Prologue 2

The Arrival

Lahjin Pardus

Lahjin scratched the back of his ears as he contemplated the cryptic order he was given that morning. To neither Greymist's nor his surprise, he was the first one awake. He didn't feel like waking anybeast up, so he decided to pace around the ship until Greymist or Fiene woke up. In the middle of walking around, he, quite literally, ran into the squirrel that had put together this trip in the first place, Porter. After he had helped Porter up, the squirrel told Lahjin to meet up in the galley at dinner time or else "there will be consequences".

The brown wildcat sighed as he sat in the dark storage room. The captain put some furniture in there, so it doubled as a lounge of sorts. Lahjin didn't think it was a good idea considering some of the equipment and supplies kept there, but the captain shrugged it off. Lahjin leaned back into the worn-out armchair and tapped his footpaw on the wooden floor. I was going to head to the galley at dinner time anyway because I eat dinner. You don't need to tell me to be there. What is he even going to tell us? If I were to guess, I think he's going to tell us about this assassination we're supposed to help with.

To Lahjin, it felt a bit awkward. Nobeast on the ship cared about what was going on, except for Porter, and it wasn't as if Lahjin could leave unless he was a fantastic swimmer (which he wasn't). Something else that had been bothering Lahjin was that he was certain Greymist was hiding something from him. She was the one who read the poster, not him. The brown wildcat shrugged it off and put his footpaws up on a box. "I guess it doesn't matter," he muttered, "I'm here anyway. If I wanted to question this, I should've done it before I stepped onto a boat."

There wasn't much Lahjin wanted to question anyway. It almost made him nervous how well he was taking this. Shouldn't boarding a ship to who-knows-where be a lot more nerve-wracking? Shouldn't leaving home make him a lot more anxious? It surely did a number on Greymist, but why wasn't he feeling anything? In fact, the thing he was worried about the most was the other wildcats that joined this mission. Raven and Sparrow admitted to being on the run, while Imanol just made him uneasy (then again, most strangers had that effect on him.)

But right now, the thing that bothered him the most was boredom. There wasn't much to do on this ship. Lahjin yawned, stretching his body out. Maybe I'll just take a nap. I don't have anything else to do. Hugging his legs against his chest, Lahjin curled up on the armchair. He shut his eyes, wiping everything from his thoughts save for the gentle rocking of the ship.

Lahjin was jolted awake as he heard something fall. He scrambled to sit up straight to find the yellow cat, Imanol, and the russet cat, Sparrow, rummaging through the storage. Imanol turned towards Lahjin as he woke up and waved. "Howdy. Did we wake you up?"

"Uh… yes, but, you're fine," Lahjin answered. The brown wildcat got up from his seat and walked over to the pair, who were searching around. "What are- what are you two doing?"

Sparrow's sharp yellow eyes seemed to glow as he spoke. "Arr, we be lookin' fer things t'pirate an' plunder on this here ship! We ran from home t'live the new pirate life," Sparrow growled, putting on a corsair accent. Lahjin was pretty sure Sparrow was just making stuff up for fun, but the worst part was that he couldn't say that for certain.

Imanol glanced at Sparrow and grinned. "Aye, that. But no, I was looking for something to do, and our dear captain seems to have a bit of a… let's say 'borrowing problem'. Sparrow wanted to look around, too." As if to prove his point, Imanol found and picked up an old helmet from one of the boxes. Lahjin frowned as he looked down at the chair he slept on. Was that stolen too?

"Well," Lahjin began sheepishly, "I'm not doing anything, so can I join you two?"

"I'd be fine with that." Imanol nodded.

Sparrow cocked his head. "Aye, 'tis always a grand ol' time puttin' together a crew t'put on a party t- yes." Lahjin wasn't even sure what accent Sparrow was going for there. Lahjin helped them look for something to do, though it became clear very quickly that their ideas of fun were different. They gathered some of their collected items and met in the centre of the room. Lahjin stared at the objects, perplexed.

"Um, so I found a tiny drum, and two drumsticks," Lahjin said, holding up the sticks half-heartedly.

Imanol, meanwhile, seemed excited about his find. "I found some dice! We could bet on our food, later. That sounds fun."

Lahjin didn't know what dice were, but he didn't like the idea of gambling on food. "Maybe. Sparrow, what did you-"

The russet wildcat tossed a scimitar carelessly into the centre, grinning wildly. "This was tucked into the corner of the room. How strong are the'two o' youse? If we find another weapon, we could hold some matches! But then again, I fancy only using claws, myself, so one o' youse can use th'sword." Lahjin and Imanol stared dumbfounded at the weapon Sparrow had found.

"Why does… why does he even have this?" Lahjin murmured.

Imanol nodded slowly. "Good thinking, Sparrow, but we wouldn't be good opponents," he said, trying to veto this idea.

