May Gathering 2021

It was very overwhelming, to say the least. There were many scents in the one space, and they were not just cat scents, smells aplenty she had not smelled before lingered in the area. As Shadowclan poured into the clearing, it was safe to say that Firepaw was feeling a bit raw and irritated, the cacophony of noises hurt her ears and the bustling of bodies, the sheer amount of cats made her head spin. Firepaw picked a spot a bit off to the side, but not too far as to not hear the leaders when they would begin speaking, but she did not wish to be too far from her siblings either. But she quickly learned that fate would not be so kind as to let her become accustomed to everything, a cat approached her, one that she was unfamiliar with. The she-cat approached her and introduced herself, and for that Firepaw was grateful, she was barely a few sunsets into her training and had yet to learn all of the clan scents that had a residency in this forest. It was what felt like heartbeats later that she clued in that she should respond, with shifting eyes she looked away anxiously before looking back up at Birdsong. "Mm. My name's Firepaw... of Shadowclan." She mewed, a bit frustrated at her loss for words. Confidence and conversation did not come easy to the six moon old.

As Rosethorn felt a tap on her shoulder, she immediately brightened up. Just the cat she had been looking for! "Quietpaw! Hii!" She immediately stood to nuzzle the she-cat's ear, clearly glad to see her friend, before taking aseat once again, beckoning the black and white SkyClan cat to join her. "My name is actually Rosethorn now! Mistyfalcon says it is fitting because I am "a thorn in his side", but he loves me and he knows it!"

She was still just having an all around ball when she heard another voice pop up. "Oh! Webpaw! Come here! Quietpaw, this is my new apprentice! Webpaw! He is the kit of another Asy- er, another warrior in a similar position to me, with the whole "no family" type deal." She hated that she was still worried about it, but she honestly didn't know what cats would think of her if they knew she was Asylum. Sure, ShadowClan was cool, but what if the other Clans saw her differently? She liked having Quietpaw as a friend, and she didn't want to mess it up.

Upon Mistyfalcon's words, Rookfire nodded. It probably would be good to not get involved with the other clans' nonsense when it didn't involve ShadowClan in the slightest. "Okay, fine, I won't get involved in the other clans' drama." He could probably find it within himself to not get involved with other clans' drama. But if ShadowClan was dragged into the mess by another cat, he would get involved, if only to defend his clanmates from verbal attacks.

---

Shrikesong padded with ThunderClan to Fourtrees. Despite having a ton of clanmates who seemed friendly to her, she felt alone. Her brothers were dead, her mother was dead, and her two living sisters Shrikesong barely knew and grew distant from, respectively. So now, she stood in ThunderClan's side of Fourtrees, waiting for the leaders on the Great Rock to speak.

The giant striped tom entered into the clearing with his chin up and shoulders back in usual fashion. He watched as Wolfstar leaped up to the Great Rock and Bloodstrike took his usual place among the other deputies. He nodded a polite greeting to the others, but his eyes were clouded and tried despite his strong posture. It was clear that his mind was somewhere else, far away from Fourtrees. A lot had happened lately... a lot of things that shouldn't have and it weighed down the strong, proud Skyclan deputy like a boulder.

Bloodstrike is clearly out of it but is willing to talk!

---

Bearpaw took a moment to observe Swiftpaw and the other tom. Once it was clear they were just talking normally, he approached the two of them with more confidence than he had before. "Hi, this is my first gathering. I'm Bearpaw of Riverclan. Who are you two?" Though he couldn't help but give Swiftpaw an amused glance.

---

Moonshine wasn't expecting anyone to approach her. A happy, innocent she-cat approached her though and she blinked in surprise. The compliments were far from unwelcome, of course. "Oh thank you so much! I've been told I take after my father..." She glanced in the direction of Skyclan and barely kept her fur from bristling at the site of the giant tom... her grandfather. He nearly took her life not long ago... She shook her head to clear the memory. It was over now... it was in the past... time to focus on the now.

