#huckleberryshell

They were just about to head back, watching everyone filter off into the thick of the trees, leaving him, Huck, and Maggie with her buddy sat in the clear.

"Boys." Instead of leaving, Pollen stepped towards them, tone dead serious as she addressed him and Huck. "I'm not getting any younger. Surely it would not be too much of an intrusion for me to stay a while. I hear you're all planning on it, yes?"

"Yes, miss, of course. Could I ask why you'd like to stay?" Huckleberry spoke first, tense as a broody bird. Fir could already tell he was going to get an earful for inviting Maggie at all, now the question was whether Pollen wanting to stay softened that or not.

"I fear I might be unfit to travel by the time we reach a place to rest. If you're staying behind, nobody else has to for me." She practically waved the question off with a paw. "Huckleberry, you can watch the kits, I'm sure."

Fir could hear Maggie and Bunny snicker beside him. And, okay, maybe it was a little amusing how he couldn't escape being volunteered for everything even now.

"Of course. I need to talk to Camomile. Fir, could you please show everyone around." Huckleberry excused himself quickly.

Fir, for his part, didn't much mind his own task in the meantime, showing off the food stores and various sleeping quarters on the way to his and Huck's.

"Pollen, you can stay in this one, to yourself. Me and Huck are staying right over there. Maggie, you and Bunny can go wherever, unless you wanna stay with us. Oh, there's so many cats to introduce you to, actually."

"Thank you, lad." Pollen stepped aside, vanishing off to rest while the younger cats ran off.

- - - - - - - -

Honestly, even if Weaver did agree to join the 'Clan', it didn't stop the fear. Slatenose was nice, Owlgaze was delightful. Yarrowshine was terrifying. So mostly he was just happy to stick around Owlgaze when he had the option to.

Today was not that kind of day. He'd agreed before he could actually. Stop himself. He thought Owlgaze was also coming. But nope. It was just him. Slatenose. And Yarrowshine.

His tail, his paws, his ears. He just couldn't stop moving, the polite conversation Slatenose and Yarrowshine carried missing him entirely. When they looked to him, he just stared back, lost on what answer they wanted. Was it concern or just confusion that he saw mirrored back? Did it matter?

Either way, Slatenose waded away, digging for leaves preserved under the snow banks. Yarrowshine.

Yarrowshine just. Sat. Beside him. Tail curled over the twinkling surface of snow where her paws had sunk. Silent. Staring out into the distance. The snow seemed to absorb nigh every sound in the world.

"Sorry," he choked out when the claws of anxiety loosened their grip on his throat enough.

She hardly reacted to the apology.

"Do you feel better?" The question left him confused, however, unsure how to proceed without giving a wrong answer.

"Yeah."

"Well enough to join Slatenose?"

"Slatenose doesn't bother me."

"But the silence helped, did it not?"

"Well… Yes, but. That's just. I'm just wrong."

"Nothing wrong with liking quiet."

Voices melted back into the silence of winter again. Yarrowshine sat nearby for a time, before leaving to help Slatenose root around. Weaver, shamefully, stayed off to the side, trampling about in the snow to keep his paws from freezing.

- - - - - - - -

It had been Owlgaze's idea first, to give Carnation a sense of shared responsibility by bringing the teenager along. It wasn't a bad idea. They certainly didn't seem like they'd had that much trouble living on their own, even if they clearly lacked a lot of additional skills.

He'd phrased it as a reward for making progress, as much as the moody young cat seemed to take it as a bit of an insult. Maybe he really ought to focus on the importance of knowing one's own limits.

"We mark by the edge of where the trees start so that cats know they're trespassing if they cross - so they do not upset the spirits and we may show the spirits we respect them as well." Huckleberry explained, after the 3rd time Carnation sat back and watched when he and Owlgaze stopped.

"And so we don't have rogues hunting our prey." Owlgaze added eagerly.

"That makes sense, I guess." The ginger waved it off. But at least they joined in on the next stop.

The conversation flowed largely the same, with Owlgaze adding her own two whiskers to whatever he'd already said, him politely accepting it, and Carnation either going along with or arguing based on their own limited experience. Typical teenager. At some point they'd just stormed off ahead, offended by a question about practice.

They didn't bother to chase. Not until Carnation themselves had stopped, staring down a snow-covered shrub with their back arched.

"What is it?!" Owlgaze called, pelting their way while Huckleberry lagged only a whisker behind, each now staring tensely into the tangled branches.

Where a cat lay curled up, ears back and tail twitching anxiously at the sight of the guards. The scent of fear mixed with the faint scent of milk, but no trace of kits nearby. The trio eased down one by one, even if the queen in front of them did not.

"We're sorry for scaring you." Owlgaze began gently, dipping her body lower. "This is our territory, but we would be happy to help you with getting where you need to be."

"Sorry, no. I don't need to be anywhere… Not anymore, " the queen mumbled, eyes downturned.

"If you and your kits need shelter from the snow, I'm sure it would be little trouble," Owlgaze pressed on first, while Huckleberry was still thinking over his phrasing, or how best to make an example for Carnation.

"It's alright, my kits are gone anyway. Nothing to be done now, " the light brown tabby's voice cracked. Grief choking the fear out.

"Woah. What happened to them?" Carnation piped up, voice hushed, as if their own attempt to be sensitive to the situation. Yet their ears were held forward in pure morbid interest.

"I think it was a fox. I didn't stay with them. It's all my fault. I didn't have to hunt," she teetered on the verge of crying while Huckleberry tried to silently reprimand Carnation with a nudge and a sharp look.

Owlgaze instead shifted slowly closer until she could sit close enough to rest her fluffy tail across the queen's shuddering shoulders. "I'm sorry for your loss. I am sure they're safe and warm in the Stars now."

"They wouldn't want you to blame yourself. You'll catch your death out here like this," he said with a nod. She looked half-starved as it is.

"Yeah, there's a lot of food here. No snow can stop us, so we'll share," Carnation chirped smugly. Teenage pride really was something else.

- - - - - - - -

Travelling was taking a lot longer this time. 5 cats, 2 of which could barely hunt for themselves in the snow, and the rising snowdrifts… Well, it made for rather a chaotic mess on the trail.

It did make for warm nights, at the least.

"So, like I said. They have these nicknames tacked on to their names. Something about earning your place in the Clan. I was thinking of asking around if anyone wants one of those when we get there, " Kristopher mused, once again huddled in the rough center of the pile. He didn't bother complaining about it.

"That sounds splendid. New life, new name, right?" Romeo was quick to agree. As opposed to Mars, who had grimaced at the suggestion of being assigned a name he hadn't chosen himself. He felt the noncomittal hum where Cody had tucked his nose into his shoulder earlier. Tough crowd.

"Okay, well, s'long as we're talking about it, as my siblings, you are welcome to advise how the kingdom should be run. Mars?" Kris leaned more towards him, placing more weight onto mottled golden fur.

"Huh… The royal knights can only be the best of the best, obviously. So I think we need a designated sparring arena and mandatory scheduled matches." Mars had taken a moment to think, but clearly the idea hadn't been that hard to pull anyway. A good start - fun, practical.

"Yuh-huh. So does Az get a say in it?"

"I don't mind." The dark tom spoke up from across without raising his head.

"Alright, then. Personally, I think we need a court musician or bard. And Romeo can be the jester." Kristopher continued from there, since no-one else had much enthusiasm for a late night brainstorm. But that certainly caught Romeo's attention, much to his own amusement.

"The what?"

"Cody? Want to share what's in that big smart head of yours?" Kris turned his head the other way entirely, looking down at the huddled giant teddy bear of a cat, ignoring Romeo's confusion.

