October's Gathering 2018

Listening as Brindlestar, Jaystar, and Scorchfang spoke, Tinystar stayed silent, his mind racing with all of their points on the matter at paw. While he wasn't a fan of it, the only viable option that would keep his clan remotely safe was to join forces with the others. Of course, this didn't mean he had to make alliances, but there's always strength in numbers, and seeing as though his clan was currently the smallest, he knew he had no choice but to do so.

Waiting for Brindlestar to finish, the small white leader stood up, his head and tail high, though it hardly made him look any bigger or intimidating. "SkyClan will fight as well. We will not do it for the safety of any other clan, but merely for the forest and it's inhabitants, so that life may go back to how it was," he mewed and sat down, casting his blue gaze at the other leaders. Unlike his usual expression, there was no smile on his muzzle, but instead a solemn and determined look. He couldn't depend on other clans to keep his clanmates safe, nor put SkyClan lives in danger for other cats, but in "joining forces," to some extent, at least they would hopefully be a bit safer than staying at camp like sitting ducks...

“I thought that would be obvious?”  After a long while of concentrated silence, Leopardstar’s low-toned voice rose above the crowd, hazel eyes burning with levels of intensity as he gazed around at each of his fellow leaders.  “The clans have been called to fight this fight together, we have all lost promising young cats to the deceptive claws of Lichenmask, thus we must fight to bring them back...or banish them for good.”  The dark words felt sour on his tongue, but he knew it was the truth.  “The information from Goldeneye’s vision is also helpful.  We know this place like we know our own pelts...but so do the Exiles.  We don’t really have a true advantage besides knowing where this battle will transpire...gathering information could be helpful, but very risky, too risky.  I won’t send one of my clanmates into that kind of danger…”  He fell silent for a moment, before glancing back up and catching eyes with Brindlestar.  “The Abandoned Barn is right on the edge of WindClan’s territory, your clan would be the most capable of picking up hints of knowledge without barreling straight into the flames.”  His gaze casting back out over the crowd, he continued.  “I remember very well the time, many moons ago when a war had been waged upon the very same barn these traitors now inhabit.  I’ve fought in there, and as I’m sure many cats here can remember, it’s not a very easy place to navigate.  There are corners to get trapped in, lofts and perches to get chased up onto and fall off of, hay to get buried in...regardless of Goldeneye’s message, Fourtrees is still the best place to fight…”  He trailed off, feeling as if his words were running in circles.  He hated to admit that they did not very much information in the slightest to work with, but this was how they were going to have to play the game.  “ThunderClan will fight, for the sake of all.”

The other RiverClan cats present were quick to spot her unsheathed claws, and they did not take her actions kindly. Hostility swelled within the air. Hailpaw could practically feel the glares scorching her pelt, but she remained unfazed. Treating the warnings that were fired as nothing more than an insignificant breeze in her ears, she met Blossompaw's glare steadily. "Just try it." She responded curtly, "If you'll be able to, that is." She had no plans of ever allowing the calico to pull the same move again. Fortunately for the both of them, Hailpaw was saved from doing something stupid by Brindlestar. The WindClan leader's voice cut across the clearing, interrupting the terse conversation. A soft growl rumbled from the white apprentice's jaws. As much as turning her back to Blossompaw felt like losing, her desire to listen to the leaders won out in the end. Reluctantly, she stalked a little distance away and sat down. It would not be the last time the two she-cats interacted, but RiverClan could wait for now.

All thought of Blossompaw were blown away in the moments that followed. As leader after leader began to share their thoughts, Hailpaw listened with an intense light in her yellow eyes. She had assumed that it would be the only viable option, but they were really going to war. War! The very thought sent shivers of excitement down her spine. It would be unlike any of the minor skirmishes she had gotten into thus far. If there was anything she had been born for, it was certainly for the thrill of war. ThunderClan would fight, and so would she. She would take part in the upcoming battle, whether it killed her or not. Her long white tail lashed the ground animatedly.

---

Green gaze absentmindedly roaming the crowd, Scorchclaw lost himself to wandering thought. As usual, little conversation took place at the base of the Great Rock. The sea of gathered cats churned and shifted in a jumble of chatter and whispering. Faint anxiety lingered over the clearing, its scent unmistakable in the air. After what seemed like too much time, the gathering was ready to officially start. He held his silence as the leaders began to speak. It was the leaders' place to discuss a solution, but he had a duty to listen. Before Lichenmask made his move, they had to decide on a plan of action. Scorchfang's suggestion held some semblance of reason, but the very mention of it caused his pelt to prickle. If the possibility existed, he did not want to sacrifice even one of his clanmates. There was too much danger involved, and the benefits were uncertain. When Goldeneye refuted the ShadowClan leader, he sighed internally with relief. The dark tip of his tail twitched restlessly, a trickle of unease bleeding through her stoic mask. War was looming inevitably in the horizon. Never before in his life had he been involved a battle of this scale, and he was well-aware of that fact. Negativity niggled at the back of his mind, just barely suppressed through his willpower. What if he made another mistake? Would it cost another life? If there was a little light in this situation, it was that the clans seemed willing to work together for now.

