February Clan Meeting for SkyClan

The moon was high and full like a swollen, bloated tick. Wolfstar, from his position at the entrance of his cold, lonesome den, stared up at it, amber eyes awash with a variety of emotions, none of which he could particularly pinpoint. Beechface had finally allowed him out of her care, and his ribs, though achy and sore, had mostly mended. Typically, right now the clan would be at Fourtrees, with the others, sharing news, learning, socializing. But tonight they were alone. Alone except for the Asylum cats who had become so common to him that Wolfstar barely saw the difference anymore. He almost couldn't remember what it was like before they'd come. Dull, lonely eyes searched the clearing, hoping for a glimpse of Blossomstep, but even she eluded him tonight. The leader let out a long, forlorn sigh.

What he wouldn't give for a scrap of normalcy... some sense that things hadn't all changed. That the clan could be repaired.

Maybe he could, though..? Wolfstar lifted his head, ears flicking as he deliberated, and then he sat up, suppressing a shiver as a cruel wind cut through the clearing. "SkyClan!" he yowled. "Gather before me!" When a few cats had come to his call, he continued. "The full moon marks the night of the Gathering. We are no more five clans, but that doesn't mean we must lose all traditions. From this day forth, SkyClan will hold our own Gathering here, on the full moon!"

[[This counts as a Gathering for reqs! You must post before the 15th of the month to get credit!]]

Ravenclaw was sulking. It wasn't unusual for her to be like that nowadays, but she had become further sulky the longer the invaders stayed within their camp. Having them around was bad enough, but having a traitor - a cat she reluctantly believed shared her blood - was deputy. Everything was all wrong. This wasn't what she had been raised to grow up in. So she answered Wolfstar's call, merely because he was the leader. She sat near the back of the clearing, affixing her leader with a less-than-pleasant expression. He didn't have to make that traitor deputy, and yet, there they were. This all had to be some sort of sick joke.

Even though the full moon was high in the sky, Primroselight had expected for tonight to be like any other. She was, however, pleasantly surprised when Wolfstar called a clan meeting. Some of his words angered her, but she was happy enough that he was acknowledging the ancient tradition of Gatherings. As the clan gathered, she joined her sister, Ravenclaw. It was clear how unhappy the young warrior was, merely by the drag of her tail on the still-frozen ground.

"Hey Raven." She greeted, smiling, "I know it's not the best, but cheer up a bit! Just imagine we're at a real Gathering." Even though she had tried to sound cheerful, like she usually was, the words felt strange and forced. It was impossible to imagine. There was no loud chatter, only a quiet mumbling that spread across the clearing. No mess of a thousand scents, each one different in their own unusual way, whether they were cats of the river, shadows, forest or moors.

Beechface's ears twitched back at the summons, and she reluctantly stalked from her den, resisting the urge to snarl as she passed between the pair of rogues that sat on either side of the medicine den as if they were part of the scenery, as if they belonged. To say it rubbed her fur the wrong way was an understatement, one she'd had no problem making known.

And she could do nothing to remove their presence. She despised that she was becoming used to it, even as some of her clanmates seemed to take the changes in stride.

Her gaze landed on Wolfstar briefly as she sank onto her haunches, but didn't linger, instead turning to glare at the ground as if it had personally decided to trip her. There was a knot of bitterness in her throat when she looked at her former mentor, tinged with something else. Guilt? Unease? She wasn't sure. And hiding behind her anger rather than analyzing that knot of emotion wasn't making it go away like she wanted it to. Maybe she could've tried talking to her grandfather in an attempt to figure it out but... Beechface wasn't sure she wanted to just yet. She wasn't sure she could do so without biting his head off, and that had been proven to really help things. Really.

She hated to admit that someone else was right, but... Wolfstar was right. The situation didn't need to be escalated.

The notion of there not being five clan made her want to scoff. Now he wanted to follow tradition? He'd named a traitor who was more rogue than Skyclan as deputy and wanted to keep to tradition? Tradition, when rogues breathed down the clan's neck at every turn? Beechface silently seethed at the idea.

Pointless, is what this was. There were far more important things to focus on, like driving out these rogues for good.

