May's Gathering 2017

Larksong followed after her father, as faithful as ever as her tail swished back and forth. She felt horrible for Leopardstar - he had just become leader and yet had spent the whole time more or less so sick that he couldn't do anything. She knew Honeydrop was doing her best but she feared the chances that Leopardstar would lose a life from this sickness...She could only hope not. Amber eyes followed Magpiewing as the deputy jumped onto the rock, the first to arrive this time. He didn't look as nervous as last time which was good but she couldn't image how terrifying it must be to sit up there with the leaders...In one sense she was envious of her father for being deputy, another sense proud and in another sense relieved that she wasn't up there. Magpiewing was a good deputy - she couldn't deny that for the life of her.

Smokestripe trailed after his friend as with every gathering, heading toward their normal spot with relief that they were the first to arrive. Things had taken such an interesting turn last gathering, it was rather certain that things wouldn't be as exciting this time. He did find himself curious how WindClan and SkyClan were doing with their new members...And blinked when he caught the scent of WindClan flooding into the clearing at that thought. Oh. He glanced over his shoulder to see Ashstar leading her Clan into the clearing, his tail swishing as he took a seat as he tried to pick out the forms of two Tribe cats that had joined WindClan but it was impossible to see if they had come or not.

Mottleheart wasn't the happiest cat. While still uncertain of what he thought about Pale and Ash, the two Tribe cats that had joined WindClan, he was at least pleased that no trouble had arisen from their presence so far. He hadn't made his option against the two cats staying in their Clan vocal as it wasn't his place to speak but...He still didn't fully trust them. No, they would have to gain his trust. He sat down by his lonesome, his tail curling around his paws as he glanced around. The ShadowClan warrior that had taken Thrushstar's place last gathering was still there...But to his surprise, the brown and white warrior was certain he spotted Thrushstar's pelt among the gathered ShadowClan cats. Had the leader retired? If so...Then where was Leopardfang? He was the deputy under Thrushstar, he should be leader now...The WindClan warrior's eyes narrowed as his ears flickered back, staring questioningly up at the mostly black warrior that sat next to Ashstar. Hopefully they would get answers this time.

Goatshade muddled into the Gathering, her limbs sleek for her stocky build. She opened her mouth to scent the air. Her gaze endowed youthful excitement, which was odd, since Goatshade was a warrior. The WindClan she-cat bounded forwards to sit down on the ground, which was rich with verdure. She rigorously licked the fur between her claws. Goatshade couldn't help looking at Magpiewing. Hmm. Odd, reflected the hoary molly. Goatshade had regained the respect of her Clanmates, she supposed. Though this had happened, and Ashstar welcomed the 'Tribe' cats surpassingly, Goatshade tried not to feel antsy around them. A smile was plastered on her maw. Good enough for now, she thought.

Nectarpaw cheerfully padded into Fourtrees with the rest of WindClan, excited to be at a gathering once again.

Stonepaw, a Windclan apprentice, followed his friend Nectarpaw while taking in the area with awe. As he was overwhlemed by the scents of the place and the many cats streaming into the clearing to gather, the large gray tom couldn't help but think that there was no other place worthy of this sacred monthy tradition as this. The warrior code allowed a time of unity under the full moon, and he couldn't help but find that perfect.

Roaringpaw trailed behind his mentor Honeydrop, feeling completely on edge as his shadowy clan padded into the large area he had never been to before. The tiny medicine cat apprentice felt overwhelmed by the huge cats from other clans that almost seemed prowl through the growing crowd of felines. He took extra care to follow close to his clan, not wanting to get lost or trampled on by the large, unfamiliar cats of the other clan there so far. The black tom prayed to all the cats in Starclan that he wouldn't be mistaken as a kit.

Rowanpaw padded up to Roaringpaw with an uncharacteristically kitlike grin on his face. "I've never seen Windclan cats before," He mewed to the apprentice. "Is it true that they live out in the open?" He watched them pass with wide green eyes, his tail-tip flicking occasionally.

OOC: Hey, are we having the Shadowclan & Skyclan apprentice mix-up thread occur before the gathering or after? I''m assuming that the apprentice shennanigans happened before this, but correct me if I'm wrong:3

Roaringpaw perked up when Rowanpaw went over to talk to him. He has glad for something to distract him from his anxiety, and generally liked the other cat. Sure, he had threateningly pinned down a Skyclan apprentice with unsheathed claws during the Shadowclan/Skyclan apprentice fiasco, but when Rowanpaw got to his senses, he had showed remorse. To the medicine cat apprentice, anyone with a sense of morals towards injuring anyone was perfectly okay in his mind. "Probably, from what I've heard at least," he replied with a friendly tone, thinking back to the elders' stories. "And to be honest, I haven't seen many Windclan cats either. I met their medicine cat once, but other than that I don't know anyone there. I wonder if they're as fast as they say," he added with honest curiosity.

