[ti]Private[/ti]The Return

[silverfang218]

Shadowpaw purrs, his entire body vibrating. Shadowpaw would love nothing more than to lay here forever with his mate by his side, basking in Wildpaw’s short but soft fur. When Wild finally pulls away, Shadowpaw lets out a soft whine; as his mate pulls away, the grey apprentice feels like part of his heart is pulled away with him.. It’s been so long since he’s felt safe, yet while he’s laying here with his mate, Shadow feels more safe than he possibly ever has before (even if Wild probably isn’t wonderful protection).

Despite his deep desire to continue laying here with his dearest Wildpaw, Shadow can easily admit to himself that they needed to get back to camp. He doesn’t feel all that wonderful and hasn’t for a long time now, plus there’s an old wound on his shoulder that the medicine cat needs to look at; Shadow is worried about little Sootkit too, though Sootkit is in pretty good condition, especially compared to Shadow himself. Not to mention, there’s a lot of cats waiting for the both of them.

Shadowpaw reluctantly pulls himself to his paws, a happy smile gracing his face once again. The apprentice flicks his tail as a signal for Sootkit to come with them. “Let’s go home,” Shadow agrees. Just the thought of seeing everyone again makes the small cat’s heart soar and his bony tail wag back and forth. He doesn’t know where he’s going though so he waits for Wildpaw to lead the way.

Sootkit bounds over to the two apprentices, looking up at Wildpaw with a mixture of awe and apprehension. He’s thrilled to not only be back with the Clans but to finally get to meet the beautiful angel from StarClan he’s been told so much about. He’s also kind of terrified that the two apprentices are going to go back to cuddling and/or other things that would be scarring for young kit eyes.

[Meow]

As Shadowpaw agreed that they should go home, a wide smile spread across Wildpaw's face. Home! Shadowpaw would finally be home- in IvyClan, surrounded by all the cats who loved him. Exactly where he belonged! The young Bengal glanced to Sootkit as he finally rejoined the pair, his grin only growing wider, before he turned around to face the direction he'd come from. "Right, then, boys! Here we go!" Wildpaw was overflowing with enthusiasm as he began walking in said direction, his head held high. Soon, they'd be relaxing in the apprentice's den like nothing had ever happened! Only, now Shadowpaw was all his! This was the best day ever!

Then, Wildpaw took a look at their surroundings.

He had no idea how to get home.

...how did he even get here?

Wildpaw stopped in his tracks, blinking. "...where are we?"

[silverfang218]

Sootkit bounds beside Wildpaw, glancing all around with his good eye, while Shadowpaw starts to follow not far behind. Sootkit’s excitement quickly fades as Wildpaw admits that he doesn’t know where he is; the white kitten runs beneath Shadowpaw’s legs and whines softly, “We’re looooost again, Shadowpaw!” The kit sniffles.

Shadowpaw, however, is still smiling. Even if they don’t know exactly where camp is, they at least know that camp is nearby; that knowledge gives the young cat some energy back. That’s a lot more than they had a few minutes ago, so Shadow will gladly take that. The apprentice flicks the kit’s nose with his tail, making the kit giggle softly.

Shadow takes a short look around. Well, me and Sootkit came from that direction. And we saw Wildpaw coming from that direction- The grey apprentice hums softly and takes the lead away from his derpy mate, heading in the direction that Shadow believes Wild came from. He motions for both of his companions to follow with a quick flick of his tail. “We’ll find it, guys. Almost home.” That’s just Shadow’s mantra now: Almost home.

[Meow]

Wildpaw's ears drooped as the kit wailed- for some reason, he'd just never been good at keeping track of where he was... especially in the forest, where everything looked the same. While some cats instinctively knew exactly where to go, Wildpaw could barely get around even with directions. When he glanced to Shadowpaw, though, the Bengal perked up a bit, mirroring the smile on his face. That's right! Shadowpaw was here, and Shadowpaw always knew exactly where to go.

"You're amazing," Wildpaw chirped as he followed behind Shadowpaw, a bounce in his step. Soon, they would reach their camp, and everything would be okay! For the first time in over a moon, Shadowpaw would be home, and everything would be right with the world.

[silverfang218]

“I just kinda started walking towards where you came from.” Shadowpaw replies to the complement from Wild, though it does bring a proud grin to his face. Luckily, Shadowpaw’s good memory gave him a pretty good sense of direction; it was a must have, since Wildpaw was always leading them into oblivion and getting them lost. Someone always had to be able to lead them home.

Sootkit breathed a sigh of relief and bounded after Shadow, hope renewed. Shadowpaw hasn’t ever steered him wrong yet, after all! If Shadow seems to think that he knows where they are going, then the kit believes that Shadow must be correct. Sootkit falls in beside Wildpaw, rubbing against the older cat’s leg. Wild is the savior, even if he is lost.