Lahjin scoffed. "No kidding." Lahjin had agreed to spar with Greymist multiple times, and most of the time, he lost. He could feel the bruises on his body just thinking about it. Then again, Greymist is amazing.

"Hmph," Sparrow crossed his arms. "You two are no fun. C'mon, gets the blood pumpin'. I promise youse'll love it."

Imanol chuckled to himself. "Sparrow, one of the first things you told us was that you fight beasts for money and that you beat a hedgehog to death. We wouldn't be a challenge."

"... So?"

Lahjin felt like he needed to cut in, lest Sparrow goes with this idea anyway and stabs him by accident."Uh, I think what Imanol's trying to say is that… I don't want to die." Would anything I say even work on him? What if I just leave, now?

Slowly, Lahjin began to back away towards the door. Sparrow cocked his head and turned towards the brown wildcat. "What're ya doin'? C'mon, just one round, please?" He begged. "I promise I'll go easy on ya."

"Ah, I'm fine," Lahjin responded nervously. He turned for just a moment. Sparrow's expression was the picture of disappointment. Lahjin almost felt bad for saying no, but Sparrow would definitely skewer him if he had the chance.

"... Do we have to use real weapons?" Lahjin asked. What the heck, Lahjin? Why did you ask that? You could've just said 'no'!

Sparrow's face visibly brightened. The russet wildcat grabbed the two drumsticks that Lahjin had collected and tossed one to him. "Look," Sparrow began as he pushed the armchair to the side, "we're just gonna go 'till you're- 'till one of us is knocked out. Is that good enough?"

"What? I thought you said you'd go easy, knocking somebeast out is a bit-" Before Lahjin could finish, Sparrow rushed forward, swinging the drumstick down. Lahjin sidestepped out of the way and raised the drumstick defensively. He looked to Imanol for help, but the golden wildcat was just sitting on the armchair watching everything with an amused smile. Why aren't you helping? Come on!

Twirling the stick around in his paws, Sparrow darted forward. Lahjin was prepared this time and deflected his blows. Sparrow's face was twisted with glee as he pushed the other wildcat back. Lahjin groaned nervously. Sparrow was besting him through strength alone. In desperation, Lahjin jabbed forward, aiming for Sparrow's face. The russet wildcat stepped to the side, throwing Lahjin off-balance. Sparrow punched Lahjin's stomach and kicked his ankles, dropping him to the ground. Panicked, Lahjin turned onto his back, gazing upwards as Sparrow raised his drumstick with a wolfish grin.

What is wrong with you? No, wait, why couldn't I have just said no?

Lahjin shut his eyes. His breathing hastened as he waited for Sparrow to beat him mercilessly.

"Oop, you're dead now!" Lahjin felt something lightly poke his neck. Opening one eye, he saw Sparrow standing above him. The russet wildcat's face bore a playful smile as he poked Lahjin in the neck once again. "You good?"

Lahjin blinked as his heart calmed down. "Uh, yeah. I think."

Sparrow extended a paw. Lahjin grabbed it and was pulled to his footpaws. Sparrow blinked owlishly at the other wildcat. "You're bad at this. What're ya lookin' at me like that, for? Were you scared?" He asked, his voice devoid of malice.

Lahjin rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Uh, kind of. I thought you said 'until one of us is knocked out', so-"

Sparrow cackled uproariously, placing a paw on Lahjin's shoulder. "Gah ha! No! I was just lyin'! Ya should've seen the look on your face when I said that! You were all, 'oh no, I'm going to be beaten to death by a handsome cat'." Sparrow cackled again. Lahjin chuckled awkwardly with him. Sparrow looked into Lahjin's eyes and grinned. "Eh, c'mon, don' look at me like that. I ain't gonna kill ya for no reason."

"Didn't you admit to killing somebeast for no reason?" Lahjin mumbled.

"Ooohhhh. Right, I did tell youse that. Aye, he didn't do anythin' t'me, specifically. Raven just wanted my help an' I'm always happy t'please. Funny thing it was, too. Raven an' I haven't spoken for seasons 'fore that. I didn't even know the guy! Raven hated him, though. Arr, I do say I did a mighty job at it as well," Sparrow said, switching to an accent again. "Slammed a mace to his head an' pushed-"

"Please, stop," Lahjin interrupted.

Sparrow cocked his head. "Hm? Okay." He stepped away from Lahjin, his face lighting up again. "Right! That was fun! Now, uh, Layton."

"It's Lahjin."

"Lahjin! Round two, c'mon! I promise you'll enjoy it, this time! Look, if ya actually get hurt, I'll make it up to ya."

Lahjin chuckled nervously. "Hah, uh Imanol, do you want to try? Imanol?"

