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ωαяяισя ¢αтѕ :: вυιℓ∂ιηg нσρє

Ashwind nodded slowly and settled down in the grass beside his mentor, wrapping his tail carefully around his paws. All throughout his trip back from Moongrove, the gray tom had been mulling over what to tell his clanmates about his findings. He'd planned out the explanation in his head, but as his mentor and his friend waited for him to begin, Ashwind struggled with the words he'd articulated so carefully beforehand.


"Our home is destroyed," he began. "There's nothing left for us to go back to. But," Ashwind continued hastily when he noticed the distress in Mistyeyes' expression. "But, our ancestors don't want us to lose hope. They believe FeatherClan will make a swift recovery."


"Did they say how?" Mistyeyes watched Ashwind shake his head and she twitched her whiskers. Of course they hadn't. StarClan was anything but coherent. "So what are we going to do, then?" she pressed, glancing at the pair of medicine cats. "Should we make camp here and just, you know, continue on?"


"I don't think..." Ashwind trailed off. He gave his chest fur—it was covered in soot from the aftermath of the fire—a few self-conscious licks, pondering over how to continue.


"This place isn't good for us." Ashwind and Mistyeyes looked up at the new voice—Blackfire. The she-cat had woken up from her makeshift nest outside of the den and, upon hearing voices, had gone to investigate.


"There's hardly any prey to be found outside of the forest," the short black she-cat put in, flicking her tail. "The land is barren."


Ashwind glanced at his mentor, silently asking for her opinion on the matter.
 
"What Blackfire said is true, and I did not say we're settling here, when we're so close to FeatherClan. We must keep going," Birdsong meowed, flickering her tail as she stood up. "We leave when everybody is ready. May StarClan light our path."


Riversong smiled as she sat at the entrance and dipped her head, "Well said, Birdsong." She glanced over to the remaining younglings. She was glad that all the kits (expect Poppyseed's) and apprentices were able to make it out with only a few wounds. Riversong knew that deep inside that the clans will grow because of them. The she-cat turned back to everyone else.


"So where do you suggest we go?" Riversong mewed.


"That, I do not know. No cat has ever wandered further than here. Not even I have. So, we must hope we're going the correct way." Birdsong replied, gazing over at the horizon. "It's going to be a rough journey. It's gonna be hard with all the kits and apprentices we have."
 
"It'll be hard, but worth it in the end," Mistyeyes mused, her blue eyes brightening. She'd never explored farther than the clan territory before; there'd never been a need to. A tiny shred of excitement tingled in her paws at the thought of exploring foreign land in search of a new home for her and her clanmates. What was waiting for them out there? Would it be as worthwhile as she anticipated? She believed that, in time, it would be.


Blackfire dipped her head at the medicine cat's words. Leaving home behind seemed like the logical first step, but the she-cat couldn't deny the pang she felt in her chest when she considered it. The old camp had sheltered her clan for ages. How could they leave behind the place that contained memories as deep as the roots of the trees for each and every one of them?


But as Ashwind stated, there was nothing left of their former home. They couldn't stay. That wasn't a choice. They had to move forward, just as their ancestors wanted them to.


"Is there anything you'd like me to do before we head off?" Ashwind asked his mentor, suppressing a yawn as he spoke.
 
"Sleep," Birdsong ordered, staring down at her apprentice. It may not look like it, but Ashwind holds a special place in her heart and she cares about him very deeply. Consider as you may, Birdsong cares for Ashwind as if they were mother and kit. "The walk to Moongrove must've been long and took a lot of your energy. Go sleep and regain some of your energy before we begin."


Riversong smiled. If Birdsong took the path as normal warrior, she would've been a great mother no doubt. She remembers when Ashwind; Ashkit at the time, requested to be Birdsong's apprentice. She, and most likely the whole clan saw the happiness dancing her eyes when she heard the news. And when Ashpaw was apprenticed, Birdsong treated him like an apprentice and a mother, worrying over him and teaching him everything he needed to know.


"Until then, we'll stay here for a little bit longer. Is anybody here willing volunteer to explore a bit further? See if there are any dangers? Don't explore too far to where you can't find us again, but far enough to see what's next." Birdsong meowed, glancing at the warriors.


"Can I go?" Rosepaw's timid voice called out, making the warriors whip their head to find a still, quite sleepy Rosepaw sitting at the entrance, licking her chest.
 
Ashwind dipped his head and gathered himself up on his paws. He padded into the den, passing by the still-sleeping figure of Sandpaw on his way. The gray tom found a spot that was unoccupied and circled around the nest, settling down for the first time since the clan had abandoned their old home. He closed his eyes, finding sleep within a few minutes.


