July Gathering 2014 [PLOT]

Filing in with the rest of his Clan, Sunfur held a serious look to his face which held as he saw which Clan had returned. ShadowClan. The name made a bad taste in his mouth, but he just turned away from the disgusting creatures and padded to the area for the deputies. His golden fur glinted under the bright gaze of the moon, showing his fresh scars. (I'm gonna say dat even though I wasn't here for the battle...) Two Clans were here that utterly disgusted him, but he remained silent while all the other cats gathered.

With a uncertainty, Icestorm followed his Clan into the big clearing which was full of cats. Just wonderful. The shy tom quickly escaped to a quiet spot to listen to the leaders speak once it was time. (His is short...I know...)

He didn't pay any mind to Falconstar as he clambered up beside him, nor Dewstar. It was the new ShadowClan leader he had eyes for. Thrushstar stood tall, proud, haughty, and as Reedstar stared, the more convinced he was that he was looking at a ghost ― the ghost of Cedarfur with all of Sagestar's old prideful arrogance. His heart clenched up looking at the mirror reflection of the apprenticehood friend he'd lost, but he buried those feelings deep inside and hid his emotions behind a grave, solemn mask. Beyond the pelt, Reedstar wasn't sure he could even see any of his old friend. Cedarfur had been humbler than that. This was just Sagestar wearing his fur, and it was easy to see how he'd become leader. ShadowClan sorely needed strength and pride after their humiliation at the paws of the other Clans.

Dewstar's voice interrupted his thoughts, and the RiverClan leader showed his teeth, biting back a growl and a cutting retort. He could feel his hackles rising. How dare she? What kind of hypocrisy and blind hatred could drive someone to condemn him for standing up for one lost Clan while welcoming back another with warm words? What kind of...

"Make way!"

SkyClan had arrived, with Silverstorm at the head. He pushed roughly through the crowd and made a bounding leap onto the Great Rock, scrambling up and next to Reedstar with a huff. "Greetings," he breathed to the other leaders, although he avoided the gazes of Falconstar and Dewstar.

"Where is Silentstar?" Reedstar asked. Where is Elea?

"Ill," he answered curtly before turning to look to Thrushstar. "You must be the ShadowClan leader."

He huffed. "I think wary should be one of the more appropriate terms. Did you see how many cats were in the battle?" It had been so chaotic. The Skyclan cats had actually began running out of targets, his own bruised back as witness.

An extremely scarred tom followed his clan. He had a scowl ever present on his face, and it had taken a few moments for his Clanmates to recognize who he was after the bloodbath. Despite Foxfang's size, he had been one of the first warriors to go down. Literally, he had been sent into the forest floor by at least four cats at the same time. Ginger fur was half raised, ears tilted to the side. A blazing fire burned in his grey eyes as he glanced at the Riverclan faces. If Skyclan were here, they'd all be dead from his furious glare. Oh speak of the devil, here they were.

As the first to arrive, even young Maplepaw was pretty scarred up already. Being knocked out of a tree by your own warrior Clanmate was unsurprisingly painful. Gazing about, honey eyes locked on a group of apprentices, and headed towards them. A friendly smile adorned his face as he introduced himself. "Hello. I'm Maplepaw, from Skyclan."

Jayflight followed after Silverstorm, strutting with chin held high and tail sweeping behind her through the channel the deputy had made. She took a seat next to her sister, Hollyshade, close to the Great Rock where the four Clan leaders, and Silverstorm, sat proudly.

Scorchclaw stared wide eyed at the fifth Clan entering the clearing. He gasped and his fur stood on end, making him look like a burnt hedgehog.

Breezefeather growled as SkyClan strode into the clearing.

"Yeah, speak of the devil." Minnowflash murmured as SkyClan made their way into the hollow.

Morningbreeze followed Skyclan into fourtrees. She had never been to the place before, and she liked it. She had a scar from the battle with Thunderclan that went from her the tip of her shoulder blade to the side of her stomach. There were many others from that battle on her face and back. Morningbreeze thought that it made her look tough. She found a nice spot in the clearing and waited for the gathering to begin.

Leafpaw trotted into the clearing avoiding much eye contact as possible though she tried to act tough and brave she knew these other clans wont try anything.

ooc: Not 100% sure if I should be using Fishpelt already. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Among a throng of RiverClan cats sat one of their newer warriors, Fishpelt. Her murky green eyes flicked from one cat to the next, carefully scrutinizing each. Although the she-cat had missed out on the last battle, she had been assigned to guard the camp that day, and was fully aware of the hostility currently festering between the Clans.

When the scent of ThunderClan hit her nose, she felt the fur on her neck prickle with tension. It's best not to look at them, she thought bitterly, tail-tip flickering.

Raising her attention to the Great Rock, Fishpelt gazed curiously at who she assumed was the new ShadowClan leader, Thrushstar. He didn't look very nervous, as Fishpelt would have expected, but instead harbored an expression of pride. Interesting.

