October Gathering 2019

The marbled she-cat turned to say something to Berrycloud when she noticed he suddenly wasn’t there. Where had he gone? Myrtlebrook got to her paws, looking around for her dear friend. It wasn’t like him to just disappear. Just as quickly as he had disappeared, he returned, flowers dotted in his thick fur. He was carrying things in his mouth. She raised her eyebrows, sitting down with a small chirp of amusement. She didn’t say anything, she just watched him curiously as he began placing small pebbles and pretty flowers all around her in a circle. A laughing purr rumbled in her chest and she looked up at him with a warm smile. She had noticed he had been acting a little strange on the walk to Fourtrees, had he been planning this this whole time? ”Berrycloud?” she mewed, her tail flicking lightly. ”What is all this? Is this for me?”

Berrycloud gazed up at her finally, placing a flower behind her ear. Hibiscus, her favorite. She felt her cheeks grow warm underneath her fur and she ducked her head, suddenly shy. Surely other cats would notice. But...she didn’t care. In that moment she just wanted to focus on Berrycloud. After looking around at the lovely display he had made, Myrtlebrook’s light green gaze found Berrycloud’s again as he laid his tail on hers and she placed a delicate paw on top of his in return. ”You may ask me anything,” she said quietly. This was just between them now. The tom crouched down, bowing to her, and began his little speech. She listened carefully, gazing into his eyes with a light smile on her face. She had noticed her attraction for him had grown ever since they had their first fishing competition. Berrycloud was so kind, so gentle, so strong, and she wanted to be near him all the time. Their little flirtatious interactions had progressed exponentially since she had received her warrior name; she was fairly certain he had felt the same as she did but she had never expected this.

He announced his love for her and she felt happy tears welling up in her eyes as he finished his speech and showed her the flower in his mouth. Myrtlebrook took a moment to compose herself, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. She took a deep breath and purred, ”Berrycloud, I love you. I’m so glad I could bring you joy and happiness during the hard times in your life. I always want to be there for you. You are my rock, my river stone, steadfast in the flow of my life and someone I can rely on when I fall. You have become my best friend and my protector and I would be honored to call you my mate. I want to spend the rest of my life by your side. I love you to StarClan and back.” She found that she was crying and wiped her tears away with a paw, giggling softly. Then she leaned down and licked Berrycloud’s nose, rubbing her cheek against his head lovingly. Her purrs could have shaken the ground. As she nuzzled him, she whispered teasingly, "You look very handsome with flowers in your fur. I think you should do that all the time."

Swallowflight stepped away from her, eyes blazing with fury. His jaw twitched as if he were about to say something, but he kept it shut. He turned to Sandblaze, his tail lashing as his brother tried to calm him down. Didn't he get how he felt? Of course he didn't. No one did, and no one ever would. A growl rumbled from his chest as his hackles raised; if looks could kill, Sandblaze would fall dead right where he stood. Through gritted teeth, he said to him, "she is not my flesh and blood anymore. She gave me up--us up--the minute she chose to leave. Can't you see, or are you wrapped around her pretty little claw too?" 

He turned to his ex-sister, malice glimmering in his copper eyes. He so badly wanted to strike at her again, to share all the pain and suffering he had been through for the last moon, but he held it in. This was a Gathering, after all. No need to start some drama in front of five clans. He kept his claws sheathed, using his eyes and tongue as all the claws he needed. "You get it now? Now? Oh, now you're suddenly okay to settle down with the code, huh? After that entire 'I choose exile' fiasco, now you're ready to remain loyal?" He got closer to her, his voice cracking with each word. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that she had hurt them and still got away with it sadness free. Didn't she know how it felt? What moons of sadness had done to him! "Was Skyclan not good enough for you? Was I not good enough for you?! Was I..Was I not.." Before he knew it, his cheeks felt wet. His legs were shaking and his breathing was quick and shallow. He looked around at all the cats. Scorchedbird had stepped in front of Delta to take any potential blows for her. His brothers and sister-in-law stared at him, in shock and potential anger. He opened his maw to say something, but no words came out. He had no idea what to say. One thing was he was certain of, though: he had to get out of there. Without another word, he turned on his heel and ran, ran as far as his legs could carry him. He pushed through the gathering cats, trying his best to hold back his hiccups and sobs. "You weren't good enough for her, you weren't ever," the voice hissed at him, its words cutting him like a sharp stone. "You left her, so she left you. You've finally gotten a taste of your own medicine, huh? They all hate you. Why can't you accept her? Why can't you be forgiving? Why do you always have to ruin her happiness? Why do you ruin everyone's happiness?" He tripped over something, and suddenly he was falling. The ground rushed up to meet him and he hit it hard, so hard that the air was practically knocked out of him. He didn't bother picking himself up. He curled up where he laid, quietly sobbing into his tail.

