January Gathering 2020

White tail tip twitching as eyes turned to her, then to the leaders behind her, she flinched as Finchstar spoke up in support. A quick glance to Torrentstar told her all she needed to know, this was not an act of love... But what else could it have been? Thornstar had refrained from making any comment, and she shook her head as she looked away. This was all so confusing.... She just wanted to go home and curl back up into her nest and wake up having never received the prophecy. Mothglow's voice rose above the others as well, and her ears pressed against her head as Oakstar jumped up beside her. Meeting his eyes was a challenge, although she didn't see anger in them, she could see the questions that she wasn't sure she had the answers to. "I couldn't figure it out... It was just stars traveling together... They gave me nothing else to try to figure it out in time... I'm sorry, Oakstar...."

Mossbloom's head lowered and she broke away from the others to leap down from the Great Rock, having now been atop it without it being merely a dream, she decided she loathed it. Landing on shaky paws, she looked to Raventail, green eyes filled with grief. "I hope you and your mate find an easy and calm kitting, and are blessed with beautiful kits. I'm sorry, Raventail." With that, Mossbloom turned her head towards the ground, fighting back the tears that threatened her eyes as she begged for Oakstar to summon ThunderClan home.

Aspenheart felt desperation claw at his chest as absolute chaos erupted below them. The Great Rock was no different, one thousand different voices clamoring over each other. Mossbloom tried to speak rationality to disorder. It wasn't much help. Nothing was any help. There was a tension among the clans that Aspenheart hadn't seen in all of his life. They were all being torn from all sides. And worst of all, Finchstar, that great big bubble-headed...

"Stars, can you please read the clearing before you speak?" he gasped in horror. How could he manage such a sappy sentiment when the entire clearing was coming down?! "Everyone, will you relax!? You'd think the sky was... falling. Right. It is falling. They hurled a star at us. Great." As he moved to leap down from the rock, his eyes caught the moon...


A dark splotch tumbled over the moon, covering Fourtrees in darkness. The bright white symbol of peace and hope was soon entirely obscured. The cloud that rolled over the moon had a terrifying permanence. Small snowflakes began to fall from the heavens, landing on cats' noses and ears. The wind was picking up...

Aspenheart pinned his ears against his head, sneezing when a snowflake caught the tip of his muzzle. "The Gathering is over!" he yowled nasally. "Take us home, Finchstar, before Brindlestar herself strikes us down..." He moved closer to the ginger-and-white leader, their flanks touching. "They told me that WindClan would suffer the worst. I... I think they were right."

And the disabled tom was crawling down from the rock, seeking out his apprentice's pelt. He didn't look at Mossbloom as he went. There was a storm coming.

It would be one for the ages.

---

OOC: StarClan has abruptly ended the Gathering! Leaders, take your clans home. Every cat has shamed their ancestors tonight...

The sudden bright light in the night sky caught both Asterstrike's and Sparkfire's attentions, both glancing up in time to see the magnificent streak of fire flying through the sky towards the ground. Neither had ever seen anything so terrifyingly stunning. As quickly as it appeared, it had vanished behind the Great Rock, leaving behind a clearing full of cats murmuring their confusion, astonishment, and nervousness.

And then, Mossbloom began to speak.

And the words she spoke seemed to grip Asterstrike's heart tightly with thorn-sharp talons of a vicious eagle.

He stared up at Thornstar -- his leader, his mate -- in absolute dumbfoundedness. Of course, he was no fool, even if he liked to pretend he was. He knew very well that Thornstar had been expecting kits. He had even asked her to stay back in the camp and let Flintshard lead ShadowClan to the Gathering tonight in their favor.

No, that wasn't what had him speechless.

What really slowed time down all around him was that all this time....

He thought the kits Thornstar carried were his.

He had thought that the kits the ShadowClan leader carried in her belly were his. Pure ShadowClan kits who would one day become as short-tempered as her and as lazy as him. His second litter.

Instead, StarClan had decided to reveal the truth, that the kits Thornstar carried belonged to Torrentstar. The leader of their own ally Clan.

Asterstrike felt his heart begin to crack within him. He willed it to hold strong and stay in tact, but the fierce talons gripping it was too strong for him to withstand. He knew Thornstar had had kits with one other tom before him, but he really thought the two of them had been an actual item now. He thought she actually loved him.

First he had lost his brother forever, and now, he had lost his beloved as well.

Just when he thought he couldn't take anymore heartbreak.

He truly was destined to be forever alone.

