April Gathering 2021

Sparkfire padded after her Clanmates. This was the first time she had visited Fourtrees in many moons. She was shocked to see how damaged the clearing looked. She recalled her brother Flintstar telling her about the war between the Clans and the Asylum, and decided that this must have been the battlefield. Stars, what a mess. If it weren't for the four giant oak trees and the Great Rock towering over every cat, Sparkfire was sure she wouldn't have even recognized the place.

Sparkfire looked over at the cat that walked beside her, and she frowned at the look of utter worry on Honeysong's face. She brushed her cheek against her mate's, whispering soft encouragement to her. She knew how worried Honeysong was about their adopted son Softkit, who had to stay behind at ShadowClan camp, as he wasn't yet old enough to join tonight's Gathering. Sparkfire had made sure to assure Honeysong that her Clanmates would never harm Softkit, nor would they wish it upon him, and that he was safe and sound with the cats that had been ordered by Flintstar to guard the camp. She was sure that, once the Gathering stared, Honeysong would feel a little better.

---

The damage done to the gathering place of the five Clans caught Honeysong off guard. She had heard a few ShadowClan cats talking about the war that had taken place here at Fourtrees about a moon ago, but she never imagined it to still look more like a war zone than the sacred clearing she'd known and loved. She gulped nervously as her new Clan began descending the hill towards the clearing, having wished she hadn't let Sparkfire convince her to come tonight. She wanted to be back in camp, watching over Softkit and keeping him safe. She trusted the ShadowClan cats well enough, but that didn't stop her mind from coming up with crazy, ridiculous, and downright terrifying scenarios where the cats that had stayed behind harmed her beloved kit.

But that wasn't the only reason why Honeysong had been so reluctant to come tonight. She knew fully well that SkyClan would show up tonight, and she didn't know if she could face any of her former Clanmates. What would they think of her once they learned that she had left them and her medicine cat duties behind to be with the one she loved? How would Wolfstar and Blossomstep take it? She was surely going to be labeled as a traitor by the cats of SkyClan, but she didn't know if she'd be able to handle the disappointment and anger of her brother and best friend.

Sure enough, moments after WindClan arrived after ShadowClan, the familiar scent of SkyClan caught her attention before she spotted her brother leading the Clan into the Gathering. She spotted so many familiar cats in the group. Bloodstrike, Sunflower, Redfall.... And Blossomstep. Honeysong's best friend back when she was still a SkyClan cat. She couldn't help but wonder how her kits were doing. Were they warriors yet? She knew they had to at least be apprentices by now. Oh, how she longed to greet her brother and friend, but she was too afraid of what they would think. So, rather miserably, she stuck by Sparkfire's side, not-so-subtly hiding behind the large gray molly in hopes of avoiding the eyes of any of her former Clanmates.

(OOC: Sparkfire and Honeysong are both open for conversation!)

So much of their lives revolved around this one place, not part of any single territory. Perhaps the clearing was sacred or perhaps it was cursed, but the effect was the same.

The last time Batbite had known the scenery of Fourtrees was as a prisoner, bitter and angry and disillusioned. But rescue had come, an impossible escape, and over one particularly eventful night they had reclaimed the right to live their lives. Now she returned for yet another Gathering, the sort she'd always watched with curiosity, desperate to try and catch each bit of news. Information that might be important, or might not, she simply liked having a reason to learn things.

But as she returned, it wasn't as an overly curious warrior, and she wasn't following Nettlestar. No, her mate was leading them into the clearing, and she was no longer just his mate but a trusted second, and so she stood at his side instead of following behind. Once upon a time, in a life that felt more like a distant memory with each passing day, they had stood together atop the Great Rock. She recalled that she'd asked, then, what he thought it was like - looking down at all the cats gathered.

She resolved to ask again when they returned home.

