April Gathering 2020

"Hi, Redpaw," Viperpaw chirped, blinking in a much more friendly fashion towards her Clanmate, before looking back at the ThunderClan apprentice. "Oh, you know. Happy as a lizard basking on a rock in full sunshine. How about you? Your scratches look like they're healing up just fine!" She glanced towards Willowpaw as she approached, giving a little nod of greeting. It was much more fun to try to get under Cedarpaw's fur.

---

It was also Ferretdance's first gathering as a warrior, and he trotted happily into the clearing after Olivestone. He'd been in a more cheerful mood since receiving his name, more like himself than the more nervous version that had been present since every gathering he attended started to go horribly wrong. He was hopeful this one would go more smoothly. What were the odds of this one going as badly as the others he'd attended?

"It feels totally different being here as a warrior," he commented to his sister.

Mossbloom padded in with ThunderClan, her bundle of herbs grasped tightly in her jaws. Her tail still flicked nervously, eyes darting around the clearing for anything out of the ordinary, but the clans present seemed to be mingling fairly normally. Perhaps this Gathering would be free from excitement, StarClan knew that the calico wasn't sure her heart could take much more. Settling in her spot under the leaders present, she noted that SkyClan hadn't shown up quite yet. Hopefully they weren't much longer she missed silently to herself, casting a wary glance towards the full moon.

Olivestone gave a happy trill as Ferretdance padded up beside her. She was thoroughly enjoying having her brother back in the same den as her, and being able to spend more time with him again as a result. The clearing definitely felt different now that she was a warrior, it felt more that she were a part of the proceedings than simply being there to witness them. She nodded as Ferretdance echoed her thoughts.
"Definitely. I feel like I'm more of a part of what happens now, rather than just being here to watch, yknow?"

Zinnia padded after her Clanmates, as she usually did. She was lost in thought, wondering what the night would bring, though she did her best to keep herself somewhat grounded in reality - she settled on her own, wondering if anyone would approach her this Gathering. The other clans held interesting cats with interesting perspectives, though tensions seemed high at the moment. Perhaps it would be best if she kept to herself this time, but she wasn't the type to refuse a conversation.

(Zinnia is open to talk to!)

It had been moons since Dappleshine had last accompanied WindClan to a Gathering, but the travel to Fourtrees seemed shrouded by something that made her keep wanting to look over her shoulder. Not all that different from the time spent with the beasts roaming the moors, Dappleshine couldn't shake the feeling that something was on the verge of happening, and all it would take was one small step to send everything crumbling down. She touched her nose to Raventail's flank lightly before they separated, her mate heading to his place under the leaders while she turned her gaze to ThunderClan's ranks, hoping, praying, that she would see Dacedream. It had been so long, far too long, and she needed to tell her daughter about her sisters. 

Finally her eyes spotted the pelt she knew from birth, and ignoring the way most other cats were grouped up in their own ranks, she trotted across the clearing to where her daughter sat with some other unfamiliar faces, younger ones. Nodding politely to the cat that smelled of ShadowClan, she pressed her muzzle to Dacedream's shoulder as she purred a shaky hello. "It's good to see you Dacedream, I've missed you terribly. How are things in ThunderClan, my minnow?"

---

Goldengale looked around the Gathering with a huff, trying to ignore the tingling at the back of her neck. Since Barleytuft's death, she had been working to mend the relationships she had let falter in light of everything, and had been striving towards a better tomorrow.... So why, then, did something feel so wrong? As she settled at the edge of the clearing, she cast a stony gaze around the clearing, looking for anything that looked off. Maybe, just maybe, things would be okay and she was just being paranoid.

Breezepaw took an annoyed step back, glaring at Jaypaw. “Keep your fur on. Wow, ThunderClan is as annoying as they say.” He whipped around without another word. Someone must have stuck crow-food into his fresh-kill. Eventually, Breezepaw sat down at the edge of a clearing, plucking a strand of grass with his claw.

OOC: Breezepaw is open to talk!

Maplepaw saw a ShadowClan apprentice sitting alone at the edge of the clearing, and decided to go over and talk to them.
"Hi!" she said, "I'm Maplepaw. What's your name?"

