November Gathering 2018

In with ThunderClan came a tom who had been stuck ill for many moons, forcing him into a strict bedrest. His ears burned from embarrassment. He should have been there for the great battle. With him at ThunderClan's side, those filthy exiles would have been at his mercy.

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Foxpaw, for once in her life, felt awkward and shy as she padded into the clearing. With a strong bought of greencough keeping her to the confines of the medicine den, she had been kept away from her family, her friends, and most importantly, her life as an apprentice. Before she knew it, Wolfheart and Olivelily were gone, leaving her alone with her sister, the medicine cat apprentice. Part of her resented Morningpaw. It was her duty to keep cats alive, but she couldn't even keep their parents from dying? With a scoff, the bengal trudged off to the edges of the camp, wallowing in her own misery.

ooc: give my kids friends pls

Ridgepaw bounded in behind her clan. Her pale red ears pricked up cheerfully as she stopped in the middle of the throng of ThunderClan cats. She sniffed around for a few moments as she slowly made her way towards the WindClan cats. Scent of moors reminding her of her moonstone journey and the endless landscape she had seen to get there. Her gaze was soon distracted by bright red berries hanging on the outer edge of fourtrees and she padded towards them with an intrigued look.

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The green eyed she-cat nodded solemnly as Stormstrike spoke. She ripped her gaze away from the darkened earth and sought comfort as his pelt brushed against hers. She smiled at the silver tom, he seemed so strong and capable. If any cat was good to be around this gathering it was definitely him. Her parents were likely too engrossed in eachother to pay attention to her as she smiled back and padded forward with confidence to butt her head against his shoulder in a brash move before she continued on past him.

After a few pawsteps, Blossompaw turned to see if he was following. The moonlight reflected off the edge of her pelt, making the colours seem to glow with warmth despite the chill of the night. Her green eyes vibrant with curiousity to hear what the leaders were going to say now that Lichenmask was over with. Now that they had won.

Frog's grey ears perked excitedly at Berrypaw's cheery greeting; she hadn't even realized that the tom had been slouching until he perked up, and then she was certain that he had to be the largest cat in the entire forest. This was her first Gathering and already she had learned that, indeed, RiverClan cats were massive. Still, at least the tom was friendly! She nodded eagerly as he asked to confirm her Clan, and at that moment a WindClan tom approached as well.

Frog didn't like how this "Stagpaw" sat slightly turned away, like he was deigning to converse with them. Frog glared at him for a second, but Berrypaw had carried on in the same chipper voice without noting what Frog perceived as pompousness. With the ThunderClan apprentice being so friendly, the gray she-cat tried to smooth out her pelt and be amicable as well. "Me neither," she agreed with Berrypaw, "this is my first Gathering. I became an apprentie after the battle."

Now that she had mentioned it, she took the time to look around, but now most of the gathered cats had obscured the bloodstained forest floor. All she could really see now was the place where the trees had been scorched by the fire Lichenmask had supposedly summoned.

Underneath the light of the moon, the apprentice's coat nearly glowed red, reminiscent of the light that had been cast over the forest not long before. Her russet pelt had been groomed neatly for the occasion: her first gathering. While Brookpaw really had no need to meet cats outside of her own clan, there was still something thrilling about being invited to partake in one of the oldest traditions. It was the one time that the clans came together in a true peace, under the light of the moon and watchful eye of Starclan. Following her leader's thoughts, the young she-cat now held a particular disregard for their starry ancestors, but breaking the habits honored by all of the clans was not an easy thing. Nor did she believe that they should change everything they did because of the lunacy of dead cats.

With a flick of her tail, Brookpaw dismissed the thoughts. They stood at the edge of the clearing for only a moment before joining the other clan cats that had already begun to pad around Fourtrees. Her eyes glanced over those who milled around in front of them in case there was anything, in particular, to be seen. Mostly there were wounds and scorched earth, there was even a strange looking, massive tabby that she-passed who reeked of Thunderclan. His huge paws seemed to hold many more claws than the average cat. This, she noted with interest before brushing her coat gently against Barleytuft's. She had stuck close to her mentor and his best friend, who everyone knew was certainly going to be his mate. But as they begun to settle, Brookpaw glanced around for Finchpaw.
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Sparkpaw followed after the rest of Riverclan. There was a slight spring to his step, an obvious haste as he followed close by the young apprentice, Beepaw. Something in the back of his mind still nagged at him about the events that happened here, something that drew him to this very place. It was here that he had fallen a rogue, taken Hillfire's life and fought Lichenmask. Fought seemed like such a strange term considering the turn of events. His eyes briefly noted the fire touched earth before moving on to cast a glance over the growing number of cats. He caught sight of his brother, Berrypaw, speaking with cats from other clans and assumed that he knew them. The dilute calico paused for a moment to flick his tail across Beepaw's, as if to let his friend know that he was about to take off. It was an invitation of sorts.

