Prologue- A New Home

The white tom walked among his Clan as they tried to settle in for the night. They had been unable to find any shelter besides an old storm drain, and now they huddled together in the residue of moss and leaves coating the damp ground. A dark gray cat limped between the two heavily pregnant queens, though he struggled clearly with a hind leg that was stiff and needed to be dragged.

"Breeze." The white tom looked over as he was joined by a black she-cat. Her blue eyes were stormy and troubled, and she looked over the Clan. "I'm taking the first watch. Go rest," she continued, "and keep an eye on Thrush."

"You've been taking every watch," he argued. "You need the rest more than any cat in the Clan."

"It's my Clan," she mewed softly. "You're my deputy, and I insist-"

"You're my mate," he interrupted her, "and I'm worried about you... You haven't slept in nights, and none of us know how much farther we still have to go before we find somewhere liveable."

"Not far; I'm sure of it..." the she-cat replied, looking at her exhausted Clan as they settled down to sleep in the crowded storm tunnel. "Just a day more... maybe two..."

"Echo..." Breeze sighed. "You need your sleep. Our paws are aching, our bellies are empty; our queens are getting weak, and Stripe's been chewing poppy seeds for his leg. If our leader doesn't has a clear head, we have no chance of finding a permanent home." Echo hung her head slightly, and shifted her gaze to a small white cat shivering in the cold and trying to get comfortable between the other two apprentices.

"I'll sleep tonight, but change the watch at moon high," she finally agreed. "Have Crow or Nemo relieve you." He licked her between her ears.

"I will... Go and get your rest." Breeze took his seat in the middle of the Clan, managing to find a small place between the medicine cat's apprentice and the queens. Echo walked back to her spot near the apprentices, where she could keep an eye on her son, Thrush, and settled down on the debris on the mostly dry ground. Once the Clan was settled, and sleeping, Breeze began to relax.

For nearly an hour, he sat still on the cool ground, watching the way the moonlight caught the fireflies darting among the blades of gently waving grass. If there had been sufficient shelter shelter, the tom mused, this meadow might not have been a half bad place to make their home. He opened his mouth to better taste the air, and could scent mice and rabbits so close it made his mouth water and his stomach clench with hunger. In the morning, he thought, he would take the apprentices and some other warriors to hunt.

As Breeze shifted where he sat, the wind changed directions, and a gust swept through the tunnel and over the huddled cats. It brought a scent on it that caught the deputy's attention; something near here was teeming with life. He could just catch the smell of pine, and water, and it filled the tom with excitement.

Moon high came at last, and Breeze reluctantly stood on his stiff legs, stretching as best as he could in the cramped space, and then made his way to nudge awake a pretty silver warrior.

"Nemo," he mewed softly as she lifted her head. "Echo asked that you take the next watch. Have Crow relieve you." The she-cat yawned, reluctantly getting to her paws.

"Oooh, my paws ache," she complained quietly, flexing her claws. "I'm almost willing to stay in this tunnel, if it means we can stop walking."

"Soon," Breeze replied, tail swishing. The tip struck one of the other warriors, who made a disgruntled noise in their sleep. After he was certain he hadn't woken his Clanmate, he continued, "I can smell the perfect place, less than a few hours journey from here. A forest, with a river." Nemo's ears perked up, and she was wide awake at the news.

"Only for a brief instant," he admitted, "but the winds changed directions and I caught the scent."

"We'll have a home by tomorrow," Nemo meowed in awe. "It seems unreal, after this moon of traveling..." The two cats stood in silence for a moment, this knowledge passing between them, before Breeze turned.

"There will be lots of work to do after we get there," he reminded her, "so don't forget to give the watch to Crow." He moved carefully between cats until he reached Echo and lay beside her. It took a few moments to quell his anxious and excited feelings, but soon he was able to sleep.

Nemo sat in the still warm place her deputy had left, trying immediately to see if she could smell their future home. As she opened her mouth, a breeze brought to her the sweet smell of pine, so faint, but distinct. Her heart leaped, for the first time since they had been forced to leave their old home. Tomorrow, she thought with a sense of relief and peace,  we will be home again.