January Gathering 2019

A soft breeze whispers through snow covered trees. Gentle flakes of snow gliding slowly off the boughs of where they had settled from a recent snowfall. The clearing is alight with reflected light from the bright moon that shines above the clearing. Welcoming the clans to come. Giving them a reason to gather, offering them a brief respite of the hard leafbare with a night of peace. Clouds only gentle wisps on the fringes of the sky as stars the stars glitter in jubilation.

It was quite a cold night. Not even Scorchstar's incredibly dense fur could block out all the cold blowing through his pelt. He hoped that tonight would be a quick Gathering.

However, he knew -- he just knew -- that something would go awry between the other Clans. RiverClan and WindClan, or RiverClan and ThunderClan, would probably squabble at each other late into the night, leaving him to finish off the Gathering for the third time in a row. It was a little uncomfortable listening to them bickering, acting as if there were no other cats in Fourtrees other than themselves.

What was worse was he himself needed to do some confronting. And to the leader of his allied Clan no less. If leaders of different friends could ever consider themselves friends with how close the alliance was, he would definitely consider Jaystar one without a second thought. But he just had to make sure he knew what his warrior had done.

It was a few sunrises since the disappearance of his son Poppyheart. His mate, Redwing, had reported to him that she had found his scent right here in Fourtrees -- great cosmos above, he could still faintly scent his poor son in the center of the gathering place -- and that there was a strong scent of RiverClan as well. After some thorough investigation he concluded that Poppyheart had been attacked by a RiverClanner -- and by the additional scent of fresh-kill it was safe to assume the RiverClanner had attacked him for his food.

His daughter had already been permanently blinded by one of RiverClan's own, and now one of his sons has gone missing by a cat of the same Clan -- both events taking place at Fourtrees no less, a place where there were supposed to be no war whatsoever! He just couldn't let this continue on for much longer. Could this be StarClan's way of telling him ShadowClan could no longer trust RiverClan? He truly hoped not...

Leaping up onto the Great Rock, he sat in his spot and awaited the arrival of the other four leaders, watching as his own cats dispersed and scattered throughout the clearing.

---

What was the point of living anymore? As it stood now, Asterspark had absolutely nothing. No mother, no mate, no brother, no apprentice... No purpose. Everything and everyone he ever cared about -- even those he didn't even truly realize he cared about -- were all cruelly ripped away from him by fate. No... By StarClan. What was StarClan's deal, anyway? Did they really enjoy taking cats away from those who don't deserve any heartache?

...Or maybe he did deserve this after all. Perhaps his own birth was a fluke after all. He was born as a result of a one-night stand, a romance that never should have been, and now StarClan felt the need to punish him for his parents' life choices. It wasn't even his fault! He never asked to be born to a mother who decided to give her own children away to his father's true mate just to preserve her name!

And why would StarClan choose to punish his poor brother? He had no idea where Poppyheart was now. For all he knew he could very well be...

Despite his best efforts, Asterspark wasn't able to choke back a whimper of despair. Stars, he missed his brother so much. He wished he would just come back home from wherever he was now so he could tell him just how sorry he was. He wanted his brother back so badly.

Wildstrike stood still and looked around the clearing, it had been awhile since he had been at a gathering and now he was the Shadowclan deputy. They were the first clan to arrive on this cold night. He then kept walking towards the clearing, he sat down, not to far away from the Great Rock and not to close. He shivered, it sure was cold today, hopefully things would go smoothly and they would be able to return to Shadowclan soon. Although he knew that Scorchstar had a few things to talk about with Jaystar since his son and Wildstrike's nephew had disappear after being attacked by a Riverclanner, a Riverclanner! They were supposed to be allies! The deputy begun brushing his fur while he waited for the other clans arrived.

OOC: Oof it's short but I wanted to post heh, anyways feel free to talk with Wildstrike

Redwing stumbled in with the rest of her Clan, limping horribly on her burnt paw. The tip of her tail and whiskers were singed black, and with every few breaths she was racked by scratching coughs. On top of all that, Morningpaw had told her she was pregnant... and she hadn't told anyone. If it hadn't been for Scorchstar, she wouldn't have come. She needed to see justice for Poppyheart... she needed to see the look on that RiverClan warrior's face when they realized what they'd done wouldn't go without punishment. She'd always considered herself a kind cat, but whoever had hurt and possibly killed her mate deserved no mercy whatsoever. An emotion that she'd never felt before was burning in her chest... hatred. But along with that, sorrow and grief and loneliness filled every bone. She'd just found happiness with the perfect tom, and now that had all been taken away. And along with her emotional pain, there were the physical injuries she'd sustained, and the uncomfortable nausea of her pregnancy. Why had StarClan done this to her?

