November Gathering 2021

Well, Daystar couldn't exactly say she was surprised to hear that Bloodstar had stepped up to lead the Clan. It wasn't pleasant news, but it was inevitable, and she decided to not dwell on it for longer than she had to.

The she-cat was no stranger to chaos at a Gathering, but the tension tonight seemed thicker than usual. She quietly watched as Flintstar abandoned his post below the rock to scold one of his warriors in front of a RiverClan tom, and then perked her ears as Swiftspirit joined the conversation. She was constantly on alert for clues about who the unnamed ShadowClanner that had attacked one of her warriors could be, and this was one of the biggest ones that she had received. What if she was wrong and the scene unfolding below was completely unrelated? She debated if it would make sense to bring up the incident during her report.

Daystar wasn't the kind of cat to spit accusations at another without proof behind it, and she didn't want to start an argument with the ShadowClan leader below, so she figured that she would leave it out when it was her turn to speak. Despite her doubts, there was still a good chance that the conversation below was related, and she decided to let them handle it privately before bringing it up in front of the entirety of Fourtrees.

On the other paw, what was Hentooth up to? The medicine cat looked furious and the apprentice that she was speaking to didn't seem happy either. She made a mental note to inquire about it on the way back to camp.

When it was her turn, the fluffy leader took a quick step forward.
"WindClan is doing well even as the weather becomes colder. New life has been given to the Clan through healthy litters. Dreampaw, Mistypaw, Flamepaw, and Softpaw has become apprentices and I'm pleased to say that some are due to become warriors soon."
She gave Flintstar, Burningwing, Swiftspirit, and Bearspirit a quick glance before shaking her head and deciding once again to keep her mouth shut.
"That is all I have to report." She finished before taking a step back.

Ivystar nodded her head in congratulation to Bloodstar as he returned to his seat at the rock, expecting the news but not entirely satisfied with it. So long as his Clan didn’t interfere with the business of her own, she’d try to maintain and amicable relationship with the tom. After Daystar shared her announcements, Ivystar stepped up and recited her own. “RiverClan has fared well this past moon. Hollypas, Featherpaw, and Ebonypaw have become apprentices. Brick, a rogue we took in moons ago, has proven her loyalty to the Clan and is now known as Harebounce, a faithful RiverClan warrior. Dewlight has been named my new deputy, as well. That is all I have to report, and that brings this gathering to an end. RiverClan, we are going home.” She mewed, leaping off the rock to the ground below and making her way to the outskirts of the clearing.

Flamepaw glared straight back at her, muzzle wrinkling and eyes flashing. What, she was going to punish him? Had he done something wrong again? For all that he was prepared for, he wasn't ready when she opened her maw. The single word snapped out like a flash of claws, slapping against his face.

She'd never- she didn't speak to him like that.

A second later he was back on the warpath, bristling at her threats, gritting his teeth. She couldn't keep him in the nursery. And Daystar wouldn't do that to him - he was their most talented apprentice! "As if I didn't know that," He hissed, his voice lowered for once to a simmering rage, barely suppressed in spite of himself. "What do you think I was telling him? I've heard the stories - I wasn't - whatever that means. Besides, Dreampaw was there first."

No, he wouldn't yowl, no matter how much his anger bubbled up in his throat. But he wasn't staying quiet just because she said so.

Flamepaw just won't shut up. Cue the live-action Aladdin song.

... 

So he was Riverclan. Greypaw. Ratpaw felt pleased that he wasn’t mistaken about the scent; it must be because of how often they were in water, though he still had questions. The dark-furred apprentice in glanced at the tom’s pelt, as well: the name, at least, suited him. For that Ratpaw was grateful. He wasn’t good with names, but he would remember a grey-furred tom as what he appeared to be.

(Ratpaw’s mother would always cuff him on the ear, when he was little and honestly mewed he couldn’t remember. But how could he? There were too many... To this day, he remembered only those who interacted with him closely.)

