West Shore Gathering [Swept Away Topic]

Strom padded along with the others, making his way towards where the strange red lights had appeared with a bang in the sky. Despite being with these cats he knew, a strange reluctance churned in his belly as they eventually met up with other Clan cats heading towards the distant spot. Already straight back where I started. Can I ever escape them? Marshy soil passed beneath his tired paws as they plodded ever closer. From the smell of it, there were even more cats ahead, and he found that they'd all congregated by a tall rock that stuck straight out of the ground.

The sight kept his attention until the sound of a cat wailing jerked his head around to see an apprentice dragging a dead cat across the ground towards the rock. He stopped and stood for a moment, his tail flicking slowly behind him as he tried to decide whether to go and help or not. Myrtlepaw moved faster than him, the kind-hearted she-cat moving to help the other tom with his burden and comfort him. Seeing that the problem was dealt with, he started on again, moving after Magpiepaw and Lynxtail. Soon after, though, a stench hit his nose with the force of a hawk diving, and he winced, turning to see... Scorchclaw dragging Gingerstripe?

The sight of a dead Clanmate being lugged by his exhausted deputy jolted something in him he hadn't felt since casting aside his Clan name, and he moved after Magpiepaw almost as if he was in a dream. Scorchclaw's here, is Jaystar...? Littlestream? Oh StarClan! He abruptly stopped, glancing around wildly for a moment as he drew scents through his parted jaws, searching desperately for something, anything. Copperpaw? L-Lionpaw? Littlestream has to be here! But he couldn't see them anywhere, nor could he smell them. Pelts moved around him, but he stayed frozen for what seemed like an eternity that could have only been mere heartbeats before he finally regained control of himself, the desperate fear and hope dying into the murkiness of forgotten memories.

Shaking his pelt out - the panicked thoughts seemingly flung away with any extra dirt - Strom moved towards the RiverClan deputy, warily stopping near him and trying hard not to look into Gingerstripe's glassy, dead eyes. "Are you going to lug him right up to the rock?" As he looked at the RiverClanner's disheveled pelt and set expression, he immediately regretted his words, standing for a moment before gingerly moving to help drag the dead tom. A foul taste touched his tongue, but apart from twisting his ears back in disgust, he didn't let go. "Here, let me help," He mumbled around the fur in his mouth, suddenly feeling tired of the whole thing. If the deputy wanted to drag these dead cats all the way onto the rock, he'd lug them right along with him.

***

Murkpaw walked in and avoided all the other cats.

The kit didn't quite understand the feeling of sadness and fright that hung above the other cats, much less the gravity of the situation they were in. She wanted her mum, but she was just too tired to see them for a bit; and besides, she had her siblings and her dad by her side! Nevertheless, the little mite had no grasp or acknowledgment of the meaning of any of this, and didn't seem to take much notice of it.
Otterkit's grip onto Wasppaw's back loosened slightly, her sister's sudden removal from her side now leaving a vacant space that felt unnatural to her. Frantic as though it had been a threat, her frightened gaze turned to the cat who had picked Dapplekit up, her tiny claws accidentally digging into Wasppaw's fur. Her gaze softened for a moment as she realised that she faced, not a predator, but a young-looking black and white tom. But why had the cat taken her sister away from her? Her sense of unease caused her to fire up again, and she wriggled off of the she-cat's back, falling off her pelt with a huff. A mild pain sprang up from the fall, but quickly faded. With a determined gaze, she waddled over to the tom, who was only about a tail-length or two away. I'll save you, sister!
Skidding over the stones below her and falling a couple of times, she eventually made her way towards Dapplekit, who was talking to the tom as if he was a friend. Manipulation! Little legs trembling with the effort it took to pull herself over to them, she tried to look as threatening as possible, puffing out her little chest and speaking in a slightly less squeaky voice than usual.
"State your purpose!" she mewed proudly. Glaring at the tom, she was about to continue before the yowl of a spotty golden cat cut her off. Brushing off her initial fear quickly, she whipped around to gaze in wonder at the tom, who stood at the top of a huge rock! He must have been super important! Almost forgetting about her previous 'mission', she stared up at him in absolute awe, wondering what he was doing. Maybe he was a supercat!

