November Gathering 2020

Daisybloom followed her clan into the gathering as usual, remembering the promise she had made to herself half a moon ago. She wanted to get to know Spiderquill and Softbreeze today. The tabby sat down in her usual spot, but before she could try to strike a conversation, cries about the missing kits erupted. So it hadn’t just been Thunderclan? That was unsettling. Gulping, she prayed it wasn’t the Righteous Few or anything like that. Turning towards the other medicine cats, she stumbled over her words. ”Oh, er, how is- how have your clans been?”

-

Frogpaw slipped in silently, eyes glancing around. Had the other clans taken the kits hostage? It seemed that something interesting was going to happen this gathering, to say the least. He kept his eyes on his father as he disappeared into the crowd, searching for a spot to sit. That was when he bumped into a cat equally as silent as he had been."Sorry." apologized the tom in an emotionless voice, sitting beside the Thunderclanner.

-

Sprucesnow took his time, but ended up at the gathering near the back of his clan’s crowd. He didn’t really feel like paying attention to any of the drama between the clans, he just wanted to chat with some cats, hopefully ones near to his age. He hadn’t turned up to a gathering in a while.

Daisybloom is talking with the meddies!
Frogpaw bumped into Buzzardpaw!
Sprucesnow is open to talk!
Cedarheart had stayed at camp

Shrikepaw came to this gathering while leaving her mom behind. The she-cat knew that her mom was still fighting with the reveal that Smallbean didn't truly love her. Although Shrikepaw contemplated staying in camp to comfort her mom, she decided against it, hoping that Cedarheart would be able to get over it by herself.

Of course, she regretted it immediately as she entered Fourtrees.

Mom's not alright, isn't she? I should have stayed back with her, a voice in her head said. But what could you do? What would help mom the most? Alone time, or being with her kit in Fourtrees? Either way, she couldn't exactly go back. Running back to ThunderClan would be very strange for a cat to do, and it would not be a good look for the clan as a whole. Well, I'm stuck here. Better make the most of it.

And the missing kits were a whole other matter that she was not willing to deal with at the current moment.

Noticing a mostly white she-cat sitting near ShadowClan's side of the clearing, Shrikepaw padded towards the cat. She looks pretty cute. a side of her said, before another side of her thoughts bit back. No, Shrikepaw, you can't get into a relationship with a ShadowClan cat! That's against the warrior code, and you know it! Sighing, the apprentice sat down near the ShadowClan cat. "Hello, my name is Shrikepaw of ThunderClan," she said, introducing herself to the pretty ShadowClan cat. "What's yours?"

Shrikepaw is talking to Tulipfang.

Batbite made her way into the Gathering with the intent to perform her usual observations, settling close enough that she could both listen easily and keep an eye on her mate. There was no need to speak unless spoken to, and every reason to listen; especially now, as the leaders talked amongst themselves and her ears pricked up to understand what she could. Though the disappearance of one of ThunderClan's kits, as well as her own (admittedly elder) daughter, weighed heavily on her heart and her thoughts tonight, there was the ever-pressing matter of politics, the importance of which was made ever more apparent with the visible tension amongst the clans.

---

Zinnia trailed, as she often did, a little bit behind her fellow WindClan warriors; though for once the thoughts she was lost in were less than pleasant ones. Her youngest son was missing, and so as the rest of WindClan found their places in the Gathering she kept one ear pricked to listen for Olivestar's voice and one eye fixed on Lilacpaw, as if her daughter might also vanish into the ether if she were to turn her gaze.

---

Sauntering into Fourtrees with her usual casual confidence, Flashpaw levelled suspicious stares at the cats around her almost at random. Kits were missing from RiverClan, so everyone that wasn't RiverClan was a potential suspect; and as a result of her preoccupation she found herself only half-listening to the matters of the other clans.

(All are open to talk to! As a warning, Flash might not be super receptive. If you want an interrogation, though, go for it.)

Ivystar deflected any sideways glances from the idiotic SkyClan tom, instead focusing on the newly gleaned information that SkyClan and WindClan had lost kits as well. Shortly after, Nettlestar revealed that ThunderClan, too, was missing kits. "And ShadowClan?" She mewed, eyes locked on the allied leader across from her. Her hackles were still raised, but her ears were no longer slicked back against her skull, and her claws slowly began to retract. "Have any of you picked up on where they could be? We've searched our territory high and low, and went along the river as far as our paws could carry us, yet found nothing. This is clearly not an isolated incident, so we need to compile whatever information we might have on the matter for the sake of the kits."