"I'll lead the patrol," Mistyeyes offered. "Rosepaw can come with me if she wants to." She nodded to the apprentice.


"I'll come too," Blackfire informed the group, flexing her back in an arch. "I've rested enough; a little bit of exploring will do my paws some good."


"Do you want to come with us?" Mistyeyes spoke to Riversong, glancing over at the gray she-cat as she did so.
 
Riversong, who was watching Ashwind curl up and fall asleep once he closed his eyes, snapped her head back to the other warrios. She was silent, hesitate before she shook her head. "No, thanks. I think I'll stay here and help care for kits," she mewed.


Rosepaw frowned, "Alright," she meowed, padding over to Blackfire and Mistyeyes. "I think a small group should be good enough..."


"Mhm. No more than three. We'll need some warriors back here to hunt and stuff," Birdsong meowed, as she padded back to the den, having not any sleep because she was too busy waiting for Ashwind's arrival. "For now, I think I'll take a rest. Riversong, you can handle this right? After all, you were a deputy's daughter."


True, Riversong was of the former's deputy's kits. Cedarstar's first deputy: Redfern. What happened to Redfern was unknown to her, but all she knew was that she never saw her mother after a gathering, and warriors came back suspecting that the deputy was dead. Riversong nodded slowly, "Mhm..." she mumbled.
 
Mistyeyes murmured in agreement. "Alright, sounds good," the she-cat mewed. She glanced at her companions, flicking her tail to gather them to her. If they were going exploring, they would need to leave now while there was light building up in the sky. If there was unforeseen dangers ahead, Mistyeyes wanted to account for extra time so that they could be back in camp by sunset at the latest.


"Let's go," the brown she-cat spoke to Blackfire and Rosepaw before she started out of the camp, heading in the direction of uncharted territory with Blackfire only a few paw steps behind.

*****




It wasn't long after the small patrol left when Sandpaw opened his eyes, briefly believing he was in the old apprentice den before he looked around and spotted some of his clanmates scattered around the den. If only. The tom sighed softly to himself and stood up on his paws. He rasped his tongue over his pelt, flattening his bed-fur before he ambled outside. Sandpaw narrowed his eyes as the morning light invaded his sight, blinding him temporarily.
 
Rosepaw grinned as she padded after the two warriors. The she-cat looked around curiously. They lands on each side were quite different, her left side being a field of empty grassland, and in the horizon you can see something dark in the distance. The right side was a forest of dark trees, where Squirrelpaw, Kestrelpaw and Blackfire had hunted in. Rosepaw strained her ears, hearing a small creek not far. Must be the creek Riversong went to, to get water... Rosepaw thought thoughtfully. "Hey, I was thinking we could maybe explore up ahead, or over to the grassfield, because I can see something..."





***





"Goooood morning!" The large tom greeted, jumping out of his nest and pouncing onto Sandpaw. Squirrelpaw and Sandpaw tumbled through the nest, making the tom laugh.


The large ruckus made Kestrelpaw jolt awake, as the male's head shot up,
"What–what's happening?!" he asked, a bit drowsy.





"Good morning Kestrelpaw! Do you know where Rosepaw is?" Squirrelpaw asked, finally ending up resting over Sandpaw's back.
 
Mistyeyes and Blackfire followed Rosepaw's gaze ahead, to the areas she spoke of. Mistyeyes nodded thoughtfully, exchanging a glance with the dark warrior beside her as she considered which path would be best to take.


"Okay," the she-cat agreed, eyeing what lay ahead of them. "Why don't you take the lead?" The she-cat once again glanced at the senior warrior of the group for her opinion, receiving a nod from Blackfire in reply. If Rosepaw had spotted something, it would be best to let her take the reigns so they could track it faster.

*****




Sandpaw grunted as Squirrelpaw's weight knocked him off his paws. The tom huffed and managed to shuffle himself out from under Squirrelpaw, cuffing his denmate on his ear with a sheathed paw in the process. Now did not seem like the time to be goofing around, but the apprentice had to suppress a twinge of amusement regardless. With a denmate like Squirrelpaw, it was hard to remain somber for long.


"How would he know? He just woke up," Sandpaw pointed out to his denmate. "You woke him up, you big lug!" Sandpaw butted his friend's shoulder.

*****




(Sorry for the hiatus, again. Had a bit of a tussle with writing and real life. >:U


With Sandpaw's reply: Squirrelpaw was asking Krestlepaw about Rosepaw, right? It just occurred to me that I might have interpreted it wrong.)
 

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