May Gathering 2020 [Sitewide Plot Finale]

Flintstar's gaze was dark as he stepped foot into Fourtrees, his Clan behind him. The ShadowClan leader was expecting the worst from this Gathering, certain that the wrath of The Righteous Few would befall them. The sickness was only the first step... An anger burned in the tom's chest at the thought, of how Sparkfire had driven herself so hard to get the herbs to heal Asterspark...And then StarClan had sent him right back to death's door. He and the rest of ShadowClan knew it was their doing, it had to be. Perhaps they knew of the rebellion that ShadowClan was spurring forth, perhaps it had been their price. But that would be it - Flintstar would fight tooth and claw in the hopes that Thornstar would be the only ShadowClan cat to fall to their foul schemes.

His tail swished as he leapt onto the Great Rock, glancing around as he took his spot. He already had a feeling that the Gathering would be interrupted once again - perhaps it wasn't even worth planning out what he would announce. This was the rare moment that all the Clans would be gathered - a perfect spot for The Righteous Few to boast and make demands. ...But he had a feeling things would not go well. All of ShadowClan was ready to revolt, so much of WindClan must have felt the same way after the death of Finchstar. It was hard to know where RiverClan and SkyClan stood - he would hope that Ivystar stood with him but he was not about to make assumptions when lives were on the line. Spottedstar...He had more doubts for, there was no allegiances between SkyClan and any other as far as he was aware. Spottedstar would only be worrying about his own cats. And ThunderClan...

Well, their leader was staying with ShadowClan now. He hoped that they wanted him back enough to help wage war against StarClan if it was to come to that. It was so clear that violence was how this was going to end - The Righteous Few controlled with fear and force and he was done cowering like a feeble kitten. He couldn't be sure if it would be tonight or another time... But if StarClan - The Righteous Few - were as all-seeing... Then a Gathering would be a perfect spot to stop and try to break the spirit of rebellion that was rising within them. Part of him wished this was all a nightmare, that every life lost was just a fragment of a terrible, twisted dream. That he would wake up and Thornstar would still be leader, and he still deputy...

But that dream had been shattered long ago. This was his life, his path. This shadow had stained his leadership so far... His eyes rose to stare at the stars, ears twitching. ...Would he ever break free from their threat?

Ebonypaw was excited. This was her first Gathering anyways! She couldn’t wait to meet other apprentices, and chat with them. She was a rather young apprentice, but she had heard about something tragic happened in the last Gathering. Her dark grey fur blended into the shadows, and she sat under a tree.
(Ebonypaw is open to talk to!)

Goldenpaw followed her mentor and leader into Fourtrees. This was her first Gathering, embarrassingly enough. She had heard gossip about the past Gatherings, and from what she gathered they appeared to have been very unpleasant. All she could hope for was that this one wouldn't be like the stories she'd heard about, though it would be very interesting if it was. With a gentle sigh, she sat down and waited for the other four Clans to arrive.

Goldenpaw is open to talk to!

Sparkfire followed in after her brother and the rest of her Clanmates. She was curious about how this night would play out. StarClan had remained silent for far too long, and in her opinion, they needed to get over themselves. Sure, breaking the warrior code by displaying loyalty to other cats or Clans was taboo, but that didn’t mean they had to abandon them.

This had gotten her thinking about Honeypaw and Zinnia. She had taken quite a liking to both the SkyClan apprentice and the WindClan warrior. But with all of this going on with StarClan, she was considering cutting ties with them both. She didn’t want to hurt either of them by befriending them anymore than she already had, nor did she want her brother and father to lose her should their warrior ancestors come after her. She sighed softly and lowered her head. She had made up her mind.

Ebonypaw spotted a pale golden-cream apprentice that she didn’t know. She seemed to be from ShadowClan. Padding up slowly to the other she cat, she introduced herself. “Hi...I’m Ebonypaw. I haven’t seen you around before...who are you?” Ebonypaw asked, slightly curious.

