After All These Moons... [Open]

Everything seemed to be much like it had before. It was strange, something out of a long forgotten memory from before it had all gone to hell. A sense of peace washed over the old tom as he padded through the territory. Past the borders, skirting through what used to be the edges of another clan's space, and then past the half-bridge. He remembered it easily. In fact, the further into it he got, the more the ginger tom seemed to grow comfortable. His pawsteps were slightly more springy than before even if his expression betrayed nothing of how he felt inside. For seasons the tom had watched his kin die out. As far as he was aware, he was all that remained of the once great Riverclan. And after all this time, after the harsh and relentless moons that only he had been the sole survivor of, now they called the clan cats home. Redwhisker had never been known as the most faithful or most cheery cat. Now, as he followed his dreams of the ancestors, he spat on their name.

Although everything was lush, a symbol of healing from the days of death and decay that had once wracked the land, it was not the same. Empty. With a glance up to the grey sky, a low growl passed through his maw, "Why now, Flowerfur? What could possibly be gained from bringing back little more than a graying warrior? You know as well as I do there are no more Riverclan cats left... hell, I haven't seen so much as the remnants of any clan cats! Nothing but star-brained fools..." And yet, his obedience was surprisingly unyielding. With cross-eyes and words, he shook his head and continued on.

A few more pawsteps and... there. He stopped. The camp was barely recognizable. Overgrown with plants of land and water alike. For a while, what did seem like forever, he just stared on. Memories flooded his mind and a soft gasp left him as he looked at it. This place had nearly faded from his memory, it had been so long. But, much like the tour of the territory, it came rushing back. Morningsong's kits had played off to the right, shuffling over their mother's paws and stirring up the earth. Farther ahead, Minnowstar slept, emerging every morning to talk to her deputy and help to plan the day's patrols. It was Streamfur who had managed to give Redwhisker a warrior ceremony in those final days. The red tom squeezed his eyes shut to remember that day. His mother had trembled with excitement as her only son become a warrior, despite the fact she was barely standing due to retching up any water or food. After a long while, he let out a low sigh and blinked his eyes open to focus on the camp. The picture in his mind was so different than what things looked like now.

There was work to be done. Steeling up all of his resolves, Redwhisker set to work. Paws and teeth worked to clear away the growth. He spat out the plants onto the earth over and over again. The day faded away, days faded away. And the old tom continued his work. Within a few days, well over half of it was cleared. Even if he was the only Riverclan cat who ever stepped paw here again, Redwhisker was determined to restore it to back to its former glory. As another sunset over the horizon of his home, the old cat sighed softly and settled down into the nest. Old bones ached as he looked out from the warrior's den, freshly woven reeds above his head. The stillness allowed his mind to slip back into questions of why he was doing this and what would come of this. It seemed like a lost cause, but the stubbornness inside of him was determined to finish the task. Even as mousebrained as the ancestors seemed to be, he was here and he would do it if it was the last thing he did.

"Wha-?" Just before his eyes managed to close a rustling at the entrance caused his eyes to snap awake. Redwhisker was on his paws instantly with bristling fur, "Who are you? Why are you here?" He demanded with a hiss. A brief flash of doubt ran through his head as he realized he had not truly fought a warrior's battle in moons. The tom avoided cats for moons. Although, he pushed it aside and bared his teeth. If this cat was here with ill intentions, he would not escape without any claw marks.

Rainkit was tired as she could be, the spark that had rise up in her when she saw the territory for the first time had faded away and she could feel the pain coming back in her bones. 

Frostlake(NPC) had told her to try and find a nice place to stay for the night when she sensed a new smell, a smell of an other cat to be exact. So her little naive kit brain who had never seen a cat being anything hostile thought it would be a good idea to find this cat. So she had followed the cent and eventually found herself before what seemed like an entrance and the kit that she was she got in. When she heard the sound of an other cat her silver body froze for a second what would Frostlake think of her talking to strangers? But he was not here and she thought it would be the best thing to just reply.
"Uhm I am Rainkit, and I am here because I was following the sense of an cat and that lead me here" Rainkit felt a little scared when she remembered Frostlake's words " some cats are aggressive towards you, they can even kill you. that is the way your father died. I don't want you to lose your life the same way" maybe just maybe even do she really hoped it was to true this cat was one of those murderus  killing monster like cats? How could she be sure this cat was not? " I have a question for you if that is okay? Are you one of those killer cats? If you are please answer honestly"

The rustling ceased and where there was once nothing was replaced with... a kit? His fur settled and he shook his head. Why was there a kit out here all by themselves? Redwhisker shook his coat and glanced down at the ground as he meowed gruffly, "What are you doing out here alone kit? The forest is no place for a kit. You should be in a nest somewhere." He glanced back at the nest and turned to settled down. Although, as he lay there, his eyes were still lazily half-open. There was a kit here and it was his duty as a warrior to not let it die. He scoffed a little, a mix of a response to her question and the fact that he still considered himself a warrior. After all these moons, he was still just as loyal to Riverclan as he had been the day he had taken on a warrior name. It was that very thing that caused him to growl softly to himself. So much for sleep. With an agitated sigh, the ginger tom raised his head.