"I'd like to say I don't believe in it, but... Things like this are what make me wonder about fate," she admitted, her own way of expressing agreement. "If we were always meant to stand here like this. As for your question... Now, I suppose we show the world who we are, and we hope that they either like or tolerate us. Unless you've suddenly gone and developed a fear of heights," she teased, recalling his own words from when they'd stood up there together. "Still, I wonder if their expectations are lower or higher, since we haven't had a Gathering in so long... It's impossible to tell, when there's been so little contact."

She ran over possibilities in her mind as she tried to focus on the more immediate future. Minkstream would ascend to the top of the Great Rock and stand with the other leaders, and she would stay here at the base, probably making small talk with the same cats she'd once watched so intently, or else watching the crowd and listening as she always had.

Mostly, though, I wonder if it will be uneventful for once. All things considered, I sincerely doubt it.

With a deep breath, Ivystar forced her paws forward, treading very lightly lest she hurt her front legs again. Truth be told, she wasn't in the mood to converse with the other leaders, nor was she prepared to address the entire forest. She hadn't had time to recover after the horrid events that had taken place over the last moons, and she'd hardly taken the time to think about exactly what she would say when she was standing on the Great Rock. 'Oh, yes, we were trapped under Asylum's tooth and claw for moons, just like the rest of you. They also murdered our family. Oh, and can't forget that we promoted several apprentices to warriors!' It was simply ridiculous.

But, no matter how much she loathed it, she had a job to do. So she willed herself forward, weaving through the cats that had already gathered into a chatty crowd surrounding the Great Rock. After leaping onto it, grimacing due to the shooting pain through both her front legs, she nodded to each of the other leaders that accompanied her, noting two new ones. So it seemed these times had been rather hard on ThunderClan and WindClan, hmm?

---

Briarthorn's face was marred with discontent, and behind her pale green eyes was a simmering sense of resentment toward whatever cat had decided that gathering on a moon-ly basis was a bright idea. More than anything, she wished to be back at camp in her nest right now, even if it meant spending hours twisting and writhing within the confines of her dreams- and more often than not, her nightmares. With a heavy sigh she immediately darted toward a seat in the back, sitting as comfortably as she could beneath the shadows of the Great Oaks.

---

Freckleface was rather excited to be at a gathering again, especially if it meant she got to check in with all her friends from other Clans and see how everyone was doing. Truthfully, it was the socialization that she needed in her life, and one could even argue that it would be an essential part of her healing process. She wasn't herself without being able to socialize, and so during Asylum's reign, she found herself getting more and more depressed as the days went by, confined to the medicine cat den and those who chose to visit her on occasion. With a bright smile on her face she padded into the middle of the crowd and sat down, looking around for any familiar faces.

Tornpaw lingered towards the back of the Skyclan cats that had decided to attend the gathering. The gold and white apprentice didn't really want to be in anyone's way, and she knew that she bothered them enough with just her presence alone. But as she approached and saw more cats in the clearing, fear grew in her throat. How would the other clans feel about her? What would they think? Did they share the same unfair hatred for Dawnhawk like Skyclan did? And would they judge her for her who her father is too? She didn't know, and she was afraid of finding out. Carefully she pushed herself to sit towards the back of the gathering crowd, remaining towards the outside of the Skyclan cats.

---

Batglow was excited. It had been so many moons since the last time he had been to a gathering. Oh man... Was Haypaw still alive? Was it even Haypaw anymore? Curious the tom started to check the clearing for the familiar golden pelt as the Windclan cats arrived. Though he couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him when he saw the she-cat chasing after what appeared to be a slightly dirtier younger version of herself.

"Haypaw! Er.. Well I suppose it isn't that anymore." He called out trying to catch the warrior's attention, hoping to talk with the cat he remembered from many moons ago.

---

Nervous. He was nervous and he didn't like it. The large white tom followed after his new leader and deputy carefully. The state of the fourtrees doing little to ease his nerves. This was different than the first time he was here. Granted both that time, and this time he was an apprentice, the difference was he had a different standard he needed to meet. He was a medicine cat apprentice now and this was a whole different world.