"You have no one. You pushed them all away. I hope you're happy now."

Elmskip sat a little ways away from other cats, looking around at the crowd with his ears flattened against his head. He didn’t particularly feel like talking but he supposed he would if he had to. He felt his muscles ripple uncomfortably underneath his recent scars and he sighed, lowering himself into a crouching position on the ground. He just wanted the nightmare moors to end. He wished everything would go back to normal. No more foxes. No more life-threatening battles every time one of them set paw outside of camp.

He raised his head when a rustle of fur settled down beside him, peering over to see a young gray tabby she-cat staring at him. The mottled warrior furrowed his brow carefully, sitting back up again. He didn’t like the way she was looking at him. ”Have I fought--...yes, I have. Many. WindClan is having a bit of a fox problem lately…” Elmskip looked down at himself, at his scars. ”I guess I kinda look like a mess now, huh? You want to know how to kill a beast? I...Unfortunately, I haven’t killed one yet. But If you want, I suppose I could tell you what it’s like to fight one.” Although her staring had made him uncomfortable, he was flattered at the same time that someone cared enough to come and talk to him about it.

---

Sagelight leaned closer as well, listening as best he could to what the tom said. What was his name? He didn’t want to ask for the other’s name a second time, that seemed rude. Had Mossbloom mentioned his name before? A, A-something...Adder? No…Aspen. His name was Aspenheart. The younger tabby paid close attention as Aspenheart spoke. ”Be b-tter -han Mi-twhisk-r, alrigh- fl-ff?”

”I will, I promise. I’m not a mur--...I’m not like her.” he replied, his gaze serious. Aspenheart went on to introduce Mistystripe, his new apprentice. Sagelight turned his attention towards this new cat, greeting her with a big friendly grin. All traces of his previous solumness was gone; it was still deep in his brain, in his thoughts, but now wasn’t the time to be serious. Gatherings were supposed to be fun, where you talk to cats from other Clans. ”Hi Mistystripe, I’m Sagelight from SkyClan. It’s nice to meet you!” he mewed, happy to meet new friends and colleagues.

The spotted tom shifted slightly as he interpreted what Redwing said. If Thornbriar assigned a new deputy, then she was probably Thornstar now. He glanced up at the prickly leader, shocked as he noticed for the first time the bright green eye in place of the exposed socket that sat empty before. There was no denying that StarClan was favorable to Thornstar's leadership if they would do that for her. He forced his attention to return to the other new deputy, catching the tail-end of her comments. Spottedleap was reminded that Thornbriar was not Scorchstar's first deputy or even his second, and she had not been deputy terribly long before his final demise. No doubt all of ShadowClan was feeling a bit displaced at the moment, and he didn't blame them. SkyClan was not so organized either. "I can't say I relate, I'm afraid. SkyClan's 'someone else' is dead." He meowed irreverently. Of course Mistyrain's death was devastating to the clan, but there was no sense in beating around the bush. It seemed Redwing was not so enthusiastic about her position; he shrugged, unable to sympathize, and was unexpectedly addressed by Ivybrook as she approached the Great Rock.

Eye injuries were in vogue, it seemed, as the RiverClan deputy sported a fresh new nick over her eye that couldn't have been pleasant to receive. "Ivybrook." Spottedleap greeted simply with a flick of his shredded ear. "Sounds like Sunflower. Couldn't be anyone else, anyway." His eyes traced her cut again with obvious interest. There was no way Sunflower of all warriors managed a strike like that! "I hope you aren't looking for revenge at a gathering." A slight smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Mistystripe dipped her head in recognition of being introduced. She had to admit, she liked the attention. As flustered as she got when she had the spotlight, she enjoyed it. Although, nonetheless, her cheeks still grew warm. Then she turned to hear the first voice of greeting. Sagelight was his name. He seemed nice enough. "Hi Sagelight, I'm Mistystripe. But.....you already knew that. But now you know it again!" She chuckled nervously. Of course.....now she was just being weird.

---

Grayleaf smiled and licked Mistwalker's ear. "True, there aren't kits for a reason, but I doubt it is to keep gatherings boring. I always figured it was to keep them safe, but you keep your own ideals." She gave him a cheeky grin before sitting down, beckoning Mistwalker to join her. "So what absurd thing do you think will happen this gathering? I don't think I have ever seen a normal one yet!" She jested, hoping he found her light-hearted jokes amusing.