Greypaw was also... surprisingly honest, if a little tired-sounding with every mew. Not desiring to interrupt, the quiet tom listened, attentive. For a tom content with slumbering through the gathering, the Riverclan apprentice had sharp ears, and sharp opinions — even if they weren’t said with too much conviction.

Ratpaw felt he must be a little younger than Greypaw, or maybe more himself, because most of what Greypaw said felt a little distant to him. His gaze followed, as some raised voices carried from Shadowclan — Flintstar, to a brown-furred tom Ratpaw knew by ear, if not personally. Burnfire — no, it wasn’t that. Burnbird?

It felt it happened often enough, in his clan. He flicked an ear, raising it. Webshadow didn’t seem to bother himself with too much clan interaction, unless it came to him. It left Ratpaw without much context either. Greypaw remained loose, relaxed in posture, and so Ratpaw settled, too, head resting on his forepaws.

”That’s an odd thing to say,” is all Ratpaw felt to say, eyes seeking Greypaw’s. ”About not being a good Riverclan cat.”

Then again, Greypaw seemed unusual for a cat in general. But Ratpaw hardly felt that was a bad thing, even if he seemed... resigned to something, oddly thoughtful. ”And I don’t want to fight you on the battlefield, either.”

Perhaps, Ratpaw felt he should’ve been bothered by Greypaw’s words. It wouldn’t be pleasant, to have to fight such a tom — the dark-furred tom was trained in battle, but quietly he never desired to use it that way. But... he felt he knew, that Murkystrike if not Flintstar was a kind cat, and just. She wouldn’t lead them into a battle like that, not if it was against cats — civilized ones, not rogues or foxes — like Greypaw. Would she?

Ratpaw wondered, then... if Riverclan was, perhaps, more like what he’d wondered at first. Could Greypaw really be the different one? Was that why he was a poor Riverclan cat? Perhaps Riverclan was a darker, harder place to be, than Ratpaw had been thinking. Are they more violent?

And in his chest, Ratpaw... felt something, for Greypaw. The apprentice wasn’t much older or different from him, and perhaps it was a hard place to be, where he lived.

If Ratpaw ever could help him, in the future... the shadowclanner considered it, quietly. Ratpaw would help him. It was an internal decision, but it felt good in Ratpaw’s heart. He liked Greypaw.

Ratpaw is laying beside Greypaw, is pretty oblivious to the subtext, but gets ideas about Riverclan anyway.

Ratpaw seemed confused about his statement at being a bad Riverclan cat, and he looked up, hues considering. Should he tell him about his fatal weakness...? Well... no, that would be dumb, perhaps a hint though. "Well, let's just say I don't have a very pleasant relationship with rivers." He chuckled.

The Shadowclanner then mentioned not wanting to fight him either, and Grey sighed slightly. "Sadly it's probably going to happen someday. If we do ever meet on the battlefield, no hard feelings, yeah?" He glanced up at the other apprentice with a relaxed, warm half-smile.

Upon hearing the call for Riverclan to leave, he let out a tired sigh, and yawned. After a few moments, he hauled himself to his paws, stretching, then shook out the long pelt. Looking back at his new acquaintance, he gave the younger tom a sleepy nod. "I'll see you around Ratpaw, and remember, take some time for yourself every once in a while to relax. Taking care of yourself is important as a warrior, so you're in a healthy mental state, and physical state. Can't help your clan much if your dead on your feet, right?" With those parting words and a lazy smirk, Greypaw trodded over to his clan members, leaving the gathering behind as he followed his high-strung peers back to Riverclan.

It was a troublesome night, but at least he got to know someone outside of his clan. Who knew? Maybe in the future Ratpaw would be a deputy, or leader, and it was always important to keep your friends close, and your foes even closer.

Well, either way, he liked the Shadowclanner, hopefully the tom would be able to keep himself straight int he future as well.


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