September Gathering 2019

Beartooth's arrival hadn't stirred up the same reaction from Ivybrook as Raventail's had, considering she was at least aware of her surroundings when he approached. Out of nothing but pure courtesy, she nodded her head at the ThunderClan deputy. Though she much preferred to stay on neutral terms with the other Clans, there seemed to be hatred running for her veins for ThunderClan. She wasn't sure if it had been inherited from her father, or perhaps it was a learned behavior from Scorchclaw- regardless, she kept her calm and stony front. It was best to remain polite with the other deputies, she supposed- this was a gathering after all. Nodding her head as she attempted in vain to swallow down her anxiety, she observed her surroundings, taking in all the cats that had arrived as she was conferring with Raventail.

Shifting her gaze when Raventail offered her paw, Ivybrook just stared for a moment before realizing what the younger tom wanted. Nodding her head, she relayed her own name quietly to both Raventail and the ThunderClan deputy. "Ivybrook." SkyClan's deputy hadn't shown up yet, and as ShadowClan came filing in slowly, Ivybrook noted that Thornbriar was once again at the head. She hadn't spotted a deputy taking place at the Great Rock, though, so she hoped with all her might that Scorchstar was still okay. The last thing the forest needed now was more turnover of leadership, right? Her best guess was that change caused chaos, and that was something that she had enough of to last a lifetime.

Salamander stalked into the clearing, somewhere near the end of the Shadowclan cluster. The clearing was monstrous, far bigger than anything he had seen before. Massive crooked oaks hounded in on the clearing, like a pack of murderous, leafy dogs. The ground was packed hard and cold like bones, strewn with brambles and the stares of harsh, leering cats. And at the center, the "Great" Rock itself; a shiny little pebble where the entitled got to gloat as the commoners suffered.

This was stupid.

Everything here was stupid.

His father and his sister and who-knows how many others were killed-- murdered-- by those smirking gluttons on that rock. They kicked Burnt's holy name into the sand, laughed at his death, tore apart his family. Even if they didn't do it directly, they were the catalyst. And that still made them guilty. The calico naturally was a lover, but it was hard to love after seeing his father's blood pool out of the Leader's den.

Salamander didn't care for pleasantries. He didn't care for bowing to the leaders or thanking the moon or whatever else that foxdung was. He didn't even know why he was chosen to come here in the first place, or why he agreed. To have someone who listened to him? No. Some of his own "clan-mates" didn't even acknowledge that he had feelings. Why would some other starclan heretic be any different? The apprentice simply stormed his way through the crowd to the thickest part of the undergrowth, where he could simply sulk and watch from a distance. Where he could be invisible.

OOC: Sally is open for conversation!

Sandblaze half-smiled at Flowerpaw and invited her to his side. "Sure thing, fuzzball," he teased. Watching the nervous, shifty look in her eyes, he saw a version of himself long ago. In that time, he was heavily burdened by a StarClan-sent prophecy, desperate to prove that he deserved to be in SkyClan's ranks. Now, what did it really matter? Every day, he hoped that at least his sister would be standing among the ranks of some other clan. He could settle for just knowing she was safe and cared for, no matter where she was. They all had to grow up sometime, going off on their own. With sympathy, he flicked his pluming tail across his clanmate's back. "No matter how they look at you, you never let them think they have you," he said in a low voice. "Look them in the eye... judge them right back. They have nothing to stare for, anyway. You're an apprentice. None of this should be put on your shoulders." So why was so much put on mine?

---

Ferretnose purred delightedly as Harefoot took a seat beside her. She had only half expected him to accept her offer, and she happened to be pleasantly surprised. At the mention of Beartooth, she shrugged. "He thinks he can hide how frazzled all of this makes him, but I'm only blind in one of my eyes, and I see right through him with the other!" She shook her head at her own corny joke and turned when Hazelpaw was mentioned. She quickly scanned the clearing for her apprentice's pelt and found it, seeming to be adjusting well. If anybody messed with that poor she-cat, they'd be getting an earful from Ferretnose herself.

"Even when I was far from the forest, I had ThunderClan," she said finally. "I knew there was safety in numbers, and in the bonds we had together. Duskpaw, Hazelpaw? Well, they had their mother, who left them, and Bonewatcher. I just hope they're adjusting well... who knows what life was like for them that way? That's a loneliness I could never understand." She returned her gaze to Harefoot, a more meaningful and heartfelt gleam to her expression. "I'm sure you could understand, of course. I'm glad you made it home, really. You can't imagine how tense that first moon was after we came home, waiting for lost cats to come back that never did. You and Dawngaze were our little beams of hope." Ferretnose brushed the tip of her tail against Harefoot's, a quiet recognition of the hardship the tom had endured.

