RiverClan Clan Meeting - February 2021

It was a full moon, yet the whole of RiverClan was cooped up in camp. The sun had just fallen past the horizon, painting the sky with magnificent hues of red, gold, and purple, yet every face seemed to be painted with misery and sorrow. Except, of course, familiar faces such as Lyralei, who seemed to take pride and joy in the anguish that RiverClan felt. Nevermind that, though. Ivystar was willing to do whatever she felt might bring some semblance of tradition back to the Clans, and if that meant holding a miniature Gathering with just her Clanmates, then so be it. She padded out of the warrior's den, shaking out her thick pelt and sending bits of snow flying off in the process. It had been a cold Leaf-Bare, and she couldn't deny that Asylum's extra paws when it came to hunting were helpful... But she would've preferred the struggle for food than occupation by hostile, unfriendly faces. RiverClan would've prevailed without their help.

She thought of what Jaystar would've done if he'd been in her position. Would he have raised claws to Asylum and risk the safety of the Clan, or fight back? She truly had no clue. One thing she did know, however, is that he would've done it in confidence. He would've stood with pride and passion. So, she lifted her chin and squared her shoulders, giving herself a quick nod of encouragement before leaping up to the Willow Branch. Clearing her throat, she made she that her confidence didn't waver as she called for the Clan to gather. "RiverClan, gather beneath the Willow Branch for a Clan meeting!" Her whiskers twitched as she glanced between the myriad of Asylum cats stationed around camp. "We've been stripped of our right to gather with the rest of the forest, but we will still hold a Gathering amongst ourselves this full moon." Her gaze shifted to Silverpelt, and she closed her eyes for a moment, fully expecting to be knocked off the branch by some trigger-happy pelt wearing fish guts for brains.

Dennis was scared. Scared of being recognised, of the obvious hurt and confusion on people's faces when they realised he didn't know them back. Scared of loneliness; he wasn't on the same wavelength as the rest of RiverClan. They all seemed to know something he didn't, and were visibly uncomfortable around him. But most simply, he was scared of the huge, scary-looking cats wearing dead animals on their backs who guarded the Clan at all times. In this, at least, he wasn't alone; everyone in camp looked at them with fear, loathing, or a mixture of both. They weren't supposed to be here. Like him, in a way. He wished dearly that he was back home, cuddled up to Crystal in his comfortable nest. Coming here was a mistake, and he was starting to realise that.

The little three-legged tom limped outside of the den they'd put him in. It was full of herbs, something that he would perhaps appreciate if the smell didn't bring back painfully vague memories every time he inhaled. He took a deep breath to clear his sinuses of the scent and watched with confusion as Ivystar(a name he found marginally easier to remember than the others) leapt up onto a large branch and called a Clan meeting. He wasn't sure if he could go. Was he really part of the Clan? But as he looked up at the leader of RiverClan, sitting there all brave like her home wasn't being invaded and her(apparently) son didn't not have the faintest clue who she was, he felt that he owed it to her to join them. He could handle the stares and the murmurs for one meeting.

Limping further out of his den, he sat down not far from the branch. He was afraid to make eye contact, but his ears were alert to let her know he was listening. He was trying.

Shimmerdust probably wouldn't have minded if there was no clan meeting, but as it is, she settled down anyways. And of course, one second after that, she had to undo everything she had just done by jumping right to her paws, after seeing someone.

"SPIDERQUILL? Are you okay? What's up with your leg?" She exclaimed, very worried about how the Medicine Cat-was he a Medicine Cat still, or a former one?-who seemed to have a missing leg. Not to mention that he had just returned after more than...a Moon? 2 Moons? of being missing. Shimmerdust was not too caught up on what had happened with him.

Loonwhisper inched toward the Willow Branch, very hesitant to admit his excitement about this faux-Gathering concept, since it seemed most cats were decidedly melacholy about the affair. His clanmates, it seems, would have preferred a true meeting, at Fourtrees. Their deputy, ever the contrarian, was very happy to have a practice trial, seeing as he had no idea what a deputy was meant to do at a Gathering other than sit and make idle conversation... which he was very much not good at.

