An Unintentional Visit [Semi-Open]

[lio]

art is mine.

[Please ask before joining the roleplay. I will be picky on who I roleplay with as I would prefer if only characters who have previously interacted with Dusk are used.]
[ @Slushie ]

She had been traveling for quite a while. Her paws were sore, her recently-torn ear was aching and she found herself quite hungry. Her stomach growled, a low, gurgling sound deep in the pit of her gut. When was the last she had eaten anything? She didn't know. Maybe she should hunt. Her body had grown thin throughout the last few moons-- thinner than she had been before, at least. It was a miracle she was even still alive.

Suddenly going out on her own despite being extremely mentally unstable, extremely unhealthy, and dropping from multiple lives to one... it wasn't the best of experiences. However, Dusk had somehow managed to keep herself from falling into the clutches of death. Her burn had mostly healed and surprisingly, albeit blind, she still had an eye beneath. The burn was still pretty nasty to look at but she simply avoided rain puddles and other reflective surfaces.

After a pack of dogs had driven her out of her measly excuse of a home, Dusk had begun moving once more. She traveled non-stop, pushing herself to find somewhere, anywhere to settle down. Her body screamed for a break and yet she continued on, almost blindly (no pun intended) moving in any direction her paws took her. The thoughts of the past had not plagued her for a while, having been locked up in the back of her mind and replaced by a single, constant thought.

Survive.

For three days, she had been searching, sleeping only when her paws could no longer carry her. Dusk grimaced as her stomach growled once more. Alright, maybe it was time to eat. Accidentally starving wasn't exactly the way she wanted to die.

Coming to finally focus on her surroundings, she parted her lips and scented the air. Ear perked, functioning eye peering down at the ground, hoping to spot some movement, she prepared to hunt. However, as scents were scented, a familiar one seemed to stand out. She blinked. Then blinked again. Then dropped low to the ground and crept forward.

Her hunger forgotten, Dusk followed the scent, trying to place the familiarity of it. It was too faded where she was to tell, presumably being carried by the wind. Her tail twitched with curiosity.

Closer... closer... wait.

Recognition clicked in her head and she launched her body upright, finding herself right by the ThunderClan border.

Oh, stars. This was Clan territory.

"How the hell did I not notice?" she muttered, voice like gravel from lack of use. Being clueless about her direction didn't seem like a very good thing right now-- especially as it had led her back to here. Her ear flattened and she swallowed the thickening lump in her throat, wanting nothing more than to back away. It was as though she were glued to the forest floor. Multiple different choices came to settle in Dusk's mind, and after heartbeat after heartbeat of indecisive selection, she came to a simple conclusion.

Maybe she could... visit.

But she didn't want to trespass-- it wasn't exactly a wish if hers to be torn to shreds. Would anyone even recognize her? It hadn't been so long that she had been forgotten, had it? Surely a few cats would at least remember the scar covering half her face, the calico fur, the hazel eye. She was Dusk. Former leader of ThunderClan despite being a rather horrible one. A failure. That's what she was. That's why she ran. Why she gave up her lives, gave up her leadership to run away like a coward.

Dusk shook her head. Surely someone would remember her, right? So with a deep breath, she raised her snout and called out:

"Hello?"

[lio]

bump

[Madelaine]

Linnetwing had decided to take a walk to clear her head. The molly didn't care where she went as long as it was quiet and peaceful. The molly scented the familiar scent of the outskirts. She really didn't think her paws would lead her here. She wasn't an outsider and she never would be. Sure she had just got back into Thunderclan, but she wasn't gone to long. Right now that didn't matter.

Soon Linnetwing scented an even familiar scent hidden with the outskirts. She looked up to see none other than her sister Dusk. She wanted to hiss, but she remembered what Buckstar had said. She woukd be welcomed. The molly wished she hadn't come out here now. The cat she tried best to forget was right here in front of her.

"So now you decide to show up. Right when my depression was wearing off.", Linnetwing snapped. She could care less who she was snapping at. Dusk was the reason she was the way she was. Well not just her everyone she ever cared about was gone.

[ @hxney; ]

[dino.]

[ @hxney ]

It was the familiar scent that had drawn him in, and the voice that accompanied it. Faint, faded, but still recognizable. Both were something that Buckstar could never forget. Would never try to forget. Despite their many disagreements, he hadn't stopped worrying about her, and he felt his heart swell with relief at the mere sound of her presence.

