The Panthers prowl with the Lichen(return topic open to all Thunderclan)

A scarred dilute calico she cat padded behind a smoky black spotted she cat her bright green eyes determined. As they came to the ravine she stopped. Lichenfang came to a stop. Despite her walk and the whole getting lost which was an embarrassment on her part but it showed how long she hadn't been out in the territory which called to her just as much as the water did sometimes when she wanted to swim."Pantherpaw why did we stop?"She mewed. Pantherpaw turned her gaze to her grandmother"because I just want to make sure you can make it down the ravine"She mewed looking to her. Lichenfang purred despite her granddaughters hardheadedness and determined attitude she did care a lot for family. That she noticed over time."yes I can make it if I can somehow end up in twoleg place in my state I think I should be fine"She purred before she moved ahead down the ravine to the entrance pushing her way through stopping as she took in the camp. Maybe she should've waited outside the entrance. Her moss green eyes looked around. Pantherpaw followed close behind her. Lichenfang was nervous for a moment wondering what all had changed while she was gone. If she had still had her ears which at this point wasn't on her head barely she would have laid them flat. After a moment Lichenfang spoke up much as she usually had to with her hearing having ben basically halfed when the her ears were practically taken."Hello?"

Bump)

A brown tabby tuxedo kit with bright yellow eyes ran up without fear. "Hi! I'm Falconkit! Who're you?" Falconkit sat down, one large ear flopping over an eye. She shook it out of the way. "You smell funny."

Lichenfang blinked not hearing the kit at first til Pantherpaw repeated what Falconkit said to where she could hear."I'm Lichenfang and that's Pantherpaw...we were from this clan"the scarred sure calico she cat mewed her moss green eyes mewed.

"Pantherpaw! And..." A tall, heavily scarred tom burst forward, skidding to a stop in shock. It was Lichenfang, an elder of Thunderclan who had been missing- assumed dead, much to the great sadness of the clan -for many moons. "Lichenfang..." He stepped forward, nuzzling the old she-cat as if he was greeting an older family member. "Welcome home." He hadn't forgotten Lichenfang's kindness when she cared for his sister Sunpaw during her apprenticehood. Sunpaw had often thought of the she-cat as a mother and had held her in the highest regard. What he wouldn't give to have had the same relationship with Dustcloud...
Pushing that thought far from his mind, the old tom stepped back. "Here- let me help you to the Medicine den. I know you've traveled far, and you must be exhausted." He turned to a cat nearby, gesturing toward the Leader's den where Leopardstar currently resided. "Tell him it's urgent." He mewed.

(occ: sorry for the delay!)

Leopardstar was nestled in the welcoming shadows of his solitary den, as he usually was for most of the day.  He had finished hearing the reports from the morning patrols that Marshstorm had delivered to him; he had groomed his bright golden pelt and eaten a plump pigeon that one of the apprentices had brought him, all alone.  He knew that she should mingle more with the clan, join their circles and learn about those which he had rarely spoken with...but old habits held him back.  Ever since he had become leader, the tom had been slipping farther and farther away from his old friends, and even his remaining family.  How long had it been since he had spoken to Birdflight and Violetfall?  His dear grandchildren...he barely knew Wasppaw and Mothpaw...so many of those he cherished were gone, forever.  As countless memories washed over him as they too often did, Leopardstar felt his body curl as he tucked his head against his stomach, becoming a tight ball of unbearable solitude.  He missed being in the center of the warriors den, with all of his clanmates sleeping around him, snoring and purring and whispering...he missed the gentle weight of Lichenfang pressed against his side in the nest they had shared, long abandoned.  He missed the simplicity of it all when he had been the one following orders instead of dealing them out.  When they were by his side.

The sudden sound of a cat stepping into the entrance of his den suddenly roused him from his thoughts.  Looking up, he was about to question the cat but before he could they meowed in a hurried tone; "Come quick Leopardstar, it's urgent!"  At once, a deep pang of fear struck his soul; what was happening now?  Were RiverClan back?  Did WindClan need help?  Was someone injured?  Dead?  Leaping to his paws, the golden spotted tabby tom raced from the den out into the late green-leaf sunlight, his hazel eyes swiveling around the camp in search of this issue that had caught him unawares.

