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Four days of cracking crabs. Four full days, from dawn to dusk, with little reprieve at nightfall. The moment dinner was over, a pile of plates replaced shellfish. Kali washed all the plates, bowls, and spoons afterwards. Each night, when she finally left, Kali was waterlogged and exhausted. The fur up to her elbows was drenched with sudsy water, soaked down to the skin. Every bone in her fingers and arms ached. Even her claws hurt. And after all the scrubbing, cracking, and scraping, she didn't get any extra juicy scraps for her efforts, either.

Kali's punishment, galley duty, was a solitary task, and the chefs held her responsible for each cracked crab. She seldom saw the other cats on the ship during. Not any of the apprentices, while she worked, or any of the familiar tails she knew from the top deck. She didn't see much of anything other than chitin, meat, dirty dishes, and soap. Her only interactions were with Bomae and Masede, when they stopped by to make sure she continued working. Often without a word to her. Their punitive stares spoke volumes enough.

By the time Kali finished her sentence each day, her appetite was gone. The scent of crab meat soured on her nose after hours of shucking and scrubbing. Not that there was anything left to eat when her daily chastisement ended. Only the burned scraps on the bottom of the pots. Bitter crumbs. The charred, inedible remainder was yet another chore, another pot for her to clean, when she returned to her crabby brig the following day.

Such a grueling four days that Kali went straight to her hammock and slept immediately after. No stops at the cargo bay. No more cute, or more often sultry, lunch dates. Just thinking about Rinzaan's dark furred face and blue eyes bristled her hackles. His charming smile made her as ill as smelling crab did. He could eat sand with the rest of them, as far as Kali was concerned. He certainly wasn't getting another quickie. Not with her. Cerinnia, she might toss up her tail, but Kali's tail was tucked and locked in place.

On her way to pick up dishes, Kali sneaked a glance inside the apprentice's mess hall once. By the enormous bandage on Cerinnia's muzzle, her lip was nicely split. As she deserved. Although that didn't stop her adoring fans. If anything, they showered her with more praise for being so brave and strong despite her adversity. The terrible betrayal of her innocent trust. Such a frightening ordeal she had to experience. Attacked by the vicious Weird-Eye. Unprovoked. Undeserved.

Kali didn't eavesdrop for long. Per Tulaziya's orders, she stayed away from the other apprentices. An easy order to follow. She wanted nothing to do with them, even when she wasn't being punished. Though that one time she stopped, that she spied on them, she narrowly escaped notice. She knew it, too, when she saw a muzzle turn her way. Not everyone had their eyes on Cerinnia. A certain tom, who deserved a split lip too, almost spotted her tail as it darted past the doorway.

The torturous days of crabs and dishes seemed never-ending. Until, suddenly, they did. When the Sandstalker, after two weeks of sailing the golden sands, finally came to rest.

Kali turned her ears back, listening to the commotion in the halls, though she kept her hands busy scraping the last burned crisps off the bottom of a pot. Rapid paws drummed against the upper and lower decks. Chatter carried throughout the cabin. If she hadn't noticed the change in the ship's sway, the steadying underfoot, the noise alone confirmed it. The Sandstalker safely docked at Mjau, at the port on the southern side of the Benz. Sheer relief washed over her. She felt it in every tired hair on her pelt and her drooped whiskers. Kali had never been so glad to return to shore. She finally set aside her final, clean pot and dropped her rag in the sink.

She looked over her shoulder at the corner by the pantry, where her jailor, comfortably settled on a tall wooden stool, watched her work. “Bomae-"

“Sous-Chef."

Despite her clenched teeth, Kali forced her whiskers up with a smile. The entire time, Masede and Bomae had taken her punishment all too seriously. Especially Bomae, who Kali suspected enjoyed her predicament most of all. Naturally, the sous-chef was going to take any shred of power she had and run with it. “Sous-Chef Bomae," Kali corrected herself. “I'm done with the dishes. Can I go?"

Bomae's tail flicked. She leaned right, craning her neck to see the pile of plates and bowls next to the pot Kali finished scrubbing. “After I inspect your work," Bomae growled, as she hopped off her lofty perch.

“Seriously? You know it's spotless. Come on."

Bomae's eyes narrowed as she prowled over. “Oh, do I?"

“I've been scrubbing crabs and plates for days-"

“And whose fault is that?" Bomae picked up the first bowl of the stack. She turned it over twice, her eyes scanning every inch. “I'm a chef, not a judge. You know the rules."

Kali groaned. She raked her claws through her whiskers, tugging on her cheeks. All the sailors' footsteps drummed overhead. Bits of dust fell off the ceiling. They were all gathered on the upper deck with their luggage, waiting to leave. Like she would be, if she weren't stuck on dish duty.

Bomae picked through another few plates, spinning them around and checking the scuffed edges. Her expression was unreadable. Ears and whiskers held stoic and still as she scrutinized the last two pots. As Kali lost all hope, ready to pick up the rag again and buff off whatever invisible detritus remained, Bomae's cold shell broke, and a grin cracked across her muzzle. “Don't be so dramatic," Bomae said. “You know I'm kidding. They're just dishes."

Kali tossed her hands with an exasperated hiss. “No, I don't know that!"

Bomae let out a hearty laugh. “Well, now you do." She chucked the steel pot back alongside the other clean bowls and plates. “Besides, you didn't really have to wash all of them."

Bomae's words sat strangely on her gray ears, and Kali's muzzle twitched with a quick, annoyed shift of her whiskers. “What do you mean?" Kali asked. “You made me do dishes for no reason?"

“I didn't make you do anything. You showed up and started cleaning. I wasn't going to stop you." Bomae shrugged. “Captain told me to keep you long enough to let the molly you clocked disembark. So, we passed the time here. Besides, someone had to do them."

Kali whirled away with an incensed hiss. She ignored Bomae's laughter as she trotted down the hallway. Flattened her ears to block it out. She didn't need to hear any more jeering laughter. Not from Bomae or anyone else working in the galley. No more “kitten, clean this" and “kitten, shuck that" while Kali worked, and the other cooks snickered.

Her furious pace slowed when she reached the crew quarters. Her tail's lashing died down to the occasional annoyed twitch. After all, she couldn't be too mad. It wasn't Bomae's fault Kali punched someone.

Devoid of all the colorful fabric and all the crew's bags and supplies, the large room felt hollow and desolate. The way her soft footsteps echoed and bounced off the ceiling was eerie. Ordinarily, she was part of the frantic dash to escape the ship. Wrestling past sailors, biting and clawing onto the upper deck, trying to be first off the gangplank. Kali usually wasn't the last cat left. There was always someone, or something, there. Now her lowly hammock was the only one left at the far end.

Kali drove her claws into a post and hauled herself up. She plucked at the hammock's tie, a thick rope looped and bound around the pole, and the knot unraveled. She climbed up the other side, and, with one more tug, her hammock fluttered to the sandy ground. A quick shake, and she bundled it up with her other belongings.

She picked up a single leather rucksack, half as tall as she was, and hauled it up onto her shoulder. Unfortunately, only more chores were waiting for her back on shore. Her bag was crammed full of two weeks' worth of sand-riddled clothes she'd have to wash at home. Once Mikora found out she punched Cerinnia, she would be stuck washing more dishes later, too. And, eventually, she would absolutely find out. Sailors were notorious gossips.