Hazelpaw saw a cat that seemed to stick out from the crowd. He was a calico cat, like herself. He didn't seem to stay with his Clan, lying on the outskirts. And in her eyes, he seemed to be in pain. She watched as he found his way to a rather hidden spot, and quickly followed. "Well you look like a grump butt. Mind if I sit with ya?" No matter what his answer was, she sat beside the tom. Offering a little smile, she looked at him. It was a while before she actually spoke. "So why are you so grumpy? Had some bad fresh kill or somethin'?"

Blue eyes glanced up at the larger warrior as she settled down beside the tom. Flowerpaw looked around at the other cats, her nerves from their judgement getting the better of her. She didn't like it one bit. She got a little startled when she felt the tom's tail brush across her back but relaxed shortly after. Her gaze turning to Sandblaze. Never let them think they have her? But didn't they already? She was a mess of nerves and unsureness. Even if she was an apprentice, the reputation her clan gained sat on her already. She was sure if she tried to talk to another clan they would just sneer at her. No.. She had to try and take the warrior's advice. Shifting, the apprentice sat up straighter, a small look of determination crossing her features. "It's not our fault. We are strong." She said lowly to herself before looking at Sandblaze. "Right?" She asked, looking for confirmation.

Mothpaw followed the rest of ShadowClan into the gathering, making her way to the medicine cats' usual place. She wondered what would happen this time - hopefully nothing as drastic as the last Gathering? But then again, when had hoping for the best ever worked for Gatherings...? Well. Only one way to find out how the rest of the night would go: to experience it.

Shadepaw was one of the last of Shadowclan that padded into the clearing. She spotted her brother in a clump of ferns looking a bit upset, and ran over to him. "Are you excited? Or are you still sulky from the 'incidents' back at home?" As she meowed incidents her ears flopped back then forward again, with her eyes narrowed "c'mon Sally some cats here wouldn't know that we're 'outsiders' or a 'traitor' as some cats call us, you love pretending Salamander, I know you do and I know our names are odd but we can pretend we were born with them." Her eyes showed only determination as she started walking away.

Hazelpaw looked at Shadepaw. “What do you mean these names are weird? Well, having to change them is weird, but that is just Clan life. Atleast that is what my mom taught me.” She looked back at Salamanderpaw. “Although I have to admit. Being given the name Sallypaw is quite odd.” The she cat didn’t understand that that was merely a nickname. “I’m Hazelpaw. Now I have a question. Why are you traitors? I have a feeling we are in the same boat here.”

Tinystar's scars were so red against his white fur. Finchstar vaguely remembered nodding to Oakstar as the tom emerged. He vaguely remembered Scorchstar's words of explanation. Thornbriar had made her way to the rock as well, but the scars were so, so red. A grin rose on the leader's maw, yellow eyes narrowed as he played out all the possibilities in his head. What had happened in SkyClan? However the victor was clear. Free, Tinystar's clanmates sat below, their justice scoured across his throat. Words of his own would spoil this moment. It was not Finchstar's to comment on. He was the messenger only. Fate had weaved itself into the paws of another. Chuckling under his breath, grin still remaining, he turned his gaze back to the cats below. He prayed to himself that those scars would never fade. Tinystar wore them a coward, and until his heart changed, may he be one ever still.

---

Duskpaw wasn't worried about missing the gathering. She had followed her clan through the forest, obedient not by choice, but out of the parallels of her wants, and Oakstar's. A meeting with other battle cats seemed far more exciting than anything camp could offer her. The night was much more interesting when she didn't watch it from the safety of her nest. Moss nests were boring. She wanted to hunt, to stalk, to ask all these new cats so many questions. However before entering the clearing, a hollow stump caught her eye. There were so many cats, and slipping away from ThunderClan was easy. Duskpaw stuck her fuzzy head into the fallen tree, giggling at the spider web she found there. Perhaps she'd find some funny bugs, or thorns or flowers. But voices were echoing farther into the forest, and the four huge trees seemed to call her attention. Finding herself in need of another adventure, Duskpaw sprinted out of her hollow stump, long pelt covered in cobwebs and little spiders. A gasp left the little she-cat's maw as she gazed at the masses of cats in the clearing. Some had beautiful pelts, and others were skinny. Some had more scars than even Beartooth, and some looked even younger than her. In a rush of adrenaline, she slid down the hill, prancing to Dacepaw and Houndpaw, the first cats she could find. Dacepaw was already calling Houndpaw's name, looking as if she was trying to take him somewhere. "Hey!" Duskpaw squeaked to the pair, voice friendly. "Are you gonna go look at all these different cats? Take me with you!" Without waiting for an answer, she brushed by Houndpaw's side, leaving several stray spiders on his pelt. Dacepaw left and Duskpaw followed, excited.