Crowstar lead his clan into the gathering area. While it was more of a blend now with the tribe cats among them.

Raccoonfang, and Waspstep followed their leader's into the gathering.

Duskpaw followed Crowstar into the clearing. She was quiet her dusky masked face looked around.

Gentlepaw seen Crowstar enter the clearing and she blinked.

Rosepaw padded after Crowstar, her paws itching to arrive at the gathering. Excited to see all the different cats from the clans and talk to all of them. It will be so fun!! It took all of her will not to bolt in front of Crowstar but she managed as they arrived to the clearing, seeing there was already a group of cats here she sniffed the air noticing they smell like marsh thinking back to what the other apprentices said that the different clans smelled like and figured they were Shadowclan. Padding up to a random cat that smelled different she greeted her, her tail wagging everywhere to show her excitement, "Hello! Are you Shadowclan? I am Rosepaw of Skyclan. How are you?" She rambled off.

Echopaw looked around as she heard her sibling meow and saw Roaringpaw talking to Rowanpaw and signed deeply. They were avoiding each other for no reason at all, but every time she thought about talking to him she feared that he would have changed since they last spoke. Now she won`t talk to him at all. She stayed rooted in her spot as she realized a new scent was drafting at them and a second later another group of cats came down. With their long legs she figured they were of Skyclan.

Storm that Lights the Clouds was the first of the Tribe cats to arrive with SkyClan, his shoulders squared as he glanced uneasily around. Things were no doubt better - he was well fed for once and he felt a strength in him that had gone missing but it was hard getting used to things. He was a Cave-Guard, not a hunter like every cat in SkyClan was. He didn't understand how to hunt and he certainly didn't like the idea of hunting in the branches of trees - it seemed like climbing up there was a unnecessary risk to get caught-prey. And then there trying to wrap his head around the life and terms that came with being a Clan cat. Apprentices, warriors, queens, deputy, leaders, medicine cat, Leaf-fall, Leafbare, Newleaf, Greenleaf...

So many terms and then he found their customs weird. The idea that they didn't share their prey like the Tribe did where a cat would take a single bite of prey before passing it along to that everybody could get a share where instead a cat would get a whole prey to themselves unless they decided to share...The tom shook his head as he spared a glance around at the group of cats, his tail twitching as he tried to recall what he had been told about these...Gatherings. He made sure to find a seat by his lonesome, squaring his shoulders as he sat up as straight as he could and gave a glare around. He wanted to be a watcher for this gathering and could only hope that nobody would try to talk to him.

Rowanpaw gasped, nudging Roaringpaw and gesturing to Skyclan.
"Look! A tribe cat!" He mewed in wonder.

Night of Stormy Gales padded out from the shadows into the moonlit clearing after Crowstar, his vivid green eyes flicking back and forth as the inquisitive tom examined the area, and the cats that crowded in throngs around him.  So far over the past moon, he had settled in well with the SkyClan cats, but he couldn't tell what the other clans thought of them.  Ashstar had taken in two of their number, so her cats were bound to be friendly, but the others he regarded with a wary gaze.  Finding a seat out of the way, Night decided to watch the interactions before jumping in himself.

---

Ryepaw trotted into the clearing behind Magpiewing, an eager gleam in his icy eyes; he hoped that the beautiful RiverClan she-cat he had met at the last Gathering would be in attendance tonight as well.  A purr rumbling in his throat, the pale ginger tabby gazed around at the other cats and felt his heart sink.  Oh, RiverClan isn't here yet...oh well.  Shrugging it off, the familiar shape of his friend Darkpaw floated into his vision, and the young tom turned to wave his tail to her in greeting.  Lately things had been quite....awkward to say the least between him and the she-cat he had grown up with; and having no clue what was wrong, he had no idea how to fix it.

---

Laurelpaw bounced into the clearing behind Ashstar, and quickly caught up to Necterpaw, who was walking with Stonepaw.  Though the very thought of the gray tom still lit a flame of jealousy in her chest, the white and speckled she-cat was determinded to enjoy the Gathering by her best friend's side.  With a purr, she gave Necterpaw a friendly bump on the shoulder, and nodded cordially to Stonepaw before meowing "No matter how many Gatherings I go to, I'll always be excited!  How about you...guys?"

---

Emberpaw was walking towards the back of the SkyClan group, his ears twitching as he picked up the sounds of so many different voices--the clearing must have been full of cats! Emberpaw picked up the scent of ShadowClan and Windclan, which he recognized from patrolling the borders. He wondered how many cats from each clan were there, but tried not to think about it--it was a tad overwhelming for the blind apprentice to think about, especially since he didn't yet have any friends from other clans to talk to. he didn't even have any friends in his own clan, for that matter... He found himself wishing for ThunderClan to arrive, in the hope that Falconpaw would be with them.