A glimmer of StarClan had become visible in the once impenetrable darkness overhead. The faintest glow of pure starlight mingled with the blood-red moonlight to disperse in the clearing. Scorchclaw had mixed feelings about the sight. He had no idea what it meant. Was Lichenmask's power waning? The clans could do just fine without the interference of their ancestors. Still, a change in the monotonous sky, slight as it was, brought cheer.

Scorchfang gulped heavily as RiverClan’s medicine cat rather harshly chewed him out for his suggestion, and he averted his gaze, embarrassment making him feel very hot under his thick pelt despite the cool winds of lead-fall breezing through his fur. Of course sending out spies was a risky and downright stupid idea! He was just trying to contribute to the survival of the Clans. Now he probably made ShadowClan look frog-brained.

He huffed softly, forcing himself to get over it. He needed to focus now. There would be plenty of time to beat himself up over this later. He listened as the four leaders offered their assistance for the battle to come. When all eyes turned on him, he nodded, forcing his voice to remain stable and full of confidence. ”ShadowClan will also fight. We must preserve our way of life as it stands today, and prove to our former Clanmates that we do not need purification as they claim we do.”

Goldeneye's eyes widened as she looked up at Brindlestar, giving her credit for Windclans involvement in this war? Goldeneye mentally shook her head and listened to each leader as they spoke. "Then it's settled. Now we must plan. I was thinking, ever since I got the prophecy and I believe that I know what we can do. Shadowclan is best at stalking, slipping through the night like a soft gust of wind. Windclan is fast and ferocious, strong legs and a speed to be envied. Thunderclan is used to dense undergrowth and a strength to yearn for. Skyclan is quite alike Windclan, with strong back legs to deliver powerful kicks and the trees to ambush invaders. Riverclan with our large paws to deliver strong and devastating blows. I believe that if we use our specialities we can win." Goldeneye meowed, taking a moment to catch her breath, the rasp audible.

"I want to hear your thoughts before I continue." Goldeneye requested, eager to move them along.

Aloof gaze reflecting nothing but the intensity of Leopardstar's own imploring projections, Brindlestar's only direct acknowledgement to his words was the most subtle of nods, that which only came into a finite existence after a long moment of contemplation. "We shall work with what little we have been given." The words that spilled heavily from deep within her vocal cords appeared to abrade the tender flesh within her throat, gracing each and every singular word with a sluggish hoarseness. It wouldn't be easy to press the territory that surrounded the Abandoned Barn, simply due to the sheer amount of cats that now resided within it- which didn't even take into account the factor of their current state of activity. Barreling straight into the flames? The pale-furred molly's ear twitched as Leopardstar's words resonated within her working mind, an inkling of realization dawning upon her. That's exactly what they want from us- they have to be banking upon the fact that the Clans won't try to approach the Barn. Hardly paying any mind to Goldeneye's next words, the WindClanner's head tipped back to peer at the dreary sky above her; thin tendrils of stormy darkness wove intricate patterns into the ruddy night sky, marking dark rivers that curled into foggy rivulets of darkness. Mechanical gears twisting and whirring to life, the molly's features creased downwards into an expression of unadulterated concentration. "WindClan can lure them here under false pretenses," Brindlestar suddenly interrupted, unintentionally cutting off the Medicine Cat's inquiry, "We'll pass envoys along again, that way every Clan will know when they come this way. We can ambush them at Fourtrees- there's no possible way that they can know of our plans yet, which gives us a momentary advantage that won't prevail longer than a sunrise or so. If we go now, we might have a chance of fooling those exiles for long enough that they can come right to where we wish them to be."

