July's Gathering 2017

"Fishstar!" Ivyfall yowled after her leader, the silver deputy looking in horror as the mist claimed her. No, this couldn't be happening, no. No. She was going to get her leader and aunt back, even if she had to claw that two-faced elder to bits, StarClan be damned, she was tired of being a pawn in this great game where she only saw half the pieces. "Shut up." She snarled at Lilyheart, the last thing she wanted to hear was another SkyClan cat's pathetic mewls about peace and sharing tongues under the moonlight. It was their foolishness and sentimentality that got them in this mess.

Bristling, she went over to where the rest of the tribe sat, claws unsheathed as she hissed. "You've brought nothing but ruin to our lands. Get out, and follow your filthy foxhearted leader!"

"No!"
Rowantalon threw himself desperately at the mist as it swept over Leopardstar. The tom's efforts did nothing to deter it and he screeched in anger as it quickly swallowed the rest of the leaders.

Leafstorm rounded on the tribe cats angrily. "This is your fault!" He yowled angrily. "Leave or I'll make you!"

"Ashstar!" Brindlewhisker howled, voice hoarse with rage and panic as the Mist simply whisked away her Leader- her kin! Stoneteller leaving was supposed to make things better, not take away all of the Clan's Leaders! Chest heaving with panic, the Deputy plunged forwards in a hopeless attempt to go after the Mist that had vanished once more. What was she supposed to do? How could she go after Ashstar if the Mist had vanished completely? 'StarClan help us!' The edges of her vision grew fuzzy with panic as she glanced around at the terrified cats still milling in the clearing around her, her gaze desperately seeking out the figures of Dawnpaw and Goldenpaw- were her sons alright? Had they been harmed in the chaos that was currently unfolding around them? She had already lost Ashstar, she couldn't lose her sons as well!

However, a new figure scrambling up onto the Great Rock caught her attention and caused her ears to fall flat with anger and distract her from her blind panic. "Do not presume to order us around you kit!" She spat heatedly at Lilyheart as she turned to face the she-cat who had the audacity to leap up onto the Great Rock and mewl off orders as if she was suddenly crowned Leader of SkyClan. She could trust the orders of Crowstar or Rippedsky or any other cat with experience, but not this she-cat. But then again, how could she trust the cats who had fraternized so freely with the Tribe? Shaking her head in disbelief, she did her best to force away the bulk of rage as she continued to stare at Lilyheart with narrowed eyes- a rational part of her brain knew that she was just projecting her anger at any target she could, but she couldn't find it in herself to be bothered by this fact. "It's your Clans fault this is happening in the first place!" She finally hissed, pupils dilated with rage, spitting the words out as vehemently as she possibly could.

Whirling around, Brindlewhisker found herself stalking after Ivyfall, falling into step after the RiverClan Deputy with an air of caution in her brisk pacing. While she held no love in her heart for the RiverClan cat, she couldn't help but agree with the other she-cat's choice of action. If they couldn't get their Leaders back then the next step was to fend off the Tribe before they could do more harm, right? She was fixing to join Ivyfall in where she stood, speaking to the Tribe, when she managed to catch a glimpse of the face of a shocked face of a silver-and-white tabby tom just beneath the Great Rock. She had seen this tom addressing Stoneteller just moments before- he was a Tribe cat! At once, she found herself turning on Storm and making a beeline towards the former Caveguard, tail lashing in anger as she approached. "You!" She hissed, eyes wild with a mixture of panic and anger, "How could you and your Tribe do such terrible things to the Clans that took you in?!" Brindlewhisker seethed accusingly, feeling her muscles tensing sharply beneath her bristling fur.

Storm wanted to say something as he watched panic spread across the cats, the Mist disappearing at Stoneteller's words. He wanted to call out, to order the healer to stop as...He believed him. He didn't think that Stoneteller was the cause of the Mist but then what was? Why did it listen to him? What was the deal it spoke to him about countless sunrises ago? Then it stuck again, suddenly washing across the clearing as he flinched at the cold air it brought with in. And when it disappeared...He could hear the howling of the Clans as each realized that their leader was gone. His gaze snapped up, glancing around as he dimly realized that it was true - Ashstar, Bizzardstar, Leopardstar, Fishstar and even Rippedsky...They were missing.

