May Gathering 2021

It wasn't long before another deputy approached, and Murkystrike greeted the she-cat with a nod of her head. As the cat spoke, Murkystrike shook her head and smiled a little. "I don't believe we have. I'm Murkystrike, ShadowClan's new deputy. You're right, it is a beautiful night." As she finished speaking, Bloodstrike arrived. He nodded to them all, and Murkystrike's eyes narrowed slightly. She had not yet forgiven the tom for attacking her clanmate, even if it had been a mistake, he could have killed Moonshine. That was something she wouldn't just forgive, especially since he had acted before fully looking at the situation. However, the look in his eyes was a cause for concern. Had something happened in SkyClan? She had considered him a.... Not friend, but... A good acquaintance, yes, that was a good word. "Bloodstrike." Her voice was cool, but not unkind. "I hope all is well in SkyClan?"

---

Sunnyskip purred as the she-cat responded. "You're very welcome! He must have been a very handsome tom. You make it all your own though!" She mewed, tail curling happily as the she-cat introduced herself. Sunnyskip gasped as she realized that she had forgotten to introduce herself. "Oh, I'm Sunnyskip! Sunnyskip of WindClan. You have a very pretty name as well!" Sunnyskip exclaimed, smiling at the she-cat. "If you're from ShadowClan, that means we share a border! Would you like to be friends?" She proposed, not really caring that she had just met the she-cat.

Firepaw looked back down at her paws and didn't look away from them, as if her paws were more interesting than the 'conversation' she was currently having. "...yeah, I think so." She mewed, internally cringing. She wished one of her siblings could come to save her from this! It's not like she wanted to be rude, or she wasn't interested in having a chat, but she just didn't know what to do.. or say!

Dovefrost was relieved to hear that nothing bad had happened to Softbreeze. That she just retired from the medicine cat ways. It seemed a lot was changing in the last moon or so. It was honestly a little strange. "Well I'm glad she is getting the rest she needs, and I look forward to seeing her again in moons to come." He wasn't sure if she would ever come to a gathering again, but if she did, then he would greet her like normal. While the situation last moon hadn't been the best, she still deserved respect for her moons of service as a medicine cat.

"If you need anything from me, just let me know. It seems we both have some adjusting to do." It was odd.. To say the least. Being so open to others like this. Everything in him screamed at him to not be so open, to not assist the Windclan medicine cat but it was his responsibility now. Something he would have to adjust to after everything.

Eager to get this over with so he could return home, Wolfstar sat atop the Great Rock, shifting weight from one forepaw to the other, his gaze distantly focused on Blossomstep if for nothing more than to have a reason not to search for Honeysong. He hadn't seen her in his brief glance across the clearing when he first arrived, but that didn't mean she wouldn't be here. She should be here. With him, and the rest of SkyClan. But she was also an adult, who could make her own decisions. If she didn't want to be with SkyClan, well...

The leader let out a quiet sigh and curled his tail around his paws. Then, distantly, Wolfcall!

It took a moment for his warrior name to register, it had been so long since he'd heard it, that by the time he did, the space in which it had come was empty. Wolfstar lifted his head, confused, searching for the source until finally a flash of unnatural blue caught his eye, and the leader zoned in on it, his eyes going wide with disbelief. Below him, standing with his two paws on the rock and staring up at the leaders, was Juniperlight. Unable to quite comprehend, for a moment Wolfstar just stared. This couldn't be happening. Not twice in a row, not two moons apart. He was hallucinating. This wasn't real.

But the curious glances from the other cats confirmed that he was not, in fact, the only person to see Juniperlight. His brother was real. And he was here. The tension melted from the dark tom's frame, and Wolfcall's eyes burned with tears he refused to shed. He swallowed past a lump in his throat, refusing to tear his eyes away from Juniperlight lest the young tom disappear again. "Juniperlight, you..." Then, abandoning any hope of safeguarding his composure, Wolfstar leaped down from the rock with a booming laugh and whirled around on his brother, nearly tackling the younger tom in his haste to make contact. He butted Juniperlight in the shoulder, winding around him, an ecstatic purr rumbling in his chest. "You absolute bird-brained imbecile," he said as he finally stilled long enough to once again look his brother in the eyes, nearly breathless with excitement. There was no malice in the tone, not even the faintest color of anger or derision. "I thought you were dead."

Smallbean softly nodded his head. "Yeah, i'm sure she'll come to the next gathering." He said, his tone hopeful. Or at least I hope. The tom's eyes fell to his paws. Softbreeze had been worrying him for a while, but her retirement along with her absence at the gathering was alarming. Maybe it was what she needed, though. To step away from all of the responsibility and get some time to think.

