June Gathering 2020

Applefang shrugged. ”I dunno...” The warrior’s eyes turned towards his brother’s. ”Nightwolf, I...I feel like a coward. I didn’t even fight at the last gathering. I just hid!” he singled, his eyes filling with shakes.


—-

Cedarheart nodded, and also drew in quietly when she heard the loud voice of the leader. ”Thanks.” she said, her voice a whisper that only the tom could hear. ”It’s strange, having a normal gathering.” she mewed. And it was. The last few ones she had gone too had been clouded with worry and fear, from everyone.

Without so much as a glance toward any of them, Spottedstar scaled the Great Rock, yowled out a call for silence, and launched into SkyClan’s announcements. Ravenstar couldn’t blame anyone for wanting this Gathering over with. Still, he guessed Spottedstar’s reasons couldn’t be more different from his own. His ears twitched as he listened. Predators, new names, a life lost (unrelated to the Righteous Few, he assumed). No acknowledgement of what had happened last moon. If Spottedstar had no interest in discussing it, Ravenstar would let the issue lie; he wasn’t even sure what he could say, much less what he wanted to. When Spottedstar’s turn ended, Flintstar, apparently not quite done with what he’d wanted to discuss with Ivystar, stepped forward. Though his announcements were brief, ShadowClan seemed to be doing well. By a miracle, the forest was recovering.

As Flintstar stepped back, Ravenstar took his place, glancing over his shoulder at Oakstar one last time. He inhaled, trying to remember how it’d felt to project his voice over Fourtrees seasons ago without also remembering the fear that had gone with it. Best to get the toughest part out of the way first. ”First, I’d like to introduce myself—or, uh, reintroduce myself. My name is Ravenstar. You might’ve already met Olivestone, my deputy.” Another breath. ”WindClan’s starting to recover—prey’s running well, and the nights are getting warmer. In the last few moons, we’ve had six new apprentices: Eaglepaw, Fogpaw, Clearpaw, Wildpaw, Flurrypaw, and Sweetpaw.” Despite his nerves, he couldn’t stifle his pride as he spoke his daughter’s name, and again when he mentioned his former apprentice a moment later. ”Smallbean, Maplewhisker, and Morningdove earned their warrior names.” How could he explain what had happened to Morningdove? Was he even supposed to explain it? The decision was his; it would’ve been easier otherwise. In the end, he moved on, uncertainty lingering in his expression. Though he didn’t want to poke at fresh wounds, knowing many of the cats most affected were here, there were a few more names worth mentioning. ”Larkflight also became a warrior, but…she died after the Gathering. We lost Graybriar and Starlingpaw as well.” Ravenstar lingered for a moment, trying to think of a brighter place to end his announcements. Nothing came to mind. He bowed his head, said, ”That’s all,” and returned to his seat beside Oakstar. Just like that, it was over—for tonight.

Nightwolf wrapped his tail around his brother, comfortingly. "Hey don't worry about it. Plenty of cats didn't fight." He perked up when Spottedstar called the gathering. "Oh hey the gatherings starting."

"It is s-strange, i've never been to a normal gathering, ever. Every gathering i remember has been t-tainted w-with by the righteous few." He shuddered, even just mentioning those awful cats. Unlike most of the other warriors here, he didn't have any happy memories of gatherings, just fear and violence. He pushed it to the back of his mind, forcing himself to pay attention to the leaders. The purpose of a gathering was to share news of the happenings in other clans, after all.

Cedarheart nodded. ”Yeah, it’s been weird pretty much since I was born.” Right about then, the conversation sort of drew closed as Smallbean turned his attention. It wa s the time to listen, and she shut her mouth, listening to the news of the clans.

Applefang smiled, ”Thanks..” He said, quietly, but a bit more cheerfully. He listened to Skyclan’s news, and waited to hear how the other clans had been faring since last time. He hoped nothing bad would happen. Was a normal, peaceful gathering too much to ask? Ooo

Just like that, Spottedstar was up on the rock and speaking, finally kicking the Gathering into motion with his own announcements. Pushing aside her mild disdain for him, she nodded along as he spoke. While she had her biases, she couldn't condemn SkyClan's healthy growth, and for that, she was happy for them. When it was Flintstar's turn to speak, she too nodded along at his short report, glad to know that ShadowClan, too, was thriving.

When Ravenstar stepped up to speak, she couldn't help but smile, and sat up a little straighter as he called out her name, announcing her as the new deputy. Even though the smile on her face never wavered, her heart sank a little upon the mention of her former apprentice. She wished that Morningdove could have come to this Gathering with her full name, to see what she'd tried so hard, with success, to protect.

It was true enough he supposed. The offer of looking out for Stormpaw’s reappearance within the clans made his head raise. He nodded, thankful, and listened to the other leaders while they made their announcements. All of them seemed to be none the worse for wear from the great battle. His gaze fell to the cats of his own clan. He could see the fractures within it from here. Could any of the others? Possibly… but he had to hope that they didn’t.