A moment after the introductions were made and Freckleface was welcomed to sit Dacedream heard paws approaching and caught a glimpse of sliver fur in the corner of her vision. Her heart soared as she flung her head, eyes wide, to gaze with love and adoration at the approaching WindClan cat. "Momma!" Dacedream practically squealed, standing to greet Dappleshine as the she-cat began to greet her. Instantly Dacedream was overcome with a thick, heavy purr that made her whiskers shake. "Momma, I've missed you so much," she stated as she leaned away, her green-hazel eyes a swarm of emotions, the greatest of which was love. At her mother's question, Dacedream blinked.

"Things are... well, sometimes they're a little scary," Dacedream admitted, but then she glanced aside to her pale tabby daughter and her face warmed, "but a lot of the time, they're beautiful. Momma, I have someone important for you to meet." A few someones! Maybe I can go and round up the others before we all have to leave, she thought. She waved her tail around her daughter. "Momma, this is Cherryblossom... my kit," Dacedream stated proudly. She looked to Cherryblossom and waved her tail to Dappleshine, mewing, "Cherryblossom, kitten, this is your grandmother, Dappleshine!" She took a breath and waited, looking eagerly between them and hoping to see as much joy as she felt.

Cedarpaw took a deep breath in. Her eyes flickered with annoyance. She tried to find a comeback for Viperpaw but her mind was drawing a blank. She got up, rolling her eyes. She walked away, annoyed. Maybe Viperpaw could socialize with her own clanmates instead. She tried to find someone to talk too, byt ended up just sitting alone on the edge of Fourtrees.

Applepaw glanced around, still looking for conversation

Daisypaw sat alone, messing with her fur, lost in thought.

(Approach my children! Talk to them! They are all pretty friendly!)

Breezepaw flicked an ear back as the windclan apprentice approached him. Maplepaw. “I’m Breezepaw.” His voice was flat after the encounter with Jaypaw, but not necessarily unfriendly. I guess I should be friendly to Maplepaw, though. She hasn’t done anything wrong.

"How many Gatherings have you been to?" Maplepaw asked Breezepaw, "This is my first Gathering, so I'm excited!"

Aloof, with an air of exasperation, and trotting with his tail high for all to see, Spottedstar lead SkyClan into the Fourtrees and quickly found his place with the other leaders. Late, of course. Very late. This time he didn't have an excuse; he simply wanted to spend as little time as possible in the presence of the other clans who would probably be smited out of existence before the end of the season. The weather was clear... for now. Spottedstar silently placed bets on which leader would upset the peace this time. All of his lot went to Finchstar. "Why do you even show up to these anymore?" He almost said it out loud, but the WindClan leader's expression was starker and more serious than usual and Spottedstar had no desire to draw a lecture from Oakstar on his poor manners. Instead, he dipped his head stiffly to his colleagues in a sort of half-apology, half-dismissal and stepped quickly to the front of the Great Rock. He let out a loud yowl to quiet the crowd and get the meeting started.

"The Gathering begins now!" He commanded, deep voice ringing. "Last moon I wasn't here because of sickness. It passed quickly and didn't infect anyone else. Sagelight made sure of it. SkyClan is doing well with the warmer weather, and prey is plentiful in our territory. We have an increase in dangerous predator sightings, as expected, but nothing serious has been found. Our newest apprentice, Redpaw, has been appointed to Swansong. We have many new kits and several apprentices who will soon become warriors. That is all." Spottedstar stepped back, prepared to tune out the rest of the meeting.

Harefoot accompanied the rest of ThunderClan to the gathering, thinking happily of his love, Ferretnose, and their wonderful kits. Things had been scary after the last gathering, but nothing had come of the threats yet. He only hoped it stayed that way. Harefoot was entirely devoted to StarClan. If they commanded him to act against one of his clanmates... could he do it? He shook the thought from his head as SkyClan's leader came storming through the crowd. It wasn't worth thinking about. It would only stress him out, and a stressed warrior was a weakened warrior.

Dawngaze stayed at a distance. Usually she disliked going to gatherings and opted to stay home whenever she was given the chance. However, this time things were different. She made a point to attend the meetings when the forest was tense. She wanted to protect her leader and clanmates in case something happened, no matter what the voices at the edge of her hearing said. Even when they disparaged her not-father and accused her of being a mindless puppet. Even though they made her staunchly aware of how StarClan's threats were against her and her blasphemous kind. She shuffled to the back of the crowd, not looking up at the Great Rock. Her father had died up there.

