November's Gathering 2017

"Uhm... yeah," Flowerpaw mewed, feeling deep grief for the recently deceased RiverClan leader, even though she had never known Fishstar. She stared around anxiously, saying nothing more. Flowerpaw felt too uncomfortable about the death she had heard of.

Upon hearing her name being brought up amongst the list of new RiverClan apprentices, Duckpaw felt a rush of pride go through her from the tip of her ears to the tip of her tail. It felt good, too. It felt good to be recognized. The RiverClan apprentice sat up a little taller, softly puffing out her chest. She was an apprentice now, it would be nice to actually look like one instead of a kit. Her gaze averted from one leader to another, not knowing what to think of them. Well, of course, she already knew what to think of Ivystar, she was her leader and her mentor, Duckpaw knew her. However, she had never seen any of the other leaders until now. They all looked commanding and intimidating upon that rock, together, radiating a power that only leaders seemed to have within them. It made another rush of feelings go through Duckpaw from ear-tip to tail-tip, and this time it was more of a goosebump type feeling compared to the pride that she had felt before. After looking around at her surroundings once, Duckpaw tilted her head. Instead of socializing, like most of the apprentices were, she was sitting silently and taking in everything... and analyzing it, coming up with ideas and theories about it, and judging things. It was sort of what she did. Duckpaw was nowhere near shy, and she was fine with socializing with other cats. In fact, she enjoyed it. However, you didn't have to be shy to be an introvert, which is what the RiverClan apprentice was.

"I suppose we'll have to wait and find out." Brindlewhisker quickly mewed, giving Silverpaw a playful nudge with her nose that sent him in the direction of Dewtuft and his littermates. A part of her was impressed that her kit was able to catch onto the other Clan's drama so quickly and was bold enough to approach the Deputies about it. The practically kit-sized Deputy fill in was quickly speaking to her once more, so she gave him a good-natured nod. "Yes, StarClan has been quite kind to us this season." Brindlewhisker was relieved once the more familiar faces of Leopardclaw and Littlebrook appeared- now they could carry the conversation for her and allow her to focus on what was said during the Gathering.

Fishstar was dead, eh? She couldn't say that she would mourn the old RiverClan Leader.

-

Splashwillow with interest watched as Otterleap gently pointed Minnowpaw in the direction of other apprentices, her head curiously tilting as she continued to observe her father. His next urgent words sent a shiver of surprise down her spine, but her mouth remained tightly sealed as Minnowpaw was slowly joined the designated group of 'paws for the evening. Willowkit. Boulderkit. Ashkit. Violetkit. She could still perfectly recall the kits and their names- although they would be much older by now. "I know what they look like and their names," She admitted softly after a few heartbeats, "But I've only managed to meet two of them- Willowpaw and Violetpaw." As Ivystar began to speak, the Queen strained slightly as she searched for the black-and-white pelts of her kin in the sea of cats.

-

The storm of unfamiliar scents made Wolfpaw's head pound slightly, but he still followed after Magpiestar and Littlebrook with his head held high. His first Gathering! He was a bit disappointed that his mother wasn't attending alongside him, but he knew better to tell the ginger she-cat that. Giving his head a quick shake, the bengal tom forced himself to inhale through his mouth to try and ward off the unpleasant mix of scents that flooded his nose. Forcing his way deeper into the crowd for warmth, Wolfpaw avoided mingling with the overly-talkative apprentices from other Clans as the Gathering finally began. He didn't know Fishstar, but the thought of Magpiestar dying made him sympathetic enough for the enemy Clan.

Batfang heard the leader’s quietly, barely flicking his tail. They already cried her death and the tom was actually happy that Ivystar was now leader. She was powerful, strong and fierce. With her guiding them, there was no doubt that Riverclan was going to become one of the greatest clans.

———
Pantherpaw couldn’t care less for that Fishstar they were talking about. He didn’t care for other clans or Starclan. They let his siblings died without mercy or a chance to live a better life. Because of his father and Starclan... they were all gone.

———
Reedheart narrowed his eyes when the Shadowclan tom approached the group. Letting his apprentice hid behind his paws, he only nodded quietly containing the impulse to slice his face after what he did to him on his leg. ”Yes... She’s a good fighter. What do you want, Shadowclanner? Shouldn’t you be with your clan instead of bothering us?” He was so angry at the fire colored tom that he didn’t pay much attention to the Riverclan leader’s announcement.

———
Sparkpaw was so amazed by the high amount of cats as she tried to stay still while the she-cat spoke. She tilted her head to one side , confused. She didn’t know who was Fishstar but it seemed like she was someone important.

