June Gathering 2020

Wildpaw relaxed as Sweetpaw approached. Her tail twitched, considering her friend's words. She opened her mouth to respond, but Clearpaw approached them, she smiled, surprised but happy. She shrugged slightly as Clearpaw remarked about liking the moor. "Honestly? I like the forest just as much... or, I think I would, anyway. Sometime I find it too scary, out on the wide-open moor..." Wildpaw talked a bit more confidently than she would've if she'd noticed Flurrypaw had joined them, but she hadn't. She trailed off, her ears flattening involuntarily, as a ShadowClan apprentice joined them. An older one, by her confident tone. Wildpaw wasn't sure if she liked the apprentice - Ebonypaw's - tone, as if she was implying that older apprentices were better, but if she could get a few friends outside of her Clan at her first Gathering, she'd be willing to give her the benefit of doubt. As yet another ShadowClan apprentice approached, Wildpaw simply stopped talking altogether, only murmuring a quiet, "Sure, I guess. I'm Wildpaw."

Ah yes, and SkyClan... She said, looking around the clearing as if puzzling over how to fit so many cats into one space. It seemed the clearing was already teeming with cats, and this was less than half of them. It suddenly wasn't so surprising gatherings took a turn for the worse. She nodded along as she listened to Clearpaw, this was definitely the time to meet other cats, though Sweetpaw was begining to find that gatherings were not so appealing now that she was in the midst of one. However at the moment the apprentice was perfectly content among her friends. Her ears twitch as Flurrypaw appears from the crowd. She flicks her tail in greeting, "It's good to see you Flurrypaw." It had been awhile since she had spoken to her denmate. It seemed they were all so busy that it was difficult to find a moment to talk. She casts an amused glance in his direction, knowing he was a bit left behind in the conversation but it is as warm as ever, despite their recent distance.

Her attention is drawn to a newcomer, distinctly not WindClan. Sweetpaw is a little unsure, the she-cat's scent muddy and a far cry from the familiar sun and heather that clung to the pelts of her clanmates. But the apprentice, who seemed older than the WindClan apprentices, was friendly enough. "Sweetpaw, it's my first gathering as well." She answers after Clearpaw, though with less enthusiasm. The next ShadowClan apprentice to approach the group was less warm, though Sweetpaw didn't mind. There was a twitch of irritation somewhere deep against her ribs at the molly's reaction to Wildpaw, though she didn't mention it, and her gaze was as mild as ever. However she did subtly scoot a little closer to the tawny apprentice, and laid her tail over her friend's back casually.

The tabby didn't find talking to the other apprentices all that appealing, and was grateful to be surrounded by familiar faces. She hums in thoughtful agreement with Clearpaw, "I can't say I'm overly found of trees."

Ebonypaw greeted Tanglepaw with a smile, oblivious to the fact that she flinched away from the poor, scarred apprentice. “Many cats received scars from the last Gathering...though I don’t think your friend was here. Hopefully...this time it will be different.” Ebonypaw scratched her neck self-consciously, where there was a tiny scar hidden inside her dark gray fur. It was nothing compared to what Smokepaw and some other cats had suffered. She smiled warmly at the tawny apprentice. “Scars are the price of a hard battle, but with them some cats know to fear you.”

ShadowClan and WindClan. For once, SkyClan wasn't late. Spottedstar actually wished they were and then the other leaders would be impatient and raring to say their parts and leave. After reconsidering the situation, Spottedstar instead wished that he was still in his damp, unappealing nest and not standing at the edge of Fourtrees with most of his clan waiting patiently behind him. Some key members were missing from their ranks this night. He sighed, staring down at Ravenstar and Flintstar. There would probably much criticism this night, but frankly there wasn't much they could say to him that he hadn't already said to himself. The pale spotted tabby steeled himself and then signalled for SkyClan to enter the clearing.

Spottedstar hung at the edge, letting his clan filter in as they pleased. He didn't want any attention until it was absolutely unavoidable.

Ebonypaw began to talk about Wildpaw's scars without any sort of hesitation and Clearpaw found himself starting to dislike this dark molly apprentice. Who was she to comment about Wildpaw's injuries as if they were nothing or, even worse, something to fear, and insinuating she was all high and mighty and wise because she was older? They were all still apprentices, after all. Clearpaw's whiskers twitched with dissatisfaction. Hopefully not every ShadowClan cat was like this. He gave Ebonypaw a sharp look before turning his attention back to Wildpaw. "I see what you mean, Wildpaw. The moor is wide and vast, there are all kinds of possible things hiding among the grass. But I could say the same about the forest. Maybe they're not as different as we think. What about you, Flurrypaw?" He swiveled his head around to look at his quieter friend, making sure to include him in the conversation.