Mothglow was close behind Flintstar tonight, head held high. The experience was an echo of a memory, the sounds of her clanmates falling into step behind them familiar and yet distant - this was a gathering of cats, to be sure, but it was no Gathering. There would be blood tonight, if not between the clans then between them and their common enemy.

She was a medicine cat, called to heal and stand apart from rivalries and violence. But this was more than some petty squabble over borders and prey - this was something that threatened their way of life, something that had torn her adoptive mother's life away.

This was something that had to be stopped.

Following him into the clearing proper, she knew what she was doing. One paw in front of the other, head held high, as she marched to war with her clan and kin: Flintstar took his place on the Great Rock, and she settled into her usual place where the medicine cats would gather.

The formality was usually something she looked forward to, but tonight it just added to the lingering sense of dread and anticipation she felt.

Ashpaw padded into the clearing, following her leader and clanmates. She took a seat in the shadows near the back and glanced around, waiting for someone she could speak to. But since ShadowClan was the only clan there, she stayed silent and observed instead. It was her first gathering, and she doubted it would be peaceful. She dug her claws into the soft ground, wondering what would happen to them.

Ashpaw is open to talk to!

Ebonypaw waited for the golden she cat to say something, when suddenly, she spotted Ashpaw. Unsure what to do, she called out. “Hey, Ashpaw! Come sit with us.” Immediately, she regretted her decision, knowing Ashpaw would most likely just glare at them and pad away somewhere farther. Ashpaw had made it clear that she didn’t want friends, and didn’t like random cats asking to be friends either.

The first time he’d led WindClan to a Gathering, Raventail had felt like a mouse among rats. Tonight, he just felt…lost. Part of the blame for that fell on StarClan; the illness had subsided (how long would that last?), but struggling to keep food down for so many sunrises had left him wobbly and foggy-headed. The rest, though… Even standing at the outermost edge of Fourtrees brought back everything he’d seen here a moon ago. Grief, self-doubt, fear of what he and his Clan might find past the ancient oaks; it gnawed at his gut, threatening to pull him down. But he continued on. He’d been no worse off than Dappleshine, Zinnia, and Ploverpuddle, yet they all walked in the crowd of warriors behind him, targets of StarClan’s wrath just like he’d been. Here, Finchstar had looked the Righteous Few in the face and dared them to kill him, him alone. The least Raventail could do was dig up his own courage.

WindClan was among the first to arrive. His Clanmates fell away to find their own spots in the grass; Raventail set off toward the Great Rock. At the rock’s base, he paused, pulled up a smile, and turned to face Olivestone, giving her shoulder a sound tap with his tail. ”Good luck tonight,” he meowed. ”You’ll be great.” She’d done wonderfully as deputy and as leader (from what he’d heard, anyway; he hadn’t been coherent enough to see most of it for himself). No doubt she would have led WindClan just as well tonight, but he’d insisted. Despite the numbness and fear that had settled side by side in his chest, he knew his purpose: to be a thorn in StarClan’s side for as long as they’d allow. The dark tom thought for a moment, then said, ”Say hi to the other deputies for me?”

With that, he heaved himself onto the Great Rock. His paws, slipping against the stone, carried him to the place he’d been entrusted with. As he passed Flintstar, he paused. So much had been said the previous moon, it was impossible to remember it all, but he could recall his Clanmates’ attempts at comfort, Aspenheart’s vow against the stars—and Flintstar’s parting words, offering condolences and wishing WindClan well as he’d led ShadowClan away. Maybe taking him at his word was naïve, but Raventail could do nothing less. He dipped his head to the larger tom, then turned to face the clearing, breathing steadily for the first time in many nights.