He didn't want to be here anymore. It hurt too greatly. As stealthily as he possibly could be, he slipped through the shadows behind the other gathering cats and raced into the night, back to camp. He didn't even notice the darkness shrouding over the moon as he fled.

---

Sparkfire didn't know what to say in light of this new revelation. Her mother's kits -- her little brothers and sisters -- belonged to the RiverClan leader? She had really broken the code this time. It was almost as bad as a medicine cat taking a mate and having kits.

But she couldn't find herself being too upset with Thornstar. After all ... she too had a crush on a cat outside of her own Clan. What probably made it worse was this cat wasn't even a tom.

She would be nothing but a hypocrite if she spoke out against her mother for this. She was never a fan of hypocrisy.

Aspenheart's yowl caught her attention just before the darkening clearing did. She glanced up and saw clouds beginning to cover the moon in blackness. Their ancestors were angry. Her tail fluffed a bit with a sense of foreboding.

Aspenheart ascended the Great Rock; Mossbloom followed suit several moments later, two lights piercing the unrest that had settled over the clearing. Raventail’s eyes followed them upward. Around him, the sea of cats whispered and trembled. He shuffled around to get a better view, squinting, searching their distant faces, for an answer. In his life, he had heard StarClan twice: once through Amberdawn, once at the Moonstone. Tonight would be the third. While part of him wanted to disregard this, it felt as if his pelt was prickling down to his bones, and he knew that, whether or not he cared what StarClan wanted, he had no choice but to listen. If not to them, then to the cats they’d chosen to speak for them. And so he held his breath.

Kits. Thornstar’s kits. Ancient traditions had never had a hold on her; had he known her better, he might have congratulated her. Before he could relax, Mossbloom turned toward Torrentstar, and Raventail’s confusion, having barely settled, shifted into cold realization. He glared upward at the brown tabby tom, the cat who had exiled Dappleshine for daring to be honest. The cat who’d said he should have left her to die not for treason, not for anything worth that, simply for loving a cat from another Clan—now standing before them all in blazing moonlight, a hypocrite to the core. How long had he known? Was that why Torrentstar had never mentioned Dappleshine’s departure at a Gathering? Another realization jabbed between Raventail’s ribs. How can I tell her? It would hurt to hear it from him (from anyone, his mind murmured), but keeping it from her was worse. The whole forest, down to the kits whose ears had only straightened sunups ago, would know by moonset.

Finchstar rested his tail across Thornstar’s back, and that… Raventail wasn’t sure how to feel about that. He dropped his glare regardless. Something in the back of his head rattled, danger, danger, this is StarClan we’re talking about, but he knew Finchstar, and Finchstar would never put the code before love. Still—was it love? After everything Torrentstar had said, could it be? From beside Raventail, Ivybrook called out to RiverClan before departing the Gathering; above, the leaders spoke. Now he could hear the horror and disgust in everyone’s mumbling, see it in their eyes as they glanced skyward.

He blinked. The snow, silvery with moonlight only a few heartbeats before, had gone dull. For the first time in Raventail’s life, the sky over Fourtrees was dark. Torrentstar. Final warning. StarClan’s wrath, if the thick scent of fear was anything to go by. A set of paws thumped beside him. Exhaustion was one thing; Mossbloom looked utterly distraught, now. Raventail rooted through the tumbling mass of words in his head, searching for anything that might be able to help. He wasn’t a medicine cat. His faith was with Finchstar, his Clan, the forest as it lived and breathed. There was no way to know what this had cost her, what she was sorry for. He lowered his eyes. ”Thanks, Mossbloom. Stay safe, all right?”

In the quiet, he remembered what he'd been worrying about before the Gathering had begun. His kits. He might as well have finished having those thoughts a moon ago for how distant they felt. Rising to his feet with a backward glance at the Great Rock, Raventail tried to grab hold of them again. Better to worry about them than the coming storm. WindClan had weathered floods and beasts. They would survive this.

ooc: will possibly fix this + edit lightfang in when my brain hurts less

Spiderpaw really had intended to stay until Torrentstar left. Really. But now, looking at the scene before him, he felt almost too sick to stay. The world was spinning, his entire worldview upside down. He looked up, pressing closer to the little she-cat next to him as he did so, as the moon vanished from the sky. It was as if it had been devoured by some monster, torn from the sky by the jaws of night. Fourtrees was enveloped in darkness now, the only sign of life the whistling wind and the gentle snowflakes. They drifted lazily from the sky, unaware of the tangible tension between the clans.

