Hiya, readers! I apologize for not updating in almost two weeks because I was receiving writer's block for what direction to take this chapter, but I'm back and I hope you enjoy reading this!
At Hawkclan's camp...
The black she-cat races into the camp, skidding to a stop in front of a large golden tabby tom who's just finished sharing a pigeon with a tortie she-cat with a white underbelly. "Lionstorm, I need to talk to you," she rasps, out of breath from running. "It's important."
Lionstorm looks at the tortie she-cat. "Ivyshine, can you please excuse me for a moment?" he asks, twitching his ear to the black she-cat as a way of saying 'I'll be there in just a moment.' He saunters over to her. "What's the matter, Birdpaw?" he asks, sitting in front of her and curling his tail around his paws.
Birdpaw slows her breathing so she's now breathing normal. "So, I was patrolling with Ravenflame and she sent me off to renew the scent markers at the edge of our territory that borders Jayclan's territory. I had climbed a tree while I was waiting for Ravenflame and the rest of the patrol to catch up and I saw the strangest sight as I waited up in the tree."
Lionstorm cocks his head. "What strange sight did you see?" he asks, listening closely to see if it's another of her fibs.
Birdpaw looks around her to make sure no one else is listening. "A huge group of cats were walking rather loudly through the undergrowth," she whispers, her ears pinned back as she says it.
Lionstorm's eyes grow wide when he hears this. "Do you know how many there are?" he asks, glancing up at a dark-ginger tom who's laying in a patch of sun in the middle of the camp.
Birdpaw shakes her head. "Sorry, there were too many cats for me to count," she apologizes, looking back up at him. "But, if I had to guess, there are at least enough to fill our camp completely full."
Lionstorm closes his eyes. "Do you think that they are hostile?" he asks, opening his eyes and looking up at her.
Birdpaw shakes her head. "I don't think so," she admits. "As I watched them walk, they didn't seem to have their balance all the way and they seemed to be disoriented because some of them were stopping rather suddenly to shake their heads, as if they were still a little dizzy."
Lionstorm nods, his face full of concern. "I see," he replies, looking over at the dark-ginger tom again. "I think that Redstar, Strikestorm, Swiftsong, and Jayfoot should know about this."
Birdpaw nods and the two head over to talk to the dark-ginger tom about this new predicament.
With the Fairy Tail Guild...
Asuka, who's now become a part-grown silver tabby she-cat with green eyes, walks between her parents Alzack, now a black tom, and Bisca, now a long-haired pale yellow she-cat with gray eyes, but she doesn't bother to talk to her parents because she's sad and also because she can tell that they aren't happy either. "Mama?" Asuka finally asks after she can no longer stand the awkward silence, looking over at her mother.
Bisca looks at her daughter. "Yes, baby?" she replies, her ear twitching.
Asuka is unsure if she should still ask, but she leaps over the last hurdle and chugs on. "Are you and Papa mad at me?" she asks, her ears pinned back at how stupid her question sounds.
Alzack and Bisca look at each other, surprise on both their faces at hearing their daughter's question. Alzack shakes his head. "No, sweetheart," he replies, the three of them stopping for a moment. "We aren't mad at you at all. We're mad at whoever messed with Fairy Tail."
Bisca nuzzles her daughter affectionately. "Just ... always remember that, if we're mad or anyone else is mad, we're never mad at you," she adds. "Okay?"
Asuka nods and they continue on with the rest of the guild.
Lucy smiles at the sight and looks back at Natsu, who looks sullen as he walks next to Happy, his head looking down at the ground. She turns her head back around and tries to think of a way to make Natsu look like his normal self again. "Hey, Levy, I'm going to be right back," she says. "I've got to take care of something."
Levy nods and Lucy stops to catch up with Natsu. "Natsu," Lucy says softly and nudges her best friend. He stops and looks up at her with a sad look in his eyes. "Are ... Are you okay?"
Natsu shakes his head sadly. "No, Lucy, I'm not okay," he replies, but says nothing further about the situation.
Lucy frowns. "What are you thinking about?" she asks, her ears perked as she sits down to listen.
Natsu sits down rather abruptly and bows his head, his eyes looking at his paws. "I'm thinking of home," he replies, looking up at her with a grim look. "I–" He stops, unable to continue.
Lucy's ear twitches and she butts her head underneath his chin, unable to think of any other way to comfort him. "I know, Natsu," she whispers, pulling back to lick his ear. "I miss home too. But, until we can figure out a way to get back, we have to adapt to our current circumstances and make the best of it while we can."
Natsu smiles and gives Lucy a cat's hug. "Is this just because you're returning the favor for me comforting you when you didn't know how we're going to get out of this?" he asks, a small smile on his face as they continue walking.
Lucy's ear twitches, showing her playfulness. "Maybe, maybe not," she replies coyly. "That wasn't my reason, but I'll let you think that," she adds, a smirk on her face. 'For now,' she adds in her mind.
