January's Gathering 2018

Oh no, oh no, oh no... Dustcloud's silver fur stood on end; her ears were pricked, blue eyes open wide in apprehension.  Ivystar was playing the victim card. After all they'd done. Did she have an innocent apprentice murdered for absolutely no good reason? No. Did she have her medicine cat taken hostage at a time she was needed the most? No! And after listening to Bliazzardstar speak, she could do nothing but agree. In all her moons, she'd never seen Blizzardstar this angry. She felt out of place doing so, but too much anger was boiling in her chest to sit by and watch. The silver tabby took a deep breath, closing her eyes and composing herself for a moment. She got up, taking several steps forward into the crowd, ignoring Rowantalon who had settled down in the fray. When she was close enough to the front to be heard, she stopped and sat down. At this point, her ears pinned back to her skull. "S-Since when is it o-okay to k-k-kill an innocent a-apprentice? If you h-have any s-sort of honor... th-then I-I'd like t-to s-s-see it. Be-Because ta-taking the m-medicine cat from a C-C-Clan in w-which you kn-kn-know needs.... her s-sure d-doesn't demonstrate it, and neither does killing Th-Thistlepaw. That's r-right, that a-apprentice... had a n-n-name. A f-family. A home. And n-now, b-because of y-you and your w-warrior, who you t-take so much pr-pride in, want to p-partake in f-foolish, d-dull-witted be-behaviors, that apprentice has to h-hunt with St-StarClan inst-stead of Th-Th-ThunderClan. Instead of w-with her f-family." Her gaze darted back to Otterleap before she focused again on Ivystar. She took another deep breath. "Th-Thank you." Though it hurt, her voice was strong and her message was clear. She turned, walking back to where she'd seen Rowantalon. She had so much more she wanted to say, but in that moment all she could do was sit down and hope for the best. At this point, all she wanted to do was go back home and lay down in her nest, where she at least had a chance at some peace.

Birchpaw had nothing to say after Spotpaw spoke. She sighed and looked at her paws. "My parents are depressed and I struggle doing the simplest of things now with what's left of my tail. They haven't tried to help me with it either even though they both know what it feels like.
They just sit in silence. I guess nobody really wins in war, huh?" she said. Mustering a weak smile, she looked at him. "It's good to know that you don't think like your leader.
It'll make it easier to sleep at night with that in mind." When the leaders spoke, she stared at her paws again, Dustcloud's words made it worse. "I wish they'd stop using my sister in this. Thistlepaw wouldn't have wanted to be the fuel for this feud. Blizzardstar didn't give any words of mourning. She just uses her as a weapon against Ivystar."


urgh, i suck sorry.]]


Newtpaw listened to all the leaders as they announced. Blizzardstar went off again. He rolled his eyes.

"She's so weak."

Wildpaw muttered, growling.

"I guess. She's showing too much hurt. I bet she cried when she went to WindClan.
Leadership is none of my business. I'll take care of myself."

He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
Blizzardstar... she had felt everything he had experienced. She had borne the loss of his child, the loss of a life that would never be lived to it's fullest.
Leafstorm thumped his paw on the ground as his Dustcloud spoke, her bravery giving him the courage to speak as well.
After she finished, the fluffy tom took a step forward. His eyes flashed as he held the Riverclan leader's gaze.
"As the father of Thistlepaw," He spoke calmly and clearly. There was no mistaking his words, and every action he made seemed calculated. "I will gladly meet with you or your deputy to discuss a proper punishment for the murderer himself.
"Your actions, while selfish, have taught everyone a valuable lesson about the type of cat that warrants the wrath of Starclan. You have taught my children how not to be. Thank you." The warrior took a deep breath and stepped back into the crowd, finding a seat next to Specklefang. This gathering was getting worse by the second, but at least he was able to gather the courage to speak out.

Rowantalon watched Blizzardstar speak, his eyes burning with a quiet, determined fire. The spotted warrior's ears twitched in surprise as Dustcloud stepped forward. "Hear, hear." He muttered, a faint, amused smile on his maw as she sat beside him. "You showed them- look how angry some of them look." He mewed quietly, gesturing to the Riverclanners. "That was very brave."

