Heavy panting split the air, accompanied with the shuddering sobs, cracked wails, and thundering paw steps. The dry grass crunched underpaw, a lithe gray blur streaking through the night with a flash of brown on her heels. Water flooded her vision, her motions clumsy and off center. With her ears flattened and blood rushing to her head, it was nearly impossible to notice the presence of her worried pursuer. Sapphire orbs swamped with forming tears, the blur was swiftly losing energy, her legs slowing with numb pain from the heavy sprint. She forced herself to keep moving however, paw pads prickling with uneasiness as a spark lit up beneath them as she ran across not grass- but hard black stone. Without casting a second glance, she veered off to the other side, stumbling as she tripped over her own clumsy paws and skidded face first into the hard soil.

"Mistpaw!" the voice clearly reached her ears, the slender brown tom scampering to her side with worried sage green orbs. He reached out a careful forepaw, placing it on her shoulder and watching her distantly as she curled up in a tight ball, figure still shuddering with fallen tears. "Shh, Mistpaw. It's alright." He tried to soothe her, glancing from side to side with a few sniffs here and there in a quick search for some thyme for her shock. With none in scent range, he sighed knowing she'd have to go without it for a while.

"It's not alright!" Mistpaw choked back a sob, a wail caught in her throat as she lifted her bruised muzzle. She cast a glance at Anemonepaw and sniffled. "Anemonepaw...what if Flarepaw's right? We don't know that she was lying. What if Floodpaw's dead?"

"We've still got to keep hope," the tom forced a smile, attempting to get her to her paws though she refused. "Come on, Mistpaw. Let's put this behind us and get back to the others. Fallenpaw's probably worried you ran off."

"Flarepaw won't want me back," the gray she-cat spat back bitterly, unsaid hatred spewing out from her innocent mouth. She tried to suppress her own surprise. Since when was she so hostile? MagmaClan brat or not, Mistpaw never put accusations upon another in fear of turning into one of those backstabbing gossipers like Swansong and Duckfoot of OceanClan. Those two were notorious for spreading rumors about their clanmates. Last Mistpaw heard, their latest gossip topic was that Rivershade was cheating on Crabclaw with Pikefang. She shuddered at the thought of turning into one of them. Finding joy in nothing but passing on false lies about loyal and trusted clan cats.

"Nevermind," she murmured quickly, brushing herself off as she stood to regain her composure. Anemonepaw looked at her doubtfully but remained quiet about her little tantrum. Tail swishing with anticipation he looked around. "Come on then, we've got to get back to Flarepaw and Fallenpaw." As he started to pad back up to the black path, Anemonepaw noticed Mistpaw was looking longingly in the opposite direction. Her glossy blue gaze scanned across another expanse of flattened grass, floating past towards the clumping of twoleg dens.

"Mist-"

"Don't you wanna see if Flarepaw's wrong?" she interrupted, voice lack of emotion. Anemonepaw's ear twitched with uncertainty, a confused frown on his features. "What are you-"

"Don't you want to see if Floodpaw's really alive?" Mistpaw interrupted again, hope sliding into her tone as her ears perked, tail giving a small excited swish. At her side she was joined by the slender figure of the medicine cat apprentice. "Are you suggesting we go farther into the twolegplace and search for Floodpaw?" A sharp nod confirmed his suspicions. Casting a longing look behind his shoulders back where he presumed Fallenpaw and Flarepaw were, Anemonepaw sighed audibly. Mistpaw jerked her head to face him, eyes brimming with unshed tears. The tom winced. Who could defy a face like that?

He gave a reluctant nod, motioning her to take the lead. Smiling broadly, Mistpaw scurried to the lead, all signs of pain and panic long gone with the comfort of Anemonepaw. The medicine 'paw loped at a leisurely pace beside the white marked she-cat, though the said white blaze was hardly seen in the dim lightning. The duo moved in silence other than the soft crunch of grass beneath their paws. It soon morphed into stone, which had little effect on the OceanClan cats. They were used to the cracked stone of their territory, their paw pads toughened on long walks along the rocky shoreline. However, since Mistpaw had been recently named an apprentice, approximately four sunrises ago, her pads were not as sturdy as compared to a full grown warrior or even the medicine apprentice.

