June Gathering 2021

A soft furred silvery and gray apprentice padded into the clearing after her Riverclan clanmates. Being her first gathering,it was a bit overwhelming to Softpaw. Her bright blue gaze looked around for a moment before she moved to sit down quietly her fluffy thin tail curling around her paws for just a moment.

(Softpaw open to interaction)

Following the other Skyclan cats that were filing in Bramblepaw moved after them her ears perked with a bit of excitement for her first gathering as her tail flicking back and forth for a moment as she smiled looking around her.

(Bramblepaw is open for interaction)


Laurellight couldn't recall the last time she had been to a gathering. Her curly furred tail lowered for a moment as she looked around. After all if she thought about it the last gathering she had attended was before the flood many moons ago and as her gaze looked around at what clans were there it didnt matter how old she felt just thinking about that none of them knew her and even though it made her feel old it gave her a chance to possibly make friends outside of her clan at least regarding Gatherings. She moved to sit down slowly as she was a bit hesitant to approach others.

Laurellight open to interactions))

Emberleap stepped into the clearing alongside the rest of ShadowClan, a fresh coat of marsh-mud plastered across his shoulder. Covering the scar had become a fixture of his pre-Gathering routine. No matter how big a nuisance it could be, he could always come up with a reason to do it. Tonight’s reason was Dawnhawk. Though Emberleap had no loyalty to him with or without Asylum, there was no denying they had similar scars… No denying how that would look to a stranger. On the off chance someone outside ShadowClan approached him tonight—well. Better safe than sorry.

Even so, Emberleap couldn’t help but relax a little as he sat down. Compared to the chaos of his first Gathering, last moon’s (aside from the mention of Dawnhawk) had been about as exciting as dew on grass. Maybe that'd been the start of a trend. Fourtrees's warm air, broken by a pleasantly cool breeze, and the not-quite-clear sky above almost felt like signs of things to come.

Emberleap is open to talk!

“Oh! I’m so sorry!” Turtlefur had walked face-first into a stranger like a total fool. He’d been wandering the clearing, eyes on Ivystar, and not watching where he was going. She was a soft gray cat who smelled like trees, maybe ThunderClan or SkyClan. The RiverClan warrior stuttered out another apology while his ears flattened in embarrassment. “I really didn’t mean to, I’m sorry.”

Turtlefur is talking to Birdsong.

Juniperlight followed a little ways behind Wolfstar and Blossomstep, smiling at the shape of the two walking together. It was lovely to see his brother so happy. He didn’t have anyone to meet from other clans here, nor was he sure which of his clanmates to sit next to. He saw them all the time, and though he was glad to be with them once again, he felt the desire to see if any of the other clans had changed much since he’d left and come home. He scanned the area with his one golden eye until it landed on a curly-furred she-cat. Juniperlight approached her, noticing she seemed a bit shy, and nodded respectfully to her. “Hello. My name is Juniperlight. Are you and your Clan well tonight?”

Juniperlight is talking to Laurellight.

Goldenpaw trotted along with WindClan. This wasn’t her first Gathering but she was still quite excited. ”Fawnstep. Fawnstep! D’ya think tonight will be interesting? Suppose someone’s gonna start a fight, huh? Not me of course. Not start it, anyway.” She kicked at a small pebble on the ground. If it was all talking, like last time, there was no doubt this would be a drab affair.

Foxspark padded behind Shira as the two cats went to Fourtrees. The ginger tom liked listening to the gossip more than anything, but not when it was about him or his family... But right now, nothing was going on, so he sat with his mate, listening to the other cats talk amongst themselves. He preferred listening to speaking anyways.

Foxspark is hanging out with Shira.

---

Rookfire padded with ShadowClan to the Gathering. The black tuxedo had been feeling under the weather this past moon, as shown by his reluctance to come out of his medicine den. He didn't know what was wrong with him, but it seemed like the annoying sickness that he had was finally receding. Perhaps now was the worst time to try to push through it, but he had to attend the Gathering with his clan. The black tuxedo took his place with the rest of the medicine cats, unusually not making the first move when it came to speaking.

Rookfire is open to talk to!

Much calmer this time around, Silverpaw padded into the gathering behind his clanmates, eyes glittering with diluted delight. Even if this was his second time at the gathering, he couldn't help feeling a bit excited to be there. He rather enjoyed the event. He even enjoyed the leaders talking... somewhat. It sometimes dragged on a bit too long for his liking but overall, it was a pretty nice time for him. It was especially nice if he was able to squeeze into a conversation or two.

