November's Gathering 2016

Ashstar's hackles raised as she heard the RiverClan leader's accusations. How dare she accuse WindClan of such an unbelievable transgression, especially right after the Dark Forest? Had she not just expressed her wish for peace? The gray she-cat stood back up, controlling her inner rage with a dismissive flick of her tail-tip. Her gaze was and calm. Oh, Sablestar, help me. "I am extremely sorry to hear that, and I offer Shellpaw my best wishes," she meowed, real sorrow in her voice. "I was not aware of any such attack, and I have absolute faith in my Clanmates. However, I will definitely be talking with my Clan after this, and if I find put that any of my warriors would stoop so low, then trust me, I will be the first to retaliate. Until then, I would ask that you trust my Clanmates as I do. WindClan has always been the closest to StarClan and the code, and I don't plan on changing that as its leader." Having said that, Ashstar sat down. Please, please, StarClan, let this Gathering stay peaceful.

Lionfur listened quietly to his leader's response, barely hiding a smirk. Here was a good way to get Ashstar out of favor.... Shellpaw- was that her name? Interesting. Well, no way was he confessing.

Webtail glared at his son as he was nudged forward again. He purposely lagged behind the rest of his clan, not wanting to come to this moon's gathering. He had come into the clearing at a horrible time. An argument among clans... He kept his gaze low as he tried to stay in the thick of the crowd, unable to easily be picked out. The former leader's ears felt hot when he looked at the gathered cats. Surely no one needed a reminder of what happened during the Dark Forest's rule.

Lightningstrike stood tall unlike his father, proud of the history he had. The history he shared with far too many to name. His years as a scrawny apprentice ended when he trained faithfully, fueled by the anger ad determination he had in that time.

Dreamleaf's tail flicked as tension rose in the air. If anyone fought, she would try to step in and make sure that they would all avoid making Starclan angry. Dreamleaf looked at Fishstar and Ashstar.

Emberpaw raced over to the group of apprentices as the tension in the air thickened, plopping down next to Frogpaw, and scooting slightly closer to them, wanting to feel the comfort of warmth. They smelled different, and it might be interesting to talk to them later, after the Gathering was over and she discovered what it was all about.
There were cats clustered around an apprentice near the middle, and she yearned to go and see. But they looked fishy,
OOC: HAHA PUNS
so the apprentice decided against it. Her attention faltered in the leaders as a bird rose out of the trees, squawking. The light from the moon danced on a leaf, then fell back down near the base of the rock, where the deputies stood.
She watched, stunned, as a golden-furred tom's eyes glinted, appearing to almost smirk for a heartbeat. Her ears lifted, pale eyes still latched onto him, as Ashstar finished her speech. Then it was gone, done, and her mind raced.
Could've just been my imagination. Maybe it wasn't! Maybe it was him!
Her hot breath stirred her white chest fur. The night made the fiery she feel wilder, more free. She nudged the shoulder of Frogpaw, tilting her head to watch the Gathering continue with narrowed eyes.

≈≈≈≈≈≈≈

Tigerpaw gaped, his mouth slightly ajar, at the cats standing atop great rock.
Wow! Not only am I here, something's actually happening!
His ears pushed forward, and his tail lashed on the ground, kicking up leaves excitedly.

Eaglepaw sat down. She watched at the Clan leaders spoke about Clan news and defending themselves against lies.

Ashpaw, Ripplepaw, and Halfpaw, the three varying apprentices trailing behind their respective mentors before finding a seat among their own Clans. All three of this young warriors-to-be listening closely to the leader's words and other cats speaking out.

Halfpaw, as usual not caring all too much about anything going on and sat quietly minding his own business with his resting stoic expression.

Ashpaw and Ripplepaw, on the other hand, were very invested in such topics going around. Neither of these two cats aware of Shellpaw being attacked, but such a thought, they exchanged similar grimaces and hoped something like this wouldn't happen again.

"I really hope no other apprentice will get the receiving end of something like that ..."

"I'll be sure to visit Shellpaw once we're back. At least she's doing better ..."

The two apprentices muttered, but the hushed murmurs aside, these two cats kept a close eye on how this Gathering was going. With it being their first Gathering, they kept eyes, nose, and ears in tune to be properly attentive of what was going on.

Thrushstar patiently waited his turn to speak as the other leaders and one deputy went up one by one to speak about their clans. It was the usual stuff, something Thrushstar had heard a million times in the past. Everyone was good and had several apprentices. What piqued his interest, however, was a squabble about a border skirmish that sounded as if it had gotten pretty serious. Instead of saying anything, the Shadowclan leader stood in silence as Ashstar actually seemed to handle the situation fairly well. Even though the tension was thick, Thrushstar took the moment of silence between the leaders to step up and share his news. "Shadowclan has done fairly well. As leaffall comes and... it gets colder, the prey has began to dwindle but... nothing we can't handle. We have many new apprentices and just as many kits, so... our numbers are flourishing." He paused for a moment, looking back at the other leaders. "Ashstar and Fishstar, I pray you solve your differences quickly and keep this peace that we've had over the past couple of moons." With no more words, he stepped back.

