September Gathering 2019

"Strong as the trees," Sandblaze said to Flowerpaw in affirmation. Despite the usually squabbles, it seemed like the gathering was going off without a hitch. Of course, Oakstar and Torrentstar had some choice words about what always seemed like a ransom situation to the young tom. He rolled his eyes and began nodding off from boredom. He didn't see Delta. None of the rest mattered. And then, of course, there was a great kerfuffling as he looked up to see Leaftwirl surrounded by medicine cats. Immediately, he figured out what was happening, and his ears turned backwards in slight panic. "Oh, I knew that was a bad idea!"

---

Ferretnose flicked her tail across Harefoot's lower spine in solidarity with him. She could never dream to be in such a wretched state as he had been in. It was comforting to be in his presence, and she was not easily comforted. She bit the inside of her cheeks as Oakstar engaged in more politics. She respected and trusted that tom with all of her heart, but she was tempted to desire (if nothing else) Tinystar's neutrality. Sure, they were a pesky bunch, but SkyClan wasn't exchanging hostages and fighting over rocks. She had to laugh at it all.

At the sound of Mossbloom's yowl, she instinctively rose to her paws, only to find a SkyClan queen laying across the clearing moments from pushing out a kit. Her hackles relaxed, but Ferretnose couldn't help but look around like a lost apprentice. What does a cat even do when this happens?

---

In a matter of moments, the queen near Mossbloom's side was biting a stick, her mate had run off for moss, and some SkyClanner was yelling out in horror. His fur stood up as he scanned the clearing, unsure of what to do that hadn't already been accomplished, and elected to freeze in place. "Everyone needs to calm down!" Aspenheart yelped, unaware of the irony. "I, uh, I think there's juniper just past here, give me a minute!" He finally snapped out of his trance and wobbled out of the clearing as quickly as his unsteady legs could take him. As he broke off a branch of berries, he contemplated exactly what Mintwhisker was thinking when she saw that poor she-cat and thought it would be fine for her to attend. Where was the old bat, anyway? Why had neither of SkyClan's medicine cats bothered to show?

Back from his light walk, he dropped the berries at Mossbloom's paws. "There might be chervil hanging around somewhere, but I didn't see anything." He bent down to visually inspect the queen for himself and to catch his breath for a moment. "Not that you're in any mood to respond, I'm sure, but... hello! I stole your medicine cat for a few moons. Seems we've come full circle, eh?"

Mothpaw had been watching the Gathering with vague interest, up until everything went wrong - Thornbriar's open offer to Dappleshine and Dacepaw made her smile, but it was followed by the voice of her fellow medicine cat.

Mossbloom's call sent Mothpaw running from where she was sitting, hasty apologies to every cat she nearly bowled over on her way there. "Sorry-- ah! Oh, hi Wasppaw-- Okay, I'm here!" After a moment, she reached the other medicine cats, and suddenly realized she had no clue what she was doing. Some medicine cat she was, huh? Speaking of which, she felt a rare flicker of annoyance as it crossed her mind - where were SkyClan's? Couldn't they bring their own medicine cats to the Gathering if they even suspected something like this was going to happen?

More pressing than their absence, though, was the realization that she had no idea what she was supposed to be doing. At all. "Um... What do I do?" she asked, looking to the others for instructions. She hadn't even been there when Redwing's kits were born... Maybe it was good that she could see what everyone else was doing now. It meant she was less likely to mess it up later.

Through her tears Shadepaw could see a cat in pain, no longer crying she meowed "what's going on?" She wasn't scared, just confused.

OOC: Late

IC: Salamander instinctively curled his claws when Shadepaw recounted the murder. He hated it, and he hated that his sister mentioned it, but she was simply answering Hazelpaw's question. "Cinderface," the calico spat the name like if it were dung. "Night loved her. Cinder was a second mother to her, I remember. And then she killed her." The memory still burned bright in his mind. Huddling with his siblings. Seeing Shade run towards the nursery. Running after him.

And the blood smeared over every surface.