He grabbed a fresh-caught mouse between his teeth and bolted toward the direction of her voice, his eyes wide with anticipation and excitement and, oh, the exhilaration that threatened to shatter right through his chest! He crashed through an opening in the undergrowth and barreled right for her. The mouse fell from his jaws as he reached forward to wrap her into a bear hug, and his voice was flooded with relief as well as a brotherly worry as he let the words tumble from his mouth.

"Oh my StarClan, Duskfeather, I can't believe it's really you! This is insane, it's been so long since you left and I can't believe that you're actually back! I thought I'd never see you again! I've been so worried- are you all right? Have you been getting enough to eat? Have you found somewhere else safe to live? Hold on, hold on, I thought I had-" Buckstar spun around and practically pounced on the mouse he had dropped before turning around to present it to her, his eyes shining. "Here!"

[Quasar]

Glidingfeathers nose scrunched up as she smelled the stench at the border, her dark gaze drifting over to the direction the smell was coming from. She barely expected much more than maybe a patrol or a lost loner, but she decided that she still needed to check it out. Dropping the limp vole into a hastily dug hole and burying it, she pricked her ears and started to head forward. The deputies pawsteps slowed down a it, barely making a sound as she crept along the leaf litter on the forest floor. Mouth hanging open, she drank in the scent and slowly made her way towards the unknown cat. The closer she got, the more she felt like she knew who was going to appear. Underneath all the loner stench, there was something...familiar. Not exactly welcoming, but instead something forgotten that she couldn't quite place.

Her head slightly poking out from the brush - just enough to see and still stay hidden - her eyes widened slightly when she saw who it was. She had expected a loner, and apparently she wasn't wrong about that. But she wasn't expecting to see two other cats. There she was. The former leader. And, apparently Buckstar and Linnetwing were there too. ¨What the hell are you doing here?¨ she quietly mewed, her voice cold. Though the leader seemed to be happy to see dusk, she was the exact opposite. She was hesitant, untrusting, and - most of all - angry. Dusk had abandoned the clan without even having the courage to say anything to anyone except Buckstar, and now she was supposed to be happy to see the traitor? Yeah, no way.

@hxney

[lio]

[ @Xmas Bliss @Slushie @Mumble ]

One after another, cats appeared in front of her.

First came Linnetwing. Oh, her dear sister, how Dusk had missed her. Linnetwing, however... didn't seem too happy. Not that it wasn't understandable, she had left without even saying goodbye. The she-cat had every right to hate her, to never have wanted to see her again. But here she was.

"Linny..." she had begun to say, but then another familiar face came barreling towards her, knocming her off her paws. Dusk yelped in surprise, though as she realized who had tackled her in the hug, she allowed herself to relax and hug back. Once Buckstar had freed her from the hug, she stood once more and chuckled quietly.

It was a surprise to see him so... ecstatic at her presence. Given all that had happened in her moons of living within the Clan, she expected him to still hold his hatred for her. But the almost kit-like excitement he had was quite the sight for sore eyes (or, well, eye).

"Well, I guess you could say that..." she mumbled, hazel eye coming to focus on the mouse he had dropped. Her mouth immediately began to water. Goodness, she really needed to eat more.

Her attention was turned again as another cat appeared, far less familiar than the other two. Maybe she had seen them in the crowd or something, she could barely remember. Dusk was snapped back to the current issue, however, when their question came forth.

"O-Oh! Well- uh- I was traveling and trying to find a new home a-and I noticed I was near the Clan territories again so I figured I'd stop and visit," she replied awkwardly. It was mostly true, at least. It wasn't in her best interest to blatantly state she wasn't paying attention to where she was going and ended up here. "It's nice to see you all again. It has been... quite a while, hasn't it?"

She gave another quiet chuckle and looked between the three. "I'm sure quite a lot has changed since I... since I left."

[Madelaine]

Linnetwing couldn't believe Buckstar was actually happy to see her. In her opinion if she were her she would be upset. Well she was upset. The last thing she wanted to do is be around the same spot as her coward sister. Linnetwing wanted to say something harsh,but with the leader around she wouldn't. She didn't know what to say. It took a moment before she figured something else.

"Well its Great to see you.", she lied through gritted teeth. She had to go with Glidingfeather. She didn't trust Dusk here, but she didn't think she was a traitor. No she wasn't a traitor tells cats things they shouldn't or kill someone. She didn't do either of those. well she did, but it was for the good of Thunderclan.

[ @hxney; @Slushie; @Mumble; ]