Homebound [closed]

Head held high, Stagleap walked along the Thunderpath's border, amber eyes sweeping over the land. Today marked the second sunrise since his warrior ceremony, and what was better to do with his time than going on a border patrol by himself? The freedom he had now was refreshing, it was much better than having to ask a warrior to accompany him any time he wanted to leave camp. Every few moments he would look over into Shadowclan territory. Normally he would hope that he wouldn't come across any cat, but he almost wished some cat would appear on the other side, just so he could introduce himself by his new name.

Stagleap didn't really expect to meet any cat, so when he saw a flash of orange in his peripheral, he looked over with surprise. "Spark?" Sure enough, the orange pelt he had spotted belonged to his old friend, one that he hadn't spent as much time with as he would have liked. "Spark! What have you been up to lately?" He called across the path, completely forgetting the presence of monsters until one roared past and nearly frightened him out of his fur.

Foxspark padded in ShadowClan territory. As were Flintstar's orders, a warrior was accompanying him just in case that another rogue attack happened. At the moment, his clanmate was several fox-lengths away, but the ginger tom could still see him. They were pretty close to the Thunderpath, but they were both far enough from the Thunderpath to not get hit by the monsters zooming past.

Hearing his name - his old name, by that - in an oh-so-familiar voice made the ginger tom turn his head towards the other side of the Thunderpath. "Stag!" His face lit up before settling into a more comfortable smile. "Today, I've been hunting for ShadowClan. Also, my name is now Foxspark, though you can still call me Spark if you want." It was something that he didn't even think could happen, him seeing his old friend in the clans. It made sense in hindsight, as they were both missing kits before, but it was very unexpected. "How are you doing in ThunderClan?"

Stagleap grinned. "Nice to know that you also got a clan name. My warrior ceremony was two sunrises ago, i'm Stagleap now!" He puffed out his chest when he said his name. "But you can still call me Stag if you want." Prepared for the next monster, he backed away as soon as he heard it's faint rumbling, moving closer to the path once it had passed to return to the conversation. "Oh, I'm doing... fairly well in Thunderclan. Like I said, I just had my warrior ceremony not long ago, but there's no sign of my parents yet." His smile faded for a brief moment before returning. "But I have a few friends- no one like you and Thalia, though. Gosh, I miss hanging out with you guys."

Immediately, bittersweet memories of his kithood resurfaced, mainly the happy ones, though. The time he had spent with Spark and Thalia, training under Asylum. Stagleap may never forgive the Asylum for taking him away from the clans, but one thing he was thankful for was the friends he made. They were like family to him, they were the only cats he felt could truly understand him. Too bad that they were in other clans.

Then, an idea hit him. An idea that could get him into trouble. Throughout his entire stay in Thunderclan, Stagleap had tried his best to abide the warrior code, and this might have been the first time he had ever thought about breaking it. "Hey, Spark." He hesitantly said. "I have something to ask... Um... Do you think I could go back to Shadowclan camp with you? To try finding my family?"

Foxspark nodded with a smile. Yeah... those were the times, weren't they? Good memories flushed back with his friendship with Stag and Thalia, even though they were almost immediately moved to different parts of the clans to occupy them. When Stagleap talked about leaving for ShadowClan, the ginger tom blinked in surprise. "Uh... maybe? We're dealing with a rogue problem at the moment, so I'd probably have to talk to Flintstar about it."

Maybe Flintstar would let Stagleap into the clan, even though it would be a blatant breaking of the warrior code. It would probably be a good idea to bring him to camp. Maybe. "I... guess I could..." Lead you back to camp, his brain finished. Foxspark wouldn't get in trouble for leading Stagleap back into camp, right? He wanted to join to find his family. What if his family isn't here? Would he leave again? He didn't know for sure. He and Thalia both were in ShadowClan, so maybe not, but Foxspark wanted to be certain that he would stay. "I could take you to ShadowClan camp. However, before I do so, I have a question to ask you." The ShadowClan warrior stared deep into Stagleap's amber eyes. "If you don't find your family in ShadowClan, will you leave us too?"

Even if Spark's answer was unsure, it gave Stagleap hope. "I'd gladly talk to Flintstar about it. Surely he'd understand, right? He let you in, after all." He hoped that Spark couldn't hear the desperation in his mew. "If he doesn't let me join, I'll turn around and come back to Thunderclan, I won't put up a fight."

The tom turned away as another monster sped down the path before returning. He opened his mouth to speak again. Suddenly, Spark said something that surprised him, something he hadn't thought of. His gaze temporarily dropped to his paws. "Oh." Was all he could answer with. Spark's emerald gaze was piercing his pelt at this point, he could tell. Stagleap had to stop and actually think for a moment. If he stayed here in Thunderclan, he would continue to be lonely, not having anyone. If he went to Shadowclan, he would at least have Spark, if not his parents. Finally, he let out a heavy sigh. "I'll stay. It's not as if I have anyone close to me here. If I'm being honest, you're all I have right now." He raised his head to look at Spark. "I promise I'll stay there, you have my word."

Foxspark nodded at Stag's answer to his question. "Okay," he said, a smile appearing on his face. "I'll take you to ShadowClan camp."