A/N: Umm...can't think of anything except please read, review, and enjoy!
Disclaimer: See previous chapter(s).
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Part 4: Meet the Teachers
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Swift-Eyes blinked at her mentor when the ginger nodded, pale green eyes absorbing what little light was provided by the lanterns-thick clouds covered the night sky, and the she-cat could smell rain in the air. She tilted one of her ears in question and the tabby explained, "Loki is waiting for us with Hagrid. The Clan will be using the carriages instead of the boats." Swift-Eyes let out a sigh of relief. "Thank Loki for that..."
Feather let out an amused purr. "Exactly."
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Lilyfire squinted, the mass of red and orange and yellow, green and blue and purple swirling together in front of her. For the first time since getting her ability, the she-cat found herself unable to work out what she was seeing and felt a brief moment of panic. A moment later, she scented Fawnstep as the deputy placed a hand on her elbow, guiding her after a dark, near black shape that Lilyfire realized with relief was Duskstar. The slightly shorter she-cat informed Lilyfire in a quiet tone that Loki had sent for them, via Duskstar, which is where they were headed. Lilyfire nodded her head in thanks, short ginger hair tickling the back of her neck as she puffed up her tail at the chilly night air. The mass of colors thinned a bit, more cooler-than-normal shapes appearing until she could work out the forms of the rest of the Clan around her-Duskstar the coldest, darkest shape of them all, with the apprentices warmer than the warriors. The group moved together to one side, where the she-cat spotted a larger-than-normal shape in warm colors, and a slim shape of pure black standing next to it-now that Loki was using his Jotun form more often, his body temperature had dropped to almost scary levels. Lilyfire shivered, peeking around the shapes of Hagrid and Loki to see a line of...well...it was hard to make out, but they almost looked like skeletal horses with bat wings, bodies outlined in hues of purple and blue. Thestrals, the warrior realized with interest. Then she frowned. "Loki...how is it I'm seeing thestrals?"
Though she couldn't see it, Lilyfire was sure Loki was smiling in her direction. "Thestral's can only be seen by those who have witnessed death. You've been in your fair share of battles-remember on Svartalfheim?" A chorus of 'oohs' came from the gathered anthropomorphic cats. The large shape of Hagrid shifted, a ball of bright white swinging from his hand-a lantern. "Ya go' some interestin' friends, there, Loki. Yer sure you gonna be all right, then?" Lilyfire saw the black shape shift as Loki nodded. "Yes, thank you Hagrid." The half-giant gave his own nod. "A'right then..." he strode away, lantern swinging. "Firs' years, firs' years this way! Follo' me! Ya'll right there, Neville?"
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Owlwings twisted her medium-length marbled hair around one black claw-she'd realized that they could still extend and retract them in their two-leg forms. The Clan had squeezed into 3 different carriages-the ones holding the students would only just be leaving the platform, and the Clan had just about reached the castle. Owlwings was having trouble sitting still in her excitement; Hawkclaw, who was sitting beside the older warrior, seemed just as anxious to finally get inside the castle. The marbled she-cat was still surprised to realize, that along with Duskstar, Fawnstep, Lilyfire, Sunpool and Larkwhisper, she was one of the senior cats in the Clan. "Are we there yet?" She asked, craning her neck to peek out the window-since it was a stormy night, walls and a roof had been raised on each cart. The she-cat twitched back with a hiss, flattening her ears to her head after an ice-cold raindrop soaked through the thin fur. "Actually, yes we are." hummed Loki, who was riding the thestral pulling their carriage with practiced ease. Said carriages rolled to a stop, and the Clan filed out-Owlwings was near the front of the group, and took over helping Lilyfire from Fawnstep. Loki ushered the large and now dripping group up the main steps and through the large doors, which were cracked but not fully open; just inside, polished stone floors reflected bright torchlight, and an older woman with horned-rimmed spectacles and emerald green robes swept forward, taking Loki's hands and pulling him into a half-hug, lined face pulled back in a genuine smile. "I'm glad you could make it! Though I must say, I was surprised when Severus sent an owl saying you brought guests..." the Headmistress peered at the gathered Clan over her glasses, a severe look taking in the water they were dripping all over the place. With a grin, Loki slipped his wand into one hand, flicking it and vaporizing the excess water and simultaneously drying the transformed cats off. Owlwings gave a relieved sigh, poofing out her tail.
