February Gathering 2020

Finchstar stifled another cough as Spottedstar joined the rock. His vision began to swirl, and the WindClan leader could only barely catch Oakstar's confirmation of his question. So it was true. StarClan had declared their vendetta against the clans. The ginger patched tabby dug his claws into the stone and threw himself into thought. It was quite uncharacteristic of the tom to spend a gathering quiet, however a combination of his sickness as well as their newfound problem, Finchstar knew words could not solve their situation. A yell echoed from the bottom of the clearing and the leader's yellow eyes flashed to gaze upon a group of apprentices. He smirked but drew it back as his lungs ached once more with another hack. Stars. Perhaps Finchstar felt obligated to attend due to his presence at last moon's gathering. He wanted to hear what the other leaders thought. Did they agree with StarClan? Spottedstar seemed to, but the odds were in his favor, it made sense to agree to a sacrifice that didn't effect his clan. Although the decision was short sighted, Finchstar could recognize the strategy in the SkyClan leader's frame.

The absence of both Torrentstar and Thornstar was concerning, however he decided to fill the questions with words, opting to contemplate afterwards. "WindClan is..." Finchstar coughed again, sitting as his lungs heaved. "WindClan is well, we are surviving leafbare and all its treasures..." A tone of sarcasm laced Finchstar's voice, and the twinkle in his eye could not be tamed by sickness. "Maplepaw and Speckledpaw have both earned their apprentice names this past moon. Their mentors are Zinnia and Spotlake."

Finchstar kept a close eye on Spottedstar after he dropped the name of a loner as mentor. It was a cheeky jab, but he wanted to display the damage the rest of the four clans could receive from StarClan's wrath. They needed the SkyClan leader on their side. His words might have provoked him further, digging up old prey, but thoughts were under that close-minded ground as well. The tom hid his smile as the gathering was passed onto the next leader.

Ivybrook didn't have the energy to bother caring for what the other Clans had to say; if it was important to her and her Clan, they would make sure she knew. There were plenty of other things that occupied her mind at the moment, her tail tip twitching as she mused over it all. Torrentstar really thought it was simple enough that he could just... Give the reigns over to her. Pathetic. Grimacing as she realized it was nearly her turn to speak, she waited for the sickly Finchstar to finish his own announcements to carefully shuffle past him, making sure not to get too close for fear of falling ill herself. "RiverClan, despite the seasonal setbacks, is faring well." Momentarily contemplating on how much she should share, the tabby she-cat looked over the crowd of cats. RiverClan's numbers had slowly decreased more and more... But hopefully, with new apprentices on the rise, that would change. Making sure to cover what Torrentstar had failed to a moon ago, the deputy continued, "Nightpaw, Poppypaw, Applepaw, Stagpaw, and Driftingpaw have all received their apprentice names within the previous two moons, and some time ago Egretstorm was welcomed into the warrior's den."

Her breath hitched a bit as she closed her eyes, waiting for the small chatter to die down from her last announcements before the real news was revealed. Thornstar's absence... It made sense, what with the kits and all. Torrentstar's, however... Would need to be explained. "After the events of the last moon's gathering, RiverClan could not bring themselves to be led by Torrentstar while knowing the truth behind his actions. Until StarClan has judged him truly and a proper punishment has been dealt, RiverClan is under my leadership." Stepping back, Ivybrook joined the three leaders and Flintshard, waiting to see if anyone dared to comment.

Applepaw smiled as he heard his name. It seemed so long ago, but also just like yesterday that he had became an apprentice. He waited to hear again about the Torrentstar situation. Maybe it would have more details this time, in front of all the clans.

Driftingpaw felt a purr rise in his chest at Poppypaw's words and he swore if the breeze picked up at all he would drift away he felt as light as a feather. He shifted and settled in closer to her as the leaders began to speak, their voices cutting through his thoughts before he could tell Poppypaw she was his best friend too. He turned his head and looked up at the leaders as they stood above the Clans and felt an unease hang between them and the gathered Clans below. He knew little of what had happened previously, but it seemed to be a reoccurring topic in the reports. As his name and his fellow denmate's names were mentioned he sat a little straighter and was painfully aware his pelt was still slightly ruffled from when Vixenpaw had barreled into him oh so gracefully. Remembering it made him unconsciously lean into Poppypaw more, the bitterness in his heart melting instantly at the feel of her pelt against his and her scent drifting around him. He didn't have a name for the feeling that made his stomach flip-flop like a fish on land but he knew it wasn't unpleasant or something he wanted to cease. He felt warm and light when she was near, like he was on top of the world and nothing could stop him.

“Both of us were lucky on our own way and found the perfect time and the path to take us back home, I can tell” Streamsong could only guess how terrible it probably was for the WindClan warrior to be so far from home. At least he and Bonewatcher were close enough for the scents of the forest to be their guide back home, but to not even have that?

He wasn’t sure many warriors would keep the hopes of ever coming back with so much against them, even after escaping…and that little bit of knowledge gave him newfound respect towards Ploverpuddle.

His ears twitched lightly as the leaders started speaking, his voice lowering to a mere whisper to not interrupt the leaders as they spoke “We have so much to be grateful of. I bet few cats get to understand how lucky they are to live in the territories, in their clans….”

Spottedstar gave a shameless, unconcealed roll of his eyes towards Finchstar. Not only was Zinnia obviously a weird rogue name, the WindClan leader had the gall to sound proud even though he was as sick as a dog and just as airheaded. It was apparent that he was hoping to get a rise from the SkyClan leader, as made clear by his careful observation of the spotted tomcat, but Spottedstar figured that if StarClan made good on their promise then Finchstar would eventually not have much pride - or air - left in him. It made sense that the rival leader would flaunt his outside blood in the face of their ancestors' warnings. If he had only full-blooded warriors, he would have no warriors at all. Spottedstar fixed his waning attention on Ivybrook. He had more important matters to consider than a certain white-and-ginger tom who somehow always knew how to get on his nerves. The RiverClan deputy's announcement was a bit of a surprise; it was just, but then again, Spottedstar had never heard of a leader being declared unworthy to lead. Not in a valid way, anyway. Plenty of outsiders had some useless things to say about Tinylegs back in the day.

He was perfectly content to stay silent as Ivybrook concluded her announcements. If anything, Spottedstar admired her resolve and bold, unspoken challenge to the other leaders. He simply dipped his head to her and then turned his attention to Oakstar. The ThunderClan leader would be the last to speak and no doubt had more interesting things to say than the greencough-addled Finchstar or the quiet, disinterested Flintshard.

Oakstar frowned at the news about Torrentstar. He wondered how the tom must be fairing with that decision. It couldn’t have been easy. Oakstar’s heart ached at the mere idea of his own clanmates turning against him because of a decision he’d made. Then again, he’d never broken the warrior code. He listened quietly as Spottedstar spoke, before he lifted his head the gaze at the rest of the cats before them. He hadn’t even realised his gaze had drifted to the stone beneath his paws.

"Thunderclan has … not faired well. Our deputy, Houndheart, was permanently injured. Now Nettlefire has become the new deputy" He began, his gaze lowered to his daughter’s with pride as he continued. "We have been fortunate, to welcome many new kits and apprentices into our ranks. Thunderclan may have suffered a setback, but we stand strong." He looked down at his clanmates with pride. His gaze fell onto Icepaw and Vixenpaw. Before he looked away to take in the sight of all cats gathered.

The prophecy seemed to ring in his ears. It made him uneasy as he glanced to his fellow leaders. "That prophecy seemed grim, but surely…" he paused, then stopped. What was the point in worrying about a prophecy with what’s behind them now.