July Gathering 2020

As the leaders all arrived and the Clans started to mingle, Flintstar silently decided to refrain from starting the Gathering just yet - it was still almost...Odd to have a peaceful Gathering and while the heat was nearly unbearable, it wouldn't hurt to let the Clans revel in the fact that they were returning to the...Average Gatherings, where nothing excited from the Stars were to take place. But finally, the heat - even as it had cooled in the night - started to get at the thick-furred tom and he pushed himself to his paws, dipping his head to the other leaders before he stepped forward. "The Gathering starts now!" he called out, swishing his tail.

"ShadowClan has nothing noteworthy to report - we are growing every steadily, with a new apprentice, Boulderpaw, and many new warriors; Ebonysong, Vinetail, Ashflame, and Emberspark. As before, everything has been rather peaceful on our end and I expect we will continue to grow and thrive, even despite the heat that seems to have befallen the forest as of late," he acknowledged. It was one of the perks of thriving in the shadows and the night - they escaped the heat of the day and the scorching sun. The marsh was naturally cooler and he could only hope it would help them thrive even if the heat didn't fade soon enough. "That is all I have to report," he said as he stepped back to let another leader take his place.

ThunderClan was next to arrive, with Oakstar at their head. He looked less bedraggled than he had a moon ago, but the way he favored his hind leg didn’t bode well. Sure enough, when he leaped for the top of the Great Rock, he came up short, claws scrabbling uselessly at the stone. Ravenstar leaped to his paws. Before he could hurry to the Great Rock’s edge, however, Oakstar found his grip and hauled himself up the rest of the way. By how his legs shook and the winded greeting he gave them, the struggle had left him drained. After a moment, he laid down. Ravenstar had never seen a leader do that before. Worry dulled his eyes as he sat and smiled back at Oakstar, at a loss for how to acknowledge what had happened. “Good to see you, Oakstar. Did...did something happen? That limp looks pretty serious.” Suddenly, the thought of telling the older tom that he hadn’t spotted so much as a whisker of his missing daughter (Stormpaw, Oakstar had said; Ravenstar had more room in his head for names than anything else) near WindClan’s borders was ten times more daunting. He swallowed and hoped Oakstar was the optimistic type.

SkyClan appeared on ThunderClan’s heels. While Spottedstar drifted toward the medicine cats, a dark-furred figure joined Olivestone and the others under the Great Rock: Wolfcall, still alive and still SkyClan’s deputy after his mysterious absence. Spottedstar, having finished whatever business he’d had on ground level, joined them without an explanation (not unexpectedly, though Ravenstar was still curious). Finally, they were all gathered. Flintstar nodded to the other leaders, then stepped forward. His yowl rang out a moment later, signaling the Gathering’s official beginning, and Ravenstar sat a hair straighter to listen in the settling quiet. From the sound of it, ShadowClan had been doing well. Though they weren’t WindClan’s allies, strictly speaking—that was one part of Clan politics he hadn’t wrapped his head around yet—there was reassurance in hearing that things were as uneventful on the far side of the Thunderpath as they'd been on WindClan's.

As Flintstar stepped back, Ravenstar padded forward to take his place. With every night he stood here, it got easier. “Aside from the heat,” he began, “things have been pretty calm for WindClan. Water’s getting harder to find, but we’ve managed so far, and prey is plentiful. We haven’t had to deal with too many predators, either. Since the last Gathering, Heatherpaw, Haypaw, and Palepaw have become apprentices, and Wildflower’s earned her warrior name.” All of them had come to tonight’s Gathering, a first for the three apprentices; Ravenstar wondered what they, Haypaw especially, were making of it so far. Thankfully, there wasn’t much else to announce. No deaths, no disappearances. One more peaceful moon between them and the Righteous Few. ”That’s all for tonight.” Dipping his head to the crowd, he stepped back into his place.

Mossbloom looked up in surprise as an unexpected voice called her name. Spottedstar approached her and she struggled to her paws, shocked and concerned at the demeanor that Spottedstar was showing. Her eyes softened as he spoke, and she nodded, but before she could speak the tom had turned away and almost seemed to flee to the top of the Great Rock. She blinked slowly at his figure for a moment before sitting back down. "I'll be there, Spottedstar." She mewed quietly, wondering what it could be that the SkyClan leader wanted, no, almost seemed to need, her for. Before she could think about it too much more, the Gathering started.

It became clear that this RiverClan companion he had acquired had no intention of leaving, and for that, Beecloud's tail swished excitedly. He dove into the conversation, letting the sounds of commotion muffle in his ears and honed in on Snowflight's voice. The large tom's brow furrowed as Snowflight revealed the scars that dappled his face, head dipping closer in concern. He wondered why he tried so hard to disguise the marks. In Beecloud's opinion, it did very little to damage his looks... his amber eyes flickered away as he grew hot with embarrassment. Still, there was something to laugh about. Snowflight's jest about the river was enough to elicit a small snicker, followed by a mutual curiosity. Beecloud had never tried to swim; it had never even crossed his mind as something he'd want to do. He pictured, quite wistfully, how nice the cold river water would feel on his fur on a hot night like this.

