the hike. [GENS]

Instructions

Fallenshadow crept out of his nest. It was the early hours of the morning, and few cats stirred. How funny - as an apprentice, he'd have done anything to avoid being up at such an hour. Now, he was nearly an elder - and finally enacting a plan he'd had since rangerhood. A lifetime of skirting the borders - as if his heart always sought something beyond the grey sands of Urchinclan. That one border in particular - where rocky banks met meadow upon meadow of lush grass and flowers. Flurryclan. Where he met Swallowflame. Morningrise - or, Miragestar, now... And of course. His love, his life - Reveriecrown. She'd have their kits any day now. His heart surged with excitement as he approached the camp entrance. He paused at the threshold, casting behind him. A lively kit bounced outside the nursery, so like he used to, trying to get his sisters to play... A cheeky apprentice slunk behind the prey pile, thinking she went unseen - now that's Urchinclan spirit. Two rangers sparred at the far end of the camp. All others slept. His heart wrenched, lungs tightened. This was almost certainly his last time seeing his /home/. He swung his head back around, fixing his eyes on the path ahead. There was nothing left here for him now beyond faint echoes of memories. Shadows of a happy kithood before everything fell apart. His only family was in Flurryclan, now. In the future. And he couldn't let them down. He leapt up past the boulders he'd scaled with Wraithspirit. Weaved through trees he'd hunted among with Crowpaw. Fleeting friendships. Tears welled in his eyes when he saw the part of the beach where he and Heartspirit had made this plan. Together. She should be by his side now, coming home to her own family. He shouldn't have been making this journey alone. As he turned to look out over the ocean one last time, he picked up a pawful of tiny shells, tying them to his wrist with a thread of seaweed. He didn't know why. A reminder, perhaps. An excuse to stick around a little longer, threading and weaving on the beach of his home. When he was finished, he rose to his paws once more, taking in one last breath of fresh, salty air. When he finally reached the border where he'd spent so much of his time, he paused once more. He wasn't a loyal warrior by any means. But he'd never once trespassed. Unlike a certain Poppybite. He tentatively reached one russet paw out onto the grass past a scent marker. Then another, then another, then his last dark grey paw. He was over. He was in. More steps, slow and careful, then a full-blown sprint. He was old and he'd had a deep pain in his joints since he was a kit, but he didn't care now. He'd have this. He laughed as he bounded through the flowers, a fresh, floral scent filling his lungs that reminded him so of everything he'd ever loved. He slowed again to a trot, rejuvinated and bright-eyed. And there it was. Was it? Flurryclan camp? Flat against the windswept fields? Fallenshadow approached gingerly, tail swishing low. Morning had bloomed and he watched as their dawn patrol padded out. He shuffled in, peering round. Did he enter? Was he allowed? Then, there she was. Hard at work, as always. Rev. She paused, and looked up. Their gazes fixed. Fenn felt his face light up in a grin he hadn't felt since he'd heard the news of her pregnancy. Suddenly his paws didn't feel so stuck. The scents around him didn't seem so unfamiliar. He was where he'd always needed to be. Here he was. Home.