[RedHead]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

A large brown Maine Coon padded through the territory, his green eyes glancing around it with a more pleased expression. Prey was getting a little better, the really cold weather hadn't set in yet, so it was... it was fine. Not like he minded this type of weather, it was honestly pretty nice out right now. Ottertail would have been able to stay out here for a bit. Maybe he should head back to Camp and get Mintberry, or... someone? It was so pretty out here right now, it was a shame to be experiencing it alone. Ottertail already had one catch buried over by a nearby tree, but he wanted to catch one more thing before he- Wait. Is that... A familiar scent came over the tom, and his tail began twitching eagerly, his eyes curiously glancing around the territory.

If he wasn't mistaken, that was a friend of his! But, someone that he thought had died or disappeared long ago... except now she was back. "Crescentmoon?" Ottertail's voice was soft, and curious, and for the moment all thoughts of teasing left his head. A quicker pace seemed to fly to his paws as he moved swiftly towards the familiar scent, stopping as he came out into the open. Oh... no, this couldn't be her. There were kits! And, Ottertail knew that she wouldn't have - she couldn't - right? Still, he decided to take a closer look. They definitely weren't adopted, well, not that tabby one anyways.

The darker one could be... but who was the father? What could have happened in the time from the Evil Era, when she had gone, to now? This looked JUST like her. It had to be her - but what about the kits? No, no, there was an explanation and Ottertail guessed that he would get it... the last time he had seen her, his pelt had been a little less fluffy and he had been significantly smaller, in the muscular areas, anyways. "Crescentmoon, is that - you?" He couldn't imagine what the she cat had been through.

And then he remembered... Northpath was gone now. And she didn't know. This gave the tom a blow as well, realizing that if she asked he was going to have to tell her that he was - that he had - well, he was now dead. Now that was a conversation that he was most certainly not looking foward to.

A scent reached Crescentmoon, and her ears instantly flicked up. She sat up and instinctively curled her tail around her kits, not bothering as her son let out an indignant, "Hey watch it! That was my-" His voice was muffled as she placed the tip of her tail over his mouth, listening, her ears swiveling every which way. Her two kits seemed to sense her discomfort, and South got in front of Starry, pressing her against their mother's fur. "It's okay Starry, momma's got this." He whispered to her. Starry gave him a look, flicking him with her one silver paw. "Yeah duh..."
"Shush the both of you." Crescentmoon meowed sternly. And that let her kits know that she was worried about something. Because she never shushed them unless they were in trouble.
As the scent came closer, the queen felt as if she recognized it. But she had been gone too long to put an exact tab on who this cat was. Definitely male though. And Crescentmoon was now always pretty nervous around males ever since that one had tried to kill her kits.
As a cat stepped out of the undergrowth, Crescentmoon's eyes widened. Ottertail? Recognition seemed to cloud his gaze, but he looked unsure. She watched as he took a look at her kits, whom were peeking their heads out from behind her tail.
As he said her name, Crescentmoon nodded, giving him a smile. "It is me Ottertail." Then she stood, walking over to him. "Wow, you've grown so much since I last saw you!" So many questions were bubbling in her mind, and she wanted to ask them all. But she knew that first, she needed to get her kits somewhere warm and safe. So that was the first imposing question.
"Who are you? You smell funny!" The queen looked down to see South Winds now right beside her, sticking his tongue out in a disgusted way. "He smells a little like mommy... Wait is this dad?!" Starry was also now next to Crescentmoon, inspecting Ottertail as well, but her silver eyes were turned up towards Crescentmoon, wide with wonder. Letting out a laugh, the queen shook her head. "No Starry, this is Ottertail, my old friend from Thunderclan. You remember those stories I told you, right?"
"Woah, so you're a warrior?!?" South now looked up at Ottertail with admiration shining in his leafy orbs, his maw holding a smile.
Looking back up at Ottertail, Crescentmoon laughed. "Sorry about my kits, they are both very... curious." South stuck his tongue out at her, and she curled her tail over his head, rolling her blue eyes. "But, I've come back to Thunderclan, hoping to rejoin. I wanted to raise my kits here, where they will be safe. And I bet you are wanting an explanation, so I can explain a few things before we get going. Just tell me what you want to know."