A Returned Fang

OOC: A continuation of this topic!

Murkystrike lead the way back to camp, occasionally glancing over her shoulder to the tom that followed behind her. She still wasn't totally convinced that he wouldn't disappear again, and with each look back it seemed more and more likely that wasn't the case. She was reluctant to let him out of her sight still, considering the last time she had was when he had initially disappeared seemingly without a trace. As they passed through the entrance to camp, her pale green eyes sought out Flintstar. When they landed on the familiar pelt, she called out to him, motioning for Fangpaw to follow her as she moved towards the leader, greeting him with a respectful nod. "Flintstar! I was patrolling the border near Carrionplace, and I found Fangpaw! Once he confirmed who he was, I led him here. I thought you would want to hear what happened to him, and where he's been as well." She mewed, stepping aside and back a little to reveal the previously missing apprentice.

Sometimes cats disappeared, and no one ever found out what happened to them. A few of Emberleap’s Asylum denmates had gone that way; it only made sense that it would happen in the Clans, too. But ShadowClan’s worry was contagious. He watched them send patrol after fruitless patrol, remembered how many lessons it had taken for Murkystrike to cover everything in the marsh that could hurt (or more likely, kill) him if he wasn’t careful. Wondered if Fangpaw had gotten enough time to learn.

Murkystrike’s arrival caught him halfway to the camp’s entrance. Emberleap pulled up short, ears flicking back as he noticed she was making a beeline for Flintstar. That couldn’t be good—except she wasn’t alone. The tom behind her was uncomfortably lean, a disheveled-ness to his coppery pelt that could only come from wandering…but that made sense for as long as Fangpaw had been gone. Hunting alone didn’t lend itself to the healthiest diet. “He’s really back?” Emberleap shook his head, turning to address Fangpaw himself. His patrol would have to wait. “You’re really back! Hold on, I can find you something good from the fresh-kill pile—"

Frigidpaw was eating a small lizard, more like a snack than an actual meal, when Murkystrike’s voice filled camp, not even a couple of seconds after she entered. He tilted his head, watching as she rushed towards Flintstar.

His eyes went from the older she-cat to the one that came with her, which he failed to recognize. However, he could tell by his appearance that the world had been rather cruel to the other tom. His head tilted a bit as his name was mentioned.

So…Fangpaw, hm? Returning cats were definitely not common and he was already itching to make oh so many questions to this newcomer. However, he knew better than to approach just yet. Flintstar would need to handle everything first.

With that thought in his mind, he decided to be patient and returned to his lizard, taking another calm bite in a way that could even appear as apathetic to some regarding this whole situation. His ears, however, were raised high and pointing towards the scene unfolding before them. He wasn’t about to miss a single word.

Flintstar glanced up from where he had been lazily watching his Clanmates as he caught the shape of Murkystrike entering the camp and heading straight towards him. He stood up, giving a small stretch of his paws before his eyes fell onto the figure trailing after the warrior - pausing in surprise as the familiar pelt. He said nothing as she confirmed his suspicious - this was Fangpaw. It had been a shame when the young apprentice has mysteriously disappeared while out on a patrol but the leader hadn't put much thought into it. Many cats disappeared - his own sister Frostpaw came to mind, never to be seen again...It was a thing that happened.

But to return? Curious indeed... He nodded a head, gaze fixing onto Fangpaw as Murkystrike stepped to the side. "Of course. While Emberleap is grabbing that prey...Do tell, Fangpaw, what has transpired since your disappearance," he meowed, flickering his tail. "You are not the first cat to disappear...But one of the few to return and that has caught my curiosity."

Galepaw raised her head from where she lay lounging in the shadows, watching the events transpire before her. She listened from a distance, ears pricked with interest. Fangpaw, huh? That name was familiar. Fangpaw had disappeared before she had been named an apprentice, but she had heard word of him for quite a while. Interesting to see that he had returned... She would have to keep an eye on him for the time being, until she was more sure about him.