That's when he saw them.

No...no no, it can't be...it couldn't be...  The long-legged tom stopped dead, standing stunned like a mouse caught under a warrior's claws.  His eyes knew what they saw, they had never lied to him before...but how could this be?  How could they be here...they were dead!  He had thought they were gone, forever...  Slowly, his pawsteps shaky and unsure, the tom walked across the clearing to where there was a group gathering near the entrance around the two cats...around his family.

"L..Lichenfang....is..is that really...you?"  He was now standing in front of the pale calico she-cat whom he loved more than anything, his face stunned.  "P..Pantherpaw..."  He fell silent, looking from one she-cat to the other, afraid to blink in case this turned out to be some cruel dream.  "...are..are you home?"

[its fine :) ]

Pantherpaw remained quiet next to her grandmother's side. The smoky black bengal spotted tabby looked around. A lot of cats had begun to gather and some faces she didn't even recognize.Were we really gone that long? , Pantherpaw thought to herself. Her fur prickled nervously despite being home she didn't see any familiar faces. Her gaze oved to Leafstorm as he pushed his way over and nuzzling Lichenfang like an old family member.

Lichenfang didn't mind that she barely knew the faces around her. It just brought the elder joy to be home. Her mossy green eyes moved to snapped lookingat Leafstorm. She watched offering a small smile as he skidded to a stop in front of the pale calico in shock before he nuzzled her as if she were an old family member. She might as well have been. She had cared for Sunpaw his sister when she was her apprentice. The jagged stubs on her head that used to be her ears gave a slight twitch as she strained to hear his words. Just barely catching them she gave a small purr"I'm glad to be home Leafstorm. She paused as he offered to help her to the medicine cats den and she shook her head"Thank you but I'll be fine i can sit here"She purred smiling as she sat down carefully her legs moving to a comfortable way to sit with her heavily scarred back legs laying out at an angle. Something Lichenfang had grown accustomed to. She wrapped her tail over her paws before she heard someone else coming and she looked up half expecting Blizzardstar because she didn't quite hear Leafstorm say him until she seen Leopardstar push his way in front of her. She could see the disbelif and fear in his eyes. Fear that maybe she wasn't here. She had figured he would have thought her dead after so long but here she was alive and well but exhausted and luckily not wounded. She gave a happy purr that rumbled from her thoat"Of course it's me....I've come home and i don't plan to go anywhere"She purred. Though its not like she could after all she was an elder and there wasn't much she could do. She pulled herself up to her paws with a little dificulty of there always would be before she moved forward and nuzzled him her gaze looking up to him"I've missed you Leopardclaw"She mewed unaware of him now being the leader.

As she spoke, Leopardstar couldn't help the tears that began to form in the corners of his eyes as he looked down at Lichenfang, still so beautiful despite the scars that marred her body.  As she reached up to nuzzle him, he expected for this to be the end of his vision.  He almost pulled away from her, not wanting to leave this wonderful dream...but he felt her.  As her muzzle touched his pelt, her warm breath making his skin prickle, he knew.  This was real.  They were home.

Letting out a chocked wail of pure joy, Leopardstar leaned against his mate, wrapping his tail over her back with a gentle force, convinced that he would never be able to let her go again.  Tears fell down his face as he pressed his muzzle against her neck, his smile wider than it had been for too many moons to count.  "I..I missed you too my love...welcome home."  His voice rasped in his throat, but he made sure it was loud enough for her to hear.  His heart swelling, he lingered for many heartbeats in her embrace, before reluctantly pulling away to touch noses with her.  Leopardclaw... The old name lingered in his memory, and he almost didn't want to tell her his new title, in hopes that maybe he could still go back to his old life, but he knew he must.  "My..my name is Leopardstar now.  I'm the leader of ThunderClan."

