August Gathering 2020

Flashpaw’s ears perked at his mentor’s voice and the lanky tom gave her a small nod. He hesitated and glanced around the clearing as RiverClan began slowly pouring in-- the prospect of meeting so many new, strange cats forced him to his paws to take a seat beside Goldengale. The familiarity of a Clanmate helped ease some of his worries.“Do you think the fire’ll spread?” He asked quietly, looking up at her with wide eyes.
--
Viperpaw had been at the front of the Clan as they streamed into Fourtrees, her striped tail held high and her eyes bright with excitement. She scanned the already gathered cats, the tip of her tail twitching as she took in the strange scents of the mixing Clans. She didn’t think much about the fire-- she had been too busy with her training to pay much mind to the well being of some cats she had never met. She bounded down into the clearing with the rest of her Clan and began to look around for some other apprentices to talk to.

Nightwolf padded into the clearing and sat down. The smoke had concerned him so much he was worried that it'd spread. Anxiously he sat down, worried that fire could attack any moment like a fox.

OOC: Nightwolf is open to talk to! Spotlake is also open to talk to!

Turtlepaw followed RiverClan in, shyly hanging back and watching his mentor. She was the deputy, he couldn't follow her where she had to go. So the small tom watched with shifting yes and prickling fur, unsure of who to talk to or whether to talk to anyone at all. His father's warning echoed in his mind: that talking to others was dangerous, and that he should try not to make too many friends or they could hurt him. It was odd advice, but his father promised he would explain when Turtlepaw was old enough. For now, the young RiverClan apprentice watched the rising smoke apprehensively and worried dearly for the danger that could be heading towards his home.

Shimmerpaw curled up as far away from all other cats as she dared. Please just leave me alone. Please just leave me alone. She prayed to StarClan that no one would come over to talk to her. Some cats were talking about a fire. Personally, Shimmerpaw had no idea what it was. Besides, she didn’t want to be bothered with asking others what a “fire” was anyways.

OOC: Shimmerpaw is open to talk, but will not initiate conversation.

Streamtail padded into the Gathering, her eyes heavy with grief. She looked around for her Clanmates, then decided to sit somewhere where she could be alone. Some time had passed since the news of Applefang’s death had reached her ears. Streamtail didn’t really feel like herself anymore. Her kits were the only thing that were supporting her.

((Streamtail is open to talk to. She’s grieving so forgive her if she’s too quiet.))

Ebonysong’s worried eyes scanned the clearing of Fourtrees. News had travelled fast about the SkyClan forest fire and she wanted to be more careful. Spotting an empty place near the edge of the clearing, she sat down, dark gray pelt catching the light of the moon.

((Ebonysong is also open to talk to. I’m sorry for this short post but WCC is very wonky for me ;;;))

Brightpaw was nothing but terrified for her first Gathering. She couldn't understand why all the clans met in peace - they were her enemies, no matter how the leaders and other cats felt about them. They also made her nervous. There was so many chances to slip up, to say too much, to reveal things she shouldn't. She tried her best to blend in with the rest of the warriors and apprentices of ShadowClan, staying mostly in her friend Ebonysong's shadow. The news that seemed to be on everyone's tongues was about SkyClan's fire and Brightpaw picked up snipers of conversation about it. The night before, the sky had been clogged with smoke and an acrid scent had filled the air. Smoke still remained in the sky, and SkyClan was still nowhere to be found. Even though they were another clan, Brightpaw didn't believe that it was ShadowClan's business, as the fire hadn't even got to ThunderClan camp, so it would never reach her of pine forests.

((OOC: Brightpaw is open to talk, but may be quite hard to start a conversation with))

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Wisteriapaw happily padded into the Fourtrees clearing, following the rest of her clan. Before they had left camp, the tabby apprentice had taken the time to groom her pelt to perfection, so she stood sleek and neat, prepared to introduce her self to new cats. She wondered if any of them had fought a goose before, or met a loner, like her. Everyone should want to be friends with me.

((OOC: Wisteriapaw is open to talk))

Smallbean let out a small yawn. Despite being tired, he was in higher spirits than ever. Even though he wouldn't be meeting Cedarheart tonight, he was now much more optimistic about going to Fourtrees. That didn't mean he was excited to be surrounded by so many cats though. Jumping into the clearing, he scanned the area for his usual isolated spot and sat down, his eyes fixed on the leaders. He'd heard something about Skyclan from the chatter among the warriors. Despite his curiosities, he held his tongue, knowing he would likely find out later.

Smallbean is open for conversation!

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Robinloft scurried into the clearing, glad to be back at a gathering. She hadn't been to the last few gatherings, she had instead been back at camp watching over kits and guarding the camp. It was okay with her though, she didn't really mind. While she was lost in thought, the warrior had somehow managed to run into another cat. "Oh- Sorry about that!" She looked up to find an apprentice, and by her scent, she was Riverclan. "Why don't I introduce myself? I'm Robinloft of Thunderclan! How are you?"

Robinloft is talking to Wisteriapaw! Feel free to join the conversation!

Wisteripaw was startled when an unfamiliar cat bumped into her. She smelt similar to the forests over the river where ThunderClan lived, and introduced herself. The apprentice had to try and hide her smile of pride at guessing the she-cat's clan. "Hi, I'm Wisteriapaw and I'm a RiverClan apprentice, I'm feeling great 'cause this is my first Gathering!" Since the warrior had been the one to start the conversation, Wisteriapaw felt even less bad than usual at bombarding her with questions. "Do you live under the trees? Can you fish?" The silver she-cat was enjoying the Gathering so far, with more cats to question and meet.

