November Gathering 2019

Dappleshine had padded nervously among the thing ranks of WindClan, tail tip twitching with carefully veiled fear and concern. As the small group poised before descending into the rest of clans already gathered, she gently pushed her nose to her mate's shoulder, looking at him silently. Giving him the best encouraging look she could muster, she licked his shoulder once before falling back. Raventail led the way down into the clearing as Dappleshine hung back, staying in the far shadows of the trees.

She didn't have to look at the rock to know that Torrentstar was probably sitting there, stoic and proud. If she was honest, she hadn't really wanted to come herself. But with Raventail leading his clan without Finchstar for the first time, and with so many having received near-fatal wounds, pickings were slim. She wanted to support her love, and her new clan, but above it all she wanted to see Dacepaw. To let her know the change that had occurred, and try to set up a time to speak together more in depth. As she looked around the crowd, however, she couldn't pick out her daughter's pelt. For a heartbeat she thought she met Stormbringer's eyes, and she felt like her heart would stop before she quickly looked away. What had Torrentstar told them?

He dipped his head to the warrior - Honeytongue - and smiled at her lovely name. It was a relief to meet a friendly rival clan cat in these tense times. "Oh, the usual challenges. But our apprentices are trying very hard. They've made us quite proud." Harefoot was thinking specifically of Houndheart, who would have his new name announced that night. He lowered his voice a little bit, not sure how much he was allowed to say. "Some predator problems... foxes and dogs, that sort. I guess they've run out of other things to hunt." He pointed his nose at his own side, an ugly mass of scars, still scabbed over, marring his soft short pelt. Well, his particualr predator had been a badger, but the details were not so important. "I hope RiverClan has had peace this past moon. It would certainly give the rest of us some hope." Harefoot purred, catching sight of Ferretnose groggily attempting to stay awake.

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Spottedstar, still floating loosely in a crowd of SkyClan cats, realized that all the clans had come in. His deputy was involved in conversations with the other deputies, and he figured they'd find out sooner or later. It was a little nerve-wracking... he'd only just been announced as deputy the moon before. Finally growing the courage, the spotted tom made his way to the Great Rock and scaled it. He didn't speak to any other leaders. If they wanted to talk, fine. But Oakstar was busy prodding Torrentstar about his feelings, Thornstar was... not comfortable to talk to at the moment... and Finchstar wasn't even present. In fact, most of WindClan wasn't, and those who had arrived looked like they had been half-starved and beaten mercilessly in the time between gatherings. Surely they'd have an interesting story to tell.

Honeypaw wandered through the gathering place as more and more cats began filing in, crowding up the clearing. She had arrived hanging very close to her brother Wolfpaw, but ever since he sped off to explore, with her father Spottedstar going off to do whatever thing leaders did during this time, she had found herself completely alone in a sea of strangers. She had never felt so alone, yet so not at the same time. It was absolutely terrifying. What's worse was she couldn't find her brother amongst the dozens and dozens of different cats, and all their scents began to blend together that gave her a powerful headache.

Her pace of breath began to quicken, and she curled in on herself in the center of the clearing, shutting her eyes tightly and beginning to rock back and forth. Then she began to chirp. Normally, cats would only chirp if they came across a large bird or squirrel or any other prey that was just out of their reach, frustrated that they would never have the chance to catch it for their Clan. But for Honeypaw, it was a coping mechanism, as was the rocking. She didn't know why it soothed her, but it did. She knew that, if any cat were to actually pay attention to what she was doing, they would assume something was seriously wrong with her. They would be half-right, of course, but at this moment, she didn't care. She just wanted everything to stop.

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Sparkfire wandered into the Gathering, bursting with pride. This was her first Gathering as a warrior. She was certain that Thornstar's inevitable announcing of her and Flintshard's ascending into warriorhood would only be tainted by the tensions between ShadowClan and SkyClan, but honestly, she didn't think she would care too much. She didn't mind a little drama, especially when she knew she or her Clan were in the right of it all. In fact, she was quite excited to see what would become of tonight's Gathering.