Kali checked one last time, making sure she hadn't forgotten anything, and she headed upstairs. She glanced out a couple of windows that she passed, squinting at the bright, mid-afternoon sun. Another ship docked beside them obscured the magnificent sights of the Benz docks and the city beyond, but seeing anything other than endless golden sand was delightful, nonetheless. Even if the view was another boat's scuffed wooden hull.

Her ears flicked forward, catching more voices. The ceiling overhead creaked. Bits of grit and dust fell on Kali's head and muzzle, which she swiped away with a hand. It sounded like only half the ship was off. Some sailors probably milled about, saying long form farewells to their companions. Not everyone yearned to return to shore-life again. But, after days of gutting crabs, Kali was plenty eager to leap overboard.

Unfortunately, the Sandstalker had other plans. Halfway down the cabin's main hallway, she saw the illuminated exit, where a line of sailors waited. Faint shouts echoed down the stairwell, bouncing and traveling through the cabin. A gruff molly's voice. Sounded like Captain Tulaziya was giving an impromptu speech. Another curse of getting left behind. Tulaziya rarely reached shore sober, since the hard sailing was over the moment Mjau was on the horizon. Someone always called for a speech from their inebriated captain. A jest turned into tradition. An unnecessary tradition. Like she didn't have at least a hundred gloating tassels on her scarf already.

Kali shifted her bag, adjusting the strap better on her shoulder. She didn't rush anymore. Either way, she was last in line. She wouldn't be leaving soon no matter how quickly she reached the stairs. With all the noise from the deck, muffled cheering and stomping, her ears weren't on the narrow hallways she passed. Not until she heard something behind her.

Her ear whipped right. Her whiskers followed, but she didn't pivot in time. Someone grabbed her arm and yanked her aside. Their fingers locked around her muzzle before she could scream. Though the urge swiftly left, as she scented the dark furred fingers jammed under her nose. An annoyed growl replaced Kali's smothered shriek as she shoved their hand away. “Are you serious?" Kali asked, as she turned on her tail to face her would-be assailant. Would-be, if he weren't among the weakest cats on the ship. “You scared the fleas off me! Seriously! What are you doing, Rinzaan?"

Rinzaan's perked tail dropped, hearing the growl in her words. Clearly, this wasn't the reception he expected, when he snuck up behind her and snatched her out of the hallway. “I- I didn't know what else to do. I just wanted to see you before we got off the ship," Rinzaan said. “I haven't seen you in a few days."

“Yeah, because I've been stuck on crab duty," Kali answered, her muzzle tense. She managed to bite back a snarl. Barely.

“I mean, other than that," Rinzaan said. His nervous tail twitched. “I haven't seen you in the cargo bay."

“I've been busy."

Kali stepped back with a dismissive lash. A hastily tailed farewell. Rinzaan didn't return the gesture, and instead he followed, dogging after her heels. “I saw you in the hallway," he said. “A couple days ago. I called after you."

Kali clenched another annoyed growl behind her teeth. “I didn't hear," she answered simply. With a finality to her words, and raised hackles, that most cats wouldn't miss. Rinzaan, however, wasn't like most cats. As she started to turn away, he trotted and circled around her left.

“And I tried to catch you in the evening, but you were already asleep."

“Because I was tired," Kali said, her whiskers drawing back to show the points of her teeth. “From shelling crabs. All. Day."

“I just feel like you've been avoiding me."

“I have been avoiding you!" Kali snapped. She pivoted and jabbed a finger into his chest. “You got me in trouble!"

“Me?" Rinzaan's eyes widened. “I did? Wait, what? What did I do?"

“More like what haven't you done?" Kali scoffed. “You didn't tell me you were banging Cerinnia."

Rinzaan hesitated. A damning minute of silence. She hadn't been entirely sure when Cerinnia said it, if she was making it all up or not. But by his wide eyes and stiff, terrified whiskers confirmed it for certain now. They really had practiced screwing together. She didn't know what stung worse. That he'd lied to her, or that Cerinnia, the louse, was right.

Rinzaan's ears lowered. “Is that why you-"

“Yeah, that's why I punched her! She got in my whiskers about it. What else was I supposed to do? I told her to drop it. She didn't. So, I hit her." She glared at Rinzaan, snarling anew. For whatever reason, the stupefied look on his face made her fur bristle. “She caught me off guard because you didn't tell me!"

“I wasn't sure when to bring it up."

“You could've mentioned it at literally any point! You could've said, 'Hey, Kali, by the way, I've been screwing Cerinnia on the side, so she can be the mother of my kittens.' But, no, oh no, you didn't!"

Rinzaan winced. He clasped the back of his neck and tried to smooth his perturbed hackles. “I didn't think she would bring it up."

“Well, she did. And I got to shuck crabs for four days because of it. Thanks. So, if we're done here-"

“Wait, wait, wait-" Rinzaan grabbed Kali's arm. His claws snagged on her sleeve. “Please wait."

Kali shot another venomous glare at him. She stopped where she was, though her tail lashed with all her bitter resentment, and her tensed muzzle threatened to hiss at any moment. Still furious at his betrayal and all the days she spent in the galley because of it, but a little curious now. Curious enough to hear what else he had to say, at least.

Rinzaan's fur fluffed when Kali's whiskers drew taut against her face, but he didn't let go. His fingers stayed rooted in her sleeve, claws pricking into the fur beneath. “I'm sorry," he said. “I should've told you."

“Yeah. You should've. Now, goodbye-"

“It's embarrassing," Rinzaan said quickly. “I don't even like her. You don't get to pick who you do it with. They made us practice."

“I really don't care."

“But I do!" Rinzaan's whiskers drooped. He relinquished her arm so he could rub his eyes. “I don't want kittens with her. I don't want kittens at all. 'Mere, it's all gross and weird and awkward. I didn't want to do it. I just didn't have a choice."

Kali glanced back towards the hallway. Fewer voices reached her craned ears. Tulaziya's slurred speech was likely over, and most of the sailors left afterwards. She could've run for the stairs. Rinzaan was slowest up the mast, across the deck, tying knots, cleaning crabs - slowest at almost everything. Even if he chased after, he would probably trip on the first step and fall whiskers-flat.

The end of her Kali's ticked while she considered it. She was tempted. The hazy glow that leaked down the hallway, through the hatch that led outside, beckoned her. An escape from the stuffy ship's cabin, the smell of old wood and crabs and the scuffed sandy floor and walls. She looked at Rinzaan again, ready to flip her tail with a cursory farewell and leave for good, and she-

She couldn't do it.

Maybe it was his sad, downcast whiskers and ears that made her hesitate. Maybe it was his stormy blue eyes, their glimmering sheen, which threatened a downpour if she walked away. For whatever annoyingly compelling reason, she couldn't bring herself to leave him now. “Okay, fine." Kali muttered, speaking more to herself, in grudging acceptance, than Rinzaan. She swept her hands down her short muzzle, strumming across her whiskers, and met Rinzaan's worried look with less of an annoyed grimace this time. “What do you want, then?"

“What do I want?" he asked, a quiver in his words. Rinzaan's tail lifted slightly. He looked into her eyes, even her bad one, for longer than usual. “I want-" He hesitated, his courage faltering, until he took a slow breath and tried again. “I want you?"

Kali's lip twitched. “Yeah. Real convincing."