---

Breath coming in short gasps, Leaftwirl followed behind SkyClan. She was pregnant, rounded and awkward as she made her way into the clearing. While the warrior had always dreamed of kits of her own, she didn't ever think it would happen like this. It was one night with Sunflower, one stray night as her emotions caved. These kind of things left no room for a change of heart, or the switching of circumstances. The guilt was almost as heavy as the kits themselves. Amberdawn left SkyClan after Tinystar's trial, gone without a trace. Leaftwirl searched that night, blood pulsing through her ears as the realization had set in. Perhaps she really had driven the medicine cat away with her sobs. Or maybe Tinystar really did hurt her so. Leaftwirl hissed to herself as a contraction hit, ripping through her pelt. But the pain was the loneliness. The physical she could ignore. All of the hunting done, all of the border patrols and the early mornings. She had worked hard, fought hard. And there was no message from Wolffang, no word from Tigerleaf. Now she sat with a mate she feared and a leader who didn't trust her. Leaftwirl needed her friends, but Swanpaw was sick, Amberdawn was gone. She had been such a mousebrain, finding solace in Sunflower. His words had been moving, yes, but his father was now stained red with blood. If there was a road to happiness, she had fallen off somewhere along the way. Perhaps Mossbloom was here, of Raventail. Both of her friends had become something great. One stood as a deputy while the other was a fully trained medicine cat. And then there was Leaftwirl. The forest's friend. But the forest she lived in had none. Frustrated, and wanting to get away, she turned from Sunflower's side to search for a familiar face. Mossbloom stood in view, but Tinystar's voice from the rock came all too soon. Leaftwirl sat early, winded.

✧ His head was low, ears flattened and bitterness wrought over his maw. The edges of his expression flickered between disappointment and frustration. Houndpaw hated to face the fact Ridgelight had left, left him to die. Everything in his consciousness screamed otherwise and willed him not to believe such things. It was too much to bear. Dacepaw would leave him too. They all would. Every cat was just another to lose. A discontented growl began to leave his maw and then... Houndpaw! Hey! Hey Houndpaw! Instead of his head snapping up, his gaze slowly drifted upwards to meet the excitement in Dacepaw's face. There had been a snarl building, a snap, anything to will away the company of another cat. But he couldn't bring himself to do so as he stared into the hope that was wrought across her maw. Everything fell away and he stared at her for a moment, like a rabbit on the thunderpath. Then, he nodded.

Houndpaw warily crept after her as she guided him away. Although he had longed to say something that would send her sprinting away, cause her to leave him be as she inevitably would anyway, nothing came. So he obediently followed along. As they headed for the Riverclan cats, the apprentice regarded others around them with a cool gaze. No one else was allowed to pester him like Dacepaw did. Except, maybe Duskpaw. The presence of another friend seemed to comfort him slightly, especially at the prospect of facing his friend's mother. It was as if staring into the face of Dappleshine would force him to face the looming memory that he struggled to tuck away. The facade of a beautiful and loving she-cat was a much more bearable thing. Maybe he could bring himself to consider that illusion instead.

Quickly, that moment ended too. His pelt began to crawl furiously. It felt as if everyone of his hairs was about to crawl away from his fur. His movements were janky and wild. Houndpaw shook his coat many times, seeking to dispel the source of his annoyance. The spiders scattered on the pelts of those around or skittered off over the clearing ground and he continued on, finally, after a few brief swipes of his paw, the little creatures were rid of him. With wide eyes, he growled as they continued on their path, "Foxdung, Duskpaw, are you trying to take me out with spiders now? There are far easier ways, you know." While his words bred malcontent and annoyance, his eyes glistened with a hidden contentment that seemed to replace the momentary darkening of his thoughts. ✧

Forcing himself from not looking in the other leader's directions, their eyes bore through his pelt like a thousand sharp kit claws. He assumed they saw the wound on his neck that bore a good tale to tell, and luckily for them, their undying curiosities would soon be cured. After what seemed like the majority of the clans having arrived and had a good amount of time to mingle among themselvers, Tinystar stepped forward, wanting to get his portion of the gathering over with. Great StarClan would every-cat get a hoot out of what he was going to share.

"Upon last gathering's most unfortunate news, a trial was held for my judgement. I was sentenced to lose a life, as I had taken one. Justice was served and I stand before you humbled and forgiven, as well as a better leader than I ever have been before, for my clan's sake and the forest's," he finished, his voice more raspy than usual and his neck throbbing from having spoken so much. He would definitely have to make sure to get more ___ from Mintwhisker when they returned to camp. "Other than that, SkyClan has been fairing well during this past moon and prey runs abundant, per usual. That is all."

