Leafpaw stretched, it was a bit before the first light, and the camp was still in darkness. Padding into camp, she saw Icewind on guard duty for the night.
"You're up early," Icewind commented.
"Yes," Leafpaw agreed. "I thought I'd stretch my legs before training,"
"Well, have a nice walk then." Icewind mewed.
"Thanks," Leafpaw mewed.
Running over to the ShadowClan border, she saw Lavapaw appear out of the shadows behind as she looked at the border. After they rolled in wild garlic, they began padding toward the ShadowClan camp. They sneaked there without getting seen, this time. Once they reached the ShadowClan camp they climbed a pine tree to get a better view. Looking down on the ShadowClan camp she could see pelts below the bramble covering of the dens.
"How do we tell which one is our father?" Lavapaw hissed, "If he even is here,"
"Well, he must be black," Leafpaw hissed back, "Because I'm a black tortoiseshell, and Clawpaw and Streamripple are white calicos."
"Yes, but I'm a ginger tabby," Lavapaw said.
"Okay, but there are currently no ginger cats in ShadowClan, so the ginger must be from our grandmother, Emberdawn," Leafpaw said.
"I guess…" Lavapaw whispered, and after looking over the camp, "There! Do you see, between that gray-blue one, and that brownish one?"
Leafpaw climbed silently down and padded over to their father. Lavapaw followed, trailing behind a little bit. Lavapaw prodded their father sharply when they got there, and they quickly padded away as he got up. Their father stretched and got up. As he looked around, Leafpaw could see he was a little confused about why somebody had prodded him in the middle of the night. He got up and padded around the camp.
"What do we do now?" Lavapaw asked.
"I don't know," Leafpaw said, annoyed, "Why'd you poke him?"
Lavapaw stepped out and padded towards him. He immediately noticed Lavapaw was coming, even though she was downwind and didn't make any sound. Leafpaw stepped out as Lavapaw froze, wondering how he knew they were there.
Lavapaw slowly padded back, sliding into a muddy puddle. Leafpaw flattened and melted into the shadows. Their father headed towards them, perfectly silent, until he reached the bush they were hiding in. The air was filled with tension like there was electricity crackling between them.
"Who are you?" He hissed, "And what are you doing here?"
Leafpaw stepped forward and met his gaze confidently. "We're your daughters," she said. "We came from RiverClan to meet you."
He was surprised for a moment and then seemed to recognize them. "My daughters?" he repeated, almost disbelievingly. "From RiverClan?"
"Yes," Lavapaw spoke up. "We wanted to see you and know who you are."
Their father's face showed a mix of astonishment and hesitation. The moonlight filtered through the trees overhead, casting a silver light on the secret meeting.
"I never knew I had children in RiverClan," he admitted, his expression softening. "Why have you come here?"
"We wanted to meet you. We wanted to know who our father was," Leafpaw explained. "We wanted to get to know you."
A range of emotions played across their father's face - surprise, remorse, and longing. The night grew deeper around them, and the distant sounds of the ShadowClan camp murmured like a backdrop to their meeting.
Leafpaw and Lavapaw exchanged glances, their own emotions reflecting the situation's complexity. Their father sighed, lost in his thoughts.
"I never considered… I never realized," he said quietly, backing away.
An unexpected but profound connection had been established between a father and the daughters he never knew existed. As they stood there beneath the silent gaze of the moon, the night held the promise of understanding, reconciliation, and the forging of newfound ties. The journey toward knowing and accepting one another had just begun.