Ashstar listened politely to Ivyfall's- no, Ivystar's- message, not exactly sad that aggressive old Fishstar had passed on. Besides causing WindClan more than a few problems, she had been extremely old- one of the oldest cats in the forest. Of course, Ivystar consistently proved to be at least as hostile and aggressive as the previous leader had, so nothing would really change. After the RiverClan she-cat stepped back, Ashstar stood up and gave her short spiel. There wasn't really much to say... it wasn't like they were going to tell the whole forest about Sageleaf's treachery. It would serve no point but to gain her more criticism. "I offer my condolences to RiverClan, and hope that you will prove to be a great leader, Ivystar. WindClan has fared well this moon, with plenty of rabbits and many new kits. We have several new apprentices- Spottedpaw, Leafpaw, Fernpaw and Echopaw- as well as a new warrior, Frostfeather. We have also lost one of our beloved warriors, Raccoonfang. As usual, we hope for peace this moon, but we continue to be strong and prepared for any hardships." The leader sat back down, finished talking.

As Ashstar listed through the names of each apprentice, Fernpaw began jumping up and down when her name was called. "That's me!" she squealed happily, loud enough for her voice to ring through the trees.

Birchpaw leaned forward to hear how the leader had died, it had to be an impressive death, however, she was disappointed to hear it had been really nothing. Quick and painless? She wasn't going to die like that, her death would be told in stories!

Mapleshade was there at the gatheri bff with Lilacpaw sitting at her side. Her gaze breifly looked nearby spotting her son Patherpaw but she didn't bother looking for Batfang. Not yet the grief of losing Yewkit,Darkkit and her other son too fresh in the she cat's mind. She still couldn't think of why he hadn't come to see his kits.

Lilacpaw stayed by her mother's side her fur prickled and stuck out in some places out of a consistent nervousness that had settled over her after losing her siblings. Not to mention she had been taken in the river with them and was on of the first kits her mother had managed to grab though she had been the only one who had made it. Her eyes looked up as she heard Ashstar speak but said nothing.

Duskpaw sat among the other cats of Riverclan. He listened intently but quietly not saying anything as Ivystar spoke then the Windclan leader. The browned furred tom shifted his paws quietly for a moment

Leopardclaw could tell that the new RiverClan deputy was a bit nervous; understanding the feeling well, the golden spotted tom flashed him a comforting smile, a rarity for any cat outside of his clan to see or receive.  It was possible that the tom's age came into factor a small bit; the gray tabby tom wasn't much older than Reedheart and Honeyspark.  "Nice to meet you as well Jaystream.  I hope prey is running well for RiverClan?"  Nodding a greeting once again to Littlebrook when ShadowClan arrived, the time for smalltalk came to a close as the leaders began their meeting.  The news of Fishstar's death didn't come as a shock to Leopardclaw, but he bowed his head in respect for the former leader's life.  She had been a noble cat, and seemed to have served her clan well.  He cheered along with the rest of the crowd for the new apprentices and warriors of both clans.

---

As the rest of ShadowClan flooded down into the clearing, one ginger tabby tom remained behind at the top of the slope, his paws shaking with the effort of trying to force himself to walk.  Ryeheart didn't want to be here, at all.  Swoop's blood had stained his fur upon that rock...his dear Willowpetal gave her life to bring their kits into the world beneath these great oaks...his kits were probably down there, mingling in the crowd.  He couldn't do this.  Admitting defeat, the muscular warrior melted into the line of bushes that edged the top of the hollow; he could listen just fine from here.  The news of Fishstar's death didn't particularly effect him in any way; he just knew her as the leader of the clan his mate was from.  Though...he didn't hear his kit's names called in the newly named Ivystar's list of apprentices; were they not here after all? Were they okay?  A strange parental pang of worry struck the tom, and before he knew it his head was peeking out of the bushes, trying to possibly spot them.  They should be apprenticed by now...

---

Fernpaw nodded in turn to Snowpaw and then Lakepaw, her excited smile beaming even wider.  At the white apprentice's question though, she laughed; "Yes, of course I'm from SkyClan mouse-brain!  I just said so!"  Her insult was in no way offending; sarcasm rang in her voice as she prodded Snowpaw's shoulder with a playful paw, grinning.  Turning to Lakepaw, she meowed; "Yea, there's so many cats here...I love it though!" Fernpaw's dark brown tabby ears twitched curiously, as she cocked her head slightly and meowed; "I assume you two are from RiverClan...what's it like to swim?To eat fish?  I saw a fish once, it looked gross!  Are they though?"  As questions spilled out of her mouth, Fernpaw barely noticed that the meeting had even started.

