A New Home

Spottedtalon wandered through the Autumn Forest. Floods of memories came rushing back to him. The forest looked exactly like the one where ThunderClan used to live, before the draught and the fire. One memory, more vivid than the rest, stuck to the spotted brujos mind.

He and his sister were play-fighting. They were on their last assesment that would decide if they became warriors or not. Careful not to scratch her, Spottedtalon cuffed his sister over her ear and sent her sprawling to the sandy floor of te training hollow. She shot right back up and bowled him over. Back then, he was Spottedpaw, and his sister was Hazelpaw.

After the fighting part of the assesment was hunting. Spottedpaw and Hazelpaw had caught their own fresh kill pile; enough to feed their entire clan. They managed to bring down a fawn, a few rabbits, and a hawk. They passed their assesment, and Spottedpaw became Spottedtalon, and Hazelpaw became Hazeltail. Then the fire came.

Spottedtalon shook his head to clear away the pleasant yet painful memories. He knew nothing of Hazeltail's whereabouts, or even if she was alive. Spottedtalon followed the winding path that curved throughout the forest, lost in thought. This territory would make a good ThunderClan home...earlier that day he had encountered a clearing surrounded by rock walls. It would make a perfect camp.

Spottedtalon made an impulse decision. He claimed the unclaimed territory. This would be ThunderClan's new home. Spottedtalon, a lone warrior, would rebuild his clan.

"I hereby claim this territory for ThunderClan! ThunderClan! ThunderClan!" Spottedtalon howled. The territory now belonged to him. Spottedtalon turned around and started marking borders. When he had finished marking his territory, Spottedtalon headed the direction he had seen the rocky hollow. He needed to make his new camp.

~~~~~~~~~~

Spottedtalon soon came to the spot he thought would be good for a camp. It was a hollow, almost like a clearing. It was about the size of a large house; plenty of room for the new clan to live in. Spottedtalon crept into the clearing, cautious of unwelcome predators. He soon scented that there was nothing that could harm him in the hollow.

The hollow had stone walls outlining it- they were fox lengths high- a fall off of the precipice at it's highest could be enough to snap a wolfs neck. I must outline the top with thornbushes....That way no wolf will fall down, Spottedtalon thought.


Spottedtalon set straight to work. Bushes and other debris had to be moved out of the stone hollow, and dens had to be put together. There were a few cracks in the rock walls, that could possibly lead to caves, which could be used as dens.

Grabbing a thick tendril of thorns in his teeth, Spottedtalon dragged the last of the thorns out of the camp, storing them in a pile to be used later in the nursery, thorn barrier, etc. By sunset, the clearing was empty of anything harmful, and Spottedtalon was asleep on his paws. But he knew he had to hunt. He needed to eat, and he could also be learning the territory as well as providing food for himself.

He paused outside of the clearing and drew in a scent trail. A doe and her fawn had recently passed by. Putting his nose to the ground, Spottedtalon dropped into the hunters crouch and began to stalk the scent trail. Not long after, the pair of deer came into view. The doe was munching off of a bush of which Spottedtalon could not recognize, and the fawn was exploring not to far from his mother.

The doe would be too much to take on by himself, so he stalked towards the fawn, both of the deer completely unaware of his presence. Just then his belly rumbled, and the doe's head shot up. She bounded away, her fawn hot on her heels. Spottedtalon launched himself after them. Since the fawn was young, he could not run very fast. Spottedtalon hooked his paw underneath the fawns leg and brought the fawn to the ground. He killed the fawn with a neck hold...using his teeth. Spottedtalon picked ujp the dead fawn and headed towards his new home.

Ferncloud was on her usual check of the area. She always had a small hope that one day her family would return. She passed a tree that she could always catch a rabbit or two in the old, now abandonded, burrow. Cloral as alwys flew overhead just to check to make sure she hadnt missed anything. Cloral enjoyed the wind flowing through his feathers and in turn Ferncloud felt that same joy and sighed in satisfaction.
Suddenly Ferncloud heard a howl. Could it be one of her family?
" Fercloud the wolf isnt that far form here. TO the east," Cloral thought to Ferncloud. Swift as the wind she rushed to wear she could still hear the howling. She parted the bush and saw a black male wolf. he had the most peircing blue eyes she had ever seen. She padded forward to see how he would react.

OOC: Not to be rude, but Spottedtalon has brown, slightly spotted fur, and he has golden eyes. No offense, I just wanted to let you know.

BIC: Spottedtalon suddenly stiffened, he scented a wolf, and close by. Actually...he scented two. They smelled so familliar, yet so alien. He could identify that they were she-wolves, and full grown. They were in different directions, but...all the same, maybe they would make good recruits for ThunderClan! Dropping his fawn and scratching earth over it to protect it, Spottedtalon headed west, to the scent that was closest. Just then, a bush parted right under his nose. Spottedtalon took a few startled paces backwards as an overwhelming scent came crashing over him. It was ThunderClan scent, but mixed with a few others.

Spottedtalon recognized this she wolf. "Fernpaw!" Spottedtalon cried out joyfully. He ran up and nuzzled the she-wolf. "You're so big! The last time I saw you was my warrior ceremony! You were only an apprentice..." Memories of the fire, on the exact day of his warrior ceremony, clouded Spottedtalons mind, but he shook them away with a few tosses of his magnificent head. "How are you? Where have you been living? Oh, I'm being rude! I forgot to introduce you to my Anima, Keisha." There was no one in sight. But then, a medium sized fox cub stepped out from behind a tree. "Greetings, Fernpaw. I have not seen you for some moons. How have you been faring since the fire?" Spottedtalon recoiled at Keisha's mentioning of the fire. Despite her usual headstrong attitude, Keisha was being very polite; a new thing for her.

" Spottedpaw is that you," Ferncloud siad returning his nuzzle. They had been good friends before the fire. " Im Ferncloud now. Every day I come to check if anyones come back and YOu have," She said joyously." And I've been faring quite well, Keisha. This is my Anima Cloral," Fercloud said. She let out a howl to signal it was ok to come down for Cloral. He came soaring down and landied on a dead log.
" Hello, it is great to see all of you again," He said politly.
Ferncloud was still so susprised at the occasion.
" THis is just going to be like old times," She said. And since she was in such a good mood she took a flying leap and bowled Spottedtalon over.
" And just like old times I can still beat you," Ferncloud said playfully.

( and srry I got your wolf mixed up with someone elses srry lol)

"That's so great! Now that I'm leader of the new ThunderClan, I, Spottedstar," Spottedstar stretched 'star' playfully. "Leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this wolf. She has trained hard to understand your ways, and I commend her to a warrior in her turn. Ferncloud, I hereby confirm your warrior name." Spottedstar rested his muzzle on her head, and she licked his shoulder in return.

Spottedstar remembered Cloral. He was like Keisha in some ways. Then, he felt the breath knocked out of him as Ferncloud bowled him over. "Not anymore!" Using his steel muscles under his rippling golden brown pelt, Spottedstar rolled over, bringing Ferncloud under him. He then jumped off of the she-wolf and pinned her to the ground, his teeth on her neck, holding her, but not tight enough to draw blood.

