Greenkit jumped over the Dunes, beckoning the strangers to follow her with her tail. She leapt to the top of a sandy hill with practiced ease. She still slipped sometimes, usually when she was overexcited, but this leap was perfect: landing at the top, not too far down the dune on either side to loose her balance.
Twilightfur followed without hesitation. She was a large enough cat to clear the jump in a single bound after taking a few steps forward at the bottom of the slope. She dug her paws into the top of the dune near Greenkit; stiff, but successful. She and Greenkit glanced back at the other three strangers, who were definitely hesitating.
"Is going over this really necessary?" Duskpelt grumbled, his fur bristling. He very clearly did not enjoy the sand.
"Yep!" Greenkit called back, trying to hide the pleasure in her meow. She quickly decided she very much loved having the upperhand, and watching the cat that so easily swatted her away struggle with something as simple as the Dunes. "It'll be a steeper climb over the dune closest to the Cliffpath!"
What Greenkit told him was true, but secretely, she just wanted to show the strangers how helpful she could be on their journey. She didn't want Pearl's daughter to take over Greenkit's guidance position just because she was older. Greenkit could show them a lot!
Dawntail prepared to leap next. She took more of a running jump, giving herself more momentum as she leapt off the sandy bottom, flying high before landing a little off kilter, down the dune on the ocean side. She stopped herself from sliding, however, by digging her paws into the ground to mirror Twilightfur and Greenkit.
"We lived at a lake prior to coming here," Twilightfur explained as Dawntail took a few distrustful steps up the dune, her body tense as she fought the downward slide. "There was more sand in my territory, in RiverClan. WindClan saw some sand as well, but not as much. Midnightfoot and Dustpelt, however, have not dealt with sand in such a way."
Dawntail's whiskers twitched with amusement as they observed the two toms, still at the bottom of the dune. "They look like kits!"
Duskpelt snarled from the bottom. His ears dropped with concentration as his eyes measured the dune. He dropped to a hunter's crouch, and leapt.
Greenkit could not help but purr with amusement as the grumpy tom landed a fox-length away from the top, tumbling down before landing on his paws, whipping around and hissing at the dune as if an enemy.
Twilightfur purred with laughter as well, but Dawntail's whiskers just continued to twitch.
Midnightfoot had a much more interesting approach. For some reason, the daunting, silent cat made Greenkit feel a mixture of safety and uncertainty. She hoped he would make it, and was surprised as she watched him use the small bushes along the dune side to climb to the top. Greenkit was still too small to use the plants as a sort of climbing stepping-stone; she got caught in the brush and it ultimately made the whole ordeal more difficult.
As Midnightfoot made it to the top, Greenkit's amusement resumed as the serious black cat spat sand from his mouth. "I'd hate to be the cat in this cursed land. The sand is something of a pain." His words seemed harsh, but his tone was colored with a note of playfulness.
"I rather enjoy it," Twilightfur commented, facing the ocean so that the breeze ruffled her inky black fur. Greenkit did the same, the sensation never failing to appease her. She wondered if Twilightfur did as well, if she minded the salt in the wind that would dry out her fur, but felt so good on her tongue as she washed herself off.
"This place is far from home," Dawntail added, embracing the wind as well as Midnightfoot ducked his head away from it.
Twilightfur nodded, but said nothing. Greenkit saw something of a glow in her ice-blue eyes, though. Greenkit suddenly decided that Twilightfur definitely didn't mind it.
They turned back as a yowl sounded from the other side of the dune, toward the brush. Duskpelt was still struggling to get up the sand, finally settling for scrambling up with small steps and unsheathed claws. It was a funny sight to see, and Greenkit knew this would not be the time to share that unsheathed claws did nothing in deep sand.
As he made it to the top, he shook himself, clouds of sand falling over the cats.
Midnightfoot's whiskers twitched as Dawntail hid her laughter with a cough. "Rather unpleasant, is it?" he affirmed, his voice and stance as resolute as ever. But Greenkit sensed the teasing tone.