With that, the small legged tom took his place back at the edge of the row of leaders, keeping his head up even though he wanted nothing more than to lay down and rest it on his paws. Hopefully, no cat else would drag the subject of his transgression on any more than it already had been.

~~~~~

Watching as Leaftwirl awkwardly sat herself down next to him, he knew she thought he was absolutely clueless, but he was far from it. Ever since Tinystar had lost a life and Amberdawn had left the clan, the distance that his mate had put between herself and him was quite obvious, even if he didn't want to admit it. Didn't she find comfort in spending time with him? He certainly had with her, but now... things were different and he absolutely hated it. All he wanted was for them to live happily side by side, carrying on his father's legacy and bringing new life to the clan, but did she not want that?

~~~~~

Sitting near the front of the ShadowClanners, Daisyflame watched as the small SkyClan leader spoke. The scar on his neck looked anything but merciful and his clanmates must have taught him a good lesson. Served him right, killing an apprentice. Hopefully, all the hoopla on the subject would be over soon, seeing as though the clans had more important things to worry about than that half-pint of a tom.

Salamander noticed a calico cat approaching him, but didn't act immediately. Chances were she was just there to harrass him. As she spoke he kept his head pointedly turned away, eyes and ears focused somewhere else. Until his sister came.

Sally loved his sister, but great Stag he wished she would just leave him to sulk in peace. "Don't refer to it as the incident, Shade," he hissed, "It was murder." At that point the calico was just about to leave, but then he heard is acquaintance's next words.

"Sallypaw?" he couldn't help but let out a little purr of laughter, but then went back to his stoic face. "No, it's just Sally. Salamander." he said. "Me and my sister's father was... Burnt, leader of Stagclan. Everybody thinks he was some sort of kit-eater or evil fox, but he was always the nicest to us and his clan. And then those shriveled hags on the Great Rock caused him to die."

Hazelpaw nodded. "As I expected...." She sat down, her face growing expressionless. "I have heard stories of StagClan, ones my ma told me. They wanted such good things, and everyone hated them for it. I don't think it is fair how they were treated." She paused for a moment. "Have you heard of Flintfang? He was my pa, and your dad's friend. He was also killed by the same Clan I am forced to live in."

Her claws dug into the ground, anger rushing through her as she mentioned what they did to Flintfang. She had never even been able to know her own father, he was ripped away before she was even born. And now she was stuck in a place that didn't even feel like a home. Atleast Duskpaw seemed to enjoy this place. That made one of them.

There were two heartbeats of achingly hopeful silence as Dacepaw stared into Houndpaw's face, her request hanging in the air between them. She felt the tension crackling when their eyes met, and some part of her registered the maelstrom that had been forming in his expression before he nodded once, rigidly. She didn't acknowledge the darkness, for that would only bring attention to it. Dacepaw's face only lit up with relief, joy, pride, and eagerness as she squealed with delight. Before she could spin back towards Dappleshine, her green-hazel eyes spotted Duskpaw's dusty pelt racing towards them. Dacepaw's plumey tail waved in welcome, and after Duskpaw rubbed past Houndpaw the two she-cats set off together with Houndpaw close behind.

The tortoiseshell apprentice saw the spiders on Duskpaw's pelt and let out a squealing "Eww!" and edged playfully away from her friend as the other she-cat sorted out her pelt and its visitors. Behind them, Houndpaw spat his irritation at having received some of Duskpaw's guests. Dacepaw could only purr and try to keep them away from her as she continued towards her mother and uncle a short distance away.

"Mommy! Uncleberrycloud! These are my friends!" Dacepaw proclaimed proudly, standing with her chest puffed as her entire body gestured to each of them in turn as if displaying a prized catch of fresh-kill or the prettiest rock she'd found in the forest. Truly, Dacepaw felt that her friend were remarkable and awe-inspiring and deserving of the grandest introductions. "Houndpaw and Duskpaw are my very best friends - they helped me find my nest when I arrived! Houndpaw's dad is the deputy," she explained, remembering that he always introduced himself that way and figuring he must want her to do so as well, "Houndpaw is very important. And Duskpaw used to be an adventurer! She's really smart."

The apprentice looked between her friends, her family, and beneath the overwhelming love a part of her wondered why they couldn't all always be together like this. She waited for her mother and uncle to display pride and amazement at the wonder that was her friends.

"Thank you," Marshpaw said to Honeypaw gratefully. "And I'm really sorry to hear there have been some tough things in RiverClan, but it's good that things are looking up!" he added with a light smile.

He quickly surveyed the crowd of cats, eyes bouncing from conversation to conversation. He smiled again at the sight of everyone talking, meeting friends and getting to know cats different from them.

"So, this is your...first gathering, right? What'd you think so far?"