"Alright, kit, where's your mother? This place might be abandoned, so its still Riverclan territory. Unless you don't have someplace to go, you have to leave." His expression showed only the annoyance building up inside. Aching muscles and old bones were not helping his already less than pleasant attitude. However cross he was, this was his problem now. At least for the time being. Unless by some miracle of the so-called, great Starclan, there was a she-cat nearby to claim her. Before she could respond, he grunted as an afterthought, "And no, I don't kill cats... unless they deserve it."

(No worries at all~ your post is just fine!)

No mother. His ear flickered. The ginger tom had been alone since the rest of his kin had died out. He felt a dull tugging somewhere deep within his chest. They shared a certain kinship in that regard. How long had it been now since he had seen Flowerfur walking this earth? Although her pelt shimmered like stars in the dream he had, already that memory had begun to fade. As he closed his eyes, the tom could faintly conjure up an image of what his mother had looked like when he was young. Dusty grey, short fur with soft flecks of orange throughout... and stunning hazel eyes. It took a moment to remember the small details, like the little scar over the bridge of her nose; the way the V-shaped nick in her ear cut off to the right. With a soft sigh, he soaked up the memory. If only she had been here over the moons. At that moment, he felt like the kit before him. Luckily, she was not entirely alone.

"Frostlake..." That name. Without a doubt, this kit was clan. He hadn't realized it at first, but the clan names were there. If she was Rainkit, and she knew Frostlake, a name he had not heard for moons, then there was no mistaking. Finally, he breathed, "You're Riverclan. You're actually Riverclan. Huh." The words were barely distinguishable from the breeze that rustled the reeds beside them. Underneath were still some hints of disbelief. But, it appeared that Starclan had actually done it. They hadn't damned him to live out his days here alone; they were going to rebuild the clan. Although he had been decided on settling into the nest and not moving until the sun rose once again, Redwhisker found himself pushing back up onto all four paws. He padded, pushing away any hesitation, towards the kit.

"Let's find the other cat you're here with. Then, we'll figure this out."

"Redwhisker." The tom grunted back as he trotted past her, ready to lead the way out of camp. Moons ago, he would have never hung around the kits. Even his own kin barely saw much of him after birth. It never really seemed important to him. Warriors would have trained them up and saw to raising them. That was the way of the clan, and unless the leader saw fit, he did not need to be a part of it. One ear twitched slightly as he remembered Rushwillow. Although he had to repress a soft scoff at her memory, there was a saddened smile that quickly followed. If it were not for the rustling of foliage underneath his pawsteps, the tom would have likely been lost in memories of his mate. They had not always gotten along but he still thought of being with her to this very day.

He padded along and raised his maw ever so slightly into the air to drink in all the scents around them. There was certainly the scent of another cat nearby. Redwhisker trailed behind the wafting smell. Although, they had some distance to cover. Despite his urge forward, the longing to see another one of the cats that supposedly shared his origins, the aching from deep within his joints only increased. Cursing flew from his mouth. Trying to steal his resolve, eyes cast towards Rainkit. While the grizzled tom was content to solitude, Redwhisker slowed for her. After a moment trying to articulate the right words, the low meow came, "Have you traveled for long? Did you come from far?"

Redwhisker that was the name of the tom cat, Rainkit liked that name it reminded her of the names of frostlake and Fishtail. She followed the tom cat out of camp and saw him sniffing the air, when he asked how long she had been traveling she could immediately find a painful reminder of it, her paws were painful and brused. " honestly as long as I can remember, Frostlake never wanted to stay at the same place for longer than a moon ". She sighed deep oh how she wanted Fishtail to be here, than he could get some of those plants on her paws that reduced the pain. 


(OCC: I am so sorry to keep you waiting for so long! I was really sick, and could not find the time to even start up my laptop. Beside's that is it okay if Redwhisker finds Frostlake dead? That way Rainkit can get familiar with the clan life)