August Gathering 2020

Flintstar had pulled back to sit with the Ravenstar and Ivystar, eyes remaining fixed on the edges of the clearing but as time passed on, he quickly started to lose hope that SkyClan was going to show up. No, it was better to get that explanation that Foxfire had mentioned. "The Gathering is starting!" the leader called out, taking a step forward. "But before any of the present leaders speak...We've all heard the whispers of the fire on SkyClan's territory. It seems none of us have seen SkyClan since...Other than for a lone warrior that ThunderClan seems to have brought with them," he said, eyes falling to the base of the rock where Foxfire sat. "Foxfire, if you would? You mentioned you had an announcement to make?"


Foxfire had failed to find the words to respond to Olivestone, simply curling in on himself as he slicked his ears back - unable to stand listening to the whispers about SkyClan any longer...Mostly when he was having no trouble picking up what the ThunderClan warrior Batbite was saying. He jolted as Flintstar's voice boomed across the clearing, blood running cold as he turned his head up as the leader mentioned the fire...And his heart sank as Flintstar turned all of the attention onto him.

"I...Um, right," he said, barely holding back a whimper as he pushed himself to his paws. He didn't know what he was going to say, he just...He had to tell them what he knew. "H-Hello. My name is Foxfire - you might know me for once being SkyClan's deputy...Not that it matters, I'm just a warrior now... Um. L-Last night, SkyClan was awoken to calls of fire. We all rushed to get out and make sure nobody got left behind - Spottedstar ended up sending me to warn ThunderClan," he said, trying to make sure his voice was loud enough to be heard from his postition at the base of the rock. "So...I did - I ran straight to ThunderClan's territory where I...Uh, ran into Oakstar," he said, not wanting to mention the fact that he had gotten hopelessly loss and had given up before the leader had stumbled across him.

"I told him about the fire and he went with me to check on the rest of SkyClan - the plans was to meet at the river..." there was a long silence, as his face grew dark, shoulders slumping as a sniffle escaped him. "...SkyClan wasn't there. There was so much smoke and soot and ash and...I-I couldn't even tell if they had been there at all. I-I have no idea where SkyClan is. Where my fa-family is and..." he broke off, a hiccup of a sob escaping him as he sank to her haunches. "I-I miss them so much. I promised Spottedstar that I would see him again and I don't know if any of my Clanmates are safe or if they are...If they are..." he couldn't finished the sentence, tears starting to run down his face as he gave his head a shake. "T-ThunderClan was nice enough to let me stay if - until we find my Clan but...I...I just want to see my dad again." At that, he broke down fuly into tears as he buried his head into his paws, unable to carry on with his annoucement any more.


Flintstar stood awkwardly at the top of the rock, staring down at the tearful warrior. "Um...Right," he said, not sure how to proceed with that. He wasn't good with emotions, tears most of all. He didn't know the SkyClan warrior well enough to offer any words of comfort - if he could even think of anything that could soothe a soul. "While ShadowClan and SkyClan have not seen eye-to-eye for a long while, I do offer my..." ...What was the word he was looking for? Apologies? No, that was certainly not it. What was it...Ah! "Condolences for this tragedy. But...Ah, in any case, I...Suppose we should move onto our personal announcements. The fire did not deal much damage to ShadowClan - our border is singed but nothing we can't easily recover from. Our Clan is growing rapidly with many new kits. I also welcome Brightpaw and Wolfpaw as our newest apprentices while Tanglerose, Briarthorn and Smokespirit have all gained their warrior names. The heat is taking a bit of a toll on our food supply but I am certain that we will survive this high heat. That is all we have to say," he said with a nod, stepping back to let the next leader speak.

As Foxfire gave his announcement, subsequently breaking down into tears, Olivestone couldn't help but feel bad for him, and she dipped her head, and debated brushing her tail against his flank in a gesture of comfort.

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Cherryblossom was the last into Fourtrees, tail drooping and favoring one of her hind legs in a slight limp, and she didn't bother to try to talk to anyone else. Finding Beecloud and Sablepaw, she padded over there, head down, and silently sat, pressing herself against her friend for comfort since Jaydream's death.

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ooc: cherry is not looking for much conversation with otherclanners. she's still grieving jaydream's death

Robinloft smiled at the apprentice's enthusiasm, enjoying how it almost matched her own. At least not everyone was worried, right? She herself would rather put on a smile rather than contribute to the worry, even if she felt worried herself. "I actually do live under the trees, but i don't fish." The warrior let out a giggle, giving a goofy look to the apprentice. "It seems as though you'll have to teach me sometime." She nudged Wisteriapaw on the shoulder in a joking manner. "So, how's your apprentice training? Do you have a good mentor?"