The sound of Dovefrost speaking again drew him from his thoughts. Snapping himself to attention he returned his gaze to the other medicine cat. His eyes widened for a moment before his expression melted into a genuine smile. He replied with a simple, "Thank you." It felt nice to know that the other tom had his back, especially since he felt like he was by himself. Maybe he could help Dovefrost out if he needed it too. "Same to you, by the way. I may not be very experienced yet, but if you need something from me it would be my pleasure to help the best I can."

A smile flickered across his maw in return to his mate's words, responding to her nudge with one of his own. "You too," He murmured.

And like that, it was time to join the rest of the leaders. Taking a deep breath, he padded up to the rock, noting with a flicker of surprise that... SkyClan's?... leader had jumped off the rock, greeting a black tom with yellow eyes, his laugh ringing out over the crowd. Must be nice to find a long-lost family member. With a sigh, he averted his eyes, seeking out Ivystar and finding her talking to the leader of ShadowClan. On top of the rock.

Well, he had to get up there sometime.

Steeling himself, he leapt, head just about tearing itself apart as he made his way to the top, though the sharp spikes bled away to an aching thump soon enough as he allowed himself a short breather once at the top. He couldn't show weakness here, his expression kept carefully neutral as he glanced out over the crowd below, subtly digging the tips of his claws into the gritty surface of the rock beneath him. Give it a heartbeat. Not too long. The pounding reduced slightly - good enough - and he turned to Ivy and the fluffy grey tom, dipping his head and internally wincing at the extra throb that brought as their conversation wound down. "Ivystar, if I could have a moment I'd like to talk to you."

Unpleasant flickers pushed at the corners of his mind. A part of him hoped she'd found her way to RiverClan and been accepted, the other.... He firmly pulled down on the chaotic swirl, stuffing it away. What had happened, had happened. He wished it hadn't had to, that there could have been something, that he had seen better, but things were just... like that. Sometimes you just couldn't keep everyone safe and happy; couldn't keep your Clanmates from making their choices and being the way they were.
That didn't stop the vague prick of phantom claws in his chest, though.

Bloodstrike looked at Murkystrike as she spoke to him, their battle still fairly fresh in his mind. It had been an embarrassing day for him, that was for sure, but he held no ill will against the Shadowclan deputy. He wondered when she had been named and what had happened to their previous deputy...

"All is well." he answered simply at first, but then he thought about it a moment longer. Wolfstar was likely to make his announcement, and whether or not he would report what had happened, at least part of it, was still up in the air. "Well... manageable, I will say. I hope the same for the other clans." He looked at the other deputies in turn, wondering if there was any news they'd like to share as well.

Then Wolfstar leaped from the rock. Juniperlight??? Bloodstrike came back to life in an instant, though there was danger flashing in his eyes, not joy. He spotted Junpierlight as Wolfstar... Oh stars dad... at a gathering??? His mouth twitched a little bit as he forced a smile to stay off of his face. It wasn't Juniperlight that he had a problem with... but if he was here then... was Spottedleap? His eyes scanned the crowd, looking for his familiar golden spotted pelt... but he never spotted him.

Good thing too, because Wolfstar wouldn't have been the only one to not act his rank at a gathering. Bloodstrike had never cared for the rule of no violence at gatherings. If he saw it fit or advantageous to attack, he would do so. The stars could fuss at him later, if he even gave them a chance to be heard. The rational part of Bloodstrike did at least come knocking, as it often did when his emotions got heated. If Spottedleap were to have been here, then he wouldn't be a threat to Skyclan any longer. There would be no use threatening his own position for some washed-up ex-leader that would have nothing to do but retire to the elder's den anyway.

Bloodstrike forced his fur to lie flat and he took a breath. For now, he was content to just watch and listen to Juniperlight and Wolfstar talk.

---

The happy Windclanner caught Moonshine off guard. Sunnyskip? The sun and the moon... They weren't that different. "Oh sure, why not?" She was still very innocent... what a sweet thing. As far as Moonshine knew, there weren't any tensions between Windclan and Shadowclan. Why would there be? "You must have a lot of friends, being so nice, Sunnyskip." Moonshine supposed that she was liked well enough in Shadowclan, but she didn't think she was anyone's favorite necessarily. She would like to change that, at some point.

---

Bearpaw

Bearpaw smiled at Swiftpaw, maybe a bit bigger and longer than he should have. "Nice to meet you both." He nodded at Frigidpaw as well... though the jealousy that had burned earlier was still smoldering under the surface. He'd be polite... for now. Though he wasn't quite sure where the jealousy was coming from. She was a Windclan cat. He doubted she would feel any jealousy if she-cats ever started talking to him. "So any trouble with owls lately?" He asked them both, unable to fight off the temptation to poke at Swiftpaw and intentionally leave Frigidpaw unknowingly out of their circle.

