November Gathering 2020

For the second time in as many moons, Wolfcall led SkyClan to the Gathering. The circumstances surrounding this time, however, were different. He wasn't in charge because his father was sick, or tired... he was in charge because Spottedstar was missing, and had been for some time now. The deputy knew that the clan was looking at him to take charge, to head SkyClan as leader, but so far, he'd held off on doing anything in any sort of official capacity. Mostly, it was contributed to the hope that Spottedstar would return, strong and powerful and certain as he'd once been, though that seemed like so long ago, now... Wolfcall was full of emotions he couldn't quite process. Sorrow, at the loss of his uncle and father in the same moon; uncertainty, at having to lead the clan back together in the wake of the blaze; pride, that Spottedstar had entrusted him with SkyClan's wellbeing. Beneath that all, though, was the fear that he was going to somehow screw it up, make a bigger mess of SkyClan than it already was.

The dark, striped tom didn't let any of this show on his face as he led his family to Fourteen. They needed him to be strong, so strong he would be. At any cost.

Fresh snow crunched under his paws, shimmering crystals of fine ice breaking away as his shoulder brushed a frond. He glanced upward, watching as the wind carried them away, and then took a breath and charged up the hill. He lingered there, waiting for the rest of the clan, and touched his forehead to Blossomstep's shoulder, exhaling gently. Then he raised his tail for the rest of the clan to follow, and led them into the clearing. He didn't waste any time in climbing the rock, his paws nearly sliding on the frosted surface, and then he turned, standing there and staring down with keen ambergold eyes. Tonight was the beginning of SkyClan's recovery. And he would restore it to its former glory of it was the last thing he did.

Marching into camp with her tail straight up, Ivystar's teeth boasted a noisy chatter- but not from the cold, oh no- an entire litter of kits had gone missing, and she had a feeling she knew who was at fault. She and more than half of her warriors had spent the day turning RiverClan territory upside down, and not a single one of her kits (or the other kit that had gone missing, Snakekit) were to be found. Her heart wrenched, knowing that if she had been there with them every second, they wouldn't have gone missing, that they'd still be here with her. Now they had not a clue where to look, and four kits were missing from the nursery. Disgust writhed on the she-cat's features as she stormed past the Great Oaks, noting that SkyClan was already there. Perfect. Without bothering to say anything to the cats behind her, she scaled the rather large rock quickly and made her way towards Wolfcall. "The only reason I don't already have you pinned to this rock is that StarClan themselves might strike me down." A low hiss erupted from the leader's maw, not loud enough to be heard by the chattering cats below.

"Where are my kits?" Her tone was icy, and it was clear that if she didn't get an answer she liked, it wouldn't be pretty.

It seemed Riverland wasn't far behind them, and Wolfcall watched from his position on the frigid rock as their former campmates flooded the clearing. Immediately, it was clear that the tone was... different. He raised a brow as Ivystar stalked towards him, his eyes the only thing in motion as she scaled the rock beside him. Her threat was met with a bewildered stare, and the question that followed with a dirisive scoff.

"Don't make threats you aren't willing to follow through on, Ivystar," he warned quietly, the tip of his tail twitching. "I've no idea where your kits are. SkyClan has enough mouths to feed during Leafbare, what purpose would I have for RiverClan kits?"

SkyClan’s departure should have come as a relief. RiverClan needed every fleeting second between tonight and the river’s inevitable freezing to gather as much prey as possible; now, they wouldn’t have to think about feeding some other Clan in addition to their own. Now, they could all fit into their dens with relative ease (Snowflight, for one, had been reinforcing the thinner bits of RiverClan’s old nests with the abandoned ones). Now, they could use their herb stores for their own warriors. If it’d happened only a few sunups earlier, Snowflight would have been ecstatic. At the moment, however, he couldn’t be much of anything. Even half the Clan’s kits going missing hadn’t fazed him (though he’d patrolled with the others when asked; after all, they were his leader’s kits).