She tried not to make it a big deal, focusing on finding the almost black pelt of her brother rather than the sores appearing on her pink pads. Anemonepaw eyed her warily, noting the small limp she had on her left paw. He was about to speak up about it, but kept quiet. Even if he were to point it out, he had no access to herbs to help it heal nor would Mistpaw allow her quest to waver over an insignificant sore appendage.

Up ahead, Anemonepaw thought he heard growling, but dismissed it as he passed through the small gauntlet of noise and it faded into the sounds of the cool night. Oh a whim, he took in a sharp sniff to scent his surroundings. Nearly gagging, the tom locked up in shock. Never before had he smelled something this horrible next to the rotting fish carcass he found near the BlizzardClan border. Pondstar still held resentment towards Whitestar last time he checked, still believing that BlizzardClan had been eating some of their fish because they claimed "the snowhares were running fast". Pondstar let it slide until she found more substantial evidence but she was still tense around any BlizzardClan cat.

"Anemonepaw!" Mistpaw called from ahead, breaking the brown tom from his memories. He looked up suddenly, lurching forward with curiosity. He slowed to a stop by the eager she-cat currently pacing back and forth around an open hole in the stone earth. She poked her tail to it with a smile. "Floodpaw's scent is down there. I know that scent anywhere!"

Anemonepaw bent his muzzle down towards the dank depths of the hole and took a cautious sniff, fearing it would flood his nostrils with another rancid taste. His nose twitched disdainfully, there was a certain tang he couldn't describe, perhaps putrid was the right word. But among those jumbled odors was one in particular that Anemonepaw had familiarized himself with over the past few moons. It was that same essence he came in contact with during the owner's birth. Mistpaw's brother. Floodpaw.

"It's him," he confirmed with a bob of his crown.

"Then let's go!" Mistpaw lurched down the hole, head first. A shriek escaped Anemonepaw's jaws before they clamped around the apprentice's scruff. Great StarClan, she's even more reckless than Flarepaw! If that's even possible...

"Ou mouf-bwain!" he meowed angrily through her scuff. "Wook before ou weap." Straining against gravity pulling her downwards, the brown tom slowly lowered her as far as he could to the ground before releasing his grip. She landed gracefully on her paws, squinting through the dark tunnel. She was joined by Anemonepaw, his presence known by an awkward grunt. Crown lifted and pelt prickling, he too was squinting through the shadows. The tom continued to make cautious sniffs, the dank and musty air getting to his nostrils which caused slight recoil.

"It's harder to find his scent down here," Mistpaw mused aloud, uncertain. Her berry pink nose was twitching furiously, as if struggling to find the scent of her lost sibling. Sapphire orbs blinked several times, attempting to adjust to the poor lighting. Her fluffy crown twisted down the way both were facing, then over her shoulder to a similar, long dark hall. "You take left, I'll take right?" she suggested, blinking round eyes up at her companion.

"You sure you'll be alright on your own?" Anemonepaw looked at her doubtfully. "You've only been an apprentice for a few days, and even though I'm only a medicine apprentice, I've still got decent battle training. You've only had one session with Wavesplash. I don't know if you can fend off attacks if you get ambushed."

"Well, I suppose we can stick together," she mewed sheepishly, pawing at the stone ground. A bruske nod in return, both OceanClan cats padded down to the right part of the tunnel. The deeper they went, the darker it became, until it became nearly impossible to see their own paws. Claws clicked upon the ground, the steady dropping of water cascading from the roof of the tunnel. Due to the silence, their panicky breathing was easily heard.

"Calm down," Anemonepaw urged quietly. "You're only making yourself tense. If you believe Floodpaw is alive, then he's alive. Try to calm down and steady your breathing." Mistpaw complied, her breathing shaky until she managed to keep a steady hold on it. Anemonepaw's thin tail rested on her shoulder in comfort. The gray she-cat acknowledged it with a simple smile as they continued further down into the depths.

It wasn't long at all before the sharp tang of fear scent hit their nostrils like a blow to the head. Without words, both had increased their pace until they were practically sprinting down the remaining stretch of the dank space. Their daytime eyes had since been adjusted and now were able to make out two feline shapes at the far end.