Continuing to listen as the leaders began to discuss preparations for the fateful fight, he was glad to see that everyone seemed to be in consensus about what needed to happen. Turning his gaze down to look at Goldeneye, who seemed to have a significant say on the subject, he nodded his head, agreeing with the she-cat. Specializing in tree climbing, jumping, and sometimes even fighting, would have the most success in ambushing from above, but he still thought of some questions that had been unanswered. Swallowing a growing lump in his throat as Brindlestar finished, a nervous sensation began to grow under his pelt as he looked up to the WindClan leader. "While I agree that there's strength in numbers, don't you think that Lichenmask is smart enough to know that they'd be ambushed by being brought to Fourtrees? After all, we did exile them, so why would they even consider returning to such a place? Not to mention the fact that he most likely won't bring the entirety of them here, so that leaves other cats to ambush the camps or even us later on," the small white and grey tom mewed, trying not to shiver as he thought about the possibility of him being gone while his camp was bombarded. "I suggest we finish up this gathering soon and make haste in returning to our camps so that we can prepare the cats who wish to join the battle, but also every-cat staying behind... so that everyone is ready for whatever might come, whenever it may happen," he mewed, hoping the leaders would agree with him. He didn't exactly want to look hurried in case the others still wanted to talk about things, but they seemed to have figured out a decent plan of attack, and now all he could think about was preparing SkyClan, especially the young and defenseless, for any chance of attack.

Leopardstar nodded acceptingly at Goldeneye's statements, but his expression quickly turned to one of skepticism and concern when the WindClan leader proposed luring the exiles all the way to Fourtrees.  Though her plan made sense...his instincts screamed against it.  "I..I agree with Tinystar.  We cannot underestimate Lichenmask, despite his age.  He has information, power, that we cannot dream to achieve.  He knows...many things that have been long ago lost to the sands of time, and you've seen with your own eyes what he...or, whatever's possessing him has caused."  

He addressed Brindlestar, long tail lifted to the sky, the blood-tinted moon casting a grim light over his features.  "We don't just need a distraction, we need bait.  What do these cats truly want?  Total domination, to run the clans how they please.  They want our pelts to line their nests...so, why don't we offer ourselves to them? We could approach them, and offer to negotiate the terms of surrender at Fourtrees."  Claws sliding out of their sheaths to gash the rough stone upon which they stood, the golden-furred leader rose to his paws, tail lashing and hazel eyes ablaze.  "They'll be the ones surrendering."

"I am a cat who follows the code and does what my clan needs me to do." Bearpaw meowed simply. His ear flicked with a mild annoyance at her words but not much else. He was not the kind of cat to lose his temper over simply the exchange of a few words. Although he could feel his pelt prickling with a slight discomfort over the curiosity of her origins and the fact that she was now from another clan. Being around enemy cats with the promise of peace was still strange for the apprentice. Another cat who from the scent of it was also Thunderclan, Harepaw, appeared at his side. Bearpaw could feel any apprehension uncoiling within his stomach. With a clanmate nearby he felt himself relax more.

Out of the corner of his green eyes, the apprentice watched the ginger she-cat as he awaited a response. However, his ears swiveled towards the words being spewed from all the assembled leaders and one of the medicine cats. It appeared it was as they thought, there was a battle on the horizon. The tabby tom had no inclination towards or away from battle, it was merely part of his duty as a future warrior. His many claws still flexed into the ground at the thought. This would be for the rest of his kin, for their protection. The thought of Ridgepaw or Hailpaw, even Pricklepaw, on the battlefield made his stomach churn. It was funny to think that the Riverclan cat he had fought not long before would now stand as his ally. Was that even possible? He shot her another inquisitive look as cats droned on all around them.

***

"Oh." Sparkpaw breathed simply at the knowledge this other cat was actually still an apprentice like himself. The tom's ears heated up a bit but he paid no mind to the strange feeling. Instead, his gaze flickered to the other cat's tail which seemed to tighten around his limbs. Something seemed off still, but the mention of Starclan distracted the young cat. He never thought much about Starclan yet both his father figures were strongly opinionated on the matter. Jaystar had said a similar thing about Lichenmask, something it seemed all the leaders knew. And Starlord had his own opinions on the matter. Without thinking over it too much, the apprentice found himself meowing, "Starlord says that Starclan isn't real. But... I'm not sure." He trailed off as he glanced up at the eerie sky. No stars were visible tonight.

"Do you think we're going to have to fight too?" His pale, hazel-green eyes looked up at the older cat as he softly muttered the question with something akin to disillusionment in his voice. Speaking to Elmpaw seemed as easy as talking to one of his own clanmates. Perhaps Lionpaw would have been the same too if the other apprentice showed any interest in making new friends or alliances. But he didn't dwell on it. Instead, Sparkpaw flickered his tail. Viperstorm and he had barely done any training so far. How was he supposed to battle? There was a determination deep in his gut to fight for his kin but unlike Jaystar, the thought of giving his life for Riverclan was not as drawing.

Flamewish let out a small, sarcastic laugh- just one ha. "I didn't know Thunderclan needed to attack vulnerable cats who just wanted to go home. It must have changed a lot since I was there." She had assumed that most of Thunderclan would know her- after all, that one apprentice did, and Flamewish had no idea who she was.