---

Laurelsong had taken her eyes off of the crowd to gaze up at the Highrock, watching intently as Ivystar spoke of Fishstar's death.  Hmm...I'm not gonna miss her, but I feel for her clan.  The young warrior couldn't quite comprehend the thought of WindClan without Ashstar...whether that was for good or bad she didn't know.  As the meeting progressed though, she got the strange sensation that someone was staring at her.  With a frown, she turned her head just in time to see an unfamiliar brown and ginger tabby tom turn away from her, looking uncomfortable.  With a confused tilt of her head, she watched for a moment to see if he would look again, but soon just rose to her paws and began to pad over towards him.  She had wanted to meet someone new after all...  With a friendly wave of her long, sleek tail, she nodded her head slightly in greeting before purring; "H..hello, I don't think we've met before?"

---

Finchstream's ears drooped at the news of Fishstar's death; the old leader had stepped in as her mentor after Squirreltuft had passed away from illness, and she missed her dearly.  If only I wasn't so scared...I'm sure I could've learned a lot of great fighting moves from her.  She cheered for the new warriors and apprentices, but soon fell back into silence.

Blazingwing bowed his head in silence at the news of Fishstar's death. The only real memories he had of her where when he was a kit and fell in the river. But the old leader served her clan well, and he had to respect that. But, as he raised his head, the white-and-grey she-cat was approaching him, purring. "No, we haven't," he mewed, "I a- I'm Blazingwing. Nice to meet you." He sat upright, curling his tail over his paws, and managed his most charming smile. He.. he hadn't expected someone to actually come up and speak to him. It wasn't like he was well-known around the clans - in fact, he was a mere speck compared to some others. So, it was nice that a complete stranger would take the time to come and talk to him.


Driftpaw tilted her head as the golden tabby tom said some questionable words to an approaching Shadowclanner, but decided not to intervene. Instead, she focused on Fernpaw, who was squealing and leaping up and down like a crazed dog. "Guess you were announced then, right? That's cool," She mewed, "Has prey been running well in Windclan?" Her amber eyes glinted.

Fernpaw turned to the SkyClan warrior, her fluffy gray tail raised high in the air. "Yep, but I'm always running faster than any of them!" She let out a little mrrow of amusement at her own joke, then blinked at Driftpaw, her dark green eyes shining with friendliness. "Which Clan are you from?"

Listening to the leaders begin to speak, Tinylegs felt a bit awkward around the other deputies, seeing that they all knew each other already, but even so, he didn't let that get his spirits down. 'Maybe they're just surprised seeing a cat like me as a deputy, plus, they don't know me very well...' the tiny tom reassured himself, not moving his gaze from the leaders above. Yeah, that was probably it, no hard feelings.

Fawnpaw walked over too Violetpaw and Flowerpaw. She was a RiverClan cat, so she had already met Flowerpaw, but she was curious on who Violetpaw was. "Hello,"she greeted. She continued to listen. Fishstar' death certainly hit them hard.

Foxpaw went and sat down by a cat named Silentpaw.  Hello, I'm Foxpaw." he whispered. He was a little surprised by the news about Fishstar.

Yarrowpaw pressed close to the base of one of the Great Oaks, conscious to keep a full fox-length between him and every other cat in the Gathering. The swarming mass of strangers and new scents was almost disorientating, and it was only in the light of the full moon that he could glimpse their pelts, rival warriors he recognized only from reputation. It was like all the elder tales woven into life, cats young and old that had lived as half fantasy in his mind. He watched in muted interest, his face not reflecting any flicker of emotion, not even as his mentor on the Great Rock spoke long and solemnly about Fishstar's passing.

Laurelsong's eyes squinted slightly in a friendly way, amused by the handsome tom's attempts at charm; usually she could be easily annoyed by that kind of behavior, but he didn't seem to be pushing past the point of acceptability.  Still, charm could be deceptive - as she knew well from personal use - and this cat was from another clan.  ThunderClan, as his woodsy scent suggested, and Laurelsong was not about to start intimately fraternizing with cats she might possibly meet in battle someday.  Still, it didn't hurt to talk...that's what Gatherings were all about anyway.  Sitting down on an empty patch of ground next to Blazingwing, she smiled and purred her own introduction; "I'm Laurelsong, it's nice to meet you too!"  For a moment she was silent, staring up at the leaders on the Great Rock as she tried to think of something to say.  "So, um...how long have you been a warrior?  I've been one for about two moons now, but I was promoted sooo late!  If my fathe-mentor hadn't gone missing I would've been one ages ago!"  Her chin lifted in a haughty sort of way, her greenish-yellow eyes sparkled curiously.  She and him looked about the same age...she didn't expect much of a difference.