Imanol seemed to be focusing intently on something. When Lahjin said his name, it snapped him out of whatever stupor he was in. "Hm? Yes?"

"Do you want to try fighting Sparrow?" He repeated. Please say yes, so I don't have to. Actually, does Greymist still want to keep training even though she's not at home? Maybe I should tell Sparrow to ask her.

Imanol shrugged. "I dunno. I'd lose faster than Lahjin did."

"Hey!"

Sparrow grinned and leaned against Imanol's armchair. "Ey, don' say that. I'm sure you'll- wow. Lookin' at ya from this close, you're shorter than I thought. How old are ya? Wait, ya never ask that to cats ya just met. Or maybe you do cuz' of introductions? Whatever. I'm sure you'll do better than the cat who fell to the ground, crying."

"I wasn't crying."

"Ok. So, whaddya say, uh, yellow?"

"My name is Imanol, not yellow," he snickered. "But I guess it wouldn't help. We don't know what awaits us when we arrive at Dawnsbury, so getting some practice in wouldn't hurt. I haven't been in a fight before, though, so take it easy, please?"

Sparrow's eyes lit up as he took Lahjin's drumstick and handed it to Imanol. "I get to be a teacher! Cool! Don' worry, I ain't gonna rough ya up too badly. Hehe, you're small."

Lahjin nodded slowly, backing out of the room again. "Well, good luck you two, I guess. Have fun." Lahjin would've felt bad, but Imanol didn't help him when Sparrow forced him to spar, so why should he? The brown wildcat sighed and scratched his ears. I guess I wouldn't help, either. Sparrow is kinda scary. I hope Imanol actually doesn't get hurt.

Rubbing his sore stomach, Lahjin grumbled to himself as he walked up to the deck. Maybe some fresh air would make him feel better after all of that.

Fiene Pardus

"Whatcha got there?"

Fiene looked up from the tray she was holding. The captain was leaning against the table, staring down at her with a curious look. Fiene smiled and gazed back down. "Well, uh, I just I'd pass some food over to Greymist. She hasn't eaten anything today. Um, it is fine if I bring this to the passenger's quarters, right?"

The captain chuckled and shook his head. "I'm not the one sleepin' there, so I don' care. Ah, just messin' wit' ye. Aye, just this once, I'll letcha. Just make sure ye don' make a mess an' clean up afterwards if ye do. Gotta keep this ship clean, y'know?"

"Alright. Thanks!"

"No problem."

Fiene got up from the table, tray in paw. As she stumbled through the hallway, she couldn't help but feel a tad embarrassed with how much she was struggling being at sea. Fiene got very seasick for the first few days and fell more times than she'd like to admit. But maybe, she was getting the hang of it?

Eventually, she found herself at the entrance to the passenger quarters. Fiene took a deep breath. Back home, Greymist had visited enough times that she knew Greymist could be a bit… volatile, especially when she's stressed. Even if she doesn't say it, she's skipping meals and avoiding everybeast, even Lahjin. I think she's stressed.

"Fiene, I can see you standing in the doorway. Do you need something?" Greymist asked from inside the room.

The tips of Fiene's ears turned red as she cleared her throat. "Uh, kind of? Wait, yes. Well, I don't need something. I was just giving you- I brought lunch."

"Oh. You didn't have to do that."

"Yes, but I wanted to. Y'know, I just thought that you need it?"

"... Alright."

Fiene nodded and headed inside. Greymist was sitting on a cot, staring Fiene down with that cold, copper gaze of hers. "Um, thanks, Fiene."

"No problem, really." Greymist patted the space next to her, inviting Fiene to sit. Fiene handed Greymist the tray and sat down. The grey wildcat quickly grabbed some salted vegetables and shoved them in her mouth. Fiene chuckled. "Were you hungry?"

"What do you think?" Greymist snapped. "Sorry. I'm the one skipping meals, I shouldn't be mad at you."

"I… don't disagree," Fiene mumbled. I guess she is a bit stressed. Wait, no, does that warrant snapping at beasts? Ah, but Greymist does it anyway. It's fine. "But, um, are you doing alright?"

Greymist kept eating, not bothering to respond right away. "If I lie, you'd know, right?"

"Uh… maybe." No, not this again. Why do you two think I'm always able to figure out if you're lying? You and Lahjin just have really obvious tells.

Greymist nodded slowly. It was only after a few moments had passed that Fiene realised Greymist wasn't going to answer. To break the awkward silence and to get Greymist to do something, Fiene feigned shock and stood up. "Oh, that reminds me-"

"What did?"

"-Uh, that reminds me that I uh, was going to look for some… food. Do you want to join me?"

Greymist stared at Fiene blankly and growled. "Fiene, I swear to- if you wanted me to do something with you, you could just ask."

