April Gathering 2023

Nightstar wasn't exactly well, as he led his clan into the clearing, Shadowclan once again the first to arrive. Redice's execution, Mottlestar telling him that he was going to be- is a father, and his wounds from the former experience, wore on him. Exhaustion snapped at his heels, and as he raised his gaze to look at the rock above him he couldn't quite bring himself to bunch his muscles and make the leap. Sighing wearily, Nightstar flicked up his tail to block Leopardsun from taking her spot. "Leopardsun, if you could and don't mind, but could you take my place tonight?" His voice had a bit of a softness to it, a sort of vulnerability that didn't quite crop up often, something Nightstar kept constantly caged, but with the feeling of Redice shoving his throat into his molars, choking him just as much as he choked the warrior- it made him choke up. He waited for his deputy's response, nearly pleading.

Mottlestar's chest couldn't have been tighter as she led Thunderclan into the gathering. A new deputy, a moon full of news delivered all throughout, and a myriad of other things left the tortoiseshell exhausted in her own right. A glance behind her shoulder led to her giving Darkspirit a solid nod. They'd spoken before they went as to what they would do, and what he was in charge of that evening. Admittedly, she felt a bit bad, tossing the tom into the deep end like this. But with the anxiety that was ruminating deep within... she wasn't going to be able to talk very loud. Sometimes, things happened, and it felt as if a slew of claws had scratched up her throat. Under the guise that she'd lost her voice, and in a way she had, she'd let Darkspirit take the helm this evening.

As Shadowclan seemed to be joining as well, she felt her chest constrict again. Taking a seat on the lower level of the Great Rock, a smile was passed to her deputy as she sat politely. You got this. Her gaze quietly spoke.


Thunderclan may enter the gathering!

Poppypaw followed Nightstar to the Gathering. This was one of the first times he hadn't gone to the Gathering without his dad, which made him immensely nervous. Hopefully, it would go well, but he hadn't really had much interactions with the other clans. Dad told him that it was okay to not talk with other cats, but Mom told him that he should go out of his way to talk to them. And he didn't know who to follow.

Waiting in the outskirts of ShadowClan's side, the young tom was unsure if he wanted to mingle any further. Though both of his parents were talkative and friendly, he was less so (he hoped he was the latter, but he definitely wasn't the former). Still, if someone wanted to talk to him, he could at least try to talk with a cat who chose to walk up to him.

~~

Kitespring padded into the Gathering with uncertainty. Perchstar's disappearance hit the entire clan hard, and now Poppyshine had the weight on her shoulders. Kitespring wanted to do something to help here, but she couldn't. Not yet. She didn't have any diplomatic power in RiverClan, so all she could do was be a supportive warrior for Poppyshine and help her when she needed it at home. Sitting down anxiously, the young she-cat hid herself in the RiverClan crowd, hoping that nothing bad would happen this Gathering.

Kitespring is open to talk to!
Poppypaw is planned to talk with Sagepaw (TC) later this Gathering, so he's not open to talk to (at least for now).
Rookfire is staying at camp.
Ambersun is traveling to Fourtrees with the rest of SkyClan.

Darkspirit's head was spinning... or at least it felt like it while his heart felt like it might explode out of his chest. He approached the Great Rock with one more nervous glance at Mottlestar. If she was sure... then he would do it. The duo-toned tom leaped up onto the Great Rock and stared down at the clearing. He gave a single glance at Poppyshine and almost smiled at the fact that there was another deputy here. But his panic threatening to burst forth and cause him to flee prevented him from doing anything more than give her a nod. Many leaders stood here over many generations... and now here he was in a place he never thought he'd be.

Darkspirit sat down on the Great Rock and waited for the others. He focused solely on controlling his breathing and the rapid beating of his heart. He wasn't exactly the most extroverted of cats... and now he would have all eyes on him. Oh joy.

Leopardsun was somewhat surprised at her leader's words, but nodded swiftly. "Of course, Nightstar," she accepted the task without a moment's hesitation- truthfully, some small part of her was relieved. After all, there was no need to worry about something the leader said offending the other Clans if he wasn't the one to speak.

Instead, that burden fell to herself; and while she did feel a slight hesitation, she had witnessed enough Gatherings and knew her own Clan well enough to succeed. She swiftly made her way to the traditional leaders' perch.

To her surprise, the cats she expected to be greeted by were not the ones she found; RiverClan's deputy and a ThunderClan cat she didn't know were also atop the Great Rock.