duckpuddle ❖

Upon listening to the words of the leaders up on the Great Rock, Duckpuddle lowered her head and stared down at her paws for a few moments. RiverClan was her Clan, she had been born into it, she had been raised in it, she had been trained by the leader of it, and now she was a warrior of it. Her loyalties lied with the Clan that had protected her and who she, in turn, had protected. Of course, she would always fight for RiverClan, but that didn't mean that she had to agree with it. She glanced over at Stormpaw with sad eyes. WindClan and ThunderClan had teamed up, and if a battle were to break out- correction, when the battle broke out, then she'd have to fight against the tom who she had come to call an acquaintance. In Duckpuddle's eyes, a full-on battle was inevitable. The brown she-cat edged away from Stormpaw with unease glittering in her sharp green eyes. It wasn't like Blizzardstar was making anything up or embellishing the story. RiverClan had taken the medicine cat of ThunderClan as a hostage despite the fact that a battle had just been fought and cats had wounds that needed to be taken care of. They had also taken a warrior hostage.

Duckpuddle then turned her mind towards the subject of the dead apprentice, Thistlepaw. Her eyes darted over to stare at both Dustcloud, then Leafstorm. She immediately recognized Dustcloud as the cat who had broken her leg. While at the beginning of the Gathering, she felt an anger towards the she-cat, she now felt nothing. Instead, she felt sympathy. Duckpuddle had known her mother for a short amount of time, and she had never known her father. Thistlepaw had been blessed with the ability to know her family, but that blessing had been taken away from her at such an early stage in her life. While StarClan was a place of peace, endless hunting, and wisdom, life was still something that every cat deserved to live through. Duckpuddle didn't see StarClan as a reward or a privilege, she saw it as both a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing to those who lived long enough to see it as a reward, but it was a curse to those who had to join their hunting grounds so soon. A shiver went through the RiverClan cat from the tip of her ears to the tip of her tail. She had no intention of rising to her paws and giving her opinion.

So far, the unavoidable battle seemed lopsided in the sense that it would be WindClan and ThunderClan against RiverClan. If it was two Clans against one, then RiverClan would surely lose. It was all up to SkyClan and ShadowClan, but ShadowClan hadn't given a definite yes or no. While Duckpuddle wasn't completely in agreement with her own Clan, she still didn't want them to be miserably outnumbered in a battle that was obviously going to occur. She had never been to a Gathering this tense, and she didn't like. All she could hope for now was that a fight didn't break out right in the middle of Fourtrees during a full moon, which was when a truce was supposed to happen.
StarClan, save the forest!

newtpaw Δ

Newtpaw simply blinked after he heard the speeches of both Ivystar and Blizzardstar. Blizzardstar had made Ivystar and RiverClan seem like complete savages, but Ivystar had made Blizzardstar and ThunderClan seem the same way. He hadn't been in the fight for Sunningrocks, as his Clan hadn't been involved at the time, but now it seemed as if every Clan was about to be dragged into something that been originally between RiverClan and ThunderClan. He unsheathed his hooked claws and sank them into the dirt. He shot Poppypaw a quick glance, but he gave away no emotion in it. If ShadowClan chose to join up with RiverClan in the end, then he'd end up having to fight against Poppypaw. If ShadowClan decided to make an alliance with WindClan and ThunderClan, then he'd be fighting alongside her. He had to be cautious, now. The speckled fur on the back of his neck began to bristle as he continued to stare at the Great Rock with his yellow eyes. Some sort of fight or battle seemed unavoidable now, and Newtpaw felt a bit excited at the chance to brawl against rival cats. He still had no opinion on either of this, so he didn't agree with anyone, but he also didn't disagree with anyone.

wisteriapaw ♪

Wisteriapaw glanced around anxiously and scooted closer to Sharptooth out of fear. Tensions were extremely high, and the she-cat hated it. She hated the fact that she was here, she hated the fact that there were so many strangers, so hated the fact that rivalries were being made, and she hated RiverClan. She really didn't want to hate anyone, and she hadn't participated in the battle over Sunningrocks, but everything that she had heard about the Clan had brought her to disrespect the Clan, hate the Clan, and be afraid of the Clan. One of their warriors had killed an innocent apprentice, a cat who could've been Wisteriapaw's denmate. They had robbed ThunderClan of their medicine cat, and a warrior, and the ginger-and-white she-cat had had to watch from the sidelines with a worrisome expression as Maplepaw tried to heal cats without the aid of her mentor. The she-cat frowned, but her bold yellow eyes were still wide. Fear and worry glittered in them as she glanced around the clearing.

Stormpaw’s mouth fell open. No, no, no! Not in the middle of leafbare! He watched with sadness as Duckpuddle edged away from him. The two would have to end up fighting each other, most likely. He didn’t want to, but he might have to.

