September Gathering 2016

Leopardfang greeted each of the arriving leaders in turn, pausing only slightly at Vixenheart. She had as much right to be here as he did, so he dipped his head to her as he did any other leader. He was very aware of the looks the two of them were catching, but the attention meant very little to him. It seemed that all the clans had gathered, and the clearing was now devoid of any open spaces. The deputy stepped up to the front of the rock, calling out unabashedly with a loud and deep voice. "All are present. Let the Gathering begin!" He paused a moment to let the chatting cats quickly end their conversations and be silent. "ShadowClan fares well after the return. With StarClan's return, we are blessed. Many litters have been born to us. We are at full strength and anticipate no more uprisings by the Dark Forest, and hope to never see the likes of them again. We honor all who fought alongside us to take back our homes and hope to remain in the good graces of all present tonight." He swung his head around to ackowledge each of the leaders on the rock with him. Leopardfang's gratitude was genuine. "Several kits have become apprentices; among them are Nutpaw, Foxpaw, Falconpaw, Mousepaw, Hawkpaw, Wasppaw, Adderpaw, and Hailpaw. They all have the makings of excellent and honorable warriors in the future, StarClan willing. Many of their denmates have completed their training and joined the warriors den. Please welcome Hickorypad, Redfeather, Finchpelt, and Nightwatcher." Another pause, and then a deep breath. "We have seen tragedy alongside our blessings. A young kit, Harekit, has died on the Thunderpath. And Fallenpaw has been killed by rats. But we remain strong and have hope for the future. That is all." A quick and confident nod ended his report, and he stepped back in silence. He was all too aware that there was an important detail that he had intentionally left unmentioned.

Falconpaw fluffed up his chest at the mention of his name and that he had the markings of a fine warrior.

Pinepaw blinked his attention away from the WindClan apprentice as soon as he was sure that Sheeppaw was in no way falling for him, and he fixed his eyes on Leaopardfang. The deputy was soon to become a leader, with Thruststar weak and on his last life, obserbed Pinepaw to himself.

Amberpaw slipped on the last second of eanderig around to find someone to chat and found herself next fo her brother as the ShadowClan's words echoed.

Smokepaw flicked his tail and smiled at Morningfog, expecting her to maybe smile back as the Gathering officially began.

Ashstar nodded at Leopardfang and stepped up, noticing the deliberately avoided topic, but decided not to say anything. "WindClan suffered heavy losses in the battle against the Dark Forest, but we have been rebuilding ourselves this past moon. I was able to go to Highstones and receive my nine lives. I named Smokepelt as my deputy. WindClan has been truly blessed by StarClan's return, and I thank each of the other Clans for their support. I hope this season of peace will last, StarClan willing." She paused, looking at the crowd. "We have many new apprentices- Pantherpaw, Goatpaw, Lionpaw, Sandypaw, Heatherpaw, and Sunpaw. We also have the honor of welcoming some new warriors- Emberfall and Nightheart. The nursery is full of kits, and the prey is running well. It is a little harder to function with all the loved ones we have lost, but we honor their lives and the lives of those from other Clans who fought with us. Thank you all." She stepped back, paws shaking a little.

Briarfoot, Honeyblossom and Wolfpaw watched the leaders.

Silentpaw flicked his tail as he sat quietly with the elders.

Ghostpelt padded over to her younger, and favorite little brother Tinylegs. "Hi Tinylegs." The queen purred and gently flicked her brother with her tail.

Vixenheart waited for a few moments before deciding to step up next. She had never once imagined that she would ever be standing up here on the Great Rock, but here she was. She then began to speak.
"SkyClan has been thankfully thriving after the Dark Forest was defeated. We have been given the gift of new apprentices: Featherpaw, Breezepaw, Thornpaw, and Gingerpaw. Prey has been found in almost every part of our territory. We too have lost loved ones and loyal Clanmates, but thankfully not many. We as well honor the lives that were taken away from all of the Clans to protect our homes from the Dark Forest. Hopefully these next moons will be ones of rest and without much worry or grief. However, where there is death, there is life. There are new kits in the nursery that I can tell with make fine apprentices and eventually outstanding warriors. That is all from SkyClan."
Vixenheart stepped back to let another leader speak. She didn't bother to mention Crowstar's current state, as she didn't want to make SkyClan seem weak in the eyes of the other Clans. Then again, wasn't it already implied that something was wrong if the deputy showed up on the Great Rock at the Gathering instead of the leader?

Heatherpaw smiled at the mention of her name. She looked up at the leaders in awe, but not with a desire to be like them. She simply admired Ashstar and the others, filled with a great respect for them.

Redfeather grinned proudly, puffing his chest out. Finally, some recognition! He sent his dazzling smile around the clearing, making sure everyone knew who he was.

(Mobile)

Goatpaw sat up neatly, glancing at her mother frequently. Blacktwig shuffled as he looked at her, knowing she was his technical adopted daughter. He was proud of her nonetheless, although they shared no blood.

Falconstone's jaw dropped, and he let out a deep growl, turning to Cedarfur, the young warrior hissed in pure anger. "She didn't even mention Kestrelstorm's death!" his hiss was not quiet, and his fur bristled. How dare she forget her own friend? It wasn't like she had to mention his exile, but everyone knew him as a WindClan warrior.

As the Gathering was started by Leopardfang, Hawkpaw made her way to Wasppaw, taking a seat next to the older tom. It was both of their first Gathering, but she was much more shy.

Porcupinepaw waited for Fishstar to speak, overwhelmed by the amount of cats.

Smokepelt beamed with pride when Ashstar mentioned him becoming deputy and stayed quiet, wondering what the other leaders would say.

~~~

Tinylegs turned to his sister and gave a smile. "Hello," he meowed. "Nice night, without the DarkForest," he chuckled.

~~~

Cedarfur listened to Falconstone, disagreeing with the younger tom. As much as he missed his son, Ashstar had every right not to mention the traitor's death, especially since it involved another clan and might cause a disturbance among the gathered cats.

Morningfog shrugged and nodded. Her eyes brightened slightly at him, a slight smile teasing her muzzle. She sat up and spotted a stray tufted and quickly groomed it down with a slight chuckle."I guess I'm down... There wasn't a victory for me last time as was here." she whispered to him, knowing that saying so any louder would be a big mistake.

Lightningstrike nuzzled Littlebrook to comfort her and himself. Smiling as Redfeather's name was announced. "It's worse than I thought it would be here..." he sighed.

Emberfall stood tall as she heard her name called out, she really was enjoying this gathering, though, hearing the news about the kits were sad, she never knew that it would hurt her so much from just one simple kit dying that wasn't even in her Clan, she expected others to feel sad though.

Mistywater sat in the crowd, hearing the news and smiling as she heard warrior and apprentice names being called out, she waited for some very exciting news to be announced.

Sparrowpaw was with a lot of her Clanmates, most of them were a little far from her but she didn't care, she was just quietly whispering to her side every once in a while, hoping not to lead to too much attention and questions, most cats should of already of known about this happening in ThunderClan.

Magpiewing, Finchpelt, and Foxpaw all sat proudly as Leopardfang spoke, each for their own reasons.

Bramblepaw shuffled in his seat, eager for his mother to speak his name.

ooc: late but ohwell