Following the she-cat in the direction of Shadowclan's camp, he found his gaze often narrowing in study of the territory. This would be his lands, his home, and he needed to know it like the scars on his own pelt. He easily noted the way that his companion seemed to keep her gaze trained on his pelt, as if simply glancing away would cause him to dissolved into the thick air of the territory. Honestly, the tom almost felt that he would as it raked across his coat with each step. Fangpaw's mind threatened to cloud over with many thoughts and he flickered his tail to dismiss it. To pull this off, he needed to be driven, and with a clear head, in order to fully take up the mantle of his fallen comrade.

The scents of various cat's tickled his scent glands and immediately kicked up the insatiable urge for self-preservation. He wanted to run - needed to run - but such a desire was wholly carnal and deserved to be ignored. Fangpaw ground his teeth together ever so slightly as they stepped into Shadowclan camp, forcibly loosening the tension in his jaw with each pawstep. Immediately, the clan began to gather, inspecting him with prying eyes. There was no reason to let it falter his step and the ruggedly handsome tom straightened higher, allowing a glint to pass into his own gaze.

While Flintstar, the leader whose name he'd already been acquainted with previously, was called forward, another tom with patchwork features had darted excitedly forward. Fangpaw hardly managed to blink before stranger - clarified by Flintstar to be Emberleap - had dashed away. Seeing firstpaw the fact there were cats so willing to share prey with each other felt like something out of a dream, although, he supposed it simply explained the nature of the late Fangpaw. But the thought had to be pushed away, now he had to turn his direction to the imposing dark tom that addressed him. To nod respectfully towards the leader was quite the feat; never in his life had the tom submitted to another's rule.

"I was snatched by twolegs near the border. They were clad with foul pelts that obscured their scent as they carried me away." When he spoke, the tom's voice was clear, ringing loud enough for the pricked ears that sought to pry away at the conversation. He'd made sure to commit the strange clan terms to memory after discovering their importance to him. Fangpaw tipped his head to the ground, sighing lowly and allowing a shudder to run the length of his frame. This was supposed to be a bad memory, one that had stripped him of this secure life and sent him spiraling into the uncertainty that made of the life of a rogue. This consideration alone made his guise all the more real, as this replacement Fangpaw was indeed haunted by his own memories of life alone.

"When I finally came to my senses, the territory was days away. I became lost in a maze of hard stone and rotting scents with vicious rogues and little food. It was only thanks to a kind tom I managed to survive at all, eventually finding my way out of the endless stone paths and eventually back to the forest." Fangpaw paused, indulging for a brief moment in the genuine exhaustion that wracked his overexerted limbs, "You can't imagine what it's like out there... prey sounds nice right about now. " With that, he sunk onto his soft underbelly. Surely, with the name and pelt of their clanmate, he could sink into a brief rest. Even so, the tom made sure not to drop his guard. Being endlessly aware of his surroundings was second nature to a cat who had come from the places he had.

Mistyfalcon had been stretched out near the edge of camp, eyes half closed when he caught sight of Murkystrike returning. The dark tom lifted his head... And he blinked in surprise as she rushed towards Flintstar. The reason for doing so became clear when he spotted the thing, ragged form trailing after her.

Fangpaw had disappeared without a trace, nobody had been able to pick up his trail, and it had bothered Mistyfalcon that a patrol of skilled warriors had been able to so-easily lose an apprentice at all. It was almost like seeing a ghost. Except he definitely wasn't dreaming.

Mistyfalcon stepped forwards, watching as Emberleap bounded away to find something from the fresh kill pile. and listening as Fangpaw explained what had happened. "Twolegs..." He gave a single, derisive snort. "It's good to have you back, Fangpaw." The apprentice looked weary and in need of a few good meals... And maybe some time to readjust. He wouldn't be the first cat that had been taken captive, by twolegs or rogues, to have been scarred by the experience.

Taking Flintstar’s words as the permission he’d been waiting for, Emberleap set off toward the fresh-kill pile at a not-quite-casual trot, careful to dodge the growing crowd of ShadowClanners eager to hear what trials their old Clanmate had gone through. He’d promised to get something good…but what? When he’d first arrived here, he had been too nervous to eat anything heavier than bugs and the occasional lizard, but a ShadowClan-raised cat wouldn’t have that issue. Besides, Fangpaw had been wandering for more than a few nights. After a few moments of rooting around, Emberleap dug the fattest mouse he could find out of the pile.