"No, not really."

"If you say so." Oh, Kris could see there was something there left unspoken, some spark behind those eyes.

"What's a jester?" The cream tabby repeated.

"Means you're funny."

"Aww. Not particularly my intent, but thank you." He was so easy to please, wasn't he?

- - - - - - - -

Sentinel.

Storm was no fool either. The den of strangers may as well be a pit of serpents, no telling which were adders masquerading as grass snakes. But it was at least not a responsibility held on one cat's shoulders alone.

Regrettably, he'd found rather few of the cats seemed particularly willing to communicate with him rather than his sister. Save for largely Owlgaze and Slatenose, who seemed happy enough to try to bridge the gap of understanding whenever they crossed paths.

But they were not the ones that needed monitoring the most. No, the firestarter was, fittingly, Fire herself. With the kit growing towards a semblance of independence, it felt more imperative to keep track of that one, should the change embolden more theft. Or worse.

"What are you staring at, rat?" The ginger growled at him before moving back onto her hunt. She'd learned by now not to expect a verbal response just as much as he'd learned there was little use in offering a signed one.

He'd offer to help. But she certainly hadn't responded to that well last time, so he just stayed sat at his post instead, yawning in the dawn light. At least she seemed to be doing well enough for herself, so, frankly, he arguably needn't bother in the first place. Less likely to cause trouble if adhering to the deal didn't lead to an empty belly yet.

He could only hope the area could support this many cats. Lest if Cam's new friend did indeed return they need to talk him into slimming the numbers by force. Wouldn't do to starve out one's neighbours.

- - - - - - - -

As much as she missed the fox hole, cleaning up the stone structure had made for a fun project to keep herself and Storm busy over the moons. Their den just didn't really have quite as much sheer space.

Of course, now that the snow had truly covered the world outside, there wasn't much to be decorating with. And the many openings in the walls meant there was much more space where the cold seeped in easily. The den had felt much safer in that regard, deep in the earth where the winter couldn't quite reach.

But, well, a promise was a promise. For now. She was not convinced just yet that it had not been a lie - just some tom trying to shove his responsibilities onto her before vanishing.

"Excuse me." Cam announced herself, waiting for a few seconds before crawling into the dark crevice the little family had opted to den within. The mangy queen had made less and less of an effort to wander far as the weather got colder. So she'd heard at least. But at least she was polite enough to back off when Cam delivered the requested extra down and feathers to pad their nest in.

"It's not infectious, you know." The brown tabby spoke up hesitantly from the corner, paws tucked underneath her in a loaf to conserve the warmth.

"I've seen the coyotes. Nasty sight." She countered, almost conversationally, not one to be swayed.

"I started losing fur before I was even weaned. I lived with many cats and none other was inflicted in such a way." Confident. "… It's okay if you do not believe me," Then apologetic. "I just thought it would be easier if you knew."

"Mmm… I do suppose your mate and kit did not seem afflicted either."

"Oh… Well, Fire is simply a friend. Fox, too, was found without a family. But I can see how it could seem that way." The tone grew amused as the assumption was dispelled. She certainly would not have guessed. Plenty of cats did not want to raise their own kits, much less some lost foundling.

"That is quite sweet of you then- would this be enough, or should I see if I can find more?"

Cam moved aside, showing the rough beginnings of the expanded nest, waiting for a nod before she started to construct it proper. Her pawpads itched, part of her still convinced the existing material was crawling with whatever infection would eat away her own fur.

"Thank you again. I apologise that I cannot offer anything in return."

"The down needed to go somewhere. Nobody else claimed it, so it may as well go here." Cam's ears twitched. She probably couldn't think of anything to ask for even if she were offered the option. This at least gave her something to do while Storm was off, and it wasn't unpleasant work per se. Asides from the apparently-not-mange.

- - - - - - - -

The den was starting to feel like the camp of a small Clan now, with not only more new cats setting up nests across the stone warren, but new spirits taking up residence alongside them.

None had so far proven to be especially friendly, for the most part ignoring her at worst or trying to politely shake her off at best. Perhaps, if these were the types of spirits Huckleberry and his family were used to, it was no wonder he had expected others to operate under rather similar attitudes.

In any case, with the loners clustered together in a shared area, it meant the spirits were too. Yarrowshine, frankly, grew to rather prefer the more quiet tunnels, as much as Slatenose and Owlgaze had seemed to thrive within the center of activity.

It lead her to become mildly acquainted with the more out of the way residents, if one could call it such. Fire had done a lot of posturing at first, wary of whatever threat she imagined Yarrowshine posed. But with time, and herself keeping a level head, the ginger had calmed significantly. Considering the treatment she'd heard Fire had been given upon intrusion, the distrust seemed understandable enough, perhaps the lack of judgement had been all that had been needed.

Most of their interactions were in the mornings, when Yarrowshine had wandered off on her own way and Fire was just returning from gathering breakfast for her own little family.

"Mornin," Fire chuffed over a mouthful of voles, passing by her.

"The prey is still running well, I see," she answered back politely.

Fire postured - puffing out her chest, tail and head held high. "Not well enough to outrun me."

Yarrowshine found the gesture amusing, especially with how often it seemed to occur the last few days. Though, perhaps unnerved by her stare, Fire shifted to padding along quickly on her way instead. Shame.

- - - - - - - -

Fox was getting bigger. In fact, Fox was already big. That only got harder and harder to really ignore as the days went by. Like it or not, she wasn't a little kitten anymore, and barring her access to the outside, snow covered as it was, was just cruel.

But Wolf couldn't keep up out there with her bare paws, and neither of them was all that eager to entrust their daughter to the first stranger to volunteer, as much as Fox seemed more than happy to play with that Carnation fellow the grey fleabag had taken to training.

So it was up to Fire.

"You know, if you keep getting bigger, fluffball, you'll turn into a real fox." Fox giggled in response to the comment, dodging Fire's attempts at pulling loose a tangle of fur behind her ear despite the distraction.

"But seriously. You like tussling with Carnation, right? Well what if I told you I could start teaching you how to really beat him anytime, yeah?" Fox gasped, pure wonder twinkling in her eyes before Fire finally got ahold of her, playfully wrestling her down to finish grooming, ignoring the squeals and kicks.

"That's not fair! I thought you were serious!"

"Oh, I am." Fire sat back, satisfied, still as stone as Fox dived at her in revenge, teeth chewing gently at Fire's ear with a growl. "But first, you must pass my trials three, young soldier"

"Knocking me over is not one of them."

"You're too heavy! What am I supposed to do then?" Fire could feel Fox's hind paw occasionally trying to find purchase against her flank as she hopped in her desperate attempt to push her over.

"Well first of all we need to teach you how to hunt. Being able to fight ain't gonna keep your stomach full." Fire jabbed her paw out at the exposed fuzzy belly at her side, timed just right to throw off Fox's balance. It didn't throw the 'opponent' off, so much as cause her to cling on and stop moving for a moment. And hopefully show how vulnerable the belly is.

"Do you think Carnation is gonna think I'm super cool if I know how to hunt?" she responded with a delay, almost sheepish against Fire's neck fur, then finally detangled properly.

"Sure, fluffball, let's go with that. You in, or what?"

"Yes! Can we-"

"No, we aren't bringing Carnation. Just us two." Fire teased. Because, honestly, the kitten crush was funny.

- - - - - - - -

"Aaand there is it!" Kristopher waved his paw out in the direction of the hill, and the fort perched atop it, watching the reactions (or lack thereof) of his companions as they saw one for the first time ever. It certain didn't look much like the houses in town. So that was at least something.

"Follow me, I'll introduce you so nobody decides to jump you for showing up."