"I'm Moonshine of Shadowclan. And who are you, with such golden compliments on your tongue?" She wasn't being condescending or unappreciative at all, but much rather the opposite. She'd never been flattered before... and she couldn't say it was an unwelcome burst of warmth.

Quietpaw soft smile grew slightly bigger when she heard the Rosepaw had a gained a warrior name, Rosethorn. "I like Rosethorn, its a n-nice name." She purred softly.

She then nearly jumped when she heard another voice. Frantically looking around, she saw that owner of the voice was an apprentice, who Rosethorn introduced as Webpaw. "H-hello W-Webpaw. I-I'm sure that Rosethorn i-is t-training you w-well." She greeted nervously, still a bit caught off guard by the arrival of the apprentice.

Tornshadow followed skyclan into the gathering. Her lip curling slightly at the thought of sitting near Skyclan when she didn't have too. After everything, her dislike of her own clan was only growing. Once she was free to break away, she did. The white and gold cat not really bothering to scan the clearing for anyone since she didn't know anyone in other clans. There was Moonshine but she didn't think that would be a good idea considering what happened last time the two saw each other. So she just took up a spot away from the crowd, and away from her own clan.

Tornshadow is open to talk!

---

Dovefrost was a little surprised by Smallbean approaching him, but he didn't let it show on his face. It was strange to see the medicine cat this time without Softbreeze nearby like the last gathering. The large white fluffy tom dipped his head in greeting. "Greetings. Things.. are going. I have earned my full medicine cat role, following some bad news.." The tom let out a small huff, trying to decide if he should actually share or not, but he was certain Minkstream would announce it later once the gathering officially started. "Daisybloom has joined Starclan, There wasn't anything that could be done.. unfourtantly." Green eyes looked at the other tom. "I hope Softbreeze is doing okay?" It was more of a question than anything, hoping the other medicine cat didn't meet a similar fate.

Webpaw flicked his ears at Rosethorn as she cut herself off mid-introduction. It was.. odd, but he had no interest in pressing the issue. Instead, he turned back towards Quietpaw, giving her the same curious stare. She looked as if the sight of him made her want to bolt out of the clearing, and he'd hardly even done anything except sit down. He bowed his head, trying to hide a barely-stifled laugh. "Hello, Quietpaw. I haven't learned much, but I like her well enough." His tone was simple, though he couldn't stop himself from chuckling as he spoke.

Quietpaw was alright, he decided. If Rosethorn trusted her, he should, as well. Still, she was a stranger to him, so after a heartbeat more of looking her over, he turned away to stare back into the crowd. He had nothing to say to her, and he'd only come over for Rosethorn, after all. For now he was content to watch the other cats weave amongst themselves and be put at ease by his Clanmate's presence.

Bearpaw introduced himself, and Swiftpaw curled her tail around her paws. "Swiftpaw, windclan. And that's Frigidpaw, of Shadowclan." A smirk tugged at the corners of her mouth as she remembered her last meeting with Bearpaw. Not that anyone else needed to know. It had been mere happenstance, really. And they'd both been fine after that owl had attacked.

---

"You almost sound disappointed, Rookfire." Mistyfalcon couldn't help smirking at the medicine cat. "I just hope none of our clanmates get dragged into something... Looks like Flintstar and Ivystar are talking." Maybe it had something to do with Spark and his mate showing up, seeking shelter and pregnant with kits. Either way, it wasn't really his business and Mistyfalcon was happy to stay out of it.

---

"With any luck this gathering will be fine. It can be a bit overwhelming, don'tcha think?" Birdsong could tell that the other she-cat was anxious. She couldn't recall seeing her at the last gathering, and she looked young enough that this could easily have been her first. Probably a good thing if she hadn't been at the last one, with how tense things had gotten. Birdsong just really hoped that this gathering wouldn't turn out like that.