Dawnpaw was alerted by the unnatural red lights that shot into the air. She and Beartooth were at a fair distance away, having traveled the opposite direction for a while now. She was working herself into a frenzy on the hunt for her brother, but she was also doing her best to survive in the unfamiliar land by trying to hunt and find clean water. Dawnpaw was more dependent on her mentor than she was willing to admit in her injured and tired state. She couldn’t exert herself for too long before her head began to pulse and hold her back from hunting or traveling. StarClan knew how Beartooth remained patient with her. And, of course, they’d run into tracks and scents of other cats, but they were faint and watered down and Dawnpaw was especially suspicious of them, pleading with her companion not to follow them or go near other cats seen in the distance. But now it seemed like they’d have to turn around. StarClan were morons, but they were still trying their best to help the clans, so Dawnpaw accepted it as a sign and agreed with Beartooth that they should turn back.

Mud still clung to her long pelt, clumping in her stomach fur and throughout her tail in frustrating little clots. She could probably wash them away in a stream or pond, but Dawnpaw was not interested in anything more than a mouthful of water. It was hard to believe she shared blood with the swimmers of RiverClan. Fatigue tugged at her limbs during the whole trek. The scent of cats, few at first and then several more as they went on, followed the paw prints in the ground and helped the pair figure out where to go. It was only a matter time before they found the other survivors... or hostile natives of the area. One couldn’t be certain.

Pushing into the clearing, Dawnpaw’s spirits rose as she began to recognize the collective scents of the other clans, cluttered but distinct. She couldn’t be certain that there would be peace, but the cats milling about the area seemed to be maintaining civility without issue. Uncertain who to talk to, the ThunderClan she-cat stayed by Beartooth’s side until the form of Leopardtar appeared above everyone else and called for a meeting. She was relieved to see her own leader alive and well, and pushed through the crowd to get to the front. He could tell them where to go and what to do next.

It had taken them longer than expected to reach the resting place of the odd lights. She hadn't known what to expect when she got there, but the sight of life beyond her party of three somehow hadn't managed to surprise her.

Thornbriar approached the gathering with a neutral expression as she dragged with her an unconscious Wildstrike. She padded alongside Mothpaw, looming protectively over her. For now, she was driven by a deep urge to keep the little black tabby and the injured deputy safe. Her senses were alert to any signs of potential danger, but the warriors around them weren't hostile in the slightest.

Just distressed.

She honestly couldn't blame them.

Thornbriar let go of Wildstrike's scruff, letting him rest as she scanned the crowd, looking for a familiar face... She couldn't seem to spot any other Shadowclanners. Despite that, a pawful of pelts stood out to her. Scorchclaw of Riverclan, Mintwhisker of Skyclan, Marshstorm and Leopardstar of Thundercla-

The former was calling for their attention, startling her and drawing her gaze back to him. At the tom's words, Thornbriar's ears pricked. He was calling for deputies and medicine cats but...

Her gaze flicked to the tabby tom's matted pelt. He wouldn't be leading anything just yet, that much was for certain.

"Watch him." Thornbriar nodded to Mothpaw, before turning and padding towards Mintwhisker. "Hey, you. You're a medicine cat, right?" Her words were tired and eerily monotone, reflecting the numbness that had begun to ice her panic hours earlier.

Without giving the she-cat a chance to respond, she turned and nodded towards Wildstrike. "He's not dead... but he won't wake up. Think you"

And with that, she began heading towards the only leader present. Now wasn't a time to sweat clan boundaries. This was a leader, she was a warrior. She was going to report.

"Leopardstar, right?" She mewed, her green eye meeting his. "My name is Thornbriar, a warrior from Shadowclan. Our leader is missing, and our deputy is..." She hesitated, glancing back to her childhood friend. "incapacitated."

She needed to keep her head in the game. She didn't know how many of her clanmates had survived the flood, or how many had ended up in this strange area along with her. Leopardstar had to be feeling the same.

"I'll be acting in his stead for the time being."

---

Trailing after Scorchclaw, Wasppaw hadn't spoken much since the day the tom had found her kneeled over her sister's bloated, motionless body. Her soft blue eyes, so much like her mother's, had lost their sparkle and now seemed much more dull and gray. She kept her gaze to the ground, dutifully bearing the weight of the three small lives perched on her back. She'd lost track of how long it had been since they set off on their journey. It all seemed like such a blur. She almost hadn't noticed their arrival, too lost in that haze of dreary grey around her mind for the voices of the nearby cats to reach her tufted ears.

