Home? (open)

Returning home had not been what Gladepaw had hoped for. Leaving home had not been what she'd hoped for. Life had gone on without her, and when she'd returned home everything had been swept away, lost in the flood. Gladepaw had not brought herself to even dwell on other losses in the flood. She couldn't. She wouldn't. Life had to go on, like it had gone on without her. Life still seemed to be going on without her, and the white she cat spent her time staying out of the way of everyone. She'd barely spoken to her siblings, and after abandoning them, she doubted they wanted to talk to her.

The white she-cat pushed the moss bedding down, grunting in satisfaction as she surveyed the freshly made nests. She spent most of her time in camp, repairing broken dens and taking care of the elders. If Gladepaw was honest she was incredibly tired of it, and was thankful she'd finally finished. If she was lucky, she might be able to join a patrol later. Although the chances of that happening were slim, she always sleeping when they left. She spent all her time sleeping when she wasn't fixing up the camp. sleeping and avoiding everyone.

Gladepaw was about to do both of those things, when she felt a sharp pain in her stomach, followed by a deep rumbling. Gladepaw's plans of sleeping and avoiding people fell apart almost instantly. begrudgingly she made her way to the fresh-kill pile, trying to be as discreet as possible, although her stark white pelt didn't help. She grabbed a plump mouse off the top of the pile, and set herself down in a shady corner.

Gladepaw took a large bite of her mouse, not getting all of it in her mouth. Her tongue swept over he maw, collecting what hadmissed her mouth. she bent down to grab another bite when she felt the presence of another cat beside her. She tried to hide her irritation, albeit not well. "Can I help you?" she said through a moutful of mouse, green eyes sliding to the cat next to her.

A certain pair of familiar yellow eyes clashed with Gladepaw's green.

"Hey." Hailpaw responded simply, flicking her tail against her littermate's ear. "Mind if I have a bite of that?" There was an awkward pause as both took in the sight of each other, Hailpaw waiting for the other to respond. Her maw quirked into a crooked grin. Maybe her sense of humor was twisted, but she could not help the amusement she felt. Was it not an interesting situation? The two sisters who had each run away from their clan were now sitting side by side again, with those few words that had just transpired probably their first conversation in more than a moon. She was assailed by a strange urge to chuckle, but she refrained to avoid the very likely outcome of having her ears cuffed. "Been a while hasn't it, Gladepaw?" She asked, still grinning. For the first time since Gladepaw had returned to ThunderClan camp, Hailpaw addressed her by name. "Welcome home, Sis."

Gladepaw held Hailpaw's stare, and took another bite of the mouse, ignoring the tail flick Hailpaw had given her."Hi," she meowed shuffling over to make room for her sister. She rolled her shoulders, trying to get comfortable, while listening to Hailpaw speak. It had been ages since she'd spoke to her sister, and she had not anticipated the awkwardness that would come with speaking again. Despite the awkwardness, Gladepaw was glad to have Hailpaw's company.

Acknowledging the other apprentice's question, Gladepaw pushed the mouse between them. careful, it's quite juicy. I wouldn't want it messing up that white pelt of yours." she purred jokingly, though she glanced at her pelt, so similar to Hailpaw's, and found it not to be as clean as before she'd started eating. Her face heated in embarrassment, but she pushed it down, hoping Hailpaw hadn't noticed.

Her attention from her soiled pelt, was soon snapped as Hailpaw began speaking again. "It most certainly has, Hailpaw. she responded, mouth quirking upwards slightly. Amusement danced in here eyes as she watched her sister. How long had it been that she'd heard her sister talk? Maybe if Gladepaw didn't spend her time moping around they would of talked sooner.

And when Hailpaw welcomed her home, Gladepaw couldn't hide the smile that played upon her maw. She hadn't realised it, but she'd been waiting to here those words for along time, and for an instant she felt younger, less grumpy and tired. Her green eyes crinkled. "Thank you," she meowed softly, "I'm glad to be home."

Contrary to the snarky response Hailpaw had expected, Gladepaw quietly nudged the mouse over. What's this? Hailpaw thought dryly, My sister, willingly sharing her food? Is the sky going to fall down next? Then again, perhaps it wasn't so surprising... She lowered her head to inspect the piece of fresh-kill, twitching one ear at the other she-cat's warning. "Hah, I can always clean it later. What difference does it make, between the blood of my enemies and juice from fresh-kill?" With the latter comment, she flashed her sister a small smirk. Then she took a bite of the soft flesh. Gladepaw was right. The mouse was rather juicy; that, however, only made it taste so much better. She took her time chewing, before she finally swallowed. For a moment, it was almost as if they had returned to the old times. They could have been nothing more than newly-appointed apprentices, hanging out after a long day of training... But Hailpaw knew the difference between illusions and reality. A sense of nostalgia hit her, and her heart ached. How she had missed this sister of hers as well.