“No, I'm serious. I want you. I know it- it sounds really dumb, but it's true." Rinzaan's tail resumed its awkward twitches and lashes, the brown tip flashing into view every second or so. His whiskers mulled about, like he was chewing on his words before struggling to spit them out. “I don't want to hang around Cerinnia, or make kittens with her or whatever, either. I like spending time with you," he said once he sorted out his thoughts. His tail eased up into a light sway, and Rinzaan risked a smile. “I've had fun meeting up and eating lunch together. And not- not just the sex part. I've liked all of it. So, yeah, I want to be with you. That's what I want. You."

Kali cleared her throat to stop an excited trill from sneaking out. She felt like she should stay mad. Part of her still was. But the other part? The flutter she felt in her chest? She couldn't keep the perk from her whiskers. Especially watching him fidget in his fur again. She rather missed the nervous habits of his tail and his big awkward ears. Kali slipped her bag off her shoulder and dropped it beside the wall. Clearly, she wasn't going anywhere.

“Fine." Kali cast a furtive glance back at the hallway. Still empty, as expected. The apprentices, sailors, and even Tulaziya - all were assuredly off the ship by now. “But at least warn me. I don't really care who you practice with or whatever-" Kali hesitated, her tail pausing mid-lash. That wasn't entirely true. Sharing her new beau wasn't ideal, but she didn't have a choice - since Rinzaan didn't have a say in his curricula, either. “But, yeah, just warn me next time. Especially if it's a scummy louse like Cerinnia."

Rinzaan's whiskers lifted. He smiled again. “Does this mean you forgive me?"

“I wouldn't go that far." Kali chuckled at Rinzaan's immediate frown. She could so easily wrest the wind out of his sails. Even if she didn't mean to. He wasn't always attentive enough to her tail and its clever curls and bends. Like now. Of course, she forgave him. If she didn't, she would've run away back when the thought first crossed between her ears.

Kali nodded towards the bag slung over Rinzaan's shoulder. “Do you need to go?"

“Eventually, yeah," he answered. “My guards are waiting for me, so I shouldn't hang around for too long-"

“Your what?" Kali asked, her eyes wide. “Guards?"

“Bodyguards. To make sure I get back to the lift. Since we're, well-" Rinzaan's muzzle dipped, and he shrugged. “We're in the Benz, technically. Just to be safe."

“Oh, I get it. So you don't get beaten up by thugs in an alley." Kali grinned. She could see the concerned fluff and flick of Rinzaan's tail. He couldn't tell if she was kidding or not. Again. “But you're not in a rush, right?" she continued. “You can't be, since you waited for me."

“I kind of am. I was actually supposed to be with the first cats that left the ship-"

Kali stepped forward and set her palm flat on Rinzaan's chest. She pinned her claws through his loose scarf into the shirt below. His tail flipped once, when she took a step closer. Alarmed and excited all at once. Rinzaan's muzzle brightened with a smile as he caught on, though his eyes darted towards the hallway.

“I'm not in that much of a rush," Rinzaan amended. “But I, uh, can't stay for too long."

“I won't keep you," Kali said with a light purr. She pushed with her fingertips, and Rinzaan dutifully stepped backwards until he bumped against a wall. His tail was up now, the tip quivering. “This won't take long."

“I mean, it can't," Rinzaan said. “They might come looking for me."

Kali's lips drew back with a thin smile. “So should I stop?"

The particularly sour, puckered look he gave her elicited a laugh. Which annoyed him almost as much as Kali's unnecessary question did. Before his nose crinkled up any farther and ruined his pretty face, Kali took a half-step forward and hastened their lips together. Rinzaan only tried to snarl a moment longer before giving in. His muzzle loosened, parting so her tongue could dart against his, dragging their rough surfaces together. Any tension left between them vanished, one coarse lick at a time. Kali leaned into him, luxuriating in his embrace. She missed having his arms around her and his chest pressed fast against hers. As they were now, entangled, hearts racing as they tasted and savored each other again.

Rinzaan's hands slipped underneath her scarf, up to her bare neck. Kali's lips were sealed against his, but she still smirked. His fingers moved into her fur, where he always wanted to be. Only a shame she wore a vest and a long-sleeved shirt for disembarking. There wasn't much free for him to pet.

He seemed pleased enough with what he could reach, by the light purr she felt beneath her palm. The faintest vibration that radiated from his throat down into his chest. A purr that hitched when her hand slid down his shirt, her claws plucking along the fabric. His eyes opened when her drifting claws hit his belt, and he took his muzzle away to frown. “We'll have to be quick-"

“I know. Guards. Whatever. I know-" Kali's tail danced left and right. She pried apart the buckle and glanced up at Rinzaan, who still had a dubious dip to his whiskers. Until her hand slipped down his pants. That frown vanished when her finger pads reached his sheath, tracing through the short fur. “I'll be quick."

His unfastened pants started to fall, and his hand darted from her neck to grab them. Though he didn't keep them up for long. His grip was tenuous, the loose waistband gradually falling through his loose fingers. His breath shuddered each time Kali stroked. She pressed the leathery pads on her fingertips in, drawing up towards the hard flesh that she coaxed free from his furred sleeve. Stopping just before she reached it. Grinning at the disappointed half-growl when she didn't wander any higher. She stifled his next growl with her lips, even if she had trouble kissing him while smiling so.

Kali toyed with him a minute longer, her hand drifting down to his soft, furred balls. She cupped and rolled them against her palm, relishing how Rinzaan held his breath without realizing it. The frantic twitching of his tail. The quick gasp, as her fingers pressed down, and he felt the lightest touch of her claws on his sack. Tugging lightly through his fur, as she drew forward towards his sheath.

Rinzaan's pants fell to his knees. He didn't bother hiking them up again. His hands were busy, clinging to the wall. He took a rushed, shallow breath, just enough to ask, “Are you taking off your clothes too, or-"

“You'll see."

Rinzaan's ears perked when her arousing fingers left his sheath. He looked down, eyes lit with apt fascination as Kali's hand reached for her own belt. Fully expecting her pants to drop next to his. Anticipating it - by the excited quiver of his whiskers. Kali watched his greedy eyes, a slow smile creeping across her muzzle. Distracted, he couldn't see the mischievous flick of her tail behind her.

She thumbed her belt, flicking the metal with her claws, enjoying how Rinzaan's tail twitched each time the buckle clicked. Slowly, she moved her hand up her stomach. Pulled on her shirt with the tips of her claws, rippling the fabric. Then she pressed down, digging into her clothes, and slid down her pants. Defying whatever expectation Rinzaan had, but his ears only skewed for a moment.

Her hand moved farther down, gliding through her white fur, past her underwear and into the damp between her thighs. Her finger slid in easily. She snaked her fingertip deeper, kneading until she eased another in. She rubbed her hand along until her leathery palm was slicked.

Rinzaan's ears twitched. They fixated on her now. He could hear the sultry, slippery sounds of her fingers each time they moved between her folds. He leaned forward, his claws prying off the walls, but Kali planted her free hand firmly on his chest and held him at arm's length. Rinzaan's tail lashed, but that was his only display of annoyance. His eyes and ears were trained on Kali as her hand left her slit, then maneuvered out of her pants. Her damp palm glistened in the dim hallway, catching what little light filtered in through the windows. Kali wrapped her wet fingers around the barbed tip, one by one, and slid down the shaft. Her palm slicked him, moving slowly, smoothly, along. Rinzaan's whiskers trembled. Kali pressed her lips to his, tasting his lusty whimper on her tongue. Holding firmly onto him, as his hips jerked against her hand.