That is, until a strange black and white apprentice dashed up to her, stammering something about helping her. He grabbed one of the tiny scraps of fuzz from her shoulders, lifting Dapplekit and setting her down on the pebbly ground beneath her paws. Wasppaw hesitated, unsure if she should let the strange tom near the kit. Scorchclaw had told her to watch them like a hawk... but after staring uncertainly at the tom for a long moment silently, she quickly gathered that he wasn't a threat in the slightest. He was actually very gentle, but she wasn't planning to leave him alone with the little she-kit just yet either. As she watched the two, another of the kits, Otterkit, dislodged herself from her pelt and half tumbled, half ran over to where Dapplekit and the apprentice sat.

Settling down close to the pair, she rested her head on the smooth pebbles. The remaining kit could easily climb off if it wanted. After all, the kits weren't about to get very far with how tiny they were, and she'd be keeping a close eye on them. She gave Magpiepaw a small, thankful smile and settled down to watch the leader of Thunderclan do... well, leader things.

She needed the break anyways.

---

Rainpaw had limped her way to the star-fall place on her own, injured and afraid.

Upon arriving, the muted calico found many of her clanmates there, looking anxious and frantically darting about like flies. She breathed a soft breath of relief. She had found hope...

Finally.

Approaching the other cats, she took care to favor her right hind leg. She'd been wounded by... something in the flood, and it had proven very limiting to her mobility. She was amazed she'd even made it this far.

Drawing nearer, she called out in a timid voice. "H... help!"

The fire had died in Poppypaw's eyes.

Trailing behind Lynxtail, Magpiepaw, Myrtlepaw, and Minkpaw (Did RiverClan have a thing with names starting with M?), was an almost unrecognizable Poppypaw. His usually well-kept fur was matted with muck and grime, looking like some sort of swamp monster. His paw pads were rubbed raw from walking all this way on wet gravelly mud. Their little group had finally come upon the site StarClan had directed them, along with many others. Some... some he recognized. Though now he had not the energy to greet them. There was Dawnpaw and Rainpaw among them, as well as Leopardstar and Marshstorm. A brief flicker of relief flashed in his mind, though it faded into the depths of apathy. Just a moon ago he would've gone right up to his leader and deputy, ready to do anything they asked of him. He could've done it better than any other.

But now, now every step felt like he was wading through thick mud. Pushing out words felt like dragging himself up a tree with only his front paws. So he lingered in the back, not quite looking any cat in the eye. A moon ago he would've thought his Clanmates would be more than happy to see him alive. Now he could only faintly wonder if they were disappointed he wasn't dead.

So this is where StarClan has led us.

Stretching before Scorchclaw was a wide, open piece of shore. The ground was rugged here, more gravel than sand. But it would do. Already, cats from other clans had gathered. Some of them he recognized; some of them he did not. Among the familiar faces, he spotted Mintwhisker of SkyClan. His pale-green eyes narrowed briefly, before he turned away from her. He had not forgotten his grudge against the medicine cat. Nevertheless, there was little time and even less energy left to dwell upon it. With every passing moment, more cats were arriving. He and Flurryshine were not the only cats bearing dead, a sight that was not comforting in the least. Two apprentices, a tom and a she-cat, worked together in dragging the bloodied corpse of a larger warrior forward. Just as there was relief among those who were reunited with clanmates, there was grief among those who had lost loved ones. Such was the atmosphere entangling the cats who had managed to survive the flood's wrath. Exhaustion painted itself across the features of every cat.

Larkfeather, Meadowpaw, Minkpaw—the clanmates that Scorchclaw could spot were all too few. Neither Jaystar nor Fallowlight were anywhere to be seen. Somehow, he had sensed that things would be this way. Of course. He was truly alone. And Adderfeather... Adderfeather was not present. The large tabby clenched his jaws. His best friend was probably fine. In fact, it should have been a relief not to see her here. It was all too likely that she had not been swept away. At that very moment, she could be with the rest of their clanmates wherever they had evacuated to. He simply could not process the possibility that she might be dead. He blocked the thought out with all of his might. By this time, Leopardstar of ThunderClan had arrived. The spotted golden tom immediately assumed command, leaping atop the great rock in the middle of the shore. In response to the summons, Scorchclaw gave an irritable flick of his ear. Even in such a situation, the last thing he wanted to do was work together with the other clans.