The introductions were the actual difficult part. He ended up running about herding whatever cats he found into one place. And by the time he found Cam and Storm, he found out there were even more cats he hadn't found on the way.

The grand hall they were all now gathered in felt laughably large all the same. Clusters of cats scattered loosely below one edge of an old table, with himself and his travelling companions perched on its edge.

"Hello to anyone I have yet to meet!" Kristopher spoke loud, unbothered by the eyes fixed upon him as the sound echoed off dusty walls. "I've returned from a visit to my family, and some have chosen to return with me. This is my sibling Mars, and their mate Azazel," he gestured with his head to the two cats sat to his right - Mars puffed up proudly, as if challenging everyone in the hall, while Azazel stared down with his same passively annoyed expression. "And this is my baby brother Cody," He turned to the left with an encouraging nudge to the short-faced tabby, who certainly looked quite a bit spooked by this point.

"All three of them are to be treated with the utmost respect. Their word is law just as mine is, and all those who disagree are welcome to leave on their way at any time. Finally, this is Rosespark, a cat from my homeland who has chosen to take on a new name. If anyone planning to stay after the thaw would also like one, I will speak with you later. Any questions?"

"Yeah! Why should we listen to you?" yowled a ginger tabby in the back. The horn-like ears looked fitting.

"Because the land wills it and the spirits will not be kind to you if you don't," he echoed back with practiced bravado, gravely serious in a way he could see bristled the tails of a few. "I'm sure you'll find none of us are that unreasonable anyhow. Next question."

"Have the requirements changed for staying temporarily?" Slatenose was next to speak up properly, well, enough to be heard.

"So long as you respect the crown and cause no trouble, stay as long as you need. There will be changes to how things are run - I can see quite a few new faces joined us since my departure - but those will require more discussion with my compatriots."

When no new questions came up for a short time, he signalled to Mars with a flick of his ear, allowing her the center stage. "It's also come to my attention this slovenly young kingdom hath no knights! If any of you reckons they have what it takes to be a knight within the king's guard, I and Azazel will be running battle practice here every Saturday!"

"They don't know what a Saturday is, Mars." Kristopher leaned in to whisper.

"Oh, for heaven's sake. Tomorrow! It's tomorrow! You'd best be ready to impress me!"

- - - - - - - -

When Jaguarcrown came to her in private, it was low to the ground and yet with a grin. A show of repentance without any guilt to be seen.

"Did you miss me, Canary?" he chirped.

"I was beginning to doubt you would show."

"Well…I expected to come alone, but one thing lead to another. Thank you for staying," he'd added with a purr. "Did I miss anything interesting?"

"Some cats showed up to steal food and picked a fight. I let them stay if they feed themselves. Huckleberry, Fir, and Owlgaze are responsible for everyone else," she explained calmly, still unsure if his demeanour meant another lofty request was coming.

"I see. More action than I'd see, I'll give it that. Now that I'm back… You can leave if you want. Or stay if you want. I'm not keeping you."

A bit of the tension released. Right. 'Respect the crown or else' or not, he really hadn't given the impression to be big on orders, did he?

"So what if I stay, then? What's your demands, mr crown."

"I'd call it more of an offer, really." His whiskers twitched, hushed laughter under his breath. "See, I'd like to consider you a friend. No king rules alone, Cam, and you're invited. Whatever laws, or whatever, we make, you have equal say in what happens. That's if you want to stay."

A moment of silence took hold between them, both considering the other.

"Oh, and your brother, was it?" Kris said, if a bit hesitantly.

"Storm, yes."

"Yeah. He can stay too. I'd like to get to know him."

"I'll talk to him."

"You know where to find me!" She could see the twinkle of victory in his eyes as he sat back. Why did he have to be cute?

- - - - - - - -

Leafbare was cruel. Any burrow they found met Tigerblaze and Appletea with teeth or claws from whichever current occupant dened there. They were able to force a fox or badger out with combined effort. But it was always a risk without a medicine cat to rely on. And the nights spent there were rather sleepless, wearing them down further, just to keep watch in case the evicted residents decided to take the burrow back.

But what else could they do? Ripplepaw had grown a short coat, sure, but it did hardly anything against the mounting snow and windchill. It was a blessing from StarClan that Tigerblaze's young daughter had not yet caught her death. Even with three warm bodies to shelter between.

"If it is not too much trouble, I seek an audience, miss Yarrowshine."

"What about?"

"What would one need to do to avoid angering the spirits when trespassing?"

Evidently the last conversation had spooked Huckleberry in some way. For all his continued drive to enforce unexplained rules among the current residents, he'd begun to shy away from making demands of Yarrowshine. She pondered perhaps she should break up the charade, tell him how much of a farce this whole belief of overprotective territorial spirits was. Especially now that he was asking directly.

The single spirit she'd met insofar was more than friendly. But if Jaguarcrown had convinced the poor fool so, who was she to change his mind? And what difference did it make whether he believed it or not?

"I can tell you know the means of atonement already, no?"

"Ah, I'll explain, my apologies. My family will be passing through soon, I wish to meet with them, but they may step onto the spirits' grounds. Could anything be done to allow them to leave without time spent atoning first?" Interesting for cats to be travelling still, when Leafbare was gripping the land.

"Mm… Difficult. And Cam cannot tell you?"

"Unfortunately she cannot speak to the spirits as you and Jaguarcrown do. If you need time to speak to them, I could return at a later time." Huckleberry swayed on his paws, weight shifting in preparation to turn tail and leave.

"No need. I will request an exception. They will be able to pass safely."

Is it truly a lie if the end result is the same as promised?

"Thank you. It means a lot." The spark of gratitude in the tom's eyes was worth it enough.

- - - - - - - -

Getting Cody used to outside became tougher when winter began to properly creep in. But the colder weather and shorter days also served to keep the human kits in more, if only slightly.

"You think you'll be okay in here?" Kris asked, trying to keep the tone casual as he rolled over on the floor. He wasn't sure yet how Cody felt about him leaving, even if they'd only known each other a month or so.

A noncomittal hum came from inside the cat tree.

"They aren't as bad if you get used to them… Neither is outside, I think you'd love it if you went beyond the fence."

Even only barely seeing the kit's head, he figured Cody looked to be sulking. The news may have hit a bit harder than expected…

"Like I said, I can't exactly stay. It ain't for me. If you really want out, you can come with us. You won't be alone, and if you prefer to come back here we can go. But we'll be going far away. I'm meeting back up with Mars later. You can come with, get acquainted at least. They're family."

The conversation just about died there, from the looks of it. Nothing more to say, no response to pull. So he let the boy sulk.

- - - - - - - -

It had certainly given Weaver something to think about. Not only had Huckleberry been leaving him alone more and more, pending the end of the guardianship, but now he was very aware of Owlgaze and Slatenose awaiting an answer.

Winter was cruel, any cat could tell you that. It was simple out there. You hunt, and you either succeed or starve. You hide, and you either succeed or die, from predators or weather both. He remembered his last winter, if a bit faintly by now. How he'd barely escaped death's fangs many times, feeding on crows or carrion when that was all he had.

Yet here, few cats seemed so fussed. Only the newcomers made any sense at all. Both the MoorClan cats, Huckleberry and Fir, even Cam and Storm seemed barely shaken. Like nothing was wrong when the first snow threatened the land. But, then, the newcomers had, so he'd heard, been barred from sharing in the stockpile.

All this living amongst others, as little as he went out of his way to interact, was a truly complicated mess. All cats act different, all cats expect something unlike the cat before. Longing for attention, longing for solitude, longing for respect, for fear… He hadn't lied when he said all this didn't suit him.

