Photogenic Nostalgia (closed until Maple posts)

It had been moons since Blacktwig had seen this camp.

The treetops glittered brightly with the coming of Newleaf. He could see ThunderClan's camp coming up, and his legs felt stiff, but the bursting sensation in his heart indemnified the pain. When he was captured by Twolegs, he had been terrified and writhed, but he had hope that he might see his daughter again. He didn't. Mottledwing was gone forever... but not in his mind. It still broke his heart. An incline jerked his paws sharply. Darkstar, he thought, it has been so long since I've been here. I'll explain everything, I swear to StarClan. The tom then remembered what had most compelled him to return, besides his loyalties; Maplecloud.

Maplecloud... Maplecloud... and my kits! They must be all grown up! he reflected joyfully. They must be apprentices, warriors even, they must be hunting so happily, they must... they...


They must hate me.

Blacktwig thought about what he, and they, might say when he returned. Nothing. He could say nothing. No one knew he was caught by Twolegs in their netted vehicle — their monster. He had almost never eaten when he was in the monster, and they took him to a strange, dull place. Recalling the muggy place, he decamped a tree and slowed down. There was a gorse tunnel ahead of him. With bated breath, he padded closer.

The old cat flattened his ears against his head and entered the tunnel. He accelerated as the flowers, etiolated with age, brushed his pelt. He remembered hunting freely, and his heart soared. When he withdrew from the tunnel, light hit his face. He cringed and ducked to shade his eyes. The dens stood where they always had, but he knew that he would meet new cats. Cats who might not like him. He repudiated a quiet moan, his legs protesting harshly. I'm old, he thought dryly, hoping he would never have to think that.

That's when he saw a tabby she-cat. A purr swelled in his throat. "Maplecloud!" he called, his chest rising like a staysail because of pain from his injuries. "Maplecloud... are you okay..." he murmured, tears in his eyes. He sat down.

The prey piles were finally starting to restock to the normal, abundant new leaf levels, and for that, Dustcloud was happy. She sat at the entrance to the warriors' den, the bright sun reflecting off of her still dull silver fur. She still hadn't fully recovered from her escapade outside of ThudnerClan territory, the raging fire that still haunted her nightmares, nor the war that plagued her memory. But, as leafbare came to a close and newleaf at last fell into place, she was starting to recover the detrimental events of the past. As she repeatedly drew her paw over her ears, her mind wandered other places, such as where RiverClan would strike next, when she'd be making her next trip to help WindClan, and her why her aching bones wouldn't stop hurting.

'Maplecloud?' The only cat that knew her former name was Blizzardstar, and she didn't call her that. The senior warriors' head whipped around to face whoever had called her by that name she didn't want to remember. Suddenly, all of her focus turned to the deep voice coming from the camp entrance. There, in front of the bramble barrier, stood a black and ginger tortoiseshell tom with blue eyes. For a moment she stood, awestruck. All thoughts of her old name dropped like flies. It can't be. It's not him. Blacktwig is gone. Her maw remained open, her paw frozen in midair. Was this the cat she had loved? That just wasn't him. It couldn't be! But... it was. Am... Am I hallucinating? She released a breath that she hadnt realized she was holding, taking just a moment to process what was happening before she sprinted forwards, stumbling over her own paws and nearly bowling into Blacktwig. So many thoughts swarmed like bees in her head, and it got harder and harder for her to think as new ideas continually teemed in her mind. How could this be?

"B-B-Blacktwig!" Her breathing was staggered and she couldn't think straight, but one thing was for sure; this was Blacktwig. He may not have smelled like Blacktwig, and his bright blue eyes may have grown duller; but this was Blacktwig."Wh-Where have y-you b-b-been?" She was on the verge of tears, not even thinking about the reunited couples' dead kits. She pressed lovingly into the larger toms shoulder, letting the tears of joy spill out. "I-I've mis...missed you so m-m-much." Her crackly voice was surely unusual to him but the only thing on her mind in that moment was him. All this time, she'd thought he was dead. Her pelt was adorned with a great many scars he'd never seen before, and she was sure that it scared him. But, there was something that she didn't know about, something that would scare Blacktwig, and her even worse.

Dustcloud's belly protruded slightly, and inside was kits that she wasn't even aware of, but as she and Blacktwig would come to learn all too soon, they were Rowantalon's. This was not gonna be good.


ooc: no one knows about dustcloud's pregnancy, so please don't try to have your cats realize/ mention it, cause that's kinda impossible <33

Blacktwig saw the silver she-cat wrench her head around. The breath that caught so tightly in his chest dissipated into the breeze. His steps quickened with rising joy, and like the sun, mirth radiated from a wily grin similar to the one he had retained in his youth. His maw parted as tears gushed from his eyes. The tom thrusted his muzzle against hers, tail waving like a pendulum. He sighed happily, feeling the softness of Dustcloud's fur, relishing the look in her eyes that he had not seen for so long. "M... Maplecloud," he whispered, "I love you so much... Maplecloud..."

"I-I was captured by twolegs, Maplecloud... they took me away... they ju-just fed me pellets..." explained Blacktwig, voice shaky. "I thought I would be there forever. I knew that I could escape, but they kept me in... it was so mouse-brained, Maplecloud... I-I wish I coul-could've been here..." he tried to keep a serious expression but a sob threatened to leap out of his throat.

He tilted back to face Dustcloud. His face was swathed with guilt. "I'm sorry... I know I've missed so much... I'll be a better father!" he announced. He focused on Maplecloud, seeming to have difficulty mustering what he would say next. "B-But, Maplecloud," he said.


"Where are the kits?"