The Return [FOR ALL OF RIVERCLAN]

Finally, the day had arrived.

The camp was a disaster, and even though Fishstar had already seen the extent of the flood destruction the other day while on patrol, it was still quite jarring. Everything was a jumble of twisted branches, mud, rotting river weeds, and hundreds of stray leaves.. Totally inhospitable.

Today, however, the RiverClan leader hoped to change that. The rest of the Clan was slowly making its way across the stepping stones back at the river, and once they arrived where Fishstar was waiting for them, the mass repair project would begin. She suspected it would take a couple of days to totally finish, but her goal for today was to at least make it able to house the Clan again. They simply could not afford to continue spending their days on Sunningrocks. It was much too close to ThunderClan's territory for Fishstar's comfort. Besides, with Leafbare on its way, a pile of rocks would not be able to sustain a Clan with small kits and elders.

Morningfog swayed as she saw the full extent of the flood. It looked horrible.. Her kits wouldn't like it, cold squishy mud and rotting fish strewn about. Sickness might come along and what if a fox found all the fish and the weakened clan? Too many things could go wrong. She sighed and shook her head, what a mess..

Shellpaw padded cautiously into the old camp she hadn't been in since she was a kit. The damage was even worse than she thought. With an inward sigh, the mottled she-cat followed the leader, knowing this would mean a lot of clean-up. Oh dear StarClan...

The gray tom squinted as he looked over the cold and muddy wreckage that used to house RiverClan before the flood. He brushed his tail over Morningfog's back and hoisted his young and adopted daughter Silentkit on his back as he detached from his place by her side and bounded up by Fishstar, sniffing the air. The whole camp was destroyed, and ground might have been unstable, not counting in predators and the danger that kits could get stuck in the dirt.

"We ough to get so leaves to floor the nursery and apprentices' den. I'll send Fracturedpaw and Fallowpaw out soon enough to help. Maybe Shellpaw too." he was worried for his kits and his mate, and he wanted to ensure they were as safe as posible. 

~~

Silentkit held tight to the back of Smokeface, digging her small claws in the tom's fur. She squealed with a smile as she laid eyes on the deputy amongst the cats and then the leader. "Hi. I can help too." she whispered in her father's ear, and he giggled, shifting himself to Silentkit slipped in into the mud. She growled but he picked her up and pushed her with his muzzle until she was tumbling alongside him.

Fracturedpaw's jaw dropped at the sight, he hadn't really seen the camp since he had just been appointed as an apprentice, and the sight was horrid. The apprentice scented the air, raising his muzzle as he did, the smell of must, most likely from water drenched leaves, filled his nose.

He followed forward, and waited for Fishstar's instructions on what to do next.

<<>>

Shatteredkit followed carefully behind his father, Smokeface, and Silentkit, his sibling. He hadn't seen their clan camp before, so he had no recognition of the place.

Amberkit trekked after her Clanmates, a confused look on her face as they entered the ruined camp. All of the older cats seemed to be so upset at the ruined mess that surrounded them but she honesty couldn't figure out why. But the sag in their shoulders, the sadness that flashed in theirs eyes. Even if she didn't know why they were so sadden by the sight before them, she knew that she ought to be sad as well. And so her green eyes trailed over the mess that surrounded as her ears folded back on her head. She liked the Sunningrocks way better then this place! But...If Fishstar wanted them to be here then she guess she was stuck with it. She clung toward the mass of older cats, unwilling to stray away as she glanced between all of the warriors with a slight frown. Well...What now?

Squirrelkit hopped after her mother, exited. She'd been born on Sunningrocks, and although the tabby she had wandered often, it had never been to these parts—she didn't dare cross the river.

But when she caught sight of camp, her nose wrinkled. It was mushy and wet and smelled strongly of rotten fish. Squirrel slipped, nearly falling into the water as the scents hit her—
But her small brown paws caught her, and she leapt after Morningfog into the "camp." Her paws filled with mud and she squealed in disgust, pressing closer to the brown and white queen beside her.
The kit let out a loud huff.
Eww. I can't believe they lived here once. It's gross. She let out a violent sneeze, and slipped beneath the cats' legs to the front of the group, where she could better see the remains of the camp.

Looking around, Petalpaw stayed close to her den-mates. The camp looked horrible and although she'd missed their true home, she was glad that they had Sunning Rocks to call a temporary home. Wondering how they could possibly clear all the debris out of the camp, the apprentice looked to Fishstar, wondering what the leader had to say.