Seeing Asterspark reminded her that she wasn't the only one with problems. He'd been half-blinded in that fire, and lost his apprentice as well as his brother. Everything that she was suffering, he felt ten-fold... and he'd already lost the love of his life as well. Seeing the anguish on his face, Redwing forgot every one of her worries and sat by him, leaning against him in comfort. She said nothing, but her wordless support was strong and loving.

Asterspark felt someone sit down next to him and press into him, and he didn't even need to look to tell it had been Redwing. Stars, did he ever know how she was feeling right now. The both of them loved Poppyheart so very much, and with him gone... it was as if he had taken a piece of their hearts with him, wherever he went. Gently pressing into her as well, aiming to seek as much comfort from the molly as he could give in return, his eyes began to sting with tears.

He had lost his mate, his brother, and his very first apprentice. No matter what it took, he was going to make sure he wouldn't lose Redwing as well, one of his closest friends. If not for himself, then for Poppyheart.

The leader entered the Gathering with a frown in his face. With Riverclan at his back, Jaystar joined the Shadowclan warriors and apprentices for a brief moment before making his way alone to the Great Rock. Leaf-bare had been harsh, there was no doubt but now... there was a new danger threating his clan, one that wounded his son and killed his niece. How would they survive this without risking the lives of his clanmates into battle? With a wary face and a skinny body that was easily hidden by his long, unkempt fur, the tom joined Scorchstar, who didn't seem too happy as well. "How are you tonight, Scorchstar? Has Lengxue caused you any trouble?" He inquired now that they were alone and no other clan leader could bother them like last time.

Ah, just the cat he needed to see. Scorchstar turned his head to face Jaystar and gave him a polite nod. "Well... Truth be told, I could be doing better. Lengxue has given me no trouble as of yet, she's quite the behaved kit. My deputy will be holding an apprentice ceremony for her soon." His eyes darkened a bit, looking quite uncomfortable. "But... something has happened. Something that has to do with one of your Clanmates, Jaystar. It's... It's akin to what Pantherkit had done to Ravenpaw a few moons ago."

---

It physically hurt to carry herself in the same fashion she usually would when entering Fourtrees with the rest of RiverClan. It had been just a few days since she had rescued her drowning mother Snowblossom from the river after her limbs seized up, only to be witness to her final dying words on the riverbank. Flurryshine had tried so hard to save her mother's life, but her efforts were all in vain. Just like how her efforts to train Firepaw adequately enough to survive the battle with Lichenmask were all in vain.

She was losing so many cats in her life. Hillfire had betrayed her and was now dead, Firepaw was killed in battle, Aspenstrike was missing, Icepaw had yet to wake up after his mauling from ThunderClan apprentices, her father had disappeared, she had more deceased littermates than she had living ones, and now she was being haunted by the death of her mother. The only cats she seemed to have left were her other sister Coldgaze, her former mentor Dewshine, and Dewshine's mate Gingerstripe. Though, really, Coldgaze was very distant as it was, and she couldn't really confront either Dewshine or Gingerstripe witout being forced to remember how terrible a mentor she had been to poor Firepaw.

She was practically all alone now. It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair.

The Shadowclan leader caught him off guard. Another one of his clanmates dared to hurt a Shadowclan cat? His fur bristled slightly but tried to remain calm yet strict. As they agreed in the past, hurting an ally clan would cause severe consequences on both sides and it seemed that it was time to do so. "I'm afraid I had no idea of this situation until now, Scorchstar but, as we agreed in the past, I'm completely willing to investigate the facts and give the proper punishment to the cat that disrespected our alliance. What information do you have? do you any names, appearance by any chance?" Jaystar could no longer deal with more conflict with other clans and he was not willing to risk the alliance that the both of them have continued from their former leaders. For a second, he took a glance at his clanmates chatting between them and with the Shadowclan cats. Who could have done it? And what exactly did they do? If Scorchstar's accusation was correct, then, unlike Leopardstar, he would deal with it as soon as possible. He wasn't going to hide a code-breaker or a rebel who tried to ruin the good relationships between the clans.

