November Gathering 2020

The two cats stared at each other icily even as Nettlestar, Flintstar and Olivestar each arrived and climbed to sit with them. When Ivystar drew closer, Wolfcall's claws scraped gently against the rock, and he willed himself to remain calm as he replied, not to Ivystar, but to Flintstar. "No. No trouble. Ivystar was just explaining to me how some RiverClan kits have gone missing." Pointedly, he turned his shoulder to the RiverClan leader with a disgusted sideways glance. "However, SkyClan has also had the misfortune of kits disappearing out of thin air, three - one of them my youngest son."

The grief and anger and helplessness that had clawed at him since the kits' disappearance now resurfaced from the dark place he'd tucked it away. "Now, if there are no more accusations, I'd like to get this over with so we can get out of the cold."

It wasn’t long before Nightwolf joined him. I doubt SkyClan can move that fast. Snowflight bit the inside of his cheek. No matter how badly he wanted to throw accusations (who else could it be but SkyClan? Who else knew RiverClan’s camp and precautions?), he couldn’t force the venom onto his tongue after hearing the worry in his brother’s voice. “Dealing with four kits at once isn’t easy,” he said instead. “Whoever took them probably has their paws too full to go anywhere else.” In his mind, it had to be a “who,” rather than a “what.” Why would a mindless predator take only four kits? Why not all of them? And—though the thought made his stomach turn even in his preoccupied state—why not leave the bodies? No, there had to be someone to blame; the only question was who.

It seemed that there wouldn’t be much idle chatter this Gathering. Mothglow’s death and, just a moon later, several kits’ disappearance had left the entirety of ShadowClan unsettled, and the tension was thick among the other Clans, too. Silently, Ravenmist took her place below Flintstar, ears turned to the leaders. Wolfcall was still upon the rock. What had happened to Spottedstar? She wouldn’t be particularly saddened at any news of his death, but loss of a leader would throw things even further out of normalcy. She planned to remain silent, but the blind deputy was ready to jump to Flintstar’s defense nonetheless if accusations were thrown.

Ospreypaw padded slowly into the Gathering, staying far closer to Cedarheart than usual. Kits had gone missing from ThunderClan, and even she couldn’t miss the tension surrounding every Clan. Maybe they weren’t alone. “Mom, what’s Needlestar going to do? Another Clan could have taken the kit. Is there going to be a fight?”

Curiosity filled Olivestar as both Wolfcall and Ivystar admitted to having lost kits as well, and she put the pieces together that the two Clans had assumed the other had taken them, considering that they'd lived in the same camp for a moon or so after the fire. Wishing to break the tension, the gray leader spoke up, airing her own thoughts.
"So both RiverClan and SkyClan have lost kits, as has WindClan, one of which was my youngest son. I didn't want to entertain the thought that our kits were stolen by other Clans, and I'm glad that it seems to not be the case, at least with RiverClan and SkyClan. Flintstar, Nettlestar, can I ask? What about you? If your Clans have lost kits as well, then there has to be something bigger at play. This can't be a coincidence."

As she remembered for the hundredth time the fact that her youngest son was missing, the hollow feeling in her chest opened up once more, grief washing over her. She took a deep breath, pushing down the feeling, and tried to put on a brave face in front of the other leaders.

---

Redwolf stalked into Fourtrees, seething with anger, more so than usual. With the disappearance of some of the Clan's kits, and no one to blame, the red she-cat's temper was running much hotter, and she dared an otherClanner to try to talk to her tonight.

Anger palpable, she found a secluded spot near a bush, and sat down, her glare telling cats from the other Clans to stay away.
Filthy kit-stealers...

---

Cherryblossom waded through the fallen leaves at the edge of the clearing, looking for a conversation partner. The disappearance of ThunderClan's kits had unnerved her, and while she didn't want to think about the possibility of the other Clans having stole them, it was all she had to go off of.

She found a spot near a group of chattering apprentices, and settled down, hoping someone would come talk to her.

---

With the disappearance of her siblings, poor Bluepaw was terrified, and while common sense told her that she probably wouldn't disappear too, she worried that she'd be next. Since then, she'd stuck close to Ivystar, trying to comfort her mother the best she could, and it was this time that she'd avoid the edges of the crowd, and instead forced herself to sit up front, where her mother could easily see her. Her pelt prickled with unease, yet she forced herself to remain there, and hoped that her presence would be comforting, despite still being so far away.

---

red is only open to conversation from shadowclanners
cherry's open for any conversation
blue is open too, she's just super jumpy!