The apprentice blanched from the memory, but tried to keep it subtle. "I hate it too," he muttered. "I wish I can just run away and never come back. But our mother is still here, and our siblings. Plus, living alone is dangerous, and I don't want to get mauled by a fox." Salamander's attention was pulled away when Shadepaw mentioned something else. Sure enough, a cat was kitting, right in the middle of the Gathering. He must've not noticed it somehow. It was some brown she-cat surrounded by a lot of other cats that he didn't know. "I think someone's kitting," the calico meowed, trying to make his fur lie flat again. As Salamander watched he was slightly mystified and surprised by how smoothly the clan cats worked to help her kit. Stagclan didn't have any official medicine cat, and his mother was the closest they ever got to one. But these cats knew what they were doing- gathering herbs, instructing others, and keeping the queen calm.

"kitting?" She asked, confused. "In the middle of a gathering?" Suddenly she was interested "I wonder how many kits?" She purred although she didn't want to invade.

Just when he thought they'd be able to go back to camp peacefully, Leaftwirl went into labor.

Now?

The abnormally tall tom's gaze turned hazy for a moment as he stared at his mate laying on the ground, and then, he panicked.

Heart racing as though it was going to fly out of his chest and awkwardly large ears flat against his head, Sunflower barely registered what one of the medicine cats had instructed him to do. Go get moss? Was she crazy? He couldn't possibly leave Leaftwirl's side... but the sight of a queen giving birth wasn't something a cat with a weak stomach should focus their eyes on for too long, and Sunflower began to grow sick just thinking about the whole... process.

Find some moss it was.

After what felt like ages of madly dashing through the territory trying to find moss then then soaking it, Sunflower returned to Fourtrees, his jaws filled with more moss than he should've been carrying.

Pushing his way through the clowder of cats, he spat the moss down at ThunderClan she-cat's paws. Legs wobbly and out of breath, that didn't stop him from pacing around, his fur on end. If it'd been some other cat, he would've been absolutely embarrassed by such an event, especially during a gathering, but with that some-cat being his own mate, he didn't even care about the dozens of clan cats staring at them. The main concern was Leaftwirl's safety, something he couldn't find any peace around.

'What if something goes wrong with her or the kits? What if it's too early? What if the medicine cats don't know what they're doing?!' his thoughts screamed as he paced back and forth, his whole body shivering and teeth chattering nervously as his long tail lashed back and forth.

The tom she had ordered seemed to hesitate, face scrunched like he was sick to his stomach before bounding off on lanky, awkward legs. With him gone, she set about stretching out the queens rear legs and paws, setting them comfortably. Another voice caught her attention, and she glanced up to see another SkyClan warrior nearby. Her voice confident and clear once more, she requested from him. "Could you get some soft moss? Take others with you, we need it quickly. It needs to be dry, and free of thorns or any other sharp things."

At that point, Aspenheart appeared at her side, dropping a branch of juniper berries at her paws. Separating a pawful of the berries from the branch, she nosed them towards Leaftwirl, so all she had to do was stick out her tongue to reach them. Her voice soft again as she addressed her patient, she mewed, "Here, Leaftwirl. I know it's hard, but eat these. It will help. Aspenheart, the chervil would be wonderful, can you let an apprentice know where to grab it? I need you to stay with me, without Mintwhisker here who should have been keeping an eye on this it's a bit hard to tell how many kits there are. You're doing magnificent, Leaftwirl, keep up the good work."

She shifted rapidly between talking to Leaftwirl and Aspenheart, flipping her focus as she used her white paws to clear the ground of debris around Leaftwirl. The white tom returned with a ball of moss dripping with water, dropped it at her paws, and then started pacing around the kitting queen with his fur on end. For a few heartbeats, Mossbloom was able to ignore the distraction that it was, pushing the ball of watery moss close to Leaftwirl. "Deep breaths, you're doing great. We're right here, go ahead and push dear."

After a few more heartbeats of heart-wrenching patience, the nearby pacing began to feel like ants crawling under her pelt. Glancing up at the tom, she took a deep breath before addressing him. "Are you the father? If so, you can either lay at her side while she kits and give her comfort, or if you feel like you won't be able to handle that you can go on the other side of the Great Rock. But I must ask you to stop pacing by her head, you're distressing her." And distracting me she added silently, turning back to the SkyClan queen.

"It's time, Leaftwirl. You have to push, okay? You can do this, you're strong and healthy, let's see these kits and give them a proper clan welcome, shall we?" She looked to Aspenheart and gave him a nod, whispering to him under her breath. "Have you ever done this before?"