Breaking away from Poppyheart and the newly-named Asterstrike -- her uncle had decided to remain within the perimeter of his own Clan rather than socializing with any other cat, which she and Asterstrike both knew was wildly uncharacteristic for the usually jovial and friendly tom -- Sparkfire began searching for a cat to socialize with. Any cat, of course, but a SkyClanner. Those cats didn't even deserve to call themselves a Clan after the way they had murdered Redwing, only for them to try and shift blame onto ShadowClan themselves.

She came across a rather tall and lithe silver tabby, and she tilted her head curiously. This cat was one she had never seen before from any of the Clans, and yet she looked too old to be a new apprentice. Perhaps she had just been sick and couldn't have attended the last Gathering? Approaching the tabby, she meowed, "First Gathering for you? I haven't seen you before."

(OOC: Sparkfire is talking to Zinnia. Also, feel free to comfort/comment on the weird behaviors of Honeypaw.)

The Shadowclan deputy entered the gathering, proudly and intimidating. He walked behind Thornstar, looking down to every other cat that came from another clan. He was pissed off... for everything that went down in the Skyclan camp. Those cats should have been chased by them... tracked down trough all the forest and finish them. But Skyclan... those pathetic weaklings let them escape... they let them thrive among them, under their teachings. Skyclan was just like Thunderclan... they believed they were so mighty, so above them that they could take whatever they want from Shadowclan: scars for apprentices and the life of a deputy.

He joined the other deputies in the low part of the Great Rock just in time to hear the dark tom talk to the scaredy deputy of Skyclan. He let out a short hiss at him but did nothing else but sat down next to the striped, grey she-cat. He fixed his eyes on Raventail and dared to answer his question before Foxfire could. "I can tell you how Skyclan is doing: they seem to like killing deputies, you know? But don't you worry! It seems these mouse-brains are good to let code-breakers like them flee their own camp and lose their tracks!" He mewed sarcastically.

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As usual, Redmask stayed behind the group of Riverclan warriors, looking to the side to side in the hope no one unknown would come to chat. Her anxiety was getting the worst of her... but there was something else: the fact that her father kept ignoring her. She felt abandoned, left away by the only remaining parent she still had. Even with so many cats around... she felt alone.

Following ShadowClan in, Daisyflame looked around for some cat to to chat with and spotted a lengthy tom who he recognized to be a SkyClanner.

Ears flat against his head and tail up with pride, the large tom made his way over to the tom who was already beginning to cower under his presence. "So you tree climbers are all just a bunch of cowards," he hissed as the SkyClanner sat in front of him, looking mortified.

Daisyflame usually wasn't one to speak or act in such an upfront manner, but if SkyClan thought that they could get away with murdering their deputy without some reprimanding, they had another thing coming.

A deputy, dead at another cat's paws? Beartooth had been contented to his usual silence but the words caught his interest. The new Shadowclan deputy seemed abrasive, and they did not need a fight at a gathering. As he glanced at Foxfire, then to the top of the rock, he realized Tinystar must have no longer been leader. Perhaps underneath the change of leadership, things had gotten out of paw. While he did not move, Beartooth fixed the others with an intense stare. There had to be a story to be told, however, the issues between clans were no place for a gathering. Finally, the scarred, elder warrior looked at Lynxscar and rumbled dismissively, "Save your battle for after the gathering. This is a time of peace."

Foxfire's ears twitched at the other deputy's confusion, asking about Mistyrain and Tinystar - although his attention was more on the Mistyrain part. He...Didn't know? But Tinylegs had announced it at the last Gathering! Even if he hadn't gone, certainly it would have been important enough to mention to the deputy...Wouldn't it. "You...Don't know?" he meowed, before freezing at a secondary voice. A familiar voice. Oh no. No no no no. He spun to stare at the other deputy, a familiar pelt. He was one of the cats that had joined Thornstar's patrol - StarClan above, why couldn't it have been the quiet cat who had at least been on their side? His fur prickled as he glared at him, wanting to retort something...But recalled what Spottedstar had said. No...He had to be nice.