Despite his haste, he returned late enough to miss most of Fangpaw’s explanation, aside from something about a helpful tom and endless stone paths beyond the forest's boundaries. He supposed he could ask later, if it mattered so much and Fangpaw didn’t mind, or else wait for the whispers to carry. “Well, here’s some.” Emberleap nudged the mouse toward Fangpaw with his nose. “I tried to find something a little bigger than a lizard. Oh—and I can help get a nest together, if that’s okay…?” His gaze darted aside to Flintstar. Surely Fangpaw’s acceptance into ShadowClan was a given at this point, but for all he knew, the Clans had a secret procedure for long-lost apprentices on top of everything else.

Twolegs...Of course it was Twolegs. Flintstar sighed softly as he listened to Fangpaw's story, of the hardships that the apprentice had shaped. "I imagine I cannot imagine," he finally mumbled in response as the newly found apprentice finished, standing up to his full height. "But those harsh days are behind you - you are home." He glanced over at Emberleap at the warrior dropped off a mouse, mentioning getting a nest together for him. "Of course, Emberleap. There should be plenty of materials in the apprentice den to pull together a nest. For now, Fangpaw, rest and eat. Regain your lost strength. I will need to judge where you are at in your training, see if your skills have remained sharp but perhaps we can see about naming you a warrior - you have survived something most cats do not return from," he added with a nod of his head. He glanced over at the gathering cats, mostly the three warriors - Murkystrike, Mistyfalcon and Emberleap. "Murkystrike and Mistyfalcon - make sure everybody knows of Fangpaw's return so that they are not alarmed by his strange scent. Emberleap, once Fangpaw has eaten, take him to the apprentice den and help set up a nest for him."

Firekit tumbled out of the nursery, strange scents making her nose wrinkle but curiosity boil. She peered from the shadows anxiously, looking at the one named 'Fangpaw' that the other cats seemed to rejoice in their return. But to her, they were but a stranger, he carried no scent that she had become acquainted with. Slinking forwards she approached 'Fangpaw' and gave him a wary sniff, her now green eyes staring into his, for she had no manners just yet. "Who're you? I don't know you?" She mewed, her voice lilting in her confusion.

Murkystrike stayed quiet, watching and listening as various members of the clan approached and offered welcomes or aid. Fangpaw explained what had happened, and her ears twitched nervously. Twolegs that close to the border? She glanced to Mistyfalcon as he appeared, twining her tail with his briefly. As Flintstar spoke to her and her mate, she met his gaze and nodded. "Of course, Flintstar." Knowing that Fangpaw was taken care of, she turned to spread the information to the other warriors, and also advise them to be careful of twolegs on the border.

Invisible ants crawled underneath his pelt and it was all the tom could do to ignore them. Chattering voices, friendly and curious, caused his ears to twitch ever so slightly. Likely, the clan would assume because their lost companion had been away for so long, but rather it was drawn from the fact that the loner had never lived among a large group of cats. Fangpaw offered Mistyfalcon a brief smile before his attention was demanded by the return of the patched warrior named Emberleap. There was a grateful nod and he silently thanked the other tom for not bringing a lizard. Eventually he'd have to learn to stomach such a thing but today was not that day.

The idea of being crammed among the apprentices was less than appeal but he supposed that was the title which he had taken up alongside Fangpaw's identity. However, Flintstar quickly spoke of a naming ceremony. There was a thought that flashed through his mind in honor of the similar pelted young tom who had recently passed... Fangpaw was going to become a warrior like he had always talked about. Even if the reasons for taking up this identity were rooted in selfishness, there was a seed of genuine desire to keep the memory of the other tom alive. He let out a low sigh from the sides of his maw that was likely perceived as exhaustion, before taking a small bite from the mouse. It was strange to eat prey that's coat wasn't tainted with the foul stench of upwalkers.

"Thank you, everyone. I hope to rest quickly and return to aiding the clan." He addressed the crowd, something gleaming in the depths of his gaze. The dark red tom turned his head towards the curious kit, something more bold creeping into his tone, "I was your lost kin, returned home. My name is Fangpaw." A finite nod came, satisfied. So this was it, finally, he was here among the clan he had heard so much about. And he was Fangpaw.