Aspenheart lifted his eyes, pleased to see Mossbloom taking the lead. As she should. At her command, he looked to Mothpaw. "Friend, go look behind the Great Rock. There's bound to be chervil back there, even if we're close to Leaf-Fall. Be quick, it's about to start!" With that, Aspenheart shuffled to Mossbloom's side. For a moment, he caught himself glancing at her with a certain blooming of his heart, nostalgia and pride for how far they had become. Their eyes locked when the calico asked about his experience, and he remembered watching (in slight horror) as Cloverpaw, Goldengale, Quailpaw, and Mistystripe were born. He swallowed his ridiculous tom-cat emotions about the concept of kitting and slipped back into the firm, directed headspace he generally found himself in when things went awry. He nodded quietly and moved to Leaftwirl's other side.

"I'll get the kits going once they come. You seem like you know this queen better than me, anyway." As he readied himself and waited anxiously for Mothpaw to return with herbs, he caught Leaftwirl's scent, and the great wall of professionalism was cracked. His eyes flickered to Tinystar, standing atop the rock, and wondered if he was at all displeased about the current situation. He himself was loathe to speak poorly about Mintwhisker, but he was sure they would both regret it when SkyClan brought home kits covered in his WindClan stink. He rolled his eyes. What a mess.

It suddenly occurred to him that Amberdawn wasn't there either. Wouldn't she at least have been here in Mintwhisker's place? Aspenheart looked around quickly and found the supposed father's eyes. "Excuse me? I see the stress you're under, but why isn't Amberdawn here tonight? I get Mintwhisker being a homebody, but not her!"

Since arriving at the gathering with Thornstar and rest of Shadow Clan, Ash has been quietly watching the event unfold. Seeing 4 powerful cats and 1 runty cat on the great rock has been interesting experience. Watching Salamander going off into the brush to be by himself, no surprise there. Now someone is kitting, this is unexpected. Ash thought to herself, I wonder if anything else of interest is going to happen?, She continued to observe the surrounding chaos with unusual interest.

Hazelpaw reared back, her lips drawn back in a snarl. This was absolutely disgusting! She didn't want to see a queen have kits! She turned away, gagging as all of this was going on. "I don't understand how you two are handling this so well. This is absolutely disgusting. Why would SkyClan bring a queen this heavily pregnant to a gathering anyway?"

Her legs grew wobbly at the sounds behind her. This was absolutely crazy! And then, she did it. Yup, she passed out. She couldn't stomach what was going on, so maybe it was a good thing. She didn't have to see or hear any of it if she was unconscious.

The cats swelling around her were a blur as Leaftwirl's chest heaved in heavy breaths. She could no longer make out the scents of those close to her. Mossbloom had been present, and perhaps the calico pelt's soothing voice was the one speaking. She picked up words like "magnificent" and "comfort." Leaftwirl wanted to thank her long time friend for caring for her so, but the pain that rocketed through her frame said otherwise. A stick was wedged between her teeth which she found nice to bite down on with every ripple that shot through her pelt. Some plant-like berries were next, the juice soothing her throat as she chewed in the haze. A silver tabby had emerged as well - a tom. Leaftwirl knew she recognized him, finding his funny gate to be somewhat of a giveaway. WindClan's medicine cat. Oh StarClan, she was giving birth at the gathering. Eyes stared down upon her but the she-cat didn't hide from them. Another contraction gripped her frame and she hissed loudly, splintering the stick in her mouth in two. The weight lifted suddenly, and there was a small wet frame by her rump. Weakly, Leaftwirl rose to look and found a kit, helplessly small and slick with fluids. "Oh..." The queen squeaked, feelings tears well in her eyes. A kit. Her kit. Small and mewling on the gathering grass. "Bring it here... please..." She gasped, nuzzling the soft thing at her belly. Suddenly the world felt vast, wide and massive. But Leaftwirl cared for nothing other then the small scrap at her belly. No harm would come to the small thing, nothing in the world would ever hurt it. Perhaps the circumstances in which her kits were created were less than ideal, but this life she had brought into this world, it would live in a space more beautiful than she ever had. Her smile fractured however as another shape was heaved onto the grass. Leaftwirl let out a yowl of pain and buckled over as her mind threatened to explode. A second kit. This time there was no clarity however as the contractions came in waves. A white shape paced behind her - Sunflower. The voices of others were blurred. The medicine cats hunched over her seemed to morph into different shapes of colors and purrs. Panting heavily, the queen screeched and managed to expel the last kit, laying her head back in exhaustion as it was placed at her belly. Thank you... Leaftwirl thought silently as her eyes shuttered back into a resting state. Sleep threatened to overcome her, and she gladly lapped at the moss placed to her maw. This pain did not quell her emotions, and it gave her a purpose. A new development, a new cause to devote her very life to. She would bring the very world itself to the kits that now rested at her stomach. The forest had witnessed it all, and she prayed Wolffang had watched as well. I will kill all the beasts in the forest for my children. I'll be strong, Wolffang. Watch me. Watch. Me.