"I am sorry about what happened to Redwing and we still haven't gotten any trace on where they went - if we did, we would tell you. Besides, they never came back to the camp in the first place as far as we can tell - they fled the moment they took her life..." he meowed, doing his best to keep his voice leveled before he glanced over at Raventail with a sheepish look in apology, along with giving a slight nod to the tough-looking ThunderClan deputy for his words. "...Things have been a bit stressful...A-A couple of our cats got into a fight with ShadowClan that ended with the death of the new ShadowClan deputy, as...He pointed out," he meowed, not having a name for the new ShadowClan deputy yet. "As for Mistyrain and Tinystar...She got killed over a moon ago - struck by a monster. It was announced at the last gathering," he noted, before shaking his head. "And Tinystar retired from old age, now known as Tinylegs. Our new leader is Spottedstar."

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Honeytongue blinked as she titled her head to stare at the healing scar, feeling her heart drop. Oh, she hoped that Dacepaw was alright... "That's terrible to hear," she murmured with a shake of her head, pulling her tail around her paws tightly. "Hopefully your situation gets better soon, we can't afford such trying times for any of the Clans with leaf-bare almost upon us...And yes, things have been rather peaceful for RiverClan. Things have been slightly rocky since Torrentstar became leader - no fault of his own..." Maybe. She wasn't sure if the cats leaving - Salmonburn, Dappleshine...Could they have left because of him becoming leader? She didn't truly believe what her father had said about Dappleshine - or...That there was more to it. She wish she knew where she had gone... Not looking a little to the side to actually see her. "But things are settling down and starting to look up again! We'll about to have plenty of kits and prey has been plentiful," she added with a smile, doing her best to hide her previous doubt - she couldn't let it get to her.

Shadepaw was walking around, looking for an apprentice, a familiar scent passed her nose, Skyclan. She spotted the cat she scented, seemingly afraid of what was happening around her. She couldn't blame her, being lost was overwhelming. She quickly made her way over, deciding that this time was safe. "Uh... Hi?" She was an apprentice but do to not training as often as she'd like she was the size of a young warrior. This cat was definitely younger than her, a golden tabby with.. green eyes? They looked blueish to her.

OOC: Shadepaw is talking to Honeypaw

"Ah... Yes," Zinnia said softly, a dreamlike quality in her tone. She'd been observing the gathered cats with unveiled curiosity when the sound of a voice addressing her had pulled her paws firmly back down to the earth from the metaphorical moonlit clouds, and she fixed her wandering gaze on the smoke-colored she-cat before her. The dreamy tone in her voice faded somewhat as she continued, clearly embarrassed at being caught with her thoughts wandering. "That would most likely be because I have never been to one before. May I inquire as to your name?" She realized a moment later that it was rather rude to ask such a thing without introducing herself, and so she continued. "Ah... My apologies. I meant no offense. My name is Zinnia; it would be rather rude to ask yours without first offering mine. WindClan is my home." It was true enough, she supposed; though home would always carry memories of a distant land and distant kin, here it meant WindClan's moors and the cats she had chosen to dedicate herself to. Perhaps, in time, both places would claim the name for themselves; only time would tell. "Which Clan do you hail from? I suppose I should be able to tell, shouldn't I...?"

These Clan cats confused her; even now, when she was counted among them - their customs were strange, their names stranger still (she silently wished blessings upon Finchstar for allowing her to keep her own); and their need for several separate Clans with similar yet different lives made her wonder as to the purpose it all served. All of these were questions that she hadn't dared voice, knowing that the Clan she'd pledged her allegiance to had far more important things to address. But it had all led her here, in the midst of Clan customs without a clue as to how she was meant to navigate them.

Still, she had always believed the best way to learn something was to experience it; be that by oneself or through well-told tales - that was what had led her on her travels, wasn't it? And what was this but an experience; and one she'd been so eager to share in? Realizing her mind had wandered once again, she shook her head slightly to clear it and fixed her gaze on the stranger once more.

Burningsun came only because she was one of the few of the strongest cats in the clan currently and they needed members. Anxiety was rough, though, as she was afraid of being spotted by a SkyClan cat... As WindClan entered, Burningsun kept to the very edge of the crowd, sulking behind larger cats and keeping to the shadows as much as possible. She sat at the edge of the clearing, near a tree.

OoC: Burningsun is available to talk, but may not respond.