Fiene scratched the back of her ears nervously. "Would that be okay? I know you like to be left alone, but I'm a bit worried for you."

"Look. I'm fine," Greymist responded immediately. Fiene's ears twitched. Greymist's voice wavered ever so slightly, so much so that she didn't think Greymist noticed it. "So. What did you want to do?"

"Uh… what do you usually do back home? When you're bored, I mean."

"You didn't think of anything before you- nevermind. Usually, if I have free time, I go find Lahjin. Either that, or I train. But I can't go for a run on this ship, and I don't want to ask anybeast to spar. I don't think Lahjin wants to right now, and the red cat is... just bloody weird."

Fiene slouched over. As she looked around the passenger's quarters for something to do, her eyes lay upon the bag that she brought with her and she visibly shrunk into herself. "Oh, Greymist. Uh… by the way, you know the book that you gave me? I brought it with me."

Greymist looked down at Fiene, confused, before a flash of recognition crossed her face. "You still have that? I gave it to you seasons ago." Fiene shrugged. Greymist had given Fiene that book so that Greymist could teach her how to read. Unfortunately, Greymist didn't have the time to teach her. "Dear lord, I'm sorry, Fiene."

"Ah, no, it's fine, really. But um… the reason I'm bringing it up is because I think somebeast stole it."

"What? Who?" Greymist stood up, fists clenched in anger.

"No, don't get mad, I meant it just went missing," Fiene retracted quickly.

Greymist calmed down, but her tone was still sharp. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Fiene shrugged. "I didn't want to make a fuss. Besides, I'm pretty sure she- I mean, I think whoever stole it has- I don't know if it was stolen, it's just lost. I'm just assuming-"

Greymist buried her face in her paws. "Dear lord, Fiene. You're just like your brother. Grow a backbone, already."

"I'm… sorry?"

"Who did it?" Greymist hissed. "You said 'she', so I assume you know who."

Fiene shrunk into herself, fidgeting with her dress. "Don't confront her- I mean them, please? I just wanted you to help me look for it. I know it's a bit of a problem, but I don't want to cause a fight."

"Fiene."

"I know, but I don't want to make anybeast-"

"Fiene. Did you see who took it?"

Fiene rubbed her arm nervously. Maybe she shouldn't have brought this up. "It was one of the other wildcats. The one wearing light blue." What was her name again? Why can't I remember…? Oh wait, maybe it was because she said it once and never spoke to us again. It made Fiene sad more than anything. Was it something with her, or with everyone else? Whatever the reason, she didn't want to start an argument with anybeast.

Greymist scoffed. "You saw her do it? And you only bothered to tell me this now?"

"I thought I'd wait a few days before asking in case she was just borrowing-"

"Fiene. A few days? Really?"

"Let's just go search for it, please?" Fiene said quickly, standing up and walking over to her bag. Fiene let out a sigh. She must've had a good reason for taking it. Maybe she's just borrowing it to read… um, do beasts from Dalry even know how to read? Wait, nevermind. I shouldn't assume.

Fiene rummaged through her bag, double-checking to make sure nothing else was stolen. Nothing.

"Hey, Fiene," Greymist called out from the doorway. Fiene looked over at the grey wildcat, who pointed toward the hallway with her thumb. "I don't know, look through her stuff for the book, and I'm going to find her."

Fiene hummed nervously. "Ah hah, is there uh, you don't have to go find her, you know. Please?"

"Fiene," Greymist said with exasperation, "somebeast stole something from you. Don't you want to get it back?"

"Yes, but-"

"Can't just let her get away with it, right?"

"I guess not, but I don't think she was trying to be mean about it."

"I'm talking to her anyway. Good luck searching."

"No, wait-"

Before Fiene could get another word in, Greymist left. Fiene let out a sigh before looking around. Without any other beast in the room, she was considering peeking through Raven's stuff to see if she had the book, but the thought of doing so made her feel guilty. Should she ask for permission? Wait, I definitely shouldn't ask for permission for this. Raven didn't ask me for permission before taking the book from my bag, anyway… eugh, if Raven asks about this later, I'll say I'm sorry.

Muttering uncomfortably, Fiene moved over to Raven's bag and opened it. To her disappointment and guilt, she didn't find the book. She did, however, find some food from the kitchen, flint and steel, a tiny knife, a bundle, and other random objects. A feeling of discomfort prickled at the back of Fiene's neck. Were these stolen, too? Wait, no, why does Raven have a weapon? She's a murderer, right? What is she going to do with that?

Fiene quickly shut the bag, whipping her head around to see if anybeast saw her snooping. She sighed. Nobeast saw her. Fiene stood up and began to pace around the room, trying to imagine where Raven may have put the book.

Her thoughts were interrupted by sudden yelling from above. "What did you just say about Fiene? Say it again. I dare you!"

