Stowaway Returned (semi-closed)

Ashstar padded through the unfamiliar territory of ThunderClan, waving her patrol along behind her. She felt closed in and trapped under all these trees, and the offensive, musky scent brought memories to her brain that she would rather keep hidden. Most of her patrol seemed to feel the same, minus the two native ThunderClanners  She had brought Smokepelt, of course, but not after personally counseling him to control his anger. This was a peaceful mission to return a mouse-brained apprentice, and nothing else. She brought Mottleheart, her most trusted warrior, to help take care of his former friend. She had brought Mossfoot so the she-cat could cut off any loose ties with her former mentor. And, of course, the stowaway Rockpaw. The cat had  feathers for brains, but hopefully he'd learned something from this mishap. All in all, she was satisfied  her group, and she just hoped Darkstar didn't take it the wrong way. When they reached the camp, she stopped, looking around for the leader's dark pelt. "Darkstar? We have one of your apprentices to return," she called out, surrounded on all sides by her patrol of loyal cats.

OOC: A'ight, you know the drill- wait for Ice, Sombra, Badge, and Grey please~

Mottleheart stuck close to Ashstar, his body tense as they moved though the undergrowth. He felt...Enclosed, thorns scratching at his fur as he moved past while his paws seemed to almost trip on anything that it could. This was far from the WindClan territory he called home and his gaze kept flashing toward the where the sky should be, only for it to be hidden by the branches that stretched out above them in a feeble attempt to block the heavens but the lack of leaves let him see the blue beyond. Part of him wanted to panic, his paws desperately wishing for the open air to run instead of being trapped like he was.

But Ashstar had asked him to come along, and he couldn't dare deny that. It was an honor, although he was surprised they were heading for the camp itself instead of waiting at Fourtrees. He walked close to Rockpaw to keep an eye on him as they reached the camp, coming to a stop as they all filed in. He was relieved at his short coat, the thorns posting little trouble even if they did hurt when he accidentally scraped his body against one but despite the quick gasp of pain, he did his best not to show it. His paws felt antsy as he stared across the camp, his ears perked as he waited for Darkstar to appear and fetch her apprentice from the group.

Padding next to Ashstar, Smokepelt still didn't agree with the fact that the leader was being so lenient with the ThunderClan cat. Well, hopefully Darkstar would deal with her apprentice accordingly.

Dried blood on his cheek from where Rockpaw had scratched him, the deputy kept his eyes narrowed as they made their way to the ThunderClan camp, the scent overwhelming. He absolutely hated how dense the covered the forest was and couldn't understand how the forest dwellers stayed sane when he felt so trapped. Reaching the camp, he stayed quiet while at his mother's side and looked around the patrol.

Mottleheart was obviously excited to some extent about getting to accompany the leader, though for him, it wasn't anything to get excited over. He'd gone with Ashstar before to things like this and it usually always ended the same. The leaders would talk, Ashstar would get on their good side, and then the WindClan cats would be on their merry way. Well, unless something weird and uncanny happened, but he'd promised to his mother that he wouldn't act out and was determined to keep his promise.

Padding along behind Ashstar, Mossfoot took in the all-too-familiar scent once more. It seemed like eternity since she'd last tread through this forest, and yet she still remembered every leaf and twig. So many memories had been made here, so much time spent wandering through the undergrowth when she was known as Mosswing. Even the name felt old to her now, a relic of a past life. She'd left ThunderClan behind voluntarily. She wouldn't ever regret that decision, but she knew it was important to not forget her past. She'd made mistakes here, too many to count. There was something comforting about that, and the fact she'd had a fresh start. She didn't pine for her old home, but she had to admit the familiarity was comforting.

She had to wonder why Ashstar had chosen her to come along and escort Rockpaw back home. She wasn't born WindClan, not in the slightest, but it was still fairly obvious. She knew this part of the forest better than any of her companions, after all, and maybe she wanted her to tie up any loose ends. The warrior gulped a little. That could be awkward if it went wrong.
"Hasn't changed a bit," she muttered.

Darkstar's head had lifted at the scent of Windclan when it first wafted over her nose, but she was confused rather than concerned. Surely Windclan had no quarrel with Thunderclan. 'Return?' Who could it be - oh. She should have guessed, to be honest. The sight of her apprentice and adoptive son, Rockpaw, almost forced an exasperated sigh out of the young leader. Rising to her three legs, she approached the group. What had this tomcat done to be beaten and nearly dragged here?

"Where did you find him?" The she-cat's white-backed ears flicked in the apprentice's direction while she stood in front of Ashstar. She hadn't quite noticed Mossfoot yet, although she was getting a feeling that she knew one of these cats somehow, quite personally.

Rockpaw gave a huff moodily as he padded with the Windclan patrol, his eyes and attention fixed on Mottlheart but only to deviate to give Smokepelt a nasty glare. The young tom ached all over, the scrap betting and the beating from the Windclan deputy being the cause. Though Rockpaw was beaten, sore, and a bit tetchy, he did have the positive point of view to realize that he had another chance to talk to Mottleheart.

