Homecoming [CLOSED]

"Hopekit, do you know who to find?" Ichtaca asked worriedly, glancing down at the kit.

Hopekit nodded vigorously. Upon a second glance from her mother, Hopekit got the hint and recited the words her mother had practically drilled into her brain with how much she had said it in the past few weeks ever since Hopekit had asked to join the clans.

"ShadowClan has like one tortoiseshell in total. That's Murkystrike. Look for her first. Mistyfalcon is a black cat with bits of grey and a super fluff tail. He'll probably be with Murkystrike. Once you get to camp, also look out for a ginger, very fluffy cat who stays in the Nursery-that's Sunshade."

Ichtaca nodded, satisfied. "Alright, so you can handle yourself? Alright. Goodbye, then, see you whenever I see you!" She backed away into the distance, where she soon disappeared.

After calling out a goodbye to her mom, Hopekit looked around the place where she had been set down. Her mother hadn't brought her further into the territory, and she understood. She knew her mother was extremely scared of the idea that if she went too close to camp, she wouldn't have the strength to leave again. She began her trek towards where her mother said the camp would be. With any luck, she would encounter a patrol.

Murkystrike led the patrol of Mistyfalcon, Rosethorn, Webpaw, and herself out and away from ShadowClan's camp. looking over her shoulder, she smiled at the group warmly. It was a beautiful night, the sky clear, the moon lighting their way as they crossed through their territory towards the border. There had been no recent twoleg scent still, but Murkystrike was still worried and concerned about it. "It is certainly a beautiful night, isn't it?" She mewed softly, a warm breeze ruffling her fur a bit. She took a deep breath, only to suddenly freeze as she caught the scent that the breeze had carried on it. With a wave of her tail, she silently demanded that the patrol stop. Crouching, she slowly moved forward, something was distantly familiar about that scent.... Opening her mouth to breath it in again, she noticed that it was stronger now, but she still couldn't put her paw on what it was. Suddenly a small figure appeared in the darkness, and she stopped as she realized it was no larger than a kit. An unrecognized kit that was steadily walking towards ShadowClan camp, as if she knew just where to go. With a glance to Mistyfalcon, she took a step out of the undergrowth. "Um... Hello, little one. What are you doing here? Where are you going? Are you alone?"

Mistyfalcon's ears were pricked and he was keeping an eye out for the scent of twolegs, but so far the night seemed quiet aside from Rosethorn's ever-present teasing. He smiled briefly at his mate's words, tail lightly brushing her flank as they headed away from camp.

Murkystrike's tail flicked, and it didn't take Mistyfalcon long to pick up on the scent that had given her pause. It wasn't the scent of any clan cat, and so Mistyfalcon trailed his mate silently, alert for the chance of this rogue not being friendly.

The small shape that came through the trees was no attacker, however... She didn't even look apprentice aged. She wouldn't be the first kit that had found their way to Shadowclan's territory, but that didn't make the marsh any safer for her to be wandering at night.

"Where are your parents, little one?" He asked softly, on the heels of Murkystrike's questions. There was something familiar in her black and white pelt, a vague hint of familiar scent on the wind, but Mistyfalcon was more focused on the kit in front of him.

Rosethorn stayed close to her apprentice's side, totally not whispering words in Webpaw's ears ways to tease Musty. No, she would never do that. She was completely innocent. (And honestly, Murkystrike knows better. She was literally asking for any teasing by putting her on the same patrol as the mates. She had the power to avoid this all, so no cat could blame Rosethorn for taking advantage of the situation.)

Of course, even she was smart enough to halt when Murkystrike gave the signal, putting her tail in front of Webpaw so he would do the same. She may have been playful, but she was not detrimental, and she could take a hint. Use that brain Murkystrike said she had when she named Rosethorn a mentor in the first place.

Of course, all that melted away once she saw what they were facing was no more than a kit. Immediately, Rosethorn padded forward to nuzzle the kit. "Aww, she is so cute! Is she going to come back to ShadowClan with us, guys? If you two adopt her, I bet I could be a great big sister! We'll have so much fun together, sweetie!"

Webpaw had been keeping his head down most of the patrol, a watchful eye on his paws. He had no particular interest in tripping over something or getting a foot caught in the mud and making himself look like a fool in front of the other cats. But despite his focus on the ground below him, he couldn't help listening to Rosethorn, snickering the more she poked fun at the pair ahead of them. He raised his head to look at them, and was just about to say something when everyone had suddenly froze. He gave Rosethorn a fretful look, ears pinned back as the four of them crept forward.

Suddenly, Murkystrike and Mistyfalcon were asking questions, and Rosethorn was cooing, and Webpaw couldn't see anything between the three of them. So much for being taller than the other apprentices. He huffed a little, sidling up to Mistyfalcon's other shoulder to get a good look, and...

A kit. He wasn't sure what he'd expected, especially when everyone else had said it already but.. a little kit. "Oh." He sounded unimpressed as he said it, but his eyes were wide and bright as the stars overhead. Suddenly aware of his height again, the tom crouched down, creeping a little closer to join his mentor next to her. "She's so little. Who would just leave her like this? And–" his tail twitched as he looked back at Murkystrike and Mistyfalcon– "What do we do with her?