Fiene turned toward the doorway and bolted off. That was Greymist's voice, she was sure of it. Her heart pounded with worry for Greymist and Raven, and she just hoped that she'd get there before anything bad happened. Luckily, she didn't have to run far. She burst into the galley to see Greymist and Raven arguing while a few bored crew members watched from a table.

"Like you have any right to call her that," Greymist spat. "You murderer!"

Raven scoffed. "Oh, like a wildcat with that insignia hasn't murdered anybeast? How about you look at yourself before you yell at me like a savage."

"I haven't- I mean, shut up."

Fiene nervously grabbed a nearby wooden spoon and slammed it against a table, getting the pair's attention. "Hey, um, stop? Please?"

The tips of Greymist's ears grew red with embarrassment. She folded her arms across her chest and gazed down at Fiene. "Uh… sorry."

"I'm not apologising," Raven said bluntly. "She yelled at me first."

Fiene scratched the back of her ear. "Sorry?" Wait, why am I saying sorry? "Say, Raven, did you steal my book? I had it in my bag, so I was just wondering if, uh, yeah."

Narrowing her eyes, Raven stared straight into Fiene's eyes and stated, "I didn't steal anything from you."

Fiene's ears twitched. "I uh, saw you? So yes, you did? Sorry?"

"You must be making a mistake, then. Don't worry, cats as young as you are wrong sometimes, especially away from home like this," Raven explained softly. Fiene's ears twitched again and she grumbled indignantly.

"Can you maybe give it back, please?"

"I didn't-"

Greymist rolled her eyes and picked Raven up, causing the orange wildcat to yell. "What are you doing? Put me down!"

Frankly, Fiene agreed. "Yeah, Greymist, please don't-"

"Give it back," Greymist demanded. "Do you see how easily I can pick you up? I'll throw you off the ship." Fiene's ears twitched again.

"Alright, fine! Damn. This isn't worth it." Greymist set Raven down and the orange wildcat walked away. A few minutes later, she returned with the book. She shoved it into Fiene's arms with a scowl. "Wake me up in the middle of the night again, and I'll steal something else."

"Wait, I was waking you up? Sorry. Could've just told me instead of this."

Raven fixed her poncho and glared at Greymist. "Better chain up your bodyguard, Fiene. Don't want her to go on a rampage and kill us all."

As Raven left, Greymist walked up to Fiene and mumbled an apology. "Okay, I should've listened to you when you said not to look for her."

"It's fine. Sorry for dragging you into this."

Greymist rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "Do you think I overreacted? I saw the way you looked at me."

"No," Fiene lied. "Um, I know we just got the book back, but do you want to look for Lahjin and play a game, or something?"

Greymist shrugged. "Sure."

Imanol Honeyblade

At some point during the day, Lahjin had told Imanol to meet up at the dining hall (galley, 'tis called a galley, dang it). Imanol didn't have a problem with that. Imanol was curious to know what the meeting was about, but Lahjin didn't know either. Oh well. It was more fun to be surprised.

Looking at his reflection through a broken mirror in the storage room (I don't know a lot about ships and boats, but I feel like some of this stuff is really unnecessary), Imanol rubbed the bandage on his arm with a paw and winced. Sparrow said he'd go easy on him when they were training earlier, but he got a little too excited and sliced Imanol with his claws. Luckily, Imanol brought some medical supplies so he was good to go. He rolled up his sleeve, hiding the bandage.

Next, Imanol fixed his tunic and brushed his head fur with a paw. Did beasts call him vain back home? Maybe, but if this was an important meeting, he wanted to look good. At least, he assumed this was an important meeting. Ever since they boarded, the squirrel that put together this trip hadn't spoken to them once. After making sure his appearance was up to par, he left the storage room and headed up to the galley.

The mood when he got up there was relaxed, to say the least. More relaxed than he was expecting, anyway. Greymist, Fiene, and Lahjin were talking to each other, and Sparrow was rambling to a reluctant Raven. Imanol chuckled to himself. Everybeast was ignoring the squirrel, who was sitting in the front of the room with a bag. Considering nobeast cared in the slightest about the mission, Imanol wasn't surprised. To Imanol, it was kind of funny knowing this squirrel was desperately searching for beasts to help him, and nobeast was willing to pay attention. Not that Imanol cared, of course.

The golden wildcat sat down at Sparrow and Raven's table. Sparrow waved while Raven ignored him. "How's yer arm, matey?" Sparrow asked in a corsair accent.

"Oh. Did you do something, again?" Raven asked dryly.

Imanol raised his arm. "'Tis fine, now. Mostly. The wound wasn't as deep as it felt. Your claws are really sharp," he added.

Sparrow grinned proudly. "Thanks!"

