February Gathering 2020

Stormbringer had followed closely by Ivybrook on the way to the clearing, her amber eyes looking over to Honeytongue every so often. Both of them needed her support. She knew that Ivybrook was stressed, as well as her golden friend. As soon as the deputy was up on the rock safely Stormbringer turned her attention back to Honeytongue. Quickly the blue warrior made her way over to her friend, sitting close to her so that her pelt touched the other's. She didn't really want anything bad to happen this gathering but after everything... It was to be expected at this point..

---

Ploverpuddle was afraid to say the least. After everything.. After what Finchstar had said.. He was afraid as to what Starclan was going to do to the clans at this point. He wasn't sure what emotion was eating at him, but every moment closer to this point the more anxious he grew. It was a bad feeling and he wasn't able to shake it. The fluffy tom carefully made his way into the clearing, yellow eyes scanning for anything to help him get rid of his bad feeling. A large tom soon caught the older's attention. Carefully the windclan tom approached Streamsong. "Greetings." The fluffy gray tom greeted the Thunderclan cat. "I hope things have been well for you."

(Storm is open, but she is sitting next to Honeytongue! Keep that in mind)
(Plover is talking to Streamsong~)

This was Poppypaw's first gathering, and she was very unsure of herself. She decided she'd stick with Driftingpaw, rather than follow either of her brothers. They could be unpredictable, and although she felt responsible for watching over them in a way, she didn't really want to get dragged into any possible trouble at her very first gathering. Surely it was okay to be a bit selfish in this case?

Joining the group of apprentices from various Clans, Poppypaw dipped her head a bit in greeting, standing close to Driftingpaw to draw some strength from his being there. "Hey guys. I'm Poppypaw. Nice to meet you!"


Ferretpaw had entered the clearing with Olivepaw, slightly disappointed that his mentor had not come along to this gathering. After a few heartbeats, though, the tom wandered off, looking for other cats. He couldn't just keep still, memories of the last gathering made his paws feel like they were on fire and he had to keep moving them. His eyes scanned the crowd for the ShadowClan apprentice he had raced, Petalpaw, feeling a slight pang of guilt. StarClan was so angry...Perhaps it was a bad time to make friends in other Clans. But the other tom had been so charming, and Ferretpaw found that he had a hard time not thinking about him if he wasn't busy with something else.

(Ferretpaw is open to conversation!)

Spottedstar, charged into the clearing, stormy as a cloud on a newleaf night. It hadn't been his intention to be late, but an apprentice assigned to be present at the gathering had gone missing just as the group was ready to leave. That foolish tom had been found under a large pile of snow after much time was wasted hunting for him, and now he stood at the back of the pack, still a embarassed to have caused so much stress. Juniperpaw still had a wet coat from all the snowmelt. The leader scaled the Great Rock quickly, flicking his tail in both greeting and dismissal - he would take no questions about how well his clan was or why he was late. Spottedstar noticed Torrentstar and Thornstar's absense, but after last moon's circus, he didn't blame them. He wouldn't show his face in public if he'd been forcefully outed by someone else's medicine cats, either.

Dawngaze and Harefoot are there, too.

There was a bit of nervousness in Foxfire's steps as he padded after Spottedstar, gaze fixed weary on the sky, on the few clouds that drifted across the star-filled expanse. It was hard to not think back on what had happened last moon, of the pure fear of the chaos, the wind...The warnings from the stars themselves. He prayed that things would be more...Relaxed, this time around. That perhaps they would have a normal Gathering but he had his doubts. StarClan had wanted that message out for a reason - who knew how long it would take before that...Shadow or whatnot fell upon the forest. He shook his head, settling down as he glanced up at the Great Rock. His heart skipped a beat at the sight of one of the cats.

Was that...Flintshard? He was certain it was, he fit the description that Basildrop had given him. Did that mean the tom was deputy or...Perhaps even leader? Where was Thornstar if she was not here? Or Torrentstar for that matter, realizing that the RiverClan leader was missing as well. Huh... His tail-tub twitched as he thought back on what little he knew about the ShadowClan tom. Basildrop had always said that he seemed...Reasonable, didn't have any dislike for SkyClan as a whole. He hoped so, after the chaos that was the fighting between the two Clans, a deputy who would be perhaps level-headed and not so quick to hold things against them would be...Nice.

Deerfrost padded behind his clan. It was all coming together. All the other clans were there and one of the anoucments shadowclan would make would complete his plan. As Deerfrost padded to the front he pushed aside a black and white Riverclan apprenticee.