Yet whenever he thought of spending another winter all on his own, his paws seemed unsteady under him, and his tail lashed restlessly. Suddenly staying put in the castle seemed far less daunting. For the moment.

"So I… I um. I gave it some thought." He fumbled, sat in front of all three MoorClan cats, eyes downturned to his own fidgeting paws. "I think. I want to join you? Oh-only as long as you want me around, of course, I don't want to be…y'know, a bother."

He felt Owlgaze before he heard her, nearly barreling into him, the motion in the air shifting his whiskers. "Yes! Absolutely! Right?" She circled around, somehow managing to avoid stepping right on his oscillating tail.

"Nobody is opposed. You're welcome to join us however much you want." Slatenose sounded amused. But Weaver wasn't quite able to bring himself to look up enough to look at Yarrowshine, to figure out what the silence meant.

"Yeah, that. Um. Does that mean I have to sleep here or. Have a name like all of you, how does that work?"

"That would be your own choice. We don't currently have our own leader here to grant you a warrior name, unfortunately, but if you really would like one I'm sure we could grant at least a temporary one?" Slatenose's quiet voice barely cut over the continued sounds of Owlgaze's celebration.

That was one of the worst parts of living together, wasn't it. Decisions decisions. Ones without a simple right or wrong answer and yet so much weight to every option.

"We can leave names for later, I don't mind… I'll tell Huckleberry I'll be moving my nest here… Eventually." He needed a moment after all this. A very long moment.

- - - - - - - -

Sometimes it felt like the world just had it out for him specifically. What was wrong with just living life with his siblings and mother and aunts? Why did the humans decide that just wasn't allowed anymore? Why's everyone always deciding things for him? And yet all he could do about it was curl up in a box and stay there.

It wasn't actually doing him any good, and he knew that. But what was so good about being outside all the time anyway? Mal and Kris kept hyping it up like that best thing ever, but it mostly just seemed cold and wet now that it was all… loud. No more chirping insects or singing birds. Just cars, dogs, crows… It would come back, apparently. But now he was being told he had to either stay here or leave and hope it's as nice as they say? It felt unfair that Kris couldn't just stay until spring.

And yet, when Kris went scratching at the door that evening, Cody followed along, as much as he still felt annoyed at him for crashing into his life and running away so quickly after. The humans didn't stop him either.

"We'll be back by nightfall." Kris promised, hopping up onto the top of the fence like it was nothing.

Cody…went to find another way around, struggling up a bare hedge instead until the fence top was within reach. Then sank like a stone down onto the hard grassy ground on the other side.

From there, Kris lead him surprisingly far from the houses, out into frost-nipped open fields. The occasional sounds of cars were far away, leaving the world almost eerily quiet. He warmed his paws beneath himself while they waited for… Mars, was it?

Except it was two cats. Cody was left staring down a serious looking black cat while a small golden cat grappled with Kris in what he really really hoped was a greeting rather than an attack.

Kris cackled when they detangled. So…

"This is Cody, by the way! Cody, this is Mars. And I reckon you're the Azazel I've been hearing about!"

The tension in his shoulders let up as soon as the staring contest broke. Around 'family' he'd said. Whatever that means here.

"I heard you're Mal's sister's kit, right?"

"Yep! And you're the new kid's Mal's been taking care of." It was playful, Mars was just returning what he'd said, and yet for a moment he'd felt deep indignation at being reduced like that. Not that there was anything wrong with Mal, he liked the older cat and he was always kind of patient. But he wasn't just Mal's kit.

"Ahahah, yeah. Been living with him since summer." The anger never reached his throat, his tone still the same awkward softness.

"He mentioned you were having trouble adjusting to- Az, come on, stop staring there like a weirdo." Mars broke away mid sentence, opting to instead gradually headbutt the black cat towards the huddle.

"Don't worry, he looks all scary, but he doesn't bite. He's really sweet." The golden cat continued, rearing up to rub their cheek to Azazel's once satisfied with his new position.

"Nothing wrong with quiet. If everyone was as crazy as you all the time, we'd all drive each other mad. Besides, Cody gets overwhelmed easy anyway."

"You're the travelling one, then? Mars said she was coming with you to be a night?" The black cat's voice was suitably gruff, almost growly in a way that made Cody almost bristle up. Restrained only by the complete lack of reaction to it from anyone else.

"Mhm, so how much do either of you know about kingdoms?"

"Not…anything, really?" Cody answered first, tilting his head Kristopher's way. For all the stories of outside that he'd told, that one hadn't seemed to have quite come up yet.

"Buckle up then, we'll be here a while. Mars, bite my tail if I get off track, please." The sleek tabby stood, before launching into a tale truly much bigger than Cody had heard from him before. Though, most of it was about how humans lived, so maybe it made sense that he'd not said anything prior. The awkwardness faded gradually in the middle, and Cody found himself interrupting in fascination more and more often, with Mars occasionally jumping in to add things or answer questions herself. There was so much about how humans lived that he'd never even really thought about!

"Woah, and you do all that out there too?"

"Oh, no, well, not exactly. Smaller scale than that, since there's only a few cats, but. Well, I was thinking to really give it that kingdom feel. Why, you interested?" Kristopher teased him back for his excitement, and he found his ears starting to burn before he choked out a 'maybe', earning an 'aww' from Mars instead. Which didn't help, actually.

- - - - - - - -

Chin up, chest out, stone-faced, just like mum had taught. The decision to follow some weird adults they'd found in the woods had been spontaneous. Maybe a bit dangerous, okay, they knew. But the birds and insects had gone silent save for the crows and it was getting scary.

Besides, these cats didn't particularly seem dangerous. Certainly weird, with all the talk of angry ghosts or whatever - and only some of them. But the most harm they'd done him the whole time had been a bit of bruised pride. Seeing as almost nobody they'd spoken to seemed to think they were capable of taking care of themselves!

"I already told you I know how to defend myself." They grumbled, ears low as the grey tabby kept on asking more and more probing questions. Presumably about fighting methods or whatever, they understood maybe half of the specifics.

"I see. Would you indulge me in a demonstration then? Perhaps we could learn a bit from each other?"

"Sure thing, old man." They could tell it was just a different means of getting the same information. But it was more fun this way.

…

Unfortunately, regardless of who attacked first or how, it was always Carnation that ended up stuck on their back, paws at best flailing, at worst effectively pinned. So maybe the old tom had a bit more idea of what he was doing than they did. Even when they tried some of the things he did, it didn't work all that well - so when he corrected them about what they were doing 'incorrectly', their ears just burned.

Both of them flinched, if only a briefly, when a battlecry sounded from a higher pitched voice, followed by an attempt to bite Huckleberry's tail from a, they assumed, kitten - it was a bit hard to tell with how big the other ginger was, but he was pretty sure they were small enough to definitely be a kitten.

"Whatchu doin'?" They peeped, unabashed over having missed the attack entirely. A cat with an odd-patterned face trotted from the same direction the kitten had come from.

"Training." Huckleberry finally stepped off Carnation's chest, letting them roll back to their paws. Seeing the so-called teacher distracted, they leapt to the opportunity to attack - grappling him around the shoulders with both front paws. From the other side, the kitten pounced too, landing against Huckleberry's side with a dull thump and not much else.

Unfortunately, for all the effort to drag down Huckleberry, Carnation was nonetheless easily shaken off. To add insult to injury, the kitten came flying right at them too.

"Hey! You're supposed to be on my side!" They hissed, kicking the younger ginger off without all so much effort, despite the surprise.

"I am?"

In the meantime, the stranger had also caught up.

"If it's not too much trouble, could Fox join you?" The bald-muzzled one announced, almost apologetically.