Spottedfeather raced down the clearing right behind Dewstar, fresh pain searing through her body as she shoved past cats after her leader. She ignored the pain though, she would deal with it, show every cat here that she was strong. No longer was she friendly to the other clans, except Windclan and Shadowclan. Glaring at the Skyclan and Riverclan leaders, she growled slightly to herself.

OOC: short post is short because iz busy

Breezetail and Lilyclaw padded into the clearing with the rest of the cats, looking as tall and proud as ShadowClan themselves, if not more-so. The last time the two of them had come to the gathering, it was to announce their return and reclaiming their land. They'd been threatened then, given the promise to be driven out of 'WindClan's territory' if not gone, but they'd shown the rest of the forest what it meant to come across SkyClan. They were here, and they were here to stay.

A soft purr of satisfaction arose from Breezetail as he saw Silverstorm take his place up on the Great Rock. As arrogant and stubborn the deputy he could be, he led well - the warrior had to admit. He kept his eyes and ears focused, as he promised he'd give his mate and kits all the details of the night when he returned home.

Lilyclaw herself took a seat amongst the rest of SkyClan, glancing around with narrowed eyes as if daring any other cat to object to them being there. She'd quite enjoyed proving herself the first time and she was more than willing to do it again.

The remaining leaders appeared in turn. Falconstar gave a friendly nod to Dewstar as she clambered up, but the surprise of the night was ShadowClan making their triumphant return. As the leader reached the Great Rock, the WindClan leader that this certainly wasn't Nightstar, but her deputy Thrushstripe. Maybe she was sick, although it was possible that the deputy had assumed the mantle of leadership while the clan was in exile. He didn't know much about this cat, but he had tried to let his disdain of ShadowClan subside. That battle was done and gone; there was no point in creating a new one here, so he gave the deputy - or perhaps new leader - a curt nod and faced forward once more. SkyClan was making their way to the Gathering, but he didn't recognize them as an actual clan, so he deliberately ignored them as well. When Silverstorm joined the legitimate leaders - it would seem that Silentstar was ill - Falconstar ended the talking by stepping forward and yowling to the groups of cats, signaling the beginning of the Gathering.

"I'll begin," he mewed smoothly, not bothering to get the opinion of the rest of the group. "WindClan has been doing well. The prey runs well and our cats continue to grow stronger every day. We also continue to patrol our borders." With this, the WindClan leader allowed one claw to come out, glancing over at Silverstorm as he lightly ran his claw over the rock. "It seems that the returning clan does not deem our rules or our borders worthy of following. My warriors caught two SkyClan cats deep in our territory. I am pleased that your clan no longer houses exiled murderers, Silverstorm, but I must warn you that any more trespassing may have more... dire consequences. Hopefully Silentstar can keep her cats in check next time." With that, he stepped back to let the next leader speak, an impassive look on his face. He would 'play nice' at Gatherings, but he would never trust these flea-bitten rogues.

Heatherpaw looked around and saw Badgerpaw. She slunk into the shadows and sat by him.

Shallowpaw shifted and looked at the four leaders.

Scratchpaw strode into the clearing, looking at the Clans.

Coalheart smiled as she thought of Minnowflash. She padded to RiverClan's side.

Shadowpaw listened carefully when one of the leaders spoke. She looked behind of her every now and then so that she's sure that she's safe.

Eaglepaw sat proudly in the clearing. His green eyes looked at all of the leaders.

Heronpaw inclined his head ever so slightly to Lilypaw, although he didn't quite focus on his clanmate. "Yeah. I've never been to one before, either. The last time I saw so many cats..." It hadn't ended well. In fact, he was lucky he had only added a few slowly healing cuts to his pelt. Sure, it should have been exciting, but Heronpaw couldn't help but feel anxious. His claws kneading the ground beneath his paws as other cats, and their strange mingled scents appeared.

Meanwhile, Sunpaw was full of the proper feeling of excitement, making her feel like her fiery pelt actually was burning; a pleasant sensation. Sure, she wanted nothing to really do with other clan cats - because knowing that Shadowclan was the best, no other cat could possibly interest her. But it was an honor to finally join her clanmates. It felt proper and right;time to show these other show-offs that they were stronger than ever.

And then there was Asterpaw; straggling behind her fellow Windclanners as she still wasn't feeling as steady on her paws as she would have liked. She wasn't nervous, although perhaps she should have been. In fact it had been a wrench to leave her nest - which had felt incredibly comfortable lately. But she wasn't going to miss out on her first gathering; not even for lack of sleep. Yawning slightly, she blinked owlishly and settled down in a comfortable mossy spot; her usual joy shown at meeting her clanmates held in reserve for being surrounded by strangers - none of whom seemed particularly friendly when she'd last seen them.

ooc: Seeing as their clans hadn't shown up by the time I first posted with Heronpaw...so I hope it's okay I added them...