Downtuft's attention was temporarily snatched from Shyfawn as he heard the voice of Juniperlight; the kind tom who'd sheltered in their medicine den after his sister found him half dead. "I'm glad he found his family. Wolfstar owes us a thank you, oh, I wish Softbreeze was here! After what he said to her last Gathering, I'd kill to see the look on his face!" He chuckled, but a rough nudge from Shyfawn brought his attention back. "....Flower... Crowns...?" He mumbled, visible confusion on his face. Looking up, he saw Thalia nervously standing in front of them. Distrust ripened like a seed on his face. Was this her way of apologizing?

Then he remembered Softbreeze.

She, too, often weaved flower crowns as apologies. His mind flashed back to that one day. The day Barleytuft had died. Softbreeze-- a paw still-- had been making an apology flower crown, but he'd never got to receive it. Downtuft's eyes softened and glazed over, present, but not quite there. "Yeah, uh, thanks I guess, Uhm, Thalia still, right?" The sandy warrior wasn't sure if she'd received a warrior's name or not, so he wanted to make sure he was calling her by the correct name.

Shyfawn, however, seemed touched by the gesture. "Thank you, Thalia. It was very kind of you to think about us. And.. And I'm sorry. For the way you were treated in our camp, even before Gingertalon... You know now why, what they were doing..." The elder trailed off, not sure how to approach the subject without offending her. "In any case, thank you, again. They're very pretty!" She needed, then hesitated before adding, "Us Pyrik still doing well? And you?"

Juniperlight smiled and giggled like a young apprentice even though his brother was insulting him. He could see in his eyes that he was happy to see him again, although they also betrayed a new side. A side similar to... someone else. Tiredness. Wariness. A disbelief born of loss. What had happened in the seasons he was gone? The Gathering was not the right place to find out. “I know, I know. I’m sorry. I know you’re busy right now, I promise we will talk more back home.” Assuming they had a home now. Last time he’d been in the forest, SkyClan was given refuge by RiverClan. Wolfcall hadn’t smelled fishy or looked any sleeker than a SkyClan cat should. Juniperlight purred and rubbed his cheek against Wolfcall’s neck, then smiled and flicked his tail towards the Great Rock. He would witness his brother be a leader for the first time on this night.

...

Leader. It had meant many different things to the brothers. If SkyClan had thought him dead, then they no doubt thought the same of Spottedstar. That would explain why Wolfcall’s place as deputy was occupied by Bloodstrike. Juniperlight respected his brother’s decision to appoint the large tabby tom as deputy; his nephew had many admirable qualities, like endless bravery and an apparent devotion to justice. He shared those traits with Spottedstar, even if he denied it. Juniperlight knew his father and his brother and his brother’s son. He knew they shared the same capacity for anger and an unyielding stubbornness when they thought they were right. It was a bit alarming to the one-eyed black tom, but of course Bloodstrike deserved a chance. Just like Wolfstar. Just like Spottedstar. The difference was that Spottedstar had thrown his away. Similar behaviors didn’t create the same cat. Surely Wolfstar and Bloodstrike would be better.

Juniperlight dipped his head in a respectful greeting to the deputy and withdrew into the crowd, spotting Blossomstep’s brilliant silver coat. He took a seat next to her and purred a friendly hello. He didn’t want to initiate a conversation lest the gathering begin and cut them off, and he’d rather share his story at length and with proper detail.

Dennis crept into the gathering, holding back a cough. He didn't want to cause a stir this time. He was just here to show some face, to avoid embarrassing Ivystar any further. He avoided eye contact with everyone as he sat down and wiped his nose from liquid remaining from his week-long cold that he was only now getting better from. He had no plans to do anything in this Gathering, short of showing up and leaving. Plus, the pesky voice of Spiderquill inside his head was keeping him busy enough as was.

Dennis is uh... open to talk to?

Bloodstrike looked at her, and her tail flicked at the expression she was met with. The tom seemed quite troubled by.... Something, but it wasn't her place to pry. Perhaps Wolfstar would announce something. She nodded as he said that all was well, or at least manageable. She paused, looking at the other deputies with a small smile. "Things in ShadowClan have been well enough. Newleaf has meant many kits, and we recently have had many join the apprentice den. I'm going to have to start thinking about expanding it some to fit all of them." She glanced up towards the Great rock where Flintstar and the other leaders, well, almost all of the other leaders she noted as Wolfstar jumped down to embrace another tom. Her head tilted at the interaction, she had never seen SkyClan's leader show emotion like that. A quick glance to Bloodstrike wasn't much easier to read, was he happy or upset? The way his eyes seemed to scan the crowd.... She shook her head slightly. It was none of her business. Hopefully the announcements would start soon, it seemed like SkyClan had some business to tend to on their own.

