September Gathering 2020

Cedarheart could analyze Smallbean in an instant, that’s how close they were. She knew what he was normally like, and could tell when something was off. She could tell her was nervous, though she didn’t know why. Pushing that back in her mind, she focused on him questions. ”It’s been good. Not much,” she had to keep herself from laughing there. Not much? Yeah, as if pregnancy was “not much”. ”I kinda knew Oakheart was going to retire, but I will miss him around. Now he’s with my dad in the elder’s den. Nettlestar is doing great!” Her smile was slipping slowly. She had to tel, him. But what if someone overhead?

Quickly, almost as if this was an average thing to do, she grabbed him and pulled him into a bush. Her voice dropped to a whisper. ”Sorry about that.” she apologized, realizing that was probably both strange and uncomfortable. ”But I need to tell you something. Something I don’t want anyone to overhear.” She took a deep breath, then looked him right in the mismatched eyes.

”I’m pregnant.”

There. She had said it. No longer did she have to worry about this moment. But really, she did. The moments before he replied felt like an eternity. She knew by the way she had presented this fact that the tom could tell who the father was. She didn’t want him to take the news badly, so she sat nervously, eyes trained to the ground as she awaited his response.

As the scent of a Clanmate that Bluepaw admittedly didn't know too well approached her, she looked up to see Streamtail padding her way, with Splashpaw in tow. She was asking if the big apprentice was okay, and truthfully, she would rather not be here. But, she was here, and she had to make the best out of it.
"I'm okay, it's just that this is very overwhelming."

---

bloop is talking to streamtail and splashpaw!

(OOC: whoo if this isn't complete freak-out mode then i don't know what is))


The Windclanner let out a small yelp as he was suddenly pulled into a bush, much to his surprised. It was probably fairly easy for Cedarheart to do, especially considering his size. But why? It must be something important. And that probably didn't mean good news either. The fact that the Thunderclanner had begun to whisper made him feel more anxious. "What... what is it you want to tell me?" He was almost afraid to ask the question. Every instinct in his body was telling him to run away, but he stayed to hear Cedarheart's answer. "Why doesn't anyone else need to hear?" At this point he was only trying to stall, but it didn't seem to be working.

Just like a few nights back, the words made his heart stop. It felt as if they were thrown at him like a stone.




This time he didn't try to hide his distress. He crouched down, his body beginning to shake uncontrollably. He felt himself start sweating, and the world around hims started to spin. What did she mean, pregnant!? How could that be? He wanted to break down and cry on the spot, but he knew better than to do that. Then their presence in the bush would be obvious. "Wh-what d-do you m-mean!? Are you sure they're m-mine? There's no w-w-way! This isn't allowed! W-what if W-Wildflower found out? What would she think about having s-siblings? What will Olivestar and Nettlestar think!? Will they find out? What are we going to do!?" The words came like a flood, uncontrolled and all at once. Anxiety grew in his stomach, the nauseous feeling he knew so well duplicated in severity.

He ducked down further to the ground, spiraling into different possible outcomes of the situation. This was all his fault. All of it. Maybe if he had decided to stop this a while ago, this wouldn't be happening right now. But if he had stopped back then, he would be so much unhappier now, and likely still heavily grieving over Larkflight. His paws covered his ears as he shuddered at the oncoming thoughts, desperately trying to stop the thoughts from sweeping into his brain. "Everything.... everything is going to be okay... right? Yeah, everything has to be fine. It's not okay if it goes wrong, so it has to work out okay." He muttered the words to himself, almost as if he were trying to convince himself that everything was fine, whenever deep down, he felt like things were the complete opposite. "I-i'm happy, i'm.... having kits! That's something to be happy about." The muttering continued, in an almost creepy tone of voice. "Cedarheart... i'm.... happy."  His words weren't in the least way convincing, but he meant them, he really did. He lifted his head and gazed into Cedarheart's eyes.

The eye of the moon seemed to stare at him as he padded in, not in his usual accustomed place, but near the front. It was too soon. Was it a slick of sweat against his paws, or the dew that made them feel slightly clammy? Ahead, the Great Rock loomed, leaders on top, their eyes gazing over the clearing as they made idle chat, and below them.... His eyes dropped to the deputies - Ravenmist, and... Stormbringer.

Of RiverClan.

I'm an imposter. I shouldn't be here.

Maybe that was his problem. His eyes flicked to Ivystar, his pawsteps slowing as Nettlestar moved ahead, a shiver of something almost like... fear... moving into his lungs. Closing his eyes for a moment, feeling his Clanmates brush around him, hearing the chatter carrying through the clearing, a thousand different individual cat scents bound by their Clan drifting into his nose and mouth, he breathed, and glanced to the side, catching Batbite's black pelt gleaming in the moonlight, her green eyes sparkling with a good mood as she settled down.