His warm flesh throbbed, tensing with each steady stroke. She paused just below the head, circling her thumb once before running her sleek palm and fingertips along the rigid barbs. Rinzaan mewled each time, shifting his hips, thrusting into her hand. Pleasuring himself within her coiled fingers, especially when she arrived at the sensitive, abrasive tip. And whenever she did, Kali shifted on her toes, squirming against her underwear and pants. His barbs grating against her palm sent a pleasant little shiver through her own nethers, too. The sharp feeling on her fingers was a reminder of the same sensation driven between her thighs during all their prior passionate encounters.

She rubbed her thumb over the tip, reveling in one last quivering breath from Rinzaan. Kali lifted her hand and licked the salacious dram, meandering her bristled tongue across her palm. Keenly aware of Rinzaan's captivated gaze the entire time. His eyes drank up her tongue's every move.

His tail was giddy with anticipation. She recognized the spasmodic motion. A little more twitch than lash, when Rinzaan was thoroughly excited like he was now. They practiced their routine regularly over the past weeks. Kissing, petting, discarding clothes, and promptly rutting on the sandy floor. He just waited for Kali to take off her pants for him. Signaled by the unyielding erection pointed at her, and his tempting barbs glistening with her own desire.

Kali's tail swished while she regarded him. Eyes wandering over his pelt, like she pondered how, exactly, she wanted to fulfill their needs. Truthfully, she wasn't considering much. She just enjoyed the increasingly curious look on his muzzle and his big, skewed ears. Ears that spun forward when Kali licked her palm one last time and crouched down level with his exposed pink flesh.

“Wait," Rinzaan said, his tail now lashing more than twitching - more anxious than aroused. “You're not going to bite me or something, because of the Cerinnia thing-"

“No, I'm not." Kali laughed once. “I'm not a shark. I don't bite."

“Well, I just have this thing about teeth. You know?"

Kali's ears perked up. She looked up at Rinzaan, and his tensed whiskers. He wasn't kidding. He was nervous - more nervous than when they were up in the crow's nest. Apparently, his teachers didn't cover this during his breeding lessons. “Do you trust me or not?" Kali asked, a smile playing at the corners of her lips.

His whiskers and tail indicated that he didn't trust her at all. But looking down at her, even her muzzle closer to his tomhood than he liked, he didn't say no. Even with the threat of Kali's pearly teeth, which were currently hidden behind a tight-lipped smile, his erection remained intact. A lust that a simple pawing wouldn't easily satiate after all her teasing. “I do. I trust you. Mostly." he decided. “Just no teeth."

Her tail swept across the floor while she considered his request. A few toms told her the same thing. Variations of “keep your maw away from my junk," which weren't unusual at all. Every cat knew at least one story about an errant tooth, an accidental nip, and so on. More likely exaggerated rumors rather than real cautionary tales, since sailors told most of them. Still, they left a lasting memory for any cats that heard them. Sailors were colorful with their imagery, for two subjects in particular: vicious sea monsters and steamy, or not-so-steamy, sex.

Of course, Kali would comply, but she wasn't in a rush to reassure him. The way Rinzaan tensed when she set her hand on his leg? How his claws scritched against the wall? The quick little breaths and twitches of his erection before her nose? She was having too much fun enjoying his nervous ticks, and she suspected he enjoyed it, too. He might jump, or flinch, but he didn't shirk away from her touch. The opposite, as she ran her hand along his inner thigh, following the faint lines of muscle. He shifted on his toes, taking a step closer. Past that sliver of fear, he still watched her with hungry eyes, willing her to go farther.

His tail froze behind him. Not a single tremor went through it, as he waited for what might come next. Kali looked up at him. She slowly ran her pale pink tongue across her lips. That was all the assurance she gave, and it was enough.

She grinned at Rinzaan's excited, rumbling trill, and how he shifted his hips closer. Yet, just as Kali leaned forward, reaching out with her tongue, something else distracted her. One ear twisted aside, bent towards the hallway. She heard footsteps.

Kali paused, and her coveted tongue retracted. They both turned towards the sound, watching a cat sprint past. The distraction lasted only for only a moment. Whoever it was didn't stop. The steady, rushed rhythm of feet on stairs didn't falter once. Even if they had noticed, spotted them in the hallway in passing, nobody cared what apprentices did after the ship docked. At shore, they might as well be non-existent. When there weren't any menial or laborious chores to do, sailors couldn't care less.

With no signs that whoever ran past was returning, Kali returned to the patient flesh hovering before her nose. She swished her tail across the floor and extended her tongue again. She made a show of it, slowly arching her back and lifting her tail, like Rinzaan wasn't the only one about to receive a sensual licking. Until she finally looked up, an intended flirty, sultry glance, turning annoyed when she saw Rinzaan wasn't watching at all. His wide, spooked eyes were still on the empty hallway, and his ears tracked the distant sound of feet on the upper decks, in case they came back.

Kali huffed. Even the little breath on his exposed, tender skin didn't get his attention. But a quick, if not unceremonious, swipe of her tongue across the pink, fleshy tip of his member, brought his eyes back. A brief, startled chirp, and Rinzaan had a keen, renewed interest in Kali rather than the sailors somewhere over their ears. Kali smirked. A correcting lick was all he needed.

She pressed her nose against his sheath, the fringes of her whiskers brushing his thighs. Her tongue pressed into his fur, combed along the short hair, and then met the eager, extended flesh. A shudder against her muzzle. She couldn't cover much area with her short, rounded tongue, but that hardly mattered. The drag across his sensitive skin, the pull of her coarse tongue from the base, slowly meandering her way up just below the barbed tip, the sensation alone was enough.

Kali's ears flicked. She heard a strangled trill from Rinzaan. Something between a growl and a chirp. Her whiskers perked up with a small smile. He sounded as if nobody had licked him before. Though, from what he'd said about tails, and teeth now, he probably hadn't. Her tail curled with curiosity. The violent shudder, when she skimmed the edge of her tongue at the first row of barbs, rather confirmed he hadn't. His fingers clenched, his claws scratched the wooden boards behind him, as she finally pressed her tongue flat against the tip. The fine hairs on it caught on the barbs, and the stiff protrusions grazed across her tongue. Then raked harder, with her more forceful follow-up. Again, and again, as she lapped, leaning forward as she explored along each jagged spine.

Each lick brought another gasp, another mewl. She could feel the muscle tense and flex underneath her tongue. The radiating warmth at her muzzle, her nose, her lips. A similar warmth that ached at her thighs each time her tongue locked against Rinzaan's barbs. Friction, as she forced past them. They scratched the same way he'd raked her deeper folds before, drawing out pain and pleasure with each thrust. A thought at the forefront of both of their minds. She could taste Rinzaan's yearning every time she reached the end and lapped up the droplets that slicked the surface. The luscious flavor of pre-cum that slid down her throat. Slightly salty, like everything touched by the sea's sandy brine.

