February Gathering 2023 [Distant Farm]

The night was quiet, still; most of all, cold. Astershine laid on a pile of straw, nose tucked beneath his tail. Each breath generated a faint cloud that rose into the air, disappearing just as quickly as it was produced. Wordlessly, he watched the process over and over, unsure of how long he'd spent there when he realized. Still, his eyes remained focused, watching the cloud as it rose and dissipated, eyes only daring to move when he noticed a small reflection of light in his peripherals. A small hole in the barn's tin roof, large enough for him to fit through but too far for him to reach. Through it, the night sky, a limited view of Silverpelt on display for him to see. If he moved just a foxlength forward, the moon would be in his sights. Its pale light shone down through the hole, illuminating just a small area of the barn.

The clans would be holding a gathering tonight. A part of him wondered if they'd stop, if they'd wait and remain in their camps, ready to welcome home the trapped cats in case they happened to return. No, he knew that their world still moved even if he wasn't in it. Just as what had happened before, the gathering would continue. They weren't the first. His pale eyes swept through the barn, making note of the cats within. He hoped that they could leave soon. Spending the gathering miles from home wasn't ideal, and he was sure these cats felt the same.

When he'd finally mustered up the strength to pull himself from his spot on the straw, he stood, paws uncomfortable against the rough stone floor. They stung at it's coldness. He shivered. His pelt was never good when it came to protecting him from the cold. Still, he stood, craning his neck upwards. "It's a full moon." He said, simply. There wasn't much else to say; there wasn't anything to find out. They all knew of their own situations, but not of the clans'.

She thought Dovesight's passing was the worst she'd ever feel. That she had hit rock bottom, and things could only get better from there.

Stars, was she so wrong.

When the Twolegs took her away from her home, her family, the cats she cared about...

She would see them again, right?

They would only hold her temporarily, she told herself. They wouldn't do much besides change her scent, she told herself. But it offered her little solace in the light of the full moon.

...It was the full moon tonight. The night of the Gathering.

This would be her first Gathering she would spend without her clanmates. Many of them she barely knew, but she still missed the familiarity. She wasn't the only RiverClan cat taken away, at least, but she still felt like she was a few heartbeats from going mad.

A tom-cat that she didn't recognize spoke in the moonlight. His voice pulled her back together, at least for the moment. Kitespring pushed herself up onto her paws, her legs still shaking like the earthquakes she felt moons ago were ongoing - and gazed at the tom who spoke. "Yeah," she echoed, nodding at him. "It is, isn't it?"