Burningsun had been reluctant to come to the Gathering. How would the clans react to the Trial? Would Tinystar mention it? Since that day, her nights have been dark and full of terrors. Most of her time was spent clinging to Lightfang's side; the weak one in the relationship for once. It was difficult for Burningsun to lean on him, she hated being a burden. But it was necessary.

It hardly registered in her ears that Tinystar barely mentioned the Trial. For some reason, Burningsun expected him to say her name. Her multicolored gaze watched Finchstar, holding back a grin. Well, close to one. The leader was admireable, and she couldn't help feel jealous of the WindClan warriors. She would have enjoyed living under his rule.

Her thoughts were torn away like her innocence on the day Sparrowpaw joined her when the chaos erupted around her, just mere tail lengths away from where Lightfang and she was sitting. She stared, empty... Not completely there. Who would want to bring life into SkyClan?

Stopping in his tracks after endlessly pacing around, Sunflower ducked his head in embarrassment, his large ears flat against his head when Mossbloom scolded him, knowing he probably looked silly.

Before he was able to join Leaftwirl's side, one of the medicine cats stopped to ask him a question, one in which he would've rather not been the cat to share such news. "A-Amberdawn is gone, she left SkyClan," he mewed softly, pulling his gaze away from the younger tom's. "S-sorry," Sunflower added, just barely audible above the mews of the cluster of she-cats that surrounded his mate. Pulling his gaze away from the tom, he gave his head a shake. His mate was kitting and he needed to be present, and right now was not the time to get caught up in the past.

Shuffling over to Leaftwirl's side, he sat down, making sure to not look in the directions of where the medicine cats were working. If he kept his gaze at his mate's beautiful face, everything would be fine, he kept reminding himself. After few moments of the painful process ensuing, three bundles of wet fur wrestled against the queen's belly. Watching as the kits squirmed around from being licked by the other she-cat's, Sunflower began to tear up. He'd never felt such a sense of pride and joy in his life, for his own family and clan. Leaning down, he nuzzled Leaftwirl on the maw, a purr erupting from his throat.

"Y-you did great. They-they're beautiful," the meek voiced tom mewed softly, turning his gaze back to the kits. Now, they just needed to think of names and Sunflower was no expert on the matter and knew this was something to leave to their mother.