Kali lightly dug her claws into Rinzaan's thighs. To anchor herself, more than to hold him in place. She dragged her tongue along his rigid shaft, listening to his breath hitch as she neared his barbed tip. Kali glanced up. Rinzaan's eyes weren't on her. They were shut, sealed away in sheer bliss. He hadn't noticed yet. How close her nose was to his member. How each lick was shallower, gradually inching her lips closer.

She stopped at the tip; her tongue hooked on his barbs. She spread her lips a little farther. Parted her maw just enough. Her lips barely brushed against the top, and Rinzaan's eyes shot open. She tried not to grin, despite Rinzaan's stammered, “Hold on- Wait, no wait-"

His fearful objections immediately evaporated when he was in her muzzle. Her tongue continued its reassuring strokes along his barbs, and her short, but sharp, teeth clearly weren't baring down. He didn't say anything else after that. Just a delighted throaty, rumbling purr. One she could swear she almost felt against her lips. Again, Kali had to fight off a grin, lest her jaws tighten. The slightest touch of a single canine, and Rinzaan would probably faint.

In spite of his fears, he acclimated easily enough, though he didn't dare move his hips. Even as she started moving up and down the shaft, her tongue pressing and massaging the tense surface. She rather preferred he didn't. Easier to avoid his barbs scratching the back of her muzzle that way. Though plenty of toms were into that once they made it past her teeth. And Kali didn't oppose it, as long as her throat wasn't scuffed raw after.

She drew back, her tongue dancing across the tip. Rinzaan might faint regardless, with his ragged, shallow panting, and the breathless moan as she slipped his member back in. Good thing the ship was empty, and the merchants hadn't come for their crates yet. If anyone ran past them again, they'd certainly notice now.

She glanced up at him. Rinzaan clung to the ship, his hooked claws keeping him in place. He wasn't looking at her. He had shut his eyes again, his muzzle tipped upward as her lips and tongue slid back and forth. There was something innately primal about taking someone in her jaws. Watching them squirm and writhe, hearing them whimper and cry for more. Like a mouse trapped in her claws, trying to reach a sweet release. If Kali wasn't holding Rinzaan steady, she would've dived her hand back into her pants. Her panties were drenched. She squirmed on her heels, settling for the bit of pressure she could feel rubbing against her own legs.

Rinzaan moaned, as she pulled him deeper in. The sound sent a shiver through her pelt. Through every hair on her body, prickling down to her thighs. A light, pleasured purr rolled in Kali's throat.

He tensed in her jaws. A quick purr was too much. Kali almost wasn't ready for it. Heat pooled in her muzzle, and she gulped it down. Nearly coughing on the last drops. Almost biting down, too. Thank the stars she didn't. The pointed tips of her teeth only bore down for an instant. But, from his final, panted moan, all he seemed to feel, at the moment, was the euphoric relief from his orgasm.

Kali carefully drew her muzzle back, extracting his limp member with one parting lick on the sensitive tip. Now she could finally grin, from ear to ear, with her excited tail fluttering across the floor. “Not so bad, was it?"

Rinzaan grinned with every tooth in his muzzle. “Yeah," he said in short-of-breath agreement. “Not bad."

“Heritor Rinzaan?"

Kali chirped. The voice, unfamiliar to her ears, made both cats jump. She glanced right and saw three cats. Her good eye caught the silvery flashes of steel hilts. She didn't need to see anything else. That was plenty. Kali snagged her claws into the floor and propelled herself into a run in the opposite direction.

She sprinted around the corner, stopping when she reached a dead end. She slammed her back against the wall and crouched down, trying to listen past her heart pounding in her ears. Rinzaan wasn't kidding about the guards, after all. She didn't look for long, but she saw the vague shapes. Those weren't cute little daggers at their hips. Those were swords.

There was shuffling and rustling fabric, which sounded like Rinzaan hiking up his pants. The clicking of his belt buckle. No footsteps followed after her. It didn't sound like the other cats moved at all, while they waited for Rinzaan to cover himself. Kali spared a quick glance back. Since there wasn't another way out, she was relieved they didn't chase her. She might get to keep her head on her shoulders for another day.

Kali's ears swiveled forward. There was a stern clearing of a throat. A familiar if not strangely parental tone for a Dockie's guard.

“Heritor Rinzaan," one of them spoke. The same cat as before, Kali figured, from the split second she heard before she took off running. A slightly nasal, condescending voice, which reminded her of one of her old teachers. Though, if this cat was from Dockside, she assuredly hadn't met them before. “I was concerned when you weren't at our designated meeting point. We thought something might have happened."

The last click of Rinzaan's belt. A sound that meant his nervous fingers had finally latched his buckle. “Yeah," Rinzaan mumbled, “I, um, you see-"

“I do see that's not the case, yes," they agreed, before Rinzaan could explain. “I can see you are doing well."

Kali cringed inwardly. There wasn't much point denying it. Rinzaan got caught with his pants down - rather literally.

“Heritor Rinzaan," they continued. “I do feel the need to remind you of the importance of your status-"

“I know, Remsi-"

“And!" Remsi said sharply. A quick rebuke, and a warning. A slight growl that cautioned Rinzaan against interrupting them mid-lecture again. “I see I must remind you how important your lineage is. Over a century of careful selection was required for your physique and perfected patterning. A pattern that shouldn't be spread so casually among the masses, as you well know. You should refrain from fraternizing with any common Benz moggy. Not even with their… muzzle. You need to more carefully consider where you plant your seed."

Kali slapped her hands over her mouth. Her claws dug into her cheeks, and she clenched her teeth. Anything to stop her sharp laugh from slipping out. Still, she could barely keep it in. Her lungs ached, trying so hard not to make a sound.

Rinzaan answered with a long, dejected sigh. She could imagine his tail hitting the floor, and his whiskers and ears plummeting, too. “Yes, Remsi."

“There are enough half-pedigrees running amok already. Do remember all your elders, your ancestors, responsible for your pelt. The proper restraint they showed, so you might be here, as you are today."

“Yes, Remsi, I remember."

Remsi tutted once. There was more shuffling fabric - or less shuffling, and more of a flapping? A different sound than pants or shirts made. A dress or a robe, most likely, though Kali didn't risk peeking around the corner to check.

“Good. If you're finished, come, Heritor Rinzaan. We are already behind schedule."

She heard slow, plodding steps. Rinzaan's feet dragging after Remsi. The light clattering of swords, unmistakable clicks of steel, as the other guards accompanied him. Kali leaned out from her cover, tracking their movement with her unobscured ears. A brief cacophony on the stairs, with the long swords bumping on a couple steps, and they were on the ship's upper deck. Their footsteps faded away somewhere, likely near the gangplank, which was fine. Kali didn't care what direction they went, provided that the cats with swords didn't come her way.

Kali waited until the ship was assuredly clear. Long enough that her heart rate slowed down, and there wasn't a chance she could cross Rinzaan or his armed guards. Then she left her hiding spot and picked up her bag. A quick dusting, and she hauled it back onto her shoulder. Even after waiting an extra few minutes, Kali checked each corner she turned, making sure there wasn't anyone waiting. In case they decided, for whatever reason, to have one guard stay behind. Fortunately, her concerns were unfounded.

With the talk about moggies, Rinzaan's guards clearly didn't recognize her. Plenty of sailors had gray or blue pelts and some white fur. They hadn't seen her left eye. The one damning feature that everyone on the high Docks knew just as well as the Benz cats did. For now, her anonymity was intact, which was for the best. Rinzaan would've faced more than a mild scolding, if they learned she wasn't some random sailor. Then getting chased, and keeping swords away from Kali's neck, might've been a more genuine concern.

