July's Gathering 2017

Leopardclaw walked stride-by-stride with Blizzardstar as ThunderClan entered the clearing, the great oak's leaves filtering dappled moonlight on the ground.  His face strictly serious, he took the customary place for a deputy at the base of the Great Rock, and watched with little regard as WindClan entered behind them.  Managing a stiff nod at Ashstar, the large golden spotted tom tried to pay attention to the crowd but couldn't help but sink into his own, dark thoughts.  Honeypaw and Reedpaw.....they've been missing for a few days now.....taken by that mist.... I couldn't do anything....they were gone before I could grab them.....before Lichenfang could get to them.....she doesn't deserve to loose any more kits....Oh StarClan what is happening?!  For a moment he felt his chest clench again; ever since his two apprentice-aged kits had vanished he had suffered from frequent panic attacks, keeping him in the empty medicine den.  Now though, he felt strong enough to stand in front of the other clans as ThunderClan's new deputy; but on the inside he was crumbling fast.

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Laurelpaw walked in near the back of WindClan's group, trying her best to keep away from Stone...heart. The thought of his warrior name in her ears, and not her own, made the she-cat's teeth grind furiously. It's not fair! How can a petty coward be made a warrior before me? Grumbling inaudible curses, the light-pelted apprentice sat down near the edge of the clearing, eyes signaling her desire to be left alone.

Rookpaw followed Blizzardstar and ThunderClan into Fourtrees, looking around the clearing with his wide, curious eyes. Besides ThunderClan, the Gathering clearing was empty, which meant that they were the first Clan to arrive. He settled down with his Clan, not wanting to branch out and socialize at the time. He shuffled his paws as WindClan made their way into the Clearing, watching them make their presence known, and looking at Ashstar and Blizzardstar on top of the Great Rock. He waited for the other Clans to arrive, feeling a little bit impatient even though it was so soon. His discreet excitement for the Gathering to begin was starting to show through subtle signs.

Goldenpaw nodded. "Thats not good." He meowed.

Talonpaw walked behind Dovepaw and his mentor, his face blank as his mind was at work. Oakpaw was beside them. This would be Talonpaw's first gathering. The idea of seeing cats from other clans made Talonpaw uneasy. He didn't want to cooperate or commemorate peace for an evening. If he made contact with another clan apart from his own, he wanted it to be on the battlefield. It made things easier. Nonetheless, Talonpaw went to the Gathering. Part of it was because of the experience, but part of it was because of her.

Talonpaw looked at Dovepaw, stealing a glance before going back to his own paws.

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Sootpaw walked with her mentor, Nectarleap. Her eyes were wide as she thought of her first Gathering. I can't believe this is happening! she thought, excited, I wonder what the other clans are like.

Leafstorm strutted into the clearing, his head held high. This was his first gathering as a warrior, and he couldn't be prouder.

Shadowleaf followed Blizzardstar into the gathering. While this was her second gathering she was still amazed. She watched the change of leader and the change of deputy. It was extremely different from the tribe. The Stoneteller picked a to-be to be the next Stoneteller after he passed. It took a lot of training, and other things like that. She didn't know too much about the process since she wasn't selected. She grew up to be a prey-hunter, and that was fine with her.

The former deputy stepped up and took the leadership position while the deputy was selected by the new leader. The deputy didn't have to under go any special training. Well she guessed that being deputy was the training but still it was different. Very different.

The gray and white she-cat sat among the other Thunderclan cats, starting to feel more and more at home the longer she spent with them. Though she couldn't help but wonder how the Tribe was doing with Skyclan.

Brindlewhisker had kept stride with Ashstar during the journey to Fourtrees, feeling her fur prickle slightly as she observed the tension on her Leader's face, although she remained rather silent throughout the duration of the trip. Once they reached the hollow, she was a bit surprised to see Blizzardshine seated upon the Great Rock, with Leopardclaw settled down below where the Deputies normally sat, but it didn't break her stride as she quickly strode towards the Great Rock after Ashstar. Dropping down into a neat sitting position, the brindled she-cat wrapped her tail tightly around her paws as she quickly observed the cats mingling in the clearing. "Hello Leopardclaw." Brindlewhisker greeted cautiously, briefly dipping her head in greetings towards the golden Warrior, although she said nothing more.