He couldn't stay here, he knew the traditions as well as any Clan cat who'd been to as many gatherings as he had. Brushing her shoulder with his tail-tip, he gave her a slightly wobbly version of a lop-sided smile. "Looks like I've got to talk to the boring old deputies," He murmured, trying to keep his tone casual, light, as he tore himself away, squared his shoulders, and padded through the crowd.

Prickles ran down his spine, the moonlight feeling too bright. Maybe they'd seen him before at gatherings, but it wasn't like he'd stood out. He'd stayed in the middle, as unnoticed as he could be. Now, though... Now he was forced out into the open, to face up to the world he'd left behind and rejected - the dancing river and its glittering fish, the blood-stained ripples and dark undercurrents, the ghosts of a life long since lived and abandoned. Loyalties.... His tail swished behind him, an ear twitching in greeting as he sat near at the base of the rock. "Hey."

This... might be slightly awkward.

Minkstream is all da nervous emotions and open for talking to.

Cedarheart had been nervous for his reaction. It was worse than what she was expecting. She inhaled sharply, trying to keep herself from breaking out in a sob. Was he unhappy? ”I don’t know. I really don’t know. I didn’t mean for this to happen. I-“ she looked down again, eyes welling up with tears. She didn’t know what would happen, but she needed Smallbean to be here for her right now.

He said he was happy, but did he mean it? It didn’t sound right. It sounded like he wasn’t. She gulped. She had hoped that at least he would’ve been somewhat happy. It didn’t seem like he was mad, more...scared. But so was she. She wasn’t ready for this either. She understood. ”It’s going to be ok.” she said, taking a deep breath. Her gaze lifted to meet Smallbean’s. ”I wanna raise them. In Thunderclan. I want to be with them. But maybe they can meet you, someday. I won’t tell Nettlestar or Olivestar, unless you want me too. We’ll keep it a secret. I don’t want you getting in trouble because of my mistakes.”

She sighed. It wasn’t the kits that were mistakes. Sure, she hadn’t expected them to happen, but it wasn’t like she didn’t want them. She wouldn’t trade them for the world. It was a mistake that she had gotten pregnant now, with Smallbean. He deserved to be able to live a normal life, not be plagued by the burden of kits he had never wished for. ”I think we should, ah..” she gestured toward the crowd. They hadn’t been gone for too long, but their absence would be notable soon.

She exited the bush with a fake smile, pretending the conversation hadn’t happened. She looked around at the cats, at Nettlestar and her clanmates to see if they had noticed anything out of the ordinary. It looked like they hadn’t which was good. She avoided looking at Smallbean, not because she was angry at him, but with herself. Just thinking about their situation made her emotional.

Flashpaw snorted as a small cat approached her, introducing himself as Tinypaw. Honestly, what kind of name even was that? "Yes," she agreed, "I can see that. What, did your parents think no one would notice unless it was in your name?" She stared him down, a clear intensity in her mismatched gaze. "What I'd like to know, is why should I care?"

The words were harsh, with a sharp edge, but she didn't seem to think so - or at least she didn't seem to care, if she did. "My name is Flashpaw; and I am the best of what RiverClan has to offer," she told him, the confident tone of her voice making it clear enough that she, at least, believed it was true. "So what's so special about you?"

---

"Oh! Daisybloom, it's good to see you, too," Mothglow greeted. "ShadowClan hasn't fared too badly, all things considered... We managed to avoid much damage, though I'm not entirely sure how. I'd guess the marsh is protecting us, despite the heat," she mused. "What about ThunderClan?"

Mistypaw had followed the rest of his clanmates here, and hung around towards the edge of the clearing. There are so many cats here... Dark blue eyes flicking between all the gathered cats, Mistypaw very much wanted to turn tail and go back the way Shadowclan had come. Away from the noise, away from all the unfamiliar pelts and scents.

Still, he'd been curious about the gathering. So he'd hang around the edge of the clearing. Maybe if he was lucky none of the other clan cats wouldn't notice him and he could escape the night without talking to anyone.

Mistypaw is open for talking with other cats, but is shy.

Shimmerpaw stepped into the Gathering behind her clan and settled down at the very back again. For once, however, she felt as if she wanted someone to...talk to her...how? She's never had this feeling before. Was she really that attention-deprived?

Shaking off the thought, the Apprentice tucked her tail over her paws and watched the leaders silently.
Open to talk to!

---

Amberpaw raised her head as she walked into the Gathering. For a second, she was overwhelmed, head and body spinning round and round as she struggled to take in everything that was going on. Her ears and nose were twitching at such high speeds, anyone noticing her would have burst out laughing.

Eventually, she settled her point of focus on the clan leaders. Then and only then did she settle.
Open to talk to!

Streamtail nodded at Bluepaw, having just heard about what Splashpaw had said. "It is a bit overwhelming. I remember my first Gathering too. I was nervous, but actually a little excited too. Nevertheless, that one Gathering was...eventful." It was the first time I ever saw a cat die right in front of my eyes. Streamtail shuddered a bit at that thought, then straightened. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it soon enough."

