December Gathering 2016

Oceanlight followed Crowstar and sat near the middle. The snow was actually comfortable to sit on. She looked up at the sky.

Snakepaw followed Thrushstar into Fourtrees. He sat down.

Shadepaw stole a glance over at Twistedpaw, watching with curious eyes as she sat with another Windclan tom, a brief expression of envy overtaking his face as they conversed. He felt his fur ruffle slightly at the way the tom looked at Twistedpaw, and he scoffed at the nagging feeling of jealousy that pricked his pads- why was he getting so bent out of shape over this? Shadepaw switched his gaze back to his denmates and the young Windclan apprentice that had been speaking to Larkpaw, but his attention was greatly disrupted and any words thrown his way went straight over his head. Leaning over to Smokepaw, he prodded the other tom in the ribs and murmured, "I'm gonna go see if I can squeeze out a few details about what's got Windclan's fur so ruffled." before he quickly got up and vanished within the mass of cats.

Padding up to Twistedpaw and Sprucepaw, Shadepaw twitched his ear in greeting, his eyes taking in all the details of the battered apprentices- noting in particular the long, fresh wound along Twistedpaw's side. "Long time no see." He greeted the she-cat smoothly, his eyes sparking with a hint of playfulness. "It seems you've grown since I've last seen you- you actually look more like an apprentice." He teased, remembering the first time they had met and how small she had been. Shadepaw directed his attention towards Sprucepaw who was sitting beside Twistedpaw, his amber eyes lacking all their previous warmth as he asked, "Who's this?"

