Coming Back Home [Open]

Two sets of pawsteps could be heard approaching as two cats long lost to the clan made their way to camp. One quick, anxious, while the other was calmer, slower.

Streampaw was basically bouncing and more than once he had attempted to drag the older cat by his tail, unhappy by his calmer pace. Bonewatcher was allowing himself to walk calmly, not hurrying, more than once he had thought of the option of not arriving to camp at all, but the thought of the two young cats he had been forced to leave behind, of his family, pushed him forward.

The fur on their necks was ruffled and almost flat, the last evidence they had from the collar they were forced to wear. It had taken them a bit too long to get them to snap and release them from it, but they were just glad they had each other to help…how could’ve they achieved that on their own was a question hey probably would’ve struggled to get an answer for quite a long time.

They just couldn’t help but thank StarClan for the luck streak they had that day, when they were put on display along many other cats for twolegs to see on a flat stone for the to take to their dens. Bonewatcher was actually the one to get them out, the old SkyClan blood from his mother mixed with the strength in the blood of his father allowing him to grab the larger tom by the scruff and jump over the transparent barrier they had tried to use to keep them inside. By the time the Twolegs realized their mistake, their failure, it was far too late, they had already darted out of that place as fast as their legs could carry them.

They didn’t mind the brambles as they tried to get tangled on their fur, they actually found a strange comfort on it. It was like if the camp itself was welcoming them back in its own unique way.

Streampaw was the first one to enter the camp after so long. He was no longer the apprentice he was when he got captured by the twolegs during his hunting patrol some moons ago. Instead, there stood a large fluffy blue adult tom with a white mane around his neck that almost reminded to that of a lion. Larger, bulkier than his own mother and father were back when they lived.

Bonewatcher hadn’t changed much in comparison, which was obvious as he entered behind Streampaw, maybe just had won a bit of weight due to his lack of enthusiasm to do anything after being captured until the day they finally could escape.

The silver gray tabby stirred, restless in her nest. This time, she'd actually been sick! For two sunrises, she'd been confined in camp, isolated in Mossbloom's den. This was her first night back in the apprentices' den, and Stormpaw couldn't wait to be out again. Mistwalker and Nettlefire had promised to take her and Coniferpaw hunting, and she hoped Houndheart, the new ThunderClan deputy, would let Leopardpaw join them as well. Unable to sleep any longer, the tabby carefully crawled out of her nest, disturbing neither of her brothers sleeping beside her. She padded out of the den, stretching in a patch of sunlight. She looked longingly at the warrior's den, thinking of her two friends, Dacedream and Rainstrike.

A rustle caused her to glance up, and in walked in two cats. Oh, good, the dawn pat- Stormpaw's blue eyes widened when she suddenly realized, that wasn't the dawn patrol... The she-cat jumped to her paws, and glanced around the clearing. Unfortunately, no warriors were in sight. She looked at both cats, deciding that even though they were much bigger than she, she'd rather die protecting her clan than let some fox-hearted rogues attack her clanmates. Aside for Hailpaw, she was the oldest cat in the apprentices' den, and if some rogues thought they could take over ThunderClan, well, did they have something coming!

Stormpaw sprang for the blue one, giving no warning or yowl until she was on them. "Oakstar! Houndheart! Mistwalker! Someone- intruders!" Stormpaw yowled once she was in front of them, digging her claws into the ground. "You can't attack ThunderClan and win!" she hissed, fur bristling .

Streampaw flinched when the apprentice called them intruders after adopting a battle stance. However, Bonewatcher just sighed and rolled his eyes, unamused, before stepping forward.

“Yes, this is the ThunderClan I remember, apprentices eager to fight and jumping to conclusions before trying to understand what is happening” He muttered the words between his teeth, whether it was loud enough for the apprentice to hear them or not, that would be decided later. He only had one thing on his mind at the time though “Can you take me to Hazelkit and Duskkit? I would like to see my family after all of these moons…they probably are apprentices by now, though…”.

Streampaw shook his head, finally out of his shocked state “No…not intruders. He is Bonewatcher, I’m Streampaw. Maybe you heard of us before? Some twolegs took us while on a hunting patrol some moons ago, only now we could return” His voice was deep and had a melodious tone he inherited from his mother. He didn’t even sound like the same Streampaw that left the camp all that time ago. Would they even believe him?

