June Gathering 2020

Flintstar watched in silence as WindClan arrived and Raventail - hm, no doubt Ravenstar by now - joined him on the rock. And SkyClan as well, although Spottedstar was nowhere to be seen. He narrowed his eyes, scanning the clearing for the missing leader. Was the leader so hesitant to show his face after he had left them to fight their own battle last Gathering? Flintstar held no ill-will, he had respected the choice. It was their duty to put their Clan first, and SkyClan hadn't been in harms way when it came to The Righteous Fews' threats. Ah well, no doubt Spottedstar would join them at some point. Finally RiverClan arrived, causing the leader to sit a little upright as he spotted Ivystar weaving through the crowd before she jumped up to join them.

"Ah, Ivystar," he called out as she took her spot, scooting slightly closer to take her side. "Before the Gathering starts, I...Actually had something I wished to speak to you about," he said, his voice becoming a little hushed as suddenly he felt...Nervous. The words died on his tongue as he tried to come up with what he had planned to say on the walk here but he shook his head and pressed forward anyways. "I...This might not be exactly my place to ask but...Is there any of Torrentstar's family still alive in RiverClan?"

Emberpaw scowled as he caught sight of a WindClan apprentice. The same one he’d beaten, and the same one who’d almost pushed him into the thunderpath. Twice. Pointedly ignoring her, he weaved his way near another gaggle of apprentices, noting how Ebonypaw had seemed dejected as she’d walked away from them. Ears pricked, he followed her, pushing through cats until he found her, tapping her shoulder with his tail to alert her of his presence. “Ebonypaw? You doing alright?”

Wildpaw wasn’t sure if she felt comfortable talking. Her tail flicked angrily as the ShadowClan apprentice seemed a bit... lofty, maybe. She didn’t know the right word. As if Ebonypaw was trying to be nice, but hadn’t. The tawny molly turned back to the next apprentice - Tanglepaw - and smiled. She seemed nice. Trying to be a bit more social, she meowed, “It’s true! My mom named me Wildkit. Maybe she wanted me to be wild? I’m not...” She winced slightly as she thought about Larkflight. Well, maybe this is the first step towards that: being social!

Nightwolf padded into the gathering, his scars healing well. With a smile on his face, he sat down, wagging his tail excitedly. A normal gathering, where everything was fine. No fighting, no evil starclan cats, just peace. Well at least thats what Nightwolf thought.

OOC: Nightwolf is open to talk to! Come up to this oblivous, happy boi

Ashpaw padded into the clearing, feeling grumpy as always. Last time the gathering had been... chaotic and she didn't get the chance to speak to anyone from another clan. This time, though, she would try to know some other cats. Despite not interested in "making allies" as Ebonypaw had put it, she wanted to learn some more about the other clans. It would definitely help her when she became a warrior, which would happen very soon.

Ashpaw is open to talk to!