---

Sagelight bumped his shoulder against Spottedstar's as he padded up next to him, giving his brother a sidelong look and a weary smile. The rest of SkyClan was entering the clearing, yet the stocky medicine cat stayed up by the treeline, giving quiet support to Spottedstar as they looked on at the other Clan cats below. Gatherings weren't typically Sagelight's thing as his hearing issues made it hard for him to keep up, but SkyClan was missing their deputy tonight for...reasons, so he figured he should come along. Besides, his brother needed him. Life in SkyClan wasn't particularly fun at the moment, and based on what the leader had told him, it didn't seem like many cats were pleased with SkyClan right now. Hopefully Sagelight could work on improving the political relations tonight.

"Take your time, but you do have to join eventually," he murmured, brushing his tail across Spottedstar's flank. "I'll be with the other medicine cats if you need me, big bro." With a final supportive headbutt into the taller tom's shoulder, Sagelight trotted down into the clearing, weaving in and out of cats until he reached the spot where the medicine cats sat.

"Hey Aspenheart, Mothglow! I hope you're doing well," he purred, sitting near his friends. Sagelight, in all honesty, looked just as worse for wear as he did at the medicine cat meeting, although he was doing a great job feigning picture-perfect health.

Ebonypaw frowned as the WindClan apprentice promptly ignored her and continued talking to his friend. Sighing, she got up and smiled at them tightly. “Please excuse me.” She left the group, heart feeling heavy again. I thought this Gathering would be different...turns out it’s the same. I can’t seem to do anything right...and I did see Smokepaw’s eye get blinded so I know scars...I know them physically and mentally. Ebonypaw didn’t have any friends in ShadowClan as she seemed to insult them without meaning to. Turns out that the other Clans hated her as well. Maybe she did go over with the “scars frighten your enemies”. Ebonypaw didn’t know. Breezepaw was right. She was too naive and oblivious about other’s feelings.

((Ebonypaw has left the group of apprentices feeling hurt and is now free to talk to. Please don’t exclude her anymore! She doesn’t have any friends so she needs some.))

Tanglepaw cringed a little as Ebonypaw's words washed over the other apprentices. She had offended them. So much for first impressions. Wildpaw and Flurrypaw seemed quite mild-tempered, perhaps a little skittish, and Tanglepaw felt the harsh sting of pity in her chest for them. Life was hard for the timid. Life was hard for the blind. Sweetpaw and Clearpaw were right to be hesitant, and for this, Tanglepaw found herself mirroring their reactions. She was never any good at being pleasant, but she could respect common sense. The coarse-furred apprentice smiled.

"It's a lot less wet in this part of the forest," she explained. "If the trees were pine and the ground was spongey, you'd pretty much be in ShadowClan. It's not much, but it feeds us. We hunt in the night... I'd venture to guess you fare best in the sunlight, since it's always on you. I see best here. I feel covered. Like I'm protected by the dark." She sat quiet for a moment. She had said too much, been too personal, rambled too long. What was small talk usually about? Tanglepaw cleared her throat. "You have good names. Clearpaw, Sweetpaw, Flurrypaw, Wildpaw... they mean good things. I almost feel like my name ended up being an insult. It could be worse... my mother could've named me Flatkit and doomed me for life!"

Gee, was that right? Time could only tell. She avoided the apprentice's eyes as she waited for them to decide on a reaction, looking slightly to the left, or up above them.

Redfall’s breath billowed around him as he entered the clearing. It might’ve been Newleaf, but the night was still cold. He glanced around, searching for familiar faces, but decided to simply sit at the edge of the clearing. His red fur was fluffed out against the cold, and his tail wrapped around his paws. If not for the foggy cloud of blinking of his eyes, he could’ve been mistaken for a statue.

The russet warrior looked up at the Great Rock. Raventail - was he Ravenstar now? Probably - and Flintstar were up there. As he watched, expecting Spottedstar to leap up, SkyClan filtered around their leader. Spottedstar hung back. Redfall wasn’t going to dwell on that. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to focus on the positive: This is my first Gathering as the warrior. The Righteous Few are wrong. I’m going to be fine.

Maybe if he thought everything was fine, it would be.

