February’s Gathering 2018

Shadepaw met his mentor's gaze unblinking. Then he nodded respectfully, glad to know that she at least agreed with him somewhat.

Scorchfang's eyes widened at the mention of Sweetheart, his former mate. Shadepaw was her kit? Then where was Sweetheart herself? Who was his father? He blinked his eyes when Silverfang turned to him, and he sat up straight. "My name is Scorchfang, one of the younger ShadowClan warriors. And you are... Silverfang, right?" Uh-oh, bad move. He remembered her name when Sweetheart told him about her a few Gatherings ago.

The warrior's left ear perked when she heard her own name being called by a warrior he had never met before. He looked at him suspiciously but kept his own thoughts to herself. "Yeah... that's me. How do you know my name? One of my clanmates talked about me with you?" She mewed with a soft and low voice but that showed a bit of curiosity about the ShadowClanner and his relation with Riverclan.

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The flame-furred warrior stayed in his spot, without saying any words as Violetshine dismissed his apprentice so they could be alone. The tom sighed when he watched the young she-cat go and his green eyes returned to the other warrior, apologetically. "I'm sorry for getting you involved in this... I tried to do this alone but... I'm not as strong as I thought I was. And you're... the only cat that I can trust now." He mewed softly, his gaze looking down at his paws. He hated feeling so weak and pathetic but there was nothing he could do about it now.

Firestone leaned once again on Violetshine, trying to find the strength and courage he needed on the smaller she-cat. "Thank you but I prefer to stay... I would hate to show up as a coward escaping from his problems in front of that Thunderclan she-cat. Just... can you please stay with me?" He asked lowering his ears a bit and looking at the she-cat with hurt, honest, puppy eyes. The ShadowClanner wasn't afraid to admit that he needed her more than ever. She was the only one who would be able to take him out of this misery.

Crowstar heard Ivystar speak. He knew that there was issues with Riverclan and Thunderclan and he needed to pick a side. He knew that remaining neutral through this mess wouldn't help in the slightest. Maybe he could help resolve this issue somewhat?

"Skyclan is fairing well this moon, we have named a new warrior Pantherblaze. We have also gained a few new apprentices. I can finally say at last that the tribe has finally gone home." The ones that choose to stay would become warriors in time, but he wasn't going to mention the tribe cats that wanted to stay, he didn't need more hostility about that.

The leader let out a small sigh. He hoped he wouldn't regret his choice, and that the other leader's would get too frustrated with him. Crowstar looked at Ivystar, shooting an apologetic look in Blizzardstar's direction. He liked Thunderclan now, but he couldn't go against a long time friend. "Ivystar, Skyclan is here whenever you need help." Hopefully that would ease the Riverclan leader's concern for now. He would talk with Blizzardstar about Fallen Oak after the gathering. For now Riverclan having Skyclan's support should help the others back off for now.

Scorchfang tried to play it off cool. He shrugged. "Word gets around at Gatherings." He wanted to change the subject, so he looked over at Shadepaw. "He's your new apprentice, right? Shadepaw, was it?"

Shadepaw glared at the ShadowClan warrior, then rudely turned his nose up and stalked to Silverfang's other side.

Lakewhisper had just been about to speak to Snowblossom, when all of a sudden, some mouse-brained ShadowClan warrior ran into him. "Hey! Watch where you're going." The big white and black striped tom meowed irritably, barely containing a vexed growl. He was already not in the best mood, and this was just the icing on the cake. Now he had incompetent warriors trampling all over him. Okay, maybe just one incompetent warrior, but still. He looked the warrior up and down with a sniff when he was overcome by the appearance of the tom before him. He looked just like.. Beekit. But how? How could a RiverClan cat almost be identical to a ShadowClan cat. It didn't make sense. Beekit hadn't lived long, but she had lived long enough for him to remember her.. And there was obviously a resemblance- He shook his head in disbelief. No, maybe he just missed her too much. His sister had died too young, and here he was seeing her in a Shadowclanner. StarClan help him. He was crazy.