Making her way into the gathering, Tulipfang made her way into the clearing after her mother, Ravenmist. There was a feeling of calm in the air, although of course cats still chattered nervously about how the night might go. She wished her father had been able to join her, but he was still recovering and decided it be best to stay and protect the clan, just in case. So now, she stood in the clearing, wondering who to chat with.

~~~~~~~~~~

Great StarClan why did he always need to go to the gatherings? He'd much rather have stayed at camp, but for whatever reason, some-cat or other always managed to drag his cowardly rump to the crammed clearing. He wasn't one to talk nor did he necessarily want to carry on conversation with any-cat, for he'd most likely make a fool of himself, per usual...

OOC: Both my kiddos are free to chat! <3

Ebonypaw smiled at Emberpaw. “I’m fine...I think. How are you doing?” She asked, feeling slightly cheered up. “Do you...do you think that...this Gathering will be...I don’t know...like the last one?” She shuddered and curled her tail around her paws. Casting a glance at the rest of the gathered cats, she spotted the group of WindClan apprentices and flinched. I really didn’t mean to...

Streamtail padded into the clearing, recovered from her recent birth. Sitting down uncomfortably, she watched the rest of the gathered cats in silence. ThunderClan is late. She noted, green eyes sweeping around the crowd. “Well...hopefully this time...the Gathering is peaceful...” Streamtail had been wounded pretty badly in the fight with StarClan, or rather, the Righteous Few. Now she had kits to take care of...and that seemed even more frightening.

Applefang walked in, his voice unusually unheard. The ginger tom didn’t forgive himself, but still hoped nothing bad would happen. Luckily, none of his kits had been apprenticed yet, and so he hadn’t the need to worry for their safety. Feeling down, he consoled himself by finding a seat next to Nightwolf, his brother. With a nod in his direction, he sighed, and looked up at the sky, studying it.

feel free to talk to him!

When Eaglepaw asked if Clovertwist was sure that the Gathering wouldn't be like the last, he winced slightly and stalled, "Weeellll..." No, he wasn't sure another fight wouldn't break out, truthfully, but it most likely wouldn't occur to the same magnitude as the last - and it certainly wouldn't involve StarClan and the banished Righteous Few. He snorted, smiled, and shook his head at her next words. "The Gathering is meant to be peaceful. The last two Gatherings were... uh... kind of an exception." He lowered his voice and added under his breath, "I hope." Louder, Clovertwist continued, "We don't fight here, Eaglepaw, we learn. Trust me - it's useful to know about the cats over the border before you have to face them for battle."

Sweetpaw watched as the conversation went south, and perhaps there was a spark of regret somewhere in her that Ebonypaw had her feelings hurt, it was smothered by the jab of irritation she felt when the molly drew more attention to Wildpaw's scars. Were all cats this nosy? Perhaps it was only natural on first encounters, but all the same it didn't sit well with Sweetpaw. She sits quietly, relieved that the group had settled into a more neterual conversation. The tabby raises her head to look around, RiverClan and SkyClan had arrived, and she spotted the slinking shape of Spottedstar, who her mentor had only venom for. At this point the clearing was alive with conversation and a myriad of pelts and cat-shapes. And she knew it wouldn't be long before the meeting started in earnest, it seemed they were only waiting for ThunderClan.

The apprentice relaxed into the conversation, taking a moment to flatten the ruffled fur on her shoulder while she listened. "I think your name could mean anything you want it to. After-all, you're the one stuck with it." She added, twitching her tail playfully. "You are wild enough for me." She gives Wildpaw a comforting nudge. She was much more comfortable with her current company. She glances at Clearpaw, it was an uncommon name, and one that didn't make much sense when they were in the nursery. However now it seemed natural, a reflection of him, and anything else wouldn't quite sit right over his narrow shoulders. She wondered if all queens were as apt at naming kits. Her own name was about as straightforward as they came. Maybe there was more to it, a path she couldn't see yet. She looks around the group, her friends, an outsider, dark and gray and golden, and like the cover of the trees or the openness of the moor, maybe at their core, they weren't so different after all.

"Heya Applefang! Its really peaceful tonight isn't it?" Asked Nightwolf towards his brother. Nightwolf was more oblivous then ever, thinking that last gathering's events were done for and cats were fine. Seemed that was the case for only Nightwolf.

OOC: Nightwolf is talking to Applefang!

Clearpaw held his tongue, listening rather absently to his friends and Tanglepaw as the clearing became alive with cats. He had already picked up on ShadowClan's scent, both Tanglepaw and her denmate Ebonypaw harbored that smell. Two more Clans had filtered in, and by the chatter that picked up around them, Clearpaw took these Clans to be SkyClan and RiverClan. RiverClan, he noted, had a distinctly wet smell to them, and something more. A fish smell, perhaps, although he had never even seen a fish before, let alone smell one. SkyClan, on the other paw, smelled of the forest, of pine and stone. This was his first time scenting these things, although Crowspirit had spoken to him about how to differentiate the different Clan scents.

The tall apprentice raised his head, craning his neck to look over the sea of cats. There were only three leaders up on the Highrock. Ravenstar, a large dark tom he guessed was Flintstar, and a sleek molly that was probably Ivystar. Where was Spottedstar, the SkyClan leader? As he looked around, he noticed an older, pale spotted tom hanging back by the trees that led to SkyClan. That must be him, he thought, frowning as he tucked his tail neatly around his paws. He had heard about what Spottedstar had done at the last Gathering from talk around camp. Honestly, for once, he could see both sides of the argument. Spottedstar was looking out for the best interest of his Clan, but maybe not the best interest of the forest as a whole.

Clearpaw shuffled his paws. What was the right answer? Who was right, Spottedstar or the rest of the forest?

...But there was no time to think about these things now. He tuned back into the conversation his friends were having. Something about names. "I have a theory that my mother named me because of my eyes," he offered. "Although, the more I sit with my name, the more I feel as if it fits me quite well. Names are funny that way."

Fernpaw looked around in wonder at the other clans. She knew they were still just cats, and she had seen a lot of them before, but all the scents! All the pelt varieties! All the... well... everything! She just hoped somebody would talk to her.

Vinepaw sat down and waited for the gathering to start, he just wanted to do this then go home!

Both are open to talk too!

After giving his brief bit of advice to Eaglepaw, Clovertwist looked around hopefully for a cat to greet who might be able to help him prove his point to his apprentice. He spotted a friendly-looking ginger-patched she-cat. Her coat was sleek, and the warrior suspected she might be RiverClan. He stood, flicking Eaglepaw gently with his kinked tail to motion for her to go with him as he moved a few tail-lengths towards the she-cat. "Hey, do you mind some company?" Clovertwist asked her with a smile. "I'm Clovertwist, this is my apprentice, Eaglepaw. We're from WindClan. What's your name?" He waited hopefully.

ooc; Clover's talking to Fernpaw! :)

Briarthorn padded into the gathering, feeling overconfident as usual. Ravenstar had revived his nine lives, he had defended his borders from trespassers, and Newleaf was getting ready to give way to Greenleaf. The sun was rising earlier and earlier, warming their pelts with it's rays. Briarthorn sat down in his usual place near the Great Rock. They had chased off the Righteous Few, and would now get to enjoy gatherings once more.

Foxspirit walked next to her daughter as they entered the gathering. Hopefully, this would be a peaceful one. She watched as Spottedstar arrived, letting his clan enter before him. Here eyes narrowed. He, and most of his lousy Clan had abandoned them the moment times got tough, when they had needed them the most. Would the battle have gone differently if they had stayed?Probably. But Spottedstar was too much of a coward to stay. Foxspirit wanted nothing to do with them. The ones who had stayed to fight, she had a greater respect for them. They were still SkyClan, of course, but they were better than the rest of their Clan.

OOC: Both my cats are open to talk!

Spotlake glanced over at her mother and gave a smile."Do you think that this might be a normal gathering?" Asked Spotlake to Foxspirit. The past few gatherings had been well intense but hopefully this one will be calmer.

OOC: Spotlake is talking to Foxspirit