February Gathering 2020

Cedarpaw was startled by the apprentice's arrival. ”Smudgepaw?” She said nervously, her voice very high-pitched. ”Hi...” She looked at Goldenpaw. Help me! She motioned to Goldenpaw with her eyes.

Puddlepaw made her way into the clearing behind the lot of the Thunderclan cats. Her hazel eyes looked in wonder at the mass of cats that had collected, there were just so many cats! And it was crazy to think that this wasn't even the entirety of cats from any of the clans. She found her place amongst the apprentices and looked around, spotting Cherrypaw conversing with some other apprentice. Then she saw the new Thunderclan deputy, Nettlefire. Puddlepaw felt a pang of disappointment because she would never hear the name Houndstar. The thought of that took away her smile so she quickly focused on something else, maybe she would get to make a friend in another clan?

(ooc; Puddlepaw is open for interaction)

It was so refreshing being out of the nursery at last, traversing the territory for more than simply to refill a clump of moss for some thirsty kits and queens, but much of the relief that it gave Dacedream was replaced by the tension following the previous moon's events and StarClan's demand. She was a little winded by the time that she reached Fourtrees, having been nursery-bound until her kits became apprentices, and she was relieved when she finally descended the slope and found a place to sit where no tree boughs would drop snow on her during the meeting. The tortoiseshell queen quickly swept her gaze around the clearing to locate each of her kits - apprentices now, of course - and then smiled, satisfied, and settled into her seat.

Dacedream looked up towards the Great Rock; it would have seemed strange that ShadowClan and RiverClan would be the first to arrive together after the events of the last Gathering, but neither of the accused leaders were present. Dacedream suspected her mawmaw Thornstar must have kitted or be close to it by now, so it would explain why Flintshard took her place. But Torrentstar... The ThunderClan warrior's bushy tail flicked and she looked uncertainly at Auntivybrook. She'd been livid at the revelation that Mossbloom was forced to reveal. She, the deputy, had taken control of RiverClan in sight of all of the Clans as a furious response to his treachery, and they had been the first Clan to leave. What had happened to Torrentstar over the last moon?

ooc; Dacedream is open for conversation!

A ginger and white tom padded across the ice, feeling numb. His chest ached and his nose ran. Finchstar was plagued by whitecough, treated but not resolved. He could feel the sickness escalating, and would call it greencough, if it would mean Aspenheart wouldn't spare herbs on his body. But the leader knew his medicine cat well, and knew that he wasn't viewed as an exception from the rest of his clanmates. If the sickness that tore through his body was named, it would bring more attention to the tom then he cared to acknowledge. If it was the sickness alone that slowed his movements and frame, he'd be a very different cat. However tonight it was his mind that caused the most pain. Finchstar couldn't find a middle ground with his starry ancestors, and found himself appalled that they'd claim to support the code over love. The tom knew it all along, somewhere in the recesses of his distant memories, however he had purposefully blinded himself again. Finchstar did not claim that all of his clanmates shared his views, nor did he want to press them onto his friends or the forest. His fur was ruffled not from divided viewpoints, but from the danger that StarClan had now put his friends in. The danger he had put his friends in.

How could their starry ancestors view a clan cat different than that of a rogue? If what Aspenheart said was true, both Patrick and Zinnia, as well as Olivepaw now found themselves in grave danger. Lightfang and Swallowflight would be sent back to SkyClan, along with Ploverpuddle. If they decided a cat's fate on their birthplace, instead of the power of opinion, the forces of want and need now lost all intimidation. Finchstar winced as another coughing fit wracked his frame. WindClan filed into the clearing of Fourtrees behind him. The branches creaked and groaned as a gusty wind pulled through the glen. Finchstar gazed up at the Great Rock to see Oakstar, along with two deputies of the currently endangered clans. Anger was not familiar to Finchstar, he didn't have the capacity to process it. So now when circumstances called for such a thing, he faltered, he felt numb. Leaping up to the stone, Finchstar only nodded his head to the other three parties, assuming that SkyClan would arrive soon. "Oakstar..." Finchstar coughed, dipping his head to the tom. "At the moonstone this half-moon, did Mossbloom relay to you the information Aspenheart has given me?" He hoped the leader had some insight on their current predicament.