"I don't think she's much trouble, I'm sure she can stay." Huckleberry looked to Carnation… And as much as they almost wanted to say no out of spite, it just felt mean.

"Yeah… You wanna see how real grown-ups fight, kid?"

Fox gasped, bouncing in place. "I do I do!"

- - - - - - - -

Blast it.

Even as the days passed, Romeo would often see his humans searching for him. Such fervour and commitment was admirable, sure, but the outside world had not yet truly lost its luster either. Most of his fellows had been content to stay inside, he knew that was usually the normal way of things. But was it so wrong for him to not be so? He knew by now he was not so strange after all - many of the cats roaming during day had humans to care for them, houses to sleep warmly within come the cold night.

If only his own would understand him so. Alas, he knew should they capture him, he may never run and hunt freely in the grass again. It was not their will for him to.

What was he to do then? To flee entirely? As much as he hungered to learn about these lands, to venture forth entirely on his own still rung like certain death. Besides, why else would everyone else who lived here be so eager to stay close rather than wander farther afield themselves? Nay. Romeo would have to keep evading for as long as he may. …

Whether by pure chance or by the will of some higher being, however, Romeo happened upon that same molly he'd seen on his first day out. Just with company this time, 3 other cats circled around.

He'd tried to be as quiet as possible when approaching closer, ears pricked in hopes of catching some, even tiny, bits of the conversation. His jaw almost dropped when he did finally pick up enough to puzzle together it was a plan to travel somewhere. Somewhere far.

"Now, if you're not planning on introducing yourself or coming along, I'd recommend you be on your way."

Romeo's head popped up, the burn of embarrassment faint on his ears as he realised he'd been seen.

"Of course, of course! You may call me Romeo. I've got quite the plight weighing on me, dear gents. My humans would like to have me back, you see, yet I wish to remain a free spirit. They would see to it I never step with my paws upon grass again. Surely you would help me, dear strangers? I would be forever in your debt if you were to help me find someplace away from here to stay." He pulled out all the stops, swaying and waving, his voice, too, befitting of a sob story of a so-called desperate cat. He'd always had a charm to him, even if this particular performance was not one he'd had much practice in to speak of.

The laughs it garnered, instead of sympathy, were a bad sign. "I can't imagine life on the run from humans of all things is any pleasure, no. If you think you can handle walking and hunting your own for a moon, you're welcome to tag along." Still, the molly accepted easily, so. Clearly he'd still succeeded.

"My, how could I ever repay you for this, darling?"

"Well, not calling me that would be a start."

- - - - - - - -

The normally quiet stretch of woods and the grassland it bordered buzzed suddenly with more life than summer itself had. Cats of all stripes and colours and splotches spilled across it, all together on a largely unravelled detour to their long journey.

Huck had met them prim proper and orderly, greeting and speaking to everyone in order. Fir had other plans, dashing directly into the sea, seeking out little cousins that were still toddling last he'd seen them, yet now stood at eye level; bumping foreheads with great auncles who had seen their fourth or fifth 'last' winter by now. The energy was infectious, sending him into a rush so powerful he'd forgotten they would not be staying together for long. Up until now, after all, this had simply been a normal ritual whenever everyone reached their destination.

Of course, he hoped they'd come back by in a few moons' time, but it wasn't quite the same anyway. A few hours did not compare to weeks. He could lament on it later, when Spruce wasn't grappling him into a hug.

"Hey, watch the ears!" Fir laughed, trying to topple his older brother over in return. It was in the midst of roughhousing that he stopped in his tracks, to stare at what in first grance seemed like an oddly shaped rabbit, sat away from the group with one of his many cousins.

"Oi, Maggie, is that your lunch?" Both the white-marked cats broke out laughing. Even Spruce did, a little bit, even as he'd tried to mask it behind half-hearted scolding.

"Bunny's just a friend. We're not eating it." Magpie chirped inbetween breaths, whilst her, apparently, friend stomped its hind paws not unlike a real rabbit, whiskers betraying the retained amusement.

"How'd you end up on the trail then, rabbit-cat? Your legs seem a little short to travel that far." Fir finally untangled completely from Spruce, half-skipping on his paws to join the pair even for a little while.

"It beats home I'll tell ya that. Had more fun the last few months than I've had in years, rough or not." Bunny answered back resolutely, seeming to almost try to rise to his height, though its ears hardly reached his chin even with strain.

"We got a real nice place here with a bunch of company if you two want to stick around, y'know. Real interesting types staying the winter." He slipped in, leaning a bit more towards Magpie in particular. If everyone else felt eager to chat to their own sorts, well, maybe he could get more of his own sort to stay.

"Oi!" Bunny huffed, propping itself up on its hind legs just enough to bump Fir's chin. "Eyes down here, fuzzy."

"Sorry, sorry. You're invited too." Fir snorted, falling back and bowing ever so slightly.

"Dang right. So what's this thing you're offerin?"

…

Of course, when Fir eventually found Hickory lounging among a circle of other older mollies, he got the wonderful duty of recounting every detail of the time away. She worried, of course she did, even if he didn't really understand why. She'd never fussed so much over Spruce or Pine or Juniper.

At one point Huckleberry joined them to report about how he'd been 'keeping Fir in check' as well, only to just end up fussed over by Hickory instead, over why he'd gotten so sidetracked in the first place.

"…I've elected to stay and help watch over the land." He'd finished his recap, looking almost sheepish as he finally broke the news.

"Oh, Huckleberry, dear. You should have said so earlier. We'll be sure to remember to stop here to visit."

"No need to worry, auntie. I won't be lonely." His voice turned gruff with restrained emotion. Nobody really needed both of them openly upset.

"Yeah! He'll have me with him! And Maggie said she wanted to stay, and her friend! And there's plenty of other cats already here!" Fir leapt in, voice raised enough to cut through the cloud of upset between them, tail waving in the air. Except it didn't seem to help. Hickory offered him the type of polite smile usually reserved for kittens boasting about a botched hunt. He could only imagine his own grin, still frozen in its place, looked rather silly now. And he wasn't really sure why.

"Are you sure, dear? You won't miss your siblings? And Pine's been talking about another litter come summer."

"Ah- well, of course I'll miss everyone! But I wouldn't want to leave Huck all by himself anyway, and here's been fun. It's not like I'm going anywhere, I'll meet you next time you visit." Fir's smile finally dropped, caught half between his own resolution and the longing to give it up.

"I don't mean to keep you, Fir, I'll be fine alone." Huckleberry added. But then Huckleberry was always like that.

The more the days passed, the more Huckleberry couldn't help but wonder exactly who those odd guests were. Far be it for him to question the Crown's decisions, but all 3 stood out quite sharply in both name - startlingly similar to Jaguarcrown himself's in structure - and function. Unlike Weaver, Fir, or himself, they'd never been granted any real duties or orders, given nothing to atone for in their service. None that he could tell at least.

Owlgaze had been agreeable enough, chatted gladly about far off lands, journeys, and plans. He could be satisfied with just one cat's word out of them all. And yet it nagged at him how much the grey tom and patched molly kept to themselves, a separate unit all their own even within the land.

It was uncommon to catch either of them alone, much less not busy with something. So when the opportunity presented itself, well… Weaver could handle himself for a bit. It had been enough moons to trust he'd not be eager to just run off.

Having found one sat in the sun by the hillside, he approached carefully, announcing himself with a polite 'good afternoon' when he was sure he could be heard. The brown cat regarded him with little warmth, yet made no move to leave or shoo him away.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"Nothing that can't be picked up later." She answered with an ear flick, even now not fully facing him. It was a sort of distant look that struck him as oddly familiar. Like Jaguarcrown's more distracted moments.