❀ morningpaw ❀

Morningpaw trotted into the clearing along with ShadowClan, letting all of her senses branch out and take in all they could once she was fully submerged in Fourtrees. Her gaze wandered around, landing randomly on groups of cats from the other Clans as they mingled with each other. Nobody looked hostile, fortunately, and that just gave her even more confidence than she already had. Morningpaw's ears were pricked to allow the noises of the Gathering spot to flood in. It was the sound of chattering cats and a slight breeze whipping through the tall trees that greeted her. The apprentice lifted her nose slightly to catch all the scents. There were so many, it was actually a little bit overwhelming. There was of course her own scent, along with ShadowClan's, and the other Clans' scents too. Not to mention that she could smell prey that darted around the edges of Fourtrees. She wanted to meet everyone and talk to everyone, but that couldn't happen all in one night. She'd just have to do what she could. Maybe she could talk to a Tribe cat if she had the chance! Morningpaw knew that Tribe cats had gone to both WindClan and SkyClan, and now maybe she'd actually be able to speak with one. However, she couldn't let her curiosity get the best of her. The tortoiseshell she-cat branched away from her Clan and began to look around at the others, wondering which one she'd go up and talk to.

☼ nettlepaw ☼

It was hard for Nettlepaw to hold back her enthusiasm as she swiftly followed Ashstar and her Clan into Fourtrees. This would be her first Gathering, and she hoped that it would be a memorable one. She had already learned the scents of the rival Clans during her training sessions, but now was the first time that she experienced having them all mingle together and flood her senses all at once. It was the oddest thing she had ever smelled. Wrinkling her nose, the apprentice padded further into the clearing. While she did enjoy being with her Clan, the Gathering was a time to speak with other Clan cats without having to worry about a fight breaking out. Nettlepaw had to lift her head to be able to see the tops of the four trees that lined the clearing, giving it it's name: Fourtrees. She could only imagine the faces on the apprentices that weren't able to come as she described the sight before her and hopefully made them all jealous.

♡ stoatpaw ♡

Even though this was Stoatpaw's second time attending a Gathering, she still got the same sense of euphoria and excitement as she padded into Fourtrees, proudly, alongside her Clan. It was amusing for her to watch the first-time apprentices as they went in with WindClan. Pausing for a moment, Stoatpaw shook her head at herself with a playful eye-roll. She was starting to sound like she was some sort of elder, now. The apprentice sat down quietly with WindClan, running her tongue over her paw before drawing it gingerly over her left ear. The last Gathering had been interrupted by the Tribe cats, who she could see would be joining the Clan cats at tonight's Gathering, and it had resulted in arguments from all five cats up on the Great Rock. Stoatpaw hoped that this Gathering would be peaceful, with no bickering from anyone. However, she had no clue what events this Gathering would hold.

Littlebrook padded into the gathering behind Magpiewing, sending silent prayers his way. She knew it had to be rough on the tom, though he didn't seem as nervous as last time, and she was beginning to worry about Leopardstar. He'd been sick practically since he got his name, and he hadn't been able to attend any gatherings as leader so far. Not to mention, it probably made ShadowClan look weak, but she knew if anyone even thought about attacking them, they'd have another thing coming. She padded confidently forward to ShadowClan's usual spot and sat down.

Silentstorm padded into the gathering a few tail-lengths behind his mother with Blackpaw at his side, pelts brushing. He felt a little awkward around Blackpaw ever since he met the beautiful RiverClan she-cat named Sparkwillow and he wasn't sure why. Well, he did know, but he wasn't about to admit that to himself just yet. Signing softly, he glanced between the two sisters, their forever long quarrel over who know what still happening. He couldn't think what would make Blackpaw and Darkpaw argue so much with eachother. He hated the thought of even having an argument with his sister, Ambernose, and they had yet to have one. Thank StarClan. As they sat down to wait for the gathering to begin, he attempted a conversation. "How has your mentor been treatin' ya?" He asked, green gaze seemingly distracted as he searched for Sparkwillow.

Frost that Blankets the Brook padded in confidently behind her tribemates who also came to the gathering. These clan terms were awful weird, and she couldn't understand most of them for the life of her. Like why couldn't they have designated jobs for each cat instead of everyone trying to do everything? It just didn't make any sense to her. She felt like it'd be way more efficient for each cat to have their own job. She also didn't understand why all the clans couldn't just live together and just share all the territory. There was plenty of prey here, and with more cats to help out, it'd be pretty hard to go hungry. Plus there'd less, if any, fighting, which she also thought was beetle-brained.
Whatever. she shrugged to herself, sitting down near Night of Stormy Gales and Storm that Lights the Clouds.