June's Gathering 2017

Crickets sung erratic songs into the night, a sticky, Greenleaf breeze swept over the bushes and through the trees like an invisible set of claws, and the moon hung above the forest, its pale, round face watching the five Clans - and the Tribe - come together for their monthly gathering.

Leopardstar looked over the moonlit clearing. It was technically his first gathering as leader. The last two moons had been hectic and rather overwhelming. What was worse, he had some gloomy news to share among his report of growth. His ears flicked momentarily before he charged into Fourtrees, his clanmembers streaming behind him and somewhat filling the empty space. His mind was occupied by grave thoughts and his gaze was focused on something unseen. Leopardstar scaled the Great Rock with ease and stared off into the distance while he awaited the other clans to appear.

Thrushstripe followed close behind Leopardastar as he entered into the clearing, sitting down in his usual spot in the back away from most company.

Swiftclaw just came in and sat down, followed by Redpaw who stared wide-eyed at everything. It was his first gathering! He was so excited!

Larksong found herself a little disappointed that it wasn't Magpiewing leading ShadowClan to the Gathering yet and she was a little worried with that fact. Leopardstar was the proper leader of ShadowClan and she respected that but...Well, while she knew the responsibility hadn't been easy on her father, she had been proud of him having climbed so high into the Clan ranking to be the deputy! But there was other grave matters at paw. She sighed softly as she padded after Leopardstar, her ears folding back with slight worry as she thought back on recent events. There had been that fire and then Foxheart and Mousefang disappearing...She swallowed bitterly at the memory of the Clan waking up to find the two of them missing. There had been hope that they had simply gone out for a patrol but there was no sign of them and...Her whiskers twitched as she glanced over at Smokestripe who padded next to her, trying to read his emotions as they headed for their normal spot.



Smokestripe head was bent low as he walked step in step with Larksong, his eyes narrowed as he tried to wrap his head around what had happened. His mind was also focused on the disappearance of Foxheart and Mousefang, not seeing it in the two warrior's personalities to suddenly just...Disappear like they did. Foxheart had even been sick, having breathed some ash from the fire that had happened not long ago but the fact that they were just...Gone? His gaze flickered up toward Leopardstar as the leader jumped onto the Highrocks, wondering if he was going to mention the two missing warriors when he gave his report to the other leaders. He wasn't sure if was needed but...Maybe the other Clans had seen or at least caught a scent of the two missing warriors? He could only hope so...

Copperpaw padde after Leopardstar. The orange cat was out of place with her bright blue eyes and black spots.

Ashstar padded into the Gathering, WindClan flooding in behind her. They were the second Clan to the Gathering again. The warm greenleaf breeze ruffled her light gray pelt, despite the star filled sky above her. Shaking out her fur, she leapt onto the Great Rock, powerful haunches propelling her onto the large, flat stone. Despite the fire and the damage it caused to her territory, thanks to the mysterious mist, they had suffered little repercussions. She wondered if the other Clans had had similar help if the fire had spread. Giving a nod and slight smile to Leopardstar- he was leader now, she assumed- her green eyes gazed around at the clearing, satisfued with what they saw. Clan life continued.

Honeydrop followed ShadowClan in, leading her apprentice Roaringpaw behind her. She was much slimmer than she had been the past Gathering, having had her kits recently. She kept a sad smile from her face at the thought of her three perfect kits. Glancing furtively around and hoping she wouldn't run into that rogue Jazz again, the golden dappled she-cat went to sit with the other medicine cats.

Gingerpaw ran into Fourtrees behind Leopardstar, green eyes sparkling with excitement. His first ever Gathering! His tabby tail flicked happily as he gazed at all the cats. Flamestrike hadn't exaggerated- there were millions of them! Littlebrook had said this was a good time to make friends, so that's just what he planned to do. After nudging against his father's pelt, the ShadowClan apprentice bounded off towards another cat who looked about his age- an apprentice of some other Clan. "Hi!" he meowed cheerfully with a bright grin. "I'm Gingerpaw of ShadowClan! Who're you?"

Quailfeather was there too, following WindClan. Her slim gray flecked form was silent as she came into Fourtrees, looking around with frosty blue eyes. Only ShadowClan was there so far. Had they experienced the same fire her Clan had had? And if they had, had the mysterious mist from StarClan saved them too? Somehow, she doubted it.

Wildpaw and Quickpaw followed Ashstar into Fourtrees. This was their first Gathering! The two WindClan apprentices walked side by side, their tales occasionally flicking together. The two apprentices had gotten close since beginning their trainings. They headed close to the giant rock where the leaders gathered. They stayed with their clan, but sat somewhat close to the edge, in case some apprentices from other clans wanted to talk.

The newly named Tawnypool padded into the gathering area after Shadowclan. The she cat looked around a small smile on her face.

Rippedsky lead the clan into the gathering for the first time. It felt strange heading into the clearing without the fluffy black leader taking charge. Regardless, Skyclan had to remain strong. Once they were close enough, he flicked a quick signal to the rest of the gathering patrol to go join the other clans. He had made sure to let every cat that was coming to not say a word about Crowstar's disappearance. They were only to say he was not well. Typically, the tom was one for honesty, but he needed to make sure the clan came through okay. Now was not a time to look weak. The black and white tom strode over to the base of the highrock. There was a bit of hesitation as he glanced up at the other leaders. He had never stood up front for a gathering before. Today, he would represent Skyclan.

The tom leaped onto the rock with little difficulty. He had done it once before when the clearing was empty, save for him and Brindlewhisker. He settled down next to Leopardstar and Ashstar, pushing away the discomfort. The deputy dipped his head in a quick greeting to Ashstar, before meowing to the Shadowclan leader, "Greetings, Leopardstar. I hope all is well in Shadowclan."