"It's kind of taboo, I guess," he sighed, shrugging his shoulders unevenly. "The only cat from ThunderClan I ever saw swim was Dacedream. She was born on your side of the river, so she knew how. I think she taught her kits, too. But... the Righteous Few caught her fishing, and... Well, they gave her a choice, according to Rainstrike, but..." Beecloud looked away, pained with the memory of his clanmate's cruel demise. "The senior warriors said that she was essentially exiled from RiverClan because her father brought her here as a kit. So you tell me what's really righteous about killing her. That's who I was fighting for." He returned to Snowflight's eyes, finding resolve in sharing the emotions that he never really got to spill. He shook off as much grief as he could before curling his lips up in a softened smile. "I wouldn't mind learning to swim sometime."

Flintstar's flat voice boomed across the clearing, bringing all voices to a murmur. Beecloud tuned in for a moment to listen for any familiar names. Ebonypaw became a warrior! Terrific! he mused, thinking back to the battle that seemed so long ago. He leaned in to Snowflight's ear as the leaders discussed clan happenings. "We could even stand on opposite sides of the river, if it made you feel any better," he whispered.

Oakstar leaves his weight away from his failing leg when Ravenstar asked about it. He shook his head, a hint of his old self while he smiled at the other leader’s concern.
"A dog bite from many long moons ago I’m afraid." He explained, "Its been acting up a bit since the battle… but I’m not as young as the rest of you." He watched Ravenstar break from their conversation to fill in the others on his own clan’s happenings. During that time, Oakstar frowned, then turned his head towards Ivystar.

"Ivystar… can we meet at sunningrocks at sun high… the night after this. I’d like to discuss something with you. you may bring your deputy or whomever you’d like." He invited calmly. While Torrentstar and his meeting had yielded in nothing, largely because the other tom had never answered, Oakstar hoped the young leader would take up his offer. Perhaps if she had the benefit of other cats close at hand, it’d help in the discussion. of which, he frowned and realised it was his turn.

He stood slowly, then limped to the front of the rock. His hind leg slightly lifted to avoid too much weight on it.
"Thunderclan has been well." he declared, his amber eyes fell down to the newest apprentices. Truth was… despite everything that had happened, the past moon had been peaceful. Thank the stars for that. "We have new kits, and new apprentices,Hickorypaw, Pinepaw, Kestrelpaw, Sablepaw and Rosepaw." he looked towards Beecloud. "We also have a new warrior, Beecloud." he dipped his head, then stepped back.

His paws slipped beneath him while he moved from the edge of the great rock, a surge of terror in his chest when his body actually skidded a couple places. His paws caught on a rougher patch with a wince. That, was too close, his head looked over the drop from the back of the rock. A fall that would have certainly crippled him for good.

Ivystar simply nodded at Flintstar's remark, knowing what her mate likely wanted to speak about. They'd spoken about it briefly, but otherwise, the grey tabby hadn't dwelled on it much. Though she was aware that being Honeytongue's mate technically made her Flintstar's... what, cousin? She would let her handle the time and place where two sides of the broken family would meet. It wasn't something she wanted to spend much time thinking about, knowing that if something ever came between the two Clans, Honeytongue would have to choose between her Clan and her blood. Her attention was pulled elsewhere when Oakstar mentioned meeting the next sunrise, and she was inclined to ask why, but the tom went off to make his announcements before she had the chance. Huffing in a bit of frustration, she waited until he retreated to answer his question, watching carefully as he stumbled. "Yes, but if it is a matter of the land you plan to meet on, just know that my mind is already made." She said, padding towards the front of the rock before he had a chance to respond.

Ivystar debated for a moment whether mentioned the shrinking river would be a good decision. On one paw, it was a sign of weakness- not that the Clan couldn't defend themselves, but the river was their first line of defense against intruders. Without it, they lost protection as well as their main source of prey. On the other paw, she knew that the other Clan's were likely suffering from the heat. Perhaps not as considerably as RiverClan, but it was inevitable- sharing the state of the Clan might open an opportunity to forge friendships across the border. Additionally, it was likely to spark a conversation with Flintstar about potential hunting arrangements. With her mind made up, she began speaking. "RiverClan has proudly welcomed several kits to the nursery, and Shadepaw has joined the apprentice's den." Making sure to word her announcement carefully, she continued. "As you all are aware, a horrid heatwave has struck the forest. Over the last moon, the river has experienced lower levels than ever before. Fish, our most abundant prey, has been rather scarce, but we have made do with the land prey roaming our territory. Be safe and be cautious as we endure this awful weather." With her bit done, she padded back to the middle of the rock, waiting to see if any of the other leaders had anything to say to her.