Lion's Fangs [DEATH OF SLEET]

Fourtrees was frozen in ice, captured in time. The slow drifting of snow was the only sign of movement in this still clearing. A bracing cold breeze whispered through the trees, making the leafless branches rattle, and carrying the mingled scents of cats.

ThunderClan. WindClan. ShadowClan. SkyClan.

But tonight wasn't a full moon.

Lionspark had been patrolling the borders like normal, her paw steps walking a natural path that she had taken so many times before. But tonight, her path swerved. She wasn't sure what had brought her to Fourtrees as she stood under the shadow of their branches that stretched high above her. Her mouth was open, her eyes flickering with surprise at the hint of the scents that drifted toward her. She wasn't alone - she was far from it. They scents were growing stronger by the second and it seemed like the clearing would soon be filled with cats. Her fur was on end, confused but she forced herself to remain calm. It was Fourtrees, a safe meeting place for the Clans. It surely wasn't a full moon but it was still a sacred spot...Right?

Snowstorm padded inside. She didn't know why she was here. She just felt a feeling in her, that said both "Go here" and "Don't go here'. She decided to just go wherever her paws would take her. She soon found herself at fourtrees. She looked around and saw Lionspark. She dipped head. "Greetings, Lionspark. What brings you here?" she asked.

Webtail narrowed his eyes as he followed a squirrel, he had chased it all the way here. With a tired sigh, he gave up and sat down to catch his breath. His tail twitched when he settled down wishing he had caught it earlier. He had been quite hesitant to come near any borders tonight but, Fourtrees was sacred, it should be a safe place to wander. He could never be sure, WindClan and RiverClan seemed to never get along. Perhaps they would start fighting over it...

Swiftheart raced through the moors after a hare, cold wind rushing through his grey pelt. He could almost laugh, though it would have made the chase that much harder, so he refrained. He was drawing nearer and nearer to Fourtrees, and he paused for a split second. Was it alright to catch the hare if it was at Fourtrees. He shook his head and sped up once more. It was fine. It was neutral ground and nobody would probably be there anyways. Right as he was about to burst through the brush he skid a halt, his nose filled with scents, fresh scents, of most of the clans. He tilted his head in confusion. Why were there so many cats of different clans here at one time, but then again, they'd probably be asking the same thing about him.

Fawnsplash was taking one of her usual walks around SkyClan territory. It helped to clear her head, and it was nice to just have some time to herself. For some reason her paws had decided to bring her to Fourtrees, but she didn't really care. Fourtrees was a neutral place for all clans. She had every right to be in Fourtrees if she wanted to. She paused though as fresh scents of basically every clan assaulted her sensitive nose. She tilted her head slightly in bewilderment. That was odd. So many clan scents basically mingled together in the icy place on a, what seemed to be, normal day.

Venompaw stepped out into the icy clearing of Fourtrees. Something was happening, she could tell. Her mother always had said that she had an unnatural ability to sense danger, but she was pretty certain it was a little something called instinct. She could scent others around her, Skyclan Windclan and Thunderclan. That was what had drawn her here. The inexplicable scent of 3 of 5 clans all together, all in one place, when a gathering wasn't due for another moon. And now Shadowclan had been brought into the fray as well. What was happening? Padding into the clearing, uncertainly, she kept a wary gaze on everyone around her, seeing flashes of various pelts in the darkness. Who was here? How? And why? What had brought them all here on such a seemingly ordinary night?
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For Markedpaw however, it was different. She wasn't here through curiosity, but panic. She felt like everything was collapsing around her. After what Emberheart had told her, after the confession of her lies and deceit, she'd raced out of the Thunderclan camp. She was breathing hard, not thinking straight, and had already barrelled into Fourtrees by the time she caught scent of the other clans. Every clan except Riverclan was here, she even scented someone from Thunderclan, although she'd never personally met them. Her disorientation only increased when she saw others, weaving in and out of the trees. All seemed to be just as bewildered as her, just as confused as to their reason for coming. What was happening? Almost everyone was silent, and she couldn't stand the suffocating lack of voices or explanations. Her fur on end, eyes bright with fear, she meowed
"W-Why are you all here? W-what's going on?"

ooc: Ignore Marked's panic and things, it's plot stuff, mostly just there to make her death more dramatic

Cloudrunner had spent most of the night roaming the moor, desperately searching for something that could soothe his mind enough for him to alleviate him from the constant nag of his anxiety. Normally it was something that was wrangled into check after some internal debating, but over the past few days it had gone above and beyond its normal rate and blossomed into full blown paranoia that kept him from preforming his duties and sleeping. Tonight was no different- whenever every cat had finally drifted off into sleep, he had slipped away from the camp and began his new-found ritual of roaming, finding that he was drawn to Fourtrees for some reason. He was surprised to see cats from nearly every Clan here- it wasn't a full moon so just what was going on? The fact that he didn't know the answer made his paranoia spike even more. Spotting Swiftheart's lingering form, he quickly padded over towards the older Warrior, pausing beside the tom to gaze down at the growing group with narrowed eyes- what was happening?