~~~~~~~~~

Hazeltail wandered through the Autumn Forest, conscientious of wolves close by. Deciding to find out who they were, Hazeltail took a deep breath, but stopped short when she caught a scent. It was Spottedtalon. There was no doubt about it. His scent had changed, but there was no mistake. Hazeltail would recognize her own brothers scent. She took off, racing towards the scent as fast as she could, and broke into a clearing.

There he was! It was Spottedtalon! And...Could it be? Little Fernpaw, all grown up! "Spottedtalon! Fernpaw!" Hazeltail cried out. The feather tied to her ankle fluttered in the breeze. Simba, Hazeltail's Anima, padded close behind her, not saying a word.

" I guess so Spottedstar," Fercloud said playfully. She then heard something. Another wolf?
" Hazeltail," Ferncloud called happily. She bounded towards Hazeltail with a nuzzle.
" Now that we are all here wheres are camp," Ferncloud said eagerly.

Leopard trotted in and stopped suddenly when she saw all the wolves. She looked around suspiciously and braced herself for attack...

" Spottedtalon( or Spottedstar ), who is that," Ferncloud said spotting the other wolf. She fell into a defensive positon just incase.

Leopard looked around "who are you?" She growled

" I am Ferncloud and this is the leader of Thunderclan, Spottedtalon ( Spottedstar)," Ferncloud said proudly.

"Are you friend or foe?" She snarled through narrowed eyes.

"That all depends on you." Spottedtalon growled and snarled, a mixed noise that sounded intimidating and threatining. "You walk into my territory and act like this? I've seen pups act more respectful than you! Of course, they were Clanborn," he said with a sneer. Spottedtalon's voice took on a gentler, softer tone. "Now, tell us who you are. By the way, this is Hazeltail, my sister." He pointed with his tail to Hazeltail, who was sitting beside him and listening to the exchange with silent interest. "Our camp is being rebuilt right now, but there is plenty of room. If you would like, you may stay with us."