Her yellow gaze flicked to Gladepaw's visage. The other apprentice had softened. Her time away from her clan had changed her, just as it had changed Hailpaw. There was a weariness in her eyes, one that had not existed before. Gladepaw seemed to have aged―not physically, but somewhere deeper within her spirit. Hailpaw pondered over the smile that her sister had shown, and she knew that she understood precisely how her sister had felt. To her, it had been a smile of relief, of joy at having been reunited with something long lost. So much had changed in the time that they had been away from their clan. For Gladepaw, who had only returned after the flood, the loss of their mother must have been a heavy burden to bear. Hailpaw felt it too, the guilt that plagued her whenever she thought of how she had disappointed Blizzardshine before the former leader's valiant death. "You should talk to Pricklebush as well." She meowed. The light-hearted tone she used did not show in her eyes. They were darkened, solemn. "He'll undoubtedly welcome you back." There was no doubt in those words. She knew he would. After all, toward her who had committed worse, he had practically suffocated her in his embrace. "Oh, but if he ends up crying again..." She laughed, "I'll help you out."

Hailpaw was unable to stand seeing Gladepaw this way. It had reminded her of her own self. Perhaps it was that realization that had prompted her to reach out to her sister. She had not ended up alone, and Gladepaw did not deserve to, either. It was awkward, talking to her sister again after so long. But she knew that Gladepaw felt the same way. "You know that I ran away from the clan as well, don't you?" She asked, after a moment's pause. "We're definitely sisters, committing the same dumb mistake... I don't even know what Leopardstar has in store for me now." At last, she forced out the words she really wanted to say, "Hey, let's stop running away. I want to face the rest of our family. Not just Pricklebush, but the rest o―of them. We can apologize together."

Maybe..." mused Gladepaw, tail flickering. "I just... I don't want him to hate me... Or any of you to. She felt silly admitting it, but her sibling had every reason to hate her, even Beartooth. She'd abandoned them, and for what? She'd ended up sad and alone, and returning home made her feel like a burden. She laughed quietly, the image of a crying Pricklebush flashing through her mind, her bad tempered brother crying, or showing any other emotion beside being grouchy, was laughable. Her brother that she'd left, she hadn't even been there when he'd received his medicine cat name, to congratulate. She'd been so so selfish. She pushed all her sad depressing thoughts back, and focused on the present, she should take Hailpaw's advice, but "I'll think on it," was what she decided eventually, leaving her inner turmoil for another time.

Hailpaw's voice piped up again, delivering her more news she had not known before. "no, I didn't know." meowed Gladepaw coldly, mood changing quickly. Why had no one told her until now? Why were they hiding stuff from her? She felt her anger building, and was so close o getting up and leaving, when Hailpaw spoke again. Gladepaw turned her hard green gaze on her sister. "It was a very dumb mistake." she took a deep breath, trying to steady her rapidly careening temper. She closed her eyes, counting in her head to ten. She waited, and when she opened her eyes, she felt slightly more refreshed. The white she-cat took a bite of the mouse and chewed quickly. I do not plan on running away, not anytime soon. she mewed, before adding "But one day, we can apologise together. I think... I think we at least owe our siblings that.

"I do not plan on running away, not anytime soon."

Hailpaw's features twisted briefly with exasperation. "Oh yeah?" She was tempted to ask. "What have you been doing, then?" Fortunately, she was able to restrain herself. Ever since Gladepaw's return to ThunderClan, the apprentice had not spoken so much as a word to her littermates. She spent all her free time patrolling, carrying out small duties about the camp, or sleeping. It had been painful for Hailpaw to watch; her sister had obviously been attempting to isolate herself. With everything that had happened, the Blizzardshine litter seemed farther apart than ever before. Hailpaw had taken the first step, because she could not bear to watch any longer. Even Gladepaw's fear of being hated resonated within her―her very own feelings. After a slight pause, she responded quietly. "You have nothing to worry about when it comes to Pricklebush. After all, that guy was somehow able to forgive me." Hailpaw turned, meeting her sister's gaze. Her formerly bright eyes had grown cold. "And there's no way you've done anything worse than what I've already done." She knew Gladepaw remembered―the clan meeting Leopardstar had furiously called that full-moon-lit night.

The well-built she-cat drew a breath, almost as if she was stalling for time in order to gather her thoughts. "You were there that night." She began slowly. "I'd maimed a RiverClan apprentice. Icepaw―that was his name. Leopardstar ordered me to spend two moons in RiverClan camp as punishment." Yes, that should have been as much Gladepaw knew. "But I ran away. Maybe it's the rogue blood in us, Gladepaw. I couldn't stand the thought of being confined in that place. I thought that I could be free as a rogue, that I would enjoy a life not bound by any rules. All I managed to accomplish, was breaking mom's and Pricklebush's hearts." When she closed her eyes, Hailpaw could still visualize that scene within the darkness of the Tribe's cave. As Blizzardshine hurried to join the patrol that would bait Sharptooth, Hailpaw called after her the last words she would ever say to her mother: "Mom! I never told you I was sorry!" The white apprentice clenched her jaws, falling silent for a few seconds. Then she spoke up again. "Did you wonder why you weren't told?" Who would have missed the change that had fallen over Gladepaw? They had spent the first few six moons of their life together; Hailpaw knew her sister well enough to guess that much. "Maybe no one wanted to tell you that you have a deserter and murderer for a littermate. But you're right, Gladepaw. I owe my littermates far more than apology, and that includes you. An apology is all I can give at the moment."

"I'm sorry."