July Gathering 2013

A pleasant cool had settled over Fourtrees, and gentle chilly breezes rustled the four great oaks. The rattling of the branches and stirring of the verdant green leaves was like music in the air, and the cold was a nice contrast to the heat of the day. The full moon shone brightly in the sky, filling the clearing with pale light.

RiverClan was first to arrive, with Froststar leading her clanmates into the clearing. Not a lot had changed since the last Gathering, aside from the addition of many new warriors. The leader was pleased that the last Gathering had ended peacefully, with SkyClan's territory divided without much trouble. She could only hope that tonight went equally as smooth as before.

Sagestar padded all up into Fourtrees, his head held high and full of swag.
I mean, ahem. He lead ShadowClan in. Yes.

Gingerheart quickly followed Sagestar kind of happy to be back at a Gathering. She enjoyed getting with the other clans... pretty much just to see how much better Shadowclan is doing over the other clans~

On the other hand, it was Cinderfur's first time at a Gathering as a warrior. She held her head high as she strode in after Froststar. As she sat down, she could see that not a whole lot had changed since the last Gathering, but at the same time she was looking at it in a whole new light since she was a warrior now. She would have more respect... she hoped.

Silvershade padded in just behind Cinderfur, taking her spot at the base of the Greatrock. Her tail swished slowly behind her as she tipped her head back, gazing at the stars of Silverpelt. The sky was clear and beautiful; leaving her hoping that it would stay that way.

Cinderpaw bounded into the clearing not far behind Gingerheart, grinning wildly. She noticed RiverClan was getting there just as they were; just as she entered the clearing she witnessed the cat who was obviously deputy-- Silvershade, she recalled, sitting at the base of the Greatrock, as well as Froststar next to Sagestar on the peak.

Nightcloud padded after her Clanmates, her eyes sparkling when she noticed that they were the second to arrive. Ha, in your face WindClan! She paused to glance at the gathered cats that were still flooding in, before finding a nice spot where she had a great view of the leaders. She didn't want to miss anything.

Maplepaw followed behide RiverClan, her paw steps dragging a bit as she glared from cat to cat, her fur fluffed up. So these were the other Clans...or Clan, by the smell of it. She had never met a cat outside of RiverClan, so she was a bit startled at how many cats were already there. She sat down near her Clanmates, but in her own little spot. She just wanted to be alone as she got used to all of the cats.

Reedheart had followed amidst the rest of his Clan, treading carefully. It was a beautiful night, and even though Fourtrees was as familiar to him now as his own camp, it was still surreal seeing it empty. RiverClan were not known for their punctuality or swiftness, so to see it filled with moonlight instead of cats would be like seeing the river flowing the wrong way.

The brief moment of contentedness from the sight was shattered by the awful scent of ShadowClan hitting his nose. Over these last few moons he'd really learned to resent the dark Clan of the marshes. The warrior still did not forgive them for stealing away SkyClan's rightful territory, their arrogance and prickliness didn't help. He tried his best to stay composed, but couldn't keep himself from shooting nasty glances at the ShadowClan cats as they began to fill the clearing.

Duckpaw raced down the slope alongside Reedheart, sitting down next to the warrior as he looked around. The awful smell of ShadowClan made him wrinkle his nose in disgust. "What Clan is that?" he whispered, rising up on his hind paws slightly to look at the dark-pelted warriors.

Raccoonstar held her head high as she lead her clan into the gathering. Her eyes kept a ice cold stare for one she didn't like being here with the other leaders, and another she just plain didn't like them, but if she ever got into a fight with them, with her numbers they would surely lose. She was sure of that, but she wouldn't just go jumping into battles for the heck of it. Once in the area the Windclan leader quickly made her way over to the rock, and onto it. She stood on the rock remember her first time her as leader it was nerve racking for her, but now not so much...

Smokefang followed her leader in with as much swag as she could. The shadowclan warrior quickly made her way over to another side of the clearing hoping to talk to some warriors from another clan.

Brairpaw walked into the gathering following her mentor. She was amazed by the amount of cats in the area. She didn't want to leave her mentor's side for all of the cats that were there so she sat down along with Duckpaw, and Reedheart, not really having any questions for the warrior

Fawnpaw followed her clanmates, looking fairly laid-back. She was planning to stick with her clanmates this time, considering that one WindClan apprentice was obviously rude. Getting a seat next to Cinderpaw, the brown she-cat whispered, "What'll you think will happen at this Gathering? RiverClan isn't happy with us taking SkyClan's territory, yet they're not mad at WindClan!" At the corner of her eyes, the ShadowClan apprentice saw a RiverClan tom shoot nasty glares toward the ShadowClan warriors and apprentices. Her eyes narrowing, the she-cat couldn't help but let out a hiss.

Mintcloud sat beside Duckpaw, purring, "I was hoping we could've gone to this Gathering with both of us as warriors, but I guess maybe next time that'll be alright." ShadowClan... She was surely at the Gathering when they divided SkyClan territory, but it would've been best to leave SkyClan's territory alone, considering that it was still their's. OK, maybe all their clan died out and the leader and her kit disappeared, but you don't know where they are, right? It could be as simple as Silentstar going to rebuild the clan and coming back later! What can't those mange-pelts think for once? Looking up to the stars, she started to stare off into space, oblivious of what happens around her.