Tuftpaw entered the Fourtrees hollow with suspicion written all over her face. She didn't trust any of these other Clans as far as she could throw a fox. All she did, however, was sit with her fellow SkyClan cats and keep her gaze scanning for the guilty parties. This was an attempt to wipe SkyClan out-- she knew it!

-----

Owlpaw was wide-eyed and terrified. So many kits in ThunderClan had gone missing without a trace. It made her wonder if, had she been apprenticed later, she might've been taken with them. Or were the kit-nappers planning to grab young apprentices like her, too? All of it made her nervous, alongside the glances from the other Clans...

The moment they arrived at the Gathering, Shimmerdust zipped off into the SkyClanners' midst, completely ignoring any risk she was taking. "Willowpaw? Willowpaw!" She called out anxiously. Ivystar may not approve, but Shimmerdust didn't really care.

Willowpaw rushed from where she was sitting to meet up with Shimmerdust. A purr rumbled from her throat. "Shimmerdust! I'm so glad to see you here!" She exclaimed, nuzzling the other she-cat warmly. "It's been only like a day, but it felt like eternity..."

An increase in the volume from the leaders sent both cats whirling. Ivystar and Wolfcall seemed to be angry at each other. "What in the world?!" Willowpaw whispered.

"Ivystar seems to blame SkyClan for our side's missing kits." Shimmerdust whispered back. "Grief makes cats do st**id things like blame others irrationally. She's usually a pretty good leader, but this is just weird..." She shook her head, looking around warily, nervous that the SkyClan cats may decide to chase her away. Willowpaw shifted closer to her.

---

Shimmerdust and Willowpaw are chatting.
Amberpaw is (probably) looking for the missing kits.

Tigerpaw had followed the rest of the clan to Fourtrees, through the bitter cold snow that stung his paws, without complaint. He had heard of the Gathering from the other apprentices - apparently, the clans did this once every moon, meeting together like this. It seemed weird to him, kind of... how they had been living with RiverClan, but they were SkyClan, but now they were all together with StarClan at Fourtrees... the tom glanced upwards. There were, indeed four trees. Big ones, too.

As the rest of the clan scattered, seemingly used to this bizarre ritual, Tigerpaw stood there, a little uncertain as to what, exactly he was supposed to do. Did he find someone to talk to? From his own clan? Or another? Flattening his ears, he let his breath dissolve into the air and then slunk towards Willowpaw, who had struck up conversation with a RiverClan cat she'd made friends with. "What's going on?" he asked quietly. "Is it about the missing kits, do you think?"

Tigerpaw is talking to Shimmerdust and Willowpaw.

Willowpaw glanced over to Tigerpaw with a small smile. She wanted to reassure him as much as possible. "Yeah, it is." She explained. "Apparently the RiverClan leader's blaming us for their missing kits. Grief is a powerful thing. It makes cats lose their rational thinking..."

"Especially since some of the kits that went missing is Ivystar's own. Also, they disappeared just after SkyClan left. That's probably her line of reasoning. It's absolutely stu***, I know, but I doubt I can convince them otherwise." Shimmerdust added. Her tail swished back and forth as she watched her former Mentor.

Redfall was exhausted, but that wasn't going to stop him from coming to the Gathering. At least SkyClan was in their own camp again, hopefully RiverClan wasn't too mad at them-- he glanced at the Great Rock and did a double take. Wolfcall and Ivystar were at eachother's throats. His ears pricked with interest, though he was too far away to catch their conversation. Hopefully it wasn't too serious. Wouldn't Ivystar be happier without Spottedstar there anyway? They hadn't had the best relationship from what he'd seen. All the same, leaders were leaders, and were able to deal with problems on their own. It was the norm to find others to converse with, and he couldn't deny he wanted to talk to someone with a fresh mind - someone who didn't see him as just a Clan runaway who'd rejoined.

Redfall could tell others were looking tense, but he didn't know they had missing kits as well. He assumed it was the coming leaf-bare or something. It was already snowing. He'd experienced cold before, but combined with wet was interesting. He wasn't sure if he liked it or not. Probably not. The ginger tabby wrapped his tail around his paws and starting grooming the snow off of it. At least it wasn't too cold for his longer pelt. He'd take snow over a drought and fire any time.

Redfall is open for conversation.

Wildflower sat at the base of the rock, shivering a little. Her pelt was short, almost wiry, and she did not like the snow. Kits were missing too. It was tense, and as much as she was trying to ignore Wolfcall and Ivystar, she couldn't help overhearing their words. Missing kits too? Three Clans? It had to be all five, right? Three Clans was already too much of a coincidence. Her tail was tightly wound around her paws but started to twitch in thought. She felt no need to insert anything into the conversation, but she was aware of their words and thinking hard.