Oakstar padded slowly into the clearing of fourtrees. His pelt disheveled, if a cat looked closely, they would see grey hairs, and darker patches on his already dark tabby pelt. His amber eyes were the brightest thing about him, but even they had a distinct edge of worry and pain. His hindleg limped clearly now. He couldn’t hide it. He had tried, but the limb refused to cooperate.

The dog bite had at last caused it’s final damage. The walk up to the great rock felt like it took the full moon. When he looked up at it from the base, he felt a surge of apprehension. He barely made the jump last time. He still had to try. He paused, took a deep breath, and leapt.

His shoulders ached tremendously with effort, hind claws dug into stone, but didn’t hold. He fell back down to the ground. Jaws parted in exhaustion from the effort. He crouched, then paused when pain from his hind leg seared up his flank. The other leaders were above him, waiting.

"...I’m sorry." He rasped. It felt like his heart was on the clearing floor when he sat down next to the great rock. Not on it. "I will have to do my announcements from down here I’m afraid." The admission was more painful than he expected. His tail wrapped around his forepaws. At least Foxfire's announcement would be far more important than anything he had to say.

His first gathering. It really was his first gathering! Walking into the clearing, Quailpaw's smile grew. Sure the threat of the fire was there but he could just run away from it right? Unaware of the pain Skyclan was going through Quailpaw sat down near the front, swishing his dark grey tabby tail back and forth.

OOC: Quailpaw is open to talk to!

Batbite walked with confidence, not a single hint of worry or concern visible on her face. Oh, she knew what had happened - word traveled fast, when it was important - she simply couldn't bring herself to care. As far as she was concerned, those treetop-dwelling mouse-brained wastes-of-space were getting precisely what they deserved - in all her days, she'd only once seen a SkyClan cat display any hint of common sense, let alone decency; and the memory was so long ago that some nights she wondered if it was merely imagined. Perhaps the flames were a well-deserved punishment for their cowardice in the battle with the Righteous Few; that they'd turned tail and fled then just as they surely had now.

Poetic justice, she mused - though that thought was quick to fade, as she recalled with a glance in the direction of her own kits that a Clan was made up of more than its cowardly, mouse-brained warriors. Hopefully their kits and apprentices, at least, were alright.

For now, she took her place in the midst of the Clans - noticing, in the corner of her eye, that her mentor remained at the base of the Great Rock rather than its peak - straining to gather whatever information she could.

[Batbite is open to talk to, if you want to deal with... Uh, that.]

Spotlake turned her head to see a Thunderclan she-cat. She padded up to her a waved her tail in hello. "Good evening. I'm Spotlake. I'm glad to see that Thunderclan isn't effected by the fire." She said, sitting down.

OOC: Spotlake is talking to Batbite

((Rosepaw is talking to Quailpaw))

Rosepaw followed her other clanmates into the clearing. My very first Gathering… well, at least it’s better than being attacked by dogs again. She looked around and saw the other cats talking to one another. Not knowing a lot of other cats, her eyes scanned the crowd for a familiar golden-cream pelt. Dawnpaw wasn’t here yet. I’ll have to ask him about the fire later then… Feeling a bit disappointed, she spotted another familiar cat. Quailpaw, her denmate and friend was sitting there looking as cheerful as always. “Hey, Quailpaw. How are you doing?”

Tanglerose slunk quietly into the clearing, the stench of soot still fresh in her nose and thick on her tongue. She peered around the Gathering for signs of SkyClan. Their golden-colored leader wasn't atop the Great Rock... but she smirked a little in amusement at Oakstar, who was stuck pitifully at the bottom of the rock. Maybe send your deputy next time, old geezer.

She padded around, seeking out a comfortable spot, opting for a place that would generally be occupied by a gaggle of untalkative SkyClan cats. Somehow, Tanglerose had a feeling that they wouldn't be sitting there tonight.

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Beecloud followed ThunderClan to Fourtrees with the rumblings and churnings of anxiety thick in his stomach. He hadn't gone to the edge of the fire personally, but he had heard the horrors. He wasn't a stranger to fire itself. The smell could often be detected if you took a stroll by the edge of Twolegplace... they had a habit of putting their meat over a fire in their yards. How they controlled such an unpredictable and destructive entity was one of the many mysteries of their kind. He was sure, however, that even with all their power, the inferno that SkyClan had experienced could not be doused by the most experienced twoleg.

A forest fire was positively haunting. The ThunderClan patrol that surveyed the edge showed him the soot that coated their pawpads. It was only worse when SkyClan failed to show up. His breath warbled as he sat down.

ooc: both are open for conversation!

Daisybloom’s fears had been confirmed. The fire hadn’t struck Thunderclan, but it had happened. And Skyclan wasn’t here. They could be running late, but that didn’t seem quite right. Whatever had happened, she hoped they were alright. Especially Sagelight, the medicine cat. He was a real nice cat. She followed her leader in and sat down with Spiderquill. He was the only medicine cat there so far, besides her. ”I had a dream about a fire,” she mumbled. From Starclan, at our meeting. I guess...I guess it came true.” she explained. Looking towards her father, she saw him sitting at the base of the rock. ”Oh, dad.” she whispered breathlessly. He was so weak. She wanted to run over, to help him up, but that would be embarrassing for him. So she sat, watching him quietly.


Cedarheart followed her clan into the gathering. She spotted Smallbean and gave him a quick smile and a nod. They didn’t need to talk tonight. They did almost every other night, sneaking out to meet. Anyways, it would be suspicious. She settled down in the clearing, ready to start a conversation, or join in on one.


Daisy is talking to Spiderquill + the other MCs
Cedar is open to talk