"Sorry I was in the way mister!" Said Nightpaw as he got pushed aside by a small warrior age looking cat. Deerfrost paid no attention and simply sat down.

Wolfcall lingered around the back of the pack as SkyClan made their way to the gathering, keeping an eye on his youngest brother, who had been the reason for their hold up in the first place. He pressed his pelt against Juniperpaw's smaller frame as they walked, trying to warm the apprentice through his snow-soaked coat. When they reached the gathering, though, he was duty-bound to break away from his brother, offering a smirk with his parting words. "Try not to fall into anymore snowdrifts, yeah?"

That said, he moved off, padding towards the base of the great rock. His gaze swept the clearing, trying to take in the state of everything he could at just a glance - and that's when he saw his other brother charge rudely past an apprentice, shoving him aside without so much as an apology. Wolfcall flattened his ears, eyes narrowing on the brown tom. He changed direction, looking as casual as he could as he sidled up next to Deerfrost. His voice lowered to a disappointed timbre, quiet enough only they could hear. "Very unbefitting of a leader's son, Deerfrost. At a gathering, no less. We will talk about this later." Giving him a pointed stare, Wolfcall finally made his way to sit in his appointed spot, fluffing his pelt up against the chill of the night. Raventail was the only other cat there, and Wolfcall dipped his head to him in greeting. "How are you tonight, Raventail?"

Following his clanmates into the clearing, Sunflower took his place near the edge of the crowd, per usual. Thanks to Dacedream ripping the sky-pelt right off him, he was once again allowed to partake in the full moon gatherings. Part of him wished that he’d just stayed back at camp, but even though he didn’t enjoy talking to any-cat from fear of making a fool of himself, he found it interesting getting to listen to the news that each leader brought.

OOC: Sunflower is free to chat

Amberwing sped up to catch Deerfrost, she almost bumped into several cats but had manners. "Oh! Sorry!" "Uh, excuse me!" She finally found Deerfrost who seemed to push past an apprentice- why was he in such a hurry? Remembering something her eyes widened. But she thought it could wait until later- after the gathering. "Deerfrost!" She mewed, breathing out a long puff of air. "In a hurry, are you?" She purred, her tail wrapped around her mate's back and she sat down, her amber eyes gleaming. What was going to happen this gathering? She looked around before spotting her father, a smile appeared on her face. "Dad! Over here!" She called sweetly.

(OOC: Amberwing is calling over Sunflower, she is currently sitting next to Deerfrost)

As soon aa the group had departed camp for their.. mundane trek, Vixenpaw had been strutting ahead of her family, tail fluttering high in spontaneous waves. Her eyes were scintillating with a thrilled anticipation, her beam never leaving her features. At first, she had been conscious to remain close to her mother and siblings. In typical Vixenpaw fashion, she had been chirruping blurred strings of words, chattering exuberantly without limits. Mostly... she was boasting about how she had worked so hard to groom herself, all on her own! She had been deliberating whether or not she should demand- er, ask if Dacedream could do it for her, but.. she was a big cat, now! Vixenpaw had spent so long cleaning herself, making sure all tufts were neatly slicked back. Stars, her vibrant pelt was even glimmering in the moonlight. With the serene moonrays illuminating her, casting pools of rippling light upon her back.. she felt like she was in the spotlight - and that made her even happier.

Eventually, she had pranced up to her mentor, a broad smirk indicating her sense of self-importance. Oakstar was so cool (but not as cool as her, of course), and she was so lucky to be able to have him as her mentor! For the remainder of the walk, she had sashayed alongside him, thoroughly enjoying the thought the she and him were ahead of every other ThunderClan cat. When she arrived, she had settled on the plan that she would tell absolutely every cat she saw how cool her mentor, and more importantly, how cool she was. And then everyone from every clan would know of the great Vixenpaw!


In her brief obliviousness to her surroundings, Vixenpaw pranced straight forward, colliding rather forcefully with a stranger. With a faint shriek of indignance, she toppled over, straight into an unfamiliar pelt. Immediately, her senses were engulfed by an abhorrent reek. Eyes blazing in aggreivance, head reeling from the daze, she spat out a curse and fixed her smouldering gaze onto the cat, "You weren't even watching where you were going! Do you know how mousebrained that i- ew!" her complaints shifted into a sneer, tone abruptly tainted with revulsion, muzzle wrinkling as her features creased in displeasure, "You're so stinky! Do you even, like, know how to clean yourself?" Her upper lip twisted in blatant distaste, as she scrutinised her 'aquaintance' from whiskers to toes, "Yuck! I shouldn't have touched you! You.. y-you smell like, like mousedung! That's disgusting! Why does everyone smell disgusting? Is ThunderClan the only clan that smells good? Like, you other Clans are just.. just.. ew!"