Snowflight planted himself firmly in RiverClan’s section of the clearing, muzzle pointed toward the Great Rock. One of his paws tapped against the ground. He’d groomed his pelt to perfection and then some, making doubly sure it was every bit as bright and smooth as Fourtrees’ barely-trodden snow; as a shield, it was nowhere near enough.

ooc: snowflight is open to talk! (shadowclan cats will likely be met with hostility)
raventail + thrushnose are staying home hoping to prevent any more disappearances

Nettlestar led ThunderClan into the gathering, trying to keep her mind as focused on the here and now as possible. There was much to potentially distract her-- especially the disappearance of one of the clan's kits, but she wouldn't let her various concerns prevent her from conducting herself with professionalism and doing her job to the best of her ability.

She had no reason to suspect yet that ThunderClan was not the only clan with a mysterious disappearance from the nursery, and felt no strong need to share their misfortune with the other clans, especially since the thought had crossed her mind that-- for whatever reason-- someone from another clan was responsible. And if this was part of some kind of plan to hurt or weaken her clan, she did not want to appear actively weak, frightened, or overly distracted. At the same time, she also wondered if sharing the news about the missing kit with the other leaders could help with locating her-- perhaps someone had seen something, and would be able to provide them with some kind of lead.

Debating this, she scaled the rock. Noting that Ivystar and Wolfcall-- again, which she assumed meant Spottedstar was no longer leader-- were already there, she nodded and gave a simple "Good evening," to acknowledge their presences, knowing nothing of the words exchanged between the two shortly before her arrival.

Bloodstrike and Dawnhawk were not far behind Wolfcall. A lot had happened... so much. Bloodstrike had been basically in the middle of the entire mess and turmoil that surrounded Skyclan right now. The quick succession of things, with Spottedstar and vanishing and Sagelight dying... it made Bloodstrike's head swim. But they had returned home, at least there was that. Bloodstrike had been saddened by Sagelight's passing, but even more so he was infuriated with Spottedstar's complete abandonment of his clan. Now at least, even those foolish enough to have been loyal to Spottedstar would have nothing good to say of him now unless they lied to themselves.

Now Skyclan would finally have a proper leader... Wolfstar... when the time came. Bloodstrike felt that weight get lifted off of his shoulders. He strode into the clearing with a pelt that had been groomed thoroughly and he actually looked presentable now. He kept a high chin, ears pricked forward, tail up and his shoulders back, being the symbol of strength that he always felt like he needed to be. That said this snow could screw right off. He hated the coldness of it. Worse was that it was wet..... He hoped there would be less of it as time wore on, but something deep inside him told him.... no.

Ivystar's pace, stiff body posture and fury in her eyes did not go unnoticed. Bloodstrike watched her with his tail bristling as she approached his father. He pricked an ear in her direction to listen to what she was saying. Kits??? Bloodstrike couldn't think of any new ones aside from Redfall's children and his own brother that he had yet to meet. Still... he didn't take Ivystar's threat lightly. His claws gouged the ground beneath his paws and he fixed Ivystar up on the rock with an unblinking stare. He held his tongue for now, knowing it was not wise to speak and let his anger take control of him again.

If you think I couldn't leap right up to you on that rock, drag you down and beat you in front of your mother Ivystar, you'd have another thing coming. He didn't even know who Ivystar's mother was, but he didn't care. Anyone threatening his father was immediately on his list. He sucked in a deep lungful of frosty air and calmed himself down. There was no need for violence right now... and he tried to remind himself that he would act exactly the same if he thought someone had taken his....

No that was a lie.

Bloodstrike would have charged full speed ahead and taken the suspect off of the Great Rock and Starclan could eat dirt for all he cared. Bloodstrike sat down and just focused on taking a few more deep breaths. Things were going well for Skyclan.... aside from Sagelight's death. They would have a good leader in time... they fought off the foxes and won back their home and things could start to become normal once more. He didn't need to let his rage drag his clan into a war they were hardly prepared for.


Dawnhawk watched all of this transpire and felt... absolutely nothing but amusement by it. Ivystar acted like she could beat Wolfcall so easily in a fight... his dad got all huffy about it and Wolfcall was more or less... unfazed. Dawnhawk reclined onto his haunches with a low chuckle and stared out across the open field. He would quietly watch the clearing around Fourtrees slowly fill with cats and wait to hear what news they brought. Dawnhawk himself was indifferent to both the disappearance of Spottedstar and Sagelight's death. They held no baring for him at the end of the day.

