January Gathering 2016

Dovepaw padded into the Gathering, her eyes full of wonder.

Ashcloud padded slowly with the rest of Riverclan, joints creaking loudly to his ears. They probably weren't loud enough for others to hear, but the white tom could feel them resisting his wishes to move forward. "How many Gatherings do I have left?" Was all he wondered as he sat in the middle of the throng of cats. With nearly-shut green eyes, the old tom gazed around, barely setting his eyes on the pair of Windclan toms Icestorm and Cedarfur before looking away; the knowledge he and the Windclan warriors now shared was uncomfortable to think about.

Fogpaw wasn't far behind her warrior sister Heronwing. Her ears and nose did their best at figuring out what was happening, but the grey apprentice still bumped face-first into a cat. Unable to determine which clan they were from, she greeted them, although warily. "Who are you." Once they spoke, she'd know where to put her eyes.

Close behind Spottedstar, Darkflight raced down the slope, now used to her newly raised leg. The fluffy, brown deputy slowed her pace to a trot until she was sitting just below the Great Rock. She greeted the other four with a nod, barely containing a grin. This was be her first Gathering as a deputy.

Pinepaw ambled down the slope, amber eyes flitting around the clearing. Every clan was here. The tomcat bumped shoulders with his mentor Mapledrop before wandering towards a group of apprentices. "Hello."

OOC: I would finally like to have Elkpaw talk to Cobraeyes. Should I make a different topic for that conversation so I don't interrupt the gathering?

When Moonpaw and his mother suggested that he and Deadpaw meet other apprentices, Hawkpaw practically had no choice. So he finally nodded his head in agreement and gestured to Moonpaw to show the way.

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Elkpaw padded into the clearing and sat next to his mother, It was his first gathering. He listened to the different voices and sounds of the clearing. But he was looking for one in particular. He was looking for Cobraeyes. He looked up at his mother a moment before speaking. "Hey, mom. Can I go meet some other apprentices?" he asked.

Mapledrop looked a little surprised that he had to ask. "Of course dear. You don't have to ask, go have fun, but come back when the leaders start to talk ok?" The dark red she cat smiled and rubbed her aw on her sons head a little.

Cloverpool smiled when she saw her kits leaving. Then she heard Mapledrop address her son and smiled, so she had more grandchildren than just Minnowtail's litter.

Moonpaw nodded vigorously and got up and padded over to Saltpaw and Breezepaw. "Hi I'm Moonpaw of Thunderclan, and this is by brother Hawkpaw, and my friend Deadpaw. Whats your name?: The pure white she cat with the multi-colored eyes meowed to her fellow apprentices.

Blizzardwind smiled at his adopted daughter, Dovepaw. "Why don't you go make some friends Dovepaw?"

Soulpaw licked Cinderpaw with his tail playfully and then did the same to Wildpaw.

Hawkpaw blinked his eyes slowly as he greeted them. "Hi"

Deadpaw did the same, but with a bit more optimism. "Hey there!"

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Elkpaw purred at the fact that he might get to see Cobraeyes again. He padded away from his mother and groomed the fur on his head flat again. He wove through the crowd looking for Cobraeyes, but to no avail. He decided that he would go to the rim of the clearing, where the clan walks down into the clearing. Once he was there he could see every cat in the clearing from there. I wonder if this is what it feels like to be on the great rock he thought. He looked around. He could see the medicine cats, the leaders, some apprentices on the edge of the clearing opposite of him, but no Cobraeyes. "Where are you?" he whispered quietly under his breath. He wasn't going to give up that easily. I'll find you eventually he thought.

Mintpaw followed the other RiverClan cats, almost dazzled by all the new sights and sounds. He'd never thought he'd see so many cats in just one place, and Fourtrees looked so much bigger than the clearing he'd seen in his dreams. ThunderClan. WindClan. ShadowClan. He knew SkyClan as well as he knew his own Clanmates, but all the others...

