[SOLO RP-FIN] Lost And Found [Thunderpaw x Duchess]

[NatiStorm]

Thunderstorm was out hunting on his first solo hunt. If his hunt was successful, he was pretty sure that his leader Sunflight would give him his warrior name. The dark and white tom almost laughed at how excited he was to change his name again. What a silly thing to be this excited about. He knew deep down that it was more about being fully accepted into the clan than it was about having a warrior name but feeling like a kit making his first catch over a name still made him smile.

It had taken him a few moons to find Treeclan and a few more to settle into clan life. After all the drama that had transpired in TreeClan recently, his life as a kittypet felt far behind him. Thunderpaw rarely even thought of those 'dark days' anymore. Having managed to catch one decent sized bird already, the large tom was feeling pretty good about himself. The bird was buried a ways back and he was nearing the TreeClan boarder in pursuit of a squirrel when a sudden storm had rolled up on him.

A loud crack of thunder sent him down his current tree to the ground below. The prey he'd been hunting fled and he cursed his luck. He let out a disappointed sigh. Then the smells hit him. Freshly marked TreeClan scents marking the territory seemed all around him. He hadn't noticed it in the trees and must run right into the boarder without realizing it. He cursed his luck again. There was no chance of catching that squirrel now unless he wanted to risk hunting outside of the territory, which he did not. He knew that was a sure way to get kicked out of the clan, or at the very least punished in some way that he did not want to find out.

The forest grew darker and another roll of thunder cracked overhead. Flattening himself down to the ground, he caught the fear scent of another cat nearby. Probably a loner as the scent seemed to be coming from somewhere past his clans boarder, but not on the side they shared with StoneClan. Thunerpaw knew he should scurry back to camp but there was something familiar about the scent. A feeling stirred inside him, craving, almost nostalgic. Creeping slowly, he moved through the bushes towards the smell of the other cat.

 

[NatiStorm]

Oh, what a mistake this had been. How long had she been out here...? Alone... Lost... It felt like forever. Had she ever even been a kittypet? Was there actually a time she had slept on soft cushions and ate cold wet fish tasting mush? She didn't miss that life, of course not, no, but sometimes she thought maybe it might have been nicer than surviving the woods. Perhaps she had taken some of the kittypet comforts for granted. Oh well. Too late to worry about that now. There was no going back, only moving forward... though towards where, she wasn't quite sure.

Duchess needed to find him. Princeton. The cat she loved more than anything. He had run away so she had too... but Duchess had no idea where Princeton had runaway to. It seemed like she'd roamed this entire forest with absolutely no sign of him. Had this all been for nothing? Was she destined to be lost and lonely here in the woods forever? If she had left earlier, would things have turned out differently?

The first crack of thunder sent her under a nearby bramble bush, the thorns tugging at her thick coat. She was just starting to regain some of her composure when the second roar of thunder blasted overhead. This day just couldn't get any worse. Not for the first time, though she wouldn't admit it, Duchess missed her twolegs nest. She didn't want to be caught in a storm with nowhere to hide from the wind and rain.

Thinking she was along, Duchess let out a loud cry, releasing her terror of the coming storm, her feelings of despair, and the overwhelming loneliness she felt.

 

[NatiStorm]

His mouth open, he scented the air around him for any sign of StoneClan but there didn't seem to be any clan scent other than his own clan's marking. Just the one vaguely familiar scent was all he could otherwise detect. It was nagging at him now, his mind working rapidly trying to place the smell of the she-cat. Thunderpaw knew this scent, not doubt about it. He knew her, but from where? Thunderstorm briefly thought about turning back and running along the ground (ugh) back to camp but there was no way he could let it go now. The nagging at his mind would drive him crazy before he even reached camp.

Curiosity got the better of him and he began to follow the scent, which was very easy to do as the fear was so strong in the air, he almost felt the need to wash his coat. He just had to know. Who was it? Someone he hadn't smelled in moons, that was sure. So why was he smelling them now? Who was out there?

He stopped a ways from the bush he was certain the she-cat was under. Just when the had lifted a paw to approach, the other cat cried out. It was such a loud sorrowful yowl that it pulled at Thunderstorms' heart. There was no way he could leave a cat that hurt alone out here in the forest during a storm. As he though about the coming storm, the rain began to fall, light at first but quickly became heavier.

"Hello? Hey, you there! Hi, I'm, uh, I'm here to help you." He called out loudly towards the brambles in front of him. Though his voice was loud, his confidence wavered and his words failed him. Embarrassment colored his cheeks as he bumbled through the greeting.

 

[NatiStorm]

The sound of a voice startled her just as much as the thunder and she flinched back into the thorns of her hiding spot. She let out a soft yowl of pain as one of the thorns found it's way through her thick fur. Oh, how embarrassing. She must sound pretty pathetic if another cat was offering her help. Strange though, she hadn't met many friendly cats since she left her kittypet life.

The rain was picking up and her bush was not well positioned to provide much cover. It didn't take long for the rain water to saturate her fluffy coat. Wanting to get out of this now downpour and back to her temporary den, Duchess crept out of the bush and looked around.

"H-hi?" She called out to the voice. There were so many loner cats in this area that she didn't know. Was one of them actually friendly and trying to help her? Or was this just a trap? Could this day actually get worse?

The moment she caught sight of him, her heart stopped.

