Homecoming

Swanpaw returned to RiverClan for the second time in her life, her head lowered and confidence gone despite looking just a bit more alive than the last time. She had thought, and thought, and thought about everything that Lilytail had brought to her mind - intentional or otherwise. She had to go home, couldn't avoid it forever when the only life that had ever made sense to her was Clan life - the only life she knew was the life of a RiverClan cat, she had trained to be a warrior. But if she was going to do that, she realized, she was going to have to apologize. That was where she hesitated. But she pressed on despite that, because even if this was a terrible decision it hadn't stopped her from doing anything else in her life - and oh, Swanpaw had made many, many terrible decisions. This time, for once, she had thought things through first. Now the only thing to consider, really, was what she was going to say. She had a lot of things to apologize for.

Spotpaw was relaxing at the edges of camp, eating prey when he heard pawsteps enter camp. His head automatically turned to see who it was. A patrol that was out later than his, perhaps? Then his jaw dropped. Swanpaw was back... again? He took the last bite of his fish and leaped up to greet her. His eyes went up and down, as if trying to decide if it was really her or not. "Swanpaw, you're- you're back! We thought you had left forever!" He had grown since he last saw her. He had become a bit more reasonable but had also lost some things as well. He had two siblings remaining. Petalpaw and Reedclaw. Frostpaw and Raccoonpaw had simply died. Brightpaw's death was more... personal than that.

Sprawled out within a small pool of sunlight that lingered on the edge of camp was Splashwillow, who appeared half-asleep despite the late hour of the day. Ungracefully slumped beside the calico was Adderpaw, whose head was resting heavily upon her mother's flank. The two continued to lazily bask in the limited warmth of the day, only actually stirring at the gradually strengthening of voices. Splashwillow's head slowly raised, her gaze bleary as she drowsily searched the camp for the slight commotion of voices.

Once the calico's gaze fell upon the familiar pelt of Swanpaw, her attention peaked- helping erase the stubborn tendrils of exhaustion that still weighed upon her shoulders. Shouldering off Adderpaw, who let out a low snore in response, she stiffly rose to her paws and hurriedly padded towards Swanpaw and Spotpaw. "Swanpaw..? What are you doing here?" Splashwillow questioned, a hint of concern evident in her soft words, "Is everything alright?" Even though the former apprentice had departed on less than pleasant terms, she was much too curious to raise a fuss over Swanpaw's sudden reappearance.


Staggering close behind Splashwillow came Adderpaw, whose round features were heavy and ruffled with sleep. Her gaze was wary as she leaned forward to peer more closely at Swanpaw. Who was this? And why was every cat acting like they knew her? The fluffy young she-cat inhaled sharply, only to pull away with a slight wince of obvious disgust. A Clan name, yet she didn't smell like any Clan? "Who are you?" Adderpaw eventually huffed, her gaze flitting to Splashwillow and Spotpaw as she waited for an answer.

Despite her saddened state, the unfamiliar apprentice's question made her laugh, reminding her of the last time she had stood here. Spotpaw had asked her that very same question. The laugh was a quiet, hollow sound, like she was holding it back. She didn't offer an answer, however.

She looked to Splashwillow next. "I suppose you could say it was a realization," she admitted, her voice soft. She wouldn't specify what had sparked that realization, however. Lilytail didn't deserve anyone's suspicion, she was a perfectly loyal cat. "I can tell myself I'm running away as many times as I'd like... It won't make the rest of the world any more my home." And that was all she wanted at the moment. To be home.

Spotpaw looked at Splashwillow and Adderpaw. He spoke to Swanpaw first. "Welcome back, Swanpaw. I'm sure Ivystar would love to have you back." Then he turned to Adderpaw."Swanpaw was an apprentice of Riverclan before we were born, I think. She was kidnapped by Twolegs and then made her way back to us, and that was when some of us did some things we regretted." He was not going to name exactly what happened. "She left again and said to go back to thinking she was dead, and... I thought that was because she was going to leave forever or... go die on purpose. Now she's back." He was still surprised.

