"You know, I've never actually eaten fish." Salted winds gently buffeted the shoreline, and waves happily lapped at the wet sands. Paw prints dotted the shore before the ocean froth ate them up, erasing the trace of the cats. Sealshadow looked to Calla with disbelief.

"Never ever? Not even once?" He shook his head.

"No, I don't really know how to hunt them. I've always lived in two leg place," the white tom trotted ahead before slowing down for the spotted tabby warrior to catch up.

The sun glared off the top of the ocean waves with a blinding brightness. It had been several days since Calla had shown up, and already he fit into the clan like he was one of their own. No-one else wanted to come on my sun high hunting patrol today. I was surprised he offered to come. I guess he wasn't lying about having my back.

"We have a lot of fish in our water, but we usually eat shorebirds. We have snook, and bass, and snappers. I like trout the best, though!"

"Yeah? Why do you usually eat shorebirds?"

"They're easier to catch."

"Oh, yeah. I bet it's hard to sneak up on a fish when you have to swim up to it," she nodded.

"Also swimming can be dangerous. The ocean is really strong," she looked out to the water. The water were calm that day, soft humming at the wind. She swished her dark banded tail back and forth peacefully. Calla moved in closer, and she felt her fur prick on end. She jumped away as his tail touched her shoulder. "No!" She mewed sharply. "No, I don't like to be touched...," he nodded quickly, and she flashed a glance to his eyes which were wide with worry and shock.

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't know!" he meowed earnestly. She nodded deeply and quickly.

"I--I know, it's okay," she flicked her tail restlessly. He was quiet for a moment as she breathed quietly to herself. "Hey, Sealshadow, what's that?" He seemed to be reaching to her interests, but her fur stood on end once she saw what he was referencing. Crawling along the coast toward them was a dull red shelled creature.

"Crab!" She started to bound away, but Calla stayed still.

"Crab? What does it do? Is it dangerous?"

"Get back, Calla!" She froze, unwilling to leave Company behind. Company that has my back, and I have his back!

"Is it prey?" he looked back to her as her tail waived back and forth.

"No! It pinches and hurts!" he hummed softly.

"It smells like prey, though," the tom murmured. "I'll fight it! I'm bigger than it!" He squared up, claws unsheathing into the wet sand. Sealshadow started forward, her heart pounding at her chest. No, no, no! It's dangerous! Why won't he listen to me?!

"You can't fight it, it's shell is hard!" He looked back, and faltered at her desperate look. The crab neared, and he resigned, dodging away back toward Sealshadow. The second he gave in, she hurried toward the rocky ledge several strides away. She scaled the ledge with a strong leap, though Calla struggled with the resistance of the sand and had to scrabble up to the top. They sat and watched the crab continue on it's way down the coast. Sealshadow felt a purr rise in her throat.

"Why are you laughing...?" The snowy tom's voice lilted with curiousity.

"It was scary... but it was fun...!" her tail swished back and forth and her paws kneaded at the sandstone beneath her with happiness.

"It was...! Hey, did you see how the crab walked? It was so weird!" He imitated it, awkwardly walking sideways like how the shelled creature moved. Sealshadow purred louder with joy, her eyes closing happily. He purred as well, sitting back down. "The beach is beautiful," he remarked slowly. "I wish I could've grown up here, too. It's calm, and it's much nicer than two-leg place."

"What... was two-leg place like?" she questioned softly.

"I lived in dark, narrow paths between two-leg dens. The group I lived with would move a lot; I never stayed in one place for more than a moon. The two legs always chased us off. It was... really violent. There was a lot of fighting between us cats," his eyes were lost in the the thick plumes of clouds that drifted at the horizon.

"That's scary," she whispered, shrinking down. Wind buffeted his fur as he nodded solemnly.

"Shark came around then. She was just passing through at the time, and right at the time when I really needed to leave two-leg place. It was getting really bad."

"Why didn't you leave earlier?"

"...I couldn't. I had family there. Shark made me realize there was more to life, though. I cut all my ties with my family and left." He blinked wistfully and looked down at her. She glanced away to the ocean. "I can't go back there."

"You could stay here...!"

"I don't want to burden your clan more than I have. Shark was saying we should move on in the next few sunrises." Sealshadow's eyes widened and she stood up.