Leopardclaw was distracted from his sad thoughts by the sound of nearby pawsteps, and focused his eyes to see the WindClan deputy Brindlewhisker approaching. Though he had never spoken to the she-cat before, she had seemed to be level-headed and sensible, and even though he didn't particularly like Ashstar at the moment he still held great respect for her second-in-command. Dipping his pale golden head in return, he meowed; "Greetings Brindlewhisker." For a moment the two cats sat in silence, Leopardclaw debating whether or not to ask her a question. In the end, he opened his mouth and asked in a respectful tone; "How has WindClan been faring this moon?"

Maplecloud slowly padded into the fourtrees, not wanting much to attend this gathering. She was, however, excited for her friend Blizzardshi- Blizzardstar, to be leading her first gathering as the new leader of Thunderclan.

Silentstrike followed Quailfeather into the gathering, not thinking much about the Mist at the moment, but more on the fact that so many great cats had been lost. He sat beside his mate, wrapping his tail around her and nuzzling her cheek gingerly.

Dawnpaw followed his brother, Goldenpaw, and his mother, Brindlewhisker, as well as his leader to the Gathering. It was his first Gathering as an apprentice and his first Gathering ever. He was ready to show off to the other Clans just how great WindClan was.

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Weedpaw followed his adoptive mother, Blizzardstar, into the Fourtrees hollow for the Gathering. He looked around, but wasn't too impressed. After all, ThunderClan was the best Clan, naturally.

Daypaw bumped Weedpaw with him shoulder in hello as they came into the gathering together. "Dont get in trouble here little brother the other clans aren't so nice." He purred jokingly batting his adopted brother with his tail.

Goldenpaw followed after Dawnpaw to sit with him after meowing a goodbye to Mottleheart.

Fishstar led RiverClan into Fourtrees next, effortlessly bounding up onto the Great Rock and seating herself.

Willowpetal followed Fishstar into the gathering and found herself a nice spot to sit and wait for it to begin.

Shellwater wandered into Fourtrees, almost as if she didn't know where she was going. Her paws were numb as she dazedly followed her Clanmates, moving slower than ever. Ever since the loss of a third member of her family, she had felt hollow inside. She hadn't slept. She could hardly breathe. She never talked to anyone except to answer simple questions. It was like she was a broken shell of her former self, making her name cruelly ironic. Otterleap was gone. Snowpaw was dead. Sparkwillow was dead. At this point, the scarred calico she-cat wishes she was, too. But every time she went to the river, staring into its depths, wondering eh it would feel like to drown and let her life ebb away, she heard Otterleap's voice. "I love you." And the silent, broken she-cat would whisper back, "I love you, too." She knew she could not afford the luxury of death. Her mate was out there somewhere. Her only remaining daughter needed her. Even if she was a terrible mother, even if she was a horrible warrior, even if she didn't want to go on, she had to. For Otterleap. For Snowpaw. For Sparkwillow. For RiverClan. Shellwater knew they still loved her. And strangely, that was enough. The scrawny, tailless RiverClan she-cat sat down at the edge of the crowds, staring uncomprehendingly at the leaders on the Great Rock, finding her tired orange gaze drawn inexplicably up to the stars above.

Ashpaw cautiously followed her leader in, shocked and nervous by the sheer amount of cats there was. She was much more comfortable with her own clanmates, which was still an achievement, but she wished she could be more confident in herself. Looking up at the great rock, she saw her own leader, and two others, a silverish cat like herself, and a fluffy white cat. She assumed they were the two other leaders here. As of now she smelled woods and rabbit, so she assumed the other cats were from Windclan, and Thunderclan or Skyclan. Settling down, she sat looking up at the rock, and began to wait.