March's Gathering 2018

Minkpaw padded into the gathering sticking close to the warriors a little unsure of what to do. She thought her mom would come along but Tatteredleaf decided to stay back at the camp with the kits. The apprentice soon realized she ended up pausing because she got lost in thought. As she looked around she saw that the warriors had scattered and she was on her own.

ooc: Feel free to talk to Minkpaw.

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Badgerthorn padded silently into the gathering following his clan leader. The usually silent tom looked around at the clearing. Skyclan was already here so where was Graypaw? The charcoal warrior felt a pang of sadness and worry hit him. Was Graypaw alright?

His eyes glossed over as he remembered stumbling across Cherrymist's broken body. That image had played in his mind for moons and the aching pain of loss had never left him. The loss of her, of Webtail, of Pansyface... the black and white tom knew the feeling well. After a moment, Rippedsky rested his tail gently on the other deputy's pelt and meowed softly, "The pain of losing a mate is not easily forgotten... I am sorry, Jaystream." As his voice cracked ever so lightly, the genuine nature of his words was evident. Sitting here with Jaystream reminded him of the plenty of times he had faced similar feelings. He glanced at the Riverclan cat with concern shining in his eyes. Being under so much pressure as a deputy and new father had to be a lot. He found himself wishing there was more he could do to help, but in the end, they would return to separate camps.

Something bumped into him and immediately Rippedsky's eyes shot up to see a young warrior. Clearly, the cat had simply not been watching where he was going. Because of the circumstances with Jaystream and already being preoccupied in conversation, he was prepared to simply meow back and affirmation that it was okay. However, something about the tom who just ran into him caught the deputy's attention. He was familiar. Despite smelling of Thunderclan, his physique reminded Rippedsky of a Skyclan warrior. And not just any Skyclan warrior, one who had recently returned to him. This Thunderclan warrior was almost the spitting image of his son, Willowflight, "Wait." He meowed quickly before Swoopnose could move away.

"What's your name?"

***
Because of his newfound protective nature, Mumblefoot found himself more at ease and less worried about himself as he focused on Drizzlepaw. When Poplartooth joined him, his fur bristled slightly before settling. So far the other warrior had proven to be a decent mentor to his kit. At least, she made it seem that way. After her apprentice ceremony, the gruff tom had mocked him for the title of 'mama', but to his amusement, Poplartooth had picked up an equally fantastic name. His whiskers twitched at Drizzlepaw's words and he meowed lowly as he scanned the clearing, "I do think papa would have a very pretty laugh. You should tell him to smile or even laugh more often."

Mumblefoot pictured the handsome warrior laughing and it seemed out of place, however, he liked the idea. He hadn't grown to hate Poplartooth despite their history together. The only thing that made him wary now was how well the tom would train Drizzlepaw. The tailless tom glanced over at Poplartooth and realized something was off in his expression. Against the desire in him that screamed to go off with his kit alone, he did not want to completely separate apprentice and mentor. So, after letting out a low breath, he nodded for Poplartooth to join them. His paws set off towards where he saw Bonestrike had finally arrived, but he was stopped first.

"Drizzlepaw, Poplartooth... this is Birchheart of Thunderclan." He wasn't sure of Poplartooth's feelings towards the other forest clan, but he hoped they weren't hostile. Unlike the last gathering, Mumblefoot stood higher and with less uncertainty. Being able to stand next to the kit he was raising and a much larger warrior, along with a newfound ability to ignore his anxiety, he felt much better than he had in the past, "Not every cat from other clans are bad. And Birchheart is one of them. It is good to see you again too." His eyes still darted around to look at Bonestrike and watch to make sure there was no strange activity around them, but he was certainly much more at ease.

***
Eaglepaw strode in with his head high and chest out. No scum from the other clans was worth a glance. It was his first gathering and he was determined to make an impression. If he did talk to any other clan cats, he hoped they would walk away seeing that there was power in Thunderclan. Someday all the clans in the forest would see that. He had come in near Birchheart and Newttongue, but quickly split off to sit on his own. With each step, powerful muscles rippled. He wasn't the most fed, as Thunderclan was starving, but he had trained hard and well with his mentor alongside his own personal training. Yellow eyes scanned the other cats before finally settling on a beautiful she-cat he'd never seen before. That seemed worth his time. He stalked over but stopped short as the smell of Windclan hit him.