"No! No, you can't!" Her eyes went to him, tracing the gentle, yet defined, edges of his jaw. He blinked softly. "You can stay with BluffClan. You can become a warrior-- it's the next step after Company. Nina the elder was company, and so was Oysternose and Kangaroostep and Palmshine!"

"That... that sounds nice," he murmured.

"I'll tell Piperwhisker. He's nice to me, so if I tell him, he'll listen to me and let you become a warrior." Calla purred softly.

"You're too kind to me, Sealshadow. Can I...?" She blinked awkwardly, and he just barely touched his cheek against her shoulder. Her breath caught in her throat, and she flinched away after the brief interaction. "Let's get some hunting done, then. You still need to teach me how to properly catch a bird!"

\\ ✩ //

Camp was quiet when they returned. Sealshadow cleaned her whiskers and paws of the last traces of her post-hunting meal, eyes half-closed. She sat in her usual shaded, solitary spot, and glanced up to watch her clanmates. Kangaroostep lounged outside the nursery while Mouseflower played with her three kits, and Albatrossleaf was outside her den laying out herbs to dry.

Cala had parted with her when they returned, saying he needed to talk to Shark privately. She could see the pair speaking quietly near the emergency exit that led to a cove was masked by a wall branches and mud, as they didn't want to attract two legs. Sunlight pooled in from the top of the exit, brightly lighting up the white tom's form. She blinked, watching Calla get flick his tail sharply with anger in the middle of the talk.

"Hey, Sealshadow," she was surprised as Piperwhisker pad up. She continued to clean her paws, but she felt a warm happiness at the presence of her friend. The small sandy tabby deputy sat down across from her. "I haven't gotten to talk with you in a while, I thought I'd say hello," he purred.

"Hello..!" she chirped, closing her eyes as she purred. He began grooming his white paws.

"How was your hunting today?"

"Good. Calla came with me, and we saw a crab! He wanted to fight it. I told him not to. Also I caught an avocet," she motioned to the large white, red, and black bird on the fresh kill pile.

"I saw that, very impressive. That was you?" She nodded brightly. They were quiet as they groomed themselves, and then the deputy spoke up again. "So you're friends with Calla...?"

"Yes, he says he has my back! Not literally, my back is my back; he means he's going to be a good friend and protect me." Piperwhisker stiffened, pausing his grooming.

"He does? That's... very nice of him," he cast a glance to where the white tom was now quietly, but visibly, arguing with Shark.

"I think so, too. He says he understands me because we're both loners. He says that why all Company are nice to me, but my clanmates aren't." Piperwhisker looked at her softly now, and she kept her eyes down at his paws.

"That's not fair to all of your clanmates that are nice to you, though." She thought for a moment.

"...You're right. You're nice to me. And so is Oatleap, and Albatrossleaf and--."

"Does Calla say things like that a lot? Things that make you doubt your clanmates?" She shook her head. Calla started to make his way over, the heat of the argument already dissipating from his expression.

"No. He's good. He wants to be a warrior." Piperwhisker sighed. "Isn't that exciting? Maybe other Company cats will want to become warriors if he does! Then Tuna or Coral will be warriors that stay forever!" Calla sat down next to Piperwhisker. The loner was a good bit taller than the deputy, and the smaller tom stiffened at his presence.

"Actually, Tuna is going to stay and become a warrior. He's having a ceremony in a few sunrises." Calla perked up.

"Piperwhisker, I actually was wondering if I could stay? I've fallen in love with BluffClan; I can't bare leaving. I'd miss being in this clan. That's why I was just arguing with Shark... she thinks it's stupid that I'd be willing to sacrifice my life to be a warrior who might die in battle and hunt for cats that aren't me. I think it's the best way I could live my life, though," he bowed his head, and the deputy sighed.

"I'll bring it up to Stonestar," he tipped his head up, carefully eyeing the whitecap colored top. He stood up, swishing his tail. "I'll talk to you later, Sealshadow." Sealshadow nodded, and the bicolor tom left for the leader's den.

"I think that went well!" Calla purred. Sealshadow blinked in agreement. I can't wait for Calla to be a warrior. Maybe then my clanmates will like me more, because they'll see a fellow warrior who really, really likes me. She started back on her fur, a happy purr rumbling in her throat.