the dawn [c]

The sun had just peeked over the horizon by the time Sunfire made it back to the SkyClan border. The scent of WindClan was still strong on his coat, and the conversation with Hemlockfox still fresh in his mind. But he felt... good. For the first time since leaving SkyClan, Sunfire felt purpose again. Some semblance had been there when he was raising Wolf, training the young tom to fight, and be a warrior... but no matter how much clan lore he told his youngest son, no matter how many times he recited the warrior code, or their family tree, or reminisced about days past, there was a hollowness that he just couldn't fill and never would. Out there, regardless of how hard he tried, he would never be at peace because he was not home.

And, he missed his mother.

Sunfire tilted his head back at the base of a massive oak tree, tufted ear flicking. Then he sprang upwards and sank his claws into the trunk, climbing up to the lower branches and settling down on his belly. A long sigh escaped him as he settled in to wait.

Eventually, the combination of early morning heat and the strain of the last few days took its toll, and Sunfire's eyes drifted shut. The yellow tom surrendered to sleep, curled against the base of the tree. His sleep was dreamless and restful, and when he woke, it was clear that several hours had passed. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes, yawning sharply, and rose to his paws. If it had been this long, and no patrol had wandered past, he would simply take himself to them, and if anyone had a problem with it, he'd deal with it at the door.

In one fluid motion, the warrior slipped down to the ground, shaking shredded bark from his coat and lifting his nose to scent the air. SkyClan. The stub of his tail twitched, and he oriented himself towards camp. How many times had he walked this path as a warrior of SkyClan? Sunfire's claws sank into the dirt as he picked up his pace, loping along the trail. Every pawstep brought him closer to home, to his mother, and his siblings, and his children. He wasn't foolish enough to think that Mintglade would be happy to see him - he'd abandoned her, with the rest of the clan... but maybe, just maybe, she could forgive him.

He was making no effort to be stealthy, and still half-hoped that he'd find a patrol before he actually rolled up on the camp, so as he passed a particularly fresh SkyClan scent trail, Sunfire paused. His eyes angled upwards, into the trees, but there were so many places one could hide, it was impossible to see. He squinted, the hair on the back of his neck rising. If there was someone nearby, either they were far enough away now not to notice, or they were watching him.

He would wait and see.

His patience paid off shortly after his paws drew to a stop, and a mottled shape dropped from the tree he'd just passed. Sunfire half-turned, gaze sliding over to land on the approaching tom. But his aloof mask faltered when he realized that it wasn't just any warrior that had found him.

It was Firepaw.

Sunfire blinked, a smile forcing its way on to his features as he stepped forward, lowering his head to greet his son. How fortunate could he be that another of his children was the first of SkyClan that he met tonight. Perhaps his return would be welcomed, rather than met with mistrust, should he return with Firepaw at his side. "Son," he said warmly. A second of silence passed, but before Sunfire could continue, Firepaw did. Like Hemlockfox, the news thrust upon him from his younger son was not what he wanted to hear, but unlike the medicine cat, Firepaw had no tact, no hesitation to soften the blow.

The words that spilled out of his mouth made the yellow tom's breath catch in his chest. Not one. Not two. Not five.

How?

His paws were frozen to the ground. Numbness spread up his legs. It took everything he had to keep his face neutral, but he managed, somehow, to blink away the tears that burned the back of his eyes. Graywind. Mintglade. His children.

"It's really me," he said quietly, swallowing the grief back. "I'm here." The other questions were so complicated, not something he wished to get into right now, not sure he could get into it with what he'd just learned weighing on him like a fallen tree. But... if anyone deserved answers it was the family he'd abandoned. Sunfire let out a breath through his nostrils, tipping his head back towards the direction of the camp. "Come. Walk with me while we talk."

He fell in stride with Firepaw, quietly observing how large the tom had grown in his absence. He would be a warrior any day now, that was certain - if he wasn't already. He'd lost count of the moons he'd spent longing for the cover of these trees. "I didn't die, son. I... I had to leave, to protect SkyClan. Or I thought it would." He shook his head, eyes closing briefly. Obviously, that hadn't worked. If he'd stayed, could he have prevented it?  

The warrior wanted to know why. How. Who. Every fiber of his being itched to tear his imagined enemy limb from limb, to shed blood from whatever it was that had caused this destruction to fall upon his family. But Firepaw shouldn't be the one to have to tell him that. He would get his answers from Wolfstar.

"I missed you, too. Truly, I did, and I am sorry for allowing you to believe I was dead. And I am sorry for not being here when you needed me. But I am here now, and I will never leave you again. I promise."