Imanol didn't say any more, waiting for Sparrow to apologise. It didn't take long to realise he wasn't going to say sorry. "Is that it?"

Sparrow cocked his head. "Uh… I like yer fur? 'Tis soft an' a nice colour?"

"Heh, thanks. Was that you going easy during training earlier?"

"Yup! Seemed like ye were strugglin', though. Don't get so down. I've been in plenty o' fights, an' yer just really short. Oh, and ye've never been in a fight. I'm sure yer gonna improve. Ye can only go up from here!"

Imanol couldn't help but smile at Sparrow's attempt at an apology (or at least, he assumed it was one), because he thought it was stupid. However, before they could speak anymore, the squirrel stood up and cleared his throat. Imanol, Lahjin, and Fiene looked in the squirrel's direction.

Clasping his paws, the squirrel looked around at the wildcats gathered in the galley. "Good evening, you six. Um… getting straight to the point, we are arriving in Dawnsbury today"

That got Raven, Sparrow, and Greymist's attention. They looked up with a mix of confusion and annoyance. "What?" Greymist asked. Imanol gazed at the three, perplexed. Why are you three confused? If anything, I'm excited! Get me off this ship already. I want to see whatever this place is. 'Tis probably going to be awful, but I'm still curious.

"Before I explain," the squirrel continued, "let's get introductions out of the way. I'm Porter. The captain here is Emmerich. He's from Dawnsbury, so first, I'll let him explain where you are all about to land."

Stepping to the side, Porter let Emmerich take the stand. The otter adjusted his cap and nodded. "Aye, thank ye, Porter. Dawnsbury's a wonderful city. Y'all're gonna love it there. City's huge; 'tis larger than any city I've ever seen. Everybeast there is- well, most beasts there are great. I'd give y'all a tour when we arrive, but I'll be a bit busy when we land. I hope ye understand. In closing, I guess if, hypothetically, ye were lookin' fer a fresh start in life," Emmerich winked at Imanol, "ye'd do good startin' over here. Now, back to ye, Porter."

Porter stood up, confused. "Um, thanks, captain. That wasn't really what I thought you'd say, but I guess that works. So, you all know why you are here. You are going to help me to kill Dawnsbury's leader."

The captain, Emmerich, raised a paw. "Uh, aye, that's what confused me when Imanol told me what yer mission was. Y'see, we don't have a leader. What are ye on about?"

Imanol raised an eyebrow. I guess killing somebeast that doesn't exist would explain the non-existent reward, heh… there's a surprise waiting for us when we arrive, isn't there? Oh boy.

Porter continued, "let me give you all a bit of a history lesson, first. According to records of cities and towns that had traded with Dawnsbury, the city was alive and well. However, 90 seasons ago, contact from the city stopped. Nobeast was able to get a hold of them. The short version is that the city has been taken over by a group of beasts. We want their leader dead."

Raven scowled at Porter. "Excuse me for asking, but I'd rather trust the words of a beast who actually lives there instead of you. The captain just said they don't have a leader."

"Why do you want them dead, anyway?" Imanol asked, more out of curiosity than any desire to help.

"Aye, who are ye even huntin'?" Emmerich asked.

Porter stiffened up, folding his arms against his chest. "I can't tell you why, and I don't know who. You have to find out who they are and kill them."

"You want us to look for a beast who probably doesn't exist and kill them for a reason we aren't allowed to know?" Greymist asked flatly.

"Yes?" Porter answered. He turned his back from the group to rummage through his bag. "Now. Onto some other things. The only things we know about them…"

You're being quite vague. For somebeast who put this together, you're not helping us do our job at all… wait, why do I care? I'm not even planning on doing this. Eh. I guess 'tis something to do if I get bored… wait, where is everybeast? In the corner of Imanol's eye, he saw Sparrow stand up and quietly slink out of the room. Raven was nowhere to be seen. Snickering, Imanol looked at the other tables. Greymist and Lahjin were now absent while Fiene was resting her head on the table. C'mon, this is really important information that will decide our future. We should listen to this really important information. What will we do in Dawnsbury without this really important information?

"... Can't tell you what we'll do once they're dead, but those are the basics… where did everybeast go? Is it just you two?" Porter looked around the empty tables, disheartened.

Imanol held a paw over his mouth, covering up his smile. "I guess so. Maybe they just needed to use the bathroom."

Porter scoffed and sat down at the closest table. The squirrel drummed his paws on the wood and looked up at Imanol. "I'm guessing you're not interested in helping, either."

Imanol lowered his paw. "Guilty as charged. None of us are connected to this in any way, none of us care about this, you haven't told us why this is important, and the thing we wanted out of this, we already got. So, yeah, I'm honestly not ready to run into the fray with this, if y'know what I mean. You're being a bit vague and confusing, too."

