[Estelle]

 

The stars must have damned her. The stars must have damned her, her life, her family and every single cat insane enough to seemingly show her the minimal care one should receive.

Blood clotting her fur, scars littering her thin frame, front leg awkwardly twisted. What had she done to deserve all this? Exist? Try her best? Had the stars intended for her to just lay down and die? They could wish. She’d be a fool to give in to their idiotic games. She survived. Did they intend her to so she could suffer more when she died? She’ll show them. She’ll show them what she is made of.

Painfully Hailpaw pushed on, right eye squinted closed from the blood clustering her lashes. Pesky cat had to hit her right on the brow of all places. Not to mention her leg. She didn’t need to be a genius to tell it was broken, or at least fractured. The pain was throbbing.

The pretty apprentice had some very choice words for the beebrains that decided she would be a good target for their little cat hunt. At least she was back on WindClan territory, finally. If the struggle was even worth it. For all she knew the clan had completely forgotten about her (likely, seen their records) and would just attack her like some nasty rogue. The only one she could trust not to act so brashly was Twilightstar. And Hailpaw prayed to the stars above, however many choice words she had for them too, that Twilightstar was still leader. The horror if she wasn’t. Hailpaw wasn’t sure if she’d be able to survive that.

If only she had the chance to clean herself a little before presenting herself back, however. But stars knew how painful it was to just walk right now. What a dreadful sight she must be, and the young molly’s nose scrunched up in disgust at the mere thought. This was much worse than those ‘baths’. She couldn’t even say it was after bravely fighting off some beast; no, it had been some stars forsaken ShadowClanner and her goon. The embarrassment! The silver molly knew she must’ve been out of practice, but this. This was just plain unbelievable. Honestly, she should’ve considered throwing herself from the cliffs, at least then she wouldn’t need to face the clan’s judgement and backhanded concern. But she couldn’t just go and give the stars what they wanted either. So, here she was.

It was strange how almost reassuring it was to be back on the grounds of a clan that never batted an eye her way, unless it be to talk behind her back. But home was where the heart was, and strangely hers was here. She ought to ask herself why. But that didn’t matter. The weary and battered looking molly was exhausted, stepping onto the territory with a deep breath.

Or what was the territory once upon a time. The poor molly was horrified to find the ground battered and burned, worse looking than they ever had. Her breath caught in her throat. Shock filled her ears with a buzzing sound. In a last ditch effort, the molly pushed through the aching pain, trying to get closer to camp.
“Hello?”
She called with a rasped voice, vehemently looking for any sign of life. But there was no one. Not a soul. She was alone.

Collapsing to the ground, anger welled in her chest. Her clan got what they deserved. They burned for their crimes, but… Where did that leave her? Why did she feel so upset? For a moment, it felt like forbidden could spill over. But the silver feline chocked them back, raising his head. She wouldn’t be seen weeping over some misfortune. Not now, not ever.

It was with that in mind that Hailpaw, painfully, got back up. Desperate as she felt, she wouldn’t show it to the world. Her emotions were nothing but that of a whiny kit, something the molly had tried to escape since the moment of her birth. She would stand. She had to stand. WindClan couldn’t have entirely burned. They had to be somewhere.

Saying she was searching for days is an understatement. She spent moons scouring the territory for her home, and when she finally almost reached it, it got pulled out from right under her nose. It felt like building up a project for months on end, only for it to crumble and fall upon presentation, Hailpaw being left with nothing in the end. She was beginning to feel hopeless. Lost. Were they really gone?

That’s when she smelled it. The oh-so-familiar scent of her home, peeked through the thick smell of burned grass and smoke. Her ears perked in recognition of where the smell was coming from, a light illuminating her mind with realisation. The tunnels. Of course, the tunnels!

Hailpaw felt a rush of adrenaline break through the immense pain of her injuries, as she hurried forward as much as she could; helplessly limping and nearly falling at every step. But she didn’t stop. No, not until she reached the tunnel’s entrance. She heaved a few breaths; adrenaline falling again as she slowed to a stop and pain got to her. Hailpaw swallowed a wince, instead eyeing the WindClan-smelling tunnels with care. It was this or nothing. With a last deep breath, the silver molly nimbly slipped inside, her eyes scanning the dark, familiar tunnels.

She hadn’t been here in moons, and yet, it was the most familiar thing she’d seen in moons. It felt… Nice, strangely so, though not until she heard the faint bustle of her clan. They truly were here, and for a moment, Hailpaw forgot all the hatred and anger her heart bore for them.
“Pardon?”
She called, her voice echoing through the darkness; someone was bound to hear her, and they could take her to Twilighstar. Finally this nightmare would be over.
“I wish for an audience with Twilightstar, please.”

[ @/Moonraven – I do recall you mentioning that cats no longer on the missing list can just be resubmitted, but if Hail could do a rejoining rp that would be wonderful <3
She's been missing for a long while, but I imagine she’d be roughly around 20 moons now, just so she doesn’t age up too crazy much in one shot ]