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For three days, the Sandstalker dragged through the sand. Limping, with its two remaining masts, on the remnants of a scant breeze that hardly filled either sail.

An eerie silence filled the returning voyage. Far different from the jubilation and determination they showed on departure, when the wind billowed at their tails and the desert looked so promising. Now only a different determination remained, the determination to get back to Mjau without sinking.

Spirits were low, and tails were held lower, by all the Sandstalker's crew. They worked in shifts, changing every few hours when the prior nearly collapsed from exhaustion. Anyone who wasn't struggling to keep the sails in the wind and maintain the correct course was bailing buckets of sand. A tiresome task, but the only one keeping their ship afloat.

Strangely, even when the port was in sight, and a bell sounded off the quarterdeck, the sailors, while relieved, weren't so cheerful upon return. The silence remained even as the Sandstalker crawled into the shipyard, where a dense crowd of cats gathered and eagerly awaited them. Because not every cat made it through the battle with Touzimi unscathed.

A grim fact the crew knew well, and perhaps some of the cats on the dock did, too. Yet some were blissfully unaware that their loved ones were lost, knocked into the sand or crushed by the falling mast, and were about to face a cruel reality.

The truth of sailing, no matter what ship crossed the desert sands. The sands that provided their meals and livelihoods could sweep them underneath, tear their fur and muscle from their bones, and steal away the same life it gave.

Kali waited on the starboard side as the ship docked, bandaged hands resting on the rails. Too tired to do much else after the days and days of passing buckets to and fro. One after another, buckets and buckets and buckets, an endless stream of sand they continually tossed over the sides, half of which just flew back into their whiskers. She had never been so tired, so sandy, and so numb.

She watched the massive cranes overhead, her ears turned away from the cheering crowd and the sharp crack of the gangway hitting the dock. The long rope cables and hooks already descended to latch onto the hull and drag it out of the sand for repairs. This wasn't the first time she'd seen the Sandstalker land in the shipyard for repairs. They'd had nicks and damage before.

But as she turned around, she saw the broken pieces of mast piled in the middle of the ship. The colossal empty space left where the mainmast once stood, before Touzimi took it in their jaws. In their hundreds of jagged teeth.

Kali shuddered. She turned towards the crane again. Focused on somewhere other than the broken ship. The memory was too fresh.

She heard the sailors making their way off the ship. The discordant calls as cats searched for their families amid the chaos on the dock. Something she didn't look forward to, so she dwelled there, hoping the crowd might thin before she left.

And that, maybe, she might find Rinzaan before she disembarked. Yet the longer she waited, the less likely that seemed to be.

She hadn't had time to talk to him much, between rushed buckets, meals, and naps. Only passing seconds, when she was getting her hands re-bandaged or when they passed each other in the hall. Not enough time to talk. Just passing flips of a tail and hurrying back to work.

“Kali, you're still here?"

Kali turned around with a reflexive, quick lift of her tail to greet Tulaziya. The same way she did when she was caught sneaking crab from the galley when she was little. If she weren't so distracted by the cranes working over their ears, or so tired, she would've chirped her surprise, too. “Zi–Captain." Kali corrected herself faster this time. The formal, tasseled scarf, and tidier clothes Tulaziya wore reminded her.

“Why are you still here?" Tulaziya asked.

The light, though weary, growl in Tulaziya's voice didn't miss her ears. Though, Kali wasn't inclined to admit she was loitering around on the off-chance Rinzaan might appear. Tulaziya had enough to worry about, by the dark rings and matted fur under her eyes. “I was curious," Kali said. “About the cranes."

Kali's ears pivoted to either side, weighed down by Tulaziya's stern and rather disbelieving stare. “I was," Kali insisted. “Really."

“You really think I'm going to believe that?"

Kali's tail flicked, unable to restrain the anxiety building in her pelt. Tulaziya, seeming more tired than annoyed, sighed and shook her head. “You can't hide up here. I know Mikora's tail is twisted into a thousand knots over this."

Kali's ears perked forward, hearing a convenient and plausible excuse. “I know, but she's going to fuss."