Duskpelt spat out a clump of sand. "If all of the land is this abominable, I'm starting on my way back to the lake at dawn!"
"Oh, hush," Dawntail mewed, batting him over the ear with a sheathed paw. "We've only just started!"
She then looked at Greenkit expectantly, eyes turning to her. Twilightfur was still absorbing the golden rays of sun that followed the soft breeze of the ocean, but Greenkit jumped up, ready to go. "Right!" she squeaked, suddenly hating her kit voice. "Over the Dunes, and down the beach!"
Twilightfur nodded thoughtfully. "Over the Dunes."
Greenkit thought it was silly she was repeating what she just mewed; quite clearly, as a matter of fact. Then she realized that these cats didn't have dunes at home. Twilightfur was trying to remember the word!
Greenkit quivered with excitement, sliding down the dune-side easily, bounding over to the shore, where the tides were slowly climbing.
Her four companions had a much easier getting down than they had getting up, sliding as Greenkit had done, but Dustpelt had a rough time again, tumbling once more and cursing loudly as he reached the bottom.
Greenkit barely waited for him to catch up to them. She stood where the waves could just barely lap her tiny feet. The other cats stayed behind, Midnightfoot especially. He suddenly seemed to find the Dunes very interesting, backing up a little ways to remain close to them, and far from the lapping water.
Greenkit mewed animatedly, squeezing in as much information as she could in her tiny breaths. "The moon controls the tide," she explained. "At night, the tide – the waves of water, I mean – they reach quite close to the Dunes. And in the mornings, the tides fall back into the ocean. When the tides fall back, the shore of the beach is full of all sorts of goodies!"
Greenkit nodded herself along, looking into the sea and almost forgetting – almost – that she had companions. "You must be very careful in the water, though. Sometimes there are riptides that will sweep you straight away. If you get trapped in a riptide, there is no help for you."
Greenkit thought briefly of her mam, her poor mam. It had almost been time for Greenkit to leave the nest, and her mam was teaching her how to hunt the Coralreef. It was suppose to be free of riptides.
It wasn't.
She tried to shake the memory from her head as they trotted down the shore. "It's much easier to run in the wet sand!" she mewed over her shoulder, seeing them struggle in the depth of the sands. "Just leap over the waves if you don't like the wet!"
Twilightfur was the only one to join her, however, bounding far ahead after a moment of keeping pace with Greenkit. Greenkit watched as the she-cat bounded down the shore, the waves licking her paws. She heard her let out a yowl of excitement, looking like a young cat exploring the beauty of the beaches for the first time. Greenkit realized that she was, really, enjoying it for the first time. She yowled back to Twilightfur, trying to catch up with the she-cat but not being able to match up to her large, muscled legs.
They continued down the beach and Twilightfur eventually slowed down, Greenkit and the others catching up with her. Twilightfur sounded a bit winded as she huffed, "The waves. They're rather exciting, aren't they?"
Greenkit wasn't sure if this was directed towards her or spoken more so to herself, but Greenkit agreed with a purr as they slowed down their pace a bit. They were approaching the Cliffpath now, but Greenkit followed the cats, beckoning them with her tail. To her pleasure, they followed.
The beach started to raise here, sand becoming less deep as the incline grew and the water fell farther behind them, step-by-step. The sun was still shining brightly, the waves further from the beach lapping over each other in twists of blues and foaming white. Despite the sun, the moon still shone, ready for the firey orb to set.
At the top of the sandy crest, Greenkit sat. "The cresting waves will leave foamy patches on the beach. But don't touch it," she warned. "It's very sticky and not pleasant to lick off. A dip in the water will clear it right off, but when the waves are very high, it can be difficult to keep your footing."
Next, she used her tail to point the waters beyond the crescent. There was another beach, much smaller, and completely enclosed by the cliff. "The only way to get to that beach is to swim," she motioned her tail downward. "That's where the Coralreef is. There are many brightly colored fish that crowd it, and it's very pretty, especially at sun-high when the water is clearest. There usually aren't riptides, but the ones that are are the most powerful." She said solemnly, thinking of her mam again.