PetalPaw padded into camp with her clan and looked around for someone to talk to.

(Petal is open)

Smudgepaw sat down next to cedarpaw with a smile.

Applepaw padded over to another apprentice, from Thunderclan. He didn’t know it yet, but her name was Puddlepaw. “Hello. My name is Applepaw, from Riverclan.” He mewed. “We’re you here last Gathering? I wasn’t but, I heard what happened.” He paused. “What’s it like in Thunderclan? Where do you swim?” He asked, because he didn’t know of a river or stream near Thunderclan territory. 

Nightpaw hopped into the gathering. His first one! Time to make some friends!

OOC: Nightpaw is open to conversation!

Raventail was starting to miss being excited for Gathering nights. Even tonight, he had to admit he would much rather be in WindClan’s camp than here. A bout of whitecough had brought him down shortly after Dappleshine’s kitting; despite his (feeble) protests, it had landed him in the medicine den alongside an alarming number of his Clanmates. All he wanted now was to curl up beside Dappleshine and Smudgekit until the snow melted. But the moon wouldn’t stay buried no matter how many cats wished it, and if the last moon’s Gathering was any indication, he might be needed here. Besides, Finchstar’s cough was worse tonight than Raventail’s had ever been, and…well. Shaking off his most recent coughing fit, Finchstar led them into Fourtrees. Only a few steps behind, Raventail eyed his friend’s back until they parted ways—Finchstar ascending the Great Rock, Raventail sitting at its base.

As he took in the faces and scents throughout the clearing, the dark tom’s eyes dimmed. Does anyone want to be here tonight? Each Clan echoed the others’ unspoken discomfort, united by danger. Ivybrook sat where Torrentstar had a moon ago; Thornstar’s usual place was occupied by ShadowClan’s deputy. Raventail frowned. RiverClan and ShadowClan. Ivybrook’s presence on the Great Rock wasn’t too shocking; she had led most of RiverClan out of the last Gathering, after all. Thornstar’s absence concerned him more. Was it a coincidence, or…?

What it meant was that the space beneath the Great Rock would be emptier than usual. With a vague hope that it might help him work the restlessness out of his limbs, Raventail stood to stretch and shake out his pelt, unfurling his fluffy tail. Maybe StarClan had been satisfied with simply making their displeasure known, and they'd returned to relative silence for the next few seasons, the way they had after the lakeshore sign. Maybe he could sit and talk like he would any other night—like several cats were already doing. Maybe all would be well. He couldn't afford to dwell in fear any more than he could afford to ignore it.

ooc: lightfang is Big Sad and will not be present

Goldenpaw could barely contain her mischievous smile. This was quite the interesting development. Her eyes glinted playfully as she flicked her tail at the newcomer. "Well, hello there! Smudgepaw, I assume? Cedarpaw mentioned you, she spoke of you very fondly you know." She winked at Cedarpaw and looked away from Smudgepaw. "We eat a lot of the same, plus a decent amount of frogs. We live in a marsh, so they're hard to avoid. I... Don't really have my eye on anyone really? I don't know, I'll have to see how that turns out." She licked her paw nonchalantly and looked to Smudgepaw. "How about you? Anyone you fancy? You can whisper it into my ear if you don't want anyone else to hear..." She just about refrained from looking pointedly at Cedarpaw.

Smudgepaw listened to the she-cat talk and then when she asked him who he liked Smudgepaw smirked. “Hmm.. w-who I-I L-like, I could e-easily tell you.. or I c-could do this!” He said before quickly licking Cedarpaws head. After the lick he quickly looked down becoming his shy self again.

Cherrypaw watched as the other apprentices gathered near her and Tulippaw, and when she found an opening in the conversation, she cleared her throat and introduced herself.
"I'm Cherrypaw of ThunderClan, nice to meet you all!"

---

Olivepaw followed Finchstar and Raventail into Fourtrees, apprehensive about the whitecough that was running rife through the Clan, and was glad that so far, she'd remained healthy, though for how long, she didn't know. She found a clear spot near where the apprentices were gathering, though since she was almost a warrior, she almost felt too old to be mingling with them.