Snowpaw walked in nervously, shrinking herself beside her clanmates. As soon as her clanmates started to disperse, the she-cat looked around for Bristlepaw, hoping he was coming so she could stay by him without making a fool of herself in front of the other clans. One small mistake in her opinion, was horrible. Soon giving up, Snowpaw went towards the sidelines where she tried to make herself unnoticeable, not wanting to be spotted by others. Though, a Gathering for her was just a time for sharing news and nothing else, the apprentice was more of the type that liked to keep her own secrets and stay away from everyone else besides some of her few friends. She just tried to pretend she was never there, in hopes of no cat noticing her.

Lavenderpaw looked around, noticing high tensions between ShadowClan and RiverClan. She wondered why of all cats, would RiverClan be so hateful towards ShadowClan, considering they were usually allies. Then again, ShadowClan did take SkyClan territory, which she heard from RiverClan, they would've rather keep it there. However, of all things, why weren't they angry at WindClan? Did they know something that was mainly a secret between her and a few of the WindClan cats? Sighing, she went and looked for Twistedfoot to take a seat next to him. Her warrior ceremony will be there soon, so it shouldn't be long before she joined him.

Nightwing followed shortly after the swagyest leader of all time Sagestar. Her head held up in authority as she gazed around at the number of cats already attending so far. Her paw steps swerved away from Sagestar as he made the leap, me they lead her over to where the other deputy's were gathered. Nodding to the other cats she found her place, and gazed at the crowd. It seemed like the clan were growing since the last major battle. The clans were thriving.

Bristlepaw arrived at the back of the WindClan patrol. He had seen Snowpaw up before him, but the apprentice had lost sight of her when they entered. He glanced around at the other cats that occupied the clearing. There were SO many! How could he find his friend within this mess? His blue eyes searched though the crowd picking out white different white pelts. The young tom made his way  though the bumble of cats, following the flow of his clan. Soon enough, he picked out Snowpaw, who by the way, was trying not to draw attention to herself. "Hey, I almost lost you there." Bristlepaw glanced at e other cats around them. "Can you believe how tall some cats are?"

Falconfang padded behind Raccoonstar, the deputy following his leader. The gathering was packed as always, full of the mixed scents of the rival clans. He never particularly liked being near Shadowclan, and Riverclan made him feel slightly apprehensive for... reasons, but they were just going to be here, so he would just deal with it. Moving by the leader's rock, he sat down where all the deputies were and gave them a curt nod. He noticed Nightwing there, but she wasn't a... terrible Shadowclan cat, so there wasn't extreme antagonism there.

Ooc: I'm going to wonder now if this gathering takes place after Darky's leader ceremony or before, considering Lionstar's retirement happened before the gathering but Darky hadn't had his actual ceremony yet.

Ic: Crowpaw filed in near the back of Windclan's group as they arrived. He took his seat in the same spot he had last time, but slowed slightly as he passed by Fawnpaw, remembering the little dispute that happened last gathering. Rolling his eyes, he sat down, though for a moment, he wished he could have been nicer to her. He didn't exactly have many friends, if any at all, but that was probably his own fault. Too bad he refused to admit it, even to himself.

Shadeclaw padded proudly into Fourtrees with Shadowclan, taking a seat in a good spot. He wondered if he should sit by Nightcloud again, but figured he'd followed her around enough, as embarrassing as that was to admit. Can't blame a tom for trying to start up a simple conversation with a she-cat, right?

Shadepaw followed in closely behind Crowpaw, super excited to be at her first Gathering. It was a sight to behold; most Clans were already there and the whole of the event was getting to her already. He saw three of the four Clan leaders on the Greatrock; from descriptions she identified the two that weren't Raccoonstar as Froststar and Sagestar, the two deputies that weren't Falconfang as ..Silvershade and ..Nightwing, she recalled. Joining the other apprentices, she sat down, wrapping her bushy black tail around her paws, a smile on the edge of her lips. Of all things, she hoped that there wouldn't be any conflict; things were still settling down after the barely avoided all-out war over the SkyClan territory.

Reedheart didn't notice the hiss in his direction as he leaned in close to Duckpaw. "ShadowClan, led by Sagestar." he mewed softly as he pointed his tail upwards at the Great Rock and the gray tabby with the ginger patches. Sagestar was a smaller cat, out of place among the other two leaders. His darker pelt made him stand out even more. But even if you couldn't spot Sagestar by his size or pelt, you could find him from the pomposity that seemed to radiate from his very fur. "They live in a marsh, beyond the Thunderpath. My mother used to tell me that the cold north wind chilled their hearts." Reedheart smirked at this and continued. "Perhaps not, but the cold north winds haven't helped their attitudes much."

It didn't seem too far from the truth. He'd gotten to know many of these cats when they had sheltered in RiverClan's camp, helped them find nests within the crowded warriors den, helped Morningfur with their wounds, hunted for them. And did these allies of RiverClan ever respond with gratitude? No, they snapped at him and complained about the freshkill, or the nests, or the water that was keeping both Clans defended. Just the memory was enough to make his hackles rise slightly. Reedheart didn't regret helping them, no, but the next time the mighty prideful ShadowClan got into trouble, he wanted no part in it.

Of course, WindClan had not won many favors from him either. Stormeye had been an honorable and respected leader all across the territories, yet he'd retired and died. Now it was in the paws of his mate, who he suspected would just as quickly take over Fourtrees itself if it meant more barren and windswept territory for herself. But WindClan was a distant rival who hated water. They had not repeatedly provoked him like ShadowClan cats had with their sharp tongues and hostile nature, and Reedheart had never been forced to be WindClan's allies, thank StarClan.