Rockpaw had to wait, had to be patient for the right time, if he was caught trying to talk to Mottlheart the windclan cats would be furious not only with him, but Mottleheart as well. He didn't want that!

Ashstar nodded respectfully as the ThunderClan leader padded over. Understandably, she wanted to know about what had happened. WindClan's leader definitely appreciated that the dark brown she-cat didn't jump to conclusions like she knew some leaders would. "Darkstar. Your apprentice, Rockpaw, snuck onto our territory in the middle of the night. Apparently he had met one of my warriors at the Gathering and... wanted to talk." The exasperation and slight annoyance she felt filtered into her tone. "Smokepelt caught him and the two got into a tiny fight, as the apprentice was breaking the code, but no real injuries were sustained. We kept custody of him for the night to make sure he won't make the same mistake again. I turn him back over to you now and hope you will discipline him appropriately. I'm sorry I had to have you deal with this, but I trust you with your own cats, and I couldn't let him go scot-free. So here he is, Darkstar." Ashstar nudged Rockpaw towards the leader.

Mottleheart ears flickered under the gaze of Rockpaw, well aware of the tom's steady stare at him during the whole walk to the ThunderClan camp even if he did his best not to acknowledge it. He was not here as a friend of Rockpaw but as a warrior of WindClan - Ashstar had asked him to come and that was the only reason he was here. He could care less what became of Rockpaw for his foolish behavior. At least, that is what he told himself but he couldn't deny that a small piece of him was rather worried of how Darkstar would react and as the dark brown she-cat strolled up, he felt his whole body tension as the two leaders squared off. He did feel relieved as Ashstar explained everything, why they were here, what had happened to Rockpaw...He was even grateful that Ashstar left out his name. Taking in a deep breath, he kept his body ridge as he scanned the ThunderClan camp. It was so much different from the WindClan camp and he felt simply...Wrong to be standing here instead of his own territory. His paws shifting, wanting to return home as he hoped that this would be over soon.


Lionspark peaked out of the warrior's den as a scent filled the air, frowning with surprise. WindClan? What were they doing here? They didn't even share a border! Stepping from the den, she walked over briskly as she scanned the cats, only recognizing three of the group. Ashstar, Smokepelt and...Rockpaw?  Her confused frown grew only sharper as her ears perked as Darkstar padded over, asking the same question that pledged her mind. When the answer was given, Lionspark wanted to deny that Rockpaw would be so foolish to do such a thing but despite how little she knew the tom...It didn't surprise her in the slightest. She sat down, watching from a good distance as she wondered what else would be spoken between the Darkstar and the WindClan cats.

Emberheart crept out of the nursery, eyes narrowed, but shimmering with obvious curiosity. She slid through the opening, a lithe, bright figure, and took a step forward, muscles tensed as Amberkit tumbled out behind her.

"What—" quickly, the queen pushed her back, rolling, into the soft moss. The dark, stormy brown kit—tips of her fur tinged with russet—watched with rising interest, even more so now she wasn't allowed out.

The ginger she-cat didn't dare leave the opening to the leafy hold, knowing full well Amberkit would take any opportunity to explore—and instead waited, pricking her ears forward as Rockpaw was nudged forward by—that pelt looked familiar—by Ashstar! Her ears flattened as she thought of the danger that posed to her kits, but relaxed when Lionspark appeared. They had more than enough warriors to fend off their camp, especially compared to the lame bunch the grey leader had brought.

She'd known the stubborn tom as a kit, and she tilted her head in bewilderment, not moving from her spot.

Blazestrike padded after Lionspark. He tilted his head at the patrol of Windclan cats. Why were they here?

Sandpaw padded out, his neatly groomed red fur a bright aspect against the dreary colors of the camp. His brown eyes landed on Rockpaw and he almost scoffed. How idiotic to be caught by a Windclan patrol. He rolled his eyes and sat down.

Stonepaw followed his brother looking at the patrol of cats. "What's going on, un?" He asked his brother.

Cloudpaw followed after Stonepaw and sat next to him. Usually she stuck close to her brothers but lately she has started to stick close to Lionspark.

Darkstar's eyes did not portray any emotion as she listened to Ashstar's explanation. For a moment she seemed to glance at her apprentice, not angrily, no, she just seemed incredibly disappointed in him. She thought she'd taught the code well, but it seemed that this was not the case, neither for Rockpaw, nor the warrior she now recognized as one of her own. She looked with guarded uncertainty at the newly renamed Mossfoot, not just her former Clanmate or warrior, but her own apprentice. Was it a fluke that two of her own apprentices had shown some level of disregard for the code? She prayed to Starclan that it wasn't.

The she-cat gave Rockpaw a look that undoubtedly said, 'I'll deal with you later.' Her own apprentice breaking the code was an embarrassment, although she was somewhat glad he seemed relatively unharmed; a mouse biting its predator had almost become a euphemism for an apprentice fighting Windclan's deputy. "I will have Dreamleaf look him over to assure that." Her eyes were level with Ashstar's again. "Thank you for bringing him back, and I hope not to have a repeat of this from now on." The last part of her sentence seemed to be directed at the smaller tom who she was attempting to train. Attempting was now the key word here.