Noticing that Poppyheart had been pacing around and looking a bit distressed, Daisyflame stood up and padded over to the younger tom. It looked as though his clanmates was looking for someone and he hadn't been doing anything, so he'd might as well help, if possible.

"Poppyheart," the large warrior mewed as he approached the tom. "Are you looking for some-cat?"

Poppyheart skidded to a halt at the sound of someone calling his name, and he turned to face the older warrior. "Huh? Oh, hello, Daisyflame. I'm sorry, I can't stop to talk, I'm looking for some-cat. Nightpaw -- Asterspark's son and my apprentice -- has gone missing, and I can't find him anywhere! Ohhh, if I'm unable to find him before the Gathering ends, who knows what'll happen?"

"Oh, don't worry, bro, I'm sure Nightpaw's around here somewhere," Sans meowed, wearing a very amused expression on his face, as he trotted up to his brother and former mentor. "I mean, it's not as if Nightpaw had gotten lost on the way over to the Gathering, right?"

Poppyheart's eyes widened in horror. "Of course! That must be why I can't find him! He's gotten lost trying to find his way! Oh, he must be feeling so lost and afraid wherever he is! I've gotta go find him before--!"

"Uh, you do know Nightpaw is at the Great Rock with Thornstar, right?" Sparkpaw suddenly called out from where she stood with another apprentice, looking at her uncle rather irritably.

Whipping his head around, Poppyheart was indeed able to pinpoint the smaller mass of black fur atop the ShadowClan leader's back. He sighed heavily with relief and flopped down into a heavy sit. "Oh, thank StarClan he's safe. ...Wait." He looked up at his brother and narrowed his eyes. "Asterspark, you didn't happen to know all along he was up there, right?"

Sans' grin quivered with the effort not to burst out laughing, his whiskers twitching so fast they became tiny little blurs of white on either side of his nose. "I-I dunno what you're talkin' about, bro!..." His eyes widened at the sudden flash of red and white rushing towards him, and he yelped as he leaped to Daisyflame's left side, Poppyheart glaring over the older tom's shoulder at him from the right. It didn't take long at all before the two brothers began rapidly circling around him, one chasing and one fleeing.

A few tail-lengths away, Sparkpaw rolled her eyes with a huff of annoyance. "Those two are such kits. I can't believe I'm related to either of them."

Lynxtail blinked as Ferretnose approached. His tattered ears twitched as she sat down beside him, talking softly. Most cats' voices were exhausting to hear, but he found solace in her quiet, understanding tone. The young tom seemed to wake up, just a little– he raised his head, sat up just a tad straighter. She was one of the only cats that he could be around without feeling drained. There was no pressure to feel better, to forget and move on. He was allowed to simply be.
He shifted his weight as she talked about Hazelpaw. Although he couldn't find the strength to speak, he moved closer, trying to console her. It was a nice to get out of his head and comfort instead of being comforted.

When the talk turned to Leopardclaw, the young tom's shoulders hunched.
"We can just sit and be quiet, if you'd like."
Lynxtail nodded slightly, wishing that he could comfort her, talk softly and let her know that he would help her through her grief, but he simply didn't have the strength.
So instead, he sat there, motionless and cold. His mind, for once, was quiet, and he welcomed the silence.

A quiet hrmph came from Dappleshine with her next breath, giving a small sigh. "I'm sure that she thinks that no one deserves to know ShadowClan's business that isn't in ShadowClan, but.... Well, I worry about her. Different clans or not, she is still the cat who raised my sibling and I, and nothing can change that... Even a new eye." As Mothpaw explained that there had been foxes, her cut-off quickly followed by the news that Thornbriar had become Thornstar, Dappleshine touched her nose to the medicine cats side. "I'm sorry for ShadowClan's loss. Scorchstar was a good leader." The two sat side by side in silence for a few heartbeats before Mothpaw broke it again, and Dappleshine nodded in agreement. "You're absolutely right there... I wish sometimes she'd be a little more open, especially when she closes herself off so completely sometimes.... That's Thornbri-star for you though, I suppose." The warrrior hesitated for a moment before turning to look at Mothpaw. "Are you worried about her like I am? If so, you called her mom too.... If we both corner her, maybe she'll talk to us? We'd have to do it when the three of us are alone, but maybe we can get her to open up some?Take some of the weight off of her shoulders?"

The Clan crept in, and Barleytuft watched with a veiled expression, careful dark hazel eyes watching as the last members trickled into the clearing, his son included. Graybriar and Goldengale having both stayed in camp gave him only a little solace; the foxes had never been near the camp, and the fear of this night being the night they chose to change it was a constant worry. He had no choice but to trust in the safety of their home. Finchstar needed him... even if his mate and his daughter might need him more. He shook his head slightly and began to leave the edge of the clearing.