When Kali reached the top deck, only a couple sailors had stayed behind. Two of the newer cats swept the last piles of sand off before the merchants showed up. She flipped her tail once to each, and they returned the gesture.

She hurried down the gangplank, grinning the moment her feet hit the docks proper. After two weeks at sea, there was nothing as good as stepping into solid ground again - or mostly solid ground. As solid and steady as the planks under her feet could be. Nailed and bound together, the boardwalk still floated atop the sand. Even with anchors at regular intervals, there was a slight sway. Most noticeable at the harbor docks. Less so farther into town, with all the houses weighing the substructure down.

Not far, Kali could see a support beam rising from the sand. An enormous pole, one of several, that reached impossibly high into the sky - or what seemed impossibly high. A massive leg of the towering behemoth that loomed above the rafted lower city known as the Benz. The upper level, Dockside, where all the fancy cats, the purebreds and such, lived in their lofty half of Mjau, which cast a perpetual shadow on the Benz below it. Not that anyone in the Benz minded. The shade was pleasant during the hottest parts of midday.

Kali squinted up at the sliver of sunlight that glared down at her and the Sandstalker. Dockside hadn't completely blocked the sun yet and cloaked the Benz in midday gloom. They arrived in the early morning, which was now late morning, with how the shadows stretched.

If she hurried, she could get home before noon and get some sleep before sundown. With a rather desirable nap in mind, Kali strode past the length of the ship, towards the bow. Nearing the end, she flipped up her scarf and tucked in her whiskers and ears. Everyone else had scattered, like sand on the breeze, but Captain Tulaziya, Masede, and a couple other cats lingered on the docks nearby. And Tulaziya, in particular, she didn't want to catch the eye of. Especially not while Tulaziya was so drunk, she could hardly tell her own tail from her ears.

“We thank ya, 'Mere!" Tulaziya shouted up to the ship's prow and the figurehead just above it. A dragon, intricately carved and mounted below the bowsprit. A visage of Elimere, much like there was on every ship in the Mjau fleet. “For smooth skies and clear sand-"

“Smooth sand. Clear skies." Masede corrected.

“All that!" Tulaziya swung out her arm. She almost dropped the bottle she was holding, but she fumbled and turned it over, pouring the last of her liquor into the sand. Which wasn't much, since she drank more than half of it, but the gesture was more important than the quantity of whatever booze she offered the figurehead. “Another sail, owed t'you. Watch m'crew on land and sea. Keep 'em whiskers on- An' get Kora to write. Your stars, she's gonna write me someday. M'sweet Mika-"

Kali grimaced. As usual, a fraction of Tulaziya's rambling was praise for Elimere, and the rest was wistful longing. The latter she especially didn't want to deal with. Not unless Kali was on the Sandstalker's deck, getting paid for her troubles - and for Tulaziya's troubles, too.

She hiked her hood farther forward and hurried past. Almost running, once she was a few tail-lengths away. Kali only stopped when she was at the end of the dock, pausing a moment to look back at the ship. She gave the figurehead a quick nod. Not as dramatic, or traditional, as offering food or drink, but it was something. She wasn't as confident, as some cats were, that their grand prophet was always watching over them. But, on the off chance he was, Kali gave her thanks in small ways. Just in case.

With her dues paid up, Kali turned and headed towards the safety of town. Her tail perked up higher once she passed the seaside market and reached the city proper. The true city of Benz, with worn boards, the creaky spots, and the couple of uneven patches covering holes in the raft.

The streets Kali walked through were fairly empty, as they tended to be during the daytime hours. Despite the shade from Dockside, it was still brighter than cats liked. Too warm. A perfect temperature for napping and little else, which most cats did during that time.

The few stores she passed were closed down. Wooden or cloth awnings pulled down, covering their wares. She crossed onto another street, and she was in a more residential area. A series of small, two-story houses crammed together. Slightly nicer townhouses. A couple of them had fancy vases on the front stoops. One of them had shattered remnants, which they still hadn't bothered to clean up. A year later, the broken bits of clay and glass were still there. All except the prettiest shards, which the local kits had stolen ages ago.

She climbed a set of stairs, crossing through another two streets lined with townhouses. Past some aged signs that pointed her forward. She headed towards older planks that looked like they needed to be replaced, and weathered homes with splitting boards and rounded windowsills from stormy sanding over the years. A few houses had boarded windows and missing shingles on their roofs.

She had reached the older, rougher part of the Benz, where cats clutched their purses and watched the dark alleyways for vagrants. Well, what looked like a rougher side of town, to ordinary eyes. The mismatched, worn-out townhouses and darker streets made this side of Benz seem sketchier than it really was. To Kali, it didn't look sketchy. This particular street was a welcome sight. The two houses missing their glass windows, the one house that was strangely whitewashed compared to the rest, and all the scuffs, chips, and splintered wood - it all looked home to her.

The smallest townhouse on the street was her stop. Slightly shorter than the townhomes on either side, and just as narrow. On the outside, everything seemed the same as when Kali left. Plain wooden walls, like most of the houses in the Benz had, with a slanted shingle roof. There were a couple gaps where some shingles had fallen off, corresponding with the couple spots on the second floor where sand would trickle in when the occasional storm reached Mjau.

Kali paused at the door. On her left, nailed up in the doorway, was a carved face. A cruder design than the similar sculptures at other houses. The lines on the nose and cheeks were rough and wobbly. The brow's arch was angled too high, and the horns were uneven. One tooth was chipped, where the chisel bounced and nicked it. But the exact appearance never really mattered. The spirit of Elimere was in everything, as long as the carver willed it. He was in The Sandstalker's figurehead, and he was in the totem mounted at every doorstep. In the enormous pillars that held Dockside over their ears - with his face hewed at regular intervals from the bottom of their city down to the sand line below the Benz. And even here, in the rough carved block, which Kali made with Mikora's help back when she was a kitten. Something she kept meaning to either fix or replace, but she could never bring herself to do.

Kali rubbed the figure's forehead twice. The surface was buffed smooth after years and years from the same, repeated gesture. From her hand, and Mikora's, whenever they departed and whenever they returned. Then she headed inside, where everything there, too, was exactly as Kali had left it - for better or worse.

She stepped into the living room, squeezing past a large armchair that half-blocked the door. Recently procured by Mikora during one of her odd jobs. The chair wasn't out of place. There just wasn't anywhere else to put it. The coffee table occupied the middle of the room, and a three-seat couch took up the opposing wall and jutted into the next room's doorway. Stacked crates of yarn and several half-knit projects filled what little space remained. All projects Mikora repeatedly swore she'd finish someday, but, of course, she hadn't found the time.

Kali's nose twitched. She dropped her bag on the bulky armchair and followed her nose and ears. She popped her head around an awkwardly placed support beam, which separated the small living area from the kitchen, as she followed the faint humming she heard. A familiar rhythm to the notes. The chowder shanty. Better hummed now than when the drunken sailors sang it during the storm.