If and when they ever had a Gathering again, he would be expected to make it work. And while social ostracization and embarrassment were not personal fears of his, making a fool of Ivystar would not bode well for any of them. Loonwhisper already felt quite foolish as it was. At one point, he considered going to Jayshriek for advice, before quickly realizing that he would probably not enjoy being asked by the tom he technically lost to how to handle the position. So he opted to take a much more eclectic approach to deputyship than others might, blending in tradition wherever he saw fit (which was almost always completely arbitrary) until he hit a stride that he liked. It was to be the same case here.

He couldn't mime interactions with a group of invisible deputies, though. That would just be silly. Luckily for Loonwhisper, there was one cat in the camp that clearly felt just as out of place as him who might benefit from the deputy's little experiment. He touched his nose to Shimmerdust's shoulder as he came around to the gathering crowd in a gentle greeting, acknowledging her very welcome presence. "Spiderquill," he hummed as he rounded on the three-legged tom. "Would you like topretend to be a deputy with me? Well. You'll be pretending. I won't be. But you'll be just as prepared as I am, if that makes you feel comfortable. Hoo-oo."

The little tom resisted the urge to cower when a young she-cat approached him. She called him Spiderquill- a name he found incredibly uncomfortable at the moment- and seemed to expect him to know her. He didn't, of course, but he gave her a pained smile. Fake it till you make it, I suppose. "Uh, hi. Um. I'm fine. Ah, the leg..." He furrowed his brows for a moment. He figured he'd just use what he knew to pretend to remember, but he didn't know anything about the leg. Just that he really, really didn't want to remember.

"There was an accident," he concluded. He was as in the dark about it as she was, and he figured he'd hardly removed the leg on purpose. He hoped that would suffice; while he didn't want to be rude, talking to anyone who used to know him made him feel like crying.

Which is why he was so pleasantly surprised by Loonwhisper. He didn't have the look on his face, the hopeful one that quickly turned to hurt when Dennis didn't act as he was expected to. As a matter of fact, apart from the name, the deputy gave no sign that he even knew him personally. It was refreshing. That being said, he really wasn't sure about the whole 'pretend to be a deputy' thing. He shuffled his paws nervously. "Um- sorry, what would that... entail? Do I just sit there?"

Wisteriabloom was surprised at the return of Spiderquill, to say the least. She desperately wanted to question him on what exactly had happened to her apprentice, Lilypaw, but decided against it, as from the way he was answering other cat's questions, he seemed to have suffered some sort of memory loss. Anyway, at the moment there were so many cats surrounding him that she decided against trying to approach him. There was one main question on her mind; how did he survive when Lilypaw didnt'? It wasn't like the medicine cat had much battle training. It's because it was your fault, Wisteriabloom. You didn't teach her well enough. She could've survived. She needed to stop trying to shield Moonpaw from the dangers of the forest. With the right training he would need to defend himself.

Lost in thought, she wandered to sit beside Shrikefrost, her two apprentices, past and present, on her mind. She hoped that Ivystar would begin to speak soon, but in all fairness, she had no idea what the tabby leader was going to say. What was there to say? Everyone knew what everyone was doing in the clan, pretty much - gossip and stories spread like wildfire. Still, Wisteriabloom did enjoy the formality that came with upholding tradition, and also the spark of defiance against Asylum that followed.

CreamPaw went over feeling good it was technically a gathering but only RiverClan so she could not wait to hear the story’s of things happening around RiverClan.

Streamtail desperately wanted to see her other friends outside of RiverClan this moon, but unfortunately that was going to be forbidden. Asylum didn't allow them to do that, and even though she still had Wisteriabloom, Duran and Shimmerdust to talk to, her daily routines had become boring. She missed being able to see the faces of her other friends. Shaking her head slowly, the experienced warrior padded towards the crowd of gathering cats and sat down, looking for someone to interact with.