Reluctantly, he got up. StarClan had spoken, and he was far too confused to wait for his leader. He'd rather walk home alone than with him, he realised. An unfamiliar and rather horrid feeling rose in his chest like a stalking beast, whispering taunts into his ear. It wasn't sadness, it wasn't even confusion. It was, in some form, hatred. He shook his head rapidly to clear his mind of the feeling as he slunk into the forest. He didn't hate Torrentstar, he didn't. He just needed some rest.

Maybe when he woke up tomorrow, this will have all been a bad dream.

Olivepaw's fur was now on end, her thoughts tumbling end over end in her head as she tried to orient herself to what all had happened in the time leading up to the disaster that had been this Gathering. She crouched down, minimizing herself, and felt fear grip her as the moonlight began to fade and the hollow was left in darkness. She desperately wanted to leave Fourtrees and all of StarClan's rage behind, but she knew this was just the beginning of what they had in store for the clans.
Please take us home, Finchstar...

Throughout everything, Wolfcall remained quiet and still. Throughout the bright light, and the medicine cats' revelation. Throughout the shock and outrage. Throughout StarClan's very, very clear anger. The black-striped tom closed his eyes, ears pressed back against his head as argument broke out among the gathered clans. What more was there to do? Join them? No. Wolfcall had no love for Thornstar of all cats, that much was true... but somehow, he couldn't bring himself to feel the same way about the situation that he could tell the majority of the others did. He didn't feel that same rush of anger and disbelief. He didn't feel the need to speak out his displeasure or disappointment - because he felt none.

In fact, at the end of the day... Wolfcall agreed with Finchstar. He'd never admit it, but... who was StarClan to punish someone for love? Who gave them the right?

As the sky darkened, the deputy finally opened his eyes, his father's voice ringing in his ears. He had no doubt that Spottedstar would feel the same way as the rest about the two leaders' tryst... which is why he'd no doubt keep his mouth shut about his own opinion on the matter. But as the rest of the clans began to panic and flee, Wolfcall stood, his voice ringing out firmly over the clearing. "SkyClan, stand and heed - we leave when Spottedstar tells us, and not a moment before."

Softpaw was grateful the gathering was ending, though she was sad to see the tom who'd comforted her leave. Looking up and blinking tears from her vision, she saw Aspenheart looking for her. She dashed over to him, ignoring the cat she bumped into, she just wanted her mentor. "Aspenheart!" She wailed pitifully. "Why is StarClan so..so.. Angry? Are you hurt? That Great Rock is really tall, are you sure you're okay? You know how unsteady you are!" She fretted, searching over his pelt. Then a shock stilled her. "D-do you know where Downpaw is? What if he got hurt? Oh stars, where is he?" As quickly as she ran to him, she ran away in search her dear brother.


Downpaw wriggled out from under his bush and scanned the clearing for a certain pelt. All the pelts seemed to blend together, much to his annoyance. How would he ever find her in this crowd? He didn't care much about the news of Torrentstar and Thornstar. Why should he? It's not like WindClan was involved. His main concern was finding his sister. He weaved his way through the pelts, up to Great Rock, where the medicine cats sat near the deputies. He saw Aspenheart, but no Softpaw. "Fox-dung!" He hissed, running past his sister's mentor. He'd find her, or would she find him?

"SOFTPAW!"

Ears perking up, the pale cream apprentice tried to locate the source of the voice.

"DOWNPAW?"

Ginger ears perked up, and he put on an extra burst of speed. "Softy!"
The cream she-cat spun on her paws and turned around, lurching towards a familiar ginger pelt. "Grump!"

They flung into each other, pelts blurring as they brushed against each other.

"Are you okay?"
"Are you okay?"

Oakstar listened as each cat rushed to speak. His head turned to his clanmates, as he watched them in various states of alarm… until it seemed to darken. The brightly illuminated clearing, which was normally so visible in the light of the full moon dulled, and it only took a moment to raise his head and understand why.

The view of an obscured moon sent chills down his spine. His tail lashed as he stood, listening to Aspenheart. It was clear, the gathering was over, and he wouldn’t sit to dwell on it. His gaze fell to the other leaders as he stood on his hindlegs.
"I believe Aspenheart has a point… Congratulations Thornstar…" He paused, blinking his amber eyes at Torrentstar. "...and Torrentstar. May your kits be healthy, and the future bright. I must attend to my clan, and gather them home."

With no further words, he pushed off from the rock.
"Thunderclan!" He yowled over the din of panic. He padded to the middle of the gathered cats, aware that without the height that the great rock provided, it would be harder for them to hear him unless he was among them. "Thunderclan! We are heading home!" He yowled once more, before he began to lead his own cats back to the safety of the forest.