The Sky Never Changes [SkC Return Topic]

It had been strange to be one of the first Clans to separate from the massive group. When they approached the territories from downriver, everything looked strange, yet Amberdawn immediately recognized the SkyClan terrain. It had changed, but she was certain and so was everyone else. Some cats began to murmur, and quickly that murmur spread like a wildfire of joy and relief. Underneath that relief, though, was ever more tension. Yes, it had changed. And how much? What was left of the forest that the Clans knew? Fear of knowing the answer certainly made the goodbyes harder. Amberdawn looked for Mosspaw while they prepared to depart, but the she-cat was likely with her Clan and her family. That's okay, Amberdawn thought, she's just over the border. Her heart sank at the reminder of borders. They'd all lived without them for so long... but it was kittish to think they'd never return.

Amberdawn and Mintwhisker lead the way towards the camp. No one wanted to speak about what they saw, so the walk was quiet. Most of the trees of the forest remained standing tall and strong, much to everyone's relief, but the ground was bare in an unsettling way. Debris sparsely littered the ground - paths would likely need to be cleared off that the Clan had once traveled daily - but foliage was limited. The thickest bushes had been stripped of all leaves and their smallest branches. Grass had been flattened and killed, herbs ripped from the earth. Still, thanks to new-leaf there were splashes of color and green here and there. The forest would return to normal eventually. It was only Amberdawn's first new-leaf, and she wondered how long it would take for everything to grow back.

The golden tabby almost didn't notice when they arrived at the camp. The clearing, which had always been ringed in thick foliage, was bare just like everywhere else, and she had almost walked clear to the other side before realizing others had stopped. Amberdawn turned around feeling sheepish, but when she did another once-over of the camp she could understand why she didn't recognize it. The floodwaters had swept away all the nests and dens, leaving the camp feeling just like every other part of the forest. There were some discernible features - rocks and trees, mostly - but it was almost like starting over.

At a loss, Amberdawn's tail dropped and she simply murmured, "It doesn't feel like I'm home."

Mintwhisker's murky eyes narrowed at the sight of Skyclan's territory. Everything was barren, completely stripped away of the life and vigor that the forest had barely managed to contain. Her large ears twitched. No birds sang.
She nodded at Amberdawn's words, nudging the golden she-cat comfortingly. "We've come back from worse than this." Have we? She'd never heard of anything more destructive than the flood. "The only thing we can do is keep our chins up, and soon enough everything will be just as it was."
Starclan, she was such a liar. With a soft sigh, she stepped over a fallen branch, the pine needles soft against her paws. The taupe tabby was finally home, and yet... She turned her gaze to the cats following her, only a fraction of the size Skyclan used to be. "We're home." She kept her voice low and measured. There was no way she'd lose face in front of her entire clan- the forest would regrow, surely. It was only a matter of time. "And there's much to do. Uninjured apprentices, find a warrior and get to work rebuilding. Sticks, moss, mud- don't tell me you've never patched a hole in a den roof before." And just like that, she was back to work. There was something comforting in ordering others around. Besides, with a bustling camp, it would be difficult to remember the cats that weren't working alongside them.

Fernpetal trudged along near the back of the group, comforted by the fact that Silentwhisper was only a little ways away...but still, her heart ached.  For one, Night had left again, to follow a dumb message from 'StarClan' saying that more of the Clan's survivors were in the mountains, of all places!  Why in the world would they trek all the way there?!  For the exercise? Please!  Yet, as her friend had left, she knew how much that chance meant to him.  To go back to his childhood home, and help the clans she knew he couldn't abandon...it was noble, and she respected that.  If only she knew he would be rewarded accordingly for his sacrifice.  The second reason her heart felt like it was in shreds though was because of the state her beloved home was in.  Entering SkyClan territory felt just as strange as exploring the lake at this point; it didn't look like the same place.  There were no brambles, no ferns...even the lowest leaves of the trees had been stripped away.  The ground was littered with fallen branches and disgusting Twoleg debris, and the bi-color she-cat's nose wrinkled at the smell.  All of SkyClan's familiar scent was gone.  Their camp was the same, almost completely unrecognizable.  Her jaw gaped for a moment as she glanced around, eyes roving the places she had known since kithood...gone.  Murky green eyes gleaming stonily, her ears twitched in the direction of Mintwhisker, and she forced herself to keep from hissing.  Who died and made you leader, 'sis'?  In the end though, at this point, she would probably prefer her estranged sister ordering her around rather than Tinystar.  Without acknowledging the command, she got to work, gathering up the loose twigs that littered the ground.  "C' mon, the faster we work the quicker we can finally sleep."