〷 While his voice did not portray much levels of enthusiasm, a soft smile crossed her maw as he offered her his name. So, this was Flintshard of Shadowclan. He was a warrior like Foxfire, a warrior like she would be some day. Except, this tom belonged to another clan. Prior to the interaction in camp, the young she-cat had thought little of the other clans. But now it seemed to be all her mind could focus on, especially in the midst of the gathering. To Basilpaw, it was a thrilling puzzle how each clan seemed to be so different from the next and yet they all shared the same forest, same traditions, and same ancestors. It was for this reason she found herself with little reservations as she easily settled down next to the much larger cat. Her father Sunflower was tall and lanky, but few Skyclan cats boasts the same bulk that this cat, and the Shadowclan leader, seemed to have. That was unique, and yet not unsettling in the slightest. She decided she was comfortable in his shadow.

The thought of losing Foxfire, losing their own deputy, was so surreal that she decided to ignore it and focus on other topics of conversation instead, "Have you been to many gatherings? This is my first one. I'm looking forward to many more. There's so many cats to meet in the forest and its exciting that we can all come together, even with our differences to talk... do you have many friends in other clans?" As she spoke, her green gaze flickered over the crowd. It seemed most cats, sometimes the same who would claw each other at the border in the skirmishes she had heard about, had slipped in easy conversation. It got her wondering how strong of bonds some might hold with those outside their own clans. Perhaps making friends with cats from the other territories wasn't such a bad thing after all, despite what she had heard from cats who lived underneath Tinyleg's reign as leader. Maybe her and Flintshard could be friends so that Shadowclan and Skyclan wouldn't fight any more, and then cats wouldn't end up dead. Basilpaw glanced up at him, eager for a response.  〷

A low growl rumbled in Stormbringer's chest as a familiar tom padded up to her in the corner of her vision. It was that fish-face that had attacked her while she was on her side of the border. If it wasn't for Honeytonegue, Honeypaw at the time, she could have been killed right there. As he got closer she dug her claws into the ground. Why did he have to bother her at a time like this.

With speed and gracefulness she turned towards the thunderclan tom, her paw smacking Houndheart across the side of his head. "If it wasn't a gathering, I would have used my claws. I would hold my tongue when talking to warriors if I were you, apprentice. She growled out, not knowing of the recent name he had earned. "And it's Stormbringer to you apprentice. Taking an apprentice by surprise when she was hunting, especially on her own territory, is not a reason for weakness mister code-breaker. Your lucky Torrentstar didn't come into your camp demanding your tail." She responded, clenching her teeth tightly together as she held back the urge to spit more venom at the Thunderclan tom. She took a deep breath to calm herself. To not let the tom get the best of her. She didn't need it right now. Not with emotions already high from Dappleshine leaving.

She opened her mouth again but instead of trying to spite the tom more, she offered a chance for the two cats to actually be civil with each other. "Now. If you choose to be bit more tolerable and actually act like a warrior instead of a kit you are more than welcome to sit next to me." She said, her tone bitter and cold but no longer in a growl like earlier.

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Ploverpuddle limped into the gathering. Some of his cuts and wounds have already begun to heal. Leaving nothing but a scab behind that will eventually be gone from his body. Some of the other wounds still had cobwebs clinging to them granted they didn't bleed anymore, they were still open. The only hint of blood on his body was from the red cobweb that clung to his lower left hind leg. Despite all the protests of him going to the gathering, he was stubborn, adamant on going. He was one of the stronger warriors they had, despite his injuries. He didn't want Windclan to appear worse off than they already were. He could deal with the pain his wounds gave him.

He would be here to support the other that came, and most importantly Raventail. The deputy needed the support more than anyone. He had to go up on the rock and speak in front of the other leaders. Be the one to reveal that Finchstar wasn't with them tonight. Maybe never again if they couldn't find him soon. He trusted Raventail with his life. He trusted the tom would find the right words to say to the others to make Windclan look stronger than they were.