Only the soft flourish of silky fur scraping against freshly-fallen snow and a silvery cloud of simmering breath announced the otherwise silent arrival of Jaypaw, the young tom evidently touting his newly loosened reigns- even amidst times as terse as these. Soft steps going unnoticed under the fiery streak of tension wreathing through the small clusters of purposely separated onlookers, the dark-pelted tom resembled nothing more than a fragmented shadow against the barren backdrop of the late season forest. Tilting a sharp chin and curious gaze upwards towards the bristling conflict atop the Great Rock, it seemed as Nettlestar's sudden presence atop the stone hardly seemed to incite much more dysfunction- the conversation between the two Leaders appeared to be rather dry and disingenuous, greater interest placed upon the glaring losses suffered.

Even at a distance such as this, Ivystar's rage was palpable- an emotional mirroring his mother's simmering deep within his constricted veins, a blistering mixture of fright and outrage meddling somewhere low in his gut. Steps soft atop the flimsy blanket of fresh snowfall, Jaypaw was drawn deeper into the close-knit bundle of his Clanmates, caught somewhere between concern for his young littermates and the blinding indignation at the thought of blatant theft of kits.

Flintstar stood at the cusp of the clearing, staring from the shadows at...Whatever was transpiring on top of the Great Rock - Ivystar and Wolfcall staring down with each other with clear tension that even the ShadowClan leader could pick up on. He sighed, having wished for a rather...Uneventful Gathering as his Clan was still reeling from the loss of their kits. There had no been no traces of Emberkit or Burntkit - no scent trails, no paw steps...Nothing. It was like they simply ceased to be. It was...Frustrating, to say the least. The leader shook his head as he motioned for ShadowClan to follow him, making his way to the Great Rock where he joined the other leaders. "...Trouble in RiverClan?" he questioned, glancing between the two leaders. He knew that SkyClan had been staying under Ivystar's watch - had trouble brewed from that? ...He hoped not, recalling his agreement with Ivystar. If she was to fight, he was to aid her and that was the last thing they needed with the upcoming leafbare and the missing kits.

Padding into the clearing with her clanmates with her father at her side, Tulipfang gave her pelt a shake. Saying the usual farewells to Daisyflame, she made her way towards the front of the crowd and sat down. Looking around, the attractive she-cat watched as cats began to mingle around her.

OOC: Tulipfang is open to chat! <3

Padding into the Gathering, Mossbloom made her way to her spot at the base of the Greatrock. SkyClan and RiverClan were already there, and as she crossed the clearing the scent of ShadowClan joined the others. Hoping to see Sagelight, she ignored the complaints of her aching joints in the cold air as she settled near the base of the Greatrock. Tension was high in the air, however, and the medicine cat felt her uneasiness growing. ThunderClan had lost kits, but there was something under the pelts of the other clans as well.

---

Blossomstep looked at Wolfcall, dried tear trails down her face. Returning the gentle but firm gesture, she looked around with lost, empty eyes. She had wanted to stay at camp, to search for her kit, but he was gone without a trace. The Gathering was the next glimmer of hope - maybe the other clans had heard or seen something. Aimlessly, she found herself walking up to her only other son, not immediately recognizing the bristling tail as she butt her head to his shoulder lightly, breathing in his scent as if to reassure herself he was, in fact, still there. Only after that did she look up and follow his gaze towards where Wolfcall had gone, only to let out an uncharacteristic hiss of anger as she noted the way that Ivystar was staring at her mate. Something was familiar about her demeanor, the way she stood, but even so she prepared to dash forward in the case that Ivystar raised a paw to Wolfcall.

---

Murkypaw followed the rest of ShadowClan into the Gathering, eyes wide with amazement momentarily. She allowed herself a few heartbeats of silent amazement before returning to her stoic expression, taking up a position towards the edge of the clearing. Taking the time to survey the area and the other cats in the clearing, she was quickly overwhelmed by the mix of scents and chatter of other conversation, and her ears flattened to her head in distaste. In an instant, she decided that she despised Gatherings.