He was staring, starstruck, up at the Great Rock. That pretty white tortoiseshell couldn't be anyone other than Spottedstar, and the old brown tom with the white streaks... "That's Falconstar, isn't it?" he asked aloud, half to himself, not even bothering to look at the cats next to him. All the different, strange scents mixed and mingled in the air.

"I've heard that he's lived since before the Clans existed," he continued with a slight purr. "The queens always said that he ate bad kits that stay up too late and won't stop playing moss ball in the nursery." He didn't look quite so monstrous from this distance, but still, Mintpaw wouldn't want to tussle with him. "Or maybe they just said that to me." Even if he was old, he was still a renowned warrior, half a legend in all their kit games. Some other naughty kit could try their luck.

Mistfeather followed close to Fishstar, taking her usual spot at the base of the Great Rock. There were a couple unfamiliar faces among the deputies, two young looking cats. They were obviously ThunderClan and SkyClan's new deputies. It was good to know that such young cats would fill their leader's pawsteps and live long lives, but a twinge of pain shot through her heart as she looked at the ThunderClan deputy. Duskfall had disappeared some time ago, with no trace of him left. It was too reminiscent of Palegaze, and only made her more anxious to see him again, even if that didn't happen until her death.

Rainpaw trudged in along, grabbing a spot close the Great Rock. His tail twitch anxiously, staring at Spottedstar with malice. His green eyes grew to slits as he thought about ThunderClan, and a smile grew on his face as his thoughts turned to revenge. He was still an apprentice, but soon he would be a warrior, ready to take on any cat in his way.

Acornheather joined the other medicine cats in silence, fluffing her fur out slightly. There were already so many cats before, but with each of them having an apprentice of their own, it made the situation even more uncomfortable for the socially awkward she-cat. She smiled politely and curled her tail around her paws to hide it's lashing.

It had been some time since Magpiewing had been to a gathering without stress. The last gathering had been too aggressive and the black warrior wondered why StarClan didn't intervene. There were declarations of war after all. Nonetheless, it seemed the leaders had calmed down after the month. His amber eyes scanned the gathering, looking for some cat to sit with. He saw Dawnflower, his adopted daughter, but after seeing the mix of medicine cats already caught in conversation, he opted to stay away. He heard a small voice not far from where he stood, looking over to see an apprentice apparently talking to himself. He chuckled slightly and padded up to the small tom. "Yes, that's Falconstar. The legends are true, I once saw him take down a monster with his own front paws," he purred in amusement to Mintpaw, sitting down beside him and cleaning his scarred foot.

Poppypaw followed close to her mentor, her fluffy fur almost pressed against him. This was her first gathering, and she was nervous. Who knew what would happen? She froze slightly as Crowflight left her side to take his place with the other deputies. She couldn't join them, as much as she wanted to. The young tortoiseshell stood awkwardly, shifting her paws. Her eyes darted around the clearing. There were a lot of cats, and she wasn't sure she was brave enough to approach any of them. She couldn't seem to find any of her friends in the moment, and hoped one would approach her soon.

Ashwing sat by her mate, apprehensive. Hopefully the leaders wouldn't squabble again. Honestly, they sounded a lot like little kits!

Shimmerheart sat in the midst of ShadowClan, thinking of her mate and kits. Hopefully war wouldn't come before they were apprenticed.

Halfpaw, embarrassed, tried to fade into RiverClan. She hated being the oldest apprentice. Hopefully no one would notice her.

Nettletail fairly bounced into the Gathering. She was a warrior! She could kick ThunderClan and WindClan tail! Hopefully Breezestar would announce her warrior name.

Ryepaw, moderately excited for his first Gathering, looked around for his friend Saltpaw of WindClan. Seeing her, with a few other assorted apprentices, went up to her. Did she remember their meeting and look forward to another as he did? Hopefully she did.