"What sh-should we name t-them?"

~~~~~

Through a blur of bustling chaos that was a mob of medicine cats, Leaftwirl, his son's mate, had given birth right there in the clearing. He knew he shouldn't have let a queen attend such a journey, for now they would need to haul the kits back home, but at least everything had gone smoothly and the kits looked healthy.

Watching as Sunflower finally settled down, he knew his son was proud of himself for being successful in finding a mate, especially with a she-cat such as Leaftwirl, and a small ember of pride for his family began to kindle deep inside of him, though he didn't show any proof of it as he sat atop the Great Rock, not saying a word.

Mossbloom nodded to the WindClan medicine cat, flisking his shoulder with her tail before returning her attention fully to Leaftwirl. Good, she'd help deliver the kits and then pass them on to Aspenheart, who would look them over and get them breathing, then get them back to their mother. They had a plan, and that relaxed her slightly, even with the absence of so many herbs that would help. Leaftwirl was young, strong and healthy. She would be just fine, she had to be. The first kit came, and quickly she passed it to Aspenheart and then back to Leaftwirl. Two more were quick to follow, and then it was over. Leaftwirl had three beautiful kits nuzzled at her belly, and Mossbloom leaned forward to gently lick the queen's head.

"Well done, Leaftwirl. You did so well. They're wonderful." She murmured before pulling back to allow the SkyClan tom to move in closer. She was uncertain about him, but Leaftwirl had said nothing yet about him needing to leave, so she was content with letting it be. She did find it exceedingly odd, though, that Tinystar was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps she was just missing him in the crowd, his height did him no favors in that aspect, but a quick glance at the Greatrock to confirm to the other leaders that all was well revealed that he was still perched silently upon it, and a low growl sounded in her throat. Some leader, not bringing his medicine cats along when there was a heavily pregnant queen among his numbers, and not even a word of concern for the well-being of the two cats and their kits escaping his maw.

Shaking her head in disappointment, she looked to Aspenheart, trying to ignore the stoic, prideless leader that was Tinystar and offered a bright smile. "Leaftwirl did wonderfully and her kits are healthy! Thank you for your help, Aspenheart!" She purred before registering the shocked look on the tom's face. Oh stars was this his first kitting? Oh dear. Laying her tail on his flank lightly, she called his name once more. ".... Aspenheart?"

Dacepaw's loved ones swept her in immediately as she began to cry, though she was ashamed of her tears and knew she had drawn the eyes of the gathered Clan cats in more ways than one. Dappleshine murmured a few soft words of comfort, but then suddenly she was gone, moving a few pawsteps away with rigid movements. The little apprentice sniffled and her watering eyes settled on her dear friend Duskpaw instead. The gray-brown she-cat was gazing back at her with an expression of confusion, and though their confusion stemmed from different places, Dacepaw couldn't help but take solace in the fact that at least her friend seemed to not understand what had happened either, or why. Duskpaw murmured a soft apology and rested her tail on Dacepaw, and immediately the she-cat leaned into Duskpaw, letting their thick fur mingle for a moment.

Dacepaw realized, now, that her mother was addressing Scorchclaw - apparently now known as Torrentstar - and she sounded angry. Angry and defensive. Dacepaw's ears were low as she listened to her mother speak, explaining that her daughter couldn't be expected to make such a weighty decision in the course of less than a night. The little she-cat listened sadly to her mother's reasoning, and she thought, He does want that. Oakstar wasn't going to make me choose... He said I could choose. Why doesn't Pawpaw Scor--Torrentstar feel the same?

The threat of never being able to see Auntivybrook or Uncleberrycloud or Magpiepaw or Minkpaw or Wasppaw ever again made Dacepaw feel incredibly small and afraid, but Houndpaw and Duskpaw were right there, and Dappleshine's words spoke louder than anything else: "As long as I breathe, she will have a bond wherever I roam." Dacepaw thick tail curled in around herself, and she sniffled and sat up slightly from Duskpaw's embrace. Dappleshine continued in a strong voice, "Like it or not, she will always have a bond with us. And if you make me choose, I will always choose her."

Another soft whine escaped Dacepaw and then her sleek-furred mother was back where she belonged, tucking her kit lovingly into her fur. Dacepaw accepted her mother's affectionate nuzzling with a subdued smile. More comforting words were said, and up above the apprentice could hear that another familiar voice was speaking. Mawmaw? she thought with a flicker of pleasure, but she didn't dare risk calling out again; she already had enough of all eyes being on her. Indeed, Thornbriar was atop the Great Rock too, and she realized that the smokey she-cat was looking at her and her mother. "You know where to find me," the brawny warrior said, and Dacepaw stared up with confusion. She didn't understand the she-cat's offer.

Oakstar stepped forward and Dacepaw knew immediately, with a sigh, that he was going to mention her again for everyone to hear. Sure enough, he mentioned she was indeed a ThunderClan apprentice and that she was young, and that the choice she was going to make was difficult. With his sympathetic, soft gaze, the dark tabby tom announced to her once again that he would understand if she wished to return.

A sudden yowl of pain made the apprentice jump to her paws, tail bushing out with alarm. Dacepaw gazed around wildly before she saw a commotion, and a bunch of cats at the base of the Great Rock rushed to a tabby's side. A cat Dacepaw didn't recognize yowled in alarm, "Great StarClan, Leaftwirl, are you kitting?" Dacepaw's wide eyes swung back to her mom. "M-Mommy? What's kitting? Why is she y-yelling? Is she in trouble?" The queen let out another cry and Dacepaw continued to stare in the direction of the crowd, looking concerned.