"Haven't I told you prowlers before?" snarled a deep male voice, harsh and laced with malice. "Stay out of the sewers! This is my territory!"

"I didn't mean to!" cried a somewhat familiar shriek. "I was chased down here by a dog! Why don't you believe me?"

"You night prowlers are all the same!" spat the other tom, rearing to his hind paws. "Willing to say any lie to save their skins! This'll teach you to keep to the surface!" He brought his large grayed white paws down on the cowering shape beneath him. There was a startled scream, the almost black tom scurrying out of attacking range. Claws clicked against the stone as the dark gray blur came hurtling down the tunnel towards Mistpaw and Anemonepaw.

"Ouch!" came one simultaneous cry as three felines were knocked backwards. Muttering and growling about their pain, startled yellow eyes met blue in a single moment.

"Floodpaw?" Mistpaw mewed quizzically, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Mistpaw?" the dark gray tom mewed back in similar amazement.

"I think we've got more trouble than a family reunion," Anemonepaw spoke out loudly, watching as a dirty gray and white figure came charging down towards them.

"You're right," Floodpaw meowed in a suddenly calmer voice, somehow familiarized with the brown tom thought no name came immediately to mind. "Mistpaw, you ready?"

"Any time, Floodpaw," smirked the she-cat. Both crouched, eyes glinting with the intention of leaping and colliding with the gray and white tom.

"Head for the hills!" shrieked both siblings in glee, tails turned as the whirled around and started sprinting for the hole in the ceiling. Unaware of their sibling plot, Anemonepaw stared dumbfounded as the duo became nothing more than distant figures within seconds. As a huge gray paw was whisker lengths away, the brown tom released his own startled screech and flailed around on his paws. He chased after the two other OceanClanners, tense with wild emotions and blood rushing to his head.

"And stay out!" the roar thundered down the cavern, shock pulsing into the apprentices' hearts. By the time the blood stopped pumping to his ears, Anemonepaw was able to distinguish laughter up ahead. There by the hole in the roof were the two siblings continuing to laugh as the medicine apprentice ambled closer.

"What in StarClan's name is wrong with you two?" he called out in horror, pelt still fluffed up from their so called 'fight'. "You looked like you were going to fight him and them you just ran off! Without me, no less!"

"Sorry!" Mistpaw choked out through giggles, Floodpaw sharing her amused face. "We planned that as kits! Whenever an enemy bigger than us would advance, we'd pretend we would fight but change course and turn around, sprinting away at full speed before they knew what hit them!"

"We'd use it all the time on Fogstep!" Floodpaw howled with laughter, remembering the time they ran out of camp and were chased down by their father. As they looked as if they would fight him to remain outside of camp, both bolted past him and charged back into camp.

The dark gray 'paw stole a look at his sister. She had certainly appeared less timid, reminded of the past wherein Mistpaw was scared about everything and everyone, scared of speaking up of even talking to their parents. Playfully, he bumped his muzzle against hers which earned a purr in reply.

"Glad to see you're ok, sis," he meowed with a smile.

"Same to you," Mistpaw returned the grin.

Anemonepaw cleared his throat. "Hate to interrupt this touching moment, but I'd like to get out of here as quickly as possible. Not to mention find Flarepaw and Fallenpaw."

"You mean we're not the only ones who survived the flood?" the dark gray tom mewed with a tilted head, yellow orbs glinting with wonder. Mistpaw shook her head with eagerness. "A BlizzardClan apprentice named Fallenpaw and a MagmaClan apprentice named Flarepaw have survived as well. So far we're the only ones who have survived. We're trying to find any others who were able to outsmart the big wave."

"Do you think this Flarepaw and Fallenpaw found anyone?" Floodpaw asked curiously.

"One way to find out," Mistpaw purred, tail pointing to the overhead circle as she crouched, springing from the ground and out through the hole in a single bound.

Longer chapter and aren't you happy? No cliffhanger! Well, unless you suppose them leaping through the hole...and no, nothing surprising is on the other side. Then of course, you still don't know who "Alpha" is. So I guess somewhat of a cliffhanger though that goes to the last chapter. Either way, keep reviewing! Until next time, stay amazing!

-Snarky