Family Reunion (East Shore)

Falconwing slowly opened her eyes to marshy surroundings, a scrap of fur still hanging in her jaws. Slowly climbing to her paws, she looked around, seeing mostly wreckage, water all around and... Was that Flintfang in the distance? A few other cats seemed to be nearby, too far away to discern by sight or smell. The kit. The bundle hanging in her jaws was still and cold as ice. "Oh, no, no." Curling around the kit and licking it, she attempted to revive it, but not a breath stirred. "May StarClan welcome you with open paws, little one." PAwing at the soft ground, she quickly made a shallow grave, placing the dead kit inside before covering it up and padding towards her mate. "Flintfang! Flintfang! Is that you?"

A gray tabby pelt had washed up on a mysterious shore. The tom's fur was soaked and caked with mud and debris. New scars had graced his pelt, and a heavy headache resided in the warrior's mind. Green eyes blinking open slowly, Flintfang lifted his head, groaning with the effort, his name echoing through his ears. Was that Falconwing's voice?

A lithe brown tabby figure greeted the tom, yellow eyes filled with concern. The face was familiar, but the surroundings certainly weren't. Flintfang let his head swivel, taking note of the current situation. The two cats stood near a huge body of water, much bigger than the river that ran through the forest. Dried reeds sprang from the shore, and tall pines could be made out through the fog. The most curious addition to the landscape, had to be the small boxes of wood that dotted the hill. Twoleg nests? Flintfang pondered groggily, eyes narrowing with ache. Whatever they were, they certainly weren't natural. This wasn't the forest Flintfang knew, the flood had taken the cats somewhere else...

"Falconwing…" The tom breathed, finally getting to his paws. He ran his muzzle over hers, the gesture laced with apprehension, a rare display of affection. "Are you alright? What happened to the rest of ThunderClan? And Mosspaw and Lilypaw?" The yowl from another feline answered Flintfang's question. He looked over his shoulder in horror to see dozens of bodies, washed up on the muddy shore just like he was. Some were moving, and some weren't. There were cats from other clans too, not just ThunderClan. The faint scent of RiverClan, WindClan, ShadowClan, and SkyClan could be pinpointed as well. There's so many cats here...

Tearing his gaze away from the commotion, Flintfang let it fall on Falconwing once again. It sparked a rare empathy within him, seeing her in such a bedraggled state. In fact, they all were. "Come on," He mewed to his mate, letting his tail rest over her back. "Let's go find your kits..."

The sun had climbed high in the sky as Mosspaw skirted around the groups of cats, recognizing only a couple of them here or there. She seemed to be searching for something in particular, and so far her search had yielded nothing - or at least, not what she wanted. Her tail dragged across the ground as she forced herself to keep trudging on through the mud wearily, praying to StarClan that she would see or hear about the fate of her family. At that moment, a familiar voice trailed across the shore, reaching her ears. Her head turned in the direction she heard it, wondering if her tired mind was only playing tricks on her. As she looked towards the sound, though, she recognized the brown and gray pelts of her parents. She took a tentative step forward as a rush of emotions stepped forward, tears filling her eyes.

One paw, then another planted in the mud, faster and faster until she was sprinting towards her adopted mother and father. A wail rose in her throat as she neared them, sliding to a stop among the debris. Pressing against Falconwing first she cried out. "I thought I had lost you... I couldn't find you anywhere and I was so scared that something happened and I would never see you again and I would be all alone and I'm just so glad that you're okay!" She took a deep, shuddering breath as her attention turned to Flintfang and she pressed her head into his chest, her body quivering like a leave in the wind. "I'm so glad I found you..." Mosspaw sobbed, still shaking as she stayed close to the two who had taken her in and helped shape her into the cat she was today.