He could see the cats turning on his Tribemates, his claws digging into the ground as he fought the need to rush over to defend them against the terror of what was taking place. He didn't understand this at all... But then a voice interrupted him as he spun to find himself face to face with a tall, sleek she-cat. His fur stood on edge as he squared his shoulder, not willing to let himself be scared by her as he narrowed his eyes. "This isn't our doing!" he hissed sharply at her, a small panic flickering in his eyes. "I am as lost as you all are on this matter! I don't know what this Mis-"


Fury, anger...Mottleheart had been tending to Ashstar's side as the she-cat recovered from her fall, barely listening to her words as he fretted over her safety. He didn't care when the leaders turned on Stoneteller, he didn't care when the strange healer left the clearing...But he did care when the Mist swooped back into the clearing, circling around him and causing his breath to halt when it disappeared once more and she was gone. "Ashstar!" he wailed, his eyes widening as his gaze snapped around. He could hear the other cats similar wailing for their lost leaders - only the leaders having been stolen.

He could hear a voice from the great rock but he didn't pay attention to it - a warrior trying to place herself as the new deputy of SkyClan or something like that while a few voices snarled at her...But he recognized one of them and his gaze snapped to the familiar shape of Brindlewhisker as she stormed across the clearing and shouted at a tom. He didn't recognize the tom she was yelling at but as he moved over, he caught the scent wafting from the tom as his eyes narrowed. SkyClan. It was a Tribe cat. The tom's mouth moved in attempting to form a defense but Mottleheart didn't care. With a snarl of his own, he launched himself forward into the tom, cutting him off as the two hit the ground.

"Where is my daughter?" he hissed sharply as he did his best to pin the large tom to the ground, meeting his startled blue eyes. "Where is my leader?" Mottleheart's claws sunk into the tom's shoulder, barely enough to draw blood until he was shoved off by the tribe cat's strong limbs. "What is this mist?" he howled even as he was forced backwards and the tom drew himself to his paws.


"I don't know!" Storm snapped back as he shook his shoulders, chasing away the lingering flashes of pain from the lean brown and white cat's claws. He had felt worst and he didn't pay any attention to it as he raised his nose as he stared at the two WindClan cats that were cornering him. "I don't know what this Mist is nor what it is doing! I have nothing to do with this! It..." his gaze snapped over to the fallen form of Lionpaw. "Its hurt one of my own. I don't know what it is but I want it to pay," he argued lightly, allowing his gaze to shift over to the two. "I want this to be over as much as you all."


Rest of my cats are panicking with the rest of the masses.

Ashpaw let out a single, wavering cry as Olivepaw disappeared, thrashing desperately in an attempt to fight the mist, to do something—where had she gone? But his mind was racing too quickly and fear showed the whites of his eyes against the blackness of the trees and despite how many times he stumbled toward the Mist with the intention of taking it down he was pushed back by a surge of cats that had the same idea, that weren't suspended in shock.

The young tom's mouth was dry as he stared at the chaos unfolding before him, barely being able to comprehend any of it. At one point, he thought about his littermates, and in his nauseating state he whipped around, trying to find at least one. He couldn't, and like a kit began to back away from the screeching kits, his breath coming in short gasps that shook his pale body like a hurricane. "Olivepaw!" he managed to choke out once, desperate in the hope that she could return his call.

She didn't.


Dovepaw whipped her head around, checking that her friends were by her side, and then scampered off to find her boyfriend mentor.

☁

Blackpaw hid beneath Hawkstrike's fluffy coat, fear and uncertainty racing through her small body. Only her head poked out, surveying the chaos with cool green eyes. Quietly, as the other cats screeched and ran and tried to fight, she observed how the fog moved and told her mentor in her own small voice, confused as to why she wasn't screaming it aloud: "They aren't…doing anything." The Mist did not seem harmed. But behind a curtain of familiar-scented brown fur, it did not exactly appear dreadfully harmful, either.

And then he was gone. Her protective cover was gone and she was all alone in a sea of screeching, panicked cats. She managed to spot her mentor on the Great rock, close to an older tom and hissing roughly. She stumbled, afraid, and spotted the Mist across the clearing. 

Suddenly it didn't seem so harmless anymore.

