Hiya, everyone! I apologize very much for not updating anything in a while. I had some things I had to help take care of, but I'm back with the next chapter, as promised. We'll see why Redstar has no family and we'll get to see Hawklily, who Hawkclan was named after, for the first time! Plus some interactions between those of Hawkclan and those of Fairy Tail. Anyways, enjoy!

Lucy blinks her eyes, her vision foggy, and lifts her head to look around. She notices that Levy, Gajeel, and Lily, who are nearby, had huddled up with each other to withstand the cold night; Levy's and Gajeel's backs are pressed against each other while Lily has curled up next to Levy to help shield her from the wind.

Natsu groans quietly as he wakes up, followed by Happy, and blinks his eyes. He yawns, his mouth open wide, as he rises and stretches. 'Was yesterday a dream?' he asks himself, doing a full 360 and catching sight of his tail. 'Nope, definitely wasn't a dream.' He pads over to Lucy and presses the top of his head against her cheek. "Morning, Luce," he says quietly, purring low.

Lucy returns the hug. "Hello to you too, Natsu," she replies, releasing her own happy purr. "Everything that happened yesterday was real, right? It's just a dream, right?"

Natsu nods. "I just checked after I stretched and I still look the same as I did yesterday," he says, sitting back to allow Lucy to get to her paws and stretch. "In fact, we're all still the same: we're all still cats and it isn't a dream."

Lucy butts her head against Natsu's, a gesture that's reminiscent to the both of them pressing their foreheads together – back when they were still humans. "Whatever the day brings, then we'll face it together as part of the Fairy Tail Guild," she says softly, reaching up to lick his ear lightly.

Natsu smiles as he rasps his tongue over her neck. "You're right, Luce," he replies, a determined glint shining in his eyes. "There's no need to focus on the negatives of our situation and think about all the upsides to our predicament."

Lucy smiles and touches her nose to his ear. "That's the Natsu I know," she says softly, rising to her paws. "I'm going to go check on everyone else and see how they're doing."

Natsu smiles and nods, watching as she walks over to check on Mira, Elfman, and Lisanna. He looks around and notices that others are beginning to wake up, prompting him to rise to his paws and help Happy to his paws.

A loud yell to get everyone's attention erupts throughout the clearing. "Alright, everyone," Makarov says loudly sitting down in the middle of his guild. "We need to keep going so we can find other cats who may be able to help us."

"Gramps, why are we just constantly walking without so much as a slight idea as to what direction we're going?" Natsu asks, his raised hackles an indicator of his anger.

Makarov scowls at the Dragon Slayer. "Natsu," he says tersely, stalking forward to stand nose-to-nose with the arrogant youngster. "Our one goal is to return to Magnolia and protect the city, but, as things stand, there's no such option right now. Our next best option is to look for those who are familiar with the area so we can become better adjusted to our new surroundings."

Natsu huffs in frustration, knowing that there wasn't any possible chance of him winning the discussion, and turns around, stalking off a short ways away.

Makarov sighs and shakes his head. "What am I going to do with him, Erza?" he asks, looking up at the long-haired ginger she-cat who's sat down next to him. "If you were Guild Leader, what would you do?"

Erza sighs, closing her eye. "Natsu may be arrogant, impulsive, and an absolute thorn in everyone's side at times, but he fights to protect what he loves and doesn't let our guild's good name be tainted by evil," she replies after several moments of silence on her end. "If I were in your place, Master, I wouldn't worry about him too much. He has a good heart."

Makarov smiles and butts his head against Erza's as a way to say 'thank you' with no words.

A sudden rustling of undergrowth startles the two to get to their paws quickly, their fur bristling. Their ears are pinned back as they notice a skinny dark-gray cat, looking to be around Asuka's size, slink from the bushes, fur bristling and teeth bared as the cat gives Makarov and Erza a hiss full of warning. The way this cat looks makes both Makarov and Erza back up a little; despite having fought against many foes before, none looked so scary than this young cat.

"Erza," Makarov orders quietly, flicking his ear to her. "Get to the others. Tell them that we've been ambushed."

Erza nods silently, turning around completely to get back to the rest of the guild, but it's too late. Another half dozen cats have sprung out from the bushes and have surrounded them, all with the same look as the first cat: fur bristling and teeth bared with a look of warning in each their eyes. Erza keeps her head down and focuses on one of the cats: a dark-ginger one with a white foot and a hard look in his bright green eyes. 'He must be the one in charge of this ambush,' she thinks, cocking her head at the dark-ginger cat with a fleeting glint of curiosity in her eyes.

