February Gathering 2014

OOC: Sorry it's a bit overdue! I purposefully delayed, but I can see why that was a mistake now.

IC: Rain drummed the clearing, turning the soft blanket of Leafbare's last snow into dirty slush and sleet. The skeletal branches of the Great Oaks swayed and rattled with the howling wind, making the rain lash against the Great Rock which stood glowing silver in the moonlight. Even amongst the dark and roiling clouds, the full moon shone brazenly, commanding each Clan to gather at Fourtrees in a night of peace.

Amongst the storm, Reedstar and RiverClan arrived.

He looked down on the clearing from the lip of the slope, paying no mind to the wind that buffeted his fur or the icy flail that whipped at him. It was too similar to the storm that had displaced him as rightful ruler of RiverClan to begin with, and coincided with his first Gathering back. A bad omen, some might say. No more. Never again. he told himself as he leaped down into the clearing, half running and half slipping down the muddy slope. RiverClan had already felt the sting of dissent once. He would do all in his power to make sure no treachery would ever be brewed up again. Storms seem to follow me wherever I go. Reedstar reflected as he came to a halt beneath the Great Rock. The warrior wasn't sure if that was to mean StarClan was on his side or against him. Let them. I don't need the dead's approval.

The new medicine cat apprentice, Sorrelpaw, had arrived. He stayed close to Lichencloud as a guide on where to go, because this was his first ever gathering. He had a cheerful look, but his pelt was wet from the harsh rain, and the howling wind didn't help. But, he was going to behave his best.

Meanwhile, Silvercloud was towards the back. Her silver fur seemed unchanged by the weather, yet you could see her shivering from the combination. The she-cats' blue eyes stayed on the ground, looking at her paws. But quietly, she had managed to get where she needed to be, the place experienced warriors rested and talked. She only sat here because she could talk quietly with other clans, and knew the limits of chat.

As Sunpaw padded in line with his Clan, close to his mentor, the young tom shivered. The cold nipped at his ears and paws, the snow-slush stuck to his fur and the rain chilled him to the bone. Before they left camp he had been bouncing around, loving the fact of a Gathering, then they let. Now he wished he would've gone when there wasn't a storm, but hey, if your going to show your toughness, you have to be tough. A small sound of a chuckle welled up when he realized RiverClan was the only Clan here at the time, but he knew the other Clans would arrive soon.

Spottedfeather reached the top of the slope, mud covering their way down. She looked to see Riverclan was already there, along with Reedstar. She slightly gaped, before shaking her head and going down the slope, being careful of not slipping in the mud. Dewstar was sick, and she had to fill her place at the gathering once again. The last gathering not going too well. As she reached the bottom, she leaped onto the Great Rock, looking to see the form of yes, Reedstar. She spoke breifly, not quite knowing if he was in a bad mood or not. "Good to see you back Reedstar" she spoke, as she sat, knowing he really didn't like Dewstar, and wondering if he would use the grudge to her.

Nightpaw went down the slope after his mother, Spottedfeather. He couldn't use his tail to help balance him, but he used his extra leg strength to help him down the muddy slope. He walked over to the group of medicine cats, and dipped his head in greeting.

Stormclaw ran down the slope after their rightful leader, Reedstar. He stared at his back as he went up to the Great Rock, before switching his gaze to an empty spot. He sat there, looking up to see Thunderclan enter.

Swiftnose followed after his apprentice, watching carefully in the event that he fell, and followed him to the medicine cats' usual sitting place.

Sunface had a pleasant smile on her face despite the disgusting mix of mud and snow. She padded down the slope carefully, leading a blind apprentice to the drier, les slippery parts of the slope. She made sure that Wrenpaw didn't get too muddy, her hidden motherly nature coming out.

With rain pelting down and plastering his fur to his body, Falconstar led WindClan to Fourtrees, refusing to be deterred by the poor weather. The newly-christened leader was nervous of coming to his first Gathering as a leader, but he pushed those feelings aside to put on a brave face: the other leaders didn't need to see him in a moment of weakness. The lithe, moor-running cats filed into Fourtrees, though it wasn't quite the perfect haven from the storm. Falconstar let his eyes wander to the Great Rock, where Reedstar and Spottedfeather were standing at the base rather than up on top: RiverClan and ThunderClan had gotten there first. He wondered why Spottedfeather was here rather than Dewstar, but he figured the ThunderClan leader must've taken ill. Still, after some confusing events in RiverClan, hopefully Spottedfeather would explain herself once the Gathering began. Padding forward, he nodded to the ThunderClan deputy before standing next to the RiverClan leader for a moment and mewing to him, "I see you've found your way back to RiverClan. I'm glad that you got back safely." With a courteous nod, he took a deep breath and carefully ran forward, clambering up the rocks while aware of the slippery pawholds caused by the rain. Sitting down carefully, he took a moment to collect himself before gazing out amongst the mingled clans, sheltering as best they could from the rain. It was a totally different feeling being up here rather than down there, and he let himself take in the moment, the new sensations.

Eaglethorn followed close behind his father, though he ventured off on his own while the leader headed for the Great Rock. Being around all of these other cats made him feel uncomfortable, even though there was a truce this night. They still were out for themselves, and who knew what they might do under the apparent watchful eye of StarClan.