---

Berrycloud entered the Gathering exhausted, his eyes lost in the horizon. Everything remembered of her... and that horrible day where those fangs sank into his brother's scruff and left him unconscious... when the fierce she-cat jumped into that beast to protect him... just to get a lethal bite in her neck. What kind of warrior had he become? How could he not protect them? How could he fail his clanmates and kin so miserably? Did he truly deserve to be a warrior when someone just gave up their life for you because you were just so weak and a fool for not listening to them? The large golden tom sat down, looking at his own paws. He just wanted this gathering to be over as soon as possible...

"Thank you very much for your understanding, Jaystar," Scorchstar mewed softly, giving his ally another dip of his head of sheer respect for the more experienced leader. "One of my warriors Redwing reported back to me on the disappearance of one of my sons Poppyheart. I went back with her, as did Poppyheart's littermate Asterspark, to investigate, and it was clear that he had been ruthlessly attacked by one of your warriors. There were scattered feathers, so it was assumed your warrior attacked my son for his prey, and being as Poppyheart is not one to start any conflict, it was probably your warrior who started the brawl, though I cannot say this for absolute certain.

"Now, my other son Asterspark is incredibly observant," he continued, "and he said he was able to recognize the scent of one of your warriors by name. He says this cat's name is Coldgaze -- he told me he recognized her scent from when he encountered her during Gatherings. I'm not completely certain if this is the case, but I do ask that you look more into this to confirm if this is true or not. Tell me, Jaystar, has Coldgaze returned to RiverClan camp a few days ago with a pigeon and battle scars?"

Mapleshine walked in after Scorchstar. The she-cat did not have much expectations for what this gathering might bring, after all besides the problem with Scorchstar's own daughter Shadowclan was faring well as far as she was concerned. True, they where forbidden to hunt in the carrionplace but that was no other clan's concern. The shadow clan cat looked bored to the rock where Jaystar and Scorchstar where now talking.

OOC: Maple is open for talks.

OOC: Wasn’t sure if Cold should be here or not but then I thought whatever, so if you want to you can have her go with Shadowclan directly after the gathering

The young warrior looked around Fourtrees, just Shadowclan and Riverclan has arrived so far. She took her time to find a good spot before see sat down and glanced around at the other cat’s around her. She froze when she finally looked up at the Shadowclan leader, he looked a lot like the cat she had attacked... Eh Poppyheart was the name of the warrior she had fought if she remembered right... Oh no.. Had she really attacked the leaders son?? But he hadn’t told him right?.. She did tell him to keep quiet... She looked around quickly but couldn’t see the tom anywhere, of course he wasn’t here! He were probably lying in the medicine cat’s den crying about the wounds she had gave him. She tried to calm down but it was hard knowing that she might have had attacked the Shadowclan leaders son!

The tom heard everything Scorchstar told him with interest and keeping quiet until he was done. Jaystar kept his own thoughts in the matter to himself, yet he remained calmed and cool-headed. He took a moment to think of his next words and finally opened his mouth. "I must say that a cat recognizing the scent of another is rather hard to believe especially when all cats of a clan smell alike, Scorchstar and I'm well aware that sometimes, when one is in pain for the loss of a loved one, we tend to search for any cat to blame. However, don't misunderstand me." He mewed, trying to explain himself. "I'm not saying your accusations are not to be taken care of and I'm must admit that Coldgaze hasn't been the best well-behaved one of my warriors but I can't say for sure I've seen her with battle wounds because our medicine cat den had been rather full this past moon and many cats enter and go out from there."

For a few seconds, his green eyes gazed around the Gathering, wondering if Coldgaze was around there but he couldn's see her for now, although he was sure the young warrior had come with them tonight. "What do you say if we meet here after the Gathering, before dawn? I'll bring Coldgaze with me and we can ask her if she knows everything or if she's involved. If we decide she's guilty of a possible murder or maiming, then we can discuss her punishment for trying to break our alliance, Scorchstar."