Ryeheart's ears twitched at the sound of the RiverClan tom's irritated voice, and for the first time raised his head to meet the tom's gaze, a stinging retort on his tongue—


No...no, it couldn't be, what are the odds?!  But he looks...exactly...like...  The white tabby warrior standing in front of him, clearly angry that this unknown tom had just crashed into his shoulder, was Lakekit.  His son.

Over the moons, Ryeheart's mind had tried it's best to block out his kit's names - the names he had given them - along with what they looked like, their unique scents, the way they mirrored him and his mate in the most beautiful ways...but now, it all came rushing back to him.  Lakekit...Ravenkit...Vixenkit...and Beekit.  One tom, three she-cats.  Beekit had looked like me, Vixenkit also...Ravenkit was a dark blueish-gray...and Lakekit was a perfect mix of Willowpetal and I.  He could hear every heartbeat ringing loudly in his ears, as the ginger tom stared back at Lakekit - with his warrior name now though, most likely - with a stunned expression apparent on every inch of his face.  He secretly had wondered if this day might come...the day he would have to look the kits he had abandoned right in the eye and say...

"I..I...I'm sorry, r...really."  His head had finally stopped throbbing, and the ShadowClan warrior stood up straight, trying his best to hide the fact that his heart was pounding at the speed of a racing Twoleg monster.  Oh StarClan, how was he gonna act natural?  "Uh..um...."  You're stuttering, that's the opposite of natural.  "I..I'm Ryeheart, of ShadowClan.  It's nice to m..meet you, even if it was because I wasn't looking where I was going.  A..and you are?"  It was hard to keep the nervousness out of his voice, and Ryeheart was very aware that he wasn't making a very good...second impression.  At any rate...at least this one will definitely be better than the last one.

Blizzardstar listened to the RiverClan leader as she stepped forward and spoke. As soon as Ivystar spoke about the murderers in her clan her heart skipped a beat and the world around her seemed to stop abruptly. Without really realizing it, she flattened her ears against her head and her tail wrapped around her paws tightly as she lowered her head with an expression of mixed sadness and embarrassment. She had hoped Ivystar would keep the event out of this gathering after what had happened…she was wrong. She couldn’t even fully process the fact that WindClan had mauled RiverClan’s medicine cat apprentice. Maybe that bit of information would click later in her mind, but at the time it floated freely in the sea of emotions that threatened to drown her once lively and bright spirit.

When Crowstar stepped forward to speak and agreed on taking RiverClan’s side, she didn’t really felt confused, or betrayed…or sad…after all, after he knew that her clan held murderers, what else could she expect? At the apologetic glance of the big black leader, she only gave him a glance of acceptance and understanding, but she couldn’t hold it for more than just a second or two.

Once he stepped back, she finally got up and took a step forward, she just wanted to get this over with already “Ivystar is right…two murderers were found in my clan only a couple moons prior to this gathering, an apprentice and a warrior” Her voice was clear enough to be heard across the whole clearing, but even in her attempts to make it sound neutral it still leaked embarrassment and grief. She, however, was careful to not make the names of her former clanmates known, with hopes that if they had made friends outside the clan at some point their memories wouldn’t be tainted with their terrible crime.

“However, there is no reason for any of you to fear them, as they were punished for their actions. Under Ivystar’s request, the apprentice left my clan to join RiverClan’s ranks and the warrior…” She had to clear her throat to be able to speak, even getting the words out was hard “…the warrior was sentenced to death…by eating death berries” At the last words a new feeling mixed into her words…deep and sincere guilt.

“We also lost our medicine cat, Honeyspark, not long after RiverClan returned her to us, with Mapleleaf taking her place. Even with those occurrences, ThunderClan still stands strong with several new apprentices and warriors between us, and we are decided to not let any other of our clanmates stray from the warrior code in the future” Usually she would try to be more specific, give names and maybe even congratulate some of her clanmates for such achievement…but at the time she was too overwhelmed by her emotions, she didn’t want to risk showing weakness in this gathering, or at least too much.

So before she could feel herself on the verge of breaking down she took a step back to let other leader speak while trying to calm herself down once more.