Nodding in silence at her mate's words, Falconwing padded forward in unusual silence. Looking up from her paws after a short time, she studied the shore. "There are so many..." The tabby murmured, before spotting a familiar calico pelt rushing towards them. "Mosspaw!" Exhaling as her daughter pressed against her, she pushed back gently, leaning into Mosspaw. "I could say the same about you." Stepping back, her yellow eyes softened with tears and grief, Falconwing spoke again. "Have you seen your sister anywhere?" Oh, Starclan, she could be hurt, or dying, or dead! My little kit... Fighting back tears, the warrior began padding forward once again.

Back at the ThunderClan camp, Lilypaw had slipped down the side of the muddy ravine. As she had got washed away she had desperately struggled to keep her head above the water. Finally, she had found a large stick to hold onto, and she had clung to it until she was washed up onto the shore.

Lilypaw looked around, utterly lost. In front of her, the river had pooled into what looked like a huge puddle. The ground had no growth on it, and in the distance she could see several boxes, possibly Twoleg dens. She looked around and, for the first time, realised she was not alone. All around the gigantic puddle, there were many cats, some finding lost ones and clanmates,  others lying there still. On the breeze, she caught the scents of RiverClan, ThunderClan and possibly some rouges or loners. There were many other scents that she thought could be the other clans, although she didn't recognise any of them. She decided to go where she scented ThunderClan, and, before long, she spotted a calico apprentice, a grey tom and a brown and white she-cat standing together. Its Mosspaw, she thought, and there's Falconwing and Flintfang! With all the strength and energy left in her body, she ran toward them.

"Mosspaw! Falconwing! Flintfang!" Lilypaw was overrun by sheer happiness, and instantly went to Mosspaw. 

Mosspaw pulled her face away from her father and shook her head. "I haven't seen her... I was hoping maybe you had found her... Seeing Falconwing's look, and the tears in her eyes, she touched her nose to her mother's shoulder. "But I'm sure she's okay! She's strong and smart, she must be around here somewhere. She fell into step next to her parents when suddenly the sound of her name being called reached her ears. She stopped, ears swiveling towards the sound, and then she whipped around with a yowl.

"Lilypaw! Oh Lilypaw, you're alright! You're here! A purr rumbled in her throat as Lilypaw ran up to her and Mosspaw pressed against her sister. She looked at her parents, her eyes filling with tears of relief and happiness. After several attempts she finally managed to choke out the words. "We're all here, and we're all safe... Is anyone hurt?" Her gaze traveled over her parents and sister worried, hoping that they all made it with minimal injuries.

Falconwing and Flintfang walked together for a bit, an eerie silence. Both were trying to avoid speaking of the inevitable. They can't be dead. Lots of other cats were positioned around the shore, some letting out wails or terror, others rejoicing in the return of a loved one. Flintfang prayed that they soon would be the latter. A mound of fur laid motionless on the sand, and Flintfang recognized the corpse of Bluepaw, a fellow clanmate.
Horror threatened to choke the tom but he fought it down, shielding Falconwing's eyes from the body with his tail. "Just keep walking, okay?" It all seemed so surreal. Was this even happening? Why were so many dead? A throbbing began to form in Flintfang's head. He didn't even want to look at the shore anymore, afraid of finding the pelts of his kits there.

And then he saw it, the calico shape of Mosspaw, not dead, but very much alive, running towards the two with desperate speed. It took all of Flintfang's willpower not to call out and meet her in the middle, he didn't want to feel these things. Before he could react, Mosspaw's head was pressed into his chest, the warm body of this kit, his daughter. It was too much. Eyes glazed over Flintfang breathed; "I'm... very glad you're safe." The words were strained, but heavy, rare from Flintfang. A pale cream tabby came running up to the three next, and Flintfang recognized the pelt of his second daughter, Lilypaw. She ran up to Mosspaw and they conversed, Flintfang felt a smile tug as his maw. The tom gave Falconwing a nudge, glad the kits were safe, feeling happy.

Exhaling, Falconwing relaxed for the first time in what felt like forever. "My kits. Oh, my family is all safe. I feared the worst." Nuzzling her kits, she spoke again. "As long as we're all here, together, it will all work out. We'll be okay." She leaned into Flintfang, trying to shut out the images of bodies, all around. "We'll be okay."