April's Gathering 2017

Shoots of green had bloomed into fields on sweet smelling grass that covered the once frozen earth below the Great Oaks. The Great rock stood resiliently in the centre, illuminated by the moonlight that made the surrounding grass seem ghostly white. There was an unsettling feeling in the air, as if it was the eye of a hurricane.

Something was brewing...

RiverClan was the first to arrive - happy to break their streak of being last - with Fishstar trotting just ahead of the rest. She vaulted herself up onto the Great Rock and seated herself towards the center. It was strange to see the clearing so empty. It was a lot more spacious than she'd ever realized, what with the exclusion of four of the five Clans.

Amberpelt followed after Fishstar with a raised head, all to proud at the fact that RiverClan was first this time. She swished her tail, a purr rising as she looked at how empty the clearing was. It was rather amazing, being first instead of last. It also meant that they got first pickings of where to sit! While she kept close to where RiverClan normally sat, she made sure to take a nice spot near the great rock as she curled her tail around her paws, licking out a small piece of fur on her chest that dared to stick out of place. Then she let her gaze fall onto the different directions that the Clans tended to come, wondering what Clan would be arriving next.

Nutpaw followed Fishstar into fourtrees. She was very excited, to say the least, for it was her first gathering. The only other clan she had ever seen was WindClan, and that had been just one cat she had met. She couldn't get him out of her head though. She shook off thoughts of Echopaw and waited for the other clans to arrive. She wondered if RiverClan was usually the first clan there.

Ashstar padded into the Gathering, noting that they were second. Finally, some other Clan had decided to be on time as well. The clearing was already filled with the scent of RiverClan. The leader wondered how the swimming Clan would take to her be deputy. They'd probably be pretty happy- not that that was why she had demoted her son. The gray she-cat leapt onto the Great Rock, giving Fishstar a quick nod in belated gratitude for accepting her own right to punish her Clan. For once. The WindClan leader sat down, waiting for the other Clans to arrive.

Shellwater walked in with the rest of RiverClan, happy that they had been the first ones to arrive. She wondered if Fishstar would bring up the blinding of Morningfog even though the issue had already been settled with WindClan. She sat by her mate, cautious to talk with other Clans as usual.

Morningfog followed the rest of RiverClan, she scented the air and sat down. She knew of the problem she caused in WindClan but, she needed to got to this gathering to know what would be said. She was tired from the trip, her pregnancy was going well and her delivery would come soon.

Smokeface yawned as he padded in with RiverClan, blinking up at the huge moon that lighted the clearing. He followed Morningfog and settled down besides the russet-brown she-cat, a prideful look at her swollen belly making his heart flutter with excitement at the thought of having more kits with the cat he loved the most.

Jaypaw followed his leader to his first gathering. The tom sat down a little far away from the spot of the leaders and waited quietly, seeing the new cats from the other clans. The young apprentice looked over the place to her mother, Ivyfall. She must be near to Fishstar, he thought, so he didn't worry too much about it.
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The little she-cat approached the gathering with bright amber eyes. Her nose was catching all the new scents, learning all she could do about the other clans. Tinypaw stopped near to other apprentices and waved her tail excited about what was going to happen. I wonder where are Elmpaw, Batpaw, Orchidpaw and Waterpaw... Tinypaw remembered her childhood friends and waited for them.

Brindlewhisker padded closely behind Ashstar, anxiety evident in the occasional sporadic twitch of her tail- how would the other Clans take to the news of her being Deputy? Would they still regard her with the same hostility that they held to Smokepelt? Either way, it'll definitely be an interesting gathering. Those thoughts had been plaguing her the entire journey to Fourtrees, but the moment they arrived she felt even more nervous. Staring down into the hollow, her nose wrinkled slightly at the heavy scent of Riverclan in the air and she felt a bit surprised to see that the other Clan had beaten them there- normally Windclan was always first.

Picking her way down the slope after Ashstar, Brindlewhisker nervously padded into the crowd of mingling Riverclan and Windclan warriors, tail tip twitching. Swinging her head around curiously, she spotted Shellwater, a queen she had spoken to on occasion, but she merely twitched an ear. Tonight didn't really seem like the night for outgoing social interactions. She was a bit disappointed that Thunderclan hadn't arrived yet as she was eager to catch up with Rockpaw, but she didn't mind waiting to tell the apprentice the big news. Quietly padding towards the Great Rock, Brindlewhisker picked out a rather empty space near the stone before eventually sitting down and wrapping her tail tightly around her paws.

