Home - The Prodigal Son Returns

A lean figure drifted through the territory, a shine of white against the earthy terrain. His long, snowy fur did little to hide the muscled figure of a tom who had traveled and seen more territories than most cats would see in a lifetime. He walked with an air unashamed confidence and pride. Gone was the tom who had been so uncertain about his own being as he left his clan. The tom that had returned had changed, in more ways than one. His eyes, one blue as the summer sky and the other green like a spring fern, had finally become a match, settling on blue with only the faintest of green within them. They mirrored his inward spirit, finally at peace.

As he passed the border and crossed into the clan's land, the tom took in scents both familiar and foreign to him. Still, his weary paws were invigorated at the thought of how close he was to returning home. How long had it been since he'd seen their faces? Would his family and friends even remember him? He didn't care. His pace quickened until he was sprinting through the trees, leaping over streams, unable to contain the soaring joy in his heart. Skidding to a halt just at the edge of the Skyclan camp, Iceheart took a deep breath to steady his racing heart, then stepped inside.

Breezebranch had been moody recently. Iceheart, Tigerpaw, Brindlepaw, Swiftbranch... Her family kept shrinking in size. Gloomily, she padded out into the open camp, yawning. It was then that she smelled it. Unmistakable. There was no doubt. "ICEHEART!" She spun around rapidly, tears pooling in her eyes. Even after moons away, his scent was unforgettable to her, despite the foreign scents that laced it. That was most definitely her son; she'd know it anywhere. "Iceheart, Iceheart!" Her heart swelled infinitely at the sight of his white pelt. "It's you... It's-- oh, oh.. Honey, I-- I've missed you so much, you just.. Disappeared and I-- don't ever do that to me again." His mother sobbed, wrapping around him fiercely and tightly.

She stood back to properly look at him, to see how he'd grown, and she stiffened in surprise when she saw his eyes, "Your eyes.. Does this mean...?" Breezebranch trailed off, unable to say it, "No matter," she shook her head, "It's really you.. I can't believe it. Please, come in camp! Lilystream, Mudpaw, Acornpetal, Lionflame! Come quickly, dears, Ice is home now, your brother has returned!" As forest green eyes met sky blue, Breezebranch was filled with a peace that all would be well. Sniffling, she shuffled closer, realizing with surprise how tall he'd become. "I love you, sweetheart. Welcome home,"

Of course, this would not last.

As Mudpaw groggily arouse from her slumber (sparing her denmates from her snores) the first thing she saw was the snow-colored pelt she hadn't seen for moons. So, of course, she did the most 'Mudpaw' thing she could possibly do. She lunged. Despite her smaller frame, the speed at which she ran at her brother was enough to know any cat over. So, rolling the pair went, their mother stifling laughter-- spoilers, she failed-- and the once nice white pelts- well, mostly white, in Mudpaw's case- were now thoroughly dirty and dusty. Mudpaw's orange eyes glimmered with pure love and happiness as she clung to her brother, completely unaware at the fact she was preventing him from standing up. "Ice! ICE! It's you, it's really YOU!" She squealed, acting exactly like a kitten who'd just seen her mother after a moon apart.

She rubbed her ginger-and-gray splotched face on his, orange eyes shiny with tears as she snuggled her dear brother close on the floor, rolling over and occasionally jumping up and bouncing before pouncing on her brother again. No, Mudpaw was not high on catmint. Just excited, it is. "I've missed you, I've missed you, I've missed you!" Oh, no, Breezebranch thought, recognizing that spiraling tone anywhere. Here comes another ramble, she exasperatedly thought. "Where have you been? Are you a ghost? Did you die and come back? You don't feel like a ghost! You don't have stars in your fur, papa had stars in his fur when I saw him. Do you have nine lives, too, like Silver? I thought only leaders had nine lives! Your eyes look funny, what happened? I thought only kits' eye colors change! Did StarClan change your eyes? Where did you go? Do all StarClan cats have blue eyes? Papa's were still orange when I saw him.. Oh! Did you got to the moonstone? Lucky! I haven't been! How come you got to go twice? Oh! Oh! I bet you went to the mountains! Momma, Momma! Didn't you used to tell us stories about the mountains? Wowey, that sounds fun! Can you take me to the mountains, Ice? Pretty please? We should all go, as a family! Lion, and Coal, and Momma, and Amber, and Briar, and Small, and Lily and-- oh! Ice, Lily is pregnant! She's gonna be a momma, too! Can you believe it? First Lion becomes a papa and now Lily is gonna be a momma! Are you a papa yet, Ice? You've got to tell us so much, I can't wait to hear about it all! I can catch sparrows real good now! And I can climb real, real high! An-- mmfh fhummf fhmfm mmhf-"

Breezebranch cut her off by smacking her tail in front of Mudpaw's rambling mouth, giving Iceheart a she hasn't changed, huh? look.

Every once of control Iceheart thought he had disappeared when he saw Breezebranch run to him. Mother. He closed his eyes just as she reached him, pressing into her embrace, silently weeping into her fur. Time seemed to stop for the briefest of moments as they held each other before finally separating.

"I've missed you too. More than you know," he said as he gazed at her. He realized he must've grown a bit more since his departure. He used to be roughly the same size as Breezebranch, but now, his eyes were tilted downward to meet her gaze.

Iceheart began to follow further into the camp when he was suddenly tackled by a familiar face. He grunted as he and Mudpaw were sent rolling, knocking the wind from him. "Yes, it's really me!" the tom laughed as he stood up and shook his pelt. He stood and listened as Mudpaw began an incessant spiel that seemed like it would never end until she was interrupted by Breezebranch'stail in her mouth. "Did you get it all out?" he teased before looking back to Breezebranch. "Wow, I have so much to tell you. U don't even know where to begin."

Bump

Lilystream had a lot on her mind. The deaths in her family, the cold, and her kits. She heard her name and quickly followed Mudpaw, wondering what could be the matter. Her mother’s voice sounded happy, perhaps there was some wonderful surprise. Her heart raced as she tried to guess what she would see. She skidded to a stop, mouth opening in awe. "Iceheart!" she grinned. She nuzzled him affectionately, eyes shining as she met his.

She noticed the difference. "What happened? You’ve been gone for so long. And your eyes!" She asked. But her tail flicked, as though dismissing those thoughts. "Anyways, it’s good that you’re home. I’ve missed you." the she-cat purred.