Wisteriapaw was enjoying talking to this ThunderClan warrior, and so decided to answer her questions. "Teach you fishing! That sounds fun, probably being better than a warrior at something," she joked, nudging the dark warrior back. Robinloft was fun to chat with, more carefree than a lot of the warriors she had interacted with within her own clan. "Yeah, my training's going great, but my mentor Streamtail... she's great, she's a really good warrior, but," she said, glancing across the clearing at the blue-grey she-cat, "She lost her mate, Applefang, recently, and I don't know how long she'll take to recover." Feeling as if the topic of conversation had suddenly become less laid-back, Wisteriapaw quickly tried to change it. "What's living in ThunderClan like?"

As the SkyClan Deputy talked, Shimmerpaw listened attentively. She wouldn't ask anyone anything, so she would have to listen to be able to gather information. The fire was apparently really bad...She felt a twang of sympathy for the cat, as well as aching guilt. She probably should have cared more about this. Letting her tail curl around her paws, she continued to listen, heart aching in pain for the other cat.

Sablepaw glanced from Beecloud to the cats on the rock - the leaders, he said - as he leaned down and pointed them out, her ears pricked curiously. Nodding, she tried to remember the names, holding onto them like a slippery beetle determined to escape through her toes. Ivystar, Ravenstar... Flintstar? I think I've heard about them before, the older cats talk about that stuff sometimes. She could feel her brow furrowing with the effort, doing her best to focus on Beecloud's voice and nodding. Then he looked around, and she glanced up at him, feeling his sudden anxiousness as he spoke about a cat called Spottedstar, and the strange, nervous tom who'd stayed with them for that day.

"I... I guess it would be good if they showed up again," She agreed, glancing over at Batbite and feeling her ears swivel backwards slightly, an uncomfortable feeling in the back of her throat. And then her attention was taken away again as Beecloud pointed out the deputies at the base of the rock, her ears shifting back to full attention to take in the cats in the places he indicated. Deputies... medicine cats. I wonder if they're as good as ours? What would it be like to sit there? Can you feel everyone's eyes on you? She turned her eyes back to Beecloud as he talked about the fire, and the smoke, and the dead plants and other life.

A moment of silence, and then she spoke up again, her voice hesitant as her tail twitched behind her, her eyes narrowed slightly as she spoke slowly, trying not to let the sudden pounding of her heart constrict her throat. "Why wouldn't they accept help? I mean, if there isn't anything on their territory, why don't they just ask for it?"

A familiar scent brushed her nose a moment before Cherryblossom came up and sat with them, her pelt against Beecloud's. Sablepaw dipped her head slightly in a halfway nod of greeting she wasn't sure the other would even catch, shuffling her paws uneasily at the clear sadness in the other molly's mood. And then the SkyClan tom who'd stayed in their camp rose to his paws, his voice trembling as he talked about what had happened, eventually even breaking down in tears. Her ears flattened against her head, a squeeze of something in her heart, and she quickly averted her eyes, trying not to stare too hard and feeling just a little awkward for him. What would it be like...? What if we had to leave camp and Mum and Dad and everyone disappeared and I was the only one left? I'd be sad too, I guess.

She snuck a glance over at Batbite. I know Mum doesn't like them, but he's just a cat like us, even if the rest of them aren't nice. Though maybe he cried a bit more in front of other cats than the rest of them....

The apprentice narrowed his eyes at Zinnia, curious how she could function without taking pride in standing out. It was all he lived for, to shine as bright as the stars. But the cat before him now was so... grounded. Pinepaw stifled a smile and was interrupted before he could respond to the she-cat.

A small, timid voice rang out from beside Oakstar. The entire clearing's attention fell on the ginger tom as he described what SkyClan had endured. Pinepaw blinked, realizing that this cat had been a former deputy. But how? He wasn't as stocky as Oakstar or as mature as Beecloud. Foxfire looked so broken and frail... and as he worried over SkyClan, Pinepaw began to wonder if the tom would ever see his family again. The fire seemed so dangerous, and if the smoke could ashen even ThunderClan's lungs, then what of their tree-dwelling neighbors? The apprentice looked over to Zinnia with calculated concern in his eyes, wondering what the former loner thought of all this. "Well foxdung... it almost makes you wish that this fire was a beast instead. That way you could fight it with claws and teeth..." The tom couldn't yet imagine the other kinds of weapons a cat would wield. The emotional plane seemed so far off in Pinepaw's current state.

"Aww, i'm sorry for your clan's loss." Softening her eyes, she draped her bushy tail over Wisteriapaw's shoulder in some sort of comforting manner. "Y'know, one of my closest friends left a while ago, i know it's nothing like the loss of a mate, but it was still a tough loss. I can only imagine what she's doing right now... " She trailed off gazing down at her paws. She really did miss Stormpaw, and she would constantly worry about what was happening to her. For all she knew, Stormpaw could be dead. Snapping back to reality and pulling her trademark smile back over her face, she looked up toward the leaders, attempting to focus on them. Maybe the clans would finally get some more information on what happened to Skyclan...