Littlebrook and Silentstorm are panicking

Cloudroar listened as everything unfolded before him. There was so much going on and so many panicking cats around him, and he felt hi breath come in panicky breaths. He was suddenly freezing, and then just as fast, he was warm again. The smell of blood was everywhere, and the leader's scents were now in front of him instead of above him. "What in StarClan's name.." He breathed quietly, his ears flicking at all the noises that assaulted them. He wanted to scream at everyone to shut up so he could actually focus on the hand at matter, but before he could, he was freezing again. Lots of things happened in that moment. He felt his feet racing towards his father's scent, knocking into other cats but not caring. As soon as he got to the deputy, his scent vanished and he was warm again. He scented his siblings around him, and he leaned heavily on one of them, not really sure which it was. His legs threatened to buckle, and the noises were growing fuzzy and indistinguishable. He'd never felt such sheer panic and horror all at once. All of his senses felt overloaded, and he kept telling himself that he was going to wake up soon, that this was all a dream. "Bring my father back, you fox-heart!" He yowled into the empty air. He knew it was no use. That the mist was gone and was probably very far away by now, doing StarClan knows what to his father.

Shrewpaw was still lying on the ground, unable to get up, when the mist reappeared. He tried to growl at it again, but all that came from his throat was a feeble whimper. Anger filled him as the mist left, and even more when he heard the shouts. Oh great, not the mist had taken the leaders too. That would make evrybody freak out and lose control. He was tired of this.
_________________________________________________

Nectarleap was relieved beyond measure when the mist left, though his fur grew cold again when he saw the injured cats. The mist had done this. For a few seconds, uncontrollable rage filled his body, and he felt like doing what everyone else was doing and yell at it. But that wouldn´t work. The only way to fight this mist was to outthink it. They just didn´t know how to yet. When they threw out Stoneteller, he could tell chasing out the only cat that could controll the mist was wrong. But his suspision stopped him from saying anything.
But when the mist returned and took all of the leaders, that anger was hard to keep at bay. Not just at the mist itself, but at the other cat handling it badly. Yelling and accusing wasnt going to bring back all the cats that had been kidnapped! The warrior sighed and hung his head. The mist had taken Ashstar and there was nothing he could do about it. How was Stoneheart taking this?

OOC: Nutpaw and Curlypaw and standing frozen and in denial

Fox that hunts in the Night was remained stoic after all the initial panic of the mist until now. He didn't attack it since that strange smoke didn't seem interested in any of his clan and the false accusations of the leader were just being ignored by the Bengal cat.
However, now everything was going to bad to worse. He couldn't remain like nothing was happening. With narrowed eyes and his tail up, angrily, the Tomcat defended his leader as well as Storm that Lights the Clouds did. "This is just nonsense. We had nothing to do with all this mess and it's not our fault. Why would we even want this? We lost a lot of our kind during our trip here and the last thing we want is more losses like that. If you want us out, then all right, mouse-brained! However, that wouldn't change the fact that you're making a huge mistake because we are innocent as you. He hissed to the cats that called themselves deputies and all the ones that were against him. He couldn't understand why they hate so much when they didn't have any real proof that they were allied with the Mist.

Rye and Laurel are freaking out

"No, no!"  The mist had once again returned, and Leopardclaw whipped around just in time to see Blizzardstar's pale coat vanishing into the mysterious fog, along with all of the other leaders and Rippedsky, who had been filling in.  All of a sudden, the golden spotted tom felt his chest clench up as panic began to set in, and the cries and yowls of the crowd, the deputies, and Stoneteller seemed faded and distant.  She...she's gone!  They're all gone....how can this be?!  They need to come back, I can't lead ThunderClan!  Trying to take deep, calming breathes, the young deputy turned to watch as Ivyfall and Brindlewhisker confronted Tribe cats, but even though it was quite suspicious that the Mist had struck when Stoneteller had spoke, and when he had left, Leopardclaw didn't blame the Tribe.  He hadn't spoken to many of them, but Shadowleaf had always seemed like a brave, loyal cat, and the rest of the foreign cats had been amiable enough.  They looked just about as distraught as any of the other cats, and he felt a bit of pity spark in his heart.  They've been blamed, accused, and suspected for all of the strange things that have been happening lately....yet there is no proof that they are even involved.  It could all just be Stoneteller's doing...