Once he had let the younger cat know of his intentions, Sparkpaw trotted off to join Berrypaw. He greeted the fluffy, golden tom with a friendly flick off his tail. From the scent of it, these were Shadowclan and Windclan cats. A welcoming grin spread across his maw as his inserted himself into the conversation, "I'm Sparkpaw of Riverclan. Berrypaw here is my brother!" The jovial tone of his inflection was friendly as if conversing with a clanmate. His looked expectantly between the pair as he waited for one of them to respond, having missed the rest of the conversation.
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This would be his first gathering as a warrior. Leopardstar would stand before the clans and declare him an official Thunderclan warrior. The thought has a certain appeal to it but it did not thrill him like it might another cat. Beartooth was simply contented to dwell among his own clan and try to distract the thoughts of battle that had happened here not long before. Looking over the earth with glossed, green eyes, he saw flashes of the blood that had spilled and still stained the ground. On his shoulders, the fur bristled ever so slightly at the memories.

After a moment he shook it away and glanced around to catch sight of Harepaw. Through everything that had happened over the recent moons, the tom had been his constant companion, along with his kin. Once he spotted the apprentice, he padded over and sat close enough so that their coats touched. It reassured the bulky warrior and he settled down to wait for the gathering to begin. Never one for much conversation, it was strange when he broke the silence between the pair with a low breath, "It's strange being back here. I am glad you did not have to see this."

Stagpaw flicked his tail at 'Frog'. "If you're an apprentice, why isn't your name Frogpaw huh?" Stagpaw snickered, and turned more to Berrypaw. "I've never met a RiverClan cat either. It's my first gathering too." The large tom shifted. He was bigger than Frogpaw, and smaller than Berrypaw, but his large paws told them that he would be growing. The gruff tom began to speak, right after Sparkpaw arrived. "My parents died here at the battle. Both of them.... If I were there, I could have shredded Lichenmask apart. Easy. Everyone is so focused on saving lives, they probably tried to get him to run first."" He eyed around the clearing. Where did his parents die? He hardly knew them, and he didn't really miss them, but he was still curious.

Thistlepaw strutted in behind his clanmates, his posture oozing with confidence but on the inside, he was nervous as this was his first gathering and he was without a mentor. He scanned the area before locking in on the group of apprentices (Frogpaw, Stagpaw, Berrypaw, Sparkpaw). He didn't see any Thunderclan cats among them but that didn't intimidate him at all. A good warrior knows his enemies. He padded over to the apprentices. "Greetings. I am Thistlepaw from Thunderclan." He was a little taken aback by the huge build of one of the apprentices. He was a large tom himself yet the other cat towered over him. What are they feeding these Riverclan cats?

Breezepaw walked into the gathering with the rest of the SkyClan cats, although she was near the back due to her pausing at every interesting thing she saw. She stumbled slightly over a twig on the ground, since she was too busy gazing up at the starry night sky. It looked so different to the sky of her kithood, where the moon was a crimson red and the sky was always dark. Her gaze slowly wandered down until she was looking at the cats in front of her. So many different scents! She gave a little skip as she entered fourtrees, pale eyes sparkling with wonder.


ooc: anyone needing accidental compliments and a dreamy gal to think out loud to them go ahead and talk to breeze :)

At Stagpaw's question about her name, she shot him a fierce look, but despite the fire in her eyes she only responded drily, "Frogs don't have paws." She wasn't a frog either, and she knew that, but she felt that the Clan naming thing was nonsense. Not a moment after her explanation another RiverClan tom butted into the conversation, announcing that he was Berrypaw's brother, Sparkpaw. "I'm Frog of ShadowClan!" She gave Stagpaw another challenging glare.

However, instead of rising to her bait, the tom began to explain how his parents had died in the battle. Frog's ears twitched and for a moment she felt guilty for mentioning it, but she didn't say so out loud, and the feeling was fleeting anyways. Cats lost family members all the time; kits and apprentices had whole Clans to raise them. Besides, the way Stagpaw went on bragging that he could've taken down Lichenmask and that the other cats hadn't tried hard enough. Frog simply rolled her eyes.

Not a moment later, a ThunderClan cat came to join them - a fluffy tabby named, apparently, Thistlepaw. Frog had only needed to introduce herself twice and she was already tired of it. The ShadowClan apprentice simply muttered, "Name's Frog." and waited for the next disruption.

Mistyrain trotted eagerly after Tinystar, ready to start this moon fresh and put memories of the war against Lichenmask behind her. Her face fell a little bit as she entered the clearing at Tinystar's heels, dismayed that the battle's effects were still noticeable in the clearing. She wouldn't let this detail bother her too much, however, and she followed her leader to the base of the Highrock where she took her seat. She was pleased to see that they were the first Clan there, as this rarely happened.

The deputy sat in silence, her tail tucked neatly over her paws, until the other Clans began to stream into the Clearing. As each of her fellow deputies arrived, she greeted them as usual with a cheerful "Hello!" and a bright smile.

. . . . .