Porter seemed confused. "You don't care? What about the reward?"

Imanol didn't have the heart to tell Porter that there wasn't any reward mentioned. To be more specific, he thought it'd be funnier if Porter never found out. "True, but practically speaking, my life was comfortable before this. I don't know about the others, but I'm assuming they don't care about the reward either."

Porter rested his chin on his paw. "So did I just hire this captain to bring me to a bunch of places and bring six beasts here for nothing?"

"Heh, yup. You really didn't think this through, did you? I'm just curious, because you must've been pretty stupid or desperate to ask six random beasts to do this, and I'm leaning towards the latter."

Porter waved his paw dismissively. "What does it matter? None of you are helping."

Imanol held out his paws defensively. "Ey, I was just curious… and I don't think this was for nothing. Those other cats really needed something like this."

"I don't care," Porter replied bluntly. "I just wanted to get this done. I need them to die, and I don't even know who they are."

"Can you tell me why?"

Porter simply sighed.

"And you wonder why we don't care."

"I would tell you to get you to stop asking, but… admittedly, I'm not sure how much I can tell you about this."

"Ooh. Conspiracy. This sounds like something I'd enjoy if I wasn't as unhealthy as a… snail." Imanol frowned at that analogy but shrugged it off. "When do you need this done?"

Porter grumbled and rested his head on the table. "It depends on when the other groups- erm, when some other beasts are ready, so I don't even know. There's an order that needs to be followed."

"Must be pretty stressful," Imanol said matter-of-factly. "Hey, maybe when we get to Dawnsbury, you should 'restart' too. Take a break or somethin'."

Porter looked up at Imanol. The squirrel's eyes were tired, like they had been ever since they met. Porter sighed and put his head back down. "I don't have all the time in the world, though… but maybe."

"Good. can I leave now?"

"Yes. We're arriving soon, anyway. Just take a rest in Dawnsbury or something. I don't want to leave this undone, however, so can you promise me that the six of you will come back in… let's say a week?"

Imanol nodded. He had no problem with saying yes. If he regretted it later, he could just not come. He didn't know what the other five would think, though. "Sure. Why not? You put this opportunity out for us. The least we could do is listen to you."

"... Thanks. You can leave now, by the way."

Imanol got up and smiled. "I'll see you in a week, then."

A few hours later, Imanol was standing on the deck with the other wildcats. The six cats gazed in awe as the city of Dawnsbury appeared, outlined by the orange light of the setting sun. There was a magnificent stone wall surrounding the city, opening up into the port. Past the port, they saw numerous wood and stone buildings of all shapes and sizes. The port itself was massive, with three stone docks and a large walkway. Sparrow and Raven especially seemed amazed at this.

Imanol rested his chin on the ship's railing and grinned. "Wow. Imagine if we were actually helping Porter. Finding anybeast in that labyrinth would be a nightmare."

Greymist snorted. "Right."

Sparrow cocked his head, eyes scanning the city. "That's weird. Oh, also, I got an idea. The six of us should stay together, eh? How's that sound?"

"What? Why?" Raven protested.

"So I can keep an eye on youse. If you tell anybeast what Raven an' I did back home, I'll kill youse. Just kidding. Maybe. I dunno. But I like you all."

Greymist sighed. "Ugh. Fine. At least for tonight. It's getting dark. Where's the captain? We should ask him for directions once we get there."

Imanol left to go grab the captain. However, because they were about to dock at the port, Emmerich couldn't step away, so Imanol instead asked if the otter could lead them someplace when they got off the ship. What Imanol was not expecting was this response. "Ye don't need my help fer this. Ye can figure it out on yer own."

"What does that mean?" Imanol asked.

"It means ye don't need my help, and I'm not sayin' that t'be rude," Emmerich repeated.

"Great. Oh, I've been meaning to ask, when we get to Dawnsbury, will I have to worry about getting stabbed to death in the middle of the night or anything like that?"

Emmerich stared up at the sky, clicking his tongue as he thought to himself. "Eh… I'd stick wit' yer buddies t'be safe. I haven't gotten attacked, but my son has."

Imanol nodded slowly as he began to walk back to the other wildcats. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks."

When he got back, Greymist asked, "what did he say?"

"He says we don't need his help and that we should stick together so we don't get attacked."

"Of course," Greymist muttered. The conversation ended there (besides Sparrow rambling about random stuff to the rest of them), and the only thing left to do was wait. Behind them, Emmerich was yelling instructions to his crew. Imanol didn't understand what any of it meant, but it sure was interesting to listen to.

About an hour later, they finally landed.

Emmerich ran to the storage room and grabbed a long plank of wood and set it down, bridging the gap between the ship and the dock. The otter tugged his cap and grinned at the wildcats. "Thank ye fer choosin' this ship, an' I hope we see each other again. I still have t'do a few things before I leave this ship, but maybe we should grab a bite t'eat later, eh?"