Excitement was clear as day on the sociable WindClan apprentice. It was Silverpaw's first Gathering and he couldn't have been more eager to get to Fourtrees. Despite his enthusiasm, he was also quite nervous. He kept a consistent check on his mentor as they made their way over to the Gathering, rather adamant on not losing sight of her. However, all his silly worries washed away when he laid eyes on the clearing and all the assembling clans. He quickly broke away from the group and hurriedly began to explore all the event had to offer before it would begin. Every so often he'd look over to where the deputies stood to assure himself that Dayspring wasn't too far.

After a while of aimlessly trudging around looking for a conversation to join, the young tom's attention finally settled on a white and gold she-cat who was sitting all by her lonesome. She appeared to be warrior aged. Silverpaw hesitated for a moment before forcing his legs to move over to her. He wasn't sure if she even wanted to talk, let alone to an apprentice of a different clan. It was making him a bit reluctant but he harnessed his inner bravery and natural friendliness and didn't allow himself to back out.

"Hello there! M'name's Silverpaw and I'm from WindClan. If it's alright with you, I'd like to give you a bit of company. You seemed kinda lonely and... Oh! S-Sorry! That was a bit rude of me to say. Please forgive me! I-I can leave if you want..." Great. That was smooth... not. Yikes. The tom awkwardly shuffled his paws as he waited for a response.

Ashstorm walked with Skyclan to the Gathering.  It was still exciting to be there, but at the same time she sort of dreaded coming.  It made it worse knowing that Sneezingpaw could be there, but she could not talk to her without scaring her.  As much as it pained her to know, it was probably best for Sneezingpaw never to speak to her again.  She did not approach anyone, but watched Quietpaw and started mindlessly walking around.

Ashstorm is open to talk to!

_________________________________________________________________

Shira's kits were growing up, so she went to the Gathering, sort of hating what may happen.  She knew she probably should have told Ivystar something, but she bet that Ivystar would not have just let them go to Shadowclan.  When Ivystar showed up, she made a slight sound of discomfort, but that was it.  No matter how much she wanted to, she did not say anything to Ivystar or Flintstar yet.  She listened as hard as she could to hear what they were saying.  Foxspark... or Spark as she still thought of him, was next to her.  She leaned slightly closer to him.  "This is going to be interesting," she whispered.

Songpaw looked around the clearing with wide eyes. So this was where her dad had died.. The young molly hadn't come to the lat gathering because the thought of being where Beecloud had... Perished, made her sad. With a sad sigh, she settled in the shadows of one of the great oak trees, looking far different than her usual upbeat self.
———
Jasminepaw looked around anxiously, There's a lot of cats here.. She thought, shuffling her paws. The pretty molly spotted a group of three apprentices talking, and she wanted to join them, but felt too nervous. What if they thought she was weird? Sitting down in a sandy area, she traced a claw through the dirt, tiny little leaf shapes now there.

With a sigh, she thought of Jaypaw, her only friend who was now in StarClan. She wished she had the courage to talk to other cats, but the little SkyClanner didn't, and she supposed that was alright.
———
Brookpaw strode confidently beside Downtuft, dipping her head to him when she separated from him. Spotting a big brown tabby, she made her way over. "ThunderClan. I can tell by your scent. I'm Brookpaw, apprentice to the best warrior of WindClan. I suppose I should ask your name?" Downtuft had told her not to be rude, and so she was trying.
———

Brookpaw is talking to Cotton's Stag.
Jas & Song are open to talk to!

Trotting side-by-side with Brookpaw and Shyfawn, the sandy ginger warrior wished for the Gathering to end swiftly. Softbreeze has opted to stay in camp this time, and his paws wanted to carry him to her side. "Don't go too far, Brook." He called over his shoulder, then turned back to Shyfawn. "Hopefully she'll stay out of trouble."

Shyfawn purred, laughing. "With you as her mentor? Trouble will follow that cat like kits take to mice!" The elder affectionately bumped Downtuft's shoulder, mrrowing softly with laughter.