Still, expressing her thoughts wouldn't exactly help things, and short of claws and fangs, Beechface had no ideas that would help. Diplomat, she was not. Reigning in her own temper was more of an effort these days than ever, but it was an effort she had to make, at least for now.

She said nothing, but silently made her way towards one of her siblings, settling down next to Ravenclaw near the back of the crowd. Distance from Wolfstar, though not from her own thoughts. At least she could count on getting along with Ravenclaw and agreeing with her on most things. And it looked like she wasn't the only one sulking about their situation, so at least Beechface was in good company.

"Hey," She offered a lackluster greeting.

Primroselight joined them, and Beechface rolled her eyes. Ever cheerful, her littermate was.

"Well... At least this isn't as crowded." She tried to sound optimistic, but her tone sounded flat.

Tuftpaw felt uneasy. The events preceding this full moon were less than great. In fact, most of them were abysmal. Worse than those events alone was the fact that the Clan was under the control of the Asylum, who dared to dictate the traditions and lives of the Clan cats. What did they know of honor, of love, of family? Nothing! So, who were they to make any decisions on the behalf of SkyClan? Of any Clan? Either way, there was little she could do. The power to decide the fate of the Clan was out of her paws. She was a mere apprentice, nothing more. Keeping to herself, she barely picked her head up enough to listen to Wolfstar's words. A Clan Gathering? What kind of nonsense was this?

Regardless of whether she agreed, she heeded Wolfstar's summons.

Blossomstep's fur was dull, hanging off of her body. Since she had crashed through the ice of the creek, and fought with Wolfstar, she had developed a cough - one she tried to hide from the clan. It was leaf-bare, and she was still young, there was no point wasting herbs on her when she should be able to overcome the cold easily. Her head rose from where she lay as she heard Wolfstar's summons, and with a soft sigh she sat up and joined the gathering cats. Her ears flicked as he spoke, and she scowled at his mention of the clans, before a glimmer of warmth appears in her gaze as he continued. She was silent for a few heartbeats before speaking out softly. "I like this idea." She mewed, shifting her weight before looking up to meet Wolfstar's gaze. "I like this idea, however, may I make a suggestion before we begin, Wolfstar?"

Copperfox had been about to settle in for bed when he heard Wolfstar's call. He popped right back up from his nest and trotted hastily to where Wolfstar sat. He reclined onto his haunches and stared, unsure of what the meeting was about. What was going on? He saw Beechface and his mother... at least it wasn't anything to do with them.

---

Dawnhawk barely heard Wolfstar's voice on the wind, as he had been out on patrol elsewhere. "Hmm..." He couldn't think of anything Wolfstar might need to speak about, but he came regardless. Asylum guards followed Dawnhawk as they always did. He took a seat at the edge of the clearing and watched. A lot of the fire that Dawnhawk had had in recent moons had... died fairly considerably. He hoped it didn't show much on his face.

Wolfstar’s yowl reached Jaypaw partway through her sparrow, the result of five minutes’ rooting through the fresh-kill pile to find the fattest one. As annoying as the interruption was, she couldn’t be too irritated. Meetings meant ceremonies, which might mean her ceremony. (Never mind that she’d been a kit this time last moon—she could hunt and fight, what more could there be to warriorhood?) She leapt to her feet, holding the sparrow by one half-bare wing, and trotted over. At Wolfstar’s next words, the light drained out of her eyes. Oh. A Gathering. She couldn’t pinpoint why that sounded familiar or, more importantly, why Wolfstar was using such a fancy name for an ordinary (albeit ceremony-less) meeting. Still, she was here; she might as well stay. Jaypaw plopped down and resumed gnawing on her prey, watching as SkyClan and Asylum found their places.

Jaypaw is open to talk!

Ashstorm walked out of the warriors den and trotted towards were Wolfstar called.  Not because she was happy with the idea, but because the leader told her to.  She was not mad at Wolfstar or any Skyclan cat anymore.  Asylum cats?  That was a different story.  That horrible beast that nearly killed her brother deserved to die and she did not understand why that Asylum cats life was not taken from her yet.  But, no matter what she would always love Dawnhawk.  As well as the Asylum cat she fell in love with and had given her the kits that filled her belly, that not too many other cats knew about yet.  She was not ashamed that she was having kits with an Asylum cat who she loved, she was just afraid of how the Skyclan cats would act towards him if they knew.