Lightstep had been somewhat reluctant to leave the camp given the recent snow. Icepaw, his nephew, had not recovered from his wounds since the last Gathering. Additionally, they hadn't received word from Leopardstar as to whether Hailpaw and Ridgepaw had paid for what they'd done. Although Lightstep realized Ridgepaw hadn't been the one attacking, he couldn't let it be forgotten that the other she-cat was present. Determined to see a resolution - and knowing his grandfather, Jaystar, would ensure it - the white warrior dragged himself out of camp to attend.

When he arrived at the Gathering, he spotted Flurryshine - his brother's mate - walking stiffly and numbly into the clearing. Lightstep's heart ached for her: Aspenstrike had disappeared immediately after Icepaw's maiming, their adopted child Sootpaw had recently had an odd fit that landed him in the medicine cats' den for a few days, and just recently the she-cat had tried and failed to save her mother, Snowblossom, from drowning in the river. Whatever pain Lightstep felt at Icepaw's maiming, Flurryshine likely felt it ten-fold. After all, Icepaw was her kit - not his. The RiverClan tom picked his way through the crowd to her side and asked softly, "May I sit with you?"

---

Mottledspark padded in with his Clan, but as soon as they entered the clearing he parted from them to mingle with the rest. The dark tortoiseshell warrior was tired of the death and sorrow and misfortune that seemed to be needlessly harassing RiverClan. He had spent a lot of time thinking about it. Tonight was the night of the full moon, the Gathering, and Mottledspark intended to make good use of that time by chatting or making friends or doing something a bit less depressing than sitting in silence and grieving lost Clanmates. He spotted a ShadowClan she-cat [Mapleshine] and made his way to her, mewing a casual, "Hey." He followed the warrior's gaze up to the Great Rock and asked, "What do you think they're talking about up there?"

Scorchstar considered what Jaystar said, and he nodded slowly. He supposed that, with how upset he had been, desperation to find his lost son clouded his better judgement, and perhaps the same had happened to Asterspark. At the offer to meet the day after the Gathering, much line how they did so last moon to negotiate about Lengxue, the ShadowClan leader nodded. ”That’s fair enough. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation, Jaystar. If... If it turns out Coldgaze was the one who attacked my son and caused him to go missing... well, we will discuss a punishment, but... I would like for her to stay with ShadowClan so that I can keep a better eye on her... so that something like this doesn’t happen again. I apologize if it must come to this, but... I need to put my Clan first, even before our alliance. I trust you would do the same for RiverClan.”

---

Asterspark watched intensely as RiverClan arrived, searching through the sea of fishy-smelling cats for the one he knew attacked his brother a few nights ago. He couldn’t be mistaken, he just couldn’t! It had to have been her.

And then he saw her. Coldgaze. She was looking up at her father and the RiverClan leader as they discussed among themselves silently — he knew they were talking about Poppyheart — and he could just tell by the posture and the look in the molly’s eyes that she knew what they were talking about. She was guilty.

”Hey, Redwing, I’ll be right back, alright?” he mewed to his brother’s mate, standing up and beginning to pad away. ”There’s something I must take care of.”

Slipping stealthily through the crowd of ShadowClan and RiverClan pelts, he sought out the pale fur of his brother’s attacker, and once he found her he approached her from behind. Narrowing his eyes and giving his tail a single lash, he growled, ”Heya, ally. Coldgaze, right? I’m Asterspark. Scorchstar’s son. And Poppyheart’s brother.” He wore a rather terrifying grin the entire time he spoke to the molly, watching her very carefully, waiting for even the most subtle of indications that she knew who he was talking about.

---

Flurryshine looked up at the soft voice beside her, and she looked up into the soft, sympathetic amber eyes of Lightstep. She managed a small smile for only a few seconds before it fell again, then quivered, as she tried not to break into sobs again. She kept her voice soft, barely audible around the chattering of cats around them. ”Yes, you may. ...Thank you, Lightstep.”

Morningpaw padded alongside Shadowclan to the gathering. Her face held no readable expression as she walked over to where the other medicine cats would sit. "..." The apprentice stared at her spot with a troubled expression. Without a second glance, she began to walk over to the scattered groups of cats who were now conversing anmong one another. Only Riverclan and Shadowclan were here so the medicine cat decided to take a walk around and see who she could speak to. She'd return to her spot once all of the other medicine cats were assembled.

**Morningpaw is open to talk with anyone!**
(She's just walking around, looking at the small pairs and groups chatting away)