A perilous journey{O, Travelling stop}

They had been travelling for most of the day, their paws lay weary and cracked. Without the proper herbs to heal the this is how they would stay. A seal point male hung near the front, his green eyes scanning the area around them lazily. It seemed like they had been going in circles but he had no doubt of Eagle and Ragged's leadership. Who was he exactly? His past owners called him 'Shade' and so he went as such, though that very name tugged at something unknown in his brain.
Dusk was upon them, moonlight illuminating their path as the sun had that very same day. He looked at their group, they were quite large in number, ranging from battle written she-cats to muscular ebony toms. However, they all looked about ready to collapse into the starlit dreams of night and Shade sighed as he padded up to their leaders on numb legs. "May we stop for the night? The group seems quite tired considering our all-nighter yesterday." He asked, though not in an attempt to insult the two. The all-nighter had provided more progress for them but at the cost of exhaustion.

Ragged stopped, lifting her dulled lime eyes and letting them focus on Shade a moment. The molly still held herself with an air of pride, though her broad shoulders sagged, her paws ached, long fur dull and matted. Her mind stopped drifting for a moment as she paused, considering what Shade had said. "Yes, I believe this is a good choice..." Her voice was raspy and broken, not from age, but from the ugly scars across her throat, not to mention her mental fatigue that surpassed her physically tired body.

The tortie she-cat flopped to the ground as if she had been held up, taking her tongue and rasping it over her paws, trying and failing to soothe the cracked pads. Ragged felt all her limbs sigh in unison at the releif of sitting once again, and though she and Eagle had both made the descision to stay up, and it was a good one, she couldn't help but be relieved at the prospect of rest.

But after she granted herself a few sparse moments of rest, she would raise her large head to turn to Eagle and Shade. "Though we have traveled a long way, I believe that we should..." A yawn interrupted her speech, jaws aging to reveal sharp teeth then snapping closed again. "...Start to consider what we do next."

"Thank you Ragged, I'll alert the others and take a small group out hunting for all of us." The male bowed his head and lurked back within the group. He respected both leaders but felt more of a pull toward the scarred female, yet the reason was unknown as to why. He gathered a patrol of six felines, smiling at a few of the children they sheltered before heading out. Shade did this quite often when they stopped, it felt normal and they had many a belly to feed. A few elderly felines had come along for the ride so that meant that they had slight babysitters for the children. The seal point only ever took felines over seven moons of age, leaving others to train felines of ages six and seven.

The white and red tom would be the next to enter scene, golden eyes locked upon the group, watching for anyone who may stray too far. Wayfinder would lift his head slightly, a frown clear on the tom's maw. "What are we doing now?" The male asked, glancing at Ragged, and then to Shade. The male huffs gruffly, grumbling to himself before trudging forward.

Being a "leader" figure to cats much older than him was odd, but the seven month old feline shook the thought off of his solid brown fur, his robin-blue eyes rounding on Ragged and Shade briefly before his ear twitched in agreement. "StarClan's chosen is close, I can feel it. But I agree; we should rest for the night, and ready ourselves in the morning for another long journey, even if I'm sure that the territory we're all meant for isn't far." Eagle. That was his name, wasn't it? It was strange, but when he'd seen the bird on the fateful day he woke up in the bushes surrounding a fenced in area, it seemed ... right. For now, at least. His voice faintly accented, the younger feline felt his gaze rest on Ragged again and he felt something like familiarity tug at his heart, but he dismissed it. He sat back on his haunches, his tail stirring the undergrowth behind him gently. "Maybe we can scout the area, Ragged? It wouldn't hurt to see if anything dangerous could be a threat to the children and the older members among us."

Buzzard. That was her name. It was burned in the back of her skull, branded into her memory like a stain on her subconcious. Everything else was merely a blur, her past encased in a thick blanket of fog. It was impenetrable, she had learned, no matter how many times she tried to break throught and remember something about her past life.

It had been a while since her last try. She had all but given up, losing all hope of remembering who she had once been. But one day, everything had changed. She had joined up with the others, following Eagle - she still couldn't believe how young he was - and Raggedface as they went on their journey. Now, grouped together with everybody the way she was, Buzzard had a reason to start looking forward instead of back.

As the others brought up the topic of stopping for the night, the Norwegian Forest Cat slowed to a halt. She let her vision drag over their two leader-figures, both as different as two cats could be. Her eyes flicked over to Hollybreath as the molly spoke, tail tip curling in interest. While the prospect of taking a break seemed good to her, it was equally as true that the group needed protecting. They needed food, as well. I that case, she was more than willing to sacrifice her own comfort for the sake of the young and the elderly that traveled with them. "I'll come along as well, if you need me." She spoke, dipping her head in a polite gesture.

