para-para-paradise { rejoining }

How long has it been?

The crunch of twigs and leaves underneath Paradise's paws signaled her approach as she drew closer to the border of SunClan as that sole thought swirled around in her head, over and over. She was trying to figure out the last time that she had been in her beloved clan. Too long, most certainly, but the exact amount of months, of weeks, of days, was simply not coming together in her head. Perhaps it was her nerves that were making it hard for her to think; she was almost shivering, whether it be out of excitement or fear she wasn't sure. Paradise believed it to be a mix of both. Eventually, her question was answered by herself- over a year. It had been over a year. It wasn't an exact answer, but it was all she could muster up.

Will any of my friends still be there?

On to the next question. Paradise had always been curious. As a child, she had been, and it made her ask quite a few silly questions and maybe had gotten her into trouble once or twice. Even though she was twenty seven months old, she was still asking questions whenever she could, even if they were only to herself and they weren't helping her feel any less anxious. She paused her walk to shake out her coat, as if she could shake the stress she was creating off herself. A bird twittered nearby. Plants bent in the light wind. "Maybe." Paradise decided on that as her reply, speaking the words and then falling silent. When she was younger, she would have answered herself with a definite "Yes!" and grinned at the prospect of seeing familiar SunClanners again. She had been such an optimist. That was before she saw so many people die and disappear. She had learned not to get her hopes up too high.

Will anyone even remember me?

Probably not. Paradise answered herself once again, much quicker than she had before. The lives of people in clans were very fast. It was hard to keep track of the faces, the names, the individual scents. It was easy to forget who was who, and she didn't think that there would be any fun legends and stories told about her. She hadn't made much of an impact on the clan, in her opinion, other than simply being there. She hadn't changed SunClan. She would be in no history books. That was why her answer was "Probably not".

The golden retriever had no time for any more questions. She could smell the border from where she was. Paradise felt her monarch butterfly necklace thump against her chest as she walked. She couldn't quite remember when she had gotten it, or where she had gotten it. All she remembered about monarch butterflies was the one that Pisces had had, named Clementine. She had named it, in fact. That was a nice memory. Except, then she thought about how Pisces had died that same month, and... that wasn't a nice memory. That was a damn sad memory. Pisces had died so young. She had outlived so many people she knew, that she had to wonder when her own time was going to be up. It had to be soon, didn't it? She couldn't live forever, and being over two years old was a major accomplishment, in her opinion. Maybe, to some, that seemed very young, but as far as Paradise knew, it was pretty old.

Her unwholesome train of thought crashed, because of two things; one, she realized that she was going into sad and negative territory in her head, and two, she had reached the border. Paradise came to a full halt, eyes scanning the area around her. It was a miracle she had been able to make it to SunClan. The clan had changed territories multiple times. She had grown up as a baby in the summer camp territory, then switched over to that place with the cherry blossoms, then to the beach town, then to some islands, and while she was travelling around, the territory had changed again. If Paradise hadn't run into a kindly loner who pointed her in the right direction, she would have never been able to find the clan again.

She inhaled a deep breath and then, in her warm voice, called, "Hello? I'm Paradise, here to rejoin SunClan."

[ tldr; there's a doggo on the border who is returning ]

The first face that Paradise saw was not one she knew. The second creatures to approach were not familiar, either. That was all right, though. As long as there were faces at all, Paradise decided that she would be okay. The first SunClanner to come over was obviously a domestic feline, although Paradise wasn't sure what kind. She hadn't seen a LaPerm before, and the strange, almost rumpled-looking coat texture made her curious. Her necklace, with the vial of water, was interesting, too, but Paradise made no comment on either of those things. Her attention had been snatched by Marina's words.

She couldn't tell if the Warden was trying to be rude or not, what with her words, but decided against it. Marina sounded perfectly friendly. Paradise guessed that maybe she just had some trouble with wording things. "No, no. No hike and tree accident for me! Just had to take a break, that's all!" The hesitant expression on her face changed slightly as she allowed a small smile to slip onto her lips. She was home, even if it wasn't quite the same home she had grown up in. "Thank you for the welcome, it's nice to meet you as well. You have a nice name." One of the things Paradise had learned was that complimenting people was always a nice thing to do, unless you were lying. The canine was trying to be as kind as possible.

She swung her soft-furred head to look at Robin, shaking her own head gently as the white-furred feline apologized for Marina. "It's fine! No harm done!" She hadn't taken offense. She didn't say anything more on the matter, for she was busy both looking at the strange purple markings under Robin's eyes and also thinking up who had been leader. Finally, it came to her. "My friend Phantom was leader, I think, the last time I was here." It felt a little like somebody was poking and prodding her heart, trying to see what would hurt. That definitely hurt, thinking of Phantom. They hadn't been super close friends, but what he would give to see them again. She definitely regretted "taking a break". "Anyway, great to meet you! I see the branches are still a thing. Is Goldenblood the same as Silverblood?" She had no idea that "branches" were now "guilds", but she could put two and two together with the Golden/Silverblood thing.

Finally, she turned to face the seemingly shy deer who had approached. It was always a wonder, seeing prey animals who had real minds. Paradise had always wondered about how some creatures were intelligent, like the ones who lived in clans and came to be in them, and how others weren't, like the rabbits she had preyed on while she was journeying. Realizing that her thoughts hadn't been particularly sweet, she replaced them with words. "Nice to meet you as well, Fairylights." Her smile grew a tad wider. "Well, it's good to be back here! Who leads now? Do any of you know a... um, Kate?" The questions popped into her head suddenly, and a more alert look appeared on her face as she waited for an answer. Here she was, getting her hopes up that her best friend would be hanging around still.