Addergaze had been enjoying her new-found freedom by roaming the territory at night, doing as she pleased without worrying of disappointing any cat, when she had spotted Snowstorm out by herself as well. Feeling a bit mischievous, she had decided to follow the older she-cat, curious as to what she was up to- after all, what cat would be drawn to Fourtrees on a night like this? Mingling scents filled the air, and she was surprised to see so many cats out and about during the night- could none of them sleep? Were they just curious? Were they enjoying the night as she was? Addergaze shrugged at her own internal debating and slid from the bushes, eyeing the Riverclan, Shadowclan and Thunderclan cat's with narrowed eyes as she halted beside Snowstorm, giving a silent, cold greeting in the form of a brief nod.

Pinewhisker didn't regret followkng his dauhgter out in the clearing. Her scent was oure fear and something he was uncertain of, but which made his own mind swirl. When they were in the moon-washed clearing, he revealed himself from the cover of a bramble bush, looking with concern at Markedpaw. "Markedpaw, are you feeling alright...?"

Quailfeather had been wandering dreamily through WindClan territory, head in the clouds, thinking about Silentpaw and what he has asked her at the Gathering. She glided like a bird, flying across the moors, not paying attention to where she was going, until somehow she ended up at Fourtrees. For some reason, cats of all Clans were there, and the mixing scents startled her out if her reverie. She headed over to Cloudrunner and Swiftheart, two faces she recognized, her Clanmates who found their ways over here as well. "What is this?" the young warrior asked them, swishing her gray speckled tail in confusion.

Squirrelpaw also happened to be there at the moment. Ever since Deerpaw's disappearance, all Squirrelpaw did was sulk in her nest and cry, silent tears falling down her face. Life seemed useless to her afterward, and she didn't even make any progress towards becoming a warrior, even though she was older than some of them. For a while, progress had completely stopped for her.

But Deerpaw returned after so long, and the mute apprentice finally felt like someone put her paws back on the trail of life. She started going out more, and actually felt like doing something. Squirrelpaw was actually tracking some prey the moment she stumbled upon the strange assortment of cats. 

It was strange, all the cats mingling in confusion. Squirrelpaw stepped gingerly into the clearing, the large, horrid scar across her neck glinting in the moonlight, standing out strongly from her fluffy ginger fur. Cocking her head to one side, she looked around the strange group.

Gustpuddle ran in behind Quailfeather, dazed at what Hollowpaw had asked her."It seems like Starclan wanted us all to meet tonight..." She had followed Quailfeather out, wanting to spend some time with her sister, like they had as apprentices. She was confused just as they were, and her spring green eyes glowed in the dim light. She padded up beside Quailfeather, sitting next to her. He ears flicked with anxiety, and she was just as confused as everyone else.


Maplecloud raced in, chasing after a hare and failing miserably. How did I end up at fourtrees?! Who are all of these other cats?! She saw a few familiar faces and was relieved at that. Confusion swept over her pelt and her tail lashed furiously. "Whats going on?" Little did she know today wouldn't be as peaceful as it seemed then, but she kept on with her day and padded up to the whole of the 'mini gathering.'

Snowstorm looked up at the sky. The moon hung in the sky,  but it showed no sign of happiness they were there. "Look at the sky. It shows no sign of disappointment or happiness that we're here." she said.

Blacktwig crept warily into Fourtrees. A mingled scent of all of the clans hit his nostrils. He raised his broad head, the fur on the breadth of his shoulders twinkling with iotas of powdery snow. A growl rose in his gullet at the sight of antipodal felines gathered in the wooded thicket of oaks. "Who are you?" he asked aggressively, hackles raising. With his age came the knowledge of the cats that were present; Snowstorm, Crowstar's former mate, who was passed over in favour of Poppysong. Maplecloud, clearly his friend Pinewhisker's anterior apprentice. Gustpuddle, a newly appointed WindClan warrior. Quailfeather, a respectable WindClan warrior, in spite of her tender years. Squirrelpaw, the mute apprentice who had revelled in Deerpaw's return. Pinewhisker? You didn't have to describe the solid brown tomcat to Blacktwig—for the senior warrior already knew him well. There were so many more to name, but he turned to one of his greatest allies, Pinewhisker, for help, a concerned expression on his face. "Pinewhisker... what's going on?" questioned Blacktwig, relieved that his consort was here for him to familiarize with and side with. He padded back, retaliating, towards a towering oak.

Venompaw watched as others arrived. There was a she-cat, not too much younger than her, and an older tabby tom. The she-cat looked panic-stricken, fear mingling with her Thunderclan scent. Others she didn't recognise emerged into the clearing, all from different clans. There must have been an outside force guiding them here. Starclan? Perhaps, yet at the same time she saw no reason for them to bring them all here like this. All seemed to have different motives, there was no connection, no common denominator. What was happening?
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Markedpaw looked at Pinewhisker, hearing her father's- no, her adoptive father's, voice. At first, relief flooded her eyes, but was soon replaced with pain and betrayal. He'd lied to her, he was a stranger, she didn't know this cat. At first, she didn't know what to say. She wanted to yell, cry, scream. She wanted an explanation, she wanted his reality to change just as badly as her's was. Eyes sparkling with tears, her voice hoarse and throat hurting from the bitter air biting her with every breath, she eventually managed to utter out
"She told me, Emberheart told me"

Blacktwig managed to miniaturize his voice when he noticed the trouble in his friend's eyes. He stood aback. "What? What, what what?" he wanted to yell. This was his niece. What was it that Emberheart told her? A concern blazed in the abyss of his shining orbs, and he forced himself to stay out of it. Markedpaw wasn't his kit, she was Pinewhisker's.

Right?