It didn't take long at all when someone caught his eye. Normally, he'd go try to find someone not from his clan but this time, there would be an exception. He hadn't had a chance to interact much with Goldenpaw yet. He's seen her around camp but never really had the time to go up to her and ask to hang out for a bit. Now, however, seemed like a perfect time to really introduce himself to her.

Green eyes tracked the she-cat's route and widened a bit in surprise when they saw her approach Fawnstep. If he wasn't interested before, he certainly was now. The gray-furred tom briskly made his way over to the duo. Perhaps he could use this time to get to know his father better. He never really spent any time with him- for many reasons -but he was never really opposed to the idea.

Once close enough, Silverpaw offered Goldenpaw and Fawnstep a lopsided grin. "Hey guys! Mind if I join ya both?" he asked with a friendly yet polite tone in his voice. "So, what'cha been up to lately?" Silverpaw was well aware that he wasn't the best at starting conversations but once he got into the groove of things, it all became much smoother and less awkward.

Second to the Gathering, Primroselight followed the rest of Skyclan to Fourtrees. She knew how precious Gatherings were after the Asylum attack, but an unexpected bout of vomiting had kept her off last moon, much to her misfortune. However, now she was eager to find conversation outside of her clan, and so made her way over to a tortoiseshell tom. Judging by the pinesap scent, she guessed he was a Shadowclanner. A patch of marshy mud covered one of his legs, and after spending many moons trying desperately to keep her son's pelt clean, she wondered who would purposely do that. Probably a Shadowclan thing. It slightly annoyed her how disjointed Skyclan sometimes felt, and cut off from the other clans. Too cut off to know of any differing traditions. But maybe all clans felt that way after Asylum's invasion. "Hi, you're from Shadowclan, right? I'm Primroselight, Skyclan."

Primroselight is talking to Emberleap

Muddythorn stayed close to the front of the clan as they traveled to the Gathering, excitement filling him with boundless energy. It was his first Gathering as a warrior, which also made him feel a bit braver when it came to the other clans. Now the issue he was facing was actually going up to someone. Everyone seemed busy with their own conversations as he scanned the crowd, and as much as he was eager, he didn't want to be rude and interrupt. Then he noticed Birdsong and another cat. Surely his cousin wouldn't mind if he slipped in, right? The other cat seemed to be apologising for bumping into her, but Muddythorn would happily scoop up this opportunity to meet new cats. "Hey Birdsong!" He mewed, giving her a playful nudge. Turning to the other tom, he suddenly noticed how nervous he looked. Making friends would make that better. It always worked for him. "Hey, I'm Muddythorn!"

Muddythorn is talking to Birdsong and Turtlefur

Wisteriabloom lazy and didn't want to come

One set of pawsteps broke away from the rest of the sound, and Emberleap turned to face a cream-colored stranger. A warrior, without a doubt—the scar on her right flank proved that—but less sharp-looking than most. What was that scent? He squinted and opened his mouth as subtly as he could. Piney like ShadowClan’s drier patches, yet missing the touches of muck he knew. Before he could ask, the stranger (Primroselight, now) answered. SkyClan. No wonder he hadn’t recognized it. “I am—my name’s Emberleap, it’s nice to meet you!” He raised a paw to his shoulder, remembered the mud, let it drop with a flash of a smile.

A sensible voice urged him to retreat before things went south—but a much louder, lonelier one drowned it out. How long had it been since he’d talked to someone outside ShadowClan? Outside Asylum? And if he couldn’t meet other cats in relative peace here, when else would he get the chance? Emberleap tilted his head to the side. “You know, I’ve never actually met someone from SkyClan before.” Aside from Dawnhawk, he supposed; but Dawnhawk was as much a SkyClan warrior as Emberleap had been a WindClanner. “What’s it like living there? Only if you don’t mind me asking, of course,” he added hastily.

"Hey, watch-" Birdsong stammered as an unfamiliar tom smelling of the river bumped into her. She hadn't been expecting it, but managed to recover quickly. "It's okay." It had been an honest mistake, as far as she could tell.

"My name's Birdsong, of Skyclan." She introduced herself, "Who're you?" It was then that Muddythorn padded over, and Birdsong affectionately flicked her tail at him. "Hey, Muddy."