Finchpaw padded in hesitantly behind the RiverClan patrol, her eyes wide and wary.  Though she had managed to have been persuaded to come to the Gathering, the young she-cat was still nervous.  When she thought of Fourtrees now, she could only see that ThunderClan apprentice, bleeding out into the soil.  The very thought of the incident sent a shiver down her spine, but she continued to walk into the crowd, dashing forward a bit to catch up with Nutpaw.

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Her face alight with excitement, Laurelpaw dashed down into the clearing ahead of the other WindClan cats, and gazed around in awe.  This was her first Gathering, and she had never felt this excited in her life.  This is awesome!  Look how tall the trees are.....and oh!  Is that RiverClan?  I've always wanted to meet a cat from another clan, when they aren't telling us about how we maimed one of their warriors.  Purring, the white and ticked she-cat looked around and caught sight of a RiverClan apprentice, not much older than her, sitting near the leader's rock.  Trotting over, she meowed a friendly greeting to Jaypaw; "Hi there! I'm Laurelpaw!"

Nutpaw noticed Finchpaw catching up to her, and padded a little towards her. Nutpaw noticed that her friend looked a little nervous, and wondered why.
"Hello Finchpaw. I know you have been to a gathering before, but because you are nearly a moon older than me, I have not. What's it like?" Nutpaw said with mellowed excitement, hoping to lighten the mood.
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Nectarpaw walked into the gathering with the rest of WindClan, looking around in awe. He was a little disappointed when he saw that RiveClan was the only other clan there yet, because he had already seen them when they were there to tattle on Kindleblaze. He looked around to see if there were any RiverClan cats he recognized from then, and the only ones he recognized were Fishstar and Smokeface. He decided that he would wait for the other clans to get there.

The tom blinked confused by the sudden approaching of the she-cat. "Hi... I'm Jaypaw" He meowed. The young cat soon noticed that Laurelpaw smelled kind of different from his clanmates, so he supposed that she belonged to another clan. This was the first time he talked to a cat from a different group. "What is your clan? Windclan?" Jaypaw, even with his shyness, was quite curious about the unknown she-cat and wanted to know a little more about the cats from other territories. He heard that Windclan cats were the best running, so it wasn't strange that their bodies and legs were so muscular.

To Stoatpaw, this was the most exciting moment of her entire life. When she had been a kit, she had heard so many stories about Gatherings that had taken place in the past, and she had been more than eager to attend one of her own. Usually, the first time experiencing something good was the best time. That was true, in this case. At first, Stoatpaw had managed to control herself on the way to Fourtrees with a steady pace that was fast enough to keep up with her Clanmates. However, when they made it to the place that was lined with the four towering oaks, all of the thrill that she had been bottling up spilled right out. The ginger-and-white apprentice raced forwards, her hazel eyes aglow, mirroring the positive emotions that she felt.
Everything is bigger than I thought it would be! I feel so small! Why are there so many smells? There are already a lot of cats here, are more coming? What if the other apprentices hate me?
The final few words echoed in her mind and she blinked a couple of times. Would it be possible for someone to hate her that she barely even knew? Even if they were from different Clans, this was a time of peace, right? A time of peace from tooth and claw...but maybe not from words and hateful feelings.

Crowfoot couldn't help to feel strange on this rather chilly night. Something inside him just didn't feel right he didn't like it but the tom continued to follow Ashstar into the Fourtrees the tom had hoped that the other clans would be kind to Smokepelt even though he got demoted he was still a fine warrior. The large tom was a little shocked when he spotted Fishstar already waiting for the clan's, the night kept on getting stranger.. As more cats began to sit down the tom sat down hoping that Jayfall would manage to sit by him.

Fallowstripe trotted in, feeling adoration burst in her chest as she saw Morningfog's ballooning belly. Her kits are due any day now! she thought. She heard the soft hum of the Gathering, and she was cheerful, but some aura felt weird. Just returning to normal... she thought. She saw her banded legs moving as she waltzed in, but she kept her stance humbled. She could still remember gazing into the stagnant waters of RiverClan when the weather was chilly, when she was scarcely a kit. Now, her long tail waved, signifying her entrance.