"I didn't think we'd have to walk this far to get to the city." Rain mumbled, trying to keep up with Lilly's diligent pace.

"I know, Rain." Lilly sighed. "But, I think we're almost there."

Lilly's paws ached from walking all morning, and they still hadn't reached the city limits. Lilly was about to offer more encouragement to her dark gray furred pal, when she hit her nose against a pole.

"Ouch!" She exclaimed, leaping back a couple of feet. She looked up the metallic gray pole and found out that it served as a post for a sign. "Brackenridge Town 2 miles, Hildebrande City 12 miles." She read aloud, while rubbing her injured snout.

Rain gave her a very frustrated look. "We are not almost there."

"No we aren't." Lilly agreed with a huff. "How about we find a place to rest at Brackenridge Town before heading to Hildebrande?"

Rain smiled. "Best thing I've heard all morning."

The two travelers hastened their pace, goaded by the thought of a warm bed and meal. The 2 miles flew by as they talked about their plans of how to acquire a place to nap and some food.

"I say that we find a generous house cat that will let us nap in his home and give us some of his food." Rain suggested.

"As if! I don't know if you realized this yet, but we're kind of warriors now, Rain, and you said that warriors hunt for their food."

Rain shook his head. "We're not in any Clan, Lilly, so we technically aren't warriors."

"But-"

"Look, Lilly, I am tired, you're tired, and we both don't know how to hunt. So let's just find some hospitable cat who'll bestow upon us a bed and some breakfast."

"Fine." Lilly huffed as she surged forward.

"Aww c'mon, don't be like that!" Rain called after her, before sprinting with her to their first stop of their journey, Brackenridge Town.

Brackenridge Town emitted a very nice and cozy feel to the two worn travelers, as they padded through the town square.

"Wow, it's so quaint." Lilly remarked. She looked around the square which consisted of a post office, courthouse, and a small assortment of shops. The buildings looked practically ancient to the two young cats with their intricate woodwork and Victorian designs (she knew what "Victorian" meant because Mr. Gordon was an architect), but to Lilly, that only added to their charm.

"What do you think, Rain?" She asked her traveling companion. "Think we might be able to find ourselves some breakfast here?"

Rain chuckled. "Lilly, if we can't find food here, we won't find it anywhere." Rain stated as he jumped up on a ledge to a circular fountain, surveying the square. "This place just screams southern hospitality."

Lilly joined him on the ledge and took a drink from the pool of water below. She relished the feel of the icy cold water on her parched tongue. She licked her lips before asking, "So where do we start looking?"

Rain continued to stare at the Victorian-designed courthouse before saying, "We need to find out where the neighborhood cats hang out. Then, we try to gain some of their sympathy. Hopefully after that, we might be offered room and board."

Lilly nodded in agreement.

He chuckled as he glanced at his light ginger friend. "You know, for someone so against asking for help from some fellow house cats, you're very agreeable."

Lilly shrugged. "You were right, I don't know how to hunt, and I really don't want to starve."

Rain gave her a teasing smile as a glint of amusement sparkled in his dark blue eyes. "Oh, I was right?"

Lilly shoved him into the pool of water below, where he landed with a huge splash. She laughed. "How does it feel to be right, Rain?" She finally managed to choke out.

All of a sudden, his forepaws and head shot out of the water, earning him a yelp of surprise from Lilly. "Perfect." He whispered into her ear, before wrapping his forelegs around her and flipping her into the water. She emerged a couple of seconds later, hoping to get back at the tom. She found Rain perched on top of the ledge smirking down at her.

"Have a nice swim?" He called.

"The best." She replied as she swam towards him. Lilly was really glad Charles taught her and Rain how to swim. Well, it was more like he pushed the two into a kiddie pool and let their instincts take over. But still, he taught them (kind of). She let her thoughts drift to her family discovering her absence. 'I hope they took it well.'

Rain helped Lilly out of the fountain, telling her about two tabbies that he saw walking toward the courthouse.

"So what?" She responded, while trying to dry herself off.

"I think we should tail 'em. They might know how to help us."

"All right."

Lilly and Rain followed the two tabbies toward the courthouse, hoping that this wouldn't blow up in their faces.

A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry about the late update but my life has just gotten totally busy lately! On the upside, I wrote a Hunger Games fanfic titled "A Fire You Can't Extinguish" so check it out! Thanks again to my awesome beta Emberstar-phoenix lover and all the people who reviewed my last chapter! Thanks for reading and please feel free to leave a review. -Pika