Flurrypaw nodded a greeting to the two other apprentices when they approached. He was still a bit uneasy but tried to not let it show. He introduced himself, but didn't say anything about how it was his first Gathering. But Ebonypaw had seemed to know. Flurrypaw felt the tenseness between the apprentices, then it registered that Ebonypaw had been talking about Wildpaw's scars.

He didn't understand why so many cats were like that about Wildpaw. She was still the same cat, just looking different. Not even that much different, at that. Flurrypaw had never thought of scars as a bad thing. They were just there, and Wildpaw hadn't had a say in it. It wasn't his place to mention appearance that a cat couldn't control.

At Clearpaw's prompt, Flurrypaw thought for a moment. The open moor was freeing, but it was nice to be out of sight. "I think that the trees can be good in moderation," he mewed plainly. "Like a big piece of prey. Too much or too little isn't good. I'd like to have a few more trees on the moor!"

Flurrypaw chuckled a little at Tanglepaw's remark. Flatkit... That would be something. But what she said about the names fit. His parents had named him on how his ear had flecks of white, like snowflakes.

As Clovertwist stood in the clearing, watching where WindClan settled, he noticed when SkyClan arrived, lead by their leader, Spottedstar. The ginger tom had stopped at the edge of the clearing, letting his Clan enter before him. He wasn't followed by his deputy, the one who had stayed to battle the previous moon, Clovertwist noted. He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, feeling a spark of annoyance. Had the SkyClan leader punished his own deputy simply for choosing to support the other Clans? The silver tabby tom shook his head and looked away from the tom to the forest Clan as they scattered into the clearing, merging with ShadowClan and WindClan. It was strange - like nothing had happened. Clovertwist let his gaze wander, still uncertain where he wanted to be.

Eaglepaw was unsetled about what to do...during the last gathering cat's had fought one another in the battle of the Righteous Few. That had been her first gathering as an apprentice, so she was unsure about what to do in this gathering; would this gathering to end in bloodshed, death and spirits? She wondered about the clearing unsure about what to do when she spotted her mentor just drifting around looking for their clanmates. She sighed a big sigh of relief that she recognized someone and headed over to meet, or rather 'shadow' her mentor, and see how this gathering turned out.

OCC: Eaglepaw is open to talk to.

Clovertwist glanced over his shoulder at the sound of an approaching cat, a look of quiet relief on his face to see Eaglepaw's distinct spotting as she settled near him. "You're welcome to sit with me," the warrior invited his apprentice with a slight smile, figuring already that that was why she'd come over. "I like Gatherings better when I'm not sitting alone - it's good to have someone to talk to." He moved his crimped tail to the other side to make more room for Eaglepaw. He looked around some more, then meowed, "I know I didn't really get to tell you much at the last Gathering - ShadowClan was here when we arrived, and SkyClan's walking in right now. Hopefully this time it'll be easier to figure out who's who."

Eaglepaw padded over and sat beside her mentor. "Thanks." she said simply. "Last time I was here the gathering exploded into fighting, are you sure that it won't be like that this time?" she asked with a nervous glace at some of the older, stronger warriors. "If it is, I don't see what the big deal about coming to the gathering is all about then, all you do is fight one another when you can simply do that along the borders and over prey." she shrugged not concerned about what she was saying. She was nervous to be among so many older warrior's that whatever she was thinking just tumbled out of her mouth.

Though it had been less than a moon since she'd found out she was pregnant again, Ivystar's belly was noticeably larger than it had been at the previous gathering. Anyone who didn't know might think that she'd just gotten a little fuller, especially given the fact that prey was more abundant than ever. It was a perfectly reasonable thing to assume- so she'd decided that if anyone asked, that was what she'd say. The prospect of it all was simply terrifying- she didn't know if perhaps she was carrying these kits when she'd fought Sunspark... And died in the process. She didn't know what would happen to her poor kits if that was the case- she did know, however, that she wouldn't be able to take losing another entire litter. It would just crush her. That being said, she wouldn't allow the other Clans to see such a weakness- meaning she had to pretend like everything was normal again. So, with her chin up, she padded into Fourtrees with Stormbringer at her side and her Clan trailing behind her. She didn't bother stopping to talk with anyone around her and instead made a beeline for the rock. After jumping onto the rock, she managed a simple nod towards Flintstar and Ravenstar and a more curt one toward Spottedstar. While she didn't support his choices at the last Gathering, she understood and respected them.

Fernpaw excitedly bounded into the gathering. She wanted to talk to some cats!

Vinepaw stalked into the clearing, glancing around. He was looking for someone... but who?

Fernpaw and Vinepaw are open to talk!