Leopardclaw glanced up at the Great Rock for a moment, tempted to hop up to make his point, but it seemed to be occupied by a she-cat from SkyClan, spouting nonsense.  Rolling his eyes, the large tom stepped up into a clear position within the hearing range of the other two deputies, and raised his voice to a commanding yowl.  "Listen all!  I know this is extremely shocking for all of us right now, and many of us wish to point the blame on others, but I ask that we please exercise good logic and not loose our heads about this!"  Glaring pointedly at Ivyfall and Brindlewhisker, he continued.  "Right now what's important isn't throwing around accusations, the last thing we need right now is to start any sort of fight, so I ask that we please think before we act.  Now, it is true that this Mist and the Tribe seem to be mysteriously connected in some way, it's undeniable, but that doesn't mean that they are plotting against us.  I suggest, if the remaining Tribe consents, that we thoroughly investigate this situation through questioning and interrogation.  There may be some clue we have all overlooked, and the only way to solve this is to learn as much as we can about this...thing."  Taking a deep breath, Leopardclaw glanced around for a second before finishing; "Also, it would be wise to interrogate the clan cats who have encountered the Mist before; we may learn clues there as well, even though the last thing I would want to do is help dig up painful memories; but it must be done."  Catching sight of Lichenfang through the crowd, he swept on.  "Now please, stop this foolishness.  It's not going to get us anywhere productive.  It will only spawn more rivalry and hatred, which is the last thing this forest needs right now.  We are all hurting."

PLEASE READ

Behind her sky blue eyes, there was nothing.

She watched as Stoneteller fell prey to these clan cats, it saddened her, but it was price he paid for not taking the opportunity in front of him. All had to pay the blood price to survive, but time and time again, Stoneteller remained stubborn as their tribe was being grounded down to dust. How many of them were left now? Her kits were all dead, Lion... paw. He wasn't her kit now, absorbed into these savages. He was lost, but it was no fault of his. Weak cats ruled the forests, ones that barely had a link to their ancestors. Stoneteller used to speak with the Tribe of Endless hunting all the time, get prophecies and have them explain how the tribe should survive. These cats, their ancestors seemed to have left them to rot.

So when she hopped onto their sacred rock of leaders, she feared not a retribution from the stars as she shoved off Lilyheart. There were no real stars here, just darkness that lurked in forests. The moon was covered, but what did that matter when they did nothing? The loss of moonlight didn't stop the bickering or Stoneteller from being driven out. The moonlight's covering didn't stop the clan cats from declaring them a danger. Those fox-hearts who'd sent them on this journey had doomed them from the start, this was why she had to do this. To be a kit-mother meant more than being just a kit-birther likes these clan cats seemed to think. She was not only her tribe's queen, but she was a mother. A she-cat that gave comfort to young, wisdom to to-bes, love to her mates. She was everything and more. And sometimes, a mother had to make a sacrifice for the good of her family.

A mother's choice was never easy, it was her duty to lead her family straight. Stoneteller had strayed, failed, so she would succeed where he didn't. From her place on the rock, she meowed for everyone to hear. Relying on the mist to make her voice echo. "Enough, Leopardclaw. There will be no need for any interrogation... I trust you all know who I am, but if you do not. I am Swoop of Fierce Doves, a kit-mother and I ask you to listen to me. To think beyond what you've had beaten down your jaws. Your leaders are gone, and so are the chains that StarClan binds you with. Our ancestors, our true ancestors did not live bound to the stars, but lived in the present. What has StarClan brought us? Nothing. You are fractured, broken. We are all cats, no? Yet you would drive out Stoneteller, bicker over borders and look down on your weak. Why do you follow a code that calls for you to go against all your instincts? Why is it wrong for you to mate with a cat of another clan? Do you not see that this whole system is wrong? You wouldn't have fallen so easily to the mist if you hadn't been so fractured. I was surprised at how easily you all fell, how many cats just disappeared and not one leader would say a word to another. SkyClan didn't even tell you that Crowstar was missing. Now that there are no leaders to subdue you, and no stars in the sky. You can decide for yourself. We can rejoin under the darkness of the sky as one tribe... Or you can die in your old world, a relic."

"One... tribe...?"

Ravenclaw wavered in her own seat. Most of the voices around her, they'd felt like little to nothing. They were only echoes in the back of her mind. She could only see the mist, silent as it has brushed the leaders off the Great Rock with ease, harming all that opposes to brush it off. The tribe? She hadn't cared about them all before. SkyClan's problem, not hers, far as she's ever been concerned. What would they be able to do against the mist? Were they truly safe against it? Her green eyes flickered to the queen yowling over the chaos. Would they have been able to save Pinepaw?