Steady steps, firm and solid, took Minkstar towards Fourtrees, a thrill of anticipation running the length of his spine as he glanced up through the leaves above at the glimmering hints of the full moon shining through. Tonight... was the gathering, and he stood at the head of his Clan, having left slightly later than usual.

His stomach twinged as the reason for that came to mind, the worry underlying the anticipation rearing its head again. Batbite wouldn't be coming with them tonight, instead opting to stay back in camp since she hadn't been feeling well all day. A part of him itched to be back there, to put off going to the gathering just this once, but Mossbloom was taking care of her. Besides, Bat herself had told him to go.

He could still see that sparkle of good humour overpowering the discomfort as she spoke, a memory that had stuck with him - though a lot of other things were a bit blurry.

His ear twitched at the whispering rustle of his Clanmates making their way through the undergrowth all around him, his own movements as quiet and natural as any one of them, paws tracing out the silvered path to Fourtrees. She'll be alright. A slight smile tugged at the corners of his maw, and though his heart lay with his mate back in camp, he brushed through the stubby ferns surrounding the clearing and into its silver light.

For a moment he stayed there at the top of the dip leading down into an ethereal vision of moonlight playing off pelts and grass blades, his Clan slowly trickling through to join him. A breath in, a breath out - the beat of his heart in his ears as a faint breeze stirred his fur.

Shadows of memory plagued this place. Darkness and misery, loneliness and despair. He might have physically come out of the pit Asylum had made of this place, but mentally.... I was trapped here.

But now, I'm free.

Scars still lined his body and mind, but they would fade or heal. For the first time in moons, he felt no sense of anxiety at being here, or at interacting with the other leaders. Instead... a sense of peace stayed with him. No matter whether the problems he still had with remembering things bungled it up, he'd make it work. I belong here.

And so Minkstar strode down into the clearing with his head held high, eyes alight with confidence as his muscles bunched smoothly, propelling him onto the Great Rock in a few easy leaps, no hint of wincing or pain marring his movements. He couldn't help the grin that pulled at his maw, a dizzy sense of joy sparking under his pelt at this act that other cats didn't give a second thought to, and he didn't bother to dampen it as his paws landed firmly at the top. A glance behind at the cats gathered below as the grin faded to a smile, and he felt no tingle of nervousness, no tremble of doubt. The cool stone beneath him molded to his paws perfectly.

I deserve to stand here.

Turning away from the sight below, a feeling of satisfaction burning deep in his belly, he nodded to the others as he shook his pelt and approached Ivystar. "Hello, sister. Got a beat? I need to ask you about something. Or more specifically, someone."

Shrikesong padded into Fourtrees behind Minkstar. It was only a couple sunrises ago when he got his leader name, and she for one was proud of him. He seemed more comfortable as leader of ThunderClan after getting his nine lives. Shrikesong was confident in the tom's ability to lead ThunderClan into the future. And she felt more sure of her clan being in good hands than ever before. She knew that her problems weren't nearly the same thing as Minkstar's, but if the ThunderClan leader could overcome them, then maybe, just maybe, she could too.

Shrikesong is open to talk to!

Ashpaw padded into the gathering near the back of the pack of Windclanners, carefully looking around the clearing before finding a seat near the rest of Windclan. As this was her first gathering, Ashpaw was hesitant. Too many cats in one place, it just felt strange. Besides, she just felt like listening to news from the other clans and then leaving. That didn't stop her from sitting up straight and looking as impassive as possible, however.

Ashpaw is open to talk to!

Wolfpaw excitedly bounded into the gathering behind the freshly-named Minkstar, looking around with eyes as round as the full moon itself. This is so cool! Even this thought, however, was barely registered as Wolfpaw trotted around looking for someone to talk to. Finally, she spotted a silver furred cat near the Riverclan clump and ran on over. "Hi, there! I'm Wolfpaw from Thunderclan and it's my first gathering, what's your name? Are you having fun cause this is super fun!" Wolfpaw had waited for no acknowledgment before beginning to ramble, her paws scooting further into the dirt beneath her.

Wolfpaw is talking to Softpaw!