"Great. I was hoping you would be willing to answer a few questions." He felt then that he'd crossed an invisible line he'd not been meant to, from the way she looked at him now, turned to fully face him.

"What is it you need to know?"

"Owlgaze has shared some of the story, but I wanted to hear from another perspective. You three, what makes you all stay here? As far as I've heard, you have somewhere to be."

Silence followed, nothing but the movement of the air, fallen leaves fluttering like giant moths upon the breeze. He watched those tall ears flick. And then…

"We each have our reasons. The companionship is appreciated, so I've voted to stay for a longer time." The molly's response was calm, measured. He felt it was not just a failing of his own that he couldn't tell what hid behind them, for once.

Huckleberry's eyes narrowed, but his curiosity drove him to push rather than retreat. He couldn't be satisfied with an answer that made no sense.

"Appreciated by who, if you don't mind the question? Owlgaze has been a joy, yet seemed anxious enough to leave herself."

"You are not the only denizens of this land."

"The spirits then?" Huckleberry blurted out without even thinking. It was the only logical answer, surely.

"Are you one to believe in spirits?"

The question made him huff with a prideful sort of determination to back himself up, especially with almost-amused as the asker seemed. "Certainly. Every kit in my family is taught not to upset them."

"Interesting… Then we may say my presence is desired by a spirit here…I take it you are not acquainted." He could only assume the gesture of the head was meant to point him towards something in the thin air she'd been staring at before.

"I fear I am not so blessed as to see or commune with the spirits the way Jaguarcrown himself is. But you are?"

"Perhaps."

"Can you prove it?"

"Must I?"

- - - - - - - -

Fresh air and sleep had done him well enough. No longer was the nagging of unseen danger gnawing at his skin, at least. Even if any odd touch or movement in the corner of his eye that shouldn't be there still caused him to jump. There was resolve, now, though. He knew it wasn't just a fleeting impulse. That it would last the journey home.

He stared from a distance. Watching quietly as Cam searched for prey. If he was going to leave, at the very least she should know. It was only decent. The rest, he knew, would largely be long gone by the time the snow came down proper. And with the changing leaves, he'd better leave sooner than later if he didn't want to get snowed in himself.

It just felt like such a betrayal. To spend so long trying to show he would be there, only to leave. It's not like it wasn't something he'd done many times before. It just wasn't a good habit.

He watched her talk with Fir, only to separate and pad back his way… It was as good a time as any.

"Fancy a break, Cam?" He hopped down from the log, abandoning the catch he'd been 'guarding'.

"Mm… Might have more luck with a clearer head." She sighed. "But I take it that means you want to talk."

"So long as it's not a bother, my dear friend. I must confess it is serious."

"I can tell, you're doing that thing."

"What thing?" He found himself off-beat, ever so briefly, picking through possibilities a mile a minute in the seconds it took to get an answer.

"You're all performative. Like you're hiding something."

"Huh." It felt. Odd. To have the mask called out so blatantly, even if he hadn't meant to be wearing it, necessarily. Even more so that it came from someone that hadn't known him since, well, since before he flew the coop at least. It took a weird amount of effort to drop it, less of a relief than it usually would be, when he forced himself to relax a bit.

"You can say whatever it is, I'm listening. I'm sure it's nothing too much."

"Yeah… So point is, I'm going to go visit family. I don't know when I'll be back, but since we're neighbours, I reckoned you ought to know. You and Storm can stay in the castle if you want - actually that would be quite lovely. I could leave you in charge then until everyone scatters their own way anyway. Or I can ask Huckleberry."

"So you just want me to keep your den clean for you. Unbelievable." Camomile scoffed, batting at his shoulder with a paw, despite the slight smile on her face. "What do you even do in there? That Huckleberry cat makes you seem like a right tyrant."

"Honestly, not that much. Hunt, sleep, a bit of running around for the heck of it. Huckle just really bought into the whole kingdom shtick way back when. If you know what a kingdom is."

"Can't say I've heard of it, no."

"Makes sense. It's a human thing, actually. But I'll bore you with the details later, so Fir can't bowl us both over for sitting around."

- - - - - - - -

She didn't like to admit that it might have slipped her mind just slightly, but… It's always better late than never. Besides, Slatenose is easy to flag down, it's not like she missed her chance.

"Need any help?" Owlgaze chirped, trotting at a quick pace to catch up with the healer, only to fall into step beside him.

"Always welcome to join. Can't say it'll be anything interesting, though." Slatenose answered, steering her along to where he was going, the motion familiar in a way that only clanmates seemed to reach.

"Great thing I have something I wanna talk about then!"

"Oh, you do? Made new friends?" The tom didn't quite match her energy, focused on his own work as she talked.

"Something like that. You used to be a loner, right?" Owlgaze leaned in, careful not to get underpaw as Slatenose examines some wilty plants.

"I'd say so." His ear twitched her way this time.

"Well, this cat named Weaver was too! He seems fun, but he's struggling to get used to living around other cats." Even some days later, it was a concept she struggled to quite wrap her head around. That's why having cats around who weren't Clan cats at heart from birth seemed like a help.

"That can happen sometimes. Not every cat enjoys much company."

"Well, I think he would like it! He just needs some help to not be so shy!" The idea Weaver would just…never come around to company just felt wrong.

The answer hadn't been quite as quick this time, Slatenose stopping to think, perhaps weighing her viewpoint a bit more.

"Keep at it then. Just be careful not to overwhelm the poor cat."

"Well actually I told him I'd ask you to talk to him. Since you know what it's like living alone better than me." She weaved around to the other side of him as Slatenose spun to move the other way, her tail tipped higher up.

"If you'd like me to, I can certainly try sometime. What's he look like, then?" He'd answered with a friendly sort of huff.

"Very white, it would be hard to miss him. The one with the brown tail."

"I'll keep an eye out. Now, would you mind carrying these?" And, well, once her teeth were busy with the flowers, there wasn't quite so much room to chat on the way back.

- - - - - - - -

It was a calm night. But it was getting harder and harder to ignore away the biting chill. Even the trees were starting to prove little help. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

They'd seen the milling about of a half dozen or more cats out there. Smelt it, too, hard not to. Frankly, just because some pompous furballs think they own everything, doesn't mean they actually do. They can share a star forsaken den, it ain't gonna kill them.

When Wolf could no longer offer her a reason for them not to go, all caution was tossed to the wind rather quickly. Where Wolf kept to the shadows, slinking along silently, ears alert for any kind of sound, Fire felt no need. A cat would need to be blind to not notice the bright orange fur anyway. At most she kept her distance from her friend.

It didn't take long to find what seemed to be a food storage area. Rodents, rabbits, birds, piled up together in a sight that made her mouth water. Enough to feed a family for weeks, maybe, if it didn't spoil. Fox would appreciate extra pickings if nothing else.

"C'mere. They won't notice if a little goes missing." She whisper-yelled over her shoulder, grabbing at the leg of a rabbit to drag it towards the way they came, watching as Wolf caught up enough to grab something smaller.

"Aren't we only supposed to be scouting?"

"We'll find someplace to hide out in later. Unless you wanna go ahead while I get this outside. Your choice."

She could feel the silent judgement even if she couldn't see it, chortling in response.

All in all, despite Wolf's reservations, everything went fine. There hasn't been a single sign of a cat awake, even. Weirdos.

The thrill of success lasted maybe all of 5 seconds, though, before Wolf was back to shivering, and Fire was reminded of the main reason they went in there in the first place.

"Come on. Gotta be somewhere we can nest in. They can't be using the whole place."