With a nod of thanks to Minkpaw, the RiverClan deputy accepted the apprentice's help. As revolted as they both felt, there were things that simply had to be done. Together, they lugged Gingerstripe's corpse to a corner of the shore and laid it down. Straightening up, Scorchclaw cast his gaze towards Flurryshine. He could only assume that she would do the same with Dewshine's. "Keep an eye on the kits, Magpiepaw." Leaving an order to the bicolored apprentice by Wasppaw's side, Scorchclaw headed towards the great rock.

The last thing he wanted to do was work together with the other clans. Even so, there were things that simply had to be done. At this moment, his personal feelings took last priority. "I believe you know who I am, Leopardstar. Due to Jaystar's absence, I will be taking charge of all RiverClan cats on this shore." Scorchclaw's voice was cold, with barely a shred of emotion in his voice. Yet there was a weariness that flickered within the depths of his pale-green eyes, one that he tried to hide. "At this moment, we have three kits in need of a queen to nurse them."

Magpiepaw smiled down at the little she-kit, about to gather his thoughts and launch into an explanation of the five clans, but when she pointed out at the crowd he followed her gaze...and felt his blood turn to ice.  "That's my mom with Flurryshine, but she's been really tired..." Oh...oh no.  He remembered the she-cat vaguely, having seen her enter the nursery a few times during his kithood, but couldn't recall her name...all he knew was that she had entered the deepest kind of sleep possible; and that he had to make sure Dapplekit didn't realize that.  His body stiffening, he tried to keep his face straight so as not to worry Dapplekit, but the image of Cloudstone's battered body haunted his thoughts, and he wondered against his will...is that what Finchstream's body looked like?  As if she could've been sleeping peacefully...without a care in the world?  The kit also pointed to Scorchclaw, calling him 'dad'.  Or was she referring to the other dead tom hanging from the deputy's jaws?  He didn't know, and didn't think he could stand asking; is this kit really an orphan...like me?  Feeling his paws shake, he forced himself to meet Dapplekit's eyes as her face tilted upward, her squeaky purr, oblivious to the pain of the world, cracking his heart.  With a sudden surge of emotional strength that he didn't know he possessed, he bent his neck to press his nose against the top of her tiny head, squeezing his eyes shut to hold back the tears he knew wanted to escape.  

"It's okay...my mama is asleep too."

After a moment, he lifted his face back towards the leader's rock, as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened; his paws though still quivered slightly.  During that moment of sorrow, Magpiepaw hadn't noticed the approach of one of Dapplekit's siblings, and thus felt himself jump a bit as her shrill voice rang out from below.  State my purpose?  "Umm..."  The kit had already turned away though, looking up at Leopardstar with wide, awed eyes.  He purred; this kit already reminded him of his sister, Egretpaw.  Always amazed and ready to explore everything...  As Wasppaw settled down beside him with the last kit of the litter though, and he felt himself straighten unnatrually as Scorchclaw ordered him to watch the kits, Magpiepaw nodded to the deputy - his heart pounding - before leaning forward to grab the adventurous she-kit's scruff and deposit her alongside her sister, safely guarded between his front paws.  This wasn't a time for exploring.  "W-What's your name?  I was a-about to tell D-Dapplekit about the f-five clans...do you w-want to hear?"

"Just breathe," Mintwhisker had immediately busied herself caring for the ill and wounded, enlisting apprentices and warriors at random as she went. "For the last time- cel-an-dine- of course it's yellow-" Starclan, there were more injuries than cats. She turned just in time to see a calico she-cat drag herself towards the crowd. "You! Move her into the shade- don't hurt her! Use cobwebs if you must."
Looking harried, the Medicine Cat turned towards Leopardstar. Using her powerful back legs, the tabby she-cat easily scaled the rock that the Thunderclanner was perched on. "Leopardstar," She mewed briskly. "Let's make this quick. There are injured cats that need my care, and there are barely enough herbs to go around." Forget manners, forget formalities. The more time she wasted here, the less likely it was that they would all survive this. Hopefully, they'd organize a couple of herb and hunting patrols and she'd be able to get back to work.