Before he stepped towards the crowd, however, the senior WindClan warrior's eyes landed upon a thick-furred RiverClan tom as he slowly circled a pretty pale tabby she-cat - likely also RiverClan, judging by the shine of her fur - pointedly doing something to the ground near her. Barleytuft leaned up a little bit to watched and realized he'd surrounded her with shells. Though he was too far to hear the words, the clear emotion and meaning on the tom's face as he finished his work and presented himself in front of the now flower-adorned she-cat clicked in Barleytuft's head. Oh, my stars... if that's not a proposal I'll eat a frog.

But it certainly was, and it was clear the the she-cat had said yes. The two love-birds were nuzzling up a storm, faces bright with deep, heartfelt emotion, and Barleytuft felt himself purring slightly at the evident display of peace and comfort. Despite the turmoils in his Clan, there was still innocent, genuine love. Graybriar... his love for her was genuine, too, but it was no longer innocent. They'd been through so much loss together with the maiming of their eldest son and death of their youngest, and more, but the love was there. It was always there. His heart was warm as he began to ponder how he might do something as sweet for his love.

Barleytuft made his way towards the Great Rock at last, his tail straight behind him as he tried to ignore his mild discomfort - as if someone would yowl at him that he was in the wrong place and making a fool of himself. He limped as he approached the other gathered deputies, and he was again reminded about the scars on his face as he attempted to give them a friendly smile and instead felt his scab pull taut and uncomfortable. The WindClan tom found a place to sit near them and peered in their direction, listening intently as he tried to remember if he knew any of these cats. ShadowClan, RiverClan, SkyClan... SkyClan and ShadowClan both had new deputies.

WindClan too, it seemed.

---

The she-cat seemed to take Cloverpaw's only slightly forced ease to heart, and she herself seemed to relax, allowing herself to smile and laugh a bit at his teasing. Mossbloom asked whether smelling like a medicine cat was good or bad, and Cloverpaw shrugged, replying cheerily - but unhelpfully - "It's just a different thing. Not bad to me." Having mentioned Aspenheart, the ThunderClan cat commented on how much she'd need to groom if she smelled like him - a fair joke. Cloverpaw laughed and looked towards Aspenheart as well, grinning as he saw his friend talking brightly with what he assumed were the other medicine cats. The silver tom looked back to his companion and listened to her response.

When it was his turn, the silver tabby tom smiled and answered, shrugging and smirking almost nostalgically, "Oh, yeah, Aspenheart, he's wiggly in more ways than one." Some cats seemed to think Aspenheart needed protecting, and so sometimes Cloverpaw's comments were taken as insulting. Remembering that, he quickly added, "Well, I mean, he's sort of like my unclde - my dad Barleytuft and him go way back, I guess. As for Aspenheart and me, I hope we're friends. Don't tell him I told you this, but I saved his life before he saved mine. That's a pretty good reason to be friends!"

Cloverpaw opened his mouth to begin telling Mossbloom about the dog that nearly took his life, but the sound of a sniffling cat followed by the clear scuffling of a stumble caught the tom's attention. Immediately Cloverpaw turned to see a bright ginger tabby heap of fur on the ground less than a tail-length away, and as the tom curled up to weep the WindClan apprentice approached swiftly, mewing with concern, "Whoa - hey, buddy, are you alright?" And as he stared, suddenly Cloverpaw recognized the miserable-looking SkyClan cat before him. "Oh, Swallowpaw! Hey, it's me, Cloverpaw - can I help you at all...?" he asked with a genuine tone.

Cloverpaw was so cheerful, despite the injuries he had gained during... something, and she laughed along with him as they spoke with each other. It had been a long time since she could laugh like this, the first time in recent moons having been during the mud fight. It was refreshing, honestly, and though there were still worries, it was good to just... Relax. They looked towards the other medicine cats chatting together, before their conversation resumed, and she purred at the tom's starting comment. "He certainly is. He's strong though, when he had to leave so quickly after the last medicine cat meeting I was a bit surprised, honestly, by the way he was able to move so quick. He's gotten better at it, hasn't he?" Cloverpaw continued, saying that he had saved Aspenheart's life before Aspenheart saved his.

She nodded, about to open her mouth to voice some of her questions when the sounds of stumbling came nearby, along with sniffling. A ginger tabby curled up a short distance away, weeping as the two cats quickly approached, concern evident in their expressions. Cloverpaw seemed to know the tom, but Mossbloom didn't recognize him at all, but the scent from him was clearly SkyClan's, even with the scent of other nearby cats trying to mix with it. Staying close by, her eyes looked for something that could help soothe the tom's mind, but she needed to know what was hurting him before she could be sure of what to use. And herbs could only do so much, as she knew very well.