Dovefrost looked around at the different cats, remembering how different it was last time he was here.. The scars of the battle remaining, the effect that the Asylum left on all the clans was obvious, at least to him. Even if some had tried to find the joy in the gathering, he couldn't help but think that this could wind up bad if someone said the wrong thing while everyone was still recovering.

Carefully he moved forward to an open spot closer to the rock. Did medicine cats sit close to each other? Or did they save their interaction for the medicine meetings that happened on the half moon? Oh he didn't know.. He didn't even know what the other medicine cats looked like either so he didn't even know who to look for if they did gather together.. Hopefully Daisybloom wasn't too far behind so she could guide him on what to do during gatherings.

Rookfire padded into Fourtrees behind Flintstar. The first thing he noticed were the four great oaks towering over every cat here. Of course, Asylum had trashed the place when they were using it to keep the rebels prisoner. His mind flashed back to the cats that were jailed in Fourtrees back when Asylum had control of the area. It disgusted him to the bottom of his heart, and was the final straw that convinced the medicine cat that Asylum was overall evil. Who would have thought that only a few moons ago he had a positive outlook on Asylum?

It didn't matter right now, though. The black tuxedo was ready for the gathering to begin, and his excitement to see what was going to happen here was pounding out of his chest. Hopefully, he would be able to make new friends instead of new enemies, but either could happen today. He had no idea how it was going to go, after all. Noticing a fluffy white tom near a tall rock, the black tuxedo walked towards him. "Hey there!" he said, smiling at the tom. "My name's Rookfire. What's your name?"

---

Pain. It was all that Shrikesong had felt since the Asylum took over. She retreated into her den for a couple moons, then built up a persona. At the very least, Asylum was finally gone from these lands. The memories of the battle at Fourtrees came back at her. The time when she fought Dawnhawk in the battle for the Clans. Perhaps she was a hero, in that respect.

She didn't feel like a hero.

Oh, how ironic that some of her crazy dreams as a young kit came true, and yet it couldn't come close to making her happy. Gazing around at the clans, she tried noticing the new faces among the clans. ShadowClan seemed to have some new cats, including one that she thought looked similar to Laurelkit when they met a while ago. Okay, on to the next clan. SkyClan didn't seem to have any new members. WindClan actually had a new leader, Lilacstar was her name, it seemed. They seemed to take in a couple of cats in as well. One of these cats was another calico she-cat, who Shrikesong couldn't help but look away from. She couldn't deal with it right now. Another tom was here, a black cat with sparkling blue eyes. Those eyes... they reminded her of Dawnhawk, which made her very uncomfortable.

He looked so different, and yet, so similar. It made her uncomfortable whenever she looked at him, even more so than the calico she-cat near him. Her instincts were right about Dawnhawk before, but that was only one time, and she didn't know whether they would be right about this tom again. Still, she would never let her guard down whenever she saw his face. Of course, she had other problems she needed to deal with. Quickly, the she-cat stepped back into the crowd, making sure that the tom didn't have a chance to see her looking at him.

Rookfire is talking with Dovefrost. Shrikesong is NOT OPEN to talk to.

Bubblepaw sprinted past her other Clanmates as she approached Fourtrees. She had only seen the giant oak trees from afar only once before while learning the territory, and now she was finally going to see it all up close. Tonight was a big night for her, as it was her very first Gathering. She would get to meet so many brand-new cats and make lots of brand-new friends. She couldn't wait!

Pelting past Ivystar as RiverClan filed into the clearing, Bubblepaw began looking around. Everywhere she looked, there was a new cat she had never seen before, and the different scents of their Clans was making her a little dizzy. Without looking where she was going, she accidentally bumped into a brown tom a little older than herself. She squeaked at looked at the tom, then at the pretty lighter-furred molly that stood beside him. She recognized their scents: they had the sweet, heathery scent of WindClan. "Hi! My name's Bubblepaw. I'm from RiverClan. Who are you two?"

(OOC: Bubblepaw is talking to Muddypaw and Hayglow.)