(OOC: Olivepaw is open to talk!)

Cedarpaw wanted to bury her head in the ground. As Smudgepaw liked her, her eyes widened. “Smudge-I-uhh.” She couldn’t believe what had just happened. She started to laugh, but it was high-pitched and awkward. 


Daisypaw was sitting quietly when she saw another apprentice come up to the Gathering. “Hello.” She said softly to an older looking apprentice. (Olivepaw)

Yellow eyes gazed out from the shadows where Coalpaw sat, glancing around as cats began to gather and mingle in the clearing. He knew that there were a lot of cats among the other Clans, but he hadn't expected this many. It set his nerves on edge and made his pelt prickle as he shuddered, trying to chase away the feeling that he was cramped in a small space. As he looked around the clearing he spotted Pupplepaw, and he felt his pelt grow hot as he remembered his insensitive comment during the ceremony where Nettlefire had been selected deputy. His social skills needed fine tuning, and he needed to read the situations around him better. He wondered a moment if he should go apologize, but decided the Gathering may not be the best place to do so. He settled down in the shadows once more, keeping his tail wrapped around his paws and trying to take up as little space as possible.

(OOC: My grumpy kitten is open for anyone to talk with!)

---

Driftingpaw's eyes were round and wide as he gazed at all the cats that had journeyed to the Gathering. He suddenly felt his fur grow hot with apprehension and he suddenly regretted his decision to come without his mentor, Honeytongue. He had been so blinded by his eagerness to see the other Clans he hadn't realized how overwhelming it might be. He saw a cluster of apprentices gathering to mingle and saw a few from his Clan so he padded over, hoping to find comfort in familiar faces. The young white tom was lost in his anxious thoughts and wasn't watching where he was going, tumbling right into another apprentice with a yelp. He scrambled back, his fur fluffed up and his blue eyes wide with horror. "I-I-I'm so s-s-s-sorry!" He stammered, looking at the other apprentice with wide eyes. She smelled of wind and heather, and Driftingpaw guessed she was a WindClan apprentice. His tail fluffed and he ducked his head in shame. He was so new and still so young, his nerves still easily getting the better of him.

Before Puddlepaw knew it she was approached by a cat. Apparently they were Applepaw of Riverclan. His scent was somehow so much different than hers even though they lived in the same forest, and she momentarily held her breath before realizing that she couldn't do that for the whole gathering. So once the tom reached the end of what he had said she let out her breath. She gaped her maw for a few seconds before remembering to speak, "uh... no I wasn't here last gathering. I only just recently got apprenticed and this is really my first time out of camp. What happened last gathering?" she inquired curiously. She vaguely understood the situation but it was still a little confusing to her, It must have to do with the announcement Oakstar had made. That's the only thing of relevance she could think of, anyway.

Before Applepaw spoke again Puddlepaw quickly followed up what she had said. "Oh! Sorry." She laughed slightly, she hadn't even introduced herself! "I'm Puddlepaw." she looked just beyond Applepaw and spotted some more of her clan-mates. "It's about what you'd expect. It's always pretty green around because of the forest and there are lots of prey even during leaf-bare 'cuz so many of them make homes and stuff around us. It's been kinda weird in camp lately though." Puddlepaw trailed off before continuing, "Oh, and I've never swam before. I think some warriors probably have but it's not really something that we do-- and even if we did wouldn't it be really cold swimming now?" She joked, "We'd probably freeze!" She laughed again, enjoying the company of the other apprentice. She hadn't really wondered what it's like in another clan before- it probably isn't as great as Thunderclan. "What's Riverclan like?" she asked.

Olivepaw turned her attention towards the apprentice that had approached her with a cool greeting, and she gave a genuine smile and responded,
”Hi! I’m Olivepaw, what’s your-“
Her greeting was cut off as another cat ran into her, and she trailed off as she sat back up. “-name...”
When the other apprentice apologized to her, obviously overwhelmed, she smiled gently and gestured with her tail to Daisypaw.
”Don’t worry about it, it’s okay! I was just introducing myself to her. I’m Olivepaw, by the way, if you didn’t catch that earlier.”