…

The second plunge was slower, carefully scanning for any tunnels or crevices a cat could fit into. Unfortunately, whatever forces had build a cavern such as this wasn't exactly that considerate. Mice or rats, mostly, that'd how big most of the open crevices were, save for the massive towering passages, and those were much too open.

They're doubled over about 3 times and split up another 2 by the time they met back up in the food chamber of this twisted warren of half-tree sized rabbits. "Nothing." Fire spat, anger directed at nothing in particular. Maybe just the stones themselves. Her tail lashed with restless energy as she paced back and forth.

"I found a gap in some flat wood that I could squeeze through." Wolf reported, her hushed voice much calmer, sat by the corner, keeping watch of the passage she'd last gone through. May as well, with how confusing this place was.

"Finally!" Fire grumbled, throwing her head up before stepping forward, headbutting Wolf's shoulder on the way through.

Then. A different voice echoed through from that very same direction. And another.

Fire stood her ground, listening, half-crouched and hackles raised. They'd wasted too much moonlight here to just run away now. The voices bantered, growing clearer and more distinct as the distance closed.

"I've been practicing!" "Sure, but you still lack tact, I'm telling you." "You're only avoiding a match cuz you think you'd lose!" "I'm avoiding one because I would prefer not to have you pouting at me for a rematch all day when I kick your tail."

The moment a dark shape appeared, Fire pounced. Her claws met fur just as paws grappled onto her in turn, each trying to steer the other in opposite directions.

The lighter tabby had disappeared from her peripheral vision in the meantime, yet apparently hadn't joined the fight. Good enough. She dug her teeth into thick neck fur, as teeth snapped at her ears, missing the curled-away tips of them. The tussle went to the bigger cat - Fire brought the dark tabby down onto his back eventually, despite the pushback. Paws battered her belly, even as she ignored them for the time being. It was claws almost nicking her eyes that had her pulling sharply away, creating enough of an opening for her opponent to slip away. They stared each other down now, snarling and hissing, wordlessly daring the other to take the next attack.

"Found another one!" The other stranger's voice rang out. Cold rattled its way down Fire's spine.

Without a thought, she spun, abandoning the fight in favour of rushing to the cornered, growling Wolf. Not that she got very far, a weight crashing directly into her flank a heartbeat later, a paw tugged out from under her enough to sent her rolling mid-run.

"We were just looking for a place to stay, away from the cold. I'm not looking for a fight." She heard Wolf reason, tense and barely audible over the fight where Fire and the stranger wrestled.

"Well, ya coulda just said so. Jag left, but usually he just let's anyone stay here. Just, uhhh. I don't think we're supposed to fight."

As surprising as the lighter stranger's attitude was, she didn't stop just yet. Just as well, the dark tabby looked to have little intent of stopping either. She'd much rather not be stuck on, mostly, her back batting away and trying to anticipate strikes from every which direction. She took the first opportunity to get back on her paws she could find, leaping up fast enough to nearly catch the enemy in the jaw with a headbutt, only for her forehead to land with a dull thud on the tom's chest instead.

It wasn't dark grey in front of her when Fire opened her eyes, however, rather the larger light brown cat.

"Could you not? I said we can just talk, alright?" He chuffed in her face, though she honestly didn't find him that intimidating. Size didn't mean all that much, even if he was huge.

"What's there to say? Either we stay, or we have a problem to settle with claws."

"There's a lot more of us than there are of you." The dark tabby growled from the other side, shifting instead to stand beside his fellow.

- - - - - - - -

With all that Jaguarcrown had made it sound like a peaceful job with nobody ever bothering him, Cam very much did not expect to get dragged out of sleep before dawn even broke.

She did her best to listen to the explanation being given, hoping Storm would catch the parts she missed in case any of it was important.

"So why do you need me there again?" She asked inbetween yawns, half-tempted to burrow back into her brother's side to avoid the chill of the autumn night seeping through.

"Usually Jaguarcrown would be who we ask, but he said while he's gone you're in charge, remember?" Fir had a lot more energy than she could ever imagine at a time like this, bouncing ahead a few steps at a time like an excited fox pup.

"Right." At least in the old foxhole, she didn't have to worry about interrupted sleep. But Fir seemed a nice enough fellow, it would be rude to just brush him off.

The tension they ultimately walked in on helped wake her up a bit more. Huckleberry and a ginger cat glaring one another down, with a 3rd cat crouched beside the stranger. At first they'd just looked like a tabby at a glance, but Cam found herself stepping back a bit when they stood up and stepped forward, noting the prominent bare patches of skin. She'd seen ill creatures look like that before.

"Sorry for the disturbance. Really. Terrible of us to barge in. Would you kindly hear us out?" The voice was soft, almost unexpectedly smooth.

Cam turned her head after feeling a tap on her shoulder, watching as Storm did his best to make his gestured words clearly visible even with the dark blending his fur with the shadows. She'd heard the mention of a fight somewhere within Fir's story, but. If they were the instigators, that was much more of an issue.

"We'll hear what you have to say, I'm sure." She tried not to let the hesitation show through too clearly.

"We're desperate, that's all. My fur just doesn't protect me well in the cold, and we've a kitten in our care that hasn't encountered winter before. Here just seemed like the only place to overwinter safely for us."

Were it her own den, Cam would have felt inclined to turn them away, admittedly. As much as she didn't have the heart to abandon cats in need, they were simply a danger. But this wasn't her den, not really. It was a giant structure more lived in by everyone else. And from the sounds of it, it hadn't seemed like Jaguarcrown cared too heavily for it, not in the same way one would care for a den…

"I'm sure it's not too much trouble to allow your stay over the winter."

"May I say something?" Huckleberry spoke up, even having yet to take his eyes off the larger stranger.

"What is it?"

"The spirits do not like trespassers. That certainly means we'll anger them if we let intruders stay without paying back the Crown for the insult."

Right. Jaguarcrown had mentioned something like that.

"I think it's fair enough then that during their stay, our guests should hunt for themselves instead of taking from the cache, right? Save for the kitten."

Each breath so much lighter when Huckleberry's paws met grass and the gently shifting shadows of trees above rested over his dark fur, for the first time in a couple moons stepping out into open air without the feeling of watchful eyes looming.

The weight of lingering spirits was almost suffocating at times here, especially within the stone walls he'd been sleeping in. Ever aware of unseen guards who need not sleep nor become distracted whilst in their post. He'd grown up with tales of what angry spirits could achieve when angered - plucking out all of ones whiskers, perhaps. Sometimes plucking out eyes or claws as if they were never there at all, supposedly, if truly angered. If the local tomcat really did have any sway over and ability to speak for the spirits he's claimed roamed here, Huckleberry had no such intention of crossing his orders too early.

And now, well. There had to be a boundary. Cross it again and he was free to leave without repercussions, off to the next hunting stop, then the next.

Instead he wound over roots, old branches, inbetween shrubs, tracing the outline of the clearing for the most part, not stepping out into the deer trails he'd usually use for a quick pass through.

You know, for all the seasons he'd spent ranging by the area, he'd never before really stepped to that clearing before. Too out of the way when he could make much more progress without the detour.

He'd never have considered that spirits may congregate here like that. Nor had he seen cats nearby before. Well, besides other travellers, it felt like. Oh, sure, he'd heard some rumours here or there, warning against straying too far in the area - talks of hearing barking, or rumours of overly skittish deer. But these 2 moons he'd not really seen anything particularly big or hostile. At one point he'd even pondered whether the cat he'd met, this Jaguarcrown, was even flesh and blood like himself. It was the unstated aversion to touch, the tendency to vanish whenever conversation lulled. But all the warmblooded prey never left a cold, hollow feeling in his belly he expected. Silly notion, obviously. What would even have been the point of such a trick?