Ashstar's eyes narrowed at the RiverClan leader's words. One of her Clanmates, attacking the other Clan's medicine cat? Which impossibly foolish cat- sigh. She'd deal with it later. Blizzardstar apparently had similar problems- but Ivystar had dealt with those, of course, in the only way she seemed to be able to. Violence. And now Crowstar had allied with them? Just when she had been starting to respect the tom, ha. Never had she forgotten that the black leader had been on the Dark Forest's side when the loyal cats were thrown out, as had Ivystar- as a deputy, then, but still. Like stuck to like, it seemed.

When the ThunderClan she-cat finished, Ashstar offered her a comforting judge, then stepped forwards. "I apologize to your medicine cat apprentice," she began, "and I will make sure to carry out justice. I have had such problems in the past, and I will deal with them just as harshly now as I did then." Possibly exile, most likely a large amount of distrust- depending on the actual account of the tale. "In other news, WindClan has flourished. We have many new apprentices- Rosepaw, Lionpaw, Brightpaw, Alderpaw, Acornpaw, Rainpaw, and Emberpaw. We also have a new warrior, Badgerthorn, and our medicine cat apprentice has gained her full name, Featherlight. Prey and herbs are plentiful, and we remain strong. Unfortunately, one of our apprentices murdered his fellow apprentice, Briarpaw, and was driven out of camp. Do not hesitate to kill him if you see him on your land." She stepped back, waiting for ShadowClan to speak.

"Life without a tail isn't so bad. At least I don't think so, my clanmates might disagree..." He started with a bit of an encouraging tone, but that fell away as he thought of his clan. Sedgepaw and Poplarpaw seemed to think that in order to be a real warrior, a tail was necessary. But, he could climb as well as if not better than the rest of Skyclan. Even if he was a ridiculous, tailless cat there was no denying that. And now, there was another cat who was just like him.

As Bonestrike moved to join him, the black and white apprentice's heart thudded with excitement. He had missed the Shadowclan warrior. Between his kind personality and how willing he had been to help him, Mumblepaw liked him. He flicked his tail in a greeting and thought to ask about how their clan was fairing, but Birchheart caught his attention once more.

"A-are you okay?" Mumblepaw ventured to ask. It did not seem like his place, but his new friend seemed rather upset, and it would make him feel awful to ignore that. His eyes shone with a genuine concern as he looked over at her. Did I say something wrong? Or was it the leader's news? Skyclan and Shadowclan had avoided anything too drastic from happening, but it was different for the other clans. Between the still recovering forest, and issues between clans, he was sure any of a number of troubles. He pawed awkwardly at the snow.

***
The fighting between the Riverclan and Thunderclan cats subsided, for now. He looked over them all with narrowed eyes before turning away to head back to the base of the rock. However, he caught a glimpse of movement off to the side. Because of the clan tensions and Twistedtail coming over, the black and white warrior had forgotten his apprentice. Sedgepaw stood over a cat from another clan. Immediately, his eyes were ablaze in an instant. Rippedsky rushed over and shouldered through the throng of cats to get to Sedgepaw.

His teeth were embedded in the nape of the silver tom's neck in an instant. He dragged Sedgepaw off the Thunderclan cat. A snarl built up in his throat, but he kept it low, "What do you think you're doing? This is a gathering. Your first gathering." He threw the apprentice to the ground and fixed him with a hard stare that told him not to move. After he meowed a quick apology, Rippedsky then used his tail to flick towards the edge of the clearing. For them both, the gathering was now going to be cut short.

The silver apprentice glanced up when he felt teeth at his nape. Without thinking, he turned to snap at the culprit when he saw that it was Rippedsky. He blanched, then looked away pointedly as the tom dragged him away to lecture him.
"I know." He spat bitterly. He tried to come up with a snappy retort, but none came to him. With a glare back at his mentor, he curled up where he was placed in a huff. When Rippedsky turned and flicked his tail, Sedgepaw stayed where he was impudently for a couple more minutes before finally he stood and conceded. Grumbling the entire time.

Featherpaw leapt up the second the other tom's weight was off him. He licked his fur down and nodded when he was apologised to.
"If this wasn't a gathering, I would have fought back." Featherpaw meowed at Sedgepaw seriously before he padded away to the safety of the rest of the Thunderclan cats. It drowned out the hissed response as he settled down in the midst of his clanmates. The only sign of the attack was a small cut in the middle of his back, but that would heal.