The cold wasn't the only thing weighing on Olivestar's mind that night as she led WindClan up onto the ridge that separated the moors from Fourtrees and its clearing below. Judging by the throng of cats that had already gathered below, and the presence of four cats already on the Great Rock, she knew that they were the last to arrive, and without further hesitation, led the charge down into the already full clearing. As always, she made a beeline for the Great Rock, and hopped up with ease, though was taken aback by the air of hostility between Ivystar and... Wolfcall?

Still, she had the disappearance of her Clan's kits on her mind, and the roster changes in SkyClan and Ivystar's anger were of lesser concern at the moment.

Beechpaw followed the rest of Skyclan into the clearing, still quiet and downcast after everything. She didn't want to be here at all, but as usual, she had little choice in the matter. She wanted to be left alone, not be forced to mingle among the crowd of unfamiliar cats.

Dull yellow-green eyes swept the... oddly empty clearing, and the apprentice let out a quiet huff as she stalked after her clanmates. Not even the fluffy snow that had fallen was enough to lift her spirits, and they only seemed to sour further as Riverclan, Thunderclan and Shadowclan arrived. She could hear Ivystar and Wolfcall snapping at each other in quiet tones, but didn't bother lifting her head to see what they were arguing over.

It wasn't long before one of her fellow medicine cats approached the base of the great rock, and Beechpaw closed her eyes for a moment. She didn't want to talk to any of them, but she'd need their help, much as she didn't want to admit it.

"Mossbloom." Her voice was raspy, as if she'd barely spoken in days- and perhaps the large she-cat hadn't. There was no easy way to say what she needed to, and unsheathed claws sank into the snow in frustration.

"Sagelight's dead." She managed after a moment of pained silence, dull eyes lifting to meet the older medicine cat's gaze, a silent plea for help was... probably obvious, she was sure.

---

Smokefeather loped into the clearing at Bloodstrike's side, seemingly entirely unbothered and almost cheerful at the snow that blanketed the forest. Still, there was an undercurrent of worry in her expression. Blazingkit was still missing, Maplekit was still missing. And while Smokefeather was certainly enjoying the cold (certainly more than her mate was, by the looks of it) this was no weather for kits to be out in. They'd searched and searched, but still no traces of the lost kits had been found, as if they'd vanished into thin air.

With a quiet sigh, she sat next to Bloodstrike, briefly touching her fluffy tail to Blossomstep's shoulder before turning her gaze to the great rock. It felt odd to be the first ones to arrive at the gathering, something that had never happened during her lifetime. Yet it wasn't long before Riverclan arrived, and Smokefeather's eyes narrowed as Ivystar leapt up to the great rock, exchanging words with Wolfcall. Whatever they had said, the Riverclan leader looked furious. Unconsciously, Smokefeather's fur lifted in response, but the pale tortoiseshell stayed silently by her mate's side.

Beechpaw is talking to Mossbloom.
Smokefeather is open to conversation from Skyclanners only.

Quailpaw followed Nettlestar. The missing kits were concerning him and while he wanted to stay behind to keep searching, he knew that he had to come to the gathering. So Thunderclan can stay strong!

The other mustn't know that Thunderclan's kits were missing.

Nightwolf padded into the gathering and glanced nervously over to his younger brother. "Do you think the other clans lost kits too?" Nightwolf asked, anixiety filling his voice.

OOC: Nightwolf is speaking to Snowflight! Quailpaw is open to talk to. Spotlake is staying behind to try to find the missing kits

Ivystar's anger only grew as the tom dismissed her outright, and it took everything the she-cat had not to bowl him over right then and there. "Whoever said I wasn't willing to follow through, Wolfcall? Do you wish to find out?" She hissed, taking a few pawsteps closer until she was close enough to feel the small clouds of steam that came from the tom's maw each time he exhaled. "Don't make matters worse. Four kits disappeared along with you and your Clan, Wolfcall. Care to explain that? Ivystar hardly paid any attention to each of the three other leaders as they arrived, only taking note of Flintstar's sentiment. "Missing kits. Four of them, three my own." She muttered, tail lashing back and forth. She was one more snarky remark away from taking her teeth to Wolfcall's ash-covered throat.