Makarov, on the other hand, looks as though he could take them all on by himself. "Erza, when I say to, you run to the others," he says quietly, flicking his tail against her shoulder.

Erza turns to him, defeat shining in her eyes. "Master, that's no longer an option," she replies, sitting down with her ears pinned back. "They have us surrounded. Our options have dwindled to only one."

"And that is?"

Erza sighs, bowing her head and closing her eye. "Just ... sit down next to me," she whispers.

Makarov can't believe what he's hearing. "Erza, you are the most powerful mage in Fairy Tail," he says, his tail lashing. "What will this prove to these strangers that we don't even know?"

Erza looks up at him, face full of sadness. "I'm not proving anything to them," she replies, her voice barely louder than a whisper. "I'm not Titania, Queen of the Fairies. Not anymore, at least. Here, I'm just Erza, ready to learn how to survive in a world unknown to me."

Before Makarov can reply, the dark-ginger cat from before stalks forward and stands a little distance away from Makarov and Erza. "What did you say your names were?" the cat asks, their voice deep.

Makarov and Erza look at each other, surprise on both their faces. Erza sits tall and looks back at the tom. "My name is Erza and this is my guild master, Makarov Dreyar," she says, some of the other cats surrounding them looking at each other all confused.

The dark-ginger tom cocks his head in confusion. "I ... I'm not sure I understand," he says, very confused. "What do you mean by 'guild master'?"

Erza's ears perk up and she looks at Makarov, her eye wide as if to say 'we really need to educate these cats on our home.'

Makarov sighs, shaking his head. "I think that this tale of the Fairy Tail Guild will have to wait," he says, not even a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "You know our names, so I think that it's just fair that we can all get to know each other."

The cats around them look at each other, surprise on their faces. The dark-ginger tom sighs and stands tall. "My name is Redstar," he says. I'm the leader of Hawkclan."

Erza cocks her head, confused. "I'm sorry, Hawkclan?" she asks, rising to her paws.

Redstar nods. "That's the name of our Clan. We live by a code that all of us must remember," he replies, the dark-gray cat stalking forward to stand next to Redstar. "This is Birdpaw."

Makarov cocks his head in confusion. "Why do you have 'paw' at the end of your name?" he asks, nothing about himself threatening. His ears are perked forward, his body language relaxed, and his gray eyes glinting with intrigue.

Birdpaw looks up at Redstar, who nods to her. "My name has paw at the end because I'm still in training to become a warrior," she replies confidently, sitting down and curling her tail around her paws.

Erza's ears perk up when she hears the word warrior. "Oh, so you're in training to fight?" she asks, a smile on her face.

Redstar and Birdpaw look at each other, not anticipating this at all. "Well ... yes, but that's not all," Redstar says, not sure how to answer Erza's question. Before he gets to say anything further, one of the other cats speaks.

"Redstar speaks the truth," a brown tabby she-cat with pretty blue eyes says as she stalks forward to stand on the side that Erza's on. "There's more to our way of life than just training to be fighters protecting our Clan. Birdpaw is an apprentice and is being taught to not only fight but also to hunt for food to bring back, as well as many other things. Apprentices must pass a final assessment and have all their skills they have been taught by their mentors put to the test before they become warriors."

Redstar nods, rising to his paws. "Well said, Hawkleap," he compliments the she-cat, who dips her head to say 'You're welcome'. "So, are you and your ... guild ... in bad shape? Because, if so, we can take the ones with the most injuries back to our camp to be cared for by Flameheart and Fallowflame."

Erza and Makarov look at each other, confused. "Who is this Flameheart and Fallowflame you speak of?" Makarov asks, getting to his paws.

A pretty tortoiseshell speaks up. "They're our Medicine Cats," she replies, a mischievous glint in her amber eyes. "Their from the same parents, but Flameheart is older and he taught Fallowflame."

Redstar ignores the tortie she-cat's comment and beckons Erza and Makarov with his tail. "Come with me, both of you," he says gently, looking back at them. "You should probably let everyone else with you know what's going on."

