September Gathering 2020

Ivystar's paws made a slight crunching sound each time she took a step, the dry leaves that had fallen from the trees covering the ground making it quite difficult to get anywhere without being heard. The past moon had been... Interesting, to say the least. With no delay, she padded into the clearing, not bothering to stop at the entrance and admire the view. She noticed the patches of grass that held a bit of moisture, but she didn't get her hopes up- that was something she'd learned not to do, especially over the past couple moons. When she finally reached the Great Rock, she nuzzled Stormbringer affectionately before leaping to the top, taking her seat above the small, yet growing, crowd.

Willowbreeze padded in with the rest of RiverClan.  The past occurrences had been... different.  She figured that that would make this an interesting Gathering.  It seemed like it had been much longer than a moon since the last Gathering; so much had happened.  She settled down on a patch of long grass, waiting for the other Clans to arrive.

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Lilypaw scampered in after her Clan.  This was her first Gathering!  She was excited to meet the other Clan, other than SkyClan, who was staying in the RiverClan camp.  Lilypaw didn't mind having other cats around.  She liked it.  She looked around for cats to talk to.

(both are open to talk to)

Flintstar padded quietly into the clearing, blinking in surprise at the fact that perhaps for the first time since he had become leader, ShadowClan was not first to arrive. Huh. He shook his pelt, scattering a few droplets of water that had collected from him brushing through the undergrowth as he led his Clan into the clearing proper and jumped up to join Ivystar on the rock. He dipped his head to her, curling his tail around his paws. For a heartbeat, he was tempted to ask about SkyClan - there still hadn't been any sighting of the Clan from his side of the border and...Perhaps he was starting to feel a little bit...Worried. Hopefully the other Clans would have news, but he would find out when the other leaders spoke he suppose, he didn't want to waste his breath with awkward conversation at the moment.

Juniperpaw padded into the clearing, sitting down calmly and watching the cats around her.

Spiderquill, as per usual, closely tailed his moms up until he reached the place where medicine cats usually sat. None of the others were here yet, which made him feel oddly lonely: he'd come to consider them friends. At least Thornpaw was with him this time. Speaking of. He looked around for his apprentice, waving her over and patting a spot beside him with one bald paw. There was a lot going on lately, and Spiderquill was getting even less sleep than usual, but at least he had his loved ones. He looked fondly around the clearing, heart lightening a little as he realised that he had so much family and friends here. He still disliked Gatherings, but being here with mostly just his own clan was weirdly comforting.

Thornpaw trailed after her clan having been side tracked by an interesting looking plant. What type it was she hadn't known, not even under Spiderquill's mentorship. IT would remain another mystery in her life like most wandering thoughts she had here and there. Her curiosity placated she was already walking around the clearing accidentally stepping on a few paws of her clan mates. It wasn't until she saw a fleshy paw wave in the crowd that caught her gaze. The medicine cat apprentice made sure to be more mindful where she walked this time avoiding getting tangled up in the moving crows of RiverClan and ShadowClan. So many cats, its was more overwhelming than seeing the tiny gathering of medicine cats a few days ago. Wordlessly she sat down by the tom's side picking up on his ever changing energy he had about him.

Nightwolf padded into the gathering, stopping every moments to lick the dew off of the grass. The colder air made it much more bearable for him and black pelt, allowing him to feel more at ease. He sat down near one of the great oaks, wrapping his tail around his paws.

OOC: Nightwolf is open to talk to!

Fourtrees loomed ahead of the WindClan Gathering party, with the newly named Olivestar at its head, leading with a head held high and a confident posture. She was painfully aware of the absence of a deputy at her shoulder, having taken her own place there at Raventail's shoulder for the past few moons. Still, she paid it no mind, knowing that she had her own process going on regarding deputy selection, though she hoped that the other Clans wouldn't judge too harshly. Truth be told, she was having a bit of difficulty choosing between all of her Clanmates, as she loved them and appreciated their service to the Clan equally. She knew that she'd have to choose a deputy in the end though, and she had the inklings of an idea forming in her head regarding how to choose. However, that wasn't the business of the other Clans, she was definitely going to keep that to herself. She wondered briefly whether any of the other Clans would have beaten them there, and it didn't take long for her question to be answered as she padded over the crest of the hill to see that they weren't the first to arrive. The clearing was already brimming with pelts of all colors and lengths, the moonlight bathing it and all who stood in it in shades of silver, the four great oaks standing tall and magnificent around the Great Rock.