She listened with interest to the WindClan report of trespassers. So SkyClan thought they could walk where they pleased, did they? It sounded like they had paid for such rash behavior, perhaps with a death. A fitting end for one who would leave their Clan for strangers. She was impressed with how cool and collected Falconstar was, despite all that had happened. In any case, she refused to let Reedstar speak before her because she knew he would just sputter lies about how justified they were in killing.

"I'm afraid you're wrong, Falconstar." Dewstar strode forward, her voice stone cold. "SkyClan houses murderers still. An elder was killed in a battle that shouldn't have taken place. An elder! She served her Clan for many moons and in no way deserved the fate she was given. And it was two SkyClan cats who dishonored her so! What was she doing when they attacked her?" She went silent for a moment, staring down with her eyes flashing at the crowd of cats like she was interrogating them. "She was protecting the kits. She was comforting them and calming them. And then she was slaughtered, in front of their eyes!" Another pause, but this time shorter. "Rainspot will be missed. I know that StarClan will honor her for her service to ThunderClan. May they also bring prosperity to WindClan. Thank you, Falconstar, for your support. There is no better time to have an ally than now." A grateful dip of her head towards the WindClan leader accompanied her words. Dewstar continued on, in a more matter-of-factly voice. "ThunderClan is healing. Perhaps we were weakened, but the attack by RiverClan and SkyClan have only made us stronger. Silverstorm, I will admit that I expected far better of you. You can tell your mother that if she thought had anything to prove, or perhaps speak about, she could have settled it in a less barbaric way. Then again, I assume she was only taking orders from Elea." Her eyes narrowed. Ah, yes, she had almost forgotten. "Speaking of whom, I'd like to know why you house her. I don't suppose you would know of the Deomilites?"

She said that word with great emphasis. Everyone in the clearing, besides the SkyClan cats, should have known who they were. "Never mind, you don't have to answer. I'll tell you anyway." Her tone was almost patronizing, her face a false mask of kindness. And suddenly, she was growling, almost yowling in anger, and her expression was harsh and angry. "The Deomilites attacked our forest, murdered our Clanmates, chased cats from their homes and pledged to destroy every last one of us! We sent them away, with the help of StarClan and one Deomilite who saw that what they were doing was wrong and gave his life to right those wrongs. We thought we would never see them again. But here we have one, hiding in plain sight: Elea! Elea is a Deomilite! Our war is not with SkyClan, nor RiverClan. Our war is against the Deomilite who SkyClan houses, protects, reveres, even. Why do you protect her, Silverstorm? Why do you follow her, Reedstar? You know well of the Deomilites. She's treating both Clans like tools. She can't be trusted. She led the attack on ThunderClan and didn't even move until the end." Dewstar cut off right then. She didn't want to admit that it was herself that Elea had killed, though the claw marks on her throat were plain. The clearing was eerily quiet now that Dewstar had gone silent, looking to Reedstar and Silverstorm for answers to her questions.

Thrushstar stood in his place, silent and listening to everything the other leaders had to say. It had been some time since he had seen them since he had decided to keep Shadowclan from the gatherings, and it had seemed like he had missed quite a bit in the passing time. Already it seemed that the strong bonds all three clans held had been nearly shattered, at least when it came between Thunderclan and Riverclan. He hadn't even really known that Riverclan was allied with Skyclan, although he should have guessed it from the way Reedstar had spoken in previous gatherings about how if Skyclan should return, he would help them however he could. It was still interesting to hear about the battle between the clans. Trying to gather details, it sounded like Riverclan and Skyclan versus Thunderclan and Windclan, while Shadowclan was left out of it. While Thrushstar was glad, he kind of wished he could have been here for the previous gatherings. There was definitely a lot of critical information, but no matter. He was getting all that he needed, from hearing how Thunderclan thought that the Skyclan cats killing their elder being barbaric, but taking three innocent lives from Shadowclan was perfectly okay to Dewstar telling everyone that Elea was a Deomilite. That's what hit him hard. He had heard the stories about the Deomilite battle from his mother and from most of the warriors in the clan when he was younger. Now, it only seemed like a story told in Shadowclan to show how brave the clan's warriors used to be. The Shadowclan leader knew the stories were true, and this news shook him a little. That's what had been so strange about the cat when she just strutted into his territory. Even if he couldn't exactly trust Dewstar, he took this deep into consideration.

Yet, the leader didn't speak quite yet. He was going to wait until the end. It wasn't like he had too much to say anyway... nothing like the other clans, at least. He also wanted to hear this out. There was obviously a lot of tension between Dewstar and Reedstar and he did not want to get in the way, but at the same time, he couldn't help but shoot a small glare at Reedstar that lasted only a split second before his face turned back into stone. Reedstar seemed to be causing too much trouble in the forest anymore, but nonetheless, Thrushstar held his tongue, kept his anger down, and listened quietly.