Maplewhisker padded into the Gathering, thoughts swarming her head like bees.  The missing kits was the largest on her mind.  She hoped they would be found.  The Clans needed strong cats especially now as leaf-bare was approaching. Looking up at the leaders, she watched them discuss the missing kits.

Maplewhisker is open to talk to.

Nightwolf seemed happy to accept that answer without picking up on the accusations behind it, and the last threads of conversation died away. Snowflight was almost thankful for it. He had no interest in speculating about the kits’ whereabouts. The patrols hadn’t gotten them any answers; he doubted his brain could do better. Besides, Ivystar would probably mention it once the Gathering truly began. Maybe she already had. He couldn’t hear what was happening on the top of the Great Rock, but to say things looked tense would be an understatement.

A rusty-furred shape appeared at the edge of his vision. Of course Addershade wanted to sit with them. A season prior, Snowflight might’ve chafed at the idea that he needed supervision; as his gaze settled on his father now, however, he felt some of the fight leaching out of him, relief seeping in to fill the space. He patted a nearby spot with a paw. “Hey, Dad. ’S fine by me.” Did you see Willowbreeze? Giving himself a firm shake down to the end of his tail, he pushed a vague smile onto his muzzle. “What took you so long?”

Flintstar's ears perked as the leaders all slowly started to mention kits missing, his gaze jumping from each leader as each and every one admitted to them having also lost their kits. He glanced at Olivestar as she turned her attention to him, but he held his tongue for the moment...That was until Nettlestar also confirmed missing a kit and Ivystar posed the question to him again. "...Yes. We are also missing two kits. We have no traces on where they could be, there was no tracks even in our marsh or any scents to follow," he sighed, tail thumping against the ground. His eyes narrowed, frustration rising in his chest. He wasn't happy to be admitting this - that they were so lost for answers. It didn't make sense, how could there be no trace of them? "But what do you suggest we do? It seems none of us have any answers to where our kits have gone, or else the question of other Clans were missing kits would not have been asked. I suspect its all the same for all of us - no scents, no pawsteps, no trace."

Muted protests and thinly veiled disdain curling together atop the unpleasantly chilly air in a disastrous symphony of complaint was the precursory announcement of Kitepaw's sudden arrival, as well as the faintly lingering taste of cold-bitter foliage brushed upon Jaypaw's curling tongue. Ghostly intrigue crept across his carefully guarded features in the initial heartbeats of his adversary's tactless floundering, dark gaze two wide puddles of reflective light made all the brighter by the pallid light of the moon. However, Kitepaw's unknowing words had their intended effect; fiery river of seething rage coiling loftily between the sharp dip of the shoulder blades, lips curling and hard-cut jaw tensing, a mirror image of his mother's righteous fury currently being wielded against those also seated atop the Great Rock. Gathering himself to his full height above Kitepaw, silky dark coat roiling as though resembling a brewing thunderstorm, Jaypaw's scent grew sour under the sudden strain of his agitation- the jab at RiverClan's honor and the unfortunate reminder of the looming situation proving to be entirely too much.

"Watch your tongue, you miserable fox whelp." Jaypaw seethed, venomous words sharper than his pristine, flashing teeth. Liquid dark pupils contracted purposefully under the weight of his razing glare as he promptly closed the distance; the pair of quarrelsome Apprentices hardly more than a whisker or two apart. "Chase your pretty little minnows and titter like starlings in whatever misfortunate company ThunderClan cats enjoy keeping, some of us have kin to worry about." Hissing out a slow, long-simmering exhale of pale breath in Kitepaw's face for good measure, Jaypaw was entirely unwilling to concede any semblance of ground until he had some vein of reassurance that the molly understood the truth behind his words. Or at the very least understood how poor in taste the commentary proved to be, especially as it became more and more apparent that RiverClan was not alone in this tense situation.

It was difficult; to have a poor relationship with your family, yet suffer the pain of the grief just as intimately. The pain and shared fright was frightening and unfamiliar, made him restless and flighty like a wounded animal.

Minkstream padded in, a deep feeling of tiredness dragging his tail down behind him. The chill of the first snow didn't help much, except for keeping him awake, and heated voices at the Great Rock caught his ears as he padded in beside Batbite, his fur brushing against hers. Something about kits.... Stars, did it happen to them, too? He glanced at Bat, a vague feeling of unease deep in his chest, and padded over to join the deputies at the base of the Rock.

His eyes flicked over them, the question leaping to his tongue before any greeting. "You've lost kits, too?"

---

Swansong padded in and sat down.

Minkstream and Swansong are open to talk to!

“Yes, it was the same in ThunderClan-- not a single scrap of evidence left behind as to who took the kit, or how,” Nettlestar said. The seeming intangibility of it was certainly unnerving, and the fact that it seemed more than likely that none of the clans had any idea as to who perpetrators could be was certainly disheartening.

But there was that one thing-- Nettlestar was almost certain now that it must be perpetrators, plural, and more than that, someone with a plan and a method. It wasn’t just some strangely careful or very lucky predator, or a group of very curious kits who went exploring for a little too long. No, to be on this scale, with this little evidence left, there truly was something deeply deliberate about it. That didn’t reveal who did it, but it certainly felt like it helped narrow out who didn’t. Then again, the whole thing was strange and uncanny enough that she could always be entirely wrong; but she was desperate to cling onto any revelation, and she wasn’t willing to entertain the thought of her one idea being incorrect in the moment.

“I am certain of one thing,” she said, voicing her thoughts aloud now, “This was some kind of coordinated effort by a group. At this scale...it couldn’t have possibly been an individual doing it all, or even a pair, I think. I would say it would have to be a group of at least some substantial size. And I would expect that with this much effort put into it...it is only the start of something bigger. We should all be on our guards, I think. And we have the best chance of of stopping…whatever is happening if we all cooperate with each other as much as possible,”

She still had some suspicions that a group from within one of the other clans could be responsible; but if they were, with kits missing from each clan she doubted that a whole other clan was responsible, and she felt confident that none of the leaders were involved. So she was more than willing to work together if it meant standing in the way of something terrible.
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Buzzardpaw let out an alarmed croak as something bumped into him that he had not seen or heard coming at all. Turning his head, he saw it was a ShadowClan apprentice.

Sorry he heard the tom say. The voice sounded devoid of emotion, but strangely enough that made it easier for him to hear. Sometimes the rises and falls of full emotiveness were hard for him to follow; they made a voice rise too high or drop too low or move too rapidly for him to really hear well, and he often felt lost by them.

“That’s fine. No worries,” he responded, his own voice not quite emotionless but was in that strange, thin little monotone of his. He blinked slowly, then suddenly realized he should probably introduce himself. “I’m Buzzardpaw from ThunderClan,” he said. “Nice to meet you,”

He blinked slowly again and then realized it was probably slightly strange to say “nice to meet you” before actually knowing who the other cat was.

“Who are you?”

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“Ah, I was just, lost in thought, thinking about…”

Addershade didn’t finish the sentence. They were at a gathering. ShadowClan was here. He was quite certain they knew what he was thinking about. He reflected his son’s vague smile back onto his own face.

“Anyway, how are you both doing? I know with a litter of kits missing without explanation, it’s...I mean, it’s certainly enough to put one on edge, wondering what exactly it was that happened and what it means…”

Not that I’m not usually on edge, anyway, he thought briefly.

Pinefrost had only been ripped from his own musings by WindClan's medicine cat who was seemingly having a breakdown by the Great Rock. The tom blinked and furrowed his brow, feeling rather naked as he stood in reality once more. His thoughts had been intertwined with ThunderClan's kit and where she could have possibly gone, that, and the added feature of the rest of the clans missing their young as well. It could have well been Badgerkit that was missing - a thought that shot ice through Pinefrost's veins. If Thrushnose hadn't opted to stay behind in camp with the young scrap, then the warrior wouldn't even be attending this gathering. He missed last moon's on account of being much to tired to go. Himself and a few other warriors had stayed up late in the night, laughing and joking on all kinds of things, but such revelry felt so distant now. Pinefrost was a father - no longer could he laugh late into the night. No, he needed answers.

He had only been half-listening as the leaders talked. Instead, Pinefrost's gaze drifted from his shadowed neighbors, to those across the river. Was it too out of the picture to believe they had something to do with Laurelkit's disappearance? It couldn't have been a predator, no. There were no tracks left behind, no scent, nothing to pitch the idea that anything less intelligent than a cat could have stolen Laurelkit from them. Pinefrost had promised Thrushnose he'd gather some greater information this gathering, but all he could do now was think. It seemed the rest of the clans were in a similar mindset. It was only Softbreeze's wailing that broke the tension.

---

It took all of Cinderpaw's willpower to convince herself to attend this moon's gathering. It seemed only right, to get answers on ShadowClan's missing kits, to convene with her fellow medicine cats. But 'fellow' wasn't a word Cinderpaw kept in her vocabulary. No. Everyone else in the forest was simply an acquaintance, a neighbor who occupied the same territory as her. The other clans needn't know of Brighteye's scratches or Mistyfalcon's injury. That was Cinderpaw's business and hers alone. Her father, Flintstar, seemed to agree, as she watched him speak high up on the rock. But he was far more composed and logical than both Ivystar and Wolfcall who began to accuse each other. Cinderpaw watched from the far end of the clearing, wondering why the tom had attended without Spottedstar. SkyClan's entire rankings had been struggling since the fire, but it wasn't of Cinderpaw's concern.

A wail from the base of the Great Rock turned the massive she-cat's apprentice that way. WindClan's medicine cat - Cinderpaw was blanking on a name - was sobbing over some great tragedy. Was it about the kits? Good grief. Imagine having such little control over your emotions... Cinderpaw thought to herself, still unable to move her massive frame to meet her other medicine cats at the base of the rock. She was content to sit at the edge of the clearing, as far away from that crying conversation as possible. Besides, what could the she-cat possibly gain from them? Mossbloom sat with the others, and her face alone drove Cinderpaw to wonder if she should weave through the clearing to address her mentor. But the journey was far too treacherous, as one must clamber through the clan's hostilities in the dip between Fourtrees, and Cinderpaw was not in the mood. Today, she decided, the ShadowClan medicine cat would only just skirt the gathering, evading conversation for a better day.

Pinefrost is open to talk to, but may be distracted
Cinderpaw is open to talk to - sitting at the edge of the clearing. It's strange to see a medicine cat so far away...

"Our trail ran dry halfway through the territory, too..." Wolfcall said shortly, his tail lashing once, still irritated by Ivystar's accusations. He stood, and paced to the edge of the rock and back once, glancing between the other leaders with hard eyes. "It's like they vanished without a trace. I thought maybe they were picked off by a predator, but..." he trailed off there, nauseated at the thought, and shook his head. "If kits are missing from every clan, it's not accidental, and it's not a coincidence. Someone is taking them, or luring them away, somehow. But why?" Wolfcall was still young, and hadn't seen nearly as many battles as the rest of the leaders, but kitnapping was a new concept to him entirely. Would they be used as ransom? Leverage? Killed outright, to make a statement? He didn't know. The possibilities terrified him.

His father’s trailing off was an answer in itself. Didn’t find her, huh. It only made sense she’d be on his mind, too. The white-furred tom squared his shoulders and glanced across the clearing, eyes falling just short of where ShadowClan had gathered, unsure which he feared more: seeing Willowbreeze comfortably among them or not seeing her at all. Addershade’s voice sounded again, less clear this time, and Snowflight turned back quick enough to catch most of what he said. He swept a paw over his left ear. “I’ve been better. It’s so tense here...” As useless as it was to wonder, he had to spend the night concentrating on something; if it wasn’t the kits, it’d end up being Willowbreeze. Lowering his voice (in the hopes of ensuring Nightwolf wouldn’t hear, though he’d never been great at gauging his whispers), he asked, “Who d’you think did it?” If Addershade suspected SkyClan, too… Well, it wouldn’t confirm anything, but at least Snowflight wouldn’t be alone.

Sitting and talking with the other Clans seemed like a waste of time this Gathering, especially with the kits still missing from camp. Tinypaw had decided to spend it pacing the clearing, both to keep his paws from freezing and to work through some of his restless energy. The small tom had circled the crowd twice now since ShadowClan had joined the rest of the Clans, and he was rounding on Cinderpaw’s position on the outskirts yet again when the wailing of a cat startled him into a pause. One of the medicine cats had let up the awful sound. It did nothing to ease his nerves to see a cat in so high a position break down like that. He gave himself a shuddering shake and pressed on towards his sister. “This is stupid,” he grumbled, finally sitting down beside Cinderpaw only to begin working his claws into the snow underpaw. “Wasting time with a Gathering like this when we could be looking for Emberkit and Burntkit...”

ooc: tinypaw is talking to cinderpaw