She'd only known StarClan from her long sickness, her punishment for ever getting so close to a RiverClan cat. Was it needed so...? Would one tribe really be so bad. "Smokestripe?" She called at last, " What do we do...?" She wasn't sure. If Leopardstar had ever sensed her weakness, if she'd ever think to join the tribe... she would be banished for certain.
But if he knew about Sleetfang. And Yewpaw... If he'd ever found out about her daughter, her last living child.
If it mattered. Leopardstar was gone like the rest now. "Shou-should we...?"

Leafstorm snarled angrily. Every word the she-cat spoke was against the code, and Starclan itself.
"One tribe? Who are you to question our beliefs? Skyclan, Windclan, they took you in- welcomed you into their territories and allowed you to eat their food." He glanced around. "A poor decision, in my opinion. They let you join them, yet you betray them when they're at their weakest. You have no loyalty to the cats who've given you shelter for moons. You're not worthy to live here, let alone change how we live." The tom huffed, his green eyes narrowed. "I'll let you leave, but by Starclan if any of you show your mangy pelts around here in the next thousand moons, I will personally send you all to the... 'Tribe of endless hunting', was it?"

Slatethroat had been so consumed in making sure Dovepaw was safe to really contribute much to what was happening. It had all gone down so quickly. Once he was finally by the young she-cat's side, his eyes fixated on the commotion happening up on the great rock. All of the leaders were gone. This mist that had come along with the tribe had taken them along with so many other cats. Stoneteller had left. That alone filled the warrior with rage, they should have killed him. His blood should have stained the forest floor for what he had brought upon the clans. But now, the deputies and some Skyclan warrior yowled trying to control the chaos. There was bickering on both sides, things he agreed with and things he did not, but nothing caught his attention until the tribe queen spoke. Something clicked in his head. A growl built up in his chest and his claws immediately unsheathed.

"Join or die? Is that your game? You pretend like you have no idea what is happening here, but it seems to me that it is playing out so perfectly for all of you!" Slatethroat's enraged yowl rose up among the other voices. They wanted to destroy the forest. These monstrous cats who claimed to be peaceful, and had the gull to insinuated the clans were savages, were here just to take over. If the mouse-brained idiots thought they could threaten the clans into submission, he would prove them wrong. His eyes were alight with fire. That same fire pounded through his veins. Underneath it all, there was hints of uncertainty and fear, but it was lost under the pure rage that now pulsed through his pelt. No piece of fox-dung tribe cats would be allowed to waltz in and destroy Windclan if he had anything to do with it, "If you think you're going to make the clans roll over and submit to your will, you're as dumb as the rocks you used to live on!" He spat into the earth, demanding some sort of satisfactory response from the idiotic she-cat that preached from the leader's rock.

**
Flamestrike was rooted to his spot next to Barkpaw as all the of the chaos swarmed around them. Once the mist had disappeared, along with the leaders, he glanced at the young tom before rushing off to find his kits. Both seemed to be safe for now. Honeydrop seemed to be okay as well. He longed to rush to her side, but there was no way they would risk it. Once he was back at Firepaw's side, his eyes glanced up to the rock just in time to see one of the tribe cats talking. He'd payed little to no attention to them, they had not been his problem. But not, it appeared, they were the cause of all the forest's problems. A low growl rumbled in his chest as Swoop of Fierce Doves began to speak. All of his wanted to lash out and yowl at her as the Windclan warrior had done. Although, he held his tongue.

It occurred to him that speaking out could only mean trouble for his kits. If it meant keeping his family safe, the orange warrior would grit his teeth. Of course, Flamestrike in no way agreed with the she-cat that spoke from his leader's spot on the rock. He had no desire to live as a tribe cat, nor to follow the ways of the cats that had tormented them. But he could not stand against it, at least not outright. Any cat that had faced the tribe or Stoneteller had ended up vanishing or covered in a variety of deep wounds. His claws dug into the earth with a deep frustration, but Flamestrike said nothing.