Lilytail came out of the warrior's den at the sound of voices. Her eyes widened. Was that Swanpaw? Was she really going to stay? The whit furred cat wasted no time in running up to her old friend and headbutting her. She had a huge grin with sparkling blue eyes. "Swanpaw! You're home!" she exclaimed with glee. What a good day this was! Her friend had decided to come home.

Swanpaw smiled at Lilytail. "Yes," she said quietly. She was home. Whether or not it felt like it, nowhere else did either - and she had been enough places now that she could say that with confidence. "Thank you."

Flickerpaw emerged from the shadows. Who was this? Everyone seemed happy. "Um... Swanpaw, huh? I'm... Flickerpaw. I'm a little... new... here."

Jaystream was returning from a patrol when he scented a smell that wasn't from the clan but it was still familiar. The deputy left the prey he caught in the fresh-kill pile and he approached the group of gathered cats around one she-cat he knew from a patrol he did in the past with apprentices. The tom never thought he would see her again here until what happened that last time. He walked toward her, making his way between the rest of the cats and smiled at her, truly happy. "I'm happy you're back, Swanpaw, and I hope this time you decide to stay forever. I'll be glad to welcome you." He purred.

"Thank you, Jaystream," Swanpaw said in response. "I hope my home will still take me back, after my mistakes." The sorrow in her voice was genuine, which was strange even to her.

Snailbelly had dropped a fish onto the fresh-kill pile as part of his lazy day spent fishing. He was tired and somewhat sad. Although he had his mate, Viperstorm, they had lost their first litter and he had lost his apprentice, Swanpaw. Ever since those two tragedies, he had been finding himself beside the river, wallowing in his own self pity. He heard voices over by the camp entrance, but barely registered them until he heard a familiar one... and a familiar name. His creamy ears perked up, suddenly aware of whom it was he was hearing about. His head turned and his eyes landed upon the gathering throng. With great urgency, he shoved himself through the masses and threw himself upon Swanpaw, tears coming to his eyes. He could hardly stop them from coming. There was great rending within his heart, but it was a positive kind. It was bitter and pleasant memories being dredged up. It was love.

"Swanpaw!" he exclaimed.

Swanpaw was nearly crushed by her mentor's sudden appearance, and purred. Her father figure - the only one she had ever had, and she regretted not appreciating him. Or all of them, really, all of her Clanmates. "Hi," she whispered weakly, unsure of what else to say. Still, her mentor's appearance was what assured her that she was home, what made it feel real.

The first thing Scorchpaw noticed upon stepping out of the apprentice's den was the group of cats that had gathered by the camp entrance. Having just woken up from a nap, the apprentice had not yet bothered to smooth down his fur that was ruffled from sleep. He walked over to find out what was going on and stopped short when he caught sight of the gray she-cat in the midst of his clanmates. "You." He could not help the growl that slipped into his voice. "Why're you here again?" It was Swanpaw, the former RiverClan apprentice who had once been captured by Twolegs. The last time he saw her, a group of cats had also been gathered around her. After telling everyone to go back to thinking she was dead, she left the clan. He never thought he would see her again, yet here she was.

"Swanpaw, I'm surprised to see you here of your own volition after your last return." Ivystar spoke warily, though she was happy to see the younger cat healthy and alive, there was an edge of mistrust that coated her joy. Too much sorrow and pain had touched RiverClan in the recent moons, she was hesitant to embrace Swanpaw too eagerly as a result. It felt wrong to trust that this was a good thing, she was half-expecting Swanpaw to declare that she'd killed someone or say that she'd found other RiverClanner dead by the river or from foxes. "Why are you here?"

Reedclaw fell in among the cats who had gathered around the newcomer. He recognized her, but only vaguely. The warrior knew her story, but not enough to worry himself with it. "Welcome back, Swanpaw." He gave a bland welcome, only because his connection to her return was not as strong as some of the other cats'.