"I didn't know this area was a territory. I've just been kicked out of my other home because it was claimed. I've been the only wolf around here for a long time. What are these "clans" you speak of?" Leopard was still suspicious, but she spoke in a softer tone.

" A clan is a kind of Pack, but with more honor and and respect," Ferncloud put infsense on the word respect.
" It is a noble life style and a one worth living," Ferncloud said. She was proud to be clan wolf and always would.

"Okay then, why do you have more honor and respect the the rest of us, and why are your names all funny?" Leo piped up for the first time.

Ferncloud hoped she hadnt offended the wolfs way of life.
" We believe in Starclan, our warrior ancestors who have passed on. I didnt mean we have more repect and honor just different ways of doing things. These are our warrior names. We have had them since we were pups. It is a sign of a wolf warrior. Our name describes us," Ferncloud hoped she had answered some of Leos questions.

"Well so does mine, but I still can't get it!" Leopard snarled in frustration. Leo unsheathed his claws and asked "What is Starclan?"

" YOu explain Spottedtalon," Ferncloud said. Cloral flew to Ferclouds shoulder and gave Leo stiff glare.
" If you want to know keep your temper," Cloral said once again sticking up for Ferncloud.

"Every time a warrior dies, we hold a vigil for him or her. We share tongues with him or her one final time. During this vigil, were honoring the fallen warrior on his or her way to Starclan. You see Starclan above us in Silverpelt. Each star represents a warrior. Our warrior ancestors often visit us in dreams, and send us prophecy's to tell us of upcoming danger, or anything like that." Spottedtalon lay down and signaled with his tail for the others to do the same. But a minute later, he stood up.

"Let me grab the fresh-kill I caught, and I will show you the way to our camp!" Spottedtalon drew air over his scent glands and confirmed where the fawn was. He padded over and picked it up. Then, he took off towards the ThunderClan camp. Minutes later, he reached the gorse tunnel that led into the camp. "Welcome to the ThunderClan camp." The stone walls surrounding the clearing seemed daunting, but they were very useful.

Spottedtalon led the way into the camp, and toured throughout the camp. As he came to each of the dens, he described them. "The one with the thick, thick bramble walls is the nursery. It's the most protected of them all, so the pup's will be safe. Next is the warrior's den under that bramble bush. It looks small, doesn't it? It's actually very big. Over there is my den, the leader's den. Behind that tree over there is the elders den, and under that gorse bush is the apprentices den. The big rock in the middle is called Highrock. I call meetings and perform ceremonies from there. Next to that is the fresh-kill pile. Right now there's the fawn I caught, and about 4 rabbits. I worked hard this morning! I will be sleeping in the leaders den, but Hazeltail and Ferncloud will be sleeping in the warriors den. Leopard, you may join them there, if you wish to stay with us."

Ferncloud was in awe. The camp was exactly as it had been. She could almost see heself playing wiht her fellow apprentices. She was so happy that she had finally coem home. And it was all b/c of Spottedtalon. She didnt know why but she was starting to think that she might like him.

"Ferncloud, would you like to eat with me?" Spottedtalon asked sheepishly. He put his tail on her shoulder and led her to a corner of the camp where a tree shaded the grass. He had brought the fawn he had caught with him and took a bite. He nosed the carcass over to Ferncloud, in case she wanted some.

" Thanks Spottedtalon," Ferncloud said happily. She followed Spottedtalon over to the tree and sat down. She graicioulsy excepted the carcass. After she had eaten she asked,
" So, Spottedtalon, what have you been up to since....the fire," Ferncloud said. The subject was still sore.

Spottedtalon took another bite of the rapidly depleting fresh-kill. "Well, mainly searching for you, Hazeltail, anybody from the first ThunderClan. I finally found our old camp site, and decided to rebuild it, and ThunderClan. Enough about me. How have you been doing, Ferncloud?"

" Ive been doing fine. I mean as fine as living a life aone can be. But I feel much better here. I feel at home. And that was all your doing. I cant say how much I appreciate what you have done," Ferncloud said. She placed her paw gently on his and then took it off in embarrasment.

Spottedtalon thought about what Ferncloud had said. It was because of him...But only with the help of Ferncloud and Hazeltail would he be truly able to rebuild ThunderClan. He was staring at the sky, watching a bird fly, when he felt something brush his paw. He looked down in time to see Ferncloud quickly take her paw off of his. Spottedtalon, feeling a sudden rush of courage, quickly licked Fernclouds cheek and nuzzled her, then whipped his head to the fresh-kill and took a bite to hide his embarassment.

"Ferncloud...I know it's been forever since the first ThunderClan...But I'll tell you a secret. By the day of my warrior ceremony...I was already a little bit in love with you."