"Well, this is unexpected," she commented, offering a pleasant smile. "I hope the both of you are well, as are your Clans." To the ThunderClan cat, she added: "I don't know that we've met...?"

---

Nightdancer followed Mottlestar into the clearing, taking a seat not far from some of her Clanmates.

Leopardsun has been tasked with ShadowClan's announcements, and is speaking with Darkspirit and Poppyshine atop the Great Rock!
Nightdancer is open to talk to!

Marigoldmask found herself following in, her tail swaying idly. Curiosity struck as she noticed how odd things looked upon the rock, but dismissed it as she found a place to sit.


Murkyripple was in much of a similar situation, finding herself somewhere to relax that was away from most cats.


Murky and Marigold can be spoken to!

Lightningbreeze followed Birdstar into the Gathering, wondering if any of the other Clans' cats would approach her tonight. She sat sort-of close to some of her fellow SkyClan cats, keeping a curious eye on the other clans; trying to look friendly and approachable (not that this was any different from how she normally tried to look).

Lightningbreeze is open to talk to!

Wolfblossom padded into fourtrees at Birdstar's sides, taking in the blessed lack of twoleg objects or scents clinging to the hollow. Skyclan was not the first to arrive, nor were they the last. Nightstar was speaking with Leopardsun at the base of the great rock, and it seemed that he wasn't the only leader to not have taken their place yet. Mottlestar too was at the base of the rock, while a different Thunderclanner stood atop it with Poppyshine. Wolfblossom blinked once, glancing toward Birdstar. They had joked about switching places, yes, but it seemed the other clans had not only joked about it but gone through with it.

"Hello," She greeted them somewhat awkwardly, "I hope all is well?" Perhaps Leopardsun had convinced Nightstar to let her handle gatherings and relations with the other clans after all. Stars knew she was better at it.

---

Stoneheart padded into the gathering, sticking near her own clanmates. There were no twoleg objects or scents in sight, but fourtrees and the chaos she had grown up around still made the warrior deeply wary. Not to mention that the hollow was filling with more cats than she was comfortable with.

---

Moondancer's nose wrinkled as she followed Shadowclan into the hollow, not interested in the slightest of the other clans or what they did. She intended to stick with her own clanmates and watch, then get out once the announcements were done with. Seeing her mother suddenly leap atop the great rock made her blink, surprise briefly flickering across her expression before it was tightly controlled and wrangled back into the look of disinterest she usually wore at these things.

---

Graypaw kept close to her mentor as she padded into fourtrees along with the rest of Skyclan. She wasn't exactly thrilled to be here, especially when her name would not be announced alongside Skyclan's many new warriors in the past moon, but she had felt obligated to come and for all her mixed emotions, she was happy to be alongside her siblings and watch as Wolfblossom took her place at the foot of the great rock.

Wolfblossom has greeted Nightstar and Mottlestar.
Stoneheart is open to talk.
Moondancer is open to talk.
Graypaw is open to talk.

Shrikestar led WindClan into the Gathering, though his gait was slower than it normally was. Nursing a leg injury, he wasn't sure if he was even able to climb to the top of the Great Rock. At least for this moon, he laid his trust to Smallbean to conduct the Gathering for him. Normally he wouldn't ask this of his deputy, knowing how soft-spoken he was. However, this was important, and there wasn't much to report besides the amount of new warriors and apprentices they had gained. He hoped that Smallbean could handle it just this once.

WindClan may enter the Gathering!

Making his way into the clearing at his usual spot behind his clanmates, the journey here had been a bit different, seeing as though he had an apprentice now. Unlike past moons where he'd traveled in silence, his ears had practically been talked off by Burrpaw's excitement. Of course, he couldn't complain unless he wanted to have to listen to cats even more, so he'd tried his best to entertain the apprentice with as short of answers and replies as possible. Hopefully now that they'd arrive at the clearing, his apprentice would wander off in search of making new friends or something and leave him in peace.

Fuzzface entered with Burrpaw and is free to chat.


~~~~~~~~~~


Padding to the gathering with his clanmates, Curlyfluff purred in delight. He was so glad that Firefly was able to attend this moon's gathering with them. Looking around at the cats that mingled around the clearing he wondered where to sit, though he remembered last gathering and assumed that Rosepaw wouldn't want to find a spot just yet. "Should we go find some-cats to chat with?" he asked their little group with a smile.

Curlyfluff is with his usual crew and is open to chatting!