His head lifted, and he nodded in respect to Ravenstar when the tom finished. The front of the rock didn’t usually feel so… difficult. In normal gatherings, the weight of many eyes had been just the average. Something he bore with honour and pride, but staring at those very fractures made it difficult to feel proud at all.

"Thunderclan… our territory is well. As a clan… one of our clanmates is missing. " My daughter. His mind supplied, "Stormpaw has not been seen since the morning after the great battle… and we have lost one warrior due to treason during the battle." He swallowed back the urge to say her name. He wanted to acknowledge her… but at the same time. She had betrayed them, betrayed him so viciously… he felt his nerve draining into the stone.

"Thunderclan is healing, but we will recover." eventually. Oakstar stepped away from the front of the rock. His head turned to Ravenstar, his pain clear in amber eyes while he remembered the kindly Finchstar who had been Ravenstar’s successor. "The alliance between our clans remains extended to you Ravenstar. May your reign be more peaceful." He stepped back. His head lowered a bit. A wince and twitch of his head as pain prickled at his hips uncomfortably.

Ravenstar followed after Flintstar, and Clovertwist perked up slightly to see his new leader there on the Great Rock. The dark-furred tom had a ghostly silhouette in the moonlight, but even from across the clearing the friendliness and familiarity of his yellow eyes was apparent. Clovertwist listened as Ravenstar introduced himself and his deputy, Olivestone, to the Clans officially. If he'd been in brighter spirits, he might've let out a short yowl for his many Clanmates who'd received new names over the last moon; instead he just let the pride flicker in his belly before fizzling out again. Ravenstar's announcement noted his elderly mother Graybriar's death as well, and Clovertwist glanced down solemnly. He took in a breath, sighed, and then looked up while Oakstar stepped forward to speak next.

Clovertwist frowned slightly at the exhaustion in Oakstar's voice. He had certainly suffered one of the harsher fates of the leaders - only Finchstar, who'd been put to sleep forever, had suffered comparably, and even so the former WindClan leader was now reunited with his loves in StarClan, never to fight or starve or freeze again. ThunderClan's report was brief but telling; their Clan was tired. Oakstar assured Ravenstar that the alliance between their Clans remained, and Clovertwist felt an odd sense of peace and alarm simultaneously - peace to protect them and an alliance to bind and perhaps someday agitate each other. He shook his head. It's not that bad. Nothing's that bad. Let it go. He looked for Ivystar, the one who would be last to speak, as Spottedstar, Flintstar, Ravenstar, and Oakstar had reported. What had happened with the RiverClan leader since the battle?

Ivystar grunted almost inaudibly as Spottedstar abruptly began the gathering, nodding slowly to Flintstar. They'd continue their conversation later, when there were nothing and no one there to interrupt them. She hardly listened to the news shared by other leaders, as she was preoccupied- focusing intently on each little movement in her stomach. The movement was good, she supposed- it meant there was life. She shook her head as she caught the tail-end of Oakstar's report, noting that there was seemingly no strain on the alliance between ThunderClan and WindClan. Once Oakstar was back in his spot, the she-cat stood up. Her head began to spin a bit, and she fumbled as she tried to step forward. Well, so much for not alerting the other Clans to anything abnormal. After taking a moment to regain her balance, she fully stepped forward and stared blankly ahead, her voice just as plain and untelling as it always was. "Snowflight, Streamtail, and Willowbreeze have earned their warrior names, and we have many apprentices nearing warriorhood. RiverClan is still recovering from the battle, but we are fortunate to have come home bearing no losses." Ivystar shifted slightly to offer Oakstar her sympathies before turning to face the Clans again. "The River has begun to become a bit... parched, but nonetheless, we have managed to get by." This time, Ivystar got up slowly, and once she was sure she would be okay to walk, she quietly returned to her place next to Flintstar.

Daisybloom walked into the gathering behind her leader. As she settled down by the medicine cats, she nodded too her companions quietly. Even though her confidence had grown, she still felt awkward standing among them. It was different within Thunderclan, where she knew cats better. Here, she knew only about a fifth of them, really.


Cedarheart followed after the medicine cats with a grin. She had gotten her first apprentice, and was ecstatic about that. She had a new little brother, which was great. He hadn’t been chosen to come to the gathering, sadly. But he would have fun at camp. She looked around for someone to converse with on the warm greenleaf night.


Applefang held up his head as he walked into the gathering. He felt better, more proud of himself. Really, he yearned for an apprentice. It would be a fun experience for him, and he loved younger cats. He wondered if him and Streamtail would have a second litter. Maybe he would get to apprentice one of his sons or daughters.

ooc: all are open to talk!