***
Coyotepaw froze. He barely knew what it meant to be a clan cat, he barely knew what life in the forest was like, but everything happening now seemed like complete lunacy. This was nothing like the stories his mother had told him back in the city. The only thing he did know, is this 'tribe' was trying to change things from what they were supposed to be. 'Swoop of something' was trying to speak against Starclan. The apprentice might not have been born into the clans, but if Wolffang had taught him anything, it was a deep rooted faith in the warrior ancestors. His eyes widened for a brief second as he simply took in everything that was going on. It was a lot for his first gathering. Meeting the many other cats that lived in the forest was one thing, but this was far worse. Not wanting to seem like a terrified kit, the small-eared tabby sat up straight and cast a glance over the crowd.

"Is she insane?" He finally muttered to his brother, not wanting to say anything else. This cat spoke of a fractured world, but the only fracture he had seen was due to the tribe. Forest life had been far better than the filthy world of the twoleg city. His birthplace was filled with vicious rogues, muck, and a lack of any sort of law or loyalty. The clans flourished with all of these things. Coyotepaw was far more confused than anything. Why would they want to change that? Sure, all cats living together and getting along would be ideal, but it was unrealistic. There was no need to change the clans from what they were. The notion was even ridiculous in his head. His long tail lashed as he stared up at the rock where Blizzardstar once stood. He found himself hoping she was safe and just longed for it to all be over.

***
Sagepaw watched in horror as cats were attacked by the mist. The medicine cats all rushed to their sides to try to help. She almost did the same, but was stopped by Stoneteller speaking. Her eyes had been trained on him almost the whole gathering. Suspicions confirmed. The tribe leader had something to do with it all. Chaos had exploded and every cat rounded on the whole tribe. Although, all of them seemed clueless. Stoneteller seemed like the only one who knew something, unless they were all hiding it. The grey and white she-cat slipped out after the brown tom. She was half surprised that no one else had left the clearing after him. They all just kind of let him go. Maybe it was a fear of the mist or something, but regardless, the Windclan medicine cat apprentice followed suit. Her stomach was in knots as she followed his scent. After not long, she had caught up.

It felt strange confronting the tribe leader, but she sucked in a deep breath and called out, "Stoneteller!" After catching his attention, Sagepaw trotted over. There was a sense of urgency that wormed its way into her belly. She felt small underneath his gaze. Despite it all, she held his eyes and spoke, "You leaving has changed nothing. The clans cats and tribe cats are at each other's throats. I know that you know what is happening. If you care for any cat back in the clearing, we need to know the truth. And something needs to be done." The words demanded an answer as much as they pleaded for one. Her green eyes glistened with a fire that matched her brothers. It was a similar passion, but not one that was unable to be tamed like Slatethroat's. Sagepaw was far more logical than him. As she waited for a response, the young she-cat's eyes did not falter.

Moonlight was beyond confused as the whole clearing was submerged into chaos. There were cats hissing at each other back and forth, mist throwing leaders off rocks, and finally Stoneteller had called the mist off…somehow…only to be driven away from the gathering by Hawkstrike, the RiverClan leader before she was taken from them by the mist, and another cat she couldn’t really identify.

She almost fell into panic alongside many of her clanmates as soon as Rippedsky was taken away, though tried to keep her mind as clear from the blinding fog that came with such feeling in an attempt to find a solution to this problem. Her eyes first landed on Lilyheart…while she kind of respected the she-cat’s attempt to calm down the cats around the Great Rock even she knew it was a fruitless endeavor. Then a golden spotted tom took her place…ThunderClan’s new deputy? Maybe the cats would listen to him instead.

However, she wasn’t expecting Swoop to jump onto the rock and try to speak to them as well. She felt a mix of emotions even before her speech started, after the supposed evidence of this mist being linked to the tribe she felt the boiling sting of anger and even a glimpse of hatred. However, having interacted with her as a clanmate for these past couple moons, even if not as much as she would’ve liked, made her feel some kind of kinship and respect towards the queen…uh…kit-mother. However, as soon as words left her mouth she lowered her ears and moved her head from side to side slowly with a clear frown on her face.