"C'mon Minipaw! You thump too slow! Try hoppin' like a lil' bunny, it works fo-- achoo!-- me!" Sneezingpaw laughed, bouncing on her front paws. Her first Gathering! Moms would be so proud!! "What'cha thinkin' the other cat Clans are like? I hope they're pretty! Oh, oh! And fluffy! D'ya think they like fish?" She paused for a moment, as if considering, before she grinned, snorting in laughter, "Of course they do! What kinda of cat doesn't like the way lil fishies taste?"

Suddenly an idea popped into her empty mind, and her eyes lit up. In a hushed tone, almost a whisper, she murmured in an awestruck tone, "D'ya reckon we'll see our birdie friend again?"

Carefree, she plodded onward, each large fluffy mountain of a paw heavily placed into the ground as she bounce stepped trotted her way forward. "Mini Menace! Lookie! Y'see that small black and white kitty? Let's go say heya! I th-- sniff-- ink she looks real -- achoo!-- nice!" Sneezingpaw declared, sniffling slighty.

"Hiya, new friend! I'm Karensneeze and this is Mountainchonk!" She paused brow furrowed, "Wait, no that's not quite right. I'm Karen or Sneeze! Sneezingpaw! And this is my favoritey sister Mountainpaw! She also goes by Mini Chonk and Menace!  That means something good, y'know. Like her! What's your name? Do you have two names? Hauh! Or maybe you have three names too, like Menace Chonk! Oh, oh! I have a very important question! D'ya like fish?"

Sneezingpaw is speaking with Quietpaw and Mountainpaw. She's close to conversation unless it's Ashstorm!

There was a long silence as Flinstar listened to Lilacstar's story, opening his mouth to respond but shut it again as more forms joined the upon the rocks. Wolfstar...A tom he did not recongize - ThunderClan's deputy perhaps? Then, Ivystar arrived. The situation with ThunderClan was something to question but his mind instead focused on what Lilacstar had told him. A cripped queen...He thought long and hard of the WindClan leader's tale as he waited for the rest of the leaders to settle down. He did not think either was wrong in their actions, thinking back on what Thalia had requested from him. She didn't know restraint - she didn't know what she was doing...He stared down at his large paws - rather large even for a cat of his size. ...He knew that feeling well. "...Thalia was taught only how to kill in battle from what I've heard," he meowed - his voice a whisper to keep it between the two leaders. "She stated that she was wasn't taught restraint - any blow from her would be..." he drifted off a little. "I do not think are incorrect - Thalia overreacted, but I believe her side as well. But either way, whatever actions she takes going further will be mine to bare. ...Thank you for understanding, Lilacstar. I'll even do my best to keep her from your border, but I don't think that is a problem...I had no plans to let her anywhere near a Thunderpath anyways,"he added as his whiskers twitched - referring to something that only he and Thalia knew of. He drew away now that his buiness with the WindClan leader was complete,  dipping his head to the other leaders...And the tom that seemed to be there for ThunderClan's place.

-------------

Hayglow and Muddypaw hadn't stopped their romp around the clearing even as the other Clans filtered in, carefully weaving between cats with grace and speed that only WindClan could carry. That was until Hayglow came to a sudden halt as her name - or at least, her apprentice name - was called. She spun in surprise, eyes widening as she recognized the tom. "Batpaw!" she greeted, leaping over as Muddypaw stumbled to a stop at the sound of his mom's voice - just in time to run into a different cat.

"Eep!" Muddypaw barely managed to catch himself, turning to see the she-cat he had bumped into. "Sorry about that!" he squeaked an apology as she introduced herself, seeming unbothered by their surprise. "Oh! Its nice to meet you, Bubblepaw! I'm Muddypaw - of WindClan," he added as he turned to look at his mom who seemed turn between seeing who had called out to her and Bubblepaw. "That there is my momma, Hayglow." He straightened up, glancing at her with a soft smile. "You can go talk with your friend, momma, its okay!"