"Oh, a Windclanner."

He spat, loud enough for her to hear. Their clans were supposed to be friendly, even allies, but that did not change how he felt about the other clans. It should have occurred to the massive apprentice that a cat he had never seen before would likely indicate their allegiance to another clan, yet it did not hit him until he caught her scent. Eaglepaw sat down on his haunches. His gaze went up to the highrock where he looked up at Blizzardstar among the forest's leaders. The apprentice didn't want to look like he had come over here just for her, his embarassment only showed itself in the slight heating of his ears. He pushed it away and tried to ignored the she-cat (Dovepaw) as if he had not just spit disgust in her direction.

"Well, I can't exactly give anything away," Dawnpetal replied jokingly, "but yes, it's very nice living in the forest. There are more places to hide from prey and predators alike. I honestly can't imagine how you hunt in the open spaces of WindClan's moors."

-----

Shadepaw stalked around, looking bored, wanting to find something to do. He spotted Boarpaw and grimaced at his first appearance, then made his way up to him, speaking quietly so that Dawnpetal and Acornpaw wouldn't overhear them. "Sheesh, what happened to you? You look like you got eaten and spat out by a monster. I bet you must make all the predators in your territory run for their lives when they get one good look at you. Can't say I envy you at all; after all, you look to be the literal definition of a mange-ridden pelt." He smirked slyly at the ThunderClan apprentice. Honestly, after all ThunderClan had done to RiverClan, this disgusting-looking rat of a cat deserved it.

Lionpaw purred "Well fellow apprentice, i hope we can get along well" 

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"Hey mom! wait for me!" Ravenpaw padded after Dawnpetal and stopped besides her, panting a bit, not used to run long distances yet, but other than that, she was excited with the gathering, lot´s of new cats to meet! She soon notices the other cat who is talking with Dawnpetal "Hi! I´m Ravenpaw, nice to meet you!"

Forestpaw entered the clearing. She hadn't been to one before, and she hadn't ever expected to see so many cats in one place. She sat down, and looked around. Who should i talk to?, She wondered.
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(OOC: All of my cats are free to talk to.)

OOC: aaaa so sorry it’s late, irl stuff is slowly drowning me atm. feel free to talk and do whatever with my kitties :3
IC:

Smokewish padded into the clearing with RiverClan, her gaze as nervous as ever. All these tensions within her Clan were slowly getting to her. She kept an eye out for her kits and mate as she settled down with her tail wrapped tightly around her paws. Socialising with cats of other Clans was probably the last thing she would do by choice, but this was a Gathering. It was almost definite, therefore, that she would have to speak. She just hoped it wasn’t a ThunderClanner.

~~~~~~~~~

Robinsong walked into the gathering with her head held high. She quickly threw a glance at Swoopnose, trying to show some grain of comfort towards her brother as she settled herself down near some other cats of her Clan. She was more than a little worried, about too many things to name, but to see the SkyClan deputy say anything to her brother heightened her apprehension.

~~~~~~~~~

Stormcloud walked slowly into the Gathering, trying not to show any weakness to the other cats. He wanted to glare at the RiverClanners, but he didn’t dare. He was painfully aware of his odd-looking walk, the cause of which being his injured ribs. He thought he saw the grey-blue pelt of the warrior who did this to him and fought to contain an angry hiss. The light grey warrior sat down, his gaze fixed straight ahead.

~~~~~~~~~

Dappledpaw walked slowly into Fourtrees after Blizzardstar, his gaze fixed on the ground and his tail trailing behind him. He made no attempt to socialise as he sat down. The absence of Flickerpaw among them lowered his mood even more. He wanted his sister back. He wanted RiverClan dead. And he wanted Specklefang alive.

~~~~~~~~~

Ripplepaw bounced into the clearing after her leader, blissfully unaware of the serious, upset cats all around her. She was an apprentice! She was an apprentice! And she was at her first Gathering! Nothing could dull her excitement, not even the fact that she was a terrible hunter and a terrible fighter. She didn’t care. She was an apprentice! She ran full-speed ahead and sat down as fast as possible, fidgeting slightly. She was eager for it all to start.