At the mention of Duskpaw, well, Duskkit, Stormpaw froze, at a loss for words. Their names certainly sounded like warrior names, but... Bonewatcher? Kinda scary, huh? "Well, what would you do if two big cats strolled into your camp where there are kits, elders, and queens, not to mention the medicine cat? And it's leaf-bare." She retorted, venom in her mew. She could already tell she wasn't going to like this tom. However, if they were telling the truth, it wouldn't hurt to fight out.

Settling her fur down, sitting in a position she could easily defend the nursery, she looked at the two odd cats with blue eyes, distrust with hints of curiosity in them. "Fine, if you know ThunderClan like you say you do, name me at least two warriors that I didn't name already. Now or former ones that an apprentice would know." She mewed evenly, eyes narrowed to thin blue slits.

Bonewatcher sighed "Mossbloom, Medicine cat. Dustcloud, Warrior" He sat down and wrapped his tail around his paws, his usual smile never leaving his maw even if he felt somewhat annoyed by the questioning. Then again, he could understand why the apprentice was doing this. The clans were rarely peaceful after all...he just hoped someone that actually knew them would come soon.

"Pricklebush! And Beartooth! You can surely ask them! They will tell you...I'm their brother!" Well...adoptive brother with Beartooth, but it surely counted, right? They were also Medicine Cat and Deputy, they wouldn't let anyone just kick them out.

At the mention of Mossbloom and her mother, Dustcloud, Stormpaw's eyes widened. "You... You are ThunderClan!" She mewed, nearly breathless. She simply couldn't believe it, everyone would be so happy! Her happiness faltered when Streampaw mentioned Beartooth, eyes glazing over in sadness.

"Bear....Beartooth is.. He hunts with StarClan now..." the normally energetic tabby mumbled, grief still swelling up in her voice. "I, uh, I don't know a Pricklebush.. Mossbloom has been the only medicine cat here since I've been born. I'm Stormpaw, one of Oakstar and Dustcloud's kits. I'm sorry for attacking you," She turned her head towards Streampaw, clearly trying to forget about Beartooth's death. "Dustcloud will be leaving the nursery soon, her other kits are newly named apprentices. A queen named Ferretnose just had six kits, and I wasn't sure who you were." Stormpaw explained reasonably, sitting down as if they'd been having a casual conversation this whole time.

Dacedream was pregnant, but the news was still fresh to her by a few sunrises. She wasn't quite showing yet through her thick RiverClan-blooded pelt, but Mossbloom had felt the telltale lumps within the ThunderClan warrior's belly and knew for certain that Dacedream was going to be a mother. The mother-to-be had told Houndheart, and only Houndheart so far. She could barely wrap her head around it yet. She lay in her nest in the warrior's den pondering her present situation and feeling fluttery-stomached about what was to come when suddenly there was a yowling cry that echoed through the camp and in through the entrance of the den. Immediately alarm, Dacedream jolted to her paws. "Stormpaw?" the tortoiseshell mewed with worry. Quickly she swept towards the camp clearing and exited the warriors den.

When she stepped into the light, she saw an alarmed and confused looking Stormpaw standing her ground with a bristling pelt in front of two large tom-cats, a blue one and a stunning silvery-spotted one. Feeling the fur on her shoulders bristle, Dacedream quickly closed the gap just in time to hear Stormpaw state evenly that if they wanted to go further, they'd have to answer her question: they'd have to name two cats that Stormpaw hadn't already mentioned. Dacedream slowed to a halt just behind Stormpaw's shoulder, looking at the two toms quizzically. She watched as the older tom smirked and sat patiently, answering immediately with the names of Mossbloom and Dustcloud. She would have smirked at his quick, unquestionable answer, but almost immediately the younger one burst in with two more names, and both of those made her freeze and wince.

The deaths... one was fresh, but both still hurt. Dacedream stood awkwardly as Stormpaw explained what they couldn't have known: that Beartooth was dead. Dacedream added hesitantly when Stormpaw paused, "Pricklebush was killed by beasts on the half-moon at the beginning of leaf-bare." Stormpaw went on to apologize for attacking, though she defended her reasoning. Dacedream added, brushing her plume of a tail on her friend Stormpaw's back, "You did great, and I'm sure that since you're ThunderClan cats you understand 'cause you would've done the same." She turned her attention to the other toms and asked trustingly, "Right?" Then her mottled face warmed with a hesitant smile, and she said, "I'm Dacedream - I'm sorry, I missed your introductions, what did you say your names are?"