Ravenpaw was in awe at the area she was in for the gathering. She was excited to be at her very first gathering, but at the same time the amount of strange cats entering Four Trees was making her uneasy. Lost in her own thoughts and looking around the area led to Ravenpaw tripping over something, probably her own paws. The she-cat tumbled into another cat. She scrambled to her paws quickly, intending to apologize, but realized that she didn't recognize the cat she had run into. The idea of talking to a strange cat froze her tongue in her mouth, and she went still, one paw still in the air.

Ravenpaw is talking to Ashstorm.

Only steps behind the newly named Minkstar was Badgermask. The she-cat followed her grandfather into the clearing, eyes alert with a dim caution. The ThunderClanner didn't particularly enjoy gatherings, more for the fact that she'd rarely talked with someone outside her own clan, and didn't see the point in starting, now. The only interaction she had with the others were the border fights, and while she did enjoy those, she had a feeling that the sentiment wouldn't be shared if one were to start here, at Fourtrees. Not tonight, anyway. Maybe she'd come tomorrow and see if anyone wanted to fight.

The thought distracted the she-cat as the rest of the clan dispersed, and Badgermask found herself alone somehow in a sea of pelts. Briefly, she felt a stab of loneliness, but before she allowed it to sink in, Badgermask forced herself instead into anger, her expression darkening into a scowl, and any emotion but pure contempt about having to be here quickly dissipated. Let's just get this over with so we can go home.

Badger is open to talk to but she's not feeling very friendly.


As ThunderClan finally showed themselves at Fourtrees, Wolfstar exhaled quietly. "Took them long enough," he muttered to himself, long tail lashing. The tom stepped forward almost as soon as Minkstar joined them on the rock, a yowl for silence preceding his words, "Let the Gathering begin!" He shifted his weight from one paw to the other. "SkyClan welcomes a new medicine cat as apprentice under Beechface this moon - StarClan has chosen Muddythorn to follow in the pawsteps of those who came before," he dipped his head respectfully to the young tom, who had become a warrior barely a moon before. "We also welcome a new warrior, Quietstep, to our ranks."

Another brief pause. "I would like to reiterate that Dawnhawk is still at large, and if anyone has spotted him on their territory, I urge you to bring that information to SkyClan," It was impossible to think no one had seen or heard from his grandson in the moon that had passed from last Gathering to this one... which meant someone had seen him, but they were too cowardly to handle it themselves. Wolfstar was growing impatient, tired of constantly looking over his shoulder. He didn't fear Dawnhawk, but he also had eight more lives to spare, and he knew the golden tom wasn't above killing elders or kits. "That is all," he finished, and stepped back to allow someone to take his place.

Murkystrike padded into the clearing, having lagged behind the rest of the group due to a late report from a patrol. She had stayed to listen, paws kneading the ground as she listened to the rest of the clan leave camp and move farther away, noting any concerns and thanking the warrior for the report. When the tom had finally turned away, she raced through the marshes, a sleek shadow darting over the rocks and around the pine trees before finally she reached the edge of the clearing. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she saw the rest of the clans gathered already, and quickly wove through the crowd of cats to take her place at the base of the rock the leaders stood on. There was no time to greet the other deputies properly, so she settled for a breathless nod of acknowledgement, although the fur on her shoulders bristled a bit as she saw Bloodstrike before sitting down and perking her ears as Wolfstar called the Gathering to order.

---

Dewlight limped in behind the rest of RiverClan, settling near the edge of the clearing. The wounds on her chest were visible, still fairly raw and exposed. However, she wanted to attend the Gathering still, so she could go back and fill Yarrowpaw in on everything. Her heart ached that the young tom was missing this, and it was her fault for not protecting him well enough.

---

Sunnyskip sat among a large group of WindClan warriors, eyes droppy from tiredness. Fatigue had gripped her since she woke up, she hadn't slept well the night before. However, something as silly as some nightmares wouldn't prevent her from trying to find familiar faces of friends she had made, so she had forced her way to the clearing at Fourtrees through the haze of tiredness that fogged her vision. Now that she was sitting here though.... A patch of moss on the edge of the clearing sure did look inviting.

Dovefrost followed shortly after Minkstar, he knew that Thunderclan was the last to arrive but it couldn't be helped considering that there were things that had to be taken care of back at camp. The white tom had to make sure that Batbite was taken care of before following after the rest of the clan. Green eyes looked up at at Minkstar, slight joy ticking inside his chest. He was proud of his leader. He settled into his usual spot, not really doing a whole lot at the current point in time, just ready to listen to the news of the clans.