Ebonysong gave an awkward nod at the WindClan she-cat, having received no answer from her. "I--I'll just uh, leave now..." Shaking her head for being so dumb, she walked off, before spotting a very familiar dark pelt. Is that...Mistypaw? He seemed very nervous, huddling at the edge of the clearing. Shaking her head with an amused smile, Ebonysong padded towards the young apprentice. "Mistypaw? You alright?"

((Ebonysong has given up talking to Zinnia because I forgot to mention that she was talking to Zinnia on my first post. Now, she is talking to Mistypaw.))

Splashpaw padded close behind Streamtail, glancing occasionally at the odd-smelling strangers that brushed past her with renewed interest. "Where are we going-?" Her thin voice wavered as her gaze landed on another nervous-looking apprentice. "Oh!" She chirped, trotting past Streamtail and sticking her nose into the bush to get a better look at the large striped she-cat.
The tortoiseshell molly found herself nodding emphatically as Bluepaw spoke. "I was excited to learn about the other clans, but there are so many cats here... I didn't think there were this many in the whole forest," She admitted.
Casting a final brief glance at the bustling crowd behind her, Splashpaw crept under the bush to sit beside her clanmates. She breathed a sigh of relief– she felt much safer watching from afar and found that she was able to observe just as many interesting cats. "Do you want to watch the gathering with me?" She asked Bluepaw. "We don't have to leave the bush if you don't want to."

Edit: Splash is talking to Bluepaw and Streamtail!

The anxiety that had been pressing in on Bluepaw lessened a little as Streamtail and Splashpaw talked to her, recounting their own anxieties regarding Gatherings both past and present, and when Splashpaw crawled under the bush to join her there, she gave a small smile of gratitude towards her Clanmate.
"I'd like to watch the Gathering with you, though I do want to stay under the bush."

She paused for a few moments before adding, "Thank you for sitting with me, and for well, not judging me."
Another few moments passed as she looked up at the Great Rock, where one of her moms stood with three other cats that she didn't know. The leaders looked to be murmuring among themselves, and she looked back over to Splashpaw. "Do you know who the other leaders are?"

The tone of her voice nearly knocked him off his paws. Tinypaw hadn’t expected her to be so... Prickly. His fur began to heat up with a mixture of embarrassment and indignation as he listened. So she was RiverClan— no wonder. He’d heard the rumors that RiverClan was full of vain fishheads.
“So what’s so special about you?”
His ears pricked at that question. That’s right— she had no idea who his father was. Not yet at least, he thought smugly as he sat down and wrapped his tail around his paws. “Me? Well, let’s see...” He drawled, casually looking around the crowd of cats as if he was searching for something. He stopped and stared up at Flintstar seated with the other leaders. “Well, Flintstar’s my father. I guess that counts as something special.”

Mistypaw had settled at the edge of the gathering, quietly observing the other cats mingling in the clearing. The leaders were talking among themselves atop the Great Rock, and Mistypaw had to wonder what it was like to be up there. When they actually called the gathering, he was sure they'd be the center of attention. The thought was one he found rather unappealing.

Not far off one of his fellow clanmates seemed to be dealing with a rather... rude... apprentice. His sharp ears had picked up on her introducing herself as a Riverclanner, but otherwise Mistypaw had already tuned that conversation out, dark eyes thoughtfully glancing around the clearing. Mistypaw was grateful that nobody had approached him after all, he had very little desire to get involved in whatever drama and gossip the other cats were partaking in.

As if summoned by that thought, a dark form approached and Mistypaw very much considered slinking back into the shadows. So much for going unnoticed, he thought wryly. As the form came closer he recognized the she-cat at last, Ebonysong.

"I'm fine, Ebonysong." The lie was evident in his voice, however, and the young apprentice continued to speak, hoping that she'd ignore it.

"I wasn't expecting there to be so many cats here." He admitted.

Even as Mistypaw said that he was fine, Ebonysong knew that he wasn't. The warrior had had her fair share of nervous apprentices before and her ice-blue eyes sparkled in amusement as he admitted that there were too many cats. "This Gathering is rather peaceful, you know. My very first Gathering wasn't as peaceful, but it sure was crowded...a lot more crowded. Do you want to hear that story? Don't worry, I'll stop when the leaders start to speak." Ebonysong recalled her first Gathering as an apprentice, the battle with the Righteous Few. It sure was crowded with all the screeching cats and starry pelts. That Gathering was also when Smokespirit lost his sight on one eye...Ebonysong slowly scanned the sea of colourful pelts, hoping to spot his familiar, large form.

"Rather peaceful?" Mistypaw asked, not quite able to hide his curiosity. He'd heard a story about a previous gathering that had happened before he was born, but as a kit he hadn't paid them much attention.

"More crowded than this?" Mistypaw found it hard to imagine, but maybe it was the dark tom's more antisocial nature speaking, though. He'd relaxed ever so slightly as Ebonysong talked. The warrior had piqued his curiosity, and he didn't mind listening to a story, all things considered.