Olivestar gave the signal and led the way into the clearing, the new leader making a beeline for the rock as her warriors spread out and found comfortable spots, the leader jumping up to its summit with almost practiced ease. The rock felt warm under her paws with vestiges of the heat of the day, and she found that she quite liked the view over the clearing that the Great Rock offered. A gentle breeze blew through the clearing, ruffling the fur on her face a little, and she sat down, acknowledging the other two leaders with a nod. Flintstar and Ivystar already sat up there on the rock, and she offered a polite greeting to them.
"Greetings, Flintstar, Ivystar. I come as Olivestar, with news that I am WindClan's new leader."

Heart pounding with excitement, Splashpaw trotted eagerly into the crowd of cats. The molly was determined to learn as much as she could about the other clans– already Riverclan's territory felt too small, and she was desperate to find something new to explore.
However, the little apprentice quickly found that she had bitten off more than she could chew. Her tortoiseshell fur rose slowly as cats brushed past her, and she found herself turning in circles as she scanned the every-shifting mob of strangers. Splashpaw suddenly longed to see her mentor and siblings. ""Stars..." She muttered to herself, trying to see above the heads of the many cats in the crowd.

Wisteriabloom happily trotted into the clearing after the rest of her clan. My first gathering as a warrior! she thought. Lilypaw looked very happy to be at the gathering as well, but the warrior kept a close eye on her young apprentice. The clans may be at peace here, but the little she-cat could easily get lost or say something she shouldn't. Maybe I'll try find Smallbean, she thought, or Robinloft. One was a tom she had run into by the WindClan border (or over it, but she had tried to forget that), the other a friendly she-cat she had met last gathering.

((OOC: Wisteriabloom is open to talk and Brightpaw isn't coming because she doesn't want to))

Time passed like the blooming of a flower on the riverbank, and before he knew it, it was a full moon. Shrikepaw’s bright eyes reflected the iridescent silver moon as he followed the Clan. It would be his first time meeting someone outside of his Clan, and he was looking forwards to it. ShadowClan began to flood in, and the tabby angled towards them. His pelt was sleek, matching his confident strides as he started to find someone to talk to - preferably around his age. His eyes caught a fluffy black tom, thick with the ShadowClan pine scent. The tom was smaller than his counterparts. An apprentice, perfect.

Shrikepaw nodded to the tom as he drew near. “Hope you don’t mind me coming over! I’m Shrikepaw, RiverClan-” which was probably obvious due to his scent, and the fact RiverClan was the only other Clan there “-and this is my first Gathering, figured I should try an’ talk to someone. Who’re you?” He tried to make the words sound friendly and studied the tom closer for a few moments. A fluffy, long pelt, with a dark smoky brown mane of fur around his chest. Their eyes were the same. His were a bit more green, but they both carried the same youthful and mischievous glow.

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Shrikepaw is reserved for Ceryn’s Crowpaw!

Streamtail felt lighter on her paws and slowly padded into the clearing, spotting some cats sitting down and already talking to each other. Her green eyes scanned the crowd for someone to talk to, spotting a rather familiar tortoiseshell pelt. Splashpaw? The younger apprentice looked rather lost in the crowd of cats, so Streamtail sat down next to her, curling her long tail around her paws and grooming herself. "What do you think about the Gathering, Splashpaw? Don't worry, you'll get used to it soon."

Ebonysong's tail drooped as she arrived at Fourtrees. She had been feeling rather tired recently, for no reason. Maybe it was because of having an apprentice, which made her rather nervous. Her thoughts flickered back to Marshcloud, her mentor, who had trained her well but always seemed sleep-deprived. Am I becoming like that too? Sitting down and wrapping her gray-to-black tail around her paws, Ebonysong's silver-blue eyes scanned the Great Rock. She was surprised to see that Olivestone, now possibly Olivestar, was sitting next to Flintstar and Ivystar. Huh...where's Ravenstar?

((Forgot to mention, Streamtail is talking to Splashpaw and Ebonysong is free to talk to!))

Frogpaw followed his father into the gathering. Instead of chatting away like some of his clan mates, he observed everything around him. The plants, the cats, all these foreign things around him that were so new and exciting. He realized someone would probably approach him, and was about to go toward his brother Crowpaw, but then another apprentice slid in. Turning around, he walked a few paces past the mass of cats and sat down, alone.

frogpaw is open to talk, but your cat would have to start the conversation

Splashpaw jumped as a cat approached her, but her worried expression quickly melted into a relieved grin as she recognized the she-cat. "Streamtail, hi– it's... it's a bit much." The small she-cat peered into the mob of cats, feeling bolder now that she had a warrior by her side. "I was excited at first, but there are so many cats. I mean, I didn't think there were this many in the whole world." She admitted.
Shifting her weight from one paw to the other, Splashpaw noticed that the crowd had begun to slow as cats found old friends and places to sit. "Thank you." She mewed, grateful that the she-cat had come to her rescue.