They sat in silence, the cats watching the waves wrestle and the sun reflect in impossible swirls of color. It was Greenkit's favorite spot. Sometimes, she secretly still believed her mam had survived the riptide, and would return here for her.
"Very pretty and all," Duskpelt eventually growled. "But isn't there somewhere we are suppose to be, kit?"
Greenkit resisted the urge to sneer and snarl back at Duskpelt. Such a rotten cat, she thought to herself, before wordlessly turning back down the beach crescent toward the Cliffpath.
They reached the bottom quickly as Greenkit led them back toward the Cliffpath, passing it and slinking through a small space between the Cliffpath bottom and a very high sand dune. It ended in a sizeable hollow, the ground sandy enough to make it soft, but not deep enough to cause any missed paw steps.
The hollow was reasonably well protected by the elements – the dune protected it from the wind, and the high cliff above reached out to protect a majority of it from the rain. But there was enough open space to fill the hollow with sunlight, warming the ground. It was clear of bushes and bracken, and there were many small indents in the cliff bottom, a collection of smaller hollows that were lined with moss and fern.
"It looks as if cats live here," Dawntail mewed, surprised. "I thought your cats did not live with one another?"
Greenkit nodded, affirming her words. "Pearl lets sick or hurt cats to rest here so she can keep an eye on them. Her daughter keeps comfortable nests. She even adds flowers, sometimes." She added. "When kit's mam's die, they are allowed to stay here until they are old enough to leave. In return, they help collect herbs and tend to sick cats."
Midnightfoot nodded thoughtfully, appraising her words. Greenkit wondered what he was thinking, but didn't ask. Duskpelt was just a mean, grumpy old mink. Midnightfoot was very myserious, though. And Greenkit, if anything, loved mysteries. "Would you like to meet Pearl?" she asked as the cats clustered in the middle of the clearing.
Without waiting for an answer, Greenkit slowly approached the edge of a deep cavern, right in the back of the hollow, on the bottom of the Cliffpath. "Pearl?" she mewed at the entrance. "Pearl, are you here?"
She knew it was a silly question to ask – Pearl was always here. She rarely ever left the cave, only to attend to cats in the hollow. Otherwise, the cave was, in simple terms, her home.
But Greenkit didn't hear the gentle mew of the old cat. She mewed once more, "Pearl?"
Finally, a voice mewed back. Greenkit saw the bright green eyes that belonged to Pearl reach the entrance before she saw the old silver cat's salt-dulled pelt.
"Ah," the she-cat mewed with a raspy tongue. Greenkit could practically feel the age drip off of her, and wondered how long she had been there, in the Clifflands.
Greenkit watched as Pearl met the bright eyes of each of the four cats, who were fanned out a fox-length from the entrance. She practically ignored Greenkit, much to her discontent.
There were several moments of silence as the she-cat padded out of her den, sniffing the cats with interest. Greenkit wondered why everyone was so quiet, but had enough sense not to chirp in, despite her burning curiosity.
Pearl voiced herself at last, sitting in front of the four cats, much like Rabbitfoot had. Greenkit had a strong sense of deja-vu, the old silver cat looking very similar to the mottled silver version of Rabbitfoot. Greenkit shook her head to clear it as Pearl mewed, "You definitely took your time. I've been waiting for you."
the Dunes: Small sand dunes sometimes found near Florida Key's beach's.
the Bigfall: The waterfall that comes from the highest point of the Clifflands, far above and away from the beaches, and pours into the largest area of the Clifflands (above the beaches)
Snakeroot-trees: Mangrove forest. If you've never heard of mangroves, please google them, they are quite interesting; the trees cluster together and their roots are above ground. There are mangrove trees near estuaries and beaches. They are in sections and weave with the tides, so there are dryer, wetter, and completely submerged clusters of mangroves.