It had been many moons since Oakstar had scented those scents. His nose had been pressed to the ground in an attempt to find sheltering mice. What he had found instead, was the distinct scent of diluted ThunderClan and strange twoleg surfaces. Something he had experience with, but more importantly, it was ThunderClan beneath it. One of them, smelled like Pricklebush had once… and that meant only two things, either Ridgelight had returned… or… he turned and abruptly left his tracking as he bolted to camp.

A flash of a white and black pelt, and the darker, pale necked tom beside him told Oakstar all he needed to know as he ran into camp with pure joy in his expression.
"Bonewatcher! Streampaw! Thank StarClan, you’ve returned!" His yowl broke through the conversation as he padded over to give each of them a gentle ‘welcome home’ nuzzle at the shoulder. "You both disappeared so suddenly… I wasn’t sure what happened to you! I had patrols looking for days..." He paused, abruptly realising that Dacedream and Stormpaw were present as he gestured towards a more covered area of camp next to the entrance of his den.

"Come, all of you. Please, tell me what happened..." He paused, realising with a painful start that Pricklebush wasn’t here to see his brother’s return. His throat clenched at the pain of having to give that bit of bad news. Fortunately, Dacedream cut the pain by telling them herself. He nodded reluctantly with a sad glance at both toms. "I'll show you where they are buried later... for now, we should all rest." He offered, laying his tail comfortingly on Streampaw's shoulders. Noting the broadness of them now... great starclan, he certainly was no little apprentice anymore!

A yowl echoing from camp struck Duskrain's ears. The young warrior sat up from her meal; leaving a half-eaten squirrel in camp as she padded near the thorn tunnel. Her green eyes were wide and vast as she bounded to Dacedream's side, pushing through the crowd to spy the commotion. Before her maw could speak, a wide smile grew on Duskrain's face at the sight of Bonewatcher, her uncle. "Bonewatcher!" She squeaked, pressing herself into his side, still a good deal smaller than the tom. "You survived! I thought beasts got you!" Duskrain had juggled with the idea after her uncle's disappearance, nose wrinkled in terror and frustration. Oftentimes she'd combine her daily hunts with a search for her lost family. She had much to tell him, and liked looking at his nice pelt. It reminded the warrior of the trees covered in snow. Duskrain's head remained pressed into Bonewatcher's chest until Oakstar's voice sounded behind them. The she-cat turned to gaze upon the large brown tabby, not leaving Bonewatcher's side. There was another strange cat with her uncle, a big tom, but Oakstar had called him Streampaw. How could he be an apprentice if he was so large? Duskrain gazed at him with a spark in her eye, envying his size compared to her own smaller frame.

"Oh!" Duskrain mewed happily, realizing that Dacedream didn't know of her uncle. The dusty gray she-cat ran to her nestmate's side, pressing herself into her fur as well. "Bonewatcher! This is Dacedream! Her fur is really soft, and she's very pretty." Duskrain spoke matter-of-factly. She allowed her muzzle to roll into Dacedream's shoulder, closing her eyes to let her scent wash over her. Dacedream smelled different. She smelled like Ferretnose and Littlesun. Duskrain looked up to meet the she-cat's eyes, nose twitching. "You smell different." Duskrain whispered, curious. Why did Dacedream smell different? Was it because Bonewatcher had returned? Unable to focus on one thing for too long, Duskrain let her eyes drift from Dacedream's to Bonewatcher's, giving her uncle a wide toothy smile. "After you talk to Oakstar, do you wanna share my squirrel?"

Bonewatcher’s ear flicked lightly at the mention of Beartooth’s death. He hadn’t been deputy for long before they were forced out of the territories…a real shame to not see what the large tom could’ve achieved should the end of his own road hadn’t come so soon. However, he couldn’t say he was really surprised. Such was the life of the warrior, where few ever got the option to become elders, and even less by actual old age at all.

“Beasts?” Well, those certainly were news for the tom…so much could happen just in the span of a couple of moons, by the looks of it, but he was always up to hear a good story and this sounded like one that could help boost his knowledge and preparations for future events.

His smile widened when Dacedream introduced herself, nodding in a polite way “Bonewatcher is my name. My companion is Streampaw” His tail motioned towards the large blue tom as he shared his name, knowing well he probably wouldn’t be able to on his own at the time.

And then, finally, a voice he could recognize.