A tall, thin calico cat was in the kitchen. Only wearing a faded blue wrap that covered her chest and waist and a loose pair of dark pants. Her bare arms and shoulders showed off the pale pattern of gray and tan that marbled her pelt. An irregular patchwork of spots that spanned her from her half-pink nose down to her toes and tail. She stirred something on the stove with a more spicy than crabby scent for once. A welcome change, compared to all the plain crab Kali suffered for days.

“There better not be sand in that," Kali said, preemptively lifting her tail up high. “I've had enough sandy meals these past weeks."

Mikora's gray ear swiveled back. She twisted around, her whiskers airy and perked as a surprised, but delighted chirp left her muzzle. Her tail popped up not a second after, swishing once through the air. A surprised but elated greeting. “Don't worry. It has just the right amount," Mikora answered with a bright laugh, her white whiskers lifted with a smile. “You're home early, Kals. I didn't think you'd be back for another day."

“The winds were good." Thank the stars they were. Otherwise, she'd still be on the ship, shucking crabs. But Kali decidedly didn't mention that bit.

“I wish I'd known. I would've started cooking something better than our usual stuff." Her tail lowered a tad, as she looked at the bubbling pot behind her. “I'm sure you don't want chowder after eating galley-slop for weeks. You know what? I got eggs the other day," Mikora said with a cheerful chirrup. “We'll have omelets. That's more fitting for our new little breadwinner."

Kali rolled her eyes. They hadn't paid her yet. She wouldn't get paid for another couple days until the merchants assessed the quantity and quality of catch. And it's not like Mikora wasn't still working, too. Mikora wasn't flattering her - not with that facetious grin on her muzzle. Kali took a seat at the modest round table shoved into the corner and nudged a wooden crate full of yarn away from her feet. Teased or not, she was glad to be home. Mostly.

Her tail flicked behind her. For a fleeting moment, her ears skewed. There was a small part of her that wished she was still on the ship. Not the part that was trapped in the galley for several days - but the part that milled around the cargo bay. Those short afternoons she spent with Rinzaan. Hungrily tearing into each other's clothes rather than their hard-earned meals. And that tryst? After not even two weeks? It was probably over now. Ended with some petting and a quick blowjob.

Not the sort of ceremonious, final ending Kali wanted after their time together. But, if she had a choice, she probably didn't want it to end at all. Besides getting punished, she had fun these past weeks. Far more fun than any other time she'd gone sailing.

An ear turned towards Mikora. A couple cracks. The sharp hiss and sizzle on a skillet. A fresh smell made Kali's nose twitch anew. Mikora's cooking drew her out of her lamentful thoughts. Kali's brow furrowed, watching Mikora gleeful, dancing tail as she hummed and alternated between stirring her pot and tending the eggs in her skillet. She and Mikora were related by blood, but they didn't look very similar.

Mikora had a longer muzzle, almost like a colorpoint. Her fur was shorter and not quite as lush as Kali's. And their patterning was entirely different, since Kali didn't have a single spot or patch on her other than the white fur that ran down her face, stomach, and thighs. Mikora was taller, more lithe, too. Every part of her was more than pretty enough to be a Docksider, for sure, but being a half-pedigree wasn't good enough - even if, when you grew up, you looked like a full-pedigree the way Mikora did.

If Kali had looked like a pedigree, her life probably would've been a lot easier. She definitely wouldn't be working on a crabbing ship, for one. Then she could have easily snuck around the upper docks, how some of the prettier Benz cats did occasionally. Not through service entrances and narrow alleys. She could just walk in the bright noon light, and none of the purebred cats would give her a second glance.

Rinzaan probably wouldn't have been so chewed out by his guards, too. If she had a pelt like Mikora's, they might've lauded him. A finer pick to carry on his lineage. His seed found a superior home in her stomach, instead of Cerinnia's womb. Kali's tail perked up again, and she grinned at the thought. Those were some kittens the louse would never get her claws on, at least.

So lost in this brief, ridiculous fantasy, Kali almost jumped out of her chair when a full plate dropped in front of her nose, stoneware clacking on the tabletop.

“Sand in your ears?" Mikora asked with a smirk.

“No, sorry, I'm just thinking," Kali said. She grabbed a fork, she prodded a bent tine, straightening it out before she started scarfing down her meal. “It's weird being back on land. Floor isn't constantly moving. No wind. And I'm not getting shouted at all the time."

Mikora laughed. Her voice was lilting and airy - even her laugh resembled a pedigreed cat's. “I know what you mean. You'll get used to it, Kals."

Kali answered with something resembling a nod. She was too busy stuffing her face to bob her head properly. After the first nibble, she couldn't help but scarf down the rest. Her tail uplifted, and it swished with every bite. Actual salt and earthy flavors swam through her muzzle.

While Kali chewed, she was keenly aware of Mikora's observant gaze. Watching like she did when Kali was a kitten, making sure she ate her greens and didn't hide them in one of her yarn baskets. The only trait both of them had in common was the same green hue in their eyes - or eye, in Kali's case. A vivid green, brighter than any plants that survived the desert's drought. Though Mikora's eyes were a little different. They carried a more maternal threat. A stare, if needed, that could flay the hide off any cat - especially if they looked at Kali the wrong way. The starlight that filtered in through their murky windows danced on her corneas, and Mikora's eyes gleamed when she set her dish down and sat across from Kali.

The less successful of the two omelets was on Mikora's plate. Half the crab mixture leaked out of an irreparable fissure. Despite the worrisome shine in her eyes, Mikora said nothing. She picked up her fork and tended to her meal. She hummed a single note. That was all. Just a quick, melodic, “Hmm."

Now Kali paused. That was a dangerous sound from Mikora. The inquiring “hm" always meant trouble. She licked the bits of egg off her lips and looked up with a wary frown. “What?" Kali asked.

“Oh, it's nothing," Mikora said. A bold-whiskered lie. She watched Mikora pick at her food. Gathering up some of her scattered meat. She left it in a tidy pile on her plate. Uneaten. “You're not usually this happy after a long voyage."

Kali's ears skewed. “Well, this trip was better than the last one." A half-truth. The best way to deal with Mikora's inquisition. She saw through unfeigned lies too easily. Although, this half-truth wasn't believable enough. Mikora's gray-tipped tail still curled and twisted beside her chair, every bit as curious as she was the moment she sat down.

“Last time, you were so exhausted, you didn't even want to eat," Mikora said.

“Like I said, this one was better." Kali had trouble keeping the growl out of her words. She hoped that was the only commentary Mikora had, but the sneaky grin on Mikora's tan and gray muzzle said otherwise. Kali focused on her meal, forcing her ears straight and taking quick bites of the last half of her omelet. The faster she ate, the sooner she could leave. If she stuffed her mouth, Kali thought she might be spared. But Mikora kept watching her with a knowing smile.

Mikora leaned forward in her seat, crouching and nearly dipping her whiskers on her plate. Her smile turned more menacing, as her lips pulled back and showed her teeth with a ferocious grin. “It's a boy, isn't it?"

Kali almost choked. Her chest heaved, racked with ragged coughs and gags. Mikora did nothing to help. Instead, she reveled in Kali's misery. She laughed once, her voice a bubbling, delighted trill. “I knew it! You smelled different from just salt and sand. My Kals found a cute sailor boy!"

“No! 'Mere's tail, we're not talking about this," Kali growled.

“Come on, I know what it's like at sea-"

“No! Still no!" Kali snapped. “Don't make it weird. It's nothing, okay?"

