Lost Creek Hollow star-sight

Shadowpaw returned, a dried flowering plant of periwinkle gingerly clutched in her jaws.

Her meager body was thin and travel-worn, but the sight of Lost Creek Hollow rejuvenated her.

Except... something was wrong. Her clan was not here.

Their scent was old, the forest overgrown.

Something terrible must've happened, Shadowpaw wagered, to force Riverclan from their sacred Moonpool.

She sat by the babbling brook and collected her thoughts.

Curiosity drove the man to return to the Hollow, wondering if perhaps Wren's father had come looking for them again. He wasn't sure if it would make any difference to their situation- and doubted they would uproot themselves again to move back if no trace was found in the area, but it would at least provide some form of comfort if he could tell Wren that it appeared as though her father had abandoned the area. 

He would have to patrol, first- along borders where their scents had faded to the point that he believed no harm would come, if Wren's father caught his scent here. He waded through the creek, to make tracing more difficult, until he caught sight of a dark yearling on the banks, lost in her thoughts. 

Wasn't she about Acantha's age? Was this perhaps a sister?

Something about her scent was faintly familiar, but he couldn't parse out who it was that she might have belonged to. "Hey," He greeted, as he plucked his way through the shallows toward her, tail waving, wondering if she might have been one of Ash Star's older children.

Shadowpaw heard a figure rustle the river reeds and knew she wasn’t alone. The young wolf turned her yellow, hawkish eyes upon a vaguely familiar face… though she couldn’t place his name… and it didn’t seem like the man could place her’s either.

Hey. His friendly demeanor and simple greeting rubbed Shadowpaw the wrong way because it did not align with the concern she felt

“Where is Riverclan?” she asked with an intense stare. “What happened?”

His features lightened when she mentioned Riverclan, and her concern was palpable. She’d been split from her family now, and he hoped that she wished to return to them.

Unless in the unlikely situation, she was a spy for Wren’s father. 

”It exists still. We moved due to a threat; but, no contact, no conflict.” he would know soon enough if the land was clear or not. “Who do you belong to?” He asked.

“Moved?” the girl breathed a half-scoff as if she didn’t believe Ksura’s words. Shadowpaw didn’t think anything could ever drive Riverclan away from their Moonpool. It was their sacred connection to Starclan.

Yet, her heart sighed with relief at the man’s next words. No danger had befallen her clan. If so, then why hadn’t they returned?

Her yellow eyes flicked over purple blooms of spiderwort as the wheels turned in her mind.

Who do you belong to? He asked. She shot him an odd glare to insinuate that she didn’t belong to anyone. “What do you mean?” she clarified and, in the next breath, asked, “where is Riverclan now?”

He sensed doubt brewing, and he did his best not to send her running by saying the wrong thing. ”It was a hard decision, but yes.” If it seemed hard to believe, then it was likely that she knew how much their previous home had meant to Ash Star. He was led to wonder if this was perhaps one of Ash Star’s children. She had objected the most to the move. 

He startled lightly at her brusque tone. ”Sorry-“ He blurted. ”It’s an expression from where I grew up…’Who do you belong to?’ Was just our way of asking ‘Who is your family-‘ not…Like…‘Who owns you.’” He hoped the explanation would suffice. ”We’ve moved to the Qeya River,” He said, gesturing in the direction. He dashed aside the worry that she might be a spy; she seemed genuine enough.

The man was honest and kind, which made Shadowpaw realize how ornery she acted. Her thorny personality smoothed to a cool indifference… not quite kind, but at least not nettled.

“I see,” she replied. “My mother is Ashstar. Crowfeather is my father. I am Silvertongue’s apprentice.” Though not the whole biological truth it was what made life easy for Shadowpaw’s heart. "The name's Shadowpaw," she added to help jog his memory.

“Qeya River?” she echoed next. Where the heck was that?

“When will they return?” she asked next, completely blind to the notion that Riverclan, as she knew it, might never return here.

His ears perked at the sound of Ash Star’s name. He studied her face for a moment, picking out little details he supposed could be a shared resemblance, a light smile on his lips. Surely, a reunion would be a happy thing, he thought; Ash Star would be delighted if he was able to bring Shadowpaw back with him. Shadowpaw would be happy to see Silvertongue again for sure- though to his knowledge, Crowfeather hadn’t been around for some time. 

Did the mention of Ash Star’s past liver make him jealous? A bit; but reuniting split families was far too great a win for him to dwell on a man he’d never met. 

”I’m Ksura,” He said. ”Ash Star and Silvertongue are still with the pack,” He said. His eyes twinkled; he would keep the children as a secret for now- surely it’d come as a welcome surprise. ”As for how long we’ll be there…You’ll have to ask Silvertongue. We took some pretty serious threats here and were kind of short on, uh,” He shrugged apologetically. ”Guardians.”

The child within Shadowpaw’s spirit beamed at the news that Ash Star and Silvertongue were well and whole. Ksura might have seen a glimmer of this across the girl’s macabre features though, for the most part, she remained pensive and brooding.

Silvertongue would have answers. Maybe Shadowpaw could convince them the danger was gone and they could return to their clan’s homeland.

After a few moments of thought, the apprentice made a hard decision. “I will go with you to Qeya river,” she said… her tone was more like a demand than a request. It was difficult to think about leaving Lost Creek Hollow… but if it were a means to an end, then Shadowpaw would see it through.

She picked up the shadowplant – proof of her successful journey – and then stood, ready to follow Ksura North.