Brindlewhisker's seething emotions remained carefully guarded under the faux expression of interest as she continued to gaze at Scorchfang, her only immediate reaction to the younger tom's words being a quick blink in agreement. The longer she remained seated beside the other Deputies, and privately reveled in Jaystream's sorrowful mood, the more her guarded stance softened. Though the urge to rake her claws across something or someone still lingered in the edges of her mind, she now felt a little bit more clear-headed. Straightening up and shamelessly sizing up Scorchfang for a brief heartbeat, the WindClan Deputy's expression lost some of the frigid detachment. "Likewise, Scorchfang. I would say take some time tonight to enjoy yourself, seeing as this is likely your first Gathering as a Deputy, but unfortunately this position has never been synonymous with pleasantries." Brindlewhisker quietly mewed, her sharp gaze flicking to the small crowd of Deputies as she spoke.

---

Feeling as though she would shrink away beneath her fur, Sunpaw gazed at the mingling crowd with wide eyes. The overlapping scents of all the various different Clans made her feel quite dizzy and dazed, so her movements were awkward and jarring as she quietly slipped through the crowd. Practically stumbling into a young she-cay [Forestpaw], the tabby let out a hastily murmured apology. "Sorry I didn't see you there- it's a bit difficult trying to move about in this crowd." Sunpaw hummed, an awkward edge sharpening her words.

Acornpaw chuckled at Dawnpetal's remark. "I get that. Sure, you guys have more hiding spaces, but you don't need to hide when you've got speed and the open expanse of the moor. Besides, why would you guys need to hide? All the Clans know your talent is your strength." Acornpaw complimented her. "I'm a scrawny little thing, but that makes it lighter on my paws. I can outwit my enemies and confuse them with my speed. Every cat has their own advantages." She meowed.

OOC: Hey-- is Shadepaw gonna get caught by someone? I'd really like it if Dawnpetal and her did overhear Shadepaw and, y'know, teach him a lesson, verbally.

Leafstorm padded into Fourtrees, his sharp green eyes scanning the clearing. The tall tom gave his apprentice a small, encouraging nudge before walking slowly towards the other cats, his whiskers twitching. Windclan just arrived; perhaps now would be a good time to get to know his allies better. The brown tabby couldn't resist looking towards the deputies, where Rippedsky, the Skyclan deputy, seemed to be was comforting Jaystream. Leafstorm couldn't help lifting his lip in a small snarl of disdain. Perhaps Starclan was finally giving the silver tom what he deserved and giving him a taste of the relentless misfortune and grief that had dogged Thunderclan for these past moons.
With that thought in mind, Leafstorm averted his gaze and trotted towards a group of Windclanners (literally anyone in WC- feel free to talk to my boi~), forcing his scarred pelt flat. "Hello," He mewed politely. "How has your clan been faring these past moons? This past Leafbare has been harsh to both of our clans."


Sharptooth tried to hold herself higher as she walked alongside her clanmates, her sad eyes scanning the crowd of cats for Firestone. The red tom was her only friend outside Thunderclan.


Mintpaw nearly jumped as Featherlight sat down beside her, but gave her Windclan friend a small, shy smile all the same. "H-hi, Featherlight. This i-is my first gathering as a M-medicine cat apprentice. I-I honestly thought it would be d-different, but so far t-the only thing that's changed i-is where I sit." The taupe apprentice wrapped her tail around her paws. "O-Oh, and real quick- d-do you know anything about a-a missing kit? A few c-cats were going on a quick p-patrol and they found a little yellow kit i-in the snow. We named her S-Sunkit- she's actually doing surprisingly w-well in o-our clan, but I wanted to see if s-she was from another c-clan, b-before she gets too used to living in S-Skyclan."

"Believe me, I'm starting to get a pretty good understanding of it," Scorchfang replied with a sigh. "I haven't been deputy for too long, and thus far I've only had to worry about apprentice ceremonies and organizing a couple patrols here and there. I know it'll get much tougher further down the line with all this tension between the Clans, so I suppose it's just as well I don't start relaxing." And he knew he would be able to handle any problems that come his way. He had been chosen by Littlestar for a reason after all, and he already knew himself to be a natural-born leader. Of course, that didn't mean he was completely fearless of the future, but toughening up and bravely preparing for what lie ahead would keep his Clanmates from worrying, which was always the last thing any leader or deputy would want.