The tom sat down towards the back of the crowd. His fluffy tail curling around his paws and legs, covering the major wound on his hind leg. He didn't need anyone seeing it. He didn't need to reveal that he was worse for wear than he actually was. He sat up straight, his yellow eyes forward. The only sign of weakness on his body aside from his wounds were his lifeless yellow eyes. Dealing with the storm of emotions and thoughts that whirled around in his head.

ooc: plover is open for a conversation. He will be a bit reserved on what is going on though.

Mossbloom hadn't wanted to go to the Gathering. Truth be told, she had hardly exited the medicine cat den since Pricklebush's death. His nest, now dusty and old, still remained where he had once slept, empty and cold. Having been so carefully tended to during his absences in RiverClan, she hadn't been able to bring herself to remove the old moss, his scent clinging to the clumps she had so carefully positioned for his return last time. She remained sleeping under the ferns, unable to bear sleeping in the position her mentor had. As the patrol had left, she lingered behind the group.

Tail and ears lowered as she carried the bundle of herbs delicately between her jaws, she slowly started to drift farther and farther from the main group. Tears threatened the corners of her eyes as she finished the final stretch of the trek alone, the quiet woods around her feeling dark and threatening instead of the comforting, safe limbs she had known. The scratches at her belly had been left untreated, forgotten, and as a result infection had sunk it's claws into her tender underbelly, the inflamed wounds fiery and painful as she stretched with each step. Eyes hollow and dark, she made her way slowly and silently to the Great Rock, passing Ferretnose where she lay. Her ear twitching slightly, she touched the end of her tail to the she-cat's shoulder as she passed.

Continuing on, she spotted the small she-cat that she recognized as the SkyClan kit that had accompanied them herb hunting. She seemed to be panicked, overwhelmed. Understandable considering the circumstances, but this seemed to be on a whole new level. Quietly approaching her, Mossbloom placed the herb bundle on the ground and opened it, carefully extracting a small amount of thyme leaves. Plastering a gentle smile on her face that didn't quite reach her eyes, her voice broke from her maw for the first time in a half moon. "Here, Honeypaw. Eat these. They will help. I have a friend over there, her name is Ferretnose. You can go lay with her, if you'd like, she's very kind. Tell her Mossbloom sent you, and that you need calm, she'll help." Pointing her tail in the direction of Ferretnose, she nodded to the other apprentice. "You feel free to go as well, okay?"

With that, she gathered her herb bundle once more and finished the trek through the crowd to the Greatrock, sitting at it's base and placing the herbs between her front paws. Her head remained bowed, eyes pointed at the ground, ears closed to what was going on around her.

Cardinalcry was tired. The kits had fallen asleep, but Starclan, they were tiring. Soon. Her eyes glanced over the crowd. Some... skinny, scarred Windclanners..? All the clans were here. Rather than trying to socialize, she sat down. Far, far away from Skyclanners who reminded her of those who she would have formerly called her family.
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Mistwalker was calm on the outside, if you didn't know him. Were a cat observant enough, they might notice his clenched jaw. His twitching ears and whiskers. His paws, itching to unsheath newly sharpened claws. But he held it in. For his father. For Pricklebush. For Marshkit. For... well, Starclan.

Flintshard blinked as her voice carried on, a bit surprised that she seemed to have no...Revestation speaking with him. Not just about their different Clans - but that she...Didn't seem off-putting. He knew he was weird, he had trouble talking with other cats and he was certain that even some of his own Clanmates found his attitude and general air to be strange and...Hm...Creepy. He supposed that was a word that seemed fitting. He had trouble expressing himself but this apprentice - Basilpaw - she had none of the same issue as she rattled on about making friends. "One other gathering," he meowed simply, and if he was lucky...He would only be at two. He hated being here, already feeling nearly overwhelmed at the voices that snapped for his attention - cats lost in their own conversations.

It took everything in him to try to ignore it and could feel the pounding of his head start to form as he started to rock back and forth as he kneaded the ground in an effort to find some comfort. "And...No friends outside of ShadowClan...," he meowed, his gaze shifting away. He barely had any friends in ShadowClan - he hated talking to others and didn't really think of anybody in that form. To be honest, he was starting to think that creating that sort of bond was beyond him. He had his family but even then... "I'm not one for...Conversations." he said, ears twisting back slightly to try to block out some of the noise.