The first cat who stepped out shocked her a little, but Hopekit maintained her bright grin. Especially so, in fact, when she realised that this was a tortoiseshell cat. And she remembered very well what her mother had said about tortoiseshell cats. [color:be68=ffc999]"Are you Murkystrike?" She asked the cat before her. She then quickly answered the questions. "I'm heading to ShadowClan camp to find you guys! My mom, Ichtaca-she said to look for Murkystrike and Mistyfalcon, and Sunshade omce I'm in camp. She said Murkystrike is the only tortoiseshell in ShadowClan, and Mistyfalcon is a black cat with bits of grey and a fluffy tail..." She trailed off, realising there were two cats who fit the description. "Could I inquire which of you is Mistyfalcon?" She added.

"My mom's already left, so yeah, I'm more or less alone. Though, my mom-and by extension, me-believe you'll look out for me! My mom said Murkystrike is the best Warrior she had ever known, alongside a number of other descriptive positive adjectives like 'helpful' and 'kind'. She also said Mistyfalcon is understanding, also alongside other adjectives...pardon, I was focusing more on remembering what she said you looked like." Hopekit added, purring in response to Rosethorn's nuzzles.

Mistyfalcon was right behind her, asking the kit about her parents. Raising her head, the deputy quickly scanned the area. No sign of any parents.... Not even fresh scent other than the one from the kit herself. Just like Ravenpaw... Rosethorn burst forward, nuzzling the kit. Murkystrike couldn't help but smile at her words, glancing to Mistyfalcon to gauge his reaction. Perhaps.... No, first they had to find out what they could. If the kit had parents that wanted her back, Murkystrike would reunite them with their kit. Webpaw spoke up, and the warrior turned her head to look at him. She didn't have time to answer before the little kit started to speak, and she blinked in surprise as she called her by name. Astonished, the deputy blinked a couple of times. "Y-Yes, I'm Murkystrike.... How?..." She trailed off as the kit continued, stating she was trying to get to ShadowClan's camp. Well, she was certainly on the right track at least, but the marsh was no place for a kit to be wandering alone. Ichtaca... Ichtaca?! Murkystrike lifted her head again, sniffing the air. Was she still around? Was she coming back? Why did she leave without saying anything?

Murkystrike turned back to the kit as she proceeded to explain that Ichtaca had left already, her ears turning back in disappointment. Her pelt grew warm at the praise she had been receiving, and she lowered her head down to be level with the kit's. She purred lightly as she spoke about Mistyfalcon, waiting for her to finish before speaking up, keeping her head level with the kit's. "I see... I wish that Ichtaca had stayed around so I could see her, but I imagine she had her reasons for not doing so. Do you want to come to ShadowClan with us, or do you want us to try to find your mother? The choice is yours and yours alone.... I'm sorry, I don't believe I know your name. What name did Ichtaca give you?" She mewed, not entirely certain of what to expect.

It took a moment for Mistyfalcon to wipe the surprise off of his expression. Ichtaca had remembered them... And quite fondly, it seemed. That in itself had been a surprise, as was the kit claiming to be her daughter. Now that he looked at her, her pelt and eye color closely resembled the former pelt ward closely enough.

"She left a kit here, alone? And didn't even come say 'hello'? Ichtaca..." Ichtaca of all outsiders should have known that the marshes weren't safe for a kit to wander alone. It bothered Mistyfalcon, just a bit. What if she hadn't encountered their patrol? A quiet huff escaped him, though Murkystrike seemed to have the situation under control. Rosethorn and Webpaw had joined them, and Mistyfalcon gave the two an amused look. Something about how the lone kit had said Ichtaca had told her how to find them and who to look for made him think that the kit wanted to stay, but he'd wait to hear what she said. And he was content to let Murkystrike do the rest of the talking.

Rosethorn looked up at the mention of Ichtaca. "You knew her mother? Oh my stars, that is amazing!" Well, she thought it was amazing. Apparently Mistyfalcon did not believe so.

Standing up, Rosethorn made her way over to Mistyfalcon. "Quit getting all butt hurt over this, you mouse brain, and trust your friend more. Clearly she trusts you, if she is leaving her own kit in your care. And the kit trusts you, too, because I can guarantee you leaving her mother was no easy choice. Letting go of a bad mother is rough, I can only imagine how the kit must feel leaving behind a good one."

Making her way back to the kit, she decided she may as well introduce everyone in the patrol. "I am sorry about him. The brooding tom would be the Mistyfalcon you are looking for. I guess he was really good friends with your mother. You already know Murkystrike, and my name is Rosethorn. The other tom is my apprentice, Webpaw. If you do decide to stay with us, we would be really happy to have you! Especially me, I am always happy to have new friends. If you will have me as a friend, of course!"

The kit's speech had taken Webpaw aback a little bit; not only did she sound so.. just so formal, she said she knew Murkystrike and Mistyfalcon. Knew of them, at least. The tom wrinkled his nose a little, looking between the newcomer and the couple, eventually returning his attention to the kit.

Admittedly, he zoned out a bit listening to the warriors talking. His head was full of thoughts about what could have gone wrong had she gotten lost, disappeared into some bottomless pit of mud, gotten snatched up by a fox, or, or, or— the apprentice huffed and leaned forward a bit to briefly touch his nose to the top of Hopekit's head. He was glad they had found her.

Rosethorn saying his name made Webpaw come back to attention, and he stood up straight. He nodded quietly in agreement, trying a smile. It wasn't like he could tell the kit they would take her in, that was no where near his place, but.. he hoped they did. It's not like they could turn her away, right?