---

The Thunderclanner's ears perked as a new flood of cats approached. It was difficult to discern them at first, but for a brief moment, he was certain he'd seen a familiar face...
Suddenly, a tom broke away from the crowd. "Marshstorm! I'm glad you're safe." The short-tailed tom rose to his feet to greet his friend, smiling widely. Finally, something to be happy about!
His good mood didn't last long, though, and Lynxtail's relieved grin faded as the brown tom spoke. The others... His siblings, the queens, the kits in the nursery- what had become of them? Lynxtail had yet to find time to process exactly what had happened, let alone speculate why only he, Beartooth, and Poppypaw had washed up on shore. The brown tabby shook his head dejectedly. "As far as I know, you, Poppypaw, Beartooth, and I are the only..."
He trailed off, his green eyes growing wide as he stared behind the Deputy. "Father's alive!" He purred, his voice breaking as a wave of relief washed over him once again. "There's hope after all." If Leopardstar had gone all this time without finding him, then perhaps there were others out there. Maybe, just maybe, Batpaw and Copperheart were on their way.

Just as that thought struck him, a familiar scent reached his nose. It was unmistakable, even hidden beneath layers of conflicting Clan scents. "I'll be right back- there's someone I need to talk to." He mewed. Before he left he nudged Marshstorm's shoulder as if he was reassuring himself that the brown tom was really there. He paused for a second, allowing himself a moment of relief, a break from all the constant worrying and planning. It was almost like he was an apprentice again, exploring the territory with confidence, always knowing that if something went wrong there would be someone there to keep him safe.
But a moment was all he got. He wasn't a tiny, sickly rouge-born kit any longer. He had responsibilities, clanmates, a family to look out for. The tabby warrior stepped back with a nod before turning and weaving his way through the crowd.
Speaking of family... the crowd parted and he finally caught sight of the cat he had been looking for. "Thank Starclan. Mothpaw!" He quickly covered the distance between them and gathered her into a tight embrace. "Are you okay? Strom's here as well," Mothpaw was usually overflowing with excitement, and it worried the tom to see her so defeated. Even in Twolegplace, she'd always been the most positive cat in the group. Lynxtail pulled back for a moment to get a good look at her face. It just didn't seem right without her usual sunny expression. "Where's Silentpaw?"

Rowankit had let himself be carried by Wasppaw, one of the few cats he knew at this point. The fiery kit was exhausted and hungry at this point, not having gotten the necessary milk that all kits needed to survive. His tiny claws were dug into Wasppaw's fur as he watched another cat, Magpiepaw he assumed, run up and take his sister and put her on the ground. His fur bristled for a moment, but then he saw Otterkit get down too. He had to be with his sisters, so he hopped off. Rowankit's amber eyes watched his sisters like a hawk. They were still blue rimmed, but they had been open for a little while now.

The kit approached his sisters, sitting behind them. He had heard most of the conversation, about how they were going to be told about the clans. That would be fun! "Hi there, my names Rowankit! What clan are you from?" Quickly his attention shifted away, looking over at Scorchclaw, then back again. "Whos Scorchclaw talking to? He seems important." His ginger tail wrapped around his paws, covering the fluff in more fluff. Despite his exhaustion, his eyes burned bright with determination to understand what was going on. Then he could protect his siblings.

The small kit was surprised as the apprentice touched the top of her head, but she took comfort in the gesture and closed her eyes. As he pulled away they opened again, and she pressed her frame against his leg. "If both are them are asleep, maybe they're together! That would be nice..." She trailed off as her sister came bounding up, declaring her challenge. Waving her small tail in greeting before Scorchclaw padded by, and for a moment she considered following him. After all, where could he be going? In the midst of raising a small paw to chase after him, the deputy's words registered and she stopped, placing her paw back down in disappointment. Her tail lowered until it was limp on the ground, and she pressed against Magpiepaw's leg again as he grabbed her sister and then settled against the comfort of her sister's pelt. Her excitement came back a little bit at the apprentice's words, there were five clans?.... Moving her head to gaze back up at the bi-colored tom's face, her blue eyes sparkled in anticipation. It was then that she noticed her brother approach, and she waved her small tail at him as well, nudging him heartily as he positioned himself next to her and Otterkit.

