December's Gathering 2017

Padding into the clearing behind his father, Tinylegs made his way over to where the other deputies were near the base of Four Trees. Sitting down, he gave a respectful dip of his head to Jaystream, the RiverClan deputy. Now that he'd met all of the other deputies, sitting in the front of the crowd wasn't nearly as nerve wracking as the previous gathering, so the little white and faded grey tom was able to relax a bit. "How's RiverClan doing?" he asked the younger tom with a smile on his muzzle.

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Following WindClan into the clearing, Smokepelt sat down in his usual spot. Wrapping his tail around his paws, he watched as cats slowly filtered into the gathering area. He wondered where his son, Ryecloud, was, but dismissed the thought. He probably didn't even come, seeing that he wasn't very fit to travel such a distance as the brisk pace that the clan held on their way to the gathering.

Viperpaw followed silently behind her sister. She knew Silverfang didn't really like her but something within the silver she-cat changed within the time of her gaining her warrior name. Viperpaw didn't know what exactly but she was glad Silverfang wasn't outright avoiding her anymore.

The blue gray apprentice walked trough the already cleared paths, before clearing out a spot in the snow for herself. Hopefully this wouldn't take to long, she couldn't stand the snow.

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Badgerpaw followed behind Ashstar, his paws seemed to glide over the snow. How did they do that? Everyone else seemed to sink into the white powder. Though one thing he didn't like was how cold it was. Why did Nightheart decide to have him in leaf-bare? He looked around at the other clans unsure what to think of them, until his eyes landed on a certain cat who seemed to glide like the rest of his clan. But she wasn't Windclan? He didn't really understand how this gathering thing worked.

The charcoal bengal tom sat among his clan, unsure of what to do or say. He didn't know if he liked it here or not. Where was Nightheart? Did he accidentally lose track of her? Oh man he shouldn't have done that...

Shrewheart proudly walked into Fourtrees with the rest of ThunderClan, grinning with glee. This was his first gathering as a warrior, and he wanted everyone to know that. Looking around for someone to brag to, he padded over to an older SkyClan warrior (Cloudroar). "Hey, guess what? I'm a warrior!"
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As Swooppaw padded into Fourtrees, his jaw dropped in awe. There were so many new cats! Suddenly he felt scared, feeling utterly alone in the crowd of too many cats to count. He needed to make a new friend, and fast. His gaze darting around, he saw a SkyClan apprentice (Amberpaw) about his age. She would be the perfect new friend, he hoped. Nervously, he trotted over to her, ears flattening and rising every few seconds. "Hi, I'm Swooppaw of ThunderClan. Will you be my friend?"
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Nectarleap and Nutfur were there too.

Robinpaw watched her brother, Swooppaw, walk over to a SkyClan apprentice. She followed swiftly, also keen to make some friends. "Hiya!" she spoke, to both her brother and the unfamiliar apprentice. Robinpaw flicked her tail in a friendly gesture, hoping they could both find a new friend at this Gathering.
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Smokepaw's ears flattened as she looked around. So many new cats, so many new smells.... She felt so overwhelmed!
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Stormpaw held his head high. He just wanted to get it all over with. He looked impatiently around the clearing.

Duckpaw shook snow off of her pelt as she padded into Fourtrees with RiverClan. While this was her second Gathering, the sights and scents still excited her eager senses. Her sharp eyes scanned the clearing that was surrounded by the four tall trees that gave this place the name that it has. Last time, she had decided not to talk to anybody. This time, she had made the choice to go up to a random apprentice and attempt to start up a conversation. The RiverClan apprentice padded over to an apprentice that had padded in with the WindClan cats (Stormpaw).
"Hi," Duckpaw began in her normal, quiet voice, "I- uh, what's your name?"

Stormpaw turned around when he heard some cat speak to him. He smelt the strong odour of RiverClan , but decided he didn't mind. "Hello." he said confidently. "I'm Stormpaw, of WindClan. Who are you?" he replied, not unkindly, but rather louder than the other apprentice.

Jaystream looked at the short tom approaching, a bit relieved that he was the next one arriving. Tinylegs seemed like a good and friendly guy and that what was he needed: someone that could distract him from his worried thoughts.