OOC: In case you noticed a theme, every character has a wish for this Gathering. Some will get it. Some won't.

Cinderpaw purred as Soulpaw licked her cheek.

Ghostpaw followed after her younger siblings Silverpaw and Blackpaw and sat down next to them.

Fallencloud followed after Breezestar and sat down near his mother, Sandfeather. Rosepaw's death still stung like a fresh wound, but it also cut him deep, all the way down to the core, he still had Cottonpaw and Oakpaw and Lilypaw but with out his light ginger, green eyed twin he felt incomplete and lifeless, so he usually trail his parents or hung out with his older brother Oakpaw, and once in a while Lilypaw, but lately the Tom had gotten a mate and needed to care for her know so he started to look around for Whitestorm.

Icestorm gave a purr when Ashwing sat next to him, always loving her company. "Lets hope the leaders talk about something of more importance tonight." The tom said with a light chuckle.

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Cedarfur waited for a reply from the apprentices (saltpaw and breezepaw), understanding that gatherings could be overwhelming places. The tall tom sat down waiting for the gathering to start. He had no idea what to expect tonight, now that most of the tension was starting to die down a bit.

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Smokepelt was going to reply to the she cat when she got distracted talking to the other medicine cats. Not saying a word, he quietly backed out of the medicine cat group and looked around for any other cat. At least try to look social. Smokepelt reminded himself.

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Troustep followed RiverClan to the Gathering in a reluctant sort of way. He was known for his grouchiness and wasn't ashamed, and was a bit proud for having a clan "title". The tom looked around for Heronwing but had no luck finding the she cat. He sat down in an empty area with a slouch to his posture that made him look kind of like and elder and hoped no cat would try to talk to him.

Sablefur found her place near her Clanmates, sitting quietly and tensely as the cats around her conversed.

Sedgepaw trudged into the clearing, head low and gaze forward. He didn't look at any other cat- he simply sat down with his back to the other apprentices. He just wanted the Gathering to be over with already.

Owlpaw was next to enter. Tail high, she settled next to the other ShadowClan apprentices. She hadn't been to a Gathering in a while, so this was a nice breather for the she-cat. She glanced up at the leaders.

Featherpaw padded into the gathering slowly and went over to a small dark area so that she could be alone.

Pinefur walked into the gathering very proud My first gathering as a warrior! he thought. He sat down in a place where he could see.

Thinpaw watched all the leaders stand and the deputy's stand as still as their leaders and as she watched she thought My very, very first gathering! As she thought she had a exited feeling,she also had a big feeling about what the leaders would talk about and also if they would fight about something and the clan would be dismiss.

Wisteriasky nodded to the rest of the medicine cats as a good bye, and padded toward Fishstar. She knew she had to do this, tonight or soon. "Fishstar," she began. "I need to speak at the Gathering this night." she said softly, so only her leader could hear.

Duskpaw stood quietly nearby, watching as his mentor went up and whispered into their leader's ear. His mother, he remembered. It was sort of weird, in a way. From the moment they'd left the nursery, it was like she'd become an entirely different she-cat. She was never quiet as nurturing as the other queens, but he did miss her. Now he spent most of his time with Wisteriasky, and the SkyClan medicine cats. The company was nice but it wasn't the same. There was no time for playing around it seemed like anymore. In a way, it saddened him, but he supposed that was just the way things were.

Nearby, another young tom, Rainpaw was looking around carefully. He'd never even seen another clan cat before, but here, they were everywhere. Of all different shapes, sizes, and scents. The ShadowClan cats smelled like sour fish. The ThunderClan cats had the bitter scent of herb and woods to them. The WindClan cats, like dirt and rabbits. Or maybe he was exaggerating. His tail twiched when he noticed a warrior rattling off some nonsense to Mintpaw. "A monster? I heard they were beasts with poison gas! If you touched one, then you'd die." There was no way someone could stop one, not even a leader!