Rest and Healing (Skyclan gathering)

Stormwatcher gave a half smirk and nod of his head to himself as he trotted back onto what was finally familiar land.

"ohhh finally" he purred a bit and trotted ahead happily as he went over to his favorite napping spot.

"just like I remembered it!" he meowed brushing off the snow that covered it.
"I wouldnt complain if we never have to make a long hike like that again" he muttered to himself settling into his best spot.

If wolf or bird gave him some assignment right now he was pretty sure he would lose it.

Falconmoon caught only the very tail end of Bridstar's speech. With the threat of war ever lingering in the back of his mind, he'd slipped away once he caught the scent of his familiar home. He swiftly claimed the Fallen Oak and Highpine for Skyclan. It would only make sense that they would be abandoned and ripe for the taking. With war coming, he didn't have time to rest, as much as he wanted to, and he wanted Skyclan to have every advantage possible as early as possible.

He leaped down from branch to branch from the trees and into Skyclan's old camp. He was panting like he was under the brutal sun of a mid-greenleaf day, but he wasn't about to lie down. No. He may make the journey to the creek for water sooner rather than later, but he was here to work. He was well enough to have survived this long and traveled this far.

Maybe there was more Bloodstrike in his mentality than he realized. His shimmering blue eyes traveled to the nursery, then to the medicine den. Some of his clanmates were injured and others were still sick, but it was imperative to Skyclan's future to get the kits secured first.

Falconmoon sought out Wolfblossom first and approached her, still in a panting fit but speaking as quietly to her as he could. "The Fallen Oak and Highpine are now ours." He didn't need to explain to her why he did it. He gave her a respectful dip of the head before he turned away, though if she wanted to speak to him she could certainly follow after him. With that bit of information quietly passed on, the ivory and gold tabby set his paws to work clearing out the nursery.

Falconmoon dug bowls into the sand inside the nursery. It would be a small break in the wind for now for the queens and their kits and it would trap heat a little easier until they could acquire pelts from predators and prey.

Home. Home. Home. The idea didn't work in Bubblepaw's mind no matter how much she repeated the word. But as she stumbled in, she could no longer hear whatever Great-Aunt Bird was trying to say because she was back in SkyClan camp. It was home. It was what she'd been dreaming of for moons. And she knew that her family was around somewhere but she couldn't really even focus on that because she saw the apprentice den right there, and the empty fresh-kill pile, and the Tallbranch and everything else. Slowly she took a few steps forward. Beneath her her legs trembled, as if in sudden realization of just how long she had been traveling. Just how long she had wandered away from home. She sat down shakily atop a less-snowy patch of ground, watching her breath puff out white in front of her face, wearing what probably looked like a strangely vacant facial expression. She just couldn't comprehend finally returning home.

Honeypaw

Honeypaw's paws touched their homeland for the first time in her life.
"Yes, Birdstar!" she readily replied as she gave instructions to restore the nursery and elder's den. The entire clan had been through so much over the past few moons. She broke away from her spot alongside Shatteredsky and caught up to Yewpaw and Mallowpaw.
"It's not the lake," she whispered, "but this is home. We've only heard stories of this place." Despite her exhaustion from the journey, Honeypaw was eager to start the repairs around camp. "Would either of you like to help me gather brambles and bracken to repair the nursery and elder's den?" she asked, her face bright, blue eyes sparkling. "The queens and elders must be exhausted. It's the least we could do." She flicked her tail across each of their backs in turn, her gaze hopeful and eager.

She turned to Thymepaw, who was just a short distance away. "Thymepaw, let me know if there's anything I can do to help!" she called. Energy was thrumming through her paws. There's work to do, she thought dutifully. I'm so happy I get to help rebuild the old SkyClan! But Honeypaw couldn't ignore the nagging anxiety rooted deep in her heart, the looming threat of war that hung over her clan. For now, she didn't need to think about that. She would distract herself with positive thoughts of rebuilding the camp with her beloved clanmates.