"Owlwings..." the she-cat looked up in surprise. "...if you could lead the younger warriors into the feasting hall? I will be taking Duskstar, Fawnstep, Sunpool and Lilyfire to meet the teachers." Owlwings blinked wide green eyes, then nodded and gestured for the others to follow her, with Hawkclaw, Dovefeather and Rageheart close behind.
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Ripplestone made up the back of the group, and peered around at the near-empty hall with cautious interest. Four long tables hosted a small scattering of older students, who stared openly as the Clan filed in, and another table crossed the front of the hall-it was currently empty, but Ripplestone was sure that it would soon be full of teachers. "Where are we going to sit?" Echosong wondered from in front of him. The transformed tom extended and retracted his claws, carefully examining the room. He was sure Loki had been a member of all the houses at some point or another...and while Slytherin's colors matched, the sneers those students were sending towards them made Ripplestone quietly furious, and he knew they wouldn't be sitting there anytime soon.
"I don't want us splitting up...let's all sit at the front of this table." and he gestured towards Ravenclaw's. The group agreed, and moved forward on completely silent feet, robes swishing around them.
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Bladeclaw bared her fangs at the humans glaring at them from the green-and-silver table, completely satisfied with Ripplestone's choice, which put an entire table between the Clan and that group. The Clan settled at the head of their chosen table, automatically splitting and sitting in their own mini-groups-in Asgard or Vanaheim, having groups within groups could be dangerous for warriors, but Bladeclaw had been pleasantly surprised to find that while the Clan had it's own mini-groups, they all continued to get along well. And the black-furred warrior had to admit the groups were well matched-the leader, deputy and medicine cats usually sat together; but also usually in the middle of the group, so as to be available to the rest of the Clan. Lilyfire rotated in and out, fitting with all the groups. Larkwhisper used to sit with Owlwings, but now sat with her litter-mate, Raven; Owlwings had joined the small grouping of Hawkclaw, Dovefeather and Rageheart. Crow had taken to sitting with the sisters from a different Dimension, Echosong and Shadowflame. The London cats also sat together-Sparrow, Shadow, Feather and Storm. Minty, like Lilyfire, tended to move around...but lately had been drawn to wherever Ripplestone happened to be, which was usually by Bladeclaw. Ripplestone was oblivious, but Bladeclaw was secretly amused and pleased-she and Ripplestone were good friends, and Bladeclaw had started to think of the Asgardian cross-bred as a brother, but they weren't anything more. That they had gotten so far when they had started out as...not enemies, but certainly not friends, was a small miracle to the Vanaheim-bred she-cat. Snapped out of her musings by the return of LokiClan's senior cats (and Swift-Eyes), the warrior leaned forward, impatiently brushing back her layered black hair. "Well? Can we stay?" Sunpool purred somewhat, sitting with Swift-Eyes between Storm and Raven. "Loki was just getting us introduced to all the teachers and fleshing out the details of our stay...See?" and the ginger tabby gestured with her ears towards the main table, that was filling up with teachers. Loki sat next to Headmistress McGonagall. When he spotted his Clan looking at him, he grinned and flicked his ears in greeting.
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Hawkclaw decided she liked Hogwarts. The feast had been excellent. During the announcements at the end of the meal, the Headmistress had stood and announced Loki and the Clan's visit, saying that all were to make them welcome. After that, little Flitwick had lead the group to a 'guest' tower, where the Clan returned to their cat-forms and crowded around Loki on the bed, where he told them what he knew of Hogwart's History, including the information from the books. After that, one by one, they fell asleep, until just Loki and Hawkclaw were still awake. "Something bothering you Hawkclaw?" The Trickster asked, peering down at the light brown tabby. The she-cat shrugged and yawned. "Nothing, really...it's just so different, in LokiClan, than ThunderClan and the others around the Lake...I think on some level it's only just now sinking in."
The raven-haired god nodded in agreement, and they fell into a companionable silence until sleep claimed the young warrior.
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TBC