“You’ve got it wrong Swoop. StarClan is not the group of cats that look without intervening that you describe. They send us omens, they give our leaders their nine lives, they look at us and are always with us even if we can’t see them all the time. I know they care, I know that regardless of how dark the night sky is they will always find a way to lighten it again. I saw them Swoop, I touched them, I fought with them side by side back when the Dark Forest tried to take over the forest way before you placed a single paw in this forest” While trying her best to be polite, but anger was clear in her voice at Swoop’s words “The code is not a bunch of random laws placed down by crazy old cats, and clans are not groups created randomly just to throw dirt on others and create conflict. Didn’t you ever try to understand out origins and history like the rest of your tribe? Before those laws were settled down and before the clans existed, cats in this forest fought and argued with each other indiscriminately. Kits rarely survived and dangers assaulted everyone left and right. It wasn’t until StarClan intervened that cats with similar ideas and goals joined and created the clans we know today that chaos settled into order, and it was because of many tragedies and wars that could’ve easily been avoided if cats had rules for their behavior that the code was created. Your tribe lived alone in the mountains, with no competition from other cats, so I understand the lack of understanding that you currently have towards such events”.

Her aqua eyes were locked on Swoop’s, fear no longer evident in them even if her guard was still high thanks to the mist “If you thought we were bound to StarClan through our leaders, you’re wrong! StarClan is bound to every single one of us through many ways, through our family, through or friends, through those that no longer walk with us and instead watch over us from the great forests that make their territory between the night skies. No leader ever subdued me, and I’m sure most of the cats here if not all will agree with me when I say that they were our friends and if we followed them it was out of respect and admiration, to the point where the dream of almost all kits, apprentices and even warriors it to hold that great title someday. You ask me to decide by myself and I will do so, following the path of our ancestors between the stars and not resting until our friends and leaders are returned safely to the forest”.

Her voice turned dead serious as her eyes narrowed “Unlike what you may think clans do know when to unite when there is a common enemy among us, I had seen it many times before. Don’t make that common enemy become the tribe, Swoop of Fierce Doves, or you will be the ones that will die in YOUR old world”.

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Nightheart let out a grief filled yowl when Ashstar was taken away, but her pain and insecurities were turned into anger when she heard the words spoken by Swoop on top of the Great Rock, her fur standing on end and claws unsheathed. Since her father gave him the clawmarks that were clearly seen over her eye for talking when she wasn’t supposed to she had been more careful of where and when she let her tongue loose, but this time she simply couldn’t hold back.

“I would call you a mouse-brain, but I doubt you even have that!” She hissed at Swoop, already on a fighting position just in case “Insult our beliefs like that?! Question our traditions and ways to handle things when you clearly hadn’t even tried to understand even the surface of them?! What makes you think that we will even care about what you are saying right now or understand your own ways when you don’t show a glimpse of respect towards ours?!” She could feel rage making her blood boil, this wasn’t the first time she had been forced to fight in this sacred grounds, and if the necessity presented itself she would be more than willing to do it again if it meant getting her clanmates back and stop the mist for once and for all.

“When Ashstar decided to take your tribe in I was hesitant, but decided to respect her decisions and give your tribe a chance. After all, regardless of your origins your tribe seemed to be made up of good hearted cats that had gone through much. However I accept my mistake and stand corrected! You’re nothing but foxhearts! While I can see some good between those you call tribemates, you definitely are beyond corrupted and will rot in the Dark Forest for all eternity if you keep up this stupid act! Not even your supposed ancestors will be willing to take in a traitor that was cold enough to cause this pain to those that took you in with open paws after they sent you here! If you expect any kind of redemption, you will get down from the spot on the Great rock that you’ll never be worthy of occupying, help us figure out and get rid of this mist, bring our clanmates back and rebuild our clans!”.

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Sootwhisper heard most of the gathering from his place, only reacting by growing nervous and even angry at the appearance of the mist. So many things happened and so fast he barely had time to process it all. The mist attacking cats and throwing leaders off the rock, Stoneteller calling it off, cats turning against Stoneteller….something he had done too if he wasn’t fully convinced that they should make an even bigger mess of this already bad situation. But then the mist took away the leaders.

He rushed towards the Great rock, not caring to be between many cats for once in his life. He was more worried about Thistleblaze up there and the sudden disappearance of Fishstar. His eyes traveled from cat to cat until Swoop spoke. His worried expression returned to his usual serious and emotionless one.