"The cat that Ivystar... sentenced to death was my mother. I know I shouldn't mourn a murderer but- I don't know... I looked up to her all my life even though she didn't talk to me. Is... Is that wrong?" Birchheart looked at Mumblepaw with uncertainty and shame in her eyes. Why was she turning to an apprentice for this? It was embarrassing, to say the least... Why was everything crumbling? SkyClan was supposed to be their ally as well. She supposed that trusting cats was a bad idea, Specklefang, Blizzardstar, Crowstar... She'd just have to work harder to make up for the losses.

Wisteriapaw, from where she had been sitting with Featherpaw, had only glanced back at the sight between Sedgepaw and her brother after Rippedsky had padded over to break up the fight. Thankfully, it hadn't turned into a full-fledged skirmish. When Featherpaw padded over to rejoin ThunderClan, the ginger-and-white apprentice rose to her paws and skirted around some other cats to sit down beside him.
"Wh-what was th-that a-about?"She whispered, not wanting to loudly interrupt the speaking coming from the leaders, "Y-you tw-two cou-could've made St-StarClan m-mad..."
She didn't even want to consider the fact that one of the SkyClan apprentices was here. What if that other one was here? Poplarpaw, wasn't that his name? What if that tom lacked enough sense to keep his cool during a Gathering? What if he decided to attack one of them next?

Featherpaw smiled at Wisteriapaw. His shoulder stung a bit, but it was nothing he couldn't handle as he settled comfortably next to his sister.
"He was just bitter about that patrol." He explained softly. When she mentioned making starclan mad, he resisted the urge to scoff and instead pressed his pelt to hers so she could take in some of his calm as he purred softly. Featherpaw wasn't worried in the least about Starclan being angry at him. "If Starclan is angry at that mouse-brain it's his fault. I didn't lift a paw." He confided confidently. "I won't let him near you, I promise."

Littlebrook stepped forward as Ashstar finished speaking with a small lash of her tail. It was getting hard to hide her anger now, but she would refrain from letting it seep too harshly into her words. "That past moon has not been kind to us as well." Littlebrook meowed in response to Ivystar. "One of ShadowClan's warriors, my son, has been murdered by a WindClan cat along with one of our apprentices murdered by a ThunderClan cat." She stated firmly, getting right to the point, her blazing blue eyes and slightly twitching tail the only sign of her inner rage. "ShadowClan does not take kindly to this type of offense, and make no mistake," she paused to look both leaders in the eyes grimly, "we will not hesitate to demonstrate how murderers are dealt with." She said, forcing her fur to lie flat. Despite the fury coursing through her small body, she would not let herself break the truce. "That being said, Ivystar, ShadowClan will be happy to come to your aid shall you need it from us." She meowed solemnly, nodding respectfully towards the older RiverClan leader. "In other news," the mottled deputy continued, "we have many new apprentices and warriors, and we have been blessed with several kits this moon." She concluded, her gaze raking along the gathered cats below, wondering which of the WindClan cats had murdered her son. She would get her vengeance. One day.

Lakewhisper looked at the warrior in amusement. Why was he stumbling all over himself like a newly born kit? He had to admit, it was quite funny. "I'm Lakewhisper of RiverClan." The large tom stated proudly, chest puffed out as he looked at the older warrior in front of him. "It's.. nice to meet you.. er, too, Ryeheart." He added after a moment of thought. He might as well be civil with the tom. He was obviously flustered and he honestly wasn't angry anymore. Just one look at the eerily familiar pelt, and he couldn't help but start up a conversation with him. It was odd for him, this feeling. He was so used to feeling hostility towards any other clan cats that weren't RiverClan, but Beekit kept flashing into the back of his mind each time he even thought about turning away from him. So instead, he relaxed his annoyed demeanor and curled his tail neatly around his paws.

Rowantalon's jaw dropped. Shadowclan, join Riverclan? He nearly spoke against it, but managed to keep himself silent. What had happened to his once-proud clan?