---

《ooc》 vixenpaw is 100% open! feel free to be the cat she ran into (+ it's totally in her nature to interrupt a conversation/group ;D),, she's here to stir someone up-
               featherpaw is,, not in a great mental state, and therefore not present. to avoid paradoxing, i'll say that her solo
                occurred the dawn after the gathering. as of right now,, she's probably trying to overwork herself hunt again ;;

Olivepaw's thoughts had drifted off, wondering when Finchstar would appoint her a warrior. It could be any day now!
She was brought out of her little trance by another apprentice approaching the group, smelling of RiverClan, like timid Driftingpaw. With a smile and a little trill, she chirped, "Nice to meet you too! I'm Olivepaw."

---

Cherrypaw also turned her attention to the approaching Poppypaw, and mewed a greeting.
"I'm Cherrypaw, nice to meet you too!"

Not knowing what to do with the question, Dacedream glanced at Raventail, the WindClan deputy. He was busy with the other deputies, of course, but Dacedream still smiled faintly at him. She wondered if her mother, Dappleshine, would be there that night. Oh, she couldn't wait to tell her that she was a grandmother now! Her green-hazel eyes began scanning the clearing, landing briefly on her present kits as she searched Fourtrees for the WindClan cat's silvery-gray pelt, wondering if perhaps she should have stayed near her little ones for this first Gathering to try to guide them towards their grandmother. With the prophecy, though, perhaps it was for the best not to draw attention to their blood-traitor heritage right beneath the light of the full moon where StarClan watched. She sighed a little, and after a long while of being unable to see her mother, she gave up the search.

All around, the rest of the cats were getting into their own groups and chatting. SkyClan hadn't yet arrived, but the other four Clans - despite the tensions - had settled and spread out. Dacedream was happy that the prophecy hadn't discouraged everyone from trying to speak to the other Clans and make friends. Didn't the warrior code say they could have friends? Most of the apprentices were bound to look for them at the Gathering anyways. Dacedream's eyes landed on her own familiar RiverClan friends, Honeytongue and Stormbringer. Well, the latter wasn't as close or familiar as the former, but they were both her friends. The tortoiseshell she-cat felt her heart ache for them. Nevermind what she'd been through in the last moon - how had they been? They were quiet and tucked in. Dacedream decided not to bother them, fearing what the revelation may have done to relationships between their Clans - and each other.

ooc; Barleytuft will not be attending this Gathering due to whitecough, and Clovertwist will not be attending this Gathering due to some family drama. Dacedream is still available to chat!

Driftingpaw was content to listen to the chatter of the other apprentices, sticking more or less in Olivepaw's shadow as he looked around with his wide blue eyes. He never knew so many other cats existed in the other Clans, and he drank in the sights and sounds. For the most part, everyone seemed rather friendly or at least pleasant with each other. It brought him some comfort that the Gathering seemed rather peaceful. A few of the older warriors and apprentices seemed tense, but the young tom chalked it all up to nerves. He couldn't be the only one that was nervous right?

As Beepaw chattered on the young white tom bobbed his head as he listened, dipping his chin to a few other apprentices that padded over to join them. He spotted Poppypaw making her way towards him through the crowd and his ears pressed forward as he smiled, feeling his heart flutter in his chest as his stomach churned. She settled in with the group near him and he truly felt content, a soft purr welling up as he sat a little straighter, drawing comfort from his Clanmate who sat near him and the pleasantry of the conversation that drifted between the young cats. If this is how every Gathering was, he wanted to be at every single one.

