July Gathering 2021

Muddyleap's smile brightened as his sister nervously agreed, jumping to his paws as she led the trek back to their mother. He remained close, trailing only a few whisker-lengths behind her, ready to offer support to either of the two if need be as his gaze flickered from his sister to his mother as they reached her and Sunnyskip spoke up.

Hayglow's tail was wrapped tightly around her paws, staring down at the ground as she felt unsure on what to do. Her ears twitched at the sound of pawsteps, briefly believing that Muddyleap had returned on his lonesome before she realized that there were two...And she looked up to see her daughter just as Sunnyskip spoke. Her breath caught in her throat, thrown that Sunnyskip had approached her. She hadn't expected...She glanced over at Muddyleap who seemed rather pleased with himself, even if he was nervously glancing between the two she-cats. ...Ah.

She let out a shaky breath, loosing up with a slight shake of her pelt as she tried to give Sunnyskip a small smile. "Hey sweetie," she purred, before her voice broke off. She wasn't sure what to say, how to even start explaining herself, how she felt. She... She wanted to scoop up Sunnyskip like she was a little kit, shelter her from the world and whatever that Dawnhawk had planned but... Her ears slicked back, gaze shifting back to Muddyleap for a second. She wasn't blind, she knew how much Muddyleap resented his situation, having to be watched nearly every moment of the day...How much he resented her, for how often she checked in on him and acted as his guardian.

She just... She didn't want to overstep like that with Sunnyskip. Muddyleap put up with it because he knew it was for the best but...She couldn't have her only other kit resent her in the same way. She blinked, suddenly realizing that tears were rolling down her cheeks as she took in a deep breath. "Sunnyskip, I...I-I'm so sorry," she managed, trying to take more deep breaths to hold back the rest of the tears. "I don't...I don't know what to say, to do. I-I want to be a mother to you again, scoop you up and protect you from the world but you are also a fully grown she-cat who gets to make her own choices." She swallowed, pushing herself to her paws to press her head into her daughter's shoulder, hiding her tearing eyes in the fur.

"I've missed you so much, sweetie. I-I can't say I think highly of ...Him. How he has lied to you but I...I also don't want you to resent me. To think I am trying to control you, to think..." she pressed herself even more into Sunnyskip, drawing herself around her daughter as she fought back the tears. "I don't know. I'm scared, Sunnyskip. Of this situation, for you, for..For us. I don't think this will end well and I just...I just want to keep you both safe." She winced, suddenly realizing she had gone on a large rant when her daughter had simply said 'hello.'

"I-I'm sorry, I-I shouldn't have laid that on you like that," she murmured as she drew away, subbing at a eye with her paw. "Just ever since the truth came out, that has been...Building up, I suppose. Unsure on how to approach you, what to even do. I just... I love you so much, Sunnyskip, and I don't know how you feel about...This, but I didn't want to say something you didn't...Like." She shook her head, taking in a deep breath. "Sorry, sorry. W-We don't need to get into this now. I'm...I'm just happy to have you here with me."

Muddyleap's excitement offered a little comfort as Sunnyskip watched her mother's ears twitch. She hadn't turned yet though, not until just as she started to speak. Her breath caught as their eyes met, the tears she had been struggling to hold back breaking through the fragile control she had so carefully maintained on them. Her mother purred as she greeted her, offering a shaky smile as her voice broke off. She tried and failed to string together words, any words, even just a single word, everything had seemed to get sucked away as she came face to face with Hayglow for the first time since the reveal. In a distant corner of her mind she realized that her mother was crying as well, and that revelation only choked her further. She hadn't ever wanted to make her momma cry. That was the last thing she had ever wanted, she wanted to make her smile, to bring her joy and laughter and sunshine, much like her name suggested. But yet, here they stood, both with tears rolling down the fur at their cheeks. Hayglow seemed to bolster herself first, something that Sunnyskip was silently grateful for. She wasn't sure how long it would be before she would be able to talk, to lay out her heart.