Shrikepaw entered Fourtrees for the first time. It was his first Gathering, and he couldn't help but take in all the sights and sounds. He had been aware that it would be full of other clan cats, but the sheer number had him sticking as close to his mentor as he was allowed. It was daunting, but he knew that he couldn't look too nervous, or too weak. The other clans would see that, and would pounce. Well, pounce in a vocal sense. There was supposed to be peace at the Gatherings.

Brighteye didn't want to go to the Gathering. She didn't know why exactly had come, but it was something relating to the constant panic in camp. With everyone always in search of the kits, there was always chatter around. She was only now starting to realise how flawed her logic had been. Of course, in camp, there was inly one clans worth of cats. Here, there was five. She trailed at the back of the group, considering her options. Making conversation with a cat outside Shadowclan was a definite no, probably along with talking to a clanmate. That left running for it or just pretending to be invisible. She much preferred the second option, as fleeing from Fourtrees would be unimaginably cowardly and dishonourable. Stories of Skyclan's cowardice had been told to her before, and even though that had happened many moons ago, before she was born, she was still glad that she wasn't part of a clan with that kind of reputation.

---

Wisteriabloom was heartbroken, to say the least. She had never felt this way before, but probably would in future again. No matter how hard her and her clan looked, they couldn't find Snakekit. All she wanted to do now was curl up with her daughter and have her Ben safe a protected. But maybe the gathering would hold clues in their location. She wasn’t against openly accusing other clans if she had a good enough purpose. However, if they held no answers, she would prefer to sit by herself and wait for the gathering to start.

---

Just like the majority of the other cats around her, Primroselight's mind focused on one thing - the kits that were missing. One had been adopted by her mother, one was her uncle and the other she hadn't had the chance to meet yet. But each kit still meant something to her. Unlike many others, her focus wasn't finding who took them, as all she cared about was the fact that they were safe. Who would do such a thing? It was her first gathering as a warrior, and probably her first 'normal' gathering. Last moon, Smokefeather had hastily introduced her to older cats, and this time she just wanted to find some cats her own age to talk to. She padded into the clearing with her clan and sat down, hoping that someone would approach her.

Brighteye does not want to come but she is here and hiding in the shadows
Wisteriabloom is open for conversation but more interested in finding her daughter
Primroselight is open for conversation, preferably from cats nearer her age
Dappleleaf is in camp searching for the kits.

Lilacpaw was tense as she entered the clearing. Yes, she did not usually act so somber, especially not when this was her first gathering, but what could she do? Kits were missing from WindClan, including her little brother. Even she could not remain cheerful about that! She had to get him back, if not for her Clan, then for her mothers who had graciously taken care of her when she was alone.

Her mothers. She did not see Zinnia as of yet, in the rush she was unsure if she was even coming, Lilacpaw wouldn't blame her if she didn't, but Olivestar was here. She spared a glance at the leader, sympathy in her eyes. This may be a hard time, but they would go through it together.

She couldn’t quite believe it, but Nettlestar found herself almost wishing she had found out that one of the other clans was responsible for Laurelkit’s disappearance. At least then she would have gained some form of an answer, and more importantly a known enemy to direct her energy and efforts towards defeating.

But all she had gotten were bigger, worse questions. WindClan, SkyClan, RiverClan, and though Flintstar had not yet confirmed, she suspected also ShadowClan had had kits mysteriously vanish as well? Who or what was coordinated and clever enough to pull off something at this scale? And most troubling of all…why?

“Yes,” the gray she-cat confirmed, holding her voice steady, though she was greatly disturbed by the information,“Yes, ThunderClan is missing a kit as well. Laurelkit. She just vanished without a trace,”

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Addershade wearily followed after the rest of RiverClan into the gathering. His mind wandered in a different direction from his feet, and he wasn’t really thinking of anything as he picked a spot and settled into it. There was so much happening, and predictably none of it was good.

After a few moments, his mind wandered back to him, and he looked around, noticing Nightwolf and Snowflight were talking together. He got up and approached his two sons. With everything going on in their lives and in RiverClan, he wanted to stick close to them, make sure they were both doing okay. And, of course, make sure they were safe.

“Hey, you two,” he spoke warmly, but the thread of concern that was often in his voice was unmistakably there tonight, as well “Hope you don’t mind if I join you?”

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Normally, Crowpaw would try to jump into a conversation with a new cat, and with casual charm just try to get to know them, build up his circle of acquaintances.