Poppypaw frowned. Out of the corner of her eye, the white and ginger apprentice saw Newtpaw glance at her, but she didn't react. "That wasn't quite what I had expected," she muttered to him. "I hate fighting." She hoped that she wouldn't have to be involved if there was an actual battle - it would be awkward if ShadowClan joined RiverClan and she had to fight Newtpaw.

Clouds begun to stir, their wispy presence starting to shroud the moon, but Ivystar couldn't let Blizzardstar's call go unchallenged. "You speak in such simple blacks and whites, Blizzardstar. Even the Dark forest would be impressed at how well you spin tales to suit your whims, how slyly you justify yourself as you reign bloodshed upon the forest. You speak as if taking Sunningrocks was your only option, that we were cruelly denying you lands rather than defending our territory. Doesn't the code also forbid one from trespassing onto another's territory? The moment you stepped onto our lands, you were beyond the protection of the warrior code. Death of an apprentice is regrettable, but the moment Thistlepaw crossed onto our lands at your command, her life was forfeit. We did what we must in self-defence, to protect ourselves against your well-intentioned tyranny, as StarClan commands us to in their honourable code. As for Sunningrocks, until these honourable ancestors of ours appear before me to command me to give the rocks to you, the rocks and Lionspark are mine. Heed my warning, Blizzardstar. If I see a single warrior lurking too long at my borders, her life will be mine to take. Be wise for once in your life and wait until the last frozen pools melt till you slake your bloodlust. I've given you your medicine cat back, go heal and rest up. If Cloudstone has some spare herbs, I'll even toss some your way..."

With that, the silver leader leapt down from her perch onto the soft snow, turning back to face the two dark coloured leaders of SkyClan and ShadowClan respectively. "Crowstar, Magpiestar, do not forget who came to your aid when WindClan and ThunderClan rallied together for more land. Blizzardstar's words are sweet, but ask yourselves, how long before she has a vision from StarClan that the Fallen Oak is rightfully hers? Or that the Thunderpath should only be crossed by ThunderClanners? If you wish to ally with us, our camp is open to you. Leafbare has come, and the night is full of terrors. I pray that StarClan guides your paths and keep you safe, regardless of your decisions. Goodnight... RiverClan, we return to our camp. There is nothing more for us here."

Spotpaw sighed at Birchpaw's words. "That sounds horrible. I suppose nobody really does win in war. I can't stay, I've got to go at Ivystar's command so as to not get myself in trouble.
If there's anything I can do," He said, finally making eye contact, "I'll try to help." He slipped away, unable to talk to this she-cat any longer.
-----
Blossompaw watched the tom, Spotpaw, walk away. "May Crowstar side with you," She breathed to nobody in partictular. The other she-cat, Birchpaw, if she fought, that was of her own will. But she had sympathy for her too. How could she fight for both clans?
-----

Sweetheart looked at Scorchfang and mouthed "goodbye" to him before following her Clan out, her tail low.

As she passed, she heard an angry hiss from Heatherpetal. "You and your filthy Clan won't be keeping Lionspark hostage for long. You are no better than the Dark Forest."

Sweetheart looked up at Heatherpetal, and the ThunderClan warrior actually recoiled at the despair she saw in her eyes. "If I could stop anymore bloodshed and cruelty, I would. I'm sorry." She continued following her Clanmates, tail drooped and dragging in the snow behind her.

Jaystream couldn't answer Rippedsky's words before the gathering started with Crowstar speaking in a calm way. However, the deputy knew that the peace won't last long... there was an issue that must be discussed and he didn't want to imagine what was going to happen.

But in the end, his leader finally dropped the bomb. His green eyes gazed away from the other deputies and leaders and he kept his sight looking at the front, without fixing his eyes on any specific cat until Ivystar mentioned that Windclan joined Thunderclan. The warrior turned his head quickly toward the grey she-cat standing in the leader's rock. He never knew about that... and he feared the idea of being attacked by two different clans on his own camp.

His paws trembled slightly when Blizzardstar started talking. His teeth clenched, containing every thought that was now rushing inside his head. Ivystar was right... Thunderclan won't stop until they get what they wanted... how far are they willing to go for the Sunningrocks? Would they attack the camp as they did in the past? He wondered, remembering how Ivystar told them how a Thunderclan cat called Duskfall attacked their camp because his clan couldn't win the battle. The history seemed to be repeating itself and Jaystream wasn't sure if he was going to be strong enough to defend his clan.