Rabbitleaf finally broke into the gathering, shaking leaves and dried burrs off his pelt. The journey was unfortunately fraught with danger for a long-furred cat such as himself, every bit of debris wanted to join him on his journey. Such was the joys of Leaffall, where lush flowers heads turned to seeds, and trees shed their lustre. He tried not to complain or be mad about it though, no one else seemed to have his problem.

Instead he chose to distract himself, one thing gatherings were excellent for was news about other clans. Leaders tended to be tight lipped, but their warriors and apprentices? Not so much. He approached a lone SkyClan warrior, or so he thought, though she was sitting where the apprentices sat. "Hello, I'm Rabbitleaf of WindClan. Would you be free to talk?" It was hardly the most suave introduction, but he was never much of a chatterbox, more to the point.

Beartooth padded in, leaving behind his usual companions for a spot at the base of the great rock. To his surprise, there were new faces there. It appeared that they were open to chatting. In the past, he had hardly exchanged a few words with Windclan's deputy. Green eyes glanced around for the nearly all black tom, to find he was nowhere to be found. Maybe he should have worried for himself, with so many cats passing. Hopefully Oakstar would never find himself among the fallen leaders. The bulky deputy would be contented to be stripped of his singular life first. He had never held much regard for his own safety, instead being enamored with the concept of guarding the precious beings he loved. After a quick nod to the newcomers, he found himself contented to stare silently over the crowd. Maybe if he did not breathe a word, this entire endeavor would be over as quickly as it had started.

***

Houndpaw followed after the rest of the Thunderclan cats. The journey there had been filled with idle chat with his companions. Everyday was spent fulfilling his apprentice duties, an apprenticeship that seemed to drag irritatingly on, or exploring the greater world with Dacepaw and Duskpaw. It was more the opinions of other cats that fueled him to want a warrior name than his own drive. The slender tom was contented to stay where he was. Not physically, but at least in his place in the clans. Long-standing demons loomed at the back of his troubled mind but rooting his nose into antics and play seemed to be the easier of the option. It kept his tongue ever sharp and made him quite the unreliable creature.

Once they reached the gathering, bother of his she-cat friend scampered off in different directions and left Houndpaw to himself. It stung, a bit, to be discounted so easily. Yet the tom had already dealt with this before, and Dacepaw always came back to him. He was sure the same could be said for Duskpaw, so he forced himself not to be so concerned about their sudden departure. Instead, he turned his gaze to the base of the great rock where deputies and medicine cats alike milled about. Beartooth was there, silently sitting like the useless great lump he was. But Houndpaw wasn't interested in his own clan's deputy. His stare settled on the calico pelt of Mossbloom for a brief moment before his ears heated up and he glanced away. Although, that did not seem like a bad place to go. He trotted over, brushing past Mossbloom and standing next to the wobbly medicine cat. Aspenheart was strange. And interesting.

Without much in the way of greeting, Houndpaw interrupted whatever other side conversation might have been happening in his pursuit of temporarily capturing the other tom's attention, "You're Windclan's medicine cat, right? How does that work? Can you even still do things? I couldn't even hunt a leaf if I was like you."

As Dappleshine talked about potentially confronting Thornstar, Mothpaw couldn't help but agree with her assessment of the ShadowClan leader. "Yeah. I wish she'd be more open too, but... I guess maybe some cats are just different?" she shrugged lightly. "Still... There's nothing stopping us from trying to help her out a bit if we get the chance, and StarClan knows she could use it. I'm in."

Aspenheart nearly choked out a laugh when a big eared apprentice immediately asked him about his affliction. He recognized him as the very proud son of ThunderClan's deputy. He remembered Mossbloom scolding him just a few gatherings ago. Generally, the way he looked wasn't a sore spot (he particularly liked telling kits he got that way by not listening to his mother) but something about the tom's tone just rubbed him the wrong way. The implication that he was helpless? He nearly rolled his eyes or spat back with an I'll-have-you-know. Of course, he didn't do that. The 'paw still had kitten-fluff.

"I, for one, am positively shocked that your ears don't get caught crawling under brambles, Thundercat," he teased with a mrrp of laughter. "But it's okay. We wouldn't be the first weird-looking cats under these trees, nor will we be the last. Do you see that cream-colored tabby under the rock, where your father's sitting?" He flicked his ears in Barleytuft's direction. "I got this way saving his life from a mutt, so I feel like it was a fair trade. Luckily for me, leaves don't tend to move around so much, so I do my job just fine."