Sprucepaw scoffed.Who's this.Surely ShadowClan must have some idea of who I am.I the great Sprucepaw who thought bravely against the evil silver she-cat apprentice, but well ShadowClan are mousebrains so I can't blame them if they forgot.The tom sighed.Was this ShadowClan apprentice actually serious and how did he know Twistedpaw?"I can't believe you don't know who I am!I'm Sprucepaw,you may know me as the tom who the silver apprentice attacked!Your clan needs to learn to control itself,I could of died!"he snorted cooly.The tom had exaggerated all of this a lot but that wouldn't matter much he still had all the key points.Sprucepaw turned his attention to Twistedpaw checking for any sign of recognition to flicker across her face.
~~~~
Hazeflight sighed.Eagleheart clearly hadn't come nor her apprentice,she might as well go sit with someone else.She looked around her eyes landing in Shadepaw who had joined a couple of other cats who looked apprentice aged.

The silver she-cat swiftly joined him."Hey,Shadepaw."she meowed.It felt weird to be hanging out with apprentices now she was a warrior but to be honest they Shadepaw and the other apprentices probably weren't much younger than her.The silver she-cat twitched her tail in greeting to the other cats.Hazeflight searched the apprentices up and down.Somethimg seemed familiar about the tom but nothing registered until he mentioned how he had nearly been killed.Hazeflight's eyes narrowed and she turned her head showing the thin scar to the tom.Hazeflight smirked."Oh,why hello,Sprucepaw.I'm so glad you remembered me and I hope you remember not to break the code next time!Oh,I forgot to mention my name when we last met,it's Hazeflight, but back then I was an apprentice."she hissed her smirk still showing.

Twistedpaw rolled her eyes playfully, mewing, "Sprucepaw, you exaggerate so much a deaf badger can tell!" She smiled faintly at Shadepaw, slightly surprised by the tom's unmarked pelt. She purred kindly to the cats joining them. "How are things going in Shadowclan? We recently had a battle with Riverclan if you want to know," She explained, describing her fight with Shellwater.

OOC: I don't have time to read all this so I'm gonna assume that TC is here?

IC: Mothstrike padded in with Thunderclan and took a seat.

Blazepaw followed and sat down next to Mothstrike.

Sprucepaw smiled,but it didn't last long with the arrival of Hazeflight.His emerald green eyes stared into her ice blue eyes,searching for any kind of reminiscence. The tom flicked his tail in greeting to her.He was not going to start a fight.Yet the smirk on Hazeflight's muzzle was getting to him and sitting there and being nice to this cat was not something that he was good at in anyway shape or form."Twistedpaw,that's the she-cat that attacked me!She said we were disloyal foxhearts and mangy flea-pelts.This cat doesn't even know us,how can she accuse us of horrid things like that!"Sprucepaw yowled.His gaze turned to Hazeflight waiting for a reaction.

Standing up, she put herself between Hazeflight and Sprucepaw. "We are not here to get into fights, remember?" She said gently, her eyes begging them to stay peaceful. We were just in a battle, we do not have to make Starclan angry by causing that again.

Darkstar paused at the rim of the clearing, seeing that at least Thunderclan wasn't the last. All they had to wait for was Riverclan. The three-legged leader padded down the slope and ascended the Great Rock in one fluid motion, nodding to the other leaders on the rock. She noticed the tension among the Windclan cats, but decided not to ask about it right then. 'I'm sure they'll say something about it later.' For the moment, she just fluffed up her fur against the cold.


Spiderfur wasn't too far behind her father, worriedly following after the old tom. She had many obvious wounds on her back, but they were healing well. If they didn't get infected, that is. The little warrior didn't even look around at the other clans as she sat beside Cedarfur. "How is your back?" she asked softly, nudging him with her nose.

Larkpaw shook her head with amusement as Shadepaw mentioned that he was relieved that she was back in the Clan but that smile faded quickly when the WindClan apprentice spoke up. Her eyes narrowed as she scowled at the she-cat. While it was true, the apprentice should of gathered that she was only still a paw because she had been away from ShadowClan for long. Her fur prickled along her spine but it soon calmed as Shadepaw spoke up to defend her, taking notice that most of WindClan did seem to be harmed. What could have happened to them to hurt the entire Clan like this? Her gaze shifted back to the WindClan apprentice. "I will be a warrior soon enough - much more sooner then you," she said sharply with a twitch of her ear. She watched as Shadepaw whispered something to Smokepaw before heading off before the arrival of ThunderClan caught her attention. The fourth Clan had arrived - now they just had to wait for RiverClan.


Smokepaw glanced uneasily between Larkpaw, Shadepaw and the WindClan apprentice as they both spoke. While he was annoyed at the she-cats attuide, he didn't think it was best to speak so sharply at her. He jolted when Shadepaw suddenly poked him. The apprentice turned to nod at his friend, watching as Shadepaw got up and moved over to another group of WindClan cats. His whiskers twitched, wondering what he would find out when he spotted a large group of cats arriving. Tasting the air, he recongized the scent of ThunderClan. Hopefully this meant the gathering would start soon.



Mottlepaw found he couldn't disagree with Brindlepaw - he doubted RiverClan would let them forget their victory over WindClan so easily and he could agree that it was best to get this over quickly. He blinked when she spoke up again, shrugging his shoulders lightly. "Its against the code," he said bluntly. "StarClan won't allow any fighting to happen." He allowed his gaze to scan over the clearing once again only to freeze when Brindlepaw suddenly pressed herself against him. Part of him wanted to pull himself away but the warmth of her fur convinced him otherwise. As they sat there huddling against the cold, a new scent washed over the clearing - having always been faint but was suddenly anew with energy. A deep breath told him that ThunderClan had arrived. His ears perked as he leaned slightly to get a good view of the oncoming cats, hoping to spot Rockpaw among the arriving cats.