The Riverclan deputy glanced at the Thunderclan warrior that decided to talk about that dead apprentice. The tom closed his eyes, sadly. What happened to Thistlepaw... wasn't something that should have happened but it did. It was the cost of the war that Blizzardstar started and, even if he wasn't proud of it, he knew that that situation wasn't in his paws. It was the truth that Otterleap never received punishment for what he did but for the young tom that wasn't necessary. The grey tabby warrior had been seeing how much his clanmate had been suffering from his mistakes, being hated by most of the young cats because of Thistlepaw's death. What was more painful than seeing your clanmates turning their backs on you?

Jaystream opened his eyes once again when he heard the voice of Leafstorm. He knew that he had a hard time dealing with the death of his daughter and that he wanted revenge but... he couldn't help letting out a small hiss when he talked about how his mother was a cat against Starclan's will. That hypocrite... have you forgotten how you and your pals maimed Cinderpaw in OUR territory without a reason? You're the cat that your kits shouldn't imitate... you are the one that took away from her the only mentor and mother she had... her chance to become a warrior. I will never forget about that. He thought, sinking his claw into the snow. That spark of anger gave him the courage to keep his posture straight, not even a glimpse of hesitation at Ivystar words. He wasn't like her. The deputy never imagined himself talking like his leader about war and bloodshed but... he shared the same desire of protecting the clan that was now his family and home. Everyone here saw the Riverclan leader as a cold-blooded monster but not Jaystream. He was certain that everything that the she-cat did was with the only purpose of doing the best for Riverclan.

The tall tabby tom stood up after his mother and nodded at all the deputies with an emotionless face, as he was saying goodbye. The green-eyed warrior walked behind his leader quietly. There was nothing he should say about this.

Thistlepaw. Dead apprentice. Thistlepaw's death. Specklefang flinched everytime her daughter was even hinted to. Looking briefly at Leafstorm and Darkflight, her mouth twisting into a frown as she looked up at the leaders. Could she not be reminded of her daughter even at gatherings? This was her daughter's life being tossed about like casual conversation. Specklefangs eyes lifted, her eyes landing on Birchpaw. Her kit that was struggling with her tail, just as she had.

Her heart ached but she did not plan on helping now, she was strong, she could get on without her. Specklefang had to cut all ties anyways, no emotional connection meant no more heart ache.

Birchpaw watched the RiverClan apprentice leave. "Stay safe, Spotpaw..." she mewed with a tired tone in her voice. She watched the RiverClan ranks stream away and felt her pelt bristle. She scanned the clearing, eyes catching her mother looking at her. It sent a chill through her, as if she'd caught a gaze with a fox. Birchpaw's eyes widened in fear. She'd seen her talking to a RiverClan apprentice and was probably disappointed now. Folding her ears back, she looked away.

Leopardclaw's face reflected a passionate mix of anger and despair as he listened to Blizzardstar and Ivystar debate, which in the end seemed to help nothing.  They were still stuck in the same place as before, a rut of hatred and aggression that he didn't think they would be able to quell through peace.  This had escalated far beyond a battle over a piece of fertile territory...new grudges had been formed, and old ones had clearly been irritated.  Sacrifices of life and limb had been placed, and several cat's lives - on both sides - would never be the same.  Though ThunderClan was weak and suffering, their pride still held strong.  Their honor, that lay within the warrior code and the precious moments spent with comrades within their camp walls, was a force, a power, to be reckoned with.  The dream of peace that he knew lay within his and Blizzardstar's hearts was quickly becoming distant, a flickering star on the bright horizon that threatened with every movement to fade out forever.  The spotted tabby tom watched through cold, narrowed eyes as the cats of RiverClan began to file out of the clearing, his eyes locking for a moment on Jaystream as the younger deputy swept past him.  If Ivystar continued to oppose ThunderClan's needs for survival like this, prejudiced and spiteful, oh ho...a reckoning was coming.  In that moment, the star of peace in the back of his mind finally flickered out; if it was a war they wanted...he would give them one they could not win.

---

Laurelsong watched the tensions rage before her atop the Great Rock, her deep interest clear.  A war in the forest...a forbidden alliance...WindClan on the side of ThunderClan?  In the warrior's mind, she wondered how this maneuver would possible benefit her clan.  A battle in leaf-bare against probably the strongest clan in the forest right now, possibly backed by ShadowClan and or SkyClan?  Lives would be lost, that's for sure, and cats would be injured from all the clans involved.  Was it worth it?  Probably not, the risk outweighed the rewards.  Then again...it couldn't hurt to have a whole clan in their debt...