“She's not going to be mad at you." Tulaziya's whiskers tensed, and she rubbed at her eyes–as she had been every day since. “You're not the one she's going to be angry with." Her hand dropped, and Tulaziya offered a strained grin. “You don't need to worry."

“Yeah, but—" Now Kali's tail twitched with a newfound fear. “I'm just waiting for the docks to clear up some."

“No, you're not." Tulaziya pointed at the gangway. “Time to go."

“But–"

“Captain's orders," Tulaziya said, with a more pronounced growl. “Tail off the ship. Go. Now. Don't make me drag you by the ear. By 'Mere, you know I'll do it, if I have to."

Kali snapped her mouth shut. The threat of a pinched ear wasn't one to take lightly, and it wouldn't be the first time Tulaziya had to drag her off the ship, either. Yet Kali hesitated, before taking that first step towards the half-empty gangway, where more cats were clamoring aboard to start repairs than leaving now. Her eyes darted over to the cabin, where the doors were propped open with one of the many loathsome buckets they passed around.

She hoped she might see a poorly hidden brown tail dart around the corner, or maybe a couple of whiskers sticking out. But there was nothing. Not any reason to stay–and certainly not any reason good enough for Tulaziya.

“We'll go together, if that'll smooth your tail."

Kali's tail flicked one last time. She looked at Tulaziya, somewhat perplexed, until she realized the reassurance wasn't for her.

After seeing her ship torn apart and counting through her dead crew, Tulaziya made sure every remaining cat made it off the ship. To make sure she could bring back every pair of ears she could. Kali's included.

Strangely, the suggestion did alleviate some of the tension coiled in Kali's fur. “Yeah," Kali said with a quick nod. “Together."

She started towards the gangway, her tail held higher. A vague hope that with Tulaziya nearby, Mikora might be tamed, and the stern scolding Kali sorely expected might be reduced to a few curt words. Or, better yet, Mikora might twist around on her tail and run the opposite direction, given their awkward history. Then Kali could look for Rinzaan on the docks unhindered. Maybe she could catch him before his attendant and guards did.

Kali glanced back at Tulaziya, pausing as they reached the gangway. Making sure, above all, that Tulaziya did stay close. “So, you don't have to stay with the ship?" Kali asked while they let a couple of cats pass. “For the repairs?"

“Repairs? What makes you think I know a lick about building ships?" Tulaziya scoffed. “I run the crew, chart the course, but the woodwork? Leave that to the shipwrights."

Kali smirked, hearing some of the gruff sass return to Tulaziya's voice. She stepped onto the gangway, frowning at the dense crowd still packing the docks. It seemed like cats from every corner of the Benz had gathered as many spectators as there were families for the returning sailors.

The only open spaces left were the berth given to the attending Mjauzi and their Bryburkels. She could see four from where she stood–and more could be stationed farther inland.

Darshan and Grynkeel stationed themselves farther down the dock. Kali saw the telltale sheen of Grynkeel's scales, even though she couldn't see their antlers well. Their skull hung low, exhausted from the trek across the desert and back.

Halfway down, Kali's ears pointed forwards. She stopped where she was, her tail plummeting. A faint but fierce series of sputtered growls and hisses reached her ears–even from halfway across the crowd. She could see cats shoved left and right, thrown aside in a reckless rage that barreled straight towards her.

Then Mikora burst forward, shoving past the last two toms in her way. Every hair on her gray and tan pelt stood on end, her tail fluffed to more than twice its size, even when she finally saw Kali standing on the gangway. A fury and panic that flew to the wind when she raced up and slammed into Kali. Arms wrapped as tight as could be, driving all the air from Kali's lungs, and needle-like claws driven into her skin.

“Don't you ever scare me like that!" Mikora said, a furious growl that immediately broke into choked sobs. “Don't–just don't–"

“Mik–" Kali wheezed. Somehow, Mikora's grip tightened. “Mikora, please–"

“Don't ever–Don't scare me–" Mikora sobbed into Kali's shoulder. Tears streamed down into Kali's scarf, down through her shirt. “I thought I lost you. 'Mere, I thought you were gone."

“I'm okay."