The young deputy smiled, flicking his tail slightly. "Uhmm, H-Hi! Thanks to Starclan, R-Riverclan is doing great. Leafbare is bringing us new apprentices and some of our oldest apprentices are now warriors, even mine." At first, he was nervous so his voice trembled at the start but as he continued, the tom could feel a little more relaxed, especially because he remembered how happy he was when Vixenpaw was named a warrior under his teaching. "I-I hope Skyclan is doing good too during this harsh season..."

Dandeliondapple entered the Fourtrees clearing with a grunt. The snow was dragging her fur down like some cat had piled stones onto her back, although she was not nearly as cold as some other cats there due to the thickness of her pelt. She sat down with the rest of SkyClan and watched the cats bustle around, intermingle, and be happy. The sour look on her face, combined with the scars on her face and forelegs, made her look menacing. But she was just lonely, anxious, and sad. Her father, Rippedsky, was ill now, and she had no idea if he would even recover.

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Dawnlight was there, I guess. Will edit later.

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Then Snailbelly waddled into the area, bunched up and tense from the cold. Ohhh, why was it so cold! Every step was frigid and chilling to the touch. The snow was horrible to pad through as well, getting all in his fur and his face. How long was it until newleaf when he could once again swim the river and get warm on the Sunningrocks? He glanced back towards the RiverClan apprentices. They were probably thinking this whole thing was some fun game. Well, reality check! Warriorship was not fun! Warriors got dragged to cold Gatherings in the dead of leaf-bare from their toasty dens!

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Weedblaze sidled his way through the group of ThunderClan all the way to the front. He was interested in whatever drama happened to go down at this Gathering. This leaf-bare had proven eventful thus far, though with food so scarce, battles were sure to take place. He himself would not mind as long as he got prey out of it-- his frame was thinning, making the already lean tom appear more like an apprentice. He curled up in a choice spot and narrowed his eyes to shield against flurries dropping down from the trees. He was as he always was: quiet, observant.

Otterleap followed behind Jaystream into the clearing, peering over at SkyClan's numbers before settling down at their usual spot. Opening his jaws wide, he yawned as he watched the other clans all trickle in one by one. Everyone looked like balls of fluff as their fur was all on it's ends for warmth. Like moss balls in a nursery, he thought to himself.

Minnowpaw followed behind her mentor, hopping between dips in the snow to not sink. Though her final leap to sit next to Viperpaw ended with her face-planting into the cold snow. The tabby wrinkled her nose as she shook off the worst of the white powder, before nudging Viperpaw playfully with her ice cold nose. "Brr, Leafbare is awful."

Dewtuft stalked into the clearing behind Brindlewhisker, the grey tom stood out in being rather lean in appearance than most of WindClan. His pelt clung to his skin, and he lacked the almost trot like gait they all seemed to share. His movements were more swift, muscles rippling under his skin as he walked over to where WindClan was to be seated. He gave his mate a little friendly meow to remind her that he was here for her, before settling behind Featherpaw. He couldn't resist giving his daughter a quick groom before he moved on.

Brindlewhisker had spent the majority of the short journey to Fourtrees pressed tightly against Dewtuft in an attempt to ward of the bitter chill that had descended upon the forest on the particular eve. The cold fiercely stung her eyes, ears, and nose, but the Deputy pressed on with little complaint as the rest of WindClan hurried into the sacred hollow. Giving Dewtuft a short and sweet nuzzle, the she-cat broke into a brisk trot as she hurried towards the Deputy's traditional seating area. Brindlewhisker resigned to giving Jaystream and Tinylegs each a brisk nod in greeting, finding it much too cold to speak more than necessary.

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Clumps of snow clung to Splashwillow's underbelly as she quietly followed after Otterleap, Minnowpaw, and Snowpaw, causing her teeth to chatter loudly. "Snowpaw! Minnowpaw! Make sure to behave yourselves!" She called as RiverClan bounded into the Gathering hollow shortly after SkyClan. The Queen's fretful gaze remained trained upon Minnowpaw and Snowpaw's forms as they disappeared into a nearby clump of apprentices. Why Ivystar had allowed the pair to come, she had no idea- it was much too cold for such young cats! Swallowing a frown, Splashwillow hurriedly nuzzled herself against her father in an attempt to stay warm as she waited for the Gathering to begin.

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Thistlepaw, for once in her life, was incredibly grateful for being blessed with such a thick coat. While it was a pain to groom and often snagged on everything in the forest, at least it was keeping her warm! Exhaling a long breath that remained visible for several brief heartbeats, the ThunderClan apprentice milled about uncertainly in the rapidly growing crowd of cats, searching for a familiar face that she could spend the evening with.