Hayglow gave her son a soft awkward smile as he gave her the choice to leave, quickly turning to finish making her way to Batglow. "Sorry about that. Its wonderful to see you! Stars, its been...Forever since we last saw each other! Oh, and yes, it isn't Haypaw anymore. I'm Hayglow!" she meowed, before she turned and waved her tail at Muddypaw who was still watching her. "That there is my son, Muddypaw. I'm sure my other kit, Sunnypaw, is around here somewhere..." she noted, drifting off before she shook her head. "But you should come meet him properly! I'm sure that apprentice he is chatting with wouldn't mind in the slighest and I do want to catch up with you! Besides, I'm sure he would think you are the coolest." There was a pause before a laugh escaped her. "Oh! And I'm sure you aren't Batpaw either. What is your warrior name?"

A battlefield. That's all it had been last time she was here. Now it was filled with cats, just like it should've been every full moon. Wisteriabloom had only come because she felt she needed to, but now she wished she had stayed at camp. She had never cared much for the other clans, especially now that Beecloud was dead. As she padded into the clearing, her eyes darted around, watching carefully for anything out of the ordinary. But what was even ordinary now? Cats who had been excitable apprentices at the last Gathering were now fully-fledged warriors with kits of their own. She had felt so lost recently.  The injuries that she had received from the battle were healing, and she had mostly been out of the fighting anyway, but there were other injuries that still hurt her much more. A hole in her heart that she didn't know if she would ever fill again. Shrikefrost. The perfect life she had planned for them was gone. Now she finally understood how Streamtail had felt in the wake of her mate's death. All she could do was grieve. With Asylum gone, she couldn't channel her sadness into anger or a want for vengeance any longer.

Wisteriabloom is grieving

---

Primroselight couldn't help but smile as her and her clan made their way to Fourtrees once again. The clearing didn't hold any dark memories for her, unlike a handful of clan cats, and it had been so long since she had seen anyone from outside her own clan. Despite her excitement, her first priority was keeping Muddypaw by her side. They were sometimes so similar in personality that she could guess that the first thing he would want to do would be rush of and make friends. Since Dawnhawk had been exiled, he was without a mentor, and so she had (informally) taken over his training. She needed to do her job as a mentor as well as mother.

When they made it to the Gathering, she remembered how long it had been since she'd had to navigate a large group of cats. For her, it required practice, something she hadn't had any of in moons. No doubt Muddypaw would be similar, having never even seen so many different cats in his life. "Muddypaw, try to stick nearer Skyclan, but as long as you don't get lost, you can go make friends!" She gave him a playful nudge, causing her to remember the annoying fact that he was closely nearing her own size. Not so much a little kit anymore. "Be careful!"

Primroselight is open for conversation

---

Muddypaw couldn't stay still. A Gathering! New cats to meet. However, his eagerness faltered slightly when he spotted quite how many cats there were. "Woah! I didn't know there were this many cats in the world!" Even though he could only see a mass of pelts from where he stood on the edge of the clearing, the huge mix of scents was more than he thought possible. When he made his way into the crowd, two cats similar in age to him were already making friends, so he had to jump in as quickly as possible. "Heeelloooooooo!" He called, bounding over to them. "I'm Muddypaw!" He seemed to have barged into their conversation a little bit, but his social interaction before now was almost strictly limited to family, and they all already knew him.

Muddypaw is talking to Muddypaw and Bubblepaw

Amberfluff followed as close as reasonably possible behind Lilacstar, and settled down as close as a Warrior could. She was admittedly unhappy that she couldn't stick right by, but then again all Leader mates probably go through this. She couldn't imagine the case for Ivystar, who had two mates-though then again, one of them was the Deputy. Being the Deputy must be much easier on the cats. Though, Amberfluff supposed she was demonstrating a behaviour known as "being clingy".

As Flintstar began talking to Lilacstar, Amberfluff listened intently. She was able to catch the name of Thalia, which made her stiffen. She herself didn't have firstpaw experience on what happened, not being in camp at the time of the incident, but from Lilacstar's remarks, what Thalia did was horrible. Killing someone who couldn't even defend themselves...

Amberfluff is open for conversation!