But tonight he had a more specific goal in mind. This whole “missing kit” business in ShadowClan was extremely unfortunate, and he was genuinely quite concerned about what had happened to them. But he was, first and foremost, an opportunist, a caretaker of his precious reputation. And how great would it be for him if he could find some kind of lead on what had happened to the kits? He didn’t yet know that the other clans were missing kits as well; but he figured that maybe, just maybe, if whoever had taken the kits had passed through another clan’s territory, someone might have seen something.

So for the time being he flitted around the gathering, his ears perked to the conversations around him, hoping to find one that would be useful to join.

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Buzzardpaw was rather concerned.

He was small for his age. Not kit-sized, but close enough that he was unnerved by the prospect of someone mistaking him for a kit from a distance and deciding to make him disappear, too. Plus, with his partial deafness and partial blindness, he was easier to sneak up on than many of his peers.

Now, going into a crowd mostly composed of strangers seemed like it would be more frightening than staying at camp, but Laurelkit’s disappearance had happened in camp. Besides, kits didn’t go to gatherings, so if he was here he figured no one would mistake him for one.

He sat with his clanmates, keeping a lookout as best as he could.

Addershade is talking to Nightwolf and Snowflight
Crowpaw and Buzzardpaw are open to talk!

"Yea probably." Nightwolf mewed. He then turned his head when he saw Addershade. "Oh hey dad. Yeah I don't mind."

ooc; carpsplash has stayed home because the cold has aggravated his joints; press f for carpsplash

∆ Kitepaw's ears seemed to twist in every conceivable direction as she had trotted towards fourtrees. Eyes scanned the clearing, widening at the sight of so many cats in one hallow. She'd heard all about what it was like but never fully imagined such a thing. There were so many more pelts than could simply be found in Thunderclan territory. Clanmates had suggested she branch out and meet those from other clans; this was a peaceful meeting after all. One glance to the highrock told a different story but she merely whisked her slender tail at the scent. The idea of fraternizing with another clan's cats, particularly Windclan, left a sour tasted on her tongue.

The apprentice was resigned to stick with her clan. But something crossed her mind as the unfortunately bitter and fishy scent of Riverclan crossed her numbed nostrils. She glanced to the side and quickly spotted the pelt from her encounter. Eyes narrowed and immediately the russet she-cat pulled away. Jaypaw's resignation to comfort among his own clan was lost on the determined apprentice as she shouldered her way through the crowd and finally stood in front of him, nose indignantly in the air. It was then that Kitepaw realized she was utterly lost when it came to figuring out what she might say under the circumstances.

She settled on the least choice words, "Inciting brawls at the borders and now stealing kits, hm? I knew Riverclan had no honor but this has to be a new low." It took only a moment for her to regret the words, recalling the peaceful vow of their ancestors. But she had already declared her disdain and it was too late to steal her speech back from the air it carried across. Her deafened ear flickered despite the flint of her gaze. An apology was prepared on her tongue, ready for whatever well-deserved retort was thrown her way. ∆

♢ The sheer exhaustion it took to haul his frame to the gathering was simply not worth it. Wrenspring had been prepared to settle back in a worn and sparse nest. But his name had been called as a part of the patrol. He was honor and duty bound to serve his new leaders wishes, even if for the first time he found himself longing not to. It was a miracle the tom had managed to keep his normally messy pelt somewhat tamed. Fresh scars still marred his pelt. Each step faltered slightly and he struggled to keep his head high as he padded into the clearing. There was chatter, including obvious frustrations, rising around talk of the missing kits from every corner of the gathering.

So Skyclan was not the only one to lose their kin. It was a far less comforting thought than he imagined it might be. The bent tail behind him flickered back and forth lazily. He was prepared to settled next to Smokefeather and drift into light conversation or peaceful quiet, but a Riverclan she-cat caught his eye. Wisteriabloom? If he remember correctly. Desperation and sadness was written across her maw. Wrenspring sighed. He couldn't ignore a cat who'd allowed them to nest in their camp, nor a queen who looked so distraught. Settling back on his haunches, the warrior sought the right words. It wasn't, the perfect solution, but he finally meowed, "You don't think Skyclan took your kits, do you? We never would, not after everything... And we lost some too. But don't worry I'm sure they'll all be found in time, right?" The words were gentle and soft, a tone seldom used from him. An accompanying flicker of a smile tried to cheer Wisteriabloom but it fell away. ♢

ooc pt.2;;
kitepaw is harassing jaypaw
wrenspring is chatting with wisteriabloom