Mikora frowned a little. She tapped her fork on the table. “You took something after, right? I'm not going to be a great-aunt, am I? I mean, I'd love to be one, someday but right now we're both too young for that."

Kali groaned. “Mikora, stop."

“I'm just making sure. I have to watch out for you, you know. You might be big, but you're still my kitten."

Kali dropped her fork on her plate. She ran her claws up her muzzle and over her burning ears. They sizzled worse than the skillet of eggs did. “I know! I'm not getting knocked up, okay? Drop it!"

“Okay, okay!" Mikora leaned back. She tossed up her hands. “I just have to make sure. I'm watching out for you, Kals. You know that. And heat cycles can be sneaky. One minute, you think you're fine. The next, you're-"

“I know!"

“Okay." Mikora's tail twitched a couple times. She fidgeted in her seat, looked at Kali's half eaten omelet, then back at Kali herself. Her brow furrowed. “Still no heat cycle, then?"

Kali buried her face in her hands, growling all of her frustration into her palms before dropping them limp on the table. “Mikora, I'm just trying to eat dinner," she begged. “Please."

“Right. Yeah, sorry. I'll leave you be." Mikora nodded and finally took up the small bite of food she'd already set aside. She chewed. Slowly. Thoughtfully. Kali saw it out of the corner of her eye. Mikora peeked up from her meal, and her tail curled. “Just one more question. Is he cute?"

“Ugh!" Kali slammed her hands on the table. She shoved her chair back and snatched up her plate. “Maybe instead of getting in my business, keep your nose to yourself!"

“You can tell me. Give me a tidbit!"

“No!" Kali shouted over her shoulder. She turned the corner, swiveling her ears away from Mikora's desperate, mewled sigh. A plea for any sort of gossip, after she'd been stuck alone and bored on shore for two weeks.

“Come on, Kals!"

Kali stopped three steps up the staircase. She turned around and snarled at Mikora. “Deal with your own fleas!" Kali hissed. “Ziya's still waiting for a letter, after you dined and dashed her. How about you keep out of my business and shove your whiskers in that!" She waited a second. There wasn't a quick response to that. Only vague, chirped stammering as Mikora's jaw uselessly flapped. That gave the nosy calico something to chew on, and it wasn't going down well. Kali smirked and continued storming upstairs.

She shut her door behind her, narrowly missing the end of her tail. For good measure, she hauled the chair from her desk and propped it under the knob. In case Mikora finished digesting her own mess and tried to pursue after. Though she probably wouldn't. After much tribulation, with some bared fangs and claws, they both knew Kali's room was off limits.

Kali needed one space in the cramped house where she had some privacy. A place with no prying, pestering, or nagging allowed. She was safe for now. Safe long enough to think up some good half-truths to feed Mikora later. Hopefully, if they were convincing, Mikora wouldn't find out about the punching-Cerinnia-thing for a while. The longer Kali could avoid that, the better.

She turned to her desk, or her dining table on nuisance days like today. Unfortunately, there wasn't much space to dine. Everything was where she left it. A large, flat box took up the right side, the lid propped open with a bit of wood. She organized all her painted and unpainted wooden beads in square compartments. Her whittling tools were strewn everywhere, abandoned when she realized, mid-project, she was late and might miss the Sandstalker's departure.

Kali picked up the bead she was working on, hooking either end with sharp claws. It was the size of a thimble - larger than most others. The small face carved on it was coming out well. She was particularly proud of the pointed teeth. The eyes were next, and that was where she struggled, but it wouldn't matter. Not when it was just one bead among hundreds more. Soon enough, it would join the other necklaces that hung over her desk, suspended on various nails that she hammered into the wall herself.

Rather than deal with the mess now, Kali returned the half-finished bead to its compartment and opted to eat in bed instead. She hopped into her hammock, a practiced maneuver with the right amount of height, and she landed in the center. The faded green fabric rippled once underneath, and the hooks on the walls protested with sharp creaks. But the hammock held up, as it always did, despite years of jumping or jostling. Kali tossed her tail over the back and kicked her feet a couple times, getting a light sway before resuming her meal. She closed her eyes, briefly, as the eggs, the crab, and, most importantly, the seasoning hit her tongue. “Thank 'Mere's stars," she mumbled. “Real food."

She looked up, as she often did in her hammock, at the various stars carved into the slanted wood ceiling overhead. The weird, uneven ones were hers. The larger, fancier stars were Mikora's. She still remembered it, even though she was a small kitten at the time. Mikora handed her an old knife and held her up, so her little arms could reach.

They had just moved into this house. An upgrade from the one-story shack they used to live in on the far side of town, bought with money Mikora got sailing. She saved up every coin she had for this place and had nothing to spare. They had one hammock, hung up where Kali's hammock was now, and it was another year before Mikora bought a separate bed for her room. The first night they moved in, Kali was terrified of all the unfamiliar sights and smells. There was nowhere to hide. Most of their furniture was in their old house. As day broke, Kali still couldn't sleep, so Mikora took out a knife and said they could mark up this house and make it feel more like a home. They carved up the ceiling that first morning, one star at a time, until Kali was tuckered out and finally fell asleep.

That was the first time Kali ever carved something. Her first time holding a knife, and the first time she struggled to chip out a single straight line. She'd always had a fondness for it from then on.

Not exactly a normal upbringing. Most cats don't give their kitten a knife when they're knee-high. Most don't let them whittle on the walls and ceiling, either. But Mikora did. Even if she was nosy, she was a wonderful mom. Kali might snarl at her, fluff up her fur and growl and hiss about the most mundane things, but they were still family. She'd give Mikora a satisfactory story later once she'd eaten and relaxed for a while. After all these years, it was the least she could do.

Kali finished her omelet. Her empty plate and fork rested on her lap, while she pondered up at all the different stars overhead. After a while, she hopped up off the hammock, stretched, and removed the chair-shaped lock off her door.

She headed back into the kitchen, where Mikora was drying off a pan. Kali shoved her way beside the calico. She set her plate on a stack of two others and started scrubbing burned scraps off a dented pot. “Fine," Kali said, feigning a little angst with a growl in her voice and a forced tail lash. “He's pretty cute."

Mikora chirped with more delight than surprise. She nudged Kali with her pointy elbow. “Tabby?"

“Not a tabby. Why do you always think I like tabbies? That was one time." Kali huffed. “He has a solid pelt. More cream than white. A little brown fur on the nose-"

No names. Some fudged minutiae about the fur and face. Didn't exactly mention that he was a colorpoint. Left out the bits about the guards, swords and all that, and anything about him being a Docksider. The rest? Kali could keep those details. The crow's nest, the lunchtime extracurriculars, and even their last rendezvous in the hallway. Kali could spill everything else to Mikora and let her soak up all the juicy bits with lighthearted trills and laughs. There were plenty of sailors on that ship with shades of white and brown fur. For all Mikora knew, she was sleeping with one of them.

Apart from her one green eye, and the fun they had carving, there was one other thing she and Mikora always had in common. Shared each day they spent in Kali's hammock, curled up together, staring up at the different stars etched onto the beams overhead. With everything Mikora told her, on those quiet afternoons, until she fell asleep. A truth for both of them, even now that Kali was older. They both loved a good story.

Besides, all the escapades these past couple of weeks? They were too good not to tell.