---

Shimmerdust padded into the Gathering and snapped her head in the direction of SkyClan. Ignoring most other cats around, she raced away from her clanmates to look for her friend. Soon, she spotted the familiar tabby pelt and slowed down, coming to a stop beside her. "Willowdance!" She exclaimed, excited to see the other she-cat.

Willowdance glanced over, grinning. "Yo, Shimmerdust! Great to see you again-and by the stars, you've grown so much!" She yelped in amazement, seeing how much stronger Shimmerdust was now. The two of them began chattering, catching up on what had happened. Shimmerdust also congratulated Willowdance on hearing that she is now taken.

Both are open for conversation!

Quietpaw was off guard when two Riverclan apprentices came up. And she was caught even more off guard when the apprentice looked a lot like her sister, introduced herself. Sneezingpaw/Karen. Both of her names were just like her sister's, and the other apprentice was named Mountainpaw and looked a lot like the other kit that had been taken by the hawk. Could it be....?

"Sneezingkit? Is that you?" Quietpaw asked. "Is that really you?D-d-do you remember me? I-its me, Quietkit, your sister. Or Quietpaw now." Quietpaw's word grew hopeful, as she stared at her lost sister. If she managed to remember Sneezingkit, than Sneezingkit would hopefully most likely remember her.



Nightwolf padded into the gathering, his amber eyes unusually dull. Ever since his father died, he looked a lot more sad lately. Which is understandable. Most of his siblings were dead, with Willowbreeze being in Shadowclan, and the fact that he was never really close with his mother. And adding his father's death, Nightwolf was pratically alone. Sure there were his clanmates, but blood family wise, he was alone. And it sucked to be alone.

OOC: Quaildock isn't coming to this gathering, Nightwolf is open to talk to, and Spotlake is still open to talk to

Though not much time had passed, it was enough for Flashlight to regain her typical confidence - as well as her typical attitude. After all, last time she'd stood here she was only an apprentice, and now she wasn't just a warrior but a mentor as well. Her gaze occasionally flitted to her daughter and apprentice, who seemed to be speaking to cats she wasn't especially familiar with, content that everything seemed to be going well.

She wondered if anyone here could actually catch her attention, let alone keep it, but tonight she was willing to look.

Flashlight is open to talk to!

Waterpaw strode with the rest of Thunderclan to Fourtrees.  When she was a young kit and didn't live in Thunderclan, other cats meant danger.  Her time in Thunderclan had gotten her used to small crowds, but this was nothing like she had done before.  There were so many cats... too many.  She breathed deeply, hating big crowds.  She stuck to the back of the clan, hoping no one would see her or come talk to her, but something told her that wouldn't work.

Waterpaw is open to talk to!

_______________________________________________________________________________

Ashstorm was so excited to finally be going to a real gathering!  It felt sort of weird, considering that she had been a warrior for a long time and had never been to one, but she always hoped to.  With everything that happened recently, she hoped this would be something to take her mind off of everything and make new friends.  But instead... she met old ones.

She had been watching Quietpaw, making sure she was doing well.  She watched a different cat walk up and start a conversation.  It took her a moment to realize who that cat was.  Her eyes watered happy tears.  She walked up to her little lost kit.  "S-Sneezingkit?"  She whispered.  "What- what happened to you?"  She turned her head to see a fairly big for her age other apprentice.  "Mountainkit?"  Her eyes were wide, as she looked between the two cats she thought were dead who were in front of her.

Ashstorm is talking to Sneezingpaw, Mountainpaw, and Quietpaw.

______________________________________________________________________________

Shira breathed heavily as she approached Fourtrees.  She had horrible memories of being trapped in the cage there and all of those were coming back to her as she walked up.  She stayed by Spark as much as she could.  By the time she got there Skyclan was there.  She couldn't look at them.  It reminded her of the Asylum.  She looked at the ground to see blood stains and some pieces of fur.  Her head went back to when she was in the cage, when she remembered wondering if she would ever see Spark or her sisters again.  Normally strong Shira, was shaking where she stood.

Shira is open to talk to... at your own risk.