Moonpaw padded over to join his mother and father, unconcered with how the clan was coping with the 'stripped gathering' status. He turned his gaze towards his mother who seemed to be lost in some sort of way, more mentally that physically. He followed her gaze and saw that she was staring at Spiderquill...although he didn't know Lilypaw he had heard stories about how the young she-cat had died and that his mother blamed it on herself, which is exactly why he was assigned to her in the firstplace. To remove any guilt from her former apprentice.

He flicked his tail and turned back to address his mother. [color=#00ccff]"Why is Asylum making such a big deal out of the Full Moon gatherings? We are all one clan now and I don't see the point of keeping us separate if we are one."[/color] He huffed. He hadn't previously attended a gathering, instead asked to stay in camp while the older apprentice's went. This was his first gathering and he didn't see anything wrong with the way that the clan was gathered other than that Asylum was keeping them away from their extended 'family.'

The terse night air was gently displaced under the soft, silky flourish of heavy fur grating against churned sand, the faint rivulets of quiet conversation continuously bubbling against the frigid night air, playfully mimicking the steady bubbling of a freshwater stream. There was a dark, rifting furrow between the finely sculpted arches of Jayshriek's angular features, a lingering undercurrent of carefully displayed callousness that had become synonymous his natural character. Though being forced to idle at the claws of Asylum had become an increasingly agitating source of irritation simmering low in his being, the concept of missing a Gathering did little to further fan the flames- it wasn't as though he did much at a Gathering, aside from continuously finding himself stumbling into the awaiting presence of Kitefire.

Sharp jut of the chin cutting pointedly into the careful, methodical flexing of his idle forepaw bones, the dark-furred tom remained huddled against the outskirts of the clearing, content to merely observe the formalities his many Clanmates seemed to content with practicing. Honey dark gaze remaining purposeful fixed against the willowy, silvery outline of Ivystar, little reaction registered against the careful portrayal of indifference Jayshriek donned.

The flicker of defiance in Ivystar's emerald eyes hadn't faded as she struggled to keep a smug grin off her face, glancing between the many Asylum guards swarming camp. Once the majority of the Clan seemed to be in the snowy clearing and Ivystar was satisfied with her audience, she began. "Despite the presence of our visitors, there have been many developments over the past few moons." The silver she-cat stressed the word visitor perhaps a bit too much, but she was far beyond the point of caring. "Dewpaw, Ripplepaw, Creampaw, and Moonpaw have left their nests in the nursery to train as warriors. Jayshriek and Flashlight, in spite of the setbacks they've experienced, have earned their warrior names as well. As you already know, Loonwhisper has been named the new deputy."

Ivystar's gaze shifted between each of her Clanmates below, but if often lingered for just a few seconds longer on Spiderquill. It was almost like if she looked away for long enough, he'd disappear again, and this time, he wouldn't come back. Some strange wouldn't be kind enough to return him to his home... If the she-cat could even be called a stranger. She had to have some sort of familiarity with the Clans if she knew who Spiderquill was and his relation to RiverClan. Nevermind that though, a question for a different day, a story for another time. "I'd also like to bring attention to Spiderquill. As you're all aware, Spiderquill was missing for some moons, but a kind she-cat guided him home. He's got some healing to do, so go easy on him." A soft, brief smile formed on her maw as she sat atop the branch, glad that he was at least safe at home, even if he hardly knew who she was. "Remember, RiverClan, we are stronger than those who oppose us. I am with you. RiverClan will always prevail." With the news shared, she leaped from her spot on the branch and joined her Clanmates in the middle of camp, sharing tongues with those who wished to.

---

If you've posted before February 15th, you've officially earned the gathering requirement for February 2021! So, to clarify: Spiderquill, Shimmerdust, Loonwhisper, Wisteriabloom, Creampaw, Streamtail, Moonpaw, and Jayshriek have met the requirements for this gathering. Feel free to write your characters reacting to the news, and to use this as a "sharing tongues" topic! It's a great chance to fill development requirements and bond with Clanmates!

Moonpaw nodded at Ivystar's words slightly confused, although not slightly confused. "Jayshriek, why did we need to have a gathering if the clan already knew most if not all of the news? We are all here in the clans, so it would made sense to not have a gathering since we all knew the news." He realized that he was repeating himself, but it was all that much more confusing to him.