“Greetings, Oakstar” His head turned just enough to meet his gaze “It isn’t a pleasant story…as you know we were meant to patrol the borders with ShadowClan, but we never returned. Long story short, a monster allowed its twolegs to leave for just enough to catch us with strange sticks that tangled around our necks…I swear, the things were worse than the sturdiest of vines. We were forced into small cold dens for far too long. Only recently we were allowed to leave for some reason, so many twolegs came to where they tried to put us on display…we barely managed to jump the barrier they had set in place to keep us from escaping, as well as dodging those trying to recapture us within the confused crowd”.

Probably not the most exciting of stories, but he wasn’t an excitable apprentice or bored elder about to embellish it with random imaginary events and fights.

His muzzle opened once more to add something when a second known voice cut him off.

His calm demeanor shattered as his head turned to face the source of the voice. Oh so well-known, yet…deferent somehow “Duskkit…” The fact that she was talking with a fully grown she-cat instead of the kit he was forced to leave behind when the twolegs snatched him didn’t register right away. He instead could only focus on rubbing his head and body against her in a way to fully convince himself that this was no dream or fantasy of his own. His main worry for all the time he had been away, was if he would have any family left he could return to at all, and this was the best answer he could’ve gotten. He probably would’ve stayed that way for an indefinite amount of time shouldn’t she had pushed away to introduce Dacedream to him.

His whiskers twitched happily as a more sincere smile showed on his muzzle. While Dacedream had already introduced herself, he didn’t mind a second introduction from his niece. He didn’t interrupt the little chatter between the two, still taking in the moment, and only snapped out of it when asked a question “Sure, sure! I’m sure there are a lot of stories to share…and it would be great to eat anything but the dry pellets twolegs were so adamant on feeding us….where is Hazelkit, by the way?”.


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While Bonewatcher talked and enjoyed his return, time seemed to have come to an abrupt halt for Streampaw.

The voices and sounds around him almost seemed to be coming from underwater as the information slowly processed in the fluffy tom’s head. His muscular legs suddenly felt weak as a well-known, yet not pleasantly received pain started to grow in his chest.

Pricklebush…and Beartooth…were dead…

He barely reacted to Oakstar’s arrival, only realizing he was there when the unexpectedly heavy-like feeling of his tail on his shoulders made itself present. The large, muscular tom that could’ve surpassed both of his parents in size suddenly looked so small. His paws moved in an almost robotic-way as he absentmindedly allowed himself to be guided to the place signaled by Oakstar. Shouldn’t he be in such a state of shock, he probably would’ve thanked Bonewatcher for taking the task of delivering the news of their situation, as he had appeared to have just lost his ability to speak at all.

The apparently-not-strangers weren't given much time to answer before it was shouted by someone else. Duskrain raced into the commotion from where she'd been eating, and as she broke through right at Dacedream's side the she-cat grinned and yowled the name "Bonewatcher". The name was familiar, Dacedream realized, and as Duskrain left her side to go greet the tom she couldn't help but stare with a tilted head and concentrated, quizzical eyes as she tried to recognize the tom. Well, he did have a distinct coat - if she thought, maybe she could remember him? The tom - Bonewatcher - introduced himself formally then, as well as his companion, a tom older than Dacedream named Streampaw. That must've been away from the Clan for a long time, she thought.

Oakstar's voice called out then, and Dacedream turned to see an expression of joy and relief plainly written on his face as he raced into camp yowling their names. At Oakstar's behest, the group moved to a more sheltered place, and then Bonewatcher answered the ThunderClan leader's question. Dacedream looked to Duskrain and back to Bonewatcher, the tom's voice seeming more familiar by the moment. Her nestmate interrupted his tale to introduce Dacedream and Bonewatcher to each other herself. Delighted by the compliments, the tortoiseshell she-cat simply perked up and beamed at Bonewatcher. That moment it clicked: she remembered being young Dacepaw, fresh to the Clan, playing with Duskkit; Bonewatcher had often held a watch over them when they spent time together. "I remember you now!" she mewed, "It's been moons... Welcome back!"

Duskrain spoke to her then in a curious murmur - the sensation of her lover's warm breath mingling in her mottled fur nearly distracted her from the statement. Dacedream blinked as she gazed into Duskrain's eyes and nodded, smiling and answering, "You're right, I do." But her love turned away then, quickly distracted as always, and Dacedream was content to leave the conversation there and look back to Bonewatcher. Duskrain asked if he'd like to share a squirrel. As the tom - Duskrain's uncle - asked about another name, Dacedream winced and frowned, giving Duskrain a slightly uneasy look. These toms... were missing a lot of their friends now.