They were back again. They were really back in their true home, the camp he'd never known. Sleetpaw padded in after the rest, sweeping his gaze around to drink in the destruction. Sure, it was a wreck. But it was their camp, where their warrior ancestors had slept and trained and lived since the dawn of the Clans, and that was enough.

Sunningrocks was where he was born, but it wasn't where they belonged. This place was... auspicious. Old. They'd work day and night to put it back together, and then it'd be the camp he'd seen in his dreams. So did they all have to look so down? Sleetpaw gave Amberkit and Squirrelkit a small prod, purring. "It's not much," he mewed, "but it'll be better before you know it. Why don't you look for shells? If you find anything good, we can put them in the nursery."

Wherever the nursery was, anyways. "That'll help it all come together. How does that sound?"

Tawnystorm followed closely behind Fishstar. While it was true that the camp was still a mess, it was about time they began to fix it. Leafbare was coming, and Sunningrocks would not nearly be good enough to help them survive in the cold. It wasn't the first time she'd seen the camp in its wreckage, since she'd been on that patrol, but this time - it almost seemed welcoming. Though the reeds were flattened into matted clumps, and the musky, almost rotten smell hung limply in the air, she was home.

Fallowpaw couldn't believe she had lived through it.

The flood, bound to be a historical event, she had lived through. Every step was torture, every glimpse of water sent the memories crashing into her mind like tidal waves upon ocean waters. Fallowpaw had hated the lot of them, the fish that teased the water with their scales, silvery beams in a pool of crystal liquid.

Now, Fishstar lead them back to safety. Fallowpaw was sure she'd be a warrior soon, having participated in such fantastical and surreal activities. She'd be the best; she knew that. Fallowpaw stepped warily beside Tawnystorm, the faint scents of young Fallowkit weirdly non-correspondent to her own, current scent. The new Fallowpaw smelled... foreign.

It didn't matter, she was here. At home.

"Alright!" Squirrelkit chirped to Sleetpaw, turning from the group and dashing off to find shells.

Morningfog hushed her and drew them closer with her tail. "This is our home now. It used to be our home before a flood too. When you're all apprentices I'll take you back to Sunningrocks. For now, just stay here with me, you never know what might be in this wreckage.." She mewed softly, giving them each a soft nuzzle. "Your father is being an old badger because he wants you safe. So, why don't we get put of the way and try to warm up?"

Ooc:Mobile

Frogpaw followed behind Tawnystorm, ears perked up and tail held high as he remained on alert through the camp. This was the first time he'd seen the place that everyone called 'home'. He'd seen his mother, his aunt and his cousin all look so wistful when they spoke of it, but to him, it was a heap of reeds, muck and stones. He couldn't help but frown, stepping overly cautiously, gingerly avoiding animal skulls, which to his relief, did not belong to any cat. "I'm guessing it isn't always like this?" He joked to Tawnystorm, brushing past her to bat away another vole skull cooly, only to wince when the decomposing skull squished against his paw.

Otterpaw was quick to get to work, dragging a stick with his teeth until it was out of his path. He didn't know what the camp was supposed to look like, but he could take an educated guess and say it wasn't supposed to have this much driftwood. "We'll never get this done." He muttered to himself, though when he heard the little kits pipe up that they wanted to go to Sunningrocks again, he realised that he wasn't being too helpful by sharing such sentiments. Instead, he sauntered over to Silentkit to purr. "I can watch over them, if you like. They can help me roll up the old moss and throw them away. Maybe even make a game of it?" He offered to Smokeface and Morningfog, they were actual warriors who knew what they were doing, this way, he could be helpful and not feel down in the dumps.

Sunpaw slinked into the camp looking all too eager to settle in. The sight before him wasn't too much of a shocking, having been here before. The tom was happy to help, brushing past his brother, Sleetpaw teasingly, as if to draw him into a competition, before racing off to chase off the murder of crows perched on the willow branch that looked a little too interested in the kits.

Ivyfall watched all the chaos unfold, tail neatly tucked over her paws as she tried to recall how everything fitted. Each glance had a new wistful memory appear, over there was where she first met Swiftclaw, and there, that was where she sat as she was named deputy. Next to the reeds yonder, that was where she gave birth to her first litter, and where she'd play with her kits. A eon ago, it seemed.