Tawnyflare watched as others filed into the clearing, some of those cats she even recognized. But there was still no sign of Brick. However, there was one cat she recognized. Shira. And, understandably, she did not look like she had wanted to be there. But out of all the missing kits, Shira was the only one who knew how she felt, the two of them being the only ones who had been in the prisons. Perhaps they could find comfort in each other through these shared experiences.

As Tawnyflare approached, she started at seeing how much the former scout was breaking down. And in that moment, she did not know what to say. Was there even anything she could say? So instead, she pressed her weight against Shira's side, staring ahead with clouded eyes. If they had to relive this, they could relive it together.

Tawnyflare is comforting Shira!

It appeared that all 5 Clans were now here, and ShadowClan's leader had to lower his voice to keep the conversation private. Instead of voicing a response, Lilacstar simply nodded, although she could not stop herself from looking for Thalia. There was a part of her that regretted forcing her to leave. Flintstar said that she was one of the missing kits, and that she had done all that she knew how to do. And it was not like her own Clan was immune to such outcomes. The death of an Asylum cat still haunted Hayglow, and she was sure that if Flintstar was to be believed, and she did trust the older leader, then it had hurt Thalia the same way.

Lilacstar is feeling guilty

While they were the first Clan to have arrived, Rosepaw found herself overwhelmed as the others began to arrive. There were so many different smells, it was hard to keep track of who was in what Clan, and she hardly even knew who was in her own. So eventually she made her way to another calico, hoping to get some good chatter in.

"Well hello there! I'm Rosepaw, from ShadowClan, of course! You look like you could use a friend. What's your name?"

Rosepaw is talking to Sablepaw

He had to smile at her mention of heights; a quiet, amused snort leaving his maw. "I did almost fall off the High Rock the first time I took an apprentice ceremony after we came back," He murmured, a hint of a grin playing at his maw before he let the seriousness of this whole... thing... come back. At least his head wasn't really dizzy today, just the throb that had become his constant companion playing at the back of his mind. "It's been moons since the last time - so much has happened.... Somehow I don't think it's going to be a normal one." His gaze caught Ivystar and RiverClan padding across the clearing, and his stomach tightened as he took a deep breath. "Stars, I wish Nettlestar was here... She would have handled this better."

---

Sablepaw gazed around at all the cats in the clearing as she drifted in with the rest of the Clan, her blue eyes wide. I'd forgotten just how big all of this was. And overwhelming, and open. Though that didn't bother her as much anymore. She still found it comforting to stay close to the rest of her Clanmates, but... A smile lit up her maw for a moment, and she glanced over her shoulder, her maw parting to say something.

And closed.

The pelt she'd unconsciously looked for wasn't here. He... he'd actually... She swallowed, the thought suddenly standing out stark in her mind as her eyes drifted without her permission to the floor of the clearing, seeing twisted thorns and faint, dark stains still patching the ground, clumps of fur battered into the grass. He died here. Slowly, horror like a dark tide rose in her stomach, choking her throat like the viny tendrils that had held her parents and others from ThunderClan captive, her paws stumbling to a stop.

I... I want to leave.

Her eyes flicked around, ears flattening and fur crawling as she hunted desperately for the pelt of her parents or Thrushnose. I don't want to be here I don't want to be here -

Just as her eyes landed on the familiar cream fur of her sister, a sudden voice - loud against the babbling of the other cats - spoke up practically right in her ear. "Eeah!" She yelped, jumping practically out of her fur, heart drumming in her ears.

She found the amber eyes of another apprentice looking at her, bright and friendly, and incredibly cheery considering all the blood and bits of fur and stains where her mentor had died- And now wide like her own at the odd reaction. "U-uhm what....?" She tried to choke out, her paws shifting as she tried to un-bush her pelt, the end of her tail twitching in a nervous fidget. Now wasn't really the best time to find a friend. She wanted to curl in a corner, under a bush, or go home - or anything but be here, really.

Sablepaw is replying to Rosepaw! Minkstream is still talking to Bat for the moment.