Mintwhisker had hardly left Amberdawn's side, nor Amberdawn hers, since they had reunited on the twoleg bridge. Even parting to make dirt had been reluctant. The golden tabby she-cat never had a flicker of her doubts about her mentor during the journey despite how they had plagued her in her loneliness at the lake before. Amberdawn was simply so grateful to see the most influential cat in her life still safe and well. She was even more grateful now for Mintwhisker's presence as her dark amber eyes gazed with a heart-broken expression over the camp she used to love and the older she-cat pressed her dark tabby fur against her side. Amberdawn sank into her mentor for a moment, and then Mintwhisker said in a soothing voice, "We've come back from worse than this."

The feelings of betrayal danced in the darkness of Amberdawn's brain, and she shifted unperceptibly away as Mintwhisker continued, "The only thing we can do is keep our chins up, and soon enough everything will be just as it was." StarClan.... was she always such a liar...?" Amberdawn thought as her hurt resurfaced, and she stayed still as Mintwhisker continued forward, continuing to survey what was left of the camp. You're being hard on her, the medicine cat apprentice tried to rationalize, she's simply trying to keep everyone from losing heart. It's what medicine cats are for.

Yet Amberdawn had remembered her own heartbreak, and when Mintwhisker had turned to face her and all the others again she stated evenly, "We're home." The golden tabby apprentice turned her eyes down to the ground, barely able to stifle a weary sigh. Fortunately, the SkyClan Medicine Cat had continued on, beginning to call out instructions for those who had returned. Amberdawn assumed she and Mintwhisker would be working to fix the medicine den together, and the thought made her nervous, yet filled her with joy.... She was conflicted. The older she-cat finished speaking and Amberdawn watched as her Clanmates began to disperse. She searched for Leafpaw just briefly; she had returned to the forest with them, so where was she now?

Perhaps she found something she wants to work on already, Amberdawn thought. I'll have to find her later... The medicine cat apprentice slowly began to pad towards Mintwhisker, dipping her head and saying nothing as she prepared to get to work.

Eyes widening at the sight of the "camp", Splashkit shook her head. This wasn't SkyClan! This was a giant mess! The dens were completely wrecked, sticks, clumps of moss lay everywhere and the tree were nearly devoid of leaves. She padded around the so-called "camp". Unruly twigs littered the ground, making it difficult to put a paw anywhere without scratching her pad. The camp that Splashkit knew definitely didn't have twigs that lay on the ground as if defying the way they were supposed to be organized.
Her confusion turning into disbelief. How could the other cats be so mouse-brained? SkyClan camp didn't look like this. Where was the nursery? Where were the other dens? Why was everything so messy?

Swanpaw looked around as they entered the camp. At least, what had been the camp. Her tail dropped along with her heart as she gazed at the messy, oddly empty places dens, lives, had once been. There- There's nothing left! Standing in the middle of the empty space, strewn with all manner of debris, she barely heard what the older cats said, an echoing feeling of loss curling into a lump in her throat.

It won't ever be the same again....

She had tried to be positive that everything would be all right when they came back, that they could just carry on with their lives, but it didn't look like it would ever be that way. Especially since most of the dens they could prepare would still be empty.

A sigh escaped her as she looked up from the debris on the ground, moving forward to help someone clear the sticks. At least we still have each other....