At Hawkclan's camp...
A dark-ginger tom yowls to get his clan's attention. "Cats of Hawkclan, I have just been informed of something that could be potentially be dangerous to our way of life," he says looking at each cat below him.
"What's the problem, Redstar?" a silver tabby tom with white patches and bright blue eyes asks, looking up at the dark-ginger tom.
Redstar looks over at the silver tabby tom with a grim look. "I'll let Birdpaw tell you all herself," he replies simply, looking over at the young, skinny black she-cat and beckons her over with a flick of his tail. She timidly pads forward to stand next to him and he whispers in her ear, "Just be honest and tell them what you saw. Don't leave anything out." He runs his tail down her back and encourages her to sit down next to him, to which she obliges.
Birdpaw closes her eyes to take a deep breath before opening them again. "Earlier today, while on patrol with Strikestorm, Skyrunner, Grayfur, and my mentor Ravenflame, I'd been sent ahead to renew one of the scent markers for the border with Larkclan. I was done rather quickly, so I decided to climb up a tree while I was waiting so that the patrol could easily spot me. I'd been facing towards Ice Lake with my tail hanging down, tapping against the trunk of the tree, and I saw the strangest sight: a huge group of cats were walking down by the lake shore, all of them unsteady and dizzy at some points. I don't think that they are a major threat, but none of you have to share my own personal opinion."
The group starts to protest with meows, hissing, and yowling. It's so loud that Birdpaw jumps down to the ground from the rock and saunters towards the entrance of the camp, but she stops when she hears Redstar yowl loudly to make his clan be quiet.
"Alright, you had your say on the matter," he says, looking at Birdpaw, who's turned around to listen closely with perked ears and a twitching tailtip. "Right now, the problem that's resting on my shoulders is to decide what the best course of action to take is with regards to this new predicament."
Cats in the audience look at each other, murmuring amongst each other, until a loud voice from the center of the group is heard. "Then what do you think should be done about this?" a brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes asks, sitting down next to a long-haired yellow tom with leaf-green eyes.
Redstar looks over at a yellow tom with green eyes a white underbelly and a shredded ear. "Strikestorm and I will each lead a patrol of five cats each and I will assign a third cat to lead a small patrol of three cats as backup," he says, looking back at his clan. "Jayfoot, you will have change of our backup patrol. You may choose who will go with you. I will take Lionpelt, Grayfur, Ivyshine, Bluefrost, and Birdpaw. Strikestorm, you may choose who you wish to be in your patrol."
Strikestorm pads forward and sits next to Redstar. "The cats that I choose to go with me are Flameheart, Riverfrost, Hawkleap, Cinderleaf, and Dustfall," he says, earning a look of confusion from the big ginger Medicine Cat. "These mysterious cats may be hurt so I need you to bring your supplies."
Jayfoot pads forward to stand below the rock. "I'll take Thunderfoot, Sunfeather, and Blueflame," he says, looking up at Redstar, who nods.
Redstar faces his clan. "Everyone satisfied with their assignments?" he asks, the rest of the clan nodding.
Redstar plans to leave and find the cats of Fairy Tail at dawn the next morning, but what he doesn't realize is that the Fairy Tail Guild will be much easier to find than he or anyone else in his clan had previously thought.
With the Fairy Tail Guild...
The newly-transformed members of Fairy Tail all curl up into tight balls of fur nestled against each other to conserve their body heat during the cold night. Natsu has chosen to curl up next to Lucy, Happy nestled between them.
Natsu lifts his head and looks over at Lucy, who's looking up through the trees at the stars. "Hey, Luce," he says quietly and the celestial wizard looks over at him, the side of her head bathed in moonlight. But all Natsu notices is that her eyes have a distant look in them, as if she's distracted by something. "You okay?"
Lucy shakes her head. "No, I'm not okay, Natsu," she admits, pinning her ears back as she looks down at her front legs that are tucked underneath her body.
Natsu's ear twitches as he cocks his head slightly. "You thinking about home?" he asks quietly, getting up carefully so he doesn't wake Happy up and curls up next to Lucy.
Lucy says nothing, but simply nods.
Natsu licks her ear comfortingly. "Don't you worry," he reassures. "We'll figure it out and we'll be back home in no time."
The Fairy Tail Guild has a hard time falling asleep and resort to watching the stars or talking quietly to each other. But none of them are quite prepared for what's to come upon them in the very near future.
Oh, you're still here. That's good. I felt that I needed to provide an update on this story. I'm going to post the clan allegiances for Hawkclan as well as Jayclan, Iceclan, and Larkclan. I'm also working on clan allegiance artwork so you can see what all my OCs actually look like in my mind's eye. You can check it out on DeviantArt account ZeldaFanatic2k. Anyways, kudos and I'll catch y'all in the next chapter!