“I hope you’re not being serious, tribe cat” He did hear the she-cat’s name, but decided against using it as he didn’t seem her worthy of such effort from his part, not only because of her origins, but also because of what she had just said “Just so you know, I was never bound to anything or anyone by StarClan, nor any other supposed ancestor that may lurk somewhere that we can’t see, as I never was sure of their real existence anyways. If you ask me even your…how is it called…Tribe of Endless Hunting? Even that sounds like nothing but tales of old told by elders to kits just to entertain them at night before they went to sleep. So I won’t really say anything towards that. However, I will let you know that what you’re saying is nothing but nonsense” His words were void of emotion as he explained that he couldn’t be bound to something that, at least for him, didn’t even existed. He as such a logical cat that he would need to see one of those StarClan warriors in front of him to even think about acknowledging their existence.

After flicking an ear, not exactly pleased with all the yowling around him he decided to go on “However, you are telling us that leaders subdued us while yours didn’t when as far as I can tell they were just like him if not even better on our eyes? That our traditions that had been passed down from generation to generation are wrong when yours are right when you clearly don’t even try to understand or even be up to date with them? That the clans are the wrong way to live and a tribe is right when you refuse to hear the history and reasons behind such way of living? Come on, get off that rock and stop making a fool out of yourself and the rest of your tribe, maybe if you do you’ll have some dignity to salvage”.

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Hawkstrike smirked as victory washed over him, watching Stoneteller leave the clearing. However, it was short-lived as the mist returned and took away the leaders and Rippedsky.

Rage boiled inside him again, causing him to let out a loud yowl that mixed with those of the rest of the cats grieving or scared in the clearing. He really felt like jumping towards the gathered tribe cats and rip their throats open until there was none left to ensure the mist was gone for good and, hopefully, it returned Crowstar and the rest of the cats that it had snatched away. He didn’t even acknowledged Lilyheart’s nor Leopardclaw’s attempt to bring back the lost order and peace, shaking violently as inside his mind he plotted and tried to figure out the best way to kill all of the tribe cats for this…until Swoop spoke.

His first reaction was predictable, as his rage filled eyes landed on the tribe cat that was now on top of the rock with him, as he had refused to hop down, but he was stopped barely a heartbeat before he pounced on her and, if not kill her, at least throw her off the rock. Her words were interesting after all. She was placing in front of him and the rest of the cats the option to get rid of StarClan, or…well, the closest thing you could get to it. Yes, it would be replaced by her and the tribe’s ancestors, but in his eyes that was way better than the current clan that watched over them. The clan of the stars that had driven away the Dark Forest and had caused so much pain in his life.

“Hmmm…” His originally aggressive stance turned into one more relaxed as he sat and wrapped his tail around his paws, listening to the she-cat as she went on with her speech. He couldn’t care less about the code, and becoming a single tribe would mean the inevitable fall of ShadowClan. Yes, it would be the same for all the clans, but…ShadowClan would still crumble under this fate, something he started to think would be something that could only happen in his dreams. Plus, since this would become a tribe, and the tribe was supposedly the original SkyClan, it would be like SkyClan taking over the forest and just call it something else, right?

When Swoop finished her speech he stood silent for a couple seconds, not even trying to listen to the yowls and complaints of those against Swoop’s words “What would happen to those taken by the mist, shall we follow the path you are putting before us?” His voice was neutral and his eyes slightly narrowed as he spoke. He was clearly still somewhat angry, but unlike the rest of the cats talking to her he wasn’t giving her any signal of refusal towards the idea. Actually what he was doing was the closest thing she got from an approval of a clan cat so far. While interested he really wanted to know if Crowstar would be back once things were settled if the idea that Swoop had ever became a reality. After all, he didn’t want to lose his friend.

Luckily enough he was careful enough to not let the interest show right away, and the way he phrased his words would seem like just a fair question to those that were irrefutably against Swoop’s words. He didn’t want to raise suspicion nor make the tribe cat think that he was on her side yet, especially if the answer she gave to him wasn’t of his liking.

Cinderfrost blinked hearing the commotion get worse from where she was near Lichenfang and Orchidpaw's uncouncious forms. Ears flattening she growled"like any of us would join together as a tribe we are clan cats through and through and warrior ancestors are with us even if we don't know it "She growled ears flat. She was usually one for thinking clearly but the idea of abandoning the warrior code appalled the she cat.


Tawnypool's ears flattened but she didn't speak up. She chose her side and that was with starclan.