Dappleshine stumbled in after her mate, keeping her eyes trained on his pelt as they walked. He had been her guiding light the last several sunrises, she had to be strong for him. And if he was going to this Gathering to face the other clans and the stars for what they had done, then she would stay by his side. She had longed to encourage him to keep his paws on the ground, fear for her love threatening to fill her throat, but this was something she knew he had to do. And if he was determined to do it, who was she to try to talk him out of it? Instead, she positioned herself on the edge of the clearing near ThunderClan's border. If she had been sick, and it was the wrath of the Righteous Few, how had Dacedream fared? Her sole surviving biological daughter surely had to be alright..... She huffed as she watched Raventail climb to the top of the rock to stand along side Flintstar, and the worm of worry grew. The air was tense, quiet, broken only by the murmurs from some apprentices and still... Too still. Her chest was gripped by a bout of coughing, and she turned her head down towards the ground, hunching over.

---

Goldengale made her way into the clearing of Fourtrees quietly, keeping her head low. She had gone to the last meeting led by Morningpaw, and she had a feeling the time had come. When Clovertwist had told her about the meetings, she had been a bit taken aback, but as she saw the sickness wrap it's fingers around those the Righteous Few thought unworthy, she knew something had to be done. Even now, as she watched her old mentor climb to the Greatrock, her heart twisted. Just past him, having settled on the far edge of the clearing was Dappleshine, the previously RiverClan cat. Her jaw tightened as she looked for her brother nervously. Grousefrost had stayed in camp, to her (selfish) relief. If something happened..... She didn't want to think about the possibilities.

Maybe there were cats that Clovertwist should have stayed near for the Gathering with such a feeling of foreboding over it, but he felt too antsy to deal with small talk and pleasantries. He wondered if any of his Clanmates - or any of the members of the revolution - felt the same. Were they going to try to mingle with the other Clan cats? Maybe it was better to so they didn't have to stand divided like they had the first night. Clovertwist followed his Clan into the clearing and dispersed with the rest of them, his eyes sweeping over the clearing. ShadowClan was present, Flintstar standing stood and silent atop the Great Rock as usual. Raventail scrambled his way up, and Clovertwist grimaced to see the sorry display in the weakened leader, but he knew the dark tom would hold his own. Eventually Clovertwist settled, looking pensive.

Spotlake padded into the gathering and sat down.

OOC: Spotlake is open to talk to!

An uneasy feeling had wormed its way into Ivystar's heart, but she wouldn't dare show it.

The tabby she-cat held her head high as she padded into Fourtrees, hoping that the sacred truce would be honored tonight. Inside she knew that was simply impossible- if the Righteous Few decided to show their faces tonight, they would be met with hostility, that much was certain. Part of her hoped that they would, just so that she could sink her claws into their starry fur and show them just what the forest was made of. The rest of her, however, hoped that they kept to the stars. Fear for the safety of her Clanmates caused this more than anything. She had eight extra lives to spare, but they did not- if she lost any of them, she'd surely blame herself. After looking to Honeytongue and Stormbringer for encouragement, she began weaving her way through the crowd, careful not to bump into anyone else.

Waiting for a moment when she reached the base of the Great Rock, she gazed at the Clans surrounding her. She could smell the sickness on their pelts as well, so it was obvious that RiverClan wasn't the only Clan affected by the plague. Once Stormbringer was at her side, she nuzzled her shoulder affectionately. "If something happens tonight... Make sure that you and Honeytongue are safe. I can't stand to lose either of you." After a moment at the she-cat's side, she nodded and leaped up the Great Rock. Her gaze first locked on Raventail... Ravenstar? She wasn't sure. He seemed to be infected with the sickness. Shaking her head briefly, she sat in her position alongside the two toms. "Is Dappleshine okay?" She assumed the she-cat had also fallen ill, considering she was formerly a RiverClan cat. "And how is ShadowClan faring, with the illness?" RiverClan's alliance with ShadowClan was still strong, so it was in her best interest to ask.

Softpaw and Downpaw followed their leader in, eyes dark and clouded. Something terrible was going to happen tonight, she feared. "Downpaw, stay by Dappleshine. I fear something may happen to her. I'll keep my eyes on Raventail." She whispered, and her brother nodded, heading off to sit beside the older she-cat. Anxiously, Softpaw walked to where the other medicine cats were to gather, eyes focused on her scrawny black leader's pelt as he struggled upon the Great Rock.