Juniperpaw trotted close by Wolfcall's side. He was far too old to be an apprentice, but the black cat didn't mind; it was his fault for being so forgetful and daydreaming when he should have been working. Not to mention that Firflower was a kind and loving mentor who never pushed too hard. Juniperpaw found it easy to relax instead of work hard for his promotion, although he did wish he could sleep bundled up with his brothers and mother in the warriors' den. He was a little jealous of that. He licked Wolfcall's shoulder, purred a quiet "Good luck!", and peeled off to talk to other clans' apprentices. They were usually nicer than the warriors. He found one that smelled of ThunderClan on the edge of the large group. "H-hi! You look a little lonely. I'm Juniperpaw from SkyClan." He meowed to her, bowing his head slightly.

OOC: Juniperpaw is talking to Cedarpaw~

From all corners, four cats padded into the clearing.

---

Ferretnose's apprehension about the Gathering was, as she felt, very warranted. It seemed that they could not go a single full moon without some forest-shattering revelation or display of divine fury. She figured that the least she could do was extend a friendly paw to perhaps the clan most affected by the odd turn of events: WindClan. She found a silvery, flowery-smelling she-cat and sat down at her side. "Good evening!" she chirped. "Here's hoping we can catch a break. I'm Ferretnose."

---

Aspenheart, more timid and stick-looking than he had ever been in his life, made a direct beeline towards the medicine cats. There was a wildness about him, as if there was something quite imperative about his approach. He felt there was. All of his theories, combined with Spotlake's omen, were whipping around him like angered wasps. With a few breathless wheezes, he began to speak. "StarClan talked, but not to me!" he whispered excitedly. "My clanmate had a dream about an ancient WindClan leader. Dung, I forgot her name already, I'll have to ask. It was an omen... about impurities in every nest... spores, infection... until their confession is suitable. Is that not incredibly worrying?!"

---

A ThunderClan tom scampered behind his clanmates into the clearing with little time to spare. Gathering were starting to be his escape. He couldn't help it, he just loved to hear all of the stories. The other clans were actually pretty cool! He kept his eyes trained to the stars above, watching them twinkle with giddiness. There weren't many clearings in ThunderClan's territory. It was nice to see the stars...

With a solid "oof!" from deep in his chest, Beepaw found another apprentice. He had ran straight into her. She shoved herself off with a couple snorts and glares. Beepaw braced himself for the verbal tirade, but was shocked to see how the grey she-cat snickered at the mistake. She wasn't angry? The other cat smelled distinctly marshy. He thought most ShadowClan cats were horrid sometimes, but maybe it was just in their nature. Beepaw began to snicker along with her.

"I like your teeth!" she laughed.
"Oh! Thanks! I like your nose!" Beepaw jibed back, noting her flattened muzzle. The two crossed each others' paths without much else to say, and Beepaw sat down near the ThunderClan piece of the clearing.

---

Tanglepaw waved at the strange-toothed tom as she left him to his own business. What funny looking cats this forest had! She was sure that she was the strangest, though, and that made her the best. She found a warm, soft patch of land to lie on while the theatrics began.

---

ooc; Ferretnose is speaking to Zinnia, Aspenheart is speaking to the meddies, and Tanglepaw/Beepaw are both free!

Cedarpaw looked up, smiling. ”Hi! I’m Cedarpaw, from Thunderclan.” she mewed, happy to be in a non-hostile conversation. She hadn’t met many Skyclan cats before. It was exciting to meet a new cat.

Applepaw, avoiding Beepaw, walked up to Tanglepaw. ”Hi! I’m Applepaw.” he introduced himself.

Cherryblossom simply sat and watched as other cats approached and joined the group, enjoying cat-watching for the evening. She didn't really have a lot to say, and it was nice to get to sit and relax for the evening. When an unfamiliar she-cat approached, she was surprised when Dacedream jumped up and introduced the cat as Dappleshine, her mother.

With a purr, Cherryblossom stood and chirped,
"Nice to meet you! I'm Cherryblossom."