Looking at another cat, Twistedpaw tried to strike up a conversation somehow. "Wow, Thrushstar seems really confident in himself. He sounds like he is lying, how uncertain he sounded about the prey." As soon as she said that, she wished that she took it back. She didn't want to get into a fight with a bigger cat under the truce.

Thistlepaw glanced past Willowpaw, eyeing Twistedpaw, was she crazy? Did she want a fight to break out? The leaders were already tense, that he was aware of, and hearing his father burst out at Fishstar only made the tension rise. He was thankful nothing had happened yet.

Was this how gatherings always were? A few wrong words away from a fight breaking out? The older apprentice thought to himself, trying to figure out what to expect for next time.

Suddenly feeling awkward from all the glares, Twistedpaw slunk down so nobody would notice it was her who made the comment.

Dreamleaf's muscles bunched together and she lifted her head.
"Do not make rude remarks like that," Dreamleaf called out to the apprentice. Starclan was not gonna be happy...

Blacktwig smiled at Emberfall, trying to ignore the internal conflict that gnawed at Ashstar and Fishstar. Tension was swiftly rising, bubbling up like the most swollen of streams. He focused instead on Emberfall, watching the pretty calico she-cat before him. "They're wonderful," he hummed in response, meeting Emberfall's bright, orange eyes, like drops of amber. "I think Mothpaw and Mottledpaw will be warriors very soon." Blacktwig's tone was the opposite of somber, carrying a wave of joy with it. His eyes glittered as he pawed at the ground shyly, having forgotten how attractive his mate was. "They do grow up so fast," he sighed. It would feel lonely once Mottledpaw found a mate, and ignored him. Would she? No... she couldn't forget her own father. Mothpaw was faring well - he suspected he was to mention that. "Mothpaw has been trained well, and though Mottledpaw hasn't had much, she has been participating in many patrols," he said.

Mothpaw nudged her father and repeated what she had asked earlier. "Dad, who's this?" She meowed her hazel eyes on the pretty calico in front of her.the she cat resembled the tortie in some way but she thought that was juse a coincidence.

Blazepaw pressed closer to Grasspaw and wrapped his tail around her protectively as all these things were said.

Littlepaw almost shrunk back in fear at all the venom in the leaders voices.

Peace? Trust?! Ashstar could play dumb all she wanted; RiverClan knew the truth, and Shellpaw had told them who it was. "What a load of fox-dung!" he snapped loud enough for half the Gathering to hear with a wide slash of his tail, standing up from where the group of RiverClan apprentices sat. Petalpaw's words barely reached him, he was shooting daggers at the tom Shellpaw had picked out of the crowd, his eyes still glowing. Sootwhisper's warning fled out of his head as he broke away, pushing  and weaving through the crowd toward where the larger warrior sat. Thrushstar's prattling was distant in his ears. Warnings didn't mean anything, promises didn't mean anything; only actions spoke. WindClan had broke the code and attacked their clanmate, and RiverClan wasn't going to let it slide. He'd already tuned the rest out. "Hey! Snake-tongue!" he called over the din, pouncing with claws outstretched as soon as he was within leaping distance, bowling the warrior to the ground. He pressed a paw against the cat's neck. "I'll give you something to remember me by."

Sleetpaw used 'Run-and-Tackle' on Lionfur.
- 9 HP
- 10 SP

Sleetpaw
20/20 HP
70/80 SP

Lionfur
36/45 HP
160/160 SP

"She's..." Blacktwig began. The tom realized he'd have to lay down the truth flat out for Mothpaw. His voice lower than even a whisper, he spoke to her. His voice was like the smooth wind in the night. "Mothpaw... this is Emberfall. She's your mother," he admitted quickly. He hoped Mothpaw wouldn't freak out, although she had heard tales of the forbidden romance while she was a kit. He smiled at Mothpaw, and spoke in that dad-like way. The way that fathers spoke to their children about their wives - portrayed as the most beautiful and elegant cat in the world. And to Blacktwig, she was. "Pretty, ain't she?" Blacktwig asked. He was soon shocked by the attack and damage inflicted on Lionfur by Sleetpaw. "What's going on?!" Blacktwig suddenly yowled with pure outrage.

Fallowpaw watched, staggering backwards as Sleetpaw flung himself towards Lionfur. As the apprentice placed a paw on the ginger tomcat's throat, it all just sent a shiver down Fallowpaw's spine. How did Sleetpaw even know this was the one? Fallowpaw wondered, choking once more on her own fear, as if it were an adder's venom lodged in her throat... making it difficult to even breath. Fallowpaw felt as if she would have a heart attack.