleep any longer. She could feel the tug in her paws, urging her to wander from this strange place.

She stood quietly, not wanting to wake Pineheart or Stone. Thankfully, they did not stir as she slid from the safety of the den and out into the center of the Dockside camp. Without a moment to spare, she bounded across the open space and into the pitch black passageway from which they had entered.

The salty tang of the air on her tongue was odd, but refreshing. Reaching the end of the alley, she took a moment to catch her breath. She was still surrounded by tall stone walls.

Turning to her right, she padded down the path beside the stone wall. After several heartbeats, a gust of wind buffeted her whiskers. Narrowing her eyes, she pushed out into the open.

Gasping, she stared at the scene ahead of her. A wooden path extended out for several fox lengths but then ended abruptly at an endless mass of water. It stretched into the distance, as far as she could see. Above her head, the stars shined with the intensity of the sun.

She raised her muzzle, casting her gaze to the moon that hung so carelessly in the black sky.a soft mew sounded behind her. "What are you doing out here?"

Frostfeather looked over her shoulder, relieved to find it was just Blue. "I just needed some air," she meowed softly.

"You should get plenty here. The wind blows the strongest over the sea," he purred.

The sea, so this is the sea. She looked back down to the heaving water, astounded to find that shimmering silver paw prints were appearing across the surface. They were receding, heading straight across the waves towards the distant horizon.

"Wow," Blue gasped as he stepped forward to stand beside Frostfeather. "I've never seen that before," he marveled.

"Can you see the paw prints?" she asked seriously.

"Yeah, and I can hear really faint voices. They are saying that they are almost there... almost home," he whispered.

Frostfeather's heart slammed in her chest. She turned to stare at the water once more, watching as the paw prints started to fade from view.

"We should probably return to our nests now," Frostfeather meowed after several heartbeats.

"You feel better now?" Blue asked simply.

"Yes, much better," she purred. Blue flicked his tail as he turned and started to pad back down the path beside the wall. She hesitated before following, taking one last look at the sea.

We're almost there, she thought excitedly.