Lynxtail's report eased the ache in Marshstorm's chest a little. So Poppypaw and Beartooth had also made it. It confirmed his suspicions that many more cats had likely made it and simply scattered unknowingly. The delight in the tom's eyes made him smile as he caught sight of his father and Marshstorm was content to step out of the way. As the young tom ran off into the crowd, Marshstorm turned his attention to where Leopardstar had called attention.

Immediately, he stepped forward to the Lake stone. He settled at the base as he would at Highrock, relieved to see Scorchclaw come over. Though he worried about Jaystar... and the other leaders. Where had they gone?
"Greetings Scorchclaw..." He began, then paused. His head lifted to see the kits spoken of, and felt his heart sinking in sympathy. Two dead cats... and three orphaned kits. He felt a breath catch in his throat before he could take a deeper breath to calm himself. "I have not seen any queens on shore... perhaps Mintwhisker?" He turned to the medicine cat, frantically giving out orders and tending to the wounded.

She may well be too busy to deal with small kits. He turned his attention back to Scorchclaw and Leopardstar.
"With all the cats gathered here, I'm certain many more must have made it to shore... perhaps we can send out a small scouting party to find them while we figure out what we can do." He suggested after a brief moment of thought. Perhaps, they'd be lucky enough to find a queen, or his kin... or any other lost clan cats.

Beartooth had been relieved to find Dawnpaw along the shore, and furthermore that there had still been breath in her lungs. The reunion had also provided something that he initially lacked: direction. Without a leader to guide him or the usual parameters that comfortable clan life provided in the structure,  he had been a warrior without a sense of purpose. It led him to wander aimlessly until stumbling upon his apprentice. Initially, he had found it in him to fight to find a way out and find the rest of the clan, but that purpose had transformed into protecting the she-cat who he had been tasked to help raise. Something familiar. Even with this new direction, the pair of them had proven directionless and prone to wondering. That had led them away from the gathering with the others. Well, that and Dawnpaw's desperate hope to find Duskpaw. He knew the desire from the rawness of her meow. And he understood.

The bulky tom had sought out the sickly apprentice at her side without much expectation but some lost sense of hope budding in his own chest. Beartooth would have given up if it weren't for the sense of a need to keep things together for Dawnpaw. Relief washed over him as some of the pressure was lifted at the sight of other cats. There were faces he knew, and some notably that were missing from the crowd. But he saw Marshstorm, and Leopardstar. As Dawnpaw headed towards them, the warrior followed suit, tilting his head slightly towards their other clanmates he noticed among the collection of gathered cats. Stopping slightly behind the meeting of higher ranks, he meowed, "I'm here for what you need me to do Leopardstar."

Mothpaw's face lit up for just a moment when Lynxtail approached, happy to see her and informing her that she wasn't the only cat from the Twolegplace Incident that was still here. "Lynxpaw! You're okay!" It fell again moments later, though, as he inquired about Silentpaw. "I don't know," she said quietly, trying to make herself seem small (and failing spectacularly, seeing as she was somewhat larger than other apprentices). "I woke up and she was gone. Dad - Scorchstar - too... But I found Thornbriar," she added, making a vague gesture to her mentor, who had made her way over to Leopardstar of ThunderClan. "My mentor. At least, ever since we got back from the Twolegplace..." She forced a small smile, despite the situation. "But at least there's some of us here. We've dealt with life outside the Clans before... We'll... We'll be fine... Right?" She was sure it looked and sounded as forced as it felt. But she did feel a little bit better, knowing that she wasn't completely alone.