“Thank the stars." Mikora took a shuddered breath. She pulled her muzzle from Kali's shoulder, swiped a sleeve across her eyes, then began her inspection. She grabbed both of Kali's ears, then her whiskers, checking Kali over despite her growled protests and squirming. Then she looked at Kali's hands, and Mikora's eyes welled again. “You're hurt?"

“It's nothing! I just lost a couple of claws. That's it!"

Mikora grabbed Kali's hands anyway. She turned them over, sobbing again.

“Mikora," Kali sighed. “Please. I'm fine."

“Just–just your claws?"

“Just my claws."

Mikora sniffled. She swiped her sleeve across her eyes again, and for a moment Kali thought she might pry her hands free. But Mikora's claws sank into her wrist, keeping her locked in place.

Then Mikora's reddened eyes drifted over Kali's shoulder. The sobs and sniffles paused, and her ears lifted. Kali, too, looked back to where Tulaziya stood, a safe few paces back, and stared with wide eyes at both of them. Her ears lowered shamefully the moment Mikora looked at her, but that didn't stop Mikora.

Kali's hands were finally freed. Cast aside, as Mikora ran up the gangway, tail whipping left and right. Then those vice-like arms encircled their next prey with a mewled wail. One that startled Kali as much as it did Tulaziya.

“Thank you–" Mikora said through muffled weeping. “For keeping her safe. For staying safe. Thank 'Mere you're okay."

Tulaziya's whiskers twitched. A visible strain, as she, too, fought off a sob. Her eyes were just as glassy when she finally wrapped her arms around Mikora and buried her nose in her scarf.

At that, Kali turned the other way, decidedly pointing her eyes and ears in the opposite direction. Whatever else they said or did from there, that was between the two of them. And Kali only hoped it stayed that way, and that she wouldn't hear about it later. Again.

This did provide the opportune distraction she needed, as Kali hurried into the crowd. Even if Mikora might be annoyed with her later, leaving without saying anything, she could wave her injured mitts and escape retribution easily enough.

Kali rushed into the mass of cats, darting into open spaces when she found them and snaking her way across the docks. Most sailors had found their families, who gushed over them much like Mikora had. Mewls and joyous cries filled the air, along with some dramatic retellings of the fateful attack. She saw Masede with who she assumed was his on-again-off-again molly, who was currently on by how she threw herself at him. At one point, she passed Bomae, too, who had hoisted up one of her small grandkittens onto her shoulder.

She also heard names called by cats still searching for their partners or parents. Despaired cries that sliced through the jubilation and fell like cold dead weights on Kali's ears. Some names she recognized, and she knew, as they soon would, that they wouldn't be coming back. And Tulaziya, alone, would tell them what they already knew: that they were taken by Touzimi, lost to the sand forever.

Kali wanted to flatten her ears, shut out the sorrowful voices, all the noise surrounding her, but she forced them upright. With every cat she saw, her heart sinking the longer she searched without success. She saw so many cats, tabbies, calicos, solid and marbled pelts, long and short fur–so many cats, and yet she couldn't find the one cat she looked for. She even saw Joyana rolling her eyes as her entourage ushered her away.

But no matter where she looked, she could see Rinzaan anywhere.

Kali's tail lashed with increasing annoyance. She shoved her way to the outskirts of the crowd, where cats finally started filtering out into the Benz streets. She stopped at the edge, panting lightly, looking toward the Dockside lift.

Then she saw him.

Like he magically appeared out of the sandy woodwork. Tall brown ears appearing behind another group of cats. And when she stood on the tips of her toes, she could see his muzzle.

And, of course, there was a sea of cats between them. Somehow, she had wound up on the wrong side of the crowd.

“Just great," Kali muttered as she started shoving her way back into the crowd. Shouldering and elbowing, to try to hurry past.

A couple times, while they waited at the edge of the dock, Rinzaan looked her way. A fleeting glance through the crowd, passing over her each time. Missing her among the dozens of other scarves and ears around. Even the few times Kali managed to get her arm into the air to wave.

They started to move, a slow amble in the direction of the lift. Kali swore under her breath. She was only halfway there, and, at the slow pace she squeezed and squirmed through the crowd, Rinzaan would be long gone before she reached the other side.