Lionpaw followed her Clanmates with her head held high, her eyes glimmering as she scanned the clearing full of cats as ThunderClan arrived. She found herself disappointed when she realized they were the second to last to arrive. But that raised the question, who was left? A quick taste of the air told her that it was RiverClan and she shook her head with a sigh. Of course those fish-brained cats would arrive last - they were no doubt grooming their furs to perfection to show off how perfect they were. Finding little interest in interacting with any cats from the other Clans, she found a quiet spot by herself to sit as she waited for RiverClan to arrive.

Shadepaw's face twisted into a scowl as Sprucepaw launched into the story of his "horrific" attacking at the paws of Hazeflight, who now was seated beside him. "It's not Shadowclan's fault that you don't know how to defend yourself." He pointed out icily, watching cooly as Hazeflight had her fun with the Windclan tom. "Now, now Hazeflight- I'm sure you've taught him a lesson he won't soon forget. And Twistedpaw's right, we have every other night to tear at each other with our teeth, let's just enjoy a peaceful night the best we can."  Shadepaw rumbled in amusement while nudging Hazeflight's shoulder, watching as Sprucepaw became worked up before looking at Twistedpaw with much friendlier eyes. His ears flicked curiously as Twistedpaw mentioned an attack from Riverclan, eyeing all the wounds the other Windclanner's bore with ambivalent eyes, his tail tip twitching at the information. "That's unfortunate that Riverclan attacked- usually they have enough brains to know that battles fought in Leaf-Bare always end bitterly." He spoke sympathetically, noting that the injury on her side was definitely from the previously mentioned battle.

~

Brindlepaw watched as Thunderclan cats finally began to pour into the hollow, using the freshly arrived Clan as an excuse to take in Mottlepaw's words. She thankfully remained pressed up against her denmate, her nose wrinkling at the musky, woodsy scent the Thunderclan cats bore- it was something she never could get used to.
"Starclan's approval seemed like the last thing on Riverclan's mind when they dragged us from our dens." She murmured, eyes darkening at Mottlepaw's claim over Starclan's ability to prevent bloodshed.
"But thankfully Shadowclan and Thunderclan seem to be in much better moods than Skyclan, so hopefully everyone's fur will remain smooth." Brindlepaw went on more cheerfully, eyeing all the different cats in the clearing. "Is there any cat in particular you want to go talk to?" She asked, looking at Mottlepaw curiously.

Oceanlight looked back down. She prayed to StarClan no cat would fight. They can't do everything, but they can help, right? "StarClan didn't have us meet every full moon to fight eachother, it was meant to share ceremonies and grieves at peace. So don't disappoint them." she requested.

Sprucepaw scowled but quickly turned his attention back to Twistedpaw.Ugh,ShadowClan.They reek of rotten prey and swamp.I bet they sleep in twoleg pelts too."I wasn't going to start any fights."Sprucepaw muttered his tail twitching in annoyance.

Hazeflight snorted in amusement at Sprucepaw's recount.Yes,she had said that but in her opinion they were.WindClan always seemed eager to fight,she noted.Hazeflight smiled at Twistedpaw,this she-cat seemed like the only half decent WindClan cat she had met."It was fun while it lasted.Twistedpaw and Shadepaw are right,this is sacred ground and I'm pretty sure none of us need to get into a fight during Leafbare.Right,Sprucepaw?"she meowed giving the young tom a fair warning.The she-cat looked around again,checking to see if Eagleheart was here.Unfortunately for her he wasn't.Her gaze quickly shifted back to the apprentices and her eyes softened.

"Hey, Hazeflight, right?" Eagleheart meowed smoothly to the Shadowclan she-cat as he slid up next to her. He'd been searching the large mass of cats looking for her and it had taken quite a bit with every one that was here. The Skyclan warrior nodded at the other cats, a little tightly at the apprentice that smelled like Windclan. It took everything to keep his claws in at gatherings. So many enemy cats here. Just stay by Hazeflight's side, He thought, retracting his claws.

*******

Rippedpaw looked up at the highrock as his mentor joined the other leaders. Crowstar had probably only brought him along to see how he was with the Windclan cats. The Skyclan leader had nothing to worry about. He looked around, shrinking a little bit as he saw his former Windclan friends around. The urge to run over to Sprucepaw was strong, but he wasn't sure that his old best friend would be too friendly towards him anymore for leaving the clan. He wouldn't understand... The new Skyclan apprentice sighed and sat off to the edge of the clearing, wrapping his tail around his paws. Thankfully, a lot of Skyclan had been welcoming to him, but not all cats were that way. Not only that, but Windclan clearly wasn't a fan of him. There was tension in the air all around. Between Windclan and Skyclan especially, but also between others. He could tell other cats were talking about him leaving Windclan. The tom had heard his name whispered as he padded through the crowd. Instead of looking at the ground, though, he looked up at the leaders, hoping this would begin and be over soon.

*******

Flamepaw had fallen to the back of the Shadowclan group, still feeling out of place with his clanmates. It shocked him daily that they had allowed him to be come an apprentice, especially after so long and it seeming like it would never happen more and more each day. But it had and here he was. My first gathering! He glanced around at the mass of cats assembled and there were so many he couldn't believe it. Realizing he'd fallen behind, he raced to find Hazeflight. He would be more comfortable with his mentor and friend in the midst of all this. By the time he found her, she was already engaged in conversation with a mixed group of cats. He greeted them with a nod, glancing uneasily at a huge, tough-looking Skyclan warrior. He wanted to ask Hazeflight about the brown and white tom, but held his tongue as he usually did.

********

Grasspaw raced in with Thunderclan with excitement. Sadly, she was not here tonight as a warrior still, something which was so overdue. However, she was just as excited to be here as ever. The mix of clans always made her fur prickle with excitement. The clans were truly breathtaking to her in the moonlight, but Thunderclan would always be the best. Skidding to a stop in the snow, she accidentally sprayed a few cats with the cold flakes.
"Sorry!" She meowed, not letting the embarrassment bother her too much as she went over to join them.