"Trust me, I know the risks of settling," Chim replied grimly. "Staying in one place destroyed my old clan. I won't let that happen again." At first, he had taken it as divine intervention - but when his fallen family didn't come to confront him, he had begun to suspect it was something else entirely. He'd even been told it was a warning, a sign he should have picked up on, that would have informed the clans about the massive floods that were coming their way.

"I don't care if it's difficult, I just want to know if it's possible."

He stiffened a little at Fuzzypeach's name, but he knew the other warrior was right. He was a mess, and as loveable as that mess was, he was going to be difficult to control when they were wandering between the different clans. He couldn't exile him, didn't have the heart to, and he couldn't drive away every cat that was a little too adventurous. "We can... redirect his energy," he proposed slowly, "let him get all excited by running ahead to find us a new place to make camp. Then he gets to explore and do what he wants, and when he comes back to camp he'll be so tired he will do as he's told."

He waved off the apology, so focused on the problem at paw he barely even noticed the implication that he was somehow close with Fuzzypeach.

"Kits?" he echoed, staring blankly at Demonicchicken. It had never occurred to him that his not-very-close friend might be good with young cats. Honestly, there was a part of him that liked Fuzzypeach because he didn't have a mate or kits or family; he was all on his own, just like Chim, and maybe a small part of him hoped that the other tom shared his distaste for the little ones. But it made sense a cat with such boundless energy would like kittens, even if the knowledge sank like a stone in his belly.

"Of course. They'll appreciate the help. Some of those kits can be a handful," he said.

"I would appreciate having a cat to look after our elders." Chim's whiskers twitched in amusement. Their only elder was his ghostly grandfather, and he would be more than happy to have someone else worry about him. He was growing tired of being harassed. Even if Demonicchicken was overstepping, the light in his eyes gave the leader a confidence boost: he really did believe this lifestyle might be possible.

"I have no idea," he admitted, and the realization was so startling he actually laughed. He was almost giddy. "We could stay close to the clans, check out the edges of their territory... or we could go as far as we could. Just keep walking until we find some place entirely new."

"I never wanted to know what was out there before. It was never an option to leave." Oh, how tempting it was. They could explore new horizons the clan cats had never seen before. But even then Chim knew it was impossible. They couldn't defend themselves. Without the other clans nearly to chase off predators and supplement their fresh-kill pile with feasts, they would fall apart.

The leader nodded regretfully. "We depend too much on the other clans. Maybe one day we can be alone, but I fear that day will come long after I'm gone."

"Maybe there is, but it isn't just a lie right now. Our clan barely gets by as it is; we can't afford to leave everyone else behind. They support us when we need it most." Chim's ear twitched. Not that they had many allies.

"You know as well I, I'm afraid," Chim chuckled dryly. "I suppose we'll stay here until we're forced to move on again. I've been working on forming an alliance with our neighbors."