She hoped to be subtle, maybe to grab his sleeve and whisk him away without his guards noticing. Vanish together, maybe not long enough for a quick mingling of tails, but just long enough to say goodbye–until they could find a way to meet again, since the Sandstalker would be out of commission for a while.

Just a few parting words. That's all she needed.

“Rinzaan!" Kali shouted.

Her voice was carried away by the churning wind that swept across the docks. Rasped against the sandy ground, whisked away up towards the clouds, taken anywhere but to Rinzaan's waiting ears.

But, for an instant, she saw his ear turn. Only a single one angled towards her, and it only did so for a single breath–the breath she had taken to call his name again. She hoped his muzzle would soon follow after, and that his gray eyes would find hers beyond all the other pelts between them.

He didn't turn. His ears were pulled the opposite direction, where his guards finally shouldered through the crowd. A slow procession along one of the main streets, one of the safer streets, towards the lift. Never once looking back. Not at Kali or at the ship.

Which she rather expected, given what she had heard from Rinzaan. The prim and proper nature of the Dockie attendants didn't allow for much fooling around. Not unless it was a dictated breeding session, at least.

Yet Kali was still disappointed when she finally let go of the breath steeled in her chest. A long, hissed sigh, as she watched Rinzaan's tail vanish around a corner.

He was gone.

But, though Kali's tail flicked and twitched with all her irks, she knew he hadn't gone far. There was still a chance. And, as all the gathered cats headed home, the crowd had started to thin. She could see a path through again.

She made it two steps before being brought to a swift halt. Nearly thrown backwards, as firm claws took hold of her scarf and wrenched her back. Her startled yowl only overshadowing the pitches, furious growls behind her for an instant.

Kali stumbled another step back before she pulled free. Then she turned, with yet another sigh, to face Mikora and her puffed, lashing tail.

“There you are!" she snapped. “I had to search the entire dock for you."

“I didn't go that far–"

“It doesn't matter. Don't you take one step away from me–don't leave my sight," Mikora hissed. “Not until we're home!"

Mikora snatched up Kali's arm. With a sweeping turn, she hauled Kali away, despite her rooted feet, and lightly growled protests. “Why am I in trouble?" Kali asked. “I was just trying to give you some space, so you could, you know—"

“What?" Mikora stopped, her flat ears half-lifted to hear whatever excuse Kali offered.

Kali gestured wildly. Somewhere, in the flailing of her hands, none of which Mikora seemed to understand. “You know," Kali said. “Bump noses? Brush whiskers? That stuff."

Mikora's ears clamped shut again, her muzzle drawing back with a disbelieving snarl. “No. Don't be silly. Nothing happened."

“But you were–she was–"

“I was in shock. It's nothing."

“You seriously didn't kiss her?" Kali asked. “Not even once?"

“Kals."

There was the warning again. That growled name, with an emphasized hiss at the end, placed a finality on the matter. An irrefutable end to whatever Kali was up to.

Kali rolled her eyes. “Okay, sure. Whatever you say." She stumbled after Mikora, having more trouble than before. Her pace had picked up upon mentioning Tulaziya, which was hardly a coincidence.

But Kali did dig her feet into the boardwalk, bringing them to a brief halt. She turned back, twisting despite Mikora's fierce grip, and she looked one last time. She looked through the crowded dock, listening for the guards' clinking swords or the attendant's shuffling robes, trying to catch one last fleeting glimpse of those brown ears again.

But Rinzaan was nowhere to be seen. Lost among the sea of furred bodies, all headed their separate directions. Likely halfway to the grand lift, which would ferry him back to the safety of Dockside.

“Kals–"

“Fine," Kali muttered. She reluctantly turned her eyes away, a sour taste in the back of her throat as she bit back a disappointed hiss. One that she dare not utter aloud, lest she get an earful for it.

Though frustrated, she did still have some reassurance held close in her chest. If she didn't have a chance to talk with him now, that only meant they would have to talk later. Maybe whenever he returned to the Benz to visit her again. After all, he hated their being apart just as much as Kali did.

That little hope she could cling to as she trudged back home with Mikora. One way or another, she would see him again.

For all she knew, she could see him this very night. Tapping on her window again, with bits of broken vase. A bright smile waiting for her the moment she stepped outside.