Erza and Makarov stalk forward to stand in front of their fellow guildmates. "Hey, brats," Makarov says, sitting down to face his guild. "We've made some unlikely allies with these cats. Their leader, Redstar, has agreed to help us."

Erza steps forward. "Those of you suffering from the most injuries, please step forward," she says, looking through the crowd. Levy steps forward with Gajeel right behind her, as well as Macao, Wakaba, Gildarts, Max, Wendy, and Carla, who's leaning against Wendy to compensate for her sudden dizziness.

Redstar now speaks up. "Since there's several injured coming with us, my most experienced warriors are to come with me," he says, looking at each of his clanmates. "Flameheart, you're returning to camp with us, seeing that you don't have much with you to treat the injured cats. Lionpelt, you're with me also, as well as Grayfur, Dustfall, and Sunfeather. Strikestorm, Jayfoot, you can keep everything in order, right?"

The two toms in question nod. Redstar looks over at Erza and Makarov. "I'd like both of you to come with me," he says, motioning with his tail for his warriors to come to him.

Erza shakes her head. "I'm sorry, but one of us has to stay to keep the guild in line or absolute chaos will break out," she replies, sitting down with her ears pinned back. "And trust me, you don't want to see how messy things can get."

Makarov twitches his ear. "Erza speaks true," he agrees. "The Fairy Tail Guild is notorious for – how shall I put this? – overdoing things and the daily guild brawl that is most always between Natsu and Gray. But I'm sure Lucy can manage those two and Laxus can handle the rest of the guild. Besides, Jellal is there as backup in case things get too out of hand."

Erza sighs and closes her eye. "Okay, I'll go," she agrees, opening her eye once again. "But, if I hear of even the smallest disturbance while I'm gone, I'm coming right back."

Makarov nods and he and Erza follow their new friends with their injured guildmates to get treated for their wounds.

At Hawkclan's camp...

Swiftsong paces around in front of Redstar's den, her mate, Stormleap, watching her. 'Where are they?' she thinks, her tail twitching nonstop as she paces with a worried look on her face.

Stormleap gets to his paws, knowing exactly what's bothering her. "Swiftsong, they'll be back," he reassures, his voice soft and face full of understanding.

Swiftsong doesn't stop, however. "What if something happened to them? What if they were ambushed by rogues?" she rants, the worry lines on her head getting bigger. "I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to my family."

Stormleap just sighs, knowing that his mate is just like her mother, Hawklily: concerned for her family and fellow clanmates but also a skilled fighter thanks to years of experience from skirmishes with loners and rogues. "And if they encountered any trouble, if Redstar realized that they were outnumbered, he'd send Birdpaw back to the camp for reinforcements," he replies, a little smile on his face. "You know as well as I do that she's the fastest one of our Clan."

Swiftsong finally stops and looks at her mate. "But how do we know that she made it out?" she asks, still a little worried.

Stormleap presses his nose to her shoulder. "Stop worrying about the 'what-ifs', Swiftsong," he replies gently, sounding wise beyond his years of being a warrior. "No doubt they found those lost cats and are on their way back right now."

Swiftsong smiles and runs her tail down his back. Her ears perk up at the sounds of footfalls, signaling the return of the rest of the Clan. The first to step into the camp is Redstar and he walks up to his grandparents, nuzzling his head into their chests in a rare display of affection from the dark-ginger tom. "Welcome back, Redstar," Swiftsong says, licking his ear.

Redstar pulls his head back and sits down, his tail curling around his paws. "It's good to be back home," he replies, back to the stern personality he usually has as the clan leader.

Stormleap sits down in front of his grandson, Swiftsong sitting down next to him. "So, everything went well, I assume?" he asks.

Redstar hesitates for a fraction of a second, shaking his head. "It didn't exactly go as we had thought," he replies, trying to choose his words carefully.

Swiftsong smells unfamiliar scents from the entrance. "Are any of you injured?" she asks, concerned.

Redstar shakes his head. "No, Swiftsong, none of us are injured," he assures, faltering, and looks down at his paws.

Stormleap notices the distress on his grandson's face. "But?" he probes, curious now.

Redstar looks up at his grandparents. "The cats we met, they have injured cats in their numbers," he says quietly, his face plainly showing his concern and anxiety. "I know that our Clan Code requires that we shun those who don't live like us, but, in this instance, how could I just turn a blind eye to their suffering?"