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Wolfblossom was exhausted, but as the familiar tree line of home came into view, as her paws found themselves on achingly familiar ground, a smile broke out across the deputy's face. It was a struggle to keep her paws in line with those of her clanmates, to not race toward home, and she managed only just. Even as weary as she was, the idea that Skyclan was finally home, that they would return to their own camp was the most comfort that she had felt in a long while.

There would be plenty of work to do when they got there, she knew. Their rocky forest did not seem to have the scent of rogue clinging to it like other territories they had passed on the way to it, but this would not be the first time Skyclan returned from a long absence. The territory seemed mostly undisturbed, a tree branch snapped here or there from heavy snow or rain, perhaps, but nothing Skyclan wouldn't be able to deal with.

Camp was a sight for sore eyes, even with it snow-covered and the dens a mess. Wolfblossom let out a soft laugh as Stormwatcher was the first to start clearing snow from the corner he so often occupied. For her exhaustion and the work that needed to be done, for all the threats looming on the horizon, Wolfblossom was simply overjoyed for Skyclan to be back where they belonged. She did not sit for Birdstar's announcement, choosing to remain standing. To sit would invite the exhaustion creeping at the edges of her vision, and she refused.

Falconmoon had not escaped her notice, and she watched as he approached, breathing hard. Reaching out, Wolfblossom lightly rested her cheek on the top of her son's head. "...You work fast. Didn't even give us time to give the order." She muttered, "They'll come sniffing for those sooner or later. For now... For now we hold onto every scrap we can." She added. She turned, eyes settling on Honeypaw who was already starting to clear out some of the snow from the dens, and pride swelled within her. Her granddaughter was working tirelessly despite only being an apprentice. She would make a wonderful warrior when it was time. Wolfblossom's paws were heavy on the ground as she moved to help.

---

The seemingly endless travel was actually at an end now, and Beechfang had never been happier to see the inside of Skyclan's camp than she was now. A tired smile pulling at her maw, she was already heading toward the medicine den before Birdstar had finished speaking, dipping her head to Thymelight. Kits and their sick and injured would need to get out of the cold, and Beechfang would do what she could to help the clan.

---

Stoneheart felt like she was in a daze as Skyclan entered their camp for the first time in moons. She had been putting one paw in front of the other, but even the stoic warrior was incapable of hiding the sheer exhaustion she felt as she padded alongside Mistflower and their apprentices. "Stars am I glad we're home..." She mewed to her sister blearily. Stoneheart half-listened to Birdstar's words, and turned toward the warrior's den. Cats were already helping clear out snow from the nursery and medicine den, and if any of them felt half as tired as Stoneheart was, they would be ready to fall into their nests immediately. The faster they all worked, the sooner they could sleep.

---

Graywind slipped through the trees back to camp on Falconmoon's heels, her own breathing labored. She had done her part to secure territory, and was very much looking forward to seeing Skyclan's camp once more. She had hardly spent any time in the lake territory not confined to a nest of her own, and it still bothered her a little, but they were back home and on familiar ground now. The camp looked a mess, but that would only be temporary. Skyclan would make it feel like home again.

For one cat, this mess of a camp had never been home before. Lighttail sat off to the side, self-consciously taking in the sights. She’d seen ShadowClan’s camp in a worse state, but this still looked like a lot of work would be needed. Anxiety prickled at her pelt. Would her new clanmates accept her?

Harepaw didn't know what he was expecting.. Maybe he was expecting to come back to this.. place and have a home ready, prepared not some overgrown mess. He knew he shouldn't have expected it but a part of him was disappointed.. It wasn't the same. It didn't feel like home. Maybe in time it would, but now? Not so much. The golden apprentice heaved out a sigh before settling somewhere off to the side of the overgrown camp. Whatever needed his attention it could wait.. He didn't have the energy or the capacity to deal with any of this right now.