Tansyheart followed Scorchstar into the Gathering, frowning at the sight of the still-scorched and bloodstained soil. She averted her eyes and trotted slowly towards a group of warriors, her head down. As she continued to make her way towards a few of her Clanmates, a cat brushed by her. She turned around, squinting after the familiar, ginger pelt, telling herself that it wasn't who she thought it was. That cat's fur had been thick with the scent of ShadowClan. Even so, she quickly caught up with the tom, inhaling sharply as she caught a glimpse of his face.

"Gingerstripe?"

Flintpaw held his head high as he followed after his Thunderclan clanmates, padding swiftly down the hill and into the masses of cats below. The gray tabby was in a much better mood in comparison to his first gathering a moon ago. Last moon, he had been mourning his late sister, and was clouded with grief. But this moon, the apprentice was free of thoughts and burdens, and could really appreciate the gathering to the fullest. And wow... He had been missing so much. All the new faces, new personalities. Flintpaw loved every second of it. The sky looked quite different compared to his last gathering. The moon was out and lit the cats below in a white glow. The gray tabby noticed one cat in particular, a she-cat, most likely an apprentice, trotting into the fourtrees dip. Flintpaw watched as she tripped over a twig and stiffled a giggle. A Skyclan cat... He thought to himself, judging by her scent. He rose to his paws and padded over to the she-cat. Being half Skyclan himself, the Thunderclan apprentice had always been curious about the clan of the trees. "Hi." The gray tabby mewed, dipping his head slightly. "I'm Flintpaw, I'm from Thunderclan. Is this your first gathering?"

(ooc: Flintpaw is talking to Titanium's Breezepaw.)

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Finchpaw's breath caught in his throat as he took in the greatness of fourtrees. Four, huge oaks towering over the moor, it made the orange and white tabby feel quite small. Being a Windclan cat, he hadn't seen many trees in his life, and found it interesting how other cats could stand to live beneath them. The masses of cats was another wonder in and of itself, the five great clans swirling together into one. There was something so magical and symbolic about it. A wide grin grew on Finchpaw's face, his paws itched to greet the nearest cat and start up a conversation. Do Shadowclan cats really eat frogs? Are all Riverclan cats good swimmers? The apprentice's mind threatened to overflow with questions, when he caught sight of Brookpaw sitting on her own, looking around. At the sight of the red apprentice, Finchpaw forgot all his curiosities and weaved his way over to her, hoping to keep the Windclan she-cat company. It was no secret that Finchpaw found her interesting. They had been best friends since birth. And the orange tabby would rather speak with her than learn about his neighboring clans. Shadowclan's frogs could wait.
"It's amazing isn't it?" Finchpaw breathed, leaning over so Brookpaw could hear him better. "Although I do think Riverclan smells a little fishy." The orange tabby snorted, grinning as he gazed upon the patterned pelts of the river-dwellers. He liked having a friend who shared his humor.

(ooc: Finchpaw is talking to Reindeer Ripped's Brookpaw, also sorry lol if there's typos, I typed this on mobile lol)

Eaglepaw was among RiverClan's apprentices as she strolled through the clearing and into the Gathering. Her tail and head were held high, and her posture was elegant and symbolized that of royalty. The she-cat was a bit surprised, to be honest- she was not a very good apprentice, she was aware of that much, yet she was invited to the Gathering. Oh, well- it didn't really matter, anyway. She could've cared less whether she went or not. 

Clearly disinterested in talking to anyone, the beautiful pale tabby sat away from any other Clan cats, isolating herself with her close friends and other RiverClan apprentices that were not willing to talk to anyone else.

Morningpaw had arrived with the Shadowclan cats. The medicine cat looked over to her clan-mates before rushing over to the other medicine cats. "Hello Mintwhisker, Amberpaw, Pricklepaw! Hope everything has been alright." she said with a quick nod of her head. She hadn't been so busy in her clan. That was a good thing because she was able to talk with her clan-mates instead of being cooped up in her den. She also often went on herb hunting patrols to make sure everything was stocked. It was better to have a surplus of herbs than not have enough to treat wounds.

Amberpaw jumped slightly when Morningpaw arrived, but the golden tabby immediately felt relaxed at the ShadowClan medicine cat's cheerfulness. "Hi, Morningpaw," Amberpaw greeted. "Things seem alright in SkyClan - we're all recovering after the battle." She glanced at her paws and added sheepishly, "But, ah, I'm sure our leaders will talk all about that once the Gathering starts. How are things in the medicine den for you?"

Vixenpaw and Nettlepaw had made it to the Gathering. The pair were excited, weaving through all the cats together. The two apprentices walked up to a group of apprentices, nodding towards their clannmate, Frog. There was a large cat smelling of RiverClan, and a small cat smelling of RiverClan. The other tom smelled like WindClan.

Both apprentices sat down quietly, but began whispering in each other's ears.

Goldeneye padded in after Riverclan, her apprentice having stayed behind to tend to the injured. Goldeneye didn't stop to greet any cats because who would want to talk to her? Approaching the medicine cats she nodded her head stiffly and respectfully before taking her usual space at the head, she was the most senior medicine cat after-all.