And, seriously. Why was he still here? He was wasting daylight on pointless stomping out here. Maybe it was like those odd cats that lived in the dens of impossibly powerful predators? Never truly leaving even given the opportunity, always returning despite how loud and unpredictable the beasts were? Except, of course, that spirits definitely meant him no harm. Who knows when those hairless beasts would snap.

So was it insane to want to stay here? Probably. He'd been on the move for too long for it to not be. And what of everyone else?

Nobody came asking for him even when the shadows deepened and gold streaked across the sky. Probably should have brought back some sort of prey.

Still, his paws simply continued on forwards, in the same slow circle he'd been trailing since... A bit after noon? Probably.

He stopped abruptly, back arching as he stared down whatever had tried to hide away downwind amongst the bushes, until it collided with him with all the grace of a falling tree, Huckleberry's hiss ringing out lone in the brief tangle. The effort to put a face to his briefly restrained assailant was delayed when rough pawpads slammed against his nose hard enough to disorient, but it hardly mattered as the two toms came apart.

"Relax!" The other warbled, sitting back on the grass to check himself over where claws had snagged into thick fur.

Huckleberry glowered at him with a flicking tail.

"Aren't you supposed to be at the riverbend by now?" Half of the bitter note fell away as he focused more on scanning around in case the new presence had attracted attention- how would he even know?

"Mom told me to check on you."

"You can tell Hickory I'll catch up." His char-grey tail swiped across Fir's face abruptly when he came nosing around at his flank. "I'm unharmed, thank you for asking."

"Ifff you say so- Nice place you got here." The frosty-toed cat bounced off easily, spinning in a half circle to stare across the grass towards the looming structure. "You find yourself some nice humans to cozy up with, Huck?"

Fir wasn't much cowed by Huckleberry's lack of reaction to the playful jab, staying rooted in place as his cousin tried to herd him the other way with gentle prodding.

"Not humans. Spirits live here, actually-" he hardly stumbled when Fir's headbutt connected with his shoulder, resisting the force trying to shove him aside. "And they happen to really not like company so you should get moving."

"They'll get us on the way back, chill out. I'm staying wherever you're staying, spooooky ghosts or nah. Come on."

A rush of adrenaline flooded through him when Fir sprung off towards the spirits' resting place like it was nothing. Next he knew, he was being battered by blind paw strikes with Fir's scruff in his mouth. Well, his front legs were.

"I'm serious, dude. Not funny."

On impulse, he smacked his idiotic cousin over the nose immediately after letting go, too frazzled to acknowledge the confusion or humour the tone of hurt. It was probably fake anyway.

"Fir, if you don't get going, I swear to the stars." Huckleberry growled, ears pinned back, though he never really got to finish figuring out what it was he was swearing exactly.

"Who's your friend?" The third voice to join them was smooth, soft, and very familiar by now.

There, perches on a fallen branch at the foot of an old tree was Jaguarcrown himself, with all his effortless regalness.

Huckleberry dipped his head politely.

"My cousin. He was just here to check on me, he's leaving."

"Not if Huck's not leaving." Fir added very unhelpfully. The blasted fool.

"Oh." Jaguarcrown's plush tail waved in thought, ears flicking as he listened to the spirits' guidance. "If you can feed yourself, you're welcome to stay."

Huckleberry wanted to pull out his own whiskers.

As it turns out, Kristopher's initial impression was spot on. Of course, he'd always known himself a fantastic hunter, but it was all the more noticeable when comparing himself to his scrappy new roommate. In the time it took Huckleberry to catch anything worth feeding a cat, it seemed Kris could put together his own body weight or more...

He'd grown to understand why the superstitious cat dared not question Kris' far-flung tales of speaking to spirits or carrying out their will blah blah. What he didn't understand why the stubborn fool stayed, despite the obvious mounting frustration of failing to repay that false debt.

The bigger meals Kris pushed his way without thinking much of it did look to do him good anyway.

"Jaguar, my Crown, sir." A voice rudely woke him from a midday doze, sprawled out across the moth-eaten ruined bed sheets. In the moment it took for him to stretch out his legs, belly fur exposed to the world without a worry, he faintly wondered why he'd ever come up with such a dumb little title. More importantly, why did Huckle, that fool, listen to him in the first place.

When he looked up, one eye still halfway closed from how his cheek pressed into the bed, he let out a pleased mrowr as he saw Huckleberry with what definitely looked like a fresh rabbit. Winded, and, in Kris' limited experience, honest enough, to have caught it himself for sure.

"Man, you've gotten better. Good job, mate." When Huckleberry stayed standing at attention, clearly expecting more, Kristopher rolled onto his belly, straightening out to force himself to think better.

"Relaaax. Y'know, you've stayed way longer than ya needed, and I can see you've been working hard. Consider your part of the deal paid, yeah?" Kris knew he'd gotten it right enough when the other relaxed enough to sit, tail tucked over his paws.

"Ah! Thank you, Crown... Does that mean I'm required to leave now?"

As days turned to a week or two, Kristopher spent it remarkably alone. The days and nights were spent investigating the structure, rolling about and curling up to sleep on whichever surface happened to seem most comfortable in that very moment, leaving weaving trails of his scent across it all almost restlessly.

He hunted frequently. Energy no longer spent on that nagging urge to travel to a new unknown horizon needed to go somewhere.

But even outside he found hardly even a whisker of anything feline.

That wasn't to say that he *felt* that alone.

Often enough he felt himself watched, followed, indoors and outdoors alike. A weak presence with no scent or physical form. A background noise that he had learned to simply tune out years ago.

On his way home from a sprint amidst the grass, he ignored the feeling the way he was used to. Though for once the instinct was insistent, forcing him to turn with a subtle touch on his scruff - light enough to be the cold tap of rain from an empty sky.

"Halt! Who goes there!"

He hadn't expected to see a cat there, wandering by a couple fox lengths away. But Kristopher was nothing if not prepared for threatrics - calling out with all the confidence and bravado of a tom with an army behind him to back up whatever dumb claim he was rearimg to make.

"What's it to ya?"

The stranger was unamused. And that told Kristopher quite a lot in itself. No fun, no fun at all.

"You happen to be trespassing on the king's land. I regret to inform you that as penance for that, you are required to pay the crown back for the transgression."

As the darker tabby marshed forward - hackled raised, ears half-back, by all means trying to be threatening - Kristopher couldn't help but notice that where the stranger had the round, puffed cheeks that he himself lacked, he was also shorter. He stood his ground, tilting his head curiously at the response that came.

"Miss me with your fairytales, I don't see your mark on it."

"Well - see, you could take it up with the Spirits if you're so inclined. They certainly wanted *me* to know about you. Warned me even." Kristopher could see the tiniest twitch, the gear turning at what he said. That alone was enough for him to know he'd made a lucky guess. Had a captive audience perhaps. "So. Since this is your *first* offense, I've decided to be extra generous. 3 days, split whatever you hunt between us, and you can even stay with full room and board in my lovely old abode here."

The red-brown tom gestured with one paw in the general direction of the structure he'd made his own temporary home. Sensing clear hesitation in the grey cat's body language, he leapt to cut him off before he could do more than open his mouth.

"Now, I ain't gonna leave you high and dry, buddy, don't you dare worry. We all have bad hunting days. If ya don't catch enough to split, I've got spare. No use in you going hungry for nobody."

"Right. Fine."

The stranger's attempt at intimidation had long since deflated, now replaced quite clearly by awkwardness and annoyance.

"It's a deal, then, lemme show you around. I know a great spot you should see."

Kristopher turned with a spring in his step, unbothered.