His gaze darted down to Pantherpaw after he had spoken, the beautiful kit of their late daughter Orchidfeather, and his apprentice.  "StarClan...you've grown so much!"  Touching noses with the smoky young she-cat, he couldn't help but give her a fatherly lick on the ear.  He had practically raised her in her parent's absence, and her disappearance had hurt him gravely.  "I'm so glad you're home, both of you."  Beaming, he took a step back from them and meowed, his voice more amazed than stern.  "What...what happened?  Where did you go, how did you find each other?!"

Lichenfang purred loudly glad she was home and she didn't want to leave the embrace her and Leopardstar shared in that moment. Almost everything seemed to fall away out of he is for a moment it was just her and her mate. She closed her eyes quietly purring. She just barely heard his choked wail of joy. It wasn't until he pulled away that she blinked and looked at him everything coming back into veiw and once again it wasn't just her and leopardstar. She blinked he was leader now she guessed she was gone for a while. She blinked taking it in before she purred"well congrats"She mewed happily.

Pantherpaw had sat awkwardly not sure what to do at the moment as her grandparents reacquainted themselves. Her tail flicked back and forth while her gaze seemed to look anywhere but them until she had been addressed sort of. Her gaze looked right to Leopardstar as he commented on how much she's grown. She blinked as he touched noses with her and she returned it before he gave her a fatherly lick on the ear making her ears lower slightly for a moment."we are both glad to be home"Pantherpaw mewed and decided to speak up."Well Lichenfang had went for a walk as she had told me somehow winding up getting herself lost an had told me she hadn't expect it to happen and had wound up out of the territory in a bit of unfamiliar grounds. When she didn't come back in time I followed after her to bring her home but we had hit a few bumps and a few encounters before we made it home we had to stop often as well"Pantherpaw mewed her ears flicked forward as she stood her tail held high.

Leopardstar sat silently as Pantherpaw retold the story of their disappearance, his tail-tip twitching slightly as if he were too full of energy to contain himself to sitting still.  His stomach clenched painfully at the thought of Lichenfang, scared and alone in unknown lands, and shifted forward a bit in order to reach out and touch his tail to hers, not taking his eyes off of his granddaughter as she told of how she had left of her own accord to find the dilute calico elder.  He opened his mouth half-way, wanting to tell off the smoky apprentice for not alerting him or Blizzardshine - Blizzardstar at the time - of her intentions, but refrained from the temptation.  That didn't matter now; they were finally home.

"Well...even though some mistakes were made in the process, both of you have shown great courage to return to the clan...to me.  I...I don't have the words to describe the pain I felt in your absence...but you were alive, all along."  Suddenly, Leopardstar realized something.  Lichenfang doesn't know.  For a moment, he hesitated, not wanting to have to tell his mate that their eldest son and several of their adopted children were...dead.  In the end, though, he summoned the courage and took a deep breath, meeting Lichenfang's beautiful gaze with as much determination as he could muster.  "Lichenfang...while you and Pantherpaw were away...Reedheart...died.  He drowned in the river.  Newttongue is with StarClan now as well, along with Rainpaw and Dawnpetal.  Ivyshade is missing too...I'm so...so sorry."  His head bowed, and his hazel eyes began to mist.  "I..I couldn't protect them..."

Pantherpaw was quiet expecting a chastising but one never really came but she could tell he did. She flicked her tail quietly quiet.

Lichenfang blinked hearing his words but this wasn't something she was expecting to come home to so she couldn't help the tears that came to her mossy green eyes.

(occ: let's end the topic after your next post C:)

At the sight of the tears forming in Lichenfang's mossy eyes, Leopardstar dropped his commanding presence and stepped forward, bending down to nuzzle his mate, his face becoming hidden in her calico fur.  He couldn't help the tears that threatened to flow from his own as well.  Pulling away, he gave her a few comforting licks across the stubby remains of her ears, before meowing close enough for her to hear; "...Let..let's get you to the medicine den...I'm sure Mapleleaf would want to take a look at you..."  He didn't know what else to say to make this situation okay...all he could do was be there with her.  For both her sake and his.

Lichenfang couldn't help the tears for a moment wishing that she wasn't losing those she cared for. She tried to stop crying as her mat comforted her as best he could. She tried to blink back her tears as she heard his words and gave a small nod"ok"she mewed getting to her paws quietly.