He was enjoying listening to some light chatter between Olivepaw and Beepaw some more when a sudden force bowled into him. The wind was knocked out of his lungs with a swift 'ooof' and he went sprawling into the dirt as a weight crashed down on him. A shriek pierced his ears and he flinched, clenching his teeth as the shrill tone rang in his ears and he scrambled up. He came face to face with a ranting she-cat and his blue eyes flew wide. "I-I-I'm s-s-sorry!" He stammered, his heart leaping to his throat as he tried to figure out how he could have offended this she-cat so horribly by simply being the unlucky soul she happened to barrel into. He racked his brain trying to find a way to smooth over the situation, his mind obviously working too quickly as his mouth gaped like a fish and he was at a loss for words. "I-I-I was j-just sitting h-h-here a-a-and then... a-and w-we crashed...t-t-then... I-I didn't s-s-see you," He stammered over his words, shrinking back as she suddenly reeled in disgust, his pelt fluffing up and growing hot with embarrassment. He had made sure to thoroughly groom his pelt before coming tonight, had he maybe missed a spot? He looked down at himself to see his white pelt ruffled and dusted with sports of dirt from the tumble and he flinched, shrinking away from the she-cat with the viscous tone. "I-I-I'm s-s-sorry, I-I-I know f-f-fish i-isn't f-f-fore everyo-o-one...." He shuffled his paws as he ducked his head, an overwhelming wave of shame making his whiskers tremble. He wished he could rewind the clock, maybe he should have sat in a different spot or been paying attention so he could have moved out of the she-cat's way. He should have done something but instead he was so focused on enjoying the Gathering he was distracted. "I-I-I'm s-s-sorry, he stammered again, unsure what else to say to soothe the furious apprentice before him.

Cherrypaw had caught sight of her sister approaching, yet not looking where she was going, and before she could call out, she collided with Driftingpaw, sending him sprawling.  She rolled her eyes, seeming to know what was coming from her vain sister, flattening her ears in embarrassment. As Vixenpaw went on her entitled tirade, she considered cuffing her rude sister over the ears to quiet her. Eventually, she'd had enough.
"Vixenpaw, you know it's your fault you weren't looking where you were going, right? Driftingpaw was minding his own business, as we all were, before you brought your attitude here."
With a sigh, she turned to the group. "Guys, this is Vixenpaw, one of my sisters." She quickly muttered under her breath, "Not that you'd be able to tell, with her over-inflated ego."
I love her, but StarClan, she's so conceited! She's making me and all of ThunderClan look bad!

---

Olivepaw grimaced as Vixenpaw opened her mouth and hardly seemed to shut it, insulting everyone to further her own ego. She flattened her ears, and turned to Cherrypaw, who seemed to be growing agitated. With a lash of her tail, she explained that the offending she-cat was in fact her sister, though Olivepaw could hardly believe it.
They're so different! I'm glad Ferretpaw isn't like that...
After Cherrypaw had finished her retort, she piped up, "Yeah, Driftingpaw wasn't doing anything to you."

The first time out of the territory, thus far, had been rather unexciting. Jaypaw, for some reason, had expected every moment spent outside of ThunderClan's borders would be full of danger and intrigue... rogues or enemy clan cats hiding behind every bush, predators waiting to leap down from trees or rocks, even Twolegs and their Monsters!

But... so far, nothing.

It had been, for all intents and purposes, a leisurely stroll through the trees. Just... with half the clan in attendance. And after a little while, Jaypaw had stopped looking for danger, content to plod along disinterestedly beside his mother with flat, disappointed ears. This was lame.

But then, on the wind, the smell of cats drifted nearer. Cats from all different clans. Their scents were overwhelming, mixed together the way they were, and Jaypaw perked up a bit, his blue eyes wide with curiosity. Soon, that curiosity was sated as Oakstar gave permission for them to disperse, and for a moment, Jaypaw stilled on the slope, wondering which direction to go, which cat to interact with. Should he stick with his own clan? Obviously it wouldn't do well to make too many friends outside ThunderClan... but then, wouldn't it make sense to know his potential enemies?

Jaypaw's question was answered for him when his sister's shrieking voice echoed in his ears, and the patched apprentice smirked as his gaze picked out her ruffled form. What had she done, this time? Padding over, he reached the group of apprentices just as Cherrypaw reprimanded Vixenpaw for... what, running into this other apprentice? The one from RiverClan? He grinned, about to chime in on Cherrypaw's side when the gray tabby apprentice that smelled of WindClan spoke up. Jaypaw's eyes narrowed on Olivepaw, and he flattened his ears. "Who asked you, WindClanner?" he scoffed. "Don't talk to my sister like that."

Flowerthorn was excited.. Well maybe not fully excited but she was ready to see what would happen at this gathering considering what had occurred the moon before. The pale warrior settled herself towards the back of the gathered crowd again, disappointment shining in her eyes as soon as she looked up and saw that not only was the Shadowclan leader not there, neither was the Riverclan leader. Could neither of them face Starclan for what they have done? Brown ears fell flat to her head. "What cowards.." She said lowly.

(Flowerthorn is open to conversation!)