***
Sagepaw followed Ashstar into the clearing. This would be her third gathering as an apprentice. Slatethroat had earned his warrior name since. The dark cloud of doubt over her head only grew along with the disappointment that she did not stand with her brother. Once more, she started to question Starclan's path for her life. Her tail twitched anxiously as she padded over to where the other medicine cats had gathered. It appeared that the Shadowclan medicine cats were first. She quickly recognized them from the one medicine cat meeting she had gone to, and the last gathering. The grey and white she-cat padded over to them. A soft smile crossed her maw as she walked up to them, "How have things been in Shadowclan?"

Slatethroat followed in after Ashstar. Per usual, his head and tail were high. There was no better honor to him than to walk in with Windclan. His tail waved as if to catch the attention of other cats gather. He was beyond ready to share with the other clans the tale of how his clan had been the one to rid the forest of Rockthorn. Thunderclan had failed to take care of their own mess. He would make sure every cat knew of their triumph. He padded over to a group of apprentices that had just started to form. He looked down on him with a grin, "First gathering, I assume? My name is Slatethroat."

**
Flamestrike walked into the gathering after his leader. His tail still dragged, as it had for moons, but there was a bit more in his step than heavy paws. Tonight, his sons would be witnessing their first gathering. Within moments, Gingerpaw had raced off. He was not at all surprised, but watched the fiery young tom with interest. The orange warrior padded alongside his own apprentice. Firepaw, who was also his son, had working hard in their training. It was exciting to see how he would react their first time here.

Bubblepaw padded after her father her big fluffy tail lashing behind her in excitement.

Mottleheart's expression was neutral was he padded into the clearing after Ashstar, his tail barely twitching as he scanned over the crowd of cats that had already arrived. ShadowClan had been the first to arrive - the black cat that the WindClan warrior had gotten used to seeing being replaced by the rightful leader for once. As he padded into the clearing, he caught the scent of SkyClan as the third Clan made their way in, blinking as he caught sight of the black and white tom that led them. He had faint memories of Rippedsky when the tom had still been in WindClan - only being six moons old when the tom fled for SkyClan. Mottleheart found his feelings on the tom rather...Mixed. He wanted to be angry that the tom had been dishonorable and left WindClan but it did seem that Rippedsky had found a Clan to truly be loyal to. Of course, Mottleheart's recent stance on thinking through matters with little to no emotions didn't help. But to see him leading the Clan? His eyes narrowed as he studied the group as the cats splintered off to make their own ways, wondering where Crowstar was.



Storm that Lights the Clouds hesitantly followed after Rippedsky as the deputy led them to Fourtrees. He had only been to a pawful of Gatherings and he found himself conflicted on the order that the SkyClan deputy had issued before they had all left - to not tell another soul of Crowstar's disappearance. While Storm had little interest to speaking to the other Clans anyways, he found himself confused on why not to tell the other Clans. Certainly they could be of aid of trying to find the missing leader, perhaps they had caught wind of where he was going. Did the Clans truly not trust each other enough to share such important information? Storm couldn't be sure but he also knew it wasn't his place to judge - while he was getting used to it all, he was still an outsider. He didn't fully grasp how the Clans worked with one another...Or how they didn't work. The well-built tom sighed as he took his own seat away from the others cats, curious to what information would be shared between the Clans this gathering.

Copperpaw nodded enthusiastically. To stunned to speak because a warrior was speaking to her.

Bubblepaw smiled but shook her head. "No it's actually my second gathering. I'm Bubblepaw! Nice to meet ya Slatethroat!" She meowed to the warrior she could smell that he was from Windclan by his scent.

Littlebrook padded into the clearing with barely a smile on her face. It had been hard to do simple things around camp ever since her daughter had been killed, and she was not getting over it that quick. With her grandkits quarrel and everything else that was going on, life felt overwhelming for her, but she remained strong. She still had Honeydrop and Flamestrike's kits to focus on and care for. They didn't need to see her upset, so she tried to force the memory of Ambernose's tattered body from her mind and enjoy her kit's first gathering.

Silentstorm followed his mother, green gaze empty of any emotion.

Cloudroar padded into Fourtrees behind his father with his head held high. This was his first gathering as a warrior, and his father's first gathering up on the Great Rock. Despite Crowstar missing, he felt a bit more confident in himself and his clan as they strode into the clearing and dispersed to conversate. He didn't feel like talking though, so he found himself a spot near SkyClan and sat down to wait for the gathering to begin.

Nectarpaw padded excitedly into fourtrees after the rest of his clan, wondering if anything exciting would happen this time.

Twistedtail walked into the Fourtrees clearing, as usual, feeling the warm breeze blow through her fur. It was so unlike her first gathering as an apprentice when the leaves were falling and snow was just around the corner. Like usual she wondered if she would see Rippedsky again. Despite Crowstar's warning when he caught her trying to meet Rippedsky before, she had longed to see her black and white friend again. Sitting down in the center of the clearing, she waited for the gathering to start. But before long she saw something that caught her eye.

Rippedsky, sitting on the Great Rock.

First came the shock, confusion, maybe a little sadness, and then back to confusion. She wormed her way to the front of the gathering crowd, so she was close enough for Rippedsky to hear her. "Rippedsky!" she called up to her friend, ''Is everything okay? I mean, is Crowstar okay? Did you become leader of Skyclan or something?" 


~

Pineheart walked in behind Rippedsky, practically bouncing. She wasn't going to let Honeydrop try to let her down. She wasn't going to let anything try to get her down now that she was a full warrior of Skyclan. Sitting in the front she looked straight at the great rock, her stature confident.