"Ah, sure," Lahjin answered as he walked onto the dock. "Maybe later."

One by one, the wildcats stepped off the ship. Surprisingly, the port seemed to be empty. Or at least, Imanol thought that was surprising. Would there be more beasts here at this time of day? He didn't know. Greymist was leading the group up the port steps. When she got to the top, she stopped. Fiene looked up at Greyimst, confused. "Why'd you stop?"

Greymist shook her head. "Nothing. C'mon."

When Imanol got to the top of the steps, he felt as if something was off. The stairs led up to a cobblestone street. Confused, Greymist followed the path. Imanol was looking around, checking the dark alleyways and the windows. Strangely enough, most of the buildings weren't lit, and, looking through the windows, he could see that some of the buildings were empty.

Fiene's ears twitched as she looked around. "It's kinda quiet, huh?"

Imanol nodded in agreement. Given that it was supper time, he expected more beasts to be walking around. In fact, there was nobeast walking around whatsoever. "Where is everybeast?" Imanol asked.

"Is it empty?" Sparrow asked.

"It can't be," said Raven, "the captain said there are beasts living here."

By the time they got to the city square, their suspicions were confirmed. There was a large statue in the centre and a few empty stalls, but there was nobeast to be seen. It was then that Imanol understood what Emmerich meant by "ye don't need my help fer this. Ye can figure it out on yer own."

Turning to the group, Imanol rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I think most of these buildings are abandoned, and I think Emmerich wanted us to just… pick one."

For some reason, Greymist seemed relieved. "Oh. Then… I guess I'll be seeing you all later. I don't want any of you knowing where I'm going, so bye for now." Before Imanol could get a word in, Greymist walked away; Lahjin and Fiene followed her.

Imanol turned towards Raven and Sparrow, shrugging. "I don't want to walk around this city alone, so can I follow you two?"

Raven sighed and ran a paw through her head fur. "I guess… I suppose we should start deciding where we're going to sleep. Sparrow, you choose. I don't care which building you pick."

Sparrow's eyes lit up as he looked around. "Great! We need t'pick the best spot. C'mon, let's go hunting!"

The russet wildcat ran off. Raven and Imanol trailed behind him. While Sparrow ran around, peeking through windows, Raven crossed her arms and spoke with Imanol. "'Tis a good thing you're here. Help me keep Sparrow reigned in because, boy, is that cat dumb."

"Why're you stayin' with him if you hate him?" Imanol asked.

Raven grumbled, "what do you think? He's dumb, but he's strong as hellgates. If we get attacked, I don't have to worry."

"That reminds me, Sparrow told us earlier you and him haven't spoken in seasons. Why is that?"

"He told you that?"

"It was more of an offpaw comment."

Raven growled and stared up at the sky. "Can't he keep anything to himself? Why does he feel the need to say everything? Yes. I have been avoiding him. He's stupid and I hate him. Have you been around him today? He and everybeast from Dalry are annoying or dangerous."

"I can see that," Imanol admitted. A part of him wanted to tell Raven off for avoiding her brother, but that'd be hypocritical, wouldn't it? Yeah, like I have a right to say anything. I ran away from my family. It doesn't matter that my reason was good, I left behind beasts that were relying on me in some way.

Switching the topic, Imanol called out, "Sparrow! Find a good spot, yet?" Raven looked around. Sparrow was nowhere to be seen.

"Up here!" Sparrow yelled. The russet wildcat was poking his head out of a broken window. "I like this place. It has a funny sign in front of it!"

Imanol looked at the building's front door. The sign in front of it was broken and had a poorly painted badger on it. "This is the criteria?" Raven asked in disbelief.

"Uh huh!"

Raven placed her paws on her hips. "At least it's farther away from the square."

Imanol stretched his body out and yawned. "I think I'll just take whatever is next door. I'm going to sleep for the rest of the day. See you later."

Raven ignored Imanol and walked inside the shop. Sparrow, on the other paw, waved. "You sleep early. Goodbye!"

Imanol waved and went to the next building. As soon as he walked inside, he shut the door and lay down on the wooden floor. It was silent. He was too tired to even look around the interior. It was odd. He had wanted to leave home for the longest time, but now that he was here, he didn't know what to think. Was he scared of this new place? Was he sad about leaving home? Was he angry at those beasts back home? What did he think about the new wildcats he's with? What was going to happen to them?

Imanol yawned and curled up on the floor. Oh well. He didn't have to worry about those thoughts right now. Just like everything else, he could put it off until later.

Unbuttoning his jerkin, he bunched it up and used it as a pillow, falling asleep on the floor on his first night in Dawnsbury.