Stormleap and Swiftsong look at each other. "There's nothing wrong with what you chose to do," Swiftsong consoles gently. "If any Clan leader had even a little bit of your compassion, there wouldn't be any disagreements whatsoever."

Stormleap nods. "Swiftsong is right," he agrees. "You're a great leader of Hawkclan, marked by your compassion and self-sacrifice to help others."

Redstar nods, smiling, and gets to his paws. "I better go see if I can be of any help to Flameheart and Fallowflame," he says, turning around but pausing to look back at them. "Thank you, both of you. What would I ever do without you?"

Stormleap and Swiftsong watch as the young leader walks back out through the entrance. "He's grown up so much, hasn't he?" Swiftsong asks, looking at her mate.

Stormleap nods. "Despite everything he's been through, he's endured and has become the best of himself," he replies. "He, Lionstorm, and Sunfeather lost their sisters when they were young warriors and then he lost his mate and daughter not too long after, during that one hard leafbare."

Swiftsong nods. "And remember he was scorned by the other kits and older apprentices for being the runt in his litter?" she adds, twining her tail with his.

Stormleap closes his eyes. "Yes, despite his hardships early on, he's worked his hardest to become a respected member of our Clan and a humble, wise leader," he says, getting to his paws. "I'm going to go see if they need any help with our guests."

Swiftsong nods, nuzzling him. "Okay, just be careful," she warns, licking his ear.

Stormleap nods. "Yes, ma'am," he replies, stalking towards the entrance, his tail twitching.

In the Medicine Cat's den...

Flameheart cares for Levy, applying a cobweb poltice to the gash on her side. "You really got yourself in a bad spot, didn't you?" he says, pausing when he hears her hiss in pain. "Sorry. It's just ... you look like you fell down a cliff. What exactly did you do?"

Levy shakes her head. "Even if I explained it with as much detail as I could, it probably wouldn't make much sense to you," she replies in an apologetic tone, looking up at Gajeel. "But, if I had to guess, we both could say this for sure: we were obviously sent to this world for a reason."

Gajeel nods, a smirk on his face. "Ya know I'd follow ya anywhere, right, Shrimp?" he says, bending down to nuzzle her.

Levy smiles as both of them begin purring.

Flameheart watches silently as he works, not knowing what they're referring to. "Alright, you're all done," he says, sitting back while the huge long-haired brown tom helps the blue-gray she-cat to her paws.

"Who was that?" a large long-haired black she-cat with amber eyes asks as she saunters into the den with leftover medical supplies after treating several of their guests.

Flameheart puts the remaining cobwebs in the hole they go in and the moss in it's hole. "I believe that their names are Gajeel and Levy," he replies, going about his business. "But I'm just a Medicine Cat, Fallowflame. My – Our responsibility is to care for the Clan and nothing else."

Fallowflame puts all the stuff she has into their respective holes. "But wouldn't you like to at least get to know them a little?" she asks.

Flameheart's ear flicks. "Okay, sis, you've got a point there," he replies, sighing and shaking his head.

"You know, that white she-cat – I believe her name is Carla – strikes me as the type who would make a wonderful Medicine Cat," Fallowflame observes, sitting down.

Flameheart nods. "And that big bruiser of a brown tom would make a fine warrior," he comments, walking out of the den.

Fallowflame shakes her head and follows her big brother out.

In the clearing of the camp...

Redstar sits in front of his den and watches the daily goings on of his clan, taking note of the interactions between the cats in his clan and the cats that are their guests. Lionpelt and Strikestorm and in the middle of an in-depth conversation with a blue-gray tom with light-blue eyes. 'If I'm correct, I believe Lionpelt said his name is Macao.' He also makes note of the social interaction between Ivyshine and the blue-gray and white she-cats from earlier. 'I believe I heard that their names are Wendy and Carla.'

"Redstar?"

The dark-ginger tom looks over at an elderly pale ginger she-cat with bright green eyes. She rasps softly and sits down next to the young leader. "Hello to you too, Hawklily," he greets, nudging his nose against her shoulder.

"So, about our guests," she says, looking at him. "What is the story behind them?"

Redstar closes his eyes and shakes his head. "I hate to tell you this, but I don't know anything about them," he admits, pinning his ears back. "But I have to agree with you. I wish I knew more about them than just the little info that I currently claim."