Specklefur marched forwards, a new mark evident on her neck, yet it was healed. "Tigertooth, hurry up, we do not want these other clan scum to think we are weak, now don't we?" She growled, looking around she noticed the ridiculous moor runners had arrived, bringing their disgusting smell with them, how did they even live without tree's!? Specklefur rounded the clearing before coming to a secluded spot, awaiting her pain in the tail mate.

Mistfur padded behind Falconstar, looking over the large array of cats from different clans, though, Shadowclan still wasn't there, a sad thing for her though.

Longtail walked straight right behind Windclan's deputy, looking back a few times, stopping for a bit periodically, he wasn't sure if Ivyfur was even here, he hadn't seen her on the trek here, made him a little worried.

Whitepaw walked down the clearing, feeling an urge to charge down there, yet, just calmly walking down, so, the apprentice walked down at a somewhat quick pace, looking over the large amount of cats.

Rookheart made her way down the slope after Spottedfeather. The black she-cat's silvery eyes flicked around and she quickly sat.

Tawnypaw followed after her black pelted mentor with Bramblepaw in tow. The two apprentices sat beside each other and looked around. The calico apprentice glanced at Rookheart before Bramblepaw spoke. "Have you ever been to one of these before?" he asked quietly. The dark tom may have been younger than Tawnypaw but was slightly taller. "No I haven't." she said softly. Bramblepaw nodded once and flicked his black and brown tail.

The newly named Deernose trotted behind his childhood friend, Mistfur, into the clearing. You couldn't really tell if he had mud on him or not, for it was the same color as his fur. He lifted his head over the other cats' heads, trying to find what she was looking for. Which, of course, was nothing. "Who are you looking for?", he muttered, bending down.

Rainspot didn't actually have a friend to sit with, so she just sat amid the other warriors, hoping to hear something important.

Ashpaw followed the rest of Riverclan slowly, hoping to be met by one of his friends. While he waited, he took a seat where the other apprentices usually sat. However; the white tom kept an eye on the medicine cats, hoping to see a certain someone.

Following her newly-named leader was Snoweye. While she did look awfully timid at coming to the Gathering as deputy and had successfully hid her nervousness, personally, a half-blind cat being picked as deputy for WindClan would look mouse-brained to the other clans. Though, she had to show her best impression, show that WindClan was strong. Posing a false, confident look that demanded respect and displayed wisdom, strength, and cunning, the snow white she-cat was ready to support her clan in the best way possible. She had to. WindClan was like the kit she had to nurture with Falconstar, guiding them in the right ways with the ancient code of their starry ancestors in Silverpelt. There was always guidance to be had from her faithful senior warriors as well, and this task... was not her own quite yet. She couldn't stay in the shadows anymore, no more hiding in the dark. It was time for her to gain confidence to aide her leader and clan to the fullest. It was time to represent WindClan's strength.

Lavenderheart, finally relieved from the nursery, attended the Gathering this time around with her recently named apprenticed kits. However, unlike before, she displayed exhaustion and depression. Her mate had gone alone with a few of her kits as well... Frostkit, Bluekit, Berrypaw, and Cloudkit. All gone. Hopefully, good news was to come this peaceful union, something that would cheer up the SkyClan descendant from her long mourning. While she was the only still named queen of the clan, looking after new kits in the nursery, it left her with no time to hunt or have any personal space. She didn't have time to do what she wanted with so many new kits appearing and coming without mothers.

Ravenpaw, having grown more independent with her mentor continuously disappearing and coming back for short amounts of time, had been avoiding her RiverClan... friend for awhile. As she came in with the rest of the clan, the black she-cat noticed his gaze searching for her, and, she purposefully avoided it. There was already doubt in her clan due to her attitude and behavior, how lonely and rebellious she was, how cold and harsh she was, she had to show more loyalty. Even if she continued to meet him. They could never do anything serious. Walking past him, letting out a small whisper, "No..." She didn't want to hurt his feelings, but then mouthed that she still wanted to be his friend, but, not too serious. Little did she know how far they were going to go.

Bubblepaw followed her Clan into FourTrees and was instantly amazed at how many other cats there were. She ran up to the first cat from another clan that she saw and said, "Hi there! I'm Bubblepaw, from RiverClan! What's your name?"

Owlpelt, who was with WindClan, noticed the small RiverClan apprentince shouting at him. So many questions... he thought, before nodding and walking away to join his clan, ignoring Bubblepaw entirely.

Rookheart noticed the bubbly apprentice talking to the Windclan warrior. She went over. "Hello. I'm Rookheart." she said to both.

Owlpelt nodded at the new cat, before walking off.

"Hi! I'm Bubblepaw, of RiverClan! You aren't from RiverClan either. What Clan are you from? Oh! Yes! Also what's your name?" Bubblepaw asked, almost bursting with the joy of another cat talking to her.

"I'm from Thunderclan. I'm Rookheart." she said, repeating her name.

Silvershade padded in alongside her fellow warriors, a chill in her bones. The air was cold and her pelt was thinning out for newleaf far too early in her mind. She padded over to the edge of the clearing where she'd grown accustomed to sitting and couldn't help but smile. Her leader was back.

Stormpaw followed in behind his new leader. Grief hung on his shoulders over Raccoonstar's death, but Falconstar was leader now, and she was happy in StarClan. He needed to put this behind him. Taking a seat over by another group of apprentices, he tried to look at least neutral instead of sad.