We meet again, but not for long. (CLOSED for Ash/Graybriar)

Wolf limped into the camp she was taken from so long ago. It had been a long time, and she was nearly warrior-aged already. Flicking her gaze around, she wondered what had brought her back here. Perhaps random impulse, perhaps the fact that nearly all able cats were still fighting. When she had awoken from Tinystar's blow, her first instinct had been to come here, for some reason. Her mother hadn't been in the battle, which meant she was probably still caring for kits. Poking her head into the relatively quiet nursery after a quick glance around to ensure she wasn't noticed, she called out in a soft voice. "Graybriar? Hello?" She didn't know how her mother would react, if she even recognized her. After all, how could word of her fighting for the Regime find it's way back to camp already?

(Bump)

Graybriar was completely awake in her nest, looking down at Briarkit's slumbering form. Her only remaining, beloved kit... why hadn't he been apprenticed yet? Was Brindlestar just too busy? Was she still prejudiced against her SkyClan heritage? Oh, where had Wolfkit gone? Shaking that last thought away, the queen was angry at herself. There's no point wondering where she ran off to. She's been gone for moons. If she isn't dead, then, well... she would have come back by now, wouldn't she? Great... now she would be sad again. As if her life wasn't already a failure. The light gray tabby sighed, looking out of the nursery into the starry sky above. At least the stars were back. At least they'd beaten that hypocrite Lichenmask.

Was that... was someone saying her name? The fur on Graybriar's spine rose up in response. Had she drifted off into a nightmare again? But no- someone's head poked into the nursery. Who was it? Their face was vaguely familiar- then it hit her. "Wolfkit! Oh my stars!" Her daughter was alive, she had come back, she hadn't failed as a mother! Extracticating herself from Briarkit, the lithe she-cat ran over unsteadily, embracing her missing daughter with all the fervor and love she'd forgotten. "Oh, darling... I missed you so much. Where did you go?"

Wolf smiled faintly, but that faded at Graybriar's question. How could she explain it? "I-ah..." She hesitated for a moment. Should she tell the truth? Or lie in hopes that her mother still loved her? Looking at the other grey cat, she felt a twinge of guilt. How had she managed to live in the Regime all those moons without ever thinking of her mother? "It's a long story. I'll try to explain." She slipped fully into the nursery, sitting at a respectful distance. "A-After a fight with Breezekit, I wanted to prove that I was better, that I was ready to be an apprentice before him. So, me, a kit, snuck out of camp to try and catch a rabbit. Xeu- I mean a rouge came and took me to the Regime." She took a deep breath. "Their leader, Shade, came to meet me and-and I, I made a decision on impulse to join them. A reckless decision. A kit's decision." Wolf winced a bit as if the information was painful to tell. "That's where I've been all these moons. Training with Shade and Xeuxi, the rouge that took me. I grew to love Xeuxi and respect Shade as a powerful cat. I-" Her voice cracked. "I was in the battle at Fourtrees." She sighed. "I don't know why I chose to come back here, now of all times, but I can't stay long. Perhaps one day, when Shade is dead or gone, I will return once and for all. I know it sounds like I'm the most horrible, impure traitor to ever walk the territories, but I love you, and if Shade weren't so powerful, and had I not gained such a network of trust among the Regime, I would be here to stay." At that she broke down, sobbing quietly into a paw. "I-I'm sorry. I.. love you."

Graybriar still pulled her kit close into her chest fur, bur reacted with shock when her precious kit said that she now followed- and respected- Shade. She was barely even apprentice aged, and that monster had turned her to his side with lies! Careful not to react with anger or horror, despite the fact that she felt both, only worry shone in her light blue eyes. "Wolfkit, Wolfkit, do you know what Shade has done?" she whispered frantically, looking deep into her kit's face. "He's a sadistic murderer who kills cats for fun. He ate an apprentice. No matter what lies he has told you, you are not safe around him, or any other rogues. I'm sure that this Xeuxi is a good mentor to you, but I can't think highly of any cat who would steal a kit and then lie to her so she wouldn't come home. I'm worried for you!" Her kit had left, and hadn't come back. But now she was back, and Graybriar wouldn't let her leave again. She wasn't safe out there with that group of murderers! Who knew if they'd teach her precious daughter to kill and maim next? "Please, Wolfkit, come home," she pleaded, voice low, tears welling up in her eyes. "Come home and stay home. Shade is a horrible cat, and there's no good life for you out there. Those cats who you see as family have been lying to you. Come back home, where you belong!"

Wolf stared at her mother in confusion. Lying? Shade and Xeuxi had seemed to be kind to her, if a bit hard in terms of training. But hearing it from her own mother.... A twinge of guilt ran through her at how gullible she had been, as now that she thought about it, she had been in Shade's "inner circle", so to say, with Xeuxi, An, Chase, and Dante. But he had mistreated, even abused, Cinderfall and Canren. And likely so many others. She stuttered for a moment. "Lied? Murderer? But- Shade and Xeuxi have shown care for their cats, at least me, Chase, An, and Dante. They only attacked those who threatened them, or were in their way to taking back the territory that they had been pushed out of so long ago." She desperately wanted to defend the cats that had practically raised her, but Graybriar's words made perfect sense. Fit together pieces of a puzzle Wolf never knew were missing. "Come to think of it, you might be right. Canren, Cinderfall, all those Clan cats..."
She paused, a question coming to her mind. "Even if I did rejoin, would Brindlestar accept me? After all, I was fighting for the enemy. I trained with one of the Clan's greatest enemies. She has no reason to trust me. You don't, either. So why? Why is it even an option?"

(Bump)

OOC: Please don’t bump topics so often, I’m aware of its existence and will get to it when I have the time. You can nag me if it’s been a week or so, but two or three days is a little soon. Just be patient :)

Thankfully, her daughter listened to her. Graybriar let out an audible sigh of relief as her child accepted her embrace, and began planning to hopefully rejoin the Clan. But something still stood in their way, and Wolfkit had realized that for both of them- Brindlestar. The oftentimes proud and purist she-cat would never have let Graybriar into her Clan if it had been up to her. It would be very hard to get the stern leader to accept Wolfkit back into the fold… “We’ll just have to be persuasive, sweetheart,” the gray tabby informed her daughter, a hint of steely determination glowing in her blue eyes. “You didn’t know what you were doing when you ran away, and those rogues were forcing you to stay. Luckily, you managed to escape, and if I have anything to say about it you won’t have to go back there anymore.”

Ooc: Will do. Sorry!

Wolf smiled, pressing into her mother as she relaxed for a little while. Suddenly she shot up, remembering an important detail. "Canren! Canren is there! With Xeuxi and Shade! And he didn't go to the battle... I have to go back for him!" She mentally slapped herself for forgetting. Canren probably still wouldn't trust her, after all, she had often helped in "controlling" him, but she and him could escape once and for all together! And anyone else who wanted to leave! "I'm sorry, Graybriar, I have a, well, he's not really my friend, but I know he wants to get away as well." She stood and began to make her way out of the nursery. "I swear, I'll come back as soon as I can. And I'll tell you about anything else I discover." With one last glance at Graybriar, Wolf ran, praying to the StarClan that had only just now come back to her memory that she wouldn't be caught by a WindClan patrol on her way back.