Hawklily faces forward again and the two watch the interactions between their clan and their guests. After a substantial amount of silence between the two, she finally breaks the awkward silence. "You know who you remind me of?" she asks, still looking forward.

Redstar's ear twitches and he looks at her through the corner of his eye, but he doesn't say anything.

Hawklily sighs, closing her eyes. "You remind me of my mate, Sunstrike, who's been with Starclan for many seasons now," she continues, finally looking at the dark-ginger tom. "You're personality is most like his. Both of you are kind, caring, compassionate, and always putting yourselves out to help others, even if it possibly means putting your own lives in danger."

Redstar looks over at her, surprise clearly written all over his face. "But, from stories that I was told as an apprentice, I look nothing like him," he says in disbelief.

Hawklily shakes her head, chuckling at his reaction. "Redstar, in the many seasons I've lived, I've learned many things," she says, her voice wise with age. "But this one truth has stuck out for nearly as long as I've been alive, and it started when Swiftsong had become an apprentice many moons ago. No matter what one cat may look like, they and their parents may not be that much different personality-wise."

Redstar nods slowly, very confused. "I'm ... not sure I completely understand," he stammers.

Hawklily sighs. "Swiftsong and Jayfoot look nothing like me or Sunstrike, right?" she asks, trying to make sure Redstar is following along.

Redstar nods. "Yes, of course."

"But have you ever noticed that Swiftsong and I do many of the same things in a very similar way?"

Redstar nods. "To be honest, I think that it's kinda creepy to see both of you do the same things," he observes, a shiver going up his back. "But I believe I'm starting to understand what you are speaking of."

Hawklily smiles. "Even though you don't like Sunstrike, you share the same fighting spirit and wise personality," she says, happy that he finally understands the bonds between family lines.

With the rest of the Fairy Tail Guild...

Natsu paces back and forth, close to making a bare patch in the grass.

Lucy and Happy watch on as their best friend continues on his silent rant. They don't bother trying to talk some sense into him because they both know that it's pointless. Lucy looks up to see that the sun has begun to set and wonders if everyone is okay at Hawkclan's camp.

Natsu finally stops pacing and finally sits down, still grumpy from his standoff with Makarov earlier. This prompts both Lucy and Happy to get to their paws and sit down on either side of the ginger tom. They don't say anything and just lean against Natsu as they all watch the sunset.

'I really hope that we get to go home soon,' Lucy thinks, her face full of sadness.

Natsu senses the aura of sadness coming off both his best friends and he nudges Lucy gently. "Hey, you okay?" he asks, waiting for her answer.

Lucy acknowledges his question with a simple flick of her ear and sighs, shaking her head.

Natsu understands and he turns back to look at the last rays of sunlight streaming through the trees. "I know, I miss home too," he admits, trying to be the one to comfort them both. "But we'll be back in Magnolia before we know it."

Lucy nods, a smile on her face, and Happy just nuzzles his face into Natsu's chest fur, but the ginger tom doesn't say anything. They all eventually curl up close to each other and drift off to sleep, all of them thinking about what the future holds for them.

Hiya again, everyone! So, the mystery behind Redstar's missing family has been solved partially. And we got to meet several new cats in this chapter.

- Flameheart is very soft-spoken but knows what's expected of him and upholds his duty to his Clan. He tends to be a father figure to the younger cats, especially to his sister Fallowflame, who practically idolizes him.

- Fallowflame, who Flameheart is rather fond of, is quite a jokester and takes after her mother Bluefrost. She takes her job rather seriously, but will try to pull pranks every so often when she's not caring for sick or injured cats.

- Swiftsong is patient and gentle, just like her mother, but will not hesitate to protect her Clan. She's got that endearing nature and is always open to hearing what others have to say, even when those opinions may not be the nicest

- Stormleap is a very attentive tom who's got this sixth sense that allows him to just listen when other cats rant about something that happened and is soft-spoken and gentle when trying to help the cat come to a reasonable decision. He's very attuned to his hunting abilities and other cats have told him that he looks like he's one with nature.

- Hawklily is the oldest cat in any of the Clans and the kits and apprentices don't waste a moment of their free time to listen to Hawklily's stories. She and her brother were born into Thunderclan and saw many things happen. But old habits die hard and some in the Clans claim she's speaking nonsense in her old age.

And there we go! A little backstory on each of these new cats. Hope ya enjoyed and I'll catch y'all in the next chapter!

Edge of Hyrule