Downtuft rolled his eyes at his starmother's teasing, and uneasily glanced towards the moors. "You think Softy's okay?" He asked, emerald eyes clouded with worry. With a tsk, Shyfawn headbutted him forward, shaking her head. "You worry too much. Worrytuft fits you better. Softbreeze is in camp, I can assure you she's perfectly fine."

Sitting down, the warrior sighed, offering a smile. "You're right. What would I do without you?" Downtuft mewed, snorting. "Worry yourself to death!" She retorted cheekily, grinning.

Downtuft and Shyfawn are waiting for Thalia to approach them! Softbreeze has stayed home and I'll throw Sneezing in later

”Wolfcall!”

Juniperlight had lingered with the WindClan warriors. The clan of the moors had kindly taken him in after he’d collapsed on his way home. It took him a few days to come back to full coherence and break the fever that had come over him. On top of that, his left eye was sewn completely shut, the flat, scarred lid signaling that he’d be unable to see out of it even had his lids been left alone. The twolegs had done it, among a few other alterations, but his spirit remained the same... if a bit more damaged than he had been when he left. The twoleg pelt tied firmly around his neck, blue and black, was left untouched. He was eager to see the remainder of his family, most of all his dear eldest brother. His moons in the mountains had been grueling. He just wanted to see Wolfcall’s calm, friendly face again.

And now he spotted the gallant tom, striding gracefully into Fourtrees with the rest of SkyClan streaming behind him. There was no doubt he’d finally embraced his role as leader, most likely much sooner than Juniperlight had himself. But in his excitement, he called out the name he loved and recognized most. ”Wolfcall! Wolfcall, I’m here!” he cried out, charging through the crowds of cats and making a beeline to the base of the Great Rock. Making special care to be gentle passing through the medicine cats, he propped his front paws against the rock and stared up at his big brother, his smile bright and his one yellow eye gleaming with welling tears.

Finally, Thalia's gaze landed on the cats she was searching for, and she made her approach - cautious, but just slightly optimistic as she set both of the flower crowns by their paws. "Um... Hi. Sorry to- interrupt you... I just, um... I wanted to give you these. I know it's not much, and you definitely have more flowers than we do, and even if I made enough for all of you there was no way I could've carried them here, but- I just wanted to say I was sorry, again. I thought maybe this would be a better way to-"

She cut herself off midsentence, waiting nervously to see how her gifts would be received.

...This was a terrible idea, wasn't it?

Smallbean's worries began to melt within mere heartbeats of Dovefrost speaking, his posture instantly growing less tense. "Congratulations, I recently became a full medicine cat too." He said, voice quickly falling silent so the other tom could continue. His smile soon fell as Dovefrost explained what had become of Daisybloom. "I'm... i'm so sorry for your loss." His voice was quiet as he lowered his head. Since he always preferred to let Softbreeze do the talking he had never personally gotten to know Daisybloom, but he had heard things about her in the words Softbreeze spoke when they used to sort herbs together. "But i'm sure you'll do well as medicine cat. Softbreeze is doing fine, by the way. She didn't attend this gathering, but she's stepped down from being a medicine cat. She stays in the nursery now." He explained in a reassuring tone. If only she had come to tell the medicine cats herself.

---

At the sound of a voice, Stag turned his head, his gaze resting upon a pale she-cat. It seemed as though he wouldn't have to look for someone to talk to any longer. Before he could even open his mouth to introduce himself, she spoke first. He was a bit shocked by her demeanor, but it wasn't as if he let it show. "Nice to meet you, Brookpaw. My name is Stag." He said, a smile growing on his face. "How do you think this gathering will go? I'm not sure if you were at the last one, but it was kinda rough." His thoughts returned to the events of the last gathering, how much commotion there was. He looked up toward the leaders, who seemed to be having calm conversation. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad.

[Robinloft is still open for conversation!]