Rook and Don were nearing the forest. They still kept near the village, not going too far from civilisation. Night was almost coming. The next day, they would have reached the forest. Rook would finally meet the famous Clan cats and perhaps, he would finally get answers. And find his family. He would see Saffanah again. Suddenly, Don collapsed. 
           "Are you ok?" Rook asked quickly, crouching beside Don. Don rolled to his side and groaned. 
           "Yeah. Fine," he muttered, rolling back to his feet. Rook could see he was unstable. 
           "You don't seem fine," Rook pointed out. 
           "Just- just a little dizzy," Don waved it off. 
          "Let's find somewhere to stay the night," Rook decided, leading Don towards the houses. They walked down a quiet street, Don was starting to limp. Rook wondered if he was indeed going to die. He didn't know what he would do if Don did die. Rook finally settled for a spot in a garden where a lot of bushes gave good shelter. Before Rook could settle down beside Don, a cat padded out from a cat flap and wandered down the garden. Rook frowned, locking his eyes on the cat. The cat was a light orange with a look of youth about him. Don groaned, rolling onto his side and closing his eyes. The orange cat suddenly seemed to sense them. He turned to the bushes and Rook stepped out. 
           "We don't mean trouble," Rook said first. The orange cat smiled. 
           "Oh hey there!" he seemed slightly excited. "Who are you?"
           "We're only staying here a night," Rook assured the cat. "We'll be gone tomorrow morning." 
           "Really?" exclaimed the orange cat, trotting closer. "Where are you going?"
           "No where," Rook said. 
           "Tell me!" begged the orange cat. "I'm a bit of an adventurer myself." Rook looked at him unbelievingly.  
           "I doubt that," Rook murmured. "To the forest. We're going to the forest. Where the Clans are." The orange cat's eyes widened. 
          "NO? Really!? ME TOO! I've always wanted to explore the world!" exclaimed the orange cat. "We could go together." 
          "Don't you live with your family?" Rook nodded towards the house. 
          "Yeah. But- well, they aren't exactly the best family. And I've always wanted to explore the world. See everything beyond this neighbourhood. Do you think I could join you guys?" The orange cat asked. Rook thought for a moment. He didn't see any harm in it. Although the orange cat might slow them down. 
           "I'll talk to Don about it," Rook said. 
            "Oh, is that your friend?" asked the orange cat. "I'm Horizon by the way." 
            "Cool," said Rook. "I'm Rook." 
         "Great to meet you," grinned Horizon. He peered into the bushes where Don was resting. Don hissed at him. 
            "It's ok Don," Rook said, appearing behind Horizon. "This is Horizon. He wants to join us." Don rolled his eyes. 
            "Not another youngster. We're good," he grunted. 
           "Aw. Come on. It's more fun with company," Horizon said. 
           "No," Don said. 
           "Come on... Are you alright?" Horizon tilted his head and wrinkled his nose. "Something smells rotten." 
           "Yeah you," growled Don. Horizon frowned. 
            "Are you hurt?" he asked. 
          "No. Go away. Rook make him go away. He's giving me a headache," growled Don. 
           "Come on," Rook said, leading Horizon away. "Let's leave him alone." 
           "He seems faint. What happened?" asked Horizon, following Rook away from the bushes. 
           "Fox," Rook replied. 
           "wow," Horizon gasped. 
            "So you really want to come?" Rook said. Horizon grinned and nodded. 
            "Then you can. I mean, I know Don doesn't want it. But you can just tag along until we reach the forest. Then we'll go seperate ways," Rook said. 
            "Great," nodded Horizon. "Are you hungry?" 
            "Sure," Rook shrugged. He had already eaten some prey Don had hunted but any extra food would not hurt. Horizon led Rook into the house. It was bright and messy. Things lay everywhere, scattered on tables, shelves and chairs. Rook wrinkled his nose. 
             "It's kind of messy," Horizon said, leading Rook to the kitchen and nodding to a bowl. It was a large stainless steel bowl. Rook was surprised to see all kinds of food inside. Sausages, rice, sardines, biscuit. He gobbled it up gratefully. It was delicious. The most delicious and tasty thing he had ever tasted! It was divine. 
              "Wow," he mumbled, gobbling down the last bite. 
             "you could have left some," Horizon said then shrugged. "But I guess it's fine. We're leaving tomorrow."
              "Do you get to eat that EVERYDAY?" asked Rook. 
              "Yeah. It's just their scraps," shrugged Horizon. 
              "Wow. Well that's some good food," Rook sighed. 
             "Fresh prey is better," Horizon shrugged. 
                "Right. I'm going to check on Don. See you tomorrow," Rook said, padding away.