Long Time Travelers (OPEN / CLAN WIDE)

Tinystar scaled the tree with relative ease, perching atop a branch—Tallbranch, Lightkit repeated in his head, trying to commit the name to memory then and there in case he didn’t get another chance—as if he’d tread that path a hundred times before. Considering how much older than him Tinystar was, Lightkit decided it was possible. Still. There was no way Sandkit could talk him into going up there. ”Don’t,” he said just to be sure, giving his brother a warning look that was more or less undermined by the half-smile on his face.

That was all he managed to say before Tinystar issued the call to gather beneath the Tallbranch, so alike and yet so different from the one that had summoned them in the caves. Lightkit had never caught his own prey, but he was certainly old enough to listen, even if this was adult business. After delivering a flick to Maplekit’s shoulder with the aim of drawing her attention to Tinystar, he sat and waited. This meeting had a different tone from the first. He decided he preferred it like this. Being around so many cats made him nervous as it was; he didn't need a Sharptooth to think about on top of it.

Burningkit followed close b Daylily. The bright ginger tabby stood out through the trees, and her eyes wandered around curiously. What a strange place. Where were the cliffs? The rocks? The open skies? She felt claustrophobic and squished and trapped! Inching her way in to her new "home", she joined the rest of the cats underneath some branch. Who were these other cats?

Hawkstrike walked towards the returning cats with firm steps, tail and head held high. His eyes almost instantly fell on Tinystar’s smaller figure. His forest green eyes void of emotion for a couple of seconds before he finally closed them and nodded respectfully at the leader. Now, he would be lying if he said he was truly glad to see him back. While he had to admit he had proven himself as a leader in the past, he couldn’t help but still feel their leader was less than the rest of those sharing his rank thanks to his…unique characteristics. And right then and there, after the terrible hit their numbers had taken, Hawkstrike felt SkyClan needed a strong leader more than ever.

‘He is quite resilient for a cat with his mutation…I have to give him that. Anyone would think he should be dead by now’ Well…if getting a stronger-looking leader was not an option, Hawkstrike would need to find a way to get closer to the tom and maybe find a way for his concerns and suggestions to find fertile ground on his mind. Maybe, just maybe, then he wouldn’t need to feel worried for the survival of the clan he called home against the four potential enemies that surrounded them.

Well, at least there was a good thing coming from this…more cats, more apprentices, more kits…their numbers could grow and with them their strength. Even if just a bit.

“Welcome home, Tinystar” His voice had changed lightly, more serious, even holding a slightly deeper tone. Whether it was due to personal growth during this disaster, his mask finally starting to fuse with his real self…or even starting to break…that was up to debate. However, he no longer acted carefree and friendly as he had been for so many moons before to keep his act up.

His eyes drifted to the tabby she-cat, who now was being gently placed on the ground by the one that once called her mother “I’m sorry for your loss” He never had a mate in the past, but he knew the soul-shattering feeling that was losing someone very close, so at least in that sense, he could kind of understand and relate to him.

Swanpaw let herself forget everything in her father's pelt for a moment, drowning the worries away in the scent of his fur. She felt almost like a kit again, safe and protected. But she knew it could never be like that again, and she drew back as Tinystar gently scooted away, wiping her face with a paw to clear the blurriness from her eyes only for it to well up again. Tinystar's voice came from the Tallbranch a short distance away, and she looked up, blinking against the tears as the familiar summons echoed through what was left of their camp.

Perhaps everything could still become better, but she felt in her heart that it wouldn't be for a long time. Some part of her wished that it was all only a dream, that she would wake up a young kit again safe against Moonlight's belly. But after the events that had happened... it was an impossible dream. The flood made that impossible. The flood. If only they had known about the water flooding the camp earlier, if only they had somehow found a way to shelter. If only....

She shook the thoughts away and prepared to listen to Tinystar's announcement, a sense of dread twinging inside her.

Waiting a few moments for the mingling clan to gather bellow Tallbranch, Tinystar took a few moments to gather his thoughts. Informing them on all of the cats that had been lost during the flood times wouldn't be a simple task and would be hard for some cats to except, but he knew that as far as him personally, he would have wanted to know which clanmates were gone and to get some closure on the matter.

"Today, we can thank Silverpelt that we made it home and that we still have a camp after everything," he began, swallowing the lump that had begun to grow in his throat. "But, as most of you know, such events came with casualties. Moonlight, Darkflower, Scorchbranch, Silentwhisper, Tigerleaf, Alderpaw, Forestpaw, and Snowpaw were taken from us during the flood. The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not 'get over' the loss of a loved one, but will learn to live with it. You will heal and you will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. It is hard, trust me, I know, but our loved ones would still want us to keep living onward towards a better future, in which case we should respect such wishes," the little leader mewed over the clan, his voice almost filled with an ounce of hope. If only he was able to take note of his own words, how much easier living would be.

"Let us all spend some time to catch up with each other. Then, we will get back to work on the camp," Tinystar finished with a nod. Jumping down from Tallbranch, he made his way back over to his family, who were all still in the same general area in which he'd left them.

"I am sorry that everyone has to go through such hardships, I wish there was more that I could do," the tiny tom spoke in a more hushed tone than before as he cast his gaze down to his white paws. Of course, he had to be a better leader, or a "bigger star," but did any of his clanmates even want his console?