Gustpuddle moved slowly into Fourtrees, following close behind Ashstar. Usually, she'd go and sit alone, but seeing as Smokepelt wasn't occupied, she decided to sit beside him.

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Silentstrike strode into Fourtrees with a bounce in his step; he had caught quite a bit of prey today. Not sure of who to sit with, he sat by his lonesome and waited for someone to join him.

A soft snort escaped Storm's throat as he padded behind the Clan, his ears flat on his head as he quietly questioned why he had bothered to come to this Gathering. He hadn't stepped foot here since that fight moons ago - he was certain that the Tribe would have gone home by now but...He blinked, giving his pelt a shake as he chased off the idea that he was getting attached to the Clan. Certainly things were better down here then they were but he was a Tribe cat born and raised - this leafbare would settle if his place was truly among the forest cats.

He tromped throught the snow with little issue - already rather use to the thick whiteness from the mountians. If anything, this was lighter than what he was used to...He could see the other cats having a bit of trouble with it, grumbles filling the air around him but he didn't pay any mind to it as he moved to a spot by his lonesome, curling his tail around his paws with a soft huff. He could already see that all but one of the Clans had arrived as he scanned the tall rock that the leaders sat on. Quietly he questioned how long they were going to be here before ShadowClan arrived.

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Amberpelt strolled into the clearing with a high head, her tail swishing across the snow. Her green eyes flickered with annoyance as the snow threaten to cling to her fur, ruining the sleekness of it as she gave her body a shake. There was no doubt about it - Leafbare was the season she hated the most. The rivers were frozen, snow everywhere and it threatened to cling to her, there was little warmth to bask in...Sure, it was fun for apprentices and kits but really it was just a pain. The warrior sighed loudly a bit over-dramaticly as she made her way to a small opening to sit down in, taking the time before the gathering to shake off the snow on her paws.

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Mottleheart's fur stood on edge and he wasn't completely sure if it was just the cold weather that was the cause. He was nervous beyond belief as he followed Ashstar into the clearing, his eyes flickering toward where Featherpaw was already sitting down next to the other medicine cats. This was it, wasn't it? It was time to introduce himself. He took in a deep breath, shivering at the cold air that flooded into his lungs as he moved toward the rest of the medicine cats. To his surprise, there was only a pawful of them there. No sign of Rabbitfoot - his heart dropping as he had been exicited to see her once again and reveal his new postition. Oceanlight was missing as well , and no sign of the ThunderClan medicine cats...He boxed his shoulders as he sat down on the other side of Featherpaw, curling his tail around his paws as he fought off a shiver. His gaze drifted toward the rock where the deputies and leaders were - wondering when the Gathering would start.

Duckpaw flattened her ears against her head in response to Stormpaw's loud voice. She wasn't frightened of the tom, she was just startled by the volume. Despite all of that, the RiverClan apprentice still kept her quiet voice and demeanor on the same level. She tried to ignore the fact that WindClan scent was coming from the tom. This was a Gathering, after all... it was a time to chat and bond with cats from other Clans in a peaceful setting. She slightly shivered in response to the cold, and let her fur fluff out to keep her warm.
"Oh. I'm Duckpaw, Duckpaw of Riverclan," The brown she-cat paused for a few heartbeats in an attempt to think of something to say in order to continue to conversation. It was starting to reach a point of awkwardness and it had only just begun, "I don't think I've ever seen you around here before... then again, I haven't seen most cats from other Clans before. Is this your first time?"

Stormpaw noticed the cat didn't appreciate his louder voice. "Good to meet you, Duckpaw" he spoke, quieter than before. "Yeah, this is my first time. How about you?"

Vixenstep walked into fourtrees, now slightly more accustomed to it than she had been a moon ago. This would be her first gathering as a warrior, and she planned to enjoy every second of it.
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Shimmerpaw looked around her. It was another gathering. Some of the apprentices she had met the last time were warriors now, and she was still just a dumb apprentice. She looked around for somebody to complain talk to.
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Buzzardpaw walked next to Shimmerpaw, running off as soon as they got into fourtrees. There were so many new cats! He sniffed around, amazed at the variety of scents.
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Dovepaw strode haughtily into fourtrees, puffing out her chest and raising her head up high. She wrinkled her nose in disgust. This place smelled filthy!