"I'm Swoopnose," Swoopnose replied, a bit shakily. He wasn't sure if Rippedsky was mad at him or purely just curious. They were enemy clans, which made him fear even more getting off on the wrong paw with the deputy. His nervousness must have showed on his expression. Talking to Leopardclaw sometimes made him slightly nervous, and this tom wasn't even his clanmate. Hoping to not seem overly suspicious, he decided to voice his thoughts. "May I ask why you want to know?"

(occ: lateee, but all my cats are open to conversation except Rye)

Fernpaw and Night of Stormy Gales padded into the clearing along with the rest of SkyClan, and began to mingle among the crowd.  The brown and white tabby shape of the apprentice settled herself down near the front of the crowd, trying not to make eye contact with her sister.  The white dash on the former Tribe cat's chest shone brightly like one of the stars above, his pelt groomed to gleaming perfection.  Though he wasn't quite a true clan cat yet, he wanted to make a good impression.  Walking among the sea of pelts, he glanced around with eager green eyes for someone to talk to.  He was aware of the tension between some of the clans, but didn't pay much heed to it.

---

Finchstream walked in near the back of the RiverClan party, a bit apprehensive.  She had never liked gatherings after that one long ago when she had seen Spottedpaw gravely injured, but ever since she had admitted her fears to Nutfur she had begun to feel a bit braver little by little, and had chosen to face this Gathering head-on.  Taking a deep breath, the fluffy she-cat slapped a smile on her face and began to mingle in the crowd, trying to find a good spot to sit and wait for the meeting to start.

---

For the first time in a long while, Ryeheart was actually feeling excited to attend the Gathering.  There was a bit of a bounce in his step as he followed his clan down the hill and into the clearing of the Four Oaks, his gaze scanning the crowd for the pelt he was looking for.  Ah, there!  The familiar rush of happiness mixed with guilt overtook him as he caught sight of his son, and trotted up to greet the RiverClan warrior with a friendly grin.  "Hey Lakewhisper, nice to see you again!"  He was no longer stuttering, and his voice had regained it's old pep; he didn't even talk like this with his own clanmates anymore.

---

Laurelsong padded in with the rest of WindClan, looking and feeling quite beaten.  Her wounds, though not particularly serious, still hadn't healed thanks to RiverClan's greed, and they itched like mad.  The warrior had taken to licking them, to relieve the horrible feeling and to keep dirt out to prevent infections...like a dog!  Is this what our clan's come to?!  Sitting back helpless, lapping at our injuries like a stupid mutt?  Though her body was sore, the she-cat's eyes still burning with furious passion, and she seated herself near the edge of the crowd with her tail raised high.  Her gaze narrowed as she surveyed the crowd, a snarl rising in her chest when she saw any cat that wasn't ThunderClan, joined with the alliance.  The sheer number of cats that applied to was actually terrifying, and Laurelsong turned her face away before she did anything she would regret.

---

Finally, Leopardclaw padded into the clearing at the back of the ThunderClan group, his tail and ears low.  He didn't want to be here; his paws dragged on the ground like heavy stones that he had to pull around, and his bloodshot eyes were glazed with a numbness he had come to accept.  Padding up to the other deputies, he avoided eye contact with all of them as he seated himself next to Brindlewhisker, his broad shoulders hunched.  He gazed at his paws, wanting to avoid all conversation; he didn't even notice the new ShadowClan deputy, or how Littlebrook was now standing on the great rock.  He just wanted to go home.

"I'm WindClan," she replied. "And you're ThunderClan?" she asked politely, though she could tell from his overwhelming scent that he lived in the forest. She noted that the apprentice looked young. "Is this your first Gathering, Sparkpaw?"

"Yeah I'm from Thunderclan!" Sparkpaw said. "Yeah it's my first gathering. I really don't understand the hoopla about gatherings. It's pretty boring so far." He said.

Spotfur nudged Heronflight. "Look at that, it seems our supposed allies can't even keep their eyes!" He was obviously talking about the dark seething apprentice(Thornpaw).

OOC: Casually nudging the duel to get started