Was she seeing this right? It couldn't be... Could it? A flash of lighting lit up the forest around her and she saw his eyes. There was no mistaking those eyes.

It was him. He was here. In front of her. With no boxes or twolegs in their way.

"Princeton!" Duchess ran to him, coming up short right in front of his nose. "Princeton! Is it really you?! I found you! You remember me right? You're here? And your okay, aren't you?" She assaulted him with her questions.

 

[NatiStorm]

Hearing a cry of pain come from the bush he felt instantly guilty for startling the other cat. He had thought it safe to call out, surely the she-cat had smelled him approaching? He's scent should be hard to miss with the current gale from the sudden storm. Well, he was on the ground outside of his clans territory, maybe she thought he was here to attack her?

Just as he was about to continue that he was nice and apologize for scaring her, the cat emerged from the bush.

It was her. He recognized her instantly. How could he ever forget those eyes, that coat, that smile. Once again they'd found each other. Only this time, nothing was in his way.

"Duchess!" He echoed her call as she ran to him. A loud purr rumbled through him, challenging the the sound of the thunder overhead. "It's really me! I can't believe it's really you!" With a smile and his purr still rumbling, he leaned in and rubbed his cheek against hers. "Of course I remember you, how could I forget?" Now that he could see her, Thunderpaw felt a bit embarrassed for not having recognized her scent sooner. "You did find me. I'm here and I'm okay. I live here now. Well, not here exactly. I shouldn't be here, you see, but the squirrel, and then I smelled you, then heard your cry and--" Thunderstorm broke off and buried his face in her fur. "It's so good to see you. I've missed you."

She had done it, just as she promised. Somehow she had found him. And now, he never had to let her go.

 

[NatiStorm]

It was almost too good to be true. For the first time ever she could curl up beside him, feel his warmth through the cold rain, and know they never had to separate. A nearly delirious laugh bubbled up out of her as she followed him under the nearby bush, a much better hiding spot than her own. “It’s really you.” The words escaped her like a sigh. “I’ve missed you too.” She leaned into him, lost now in the storm of her emotions.

“You live here? So your den is close by then?" Curiously, she looked him over. Soaked to the bone, he was still big. His figure was full, his muscles bulging, strong… It took a moment for her to realize she was staring. She shook her head and laughed at herself. Princeton looked way to healthy for a cat living on his own. If he was this strong… maybe she should just go with him? Disappear in the storm and never go back to her makeshift den. Wait, was that even what he wanted? It had been a long time since they last saw each other.

"Why shouldn't you be here? Is there.... Someone else in your life now that you need to get back to?" The words stuck in her throat as she tried to ask the question that was really on her mind. Had Princeton moved on? Duchess had never thought about the possibility that her tom cat wasn't actually hers.

 

[NatiStorm]

A large smile spread across his maw. Duchess had always been a bit more beauty than brains and she was no different now. It was somehow comforting to him.

“No, silly, this is the boarder along TreeClan. I’m an apprentice of Tree clan now, I live with them. They call me Thunderpaw! How fun is that? Sunflight might give me my warrior name when I bring back the bird I caught.” He smiled and glanced upward towards the sky. “I’m not supposed to be here because this is just past the clan boundary line. Oh, they are going to be so mad at me when I get back...” A guilty look crossed his face. His first solo hunt out and he runs straight out of the territory. With merely a glance at the she-cat before him and his conscious was clean. The clan could be mad all they wanted, this was his girl and he would do anything for her.

A thought hit him.

“Come with me.” He said to the drenched she-cat. “TreeClan is uh, looking for new warriors. I’m sure Sunflight would take you in. She and her mate have a soft spot for romance." Thunderpaw said with a wink. "We're finally here with no twolegs in our way! We can be together.” He should have asked her last time and he wasn't going to make that mistake again. With a tender look at her he whispered, “Will you come with me?”

 

[NatiStorm]

Oh, right, that made more sense. She was on the boarder of a clan wasn’t she? That's why it smelled like so many cats. So he had also found a clan to take him in and teach him the way of the warriors instead of a family of loner bullies like she had. He looked like he had taken to it well which made her doubt everything those loners had told her.

Wait, what did he just say?

"Go with you?" Duchess echoed. The words rattled around her head as her body felt like it was floating. "Of course! As long as we can stay together, I will go with you anywhere!" Before she knew it, she was crying. "I love you Princ-- Thunderpaw. I found you, even after you ran away. I have always wanted to be with you and I will follow you anywhere. Just promise, next time, you won't just leave me, okay?" She had never allowed herself to admit how much it had hurt that Thunderpaw hadn't asked her to come with him when he left the kittypet life. Now that she had found him again, she wasn't going to let that happen a second time. He was hers and she wasn't letting him go.

 

[NatiStorm]

As the rain beat down around them, Thunderpaw felt overwhelmed with emotions. There was so much relief in seeing Duchess again, in hearing her declaration of love after everything, and in her willingness to join his clan to be with him. Yet there was so much regret and embarrassment over not bring her with him when he left and leaving her to find him all on her own. What horrors had his sweet girl dealt with on her way to find him? She had already given up so much and still she was willing to go with him. He felt light, he felt heavy, but overall he felt happy.

"I love you too Duchess." Thunderpaw said as he nuzzled his mates cheek. "I promise. No leaving you behind, ever again. Now, let's go introduce you to your new family."