Otterkit turned around and narrowed her eyes at the tom for a moment, regarding his offer. He seemed friendly, but how could she know that it wasn't a facade? She decided the very best course of action would be to interact but stay on guard, so she reluctantly answered his question. "My name's Otterkit. I'd love to hear of these clans you speak of."

ooc: sorry for short post; won't get a chance to write a proper one today and i'm on mobile

Leopardstar's ears pricked up at the sound of an unfamiliar voice, and he turned to see a dark smoky black tabby she-cat approach the stone he had chosen, introducing herself as the ShadowClan warrior Thornbriar.  Following her gaze into the crowd, he caught sight of the deputy Wildstrike on the ground, and his face softened sympathetically.  "It's a pleasure to meet you Thornbriar, though I wish it was under better circumstances.  Come up."  As he flicked his tail to invite the younger she-cat onto the stone, he caught sight of a familiar pelt; RiverClan's deputy Scorchclaw.  So Jaystar isn't here...well, I guess it's for the best, as far as diplomacy goes.  I do hope for the sake of RiverClan though that he's okay.  Leopardstar's eyes narrowed slightly as the rival tom spoke, confirming his guesses, but in the end, he offered the deputy a cordial nod.  Before he could think of a reply though, the rough sound of Mintwhisker landing on the stone beside him caused the leader to flinch slightly, but his surprise quickly turned to an apology as he bent his head to the medicine cat.  "I'm sorry to take you away from your work Mintwhisker, I promise this won't take long.  Before he could answer Scorchclaw's urgent question, Marshstorm interjected, echoing his thoughts.  Leopardstar nodded; "Yes, we will need to send out scouting parties, as well as hunting patrols and herb-gathering forays.  We don't know this territory yet, but as long as we are here we'll need to tame it and discover it's secrets, dangerous or otherwise."  He paused, taking a deep breath as he glanced around at the large crowd, filled with cats of all ages and clans.  Where was Brindlestar, or Swiftstep?  Did they not make it?  He also noticed that the crowd was also almost devoid of WindClan cats; had his ally made it through the flood?  His worries though would have to wait.  "I don't believe we have a WindClan representative...we'll have to move on.  On the topic of what to do next, I think we should stay here for now, on this stretch of the shore.  There's plenty of space for everyone, and it should be fairly simple to defend.  This was the place StarClan sent the red stars, after all, it must be a fine spot."  Turning towards Mintwhisker, his whiskers twitched as he meowed, sounding a bit anxious despite his composed form.  "Mintwhisker, have you received any signs from StarClan about how to find our way back to the forest?"

---

Another kit?  Magpiepaw felt his heart begin to speed up again as a fluffy ginger tom-kit released himself from Wasppaw and settled in beside his sisters, tiny voice curious like all the rest.  With a slightly stressed smile, the black and white apprentice introduced himself once again with a purr; "Hi R-Rowankit, Otterkit.  I-I'm Magpiepaw, of R-RiverClan.  All f-four of us, along w-with Scorchc-claw, F-Flurryshine, Wasppaw and y-your...mother are RiverClan.  Back home, w-we live by a long, w-winding river...it's l-like the lake but s-smaller!"  Despite his perpetually hesitant tone, the young tom's voice began to take on the whimsical air of an elder's, telling old legends to nosy kits.  "That big tom up t-there on the rock with S-Scorchclaw is named L-Leopardstar. He's the leader of T-ThunderClan, who live across the r-river from us.  They're big cats, that hunt in the trees and b-bushes, and they're vicious fighters!  The brown tabby s-she-cat up there with t-them is a SkyClan c-cat...I can't r-remember her name.  She's their medicine cat; SkyClan cats have really s-strong back legs, and that helps them climb and h-hunt in super tall trees.  Their leader is T-Tinystar...apparently he has l-legs the length of t-twigs!  Oh, and that dark pelted she-cat u-up there must be from S-ShadowClan.  Our leader J-Jaystar and their l-leader Scorchstar are f-friends, so they h-help us out sometimes.  Sh-ShadowClan lives across a T-Thunderpath, a super scary black field that monsters run across.  ShadowClan cats live in the marsh, where it's all wet and muddy, and they hunt frogs.  A lot of cats t-think that S-ShadowClan is mean j-just because of their name, but t-they don't seem too bad to me.  The last clan is WindClan, b-but I don't think any of them are here.  They're really fast runners and h-hunt rabbits on the moor.  I know that they're friend w-with ThunderClan, and a long time a-ago we fought a lot of b-battles against them, but that's a-about it."  It was a lame way to end, but Magpiepaw was running out of breath.  With a deep sigh, he glanced quizzically down at the three kits.  Was it too much for them to take it at once?  Oh, he really didn't want to to have to re-explain all of that...