Cloudypaws had always loved exploring: city after city, forest after forest, always lost deep within her thoughts. Over time, she grew bored; each city was the same as the next, each tree no different from the last. It was her dreams that kept her going – and her greatest dream had been to visit the far side of Nestor's portal.

She had never thought it would happen. After all, rumors were rumors and dreams were dreams. Or at least, that's what she had been telling herself until now.

Nervousness and excitement rose from her paws and flowed through her pelt as she watched. Was it hers, or was she sensing the feelings of the five others who had gathered with her? She couldn't tell.

The great moose knelt before the cats now, their faded pelt shimmering like the night sky. Hundreds of eyes opened around them, glowing brighter than the stars above. A voice spoke to them, a voice which was somehow loud and soft at the same time, a terrifying ethereal sound that instilled an unusual calm in the cats' hearts: "You are not cats. Come home."

Cloudypaws felt almost as if she had slipped into a trance. Her paws seemed to move forward, but was she the one controlling them? Fear and excitement rose up inside of her as she approached the door; it had a feeling of wrongness to it, as if it ripped through the fabric of space and time itself, but somehow it also felt very right. Perhaps this door would be her destiny.

She paused for a moment in front of the door, only vaguely aware of the pawsteps behind her as the others followed. She had heard the rumors many times, tales of a Not-Earth, but still she yearned to see what existed on the far side of the door herself. She took a deep breath; this was it. Time to see if the rumors were true. Slowly, she reached out, her paw passing through the shimmering surface of the door.

And then there was the sensation of falling.



The cats – or, as Nestor had called them, not-cats – stood around their small pile of resources. For a long moment there was only silence as they contemplated what could be done with the materials.

It was Shred whose voice finally slashed through the quiet. "This won't be enough," ae said, a thoughtful expression on aer face. "We need more."

"I agree," Dean added. "But it's getting dark. What else can we do?"

Another moment of silence, then Cloudypaws spoke up. "Tressa, Sparrow, could you find a place to store this stuff safely? Maybe we can use it later."

"Of course," the two agreed in unison.

"Shred and Dean, you two know the most about building. Perhaps you can dig us a den to sleep in for the night. Robin, you can come with me, we'll go to the meeting grounds and see if Nestor has any advice."



The moon had begun to rise in the sky when the not-cats finally returned. Nestor hadn't given them much advice, saying it was best if the not-cats figured it out on their own – after all, they would be living here from now on. The great moose had given them hope though, saying that no harm would befall them as long as they lived in these woods.

The others had long since fallen asleep, leaving Cloudypaws alone with her thoughts. She rubbed her paw gently along the rough diamonds of her crown, a gift from Nestor that she vowed would never leave her sight. She quite liked it here. Sure, maybe survival would be difficult, but Nestor would always be there, keeping them safe. Besides, it was a new world to explore – and what is adventure without a little danger and challenges?

Her pale red eyes slowly began to close, her thoughts drifting off into nonsense as sleep came over her. One last thought echoed through her head as she drifted off, weaving its way into a new, exciting dream: So, this is the far side...