Hayglow spoke, pressing her head into her shoulder, and Sunnyskip's tears fell faster at the contact. Pressing her chin against her mother's head, she tried to focus on her mother's words through the rushing of her heartbeat and the discussions taking place around them. It was simultaneously too loud and far too quiet. She blinked through the tears as her shoulder suddenly felt cold, too cold, and she realized that Hayglow had pulled away, apologies rolling from her tongue as she rubbed her eyes with a paw, wiping away the tears that glittered in her cheek fur. Fighting against the urge to cry out and bury herself in her mother's fur, Sunnyskip tried to dry her own tears quickly, swiping a paw over her cheeks. They were swiftly replaced by fresh ones as she fought to speak against the lump in her throat.

"Momma...." Sunnyskip began softly, a quiet sob interrupting her before she could continue further. Taking a deep breath, she tried again. "You'll always be my momma.... No matter what happens or how old I am..." She paused before looking to meet Hayglow's eyes with her own tear-filled ones. "Now... Now that I'm a momma myself, I understand a little bit more. When I found out, I wanted to whisk them away, to protect them... But they have to make their own choices, decide what's best for them... I can only do what I can to be there to support them however they need me... And that's what I need from you, too. I... I missed you too, so very much momma... You and Muddyleap. I'm sorry that things happened this way, and I understand why you feel the way you do... I'm still not sure how I feel about... Everything. I'm scared too, momma... And I felt so alone... But we're here now, together." Closing the distance between them again, she pressed her face into the fur at Hayglow's chest, breathing in her familiar scent. "We... Let's... Let's talk more, later. Okay? I'm happy to be here too, momma." She concluded shakily, wishing that she could just sit like this for a while longer. This was so much better than the cold darkness of the tunnels that she had taken comfort in recently.

Turtlefur saw the tom coming but Birdsong clearly didn’t; she flinched quite severely at Silverlight’s words. He watched her lick her fur down for a moment, wondering why she reacted so strongly, and then decided that the nerves of the cats gathered must be getting to her as well. ”Hello, Silverlight. I’m Turtlefur from RiverClan. You don’t have to leave,” He meowed to the younger cat. A friendly face was more than welcome, especially from one of the Clans that seemed to be the most ruffled. Maybe it was some political game the leaders were playing with each other and their attitudes leaked down to their deputies and key warriors. ”How is WindClan? Sometimes I see your patrols across the gorge, but I haven’t really talked to anyone. You all seem quick.” He made polite conversation to try and diffuse the stress clouding him.

Hayglow's ears perked as Sunnyskip finally found the words to speak, blinking up to meet her daughter's tear-stained face. She listened quietly to Sunnyskip's words, giving a small nod as she pressed that she just needed Hayglow to be there for her. Then, she crossed the distanced and pressed herself against Hayglow, the she-cat feeling more tears swell in her eyes as she curled herself around her daughter. "Of course, sweetie. We can talk later. Wenever you want - whenever you are ready. I'll always be here for you, at your side no matter what. You will never be alone, I can promise you that much." For a few heartbeats, there was silence between the two - Hayglow soaking in the comfort of being close with her daughter again before something started to force itself between the two she-cats, causing her to draw back in surprise to see Muddyleap had wiggled his face between his family.

"I want in on the cuddles as well!" he pouted, glancing back and forth between his mom and his sister. "You both need it clearly and I'm going to be here for the both of you as well!" he huffed, darting his head to brush against Sunnyskip and Hayglow rather quickly with a purr. "I-I know it isn't smart but...You are both suffering so much emotional pain and I-I'm not always sure what to do but because of that, whenever you guys are in danger. I...I'll be there to take that pain cause I...I mean I can't feel it and I hate seeing you guys so sad already. Besides, you guys will be there to make sure I then get the help I need so its... I'll fight to protect you both, even if I am a little useless with the emotional stuