February Clan Meeting

Yet another full moon, and once again there was no gathering. Lilacstar could not understand why StarClan would allow all of this, she probably never would understand, but that was not what mattered. Questioning it would not make StarClan help. They had to bring about their own change. And Lilacstar had a perfect plan. She would hold her own gathering, right here in WindClan camp. It wouldn't be the same without the other Clans, but maybe it would be just what the Clan needed.

So here she now stood at the base of the tall rock. This was something she could not do from the bottom, but at the same time, she hated being at the top. It just felt wrong. So it was with hesitant footsteps that she climbed. The moon shone behind her, outlining her figure in silver. She could already feel the glares of the asylum cats as they watched her, but she could care less. She stopped caring about what they thought of her when they killed Gingertalon.

With a deep breath, she passed the point of no return. Maybe the asylum wouldn't know what this was, but maybe they would. Either way, she was doing this. "Let all cats old enough to run the moors gather around for a Clan GATHERING!"


OOC: This clan meeting serves as the February Gathering. Please post with your character(s) by Feb. 15 to have the requirement count. Thank you!

Shrikestorm was roused from his personal musings by the sound of their new leader, Lilacstar. It was weird knowing that WindClan was being led by someone else, as if a thief in the night had stolen Olivestar from them. Shaking the thoughts from his head, he padded out into the clearing, feeling a sense of normality upon seeing Lilacstar on top of the Tallrock. That was where the leader belonged, after all.

His eyes glanced from left to right, unable to keep up a smile at the sight of all the Asylum cats lurking around. He was sure that his clanmates were still worried, wondering why StarClan had abandoned them. Of course, he knew why, and he had tried to tell Olivestar, but she refused to believe him. Now she was gone: how many more of his clanmates was he going to lose before this scourge was defeated?

The sound of Lilacstar's voice, and just the sight of the leader on top of the rocks, sent Amberfluff skidding towards the rock. She settled herself down at the base, a little closer than she probably should have. Not close enough to trespass on "on the rock" borders, of course, but still pretty close. Seriously, what is it with her and wanting to be as close to Lilacstar as possible? Whatever she was feeling wasn't even anywhere close to rational!

Whatever it was, Amberfluff settled down and looked up at Lilacstar, giving her an encouraging smile. How strange. When I see Lilacstar all I want to do is this, but when I see Dayspring I don't feel this way. Even though they're literally so similar. How is that possible? She mused silently as she waited.

Spotlake padded out into the clearing. The kits were all sleeping, so she would be able to go to the 'clan gathering' of sorts. She sat down and wrapped her tail around her paws, before looking up at Lilacstar.

Downtuft and Shyfawn sat flank to flank as they looked up at Lilacstar. If felt so.. weird to have her up there. She looked better down here, with them. At least, that's what Downtuft thought. Either way, he was interested in what would happen tonight. "Downtuft, go convince Softbreeze to sit by the Tallrock. It'll look more like a proper gathering and it'll reassure our Warriors. Smallbean and Dayspring, too." At Shyfawn's sudden request, Downtuft looked confused until she explained, nodding, he padded into the healer's den. "Smallbean! Softbreeze! Hey, Lilacstar's holding a-- er, Gathering..? Anyways, Shyfawn think it'll be best if you sit by the Tallrock. You know.. How you do at real Gatherings? She thinks it'll make every cat feel more at ease, and I'm inclined to agree. It's... unnerving to see Lilacstar over there all alone."

Softbreeze didn't move for a solid minute until, finally, she silently stood. Downtuft gasped in horror as she stepped into the light. Under her eyes were heavy bags, and she was as skinny as a stick. Her pelt hung off of her as if it didn't fit properly and her gait was wobbly at best. Her tired, slow movement were as ungracefully as a swan, and her pelt's colors seemed thrice as dull. She made no sound as she made her way through the crowd, and a ripple of shock passed through the Gathered WindClanners. It was a rare sight to see the medicine cat these days, even in her den, always concealed by shadows. Softbreeze all but fell over by the Tallrock, and made no effort to correct her posture. Why did it matter? Two of the single most important cats in her life were gone and they hadn't even said goodbye to her. If it wasn't for the sake of it being a Gathering, she wouldn't have come out of her hiding hole. She didn't need another reminder that Olive was gone.

Shyfawn's pelt bristled with unease and worry as her blue eyes stared at the disheveled medicine cat. Oh, Softbreeze... Poor Softbreeze. She was clearly taking Olivestar and Morningdove's.. Disappearance terribly, to say it nicely. As Downtuft sat back down beside her she blinked sympathetically at him. "It can only get better from here, right?"

Her only response from the tom was another sigh.

Honeypaw was beginning to wonder if she'd ever see a real Gathering in her life. Due to her illness as a kit, she'd been stuck in the den when the Clans still met under the full moon. Now, the Asylum kept the Clan in a stone-strong grip. It was as if a whole mountainside had fallen down from Highstones and buried them, preventing them from seeing the stars and the other Clans.

When Lilacstar yowled for the Clan to meet, Honeypaw was surprised, but not unwelcoming to this. She was desperate for some king of normalcy during this insane string of events. Still, something felt off about holding a Gathering that wasn't at the Fourtrees. Was it the loneliness? The lack of weary paws padding across open moor? She didn't know. How could she? Either way, she sat beneath the Tallrock.

This was WindClan, her home, and she was determined to make the most of it for her mother. Who was she to squander the chance that Rookpaw gave her by fleeing all the way to the Clans from her mysterious father long ago?

If anything, not having Gatherings was a good thing, especially since Dayspring was the deputy now. She had never experienced one in the flesh despite the fact that her older WindClan counterparts had, but she didn't feel as if she had missed out on anything. A meeting of cats from all five Clans in one small clearing only sounded like a disaster waiting to happen. The Asylum putting an end to Gatherings meant that, for now, she had nothing to worry about. The she-cat silently followed her denmates as they all slipped out of the warriors' den at Lilacstar's call. Her pawsteps were uncertain as she joined the crowd. What was she supposed to do? She couldn't sit at the back anymore, that wasn't her job. The moment that she had been appointed as deputy, there was no such thing as blending in with the background. Dayspring made a straight-shot for the front of the crowd and settled herself down without a word.

Surely the Asylum cats would be confused as to what was going on, but they couldn't possibly be upset with this. Their rules had been clear: the five Clans were not allowed to participate in Gatherings - and this wasn't an official Gathering. When Gingertalon had been murdered, her view on those cats had drastically changed. They had promised that they wouldn't hurt any Clan cats as long as they followed the rules that they had put in place for the forest, and yet they had taken away the life of yet another WindClanner. The she-cat had never exactly "respected" the Asylum in the first place, but now any small ounce of goodness she had felt towards them was gone.

Dayspring had come to the bitter conclusion that she was selfish. All she had cared about was herself. In fact, when she became deputy, all she could think about was how she wouldn't be able to remain in her shell anymore. It was time for her to start focusing on her Clan instead of focusing on her own feelings. The Asylum wasn't going to steal another life away from WindClan if Dayspring had any say in it.

Eagletalon padded out of the warrior's den and sat in the shadow's with the Asylum cats. She wasn't one of them, but she had been in the shadow's her entire life and it was where she was comfortable. Her golden eyes blinked as she saw the newest deputy of Windclan, Dayspring run up to the highrock.

Eagletalon was a little jealous that a younger cat had been appointed the position of deputy, but in a time like this all Eagletalon wanted to do was to blend in with the darkness around her to avoid causing anymore trouble.

Dayspring, she remembered, had been a shy little kit that hadn't want to approach anyone and would take orders from warrior's very easily. It would be hard now to accept that the shy kit was deputy, but Lilacstar decided that it would be so.

Deerhawk's head rose slightly from he and his mate Heatherrain's shared nest, gaze bleary at having been woken. A few moments passed before Lilacstar's words took any meaning in his mind. A Gathering? Just for WindClan? He huffed quietly so as not to wake the still-slumbering molly at his side. A silly idea, but trying to maintain some sense of normalcy couldn't hurt too much. The short-furred tom was reluctant to move away from what little warmth they shared on this cold night, and so he didn't. Instead, he pulled his legs under him to sit up straight, mentally joining the "Gathering" while not moving from his spot. Pumpkin eyes wandered between the young Lilacstar and Dayspring. Not so long ago they were both just apprentices beneath Olivestar's watchful eye. They'd risen so far in so little time. The older he got, the faster time seemed to go by; it was faster than a  falcon diving for its prey now. The future descending upon them at breakneck speed, leaving nothing but memories in the dust.

There was a snake hiding somewhere in his brain. Striking whenever it pleased. 'Tawnykit and Henkit would be warriors by now,' it hissed, causing him to turn his head away from the gathered cats. He and Heatherrain had laid their daughter Spiderkit to rest not a moon after her sisters disappeared. He let out a shaky, foggy breath. Perhaps it was fated that Deerhawk wasn't to have a family, but it was too cruel to take from her as well.

"This has been a terrible Leafbare." A given. He couldn't quite look any cat in the face while he spoke. Instead, he kept his gaze fixated on the full moon.

Flashstrike was halfheartedly picking apart a terribly skinny rabbit when Lilacstar called together WindClan for a-- “A Gathering?” he echoed, dull eyes narrowing in skepticism. What use was a Gathering for only one Clan? But as his clanmates came slowly together-- and, shockingly, Softbreeze even joined them, even if she looked like she’d been through the Dark Forest and back-- he began to piece it together. The young tom eventually left the remains of his small meal to take up a seat in the growing throng of his Clan. Now more than ever they needed to stick together.

Brookpaw snorted crossly, glaring her mentor, Downtuft, across the clearing. The medicine cat, Softbreeze, soon joined and Brookpaw looked at her in disgust. How could a cat of such power not bother with even cleaning her fur? Brookpaw huffed, catching sight of Eagletalon and sending a snarl her way. Sitting in the shadows like one of those Asylum cats.

Looking up at Lilacstar, Brookpaw felt a small twang of uneasiness. She didn't remember Olivestar all too clearly, but she knew the gray tabby had been a good leader.

Eagletalon sighed as one of the younger apprentices sent a snarl her way. In fact, many of the clan cats weren't exactly thrilled with her at the moment, but that was to be expected since she was one of the clan cat's that welcomed the Asylum Cats.
Even before the Asylum cats came into the camp, or 'invaded' was the world that the older warrior's used, she used to sit in the shadow's of the gatherings in Fourtrees. This was nothing new, but to the warrior's and the younger ones it would seem that she was a traitor.

Foxspirit rose from her nest and stretched as she heard Lilacstar's call, her bones cracking uncomfortably. She hadn't been in her prime even before the Asylum took over, but it was becoming more and more noticeable each day. Her apprentice was almost a warrior, and she believed it would soon be time for her to retire to the elders den. Foxspirit was getting old, she couldn't keep denying that. I wonder if this is how Quailfeather felt when I was apprenticed to her... She did go to the elder's den shortly after I became a warrior. Even if it was under... less ideal situations. She rememberd the dog attack that had been the final push towards Quailfeather becoming an elder, though she had been close to Foxspirit's current age at the time. Her mind full of these thoughts, she walked up to the base of the Tallrock and sat next to her daughter, Spotlake.

Lilacstar glanced over the cats around her, and it appeared as though even Softbreeze had joined the gathering. She cast a sympathetic glance at the medicine cat, taking note of her current condition. The season had been hard for every cat, but it had seemed to have taken an especially large toll on Softbreeze. If only there was something the leader could do for her medicine cat.

Clearing her throat, she tore her gaze away and instead looked at her Clan equally. "It is a given that this leafbare has not been easy. With the unwanted extra mouths to feed, as well as being cut off from the other Clans," a pointed look at the group of Asylum cats bunched together, "the season has been a trial. One that many, regretfully, were unable to see the end of. But we are still here. We are still alive, and dare I say, thriving. We continue to gain new kits, apprentices, and warriors. And we all still have each other. I ask of you all, commune with each other. Focus not on what we have lost, but just this once, on what we have. Let this be a moment we can be at peace, if only temporarily." And so the she cat stepped down, ready, with a semi-forced smile, to speak with any cat that may approach.