---

Sunnyskip purred as the pretty she-cat agreed to be her friend. "Awesome! Hopefully we can see each other at the border sometime, I'd love to say hi more often than the Gatherings!" She mewed, settling next to Moonshine in case the leaders started their announcements. She laughed lightly as the ShadowClan cat mentioned that she must have a lot of friends. "Oh, I don't know about that. I like to think everyone is my friend, it's so much nicer than thinking otherwise. Nightwind is one of my best friends though, if he comes to the next Gathering I'll have to introduce you! He joins me on all of my adventures." Her eyes shone as she talked about the tom, a big smile on her face at the idea of introducing her two friends. "I bet you have a lot of friends too! You're very nice!"

Lilacstar did not like Wolfstar, not after the last gathering. But even she could not help herself from purring at the reunion that unfolded before her. She was happy that Juniperlight had been able to find his home, and though she wouldn't admit it, she was glad Wolfstar had his brother back. After all, family was important. When Juniperlight took a seat among the crowd once again, the tabby leader stepped forward.

"Well then, I believe this is a good time to let the gathering begin!"

"WindClan has been doing well. We welcome two new warriors, Sunnyskip and Muddyleap! We would also like to congratulate Juniperlight. He had come to WindClan, injured and desperate. And now here he is, enjoying the happy ending he deserves." With a dip of her head to the one eyed warrior, Lilacstar stepped back to allow one of the other leaders to speak, being sure to keep an eye on Wolfstar for a reaction. She wanted to make sure that the tom knew that it was WindClan who brought his brother back to SkyClan.

Yarrowpaw curled up in the back of the crowd, nervously eyeing the other cats. He knew they were speaking, but the reverberating silence was almost overwhelming to him. He knew this gathering was a special one, seeing as the others had told him there hadn't been one for a good while, but an ever-growing part of him wished he was still back at camp. He didn't want to look like a stupid kit though, especially to his excitable best friend, so he took up the offer of coming. However, Yarrowpaw had no intention of truly doing anything short of hiding from others and leaving.

Yarrowpaw is open to talk to..?

Goldenpaw was also there, though she was quite nervous and overwhelmed by all the cats. It was like coming to WindClan all over again, but with more strangers than ever. Who would her clan ally with? Who would she face on the battlefield? And most importantly, what was she supposed to be careful not to tell the other clans? She couldn’t remember.

He was loathe to leave his brother - he wanted to know everything. How he'd gotten back, how he'd been injured, and also... where was Spottedstar? Instinctively, the SkyClan leader glanced towards Bloodstrike, measuring the deputy's expression. It seemed he, too, was wondering the same thing, and for the first time in so long, Wolfstar felt a pang of worry for his own father, followed quickly by a spike of anger, and a memory... After you got your nine lives, he wanted to go find Spottedstar... or Spottedleap he told me. If he's bringing me but not saying anything to you about it... I'm sure you can fill in the blanks.

He wondered, briefly, if the words were true, but shook them away with an annoyed flick of his tail. Dawnhawk was a career liar. He twisted words and intentions around anyone gullible enough to believe them. And Wolfstar wouldn't be manipulated by him ever again.

"You'll tell me everything? When we get home?" he pressed gently, briefly wondering if Juniperlight was going to come home. But he had to, right? He'd come all this way, he'd found them, and he was happy about it - while Honeysong hadn't even met his eye. Wolfstar waited for a moment, and then nodded once, climbing back on to the Great Rock and feeling lighter than he had in moons. Soon enough, Lilacstar started the Gathering, and Wolfstar listened to her words with some measure of surprise. It had been WindClan who had brought Juniperlight back to him. He controlled his expression until the other leader had finished speaking, and then he stepped forward, turning to quickly meet Lilacstar's gaze, and dip his head. "I thank you for your role in bringing my brother home safely," he said, tone soft and genuine. "But I am afraid the news I have to share is not quite so lighthearted."

Reluctantly, Wolfstar lifted his voice. "My former deputy, Dawnhawk, has been exiled by SkyClan." Those words felt sour on his tongue, and he wrinkled his nose instinctively to ward off the unpleasantness. "If he is found within the clans' territories, I urge you to drive him off, or to..." he hesitated for a split second, "kill him. Be warned... Dawnhawk is dangerous, he is a liar and a murderer, and likely has allies still within the Asylum cats that did not fall." The leader closed his eyes and then continued, his tone forced and smooth. "That being said, SkyClan is thriving - we welcomed several new warriors to our ranks... Birdsong, Tuftwing, Tornshadow, and Lichenblaze, along with many new apprentices. Newleaf has been kind to is, and we look forward to Greenleaf and everything that it will bring." He stepped back then, eyes casually scanning the edges of the crowd as if he expected Dawnhawk's golden pelt to materialize there.