Wayfinder sighs, the tom shaking his head and soon enough, he's moving away from the group, sitting down soon enough with a low rumble. "I don't want to go. Someone will have to stay, and I will be that person." He says with a soft voice, yet almost hard at the same time. Yellow visionaries flicker to the other leaders, a tongue flickering out between parted jaws.

Bunnycloud wandered out onto the sand, coughing up water and trying to breath. With paws moving ever so slightly on the shore, he glanced at his shadow. His eyes widened with fear as he ran off into the forest. He was lost and he knew it. The creamy white Main Coon sat in the forest and shook his fluffy head. "How did I get myself into this?" He slowly closed eyes before hearing what sounded like cats murmuring in the distance. He followed the voices until he saw a red and white tom talking to a sliver tabby. He lowered his body close to the forest floor and watched the two cats with caution. He slowly moved towards them and lowered his tail. He didn't know know if they were friend or foe so it was his only chance to be prepared if they saw him and plan to attack. He sneaked up behind the red and white tom, slowly sat back on his hind legs and growled nervously. "Who are you?"

"One may ask you the same traveller. We are a humble party but if you attack us we will defend the children and elders present." Shade mewed, coming back with his hunting party. The point was calm in his tone, not showing any sign of aggression. "Though Wayfinder here might bite your tail if you try to attack him." The male said with a chuckle, motioning for his group to feed some of the other members. They had brought back plenty and if this male proved peaceful he might share his own meal with the tom. T'wasn't much but food was food and hospitality was a good quality to have if they were to not be ambushed.

"I really don't want to go. It won't make sense for everyone to go out, so I'll just stay here." The tom flicks his tail in a dismissive motion, almost looking mildly annoyed. He's not, though, just tired and stressed out from the journey. He looks back to Mothwings, smiling just a bit. "Thanks for the concern". Then, there was a sopping wet male hissing at him in a threatening way. Way finder brings a paw up to his chest, emerald gaze narrowing. "Excuse me? Who might you be?" He rasped, before looking to Shade. He hesitates a moment, then swallows. "Yeah, I'm uh... Wayfinder. Don't wear it out."

Bunnycloud lowered his head in embarrassment. "Oh, I'm so sorry.The name is Bunnycloud and as you can see." He looked down at his drenched fur then back up. "I'm not from this land." The Main coon glanced at Wayfinder and mewed in a concerning tone. I'm sorry for the trouble.

"Neither are we," The tom stated, noticing the other's soaking fur with his smile turning to a frown. "It's right near winter lad, what are you doin' taking a dip?" He asked Bunnycloud, he had an inkling that it was an unwilling situation but it made for casual conversation.

His purpose there was simple: boredom had driven him to leap across the fence that his humans had erected, and his pale tanned paws stalked across the terrain that surrounded his place. His long legs strode almost effortlessly after the felines that had passed him, and he followed them for some time, curiosity sparkling in his pale eyes.

"My paws are so tired..."

Mothcloud had been walking alongside the group for so long. Hours had passed that felt like years, and the poor gray molly hadn't been paying attention what so ever. Her paws were heavy and her eyes were weary and watered. The slight breeze traveling the opposite direction of their travels had been stinging her eyes, making her feel even more fatigued. Mothcloud heard distant conversations, but couldn't piece the words together. She figured it was mostly complaining about the travels, but what could they do now? They were close to their new home, and all would be forgotten. A small grunt escaped from the molly in an effortless attempt at communication.

Wayfinder would tilt his head, eyes narrowing just slightly at the male who had suddenly just appeared. He could smell the ocean on him, a scent he longed for, in all honesty. The tom quietly trotted up to him, tilting his head up slightly and gazing up at the larger male. "Indeed, it is very much cold in the ocean, no? Perhaps we've been blessed with a warm current." He pauses at this, moving past him and then gazing in the direction Bunnycloud had come, inhaling softly. He already got antsy, desperate to see the sea, but kept this to himself as he turned back around.

"What do we do with him?"

Weary paws carried the molly alongside the others, and as they spoke she merely looked on silently. Her olive eyes were heavy-lidded, her thick white fur a tad unkempt as a result of their long journey and lack of breaks. She glanced up when the sopping wet tomcat arrived, curiously spectating as the others confronted him, and with a tilt of her head offered him a little smile. So he was to join them, perhaps? Their leaders seemed to be alright with it, though this Bunnycloud had yet to accept the invitation. What a curious name, thought Cloud. "A new face is always welcome," she told him with a flick of her tail.

Moth, observing the group with eager yet tired eyes, scanned the newcomer. Bunnycloud? What a name... She thought. He was drenched in water, and it puzzled the gray molly why he would've gone for a swim in this kind of weather. "Always nice to see a new face." She purred with a smile, voice raspy. In her statement, she didn't convey any of the confusion she harbored.