Ashstorm knew that Wolfstar was doing the best he could now that they could not do Gatherings anymore, but still this did not feel right to Ashstorm.  She had never been to a Gathering and hoped that the first one she went to would be great with all the clans... Not just Skyclan and the Asylum.  Still she came, but sat farther away from Wolfstar than the others.  She sat, she waited, she watched.  Maybe one day I'll be able to see the other clans, she thought.  But I don't even know if I'll ever get to see my father again.

Ravenclaw was relieved that two of her sisters were the ones who sat next to her as more clan cats started filing in. It was her family whom she trusted the most when it came to her frustrations at what was happening in the forest. Especially Beechface, who was a kindred soul in hating those intruders. "It's just not the same," she sighed, looking around her. It was called a gathering, but it was far from what a real one was. Then again, she hated the other clans, so what was she complaining about? She nodded in greeting to Beechface, but couldn't muster up the energy to make conversation. She just wanted to sit there and seethe.

Deerpaw sulked in his nest, feeling unusually resentful towards the Asylum. It wasn't like the young tom to be so angry at the invaders, but tonight was the first full moon since he had been made an apprentice, and he was sorely aware of where he should have been that night. [i]If it weren't for them I'd be at my first gathering right now.[i]

He perked up at Wolfstar's call and padded into the clearing. A meeting of just Skyclan wouldn't be the same as a real Gathering, but with Asylum controlling the clans, it was the next best thing. His tail flicked restlessly as he weaved through the crowd to sit with the other apprentices. He noticed Jaypaw munching on a sparrow and shot a disapproving look at the half-eaten bird, but sat down next to her anyway.

Like a few of the other younger warriors and apprentices within the Clan, Graybird had never had the chance to experience an actual Gathering. She still had no idea why the Asylum had decided to put an end to them. Perhaps it was because they were afraid that the five Clans would have enough numbers altogether to put up a decent fight. While they were separated, the Asylum saw the Clans as units that were easy to manage. It made Graybird feel defenseless, and she absolutely hated it. She was quiet as she made her way over to join her Clanmates after hearing Wolfstar’s call. If this was the closest thing that she would ever get to attending a Gathering then so be it. There was no purpose in being unnecessarily pessimistic in times like this. The mood that hung in the camp clearing everyday was already nowhere near as cheerful as it could be.

She sat down amongst the cats that she had grown up with for her entire life and practically had to force herself to not give the Asylum cats that had weaved themselves into the mix a blank expression. It was impossible to see them any other way.

Not even the downy walls of the nursery could keep out all the noise from within the camp-- and Fedora heard the call to a meeting while she was dozing in her feather lined nest.
“SkyClan! Gather before me!”
SkyClan… That was what Adderflare had told her to call her home, even if Bobpa insisted on calling it something different. Fedora rolled out of her nest in a flail of paws much too big for her to investigate the ruckus. On first glance, the camp looked the same-- except with a few more cats than usual. Even they looked the same, sad and dull. That was something Fedora never really understood. Everyone-- except Bobpa, of course-- looked miserable.
“What’s a gathering?” She asked in a loud squeak, wide eyes searching around for a cat that would answer her. “Is it some kind of game? Can I play?”

Jasminepaw noted Sparrowkit's presence with a small smile. "I-I think... A Gathering is, um, when all five Clans meet up." She murmured softly, uncertain. "But, um, since we can't see the other Clans... I guess we're having our own Gathering? I-I'm not too sure, though, I've, um, never been to one before.." The white and brown tabby trailed off, embarrassment heating her pelt.

It was quiet for a while as he waited, and watched the cats gather before him, and to Wolfstar's surprise, one of the first to speak - to **him** was Blossomstep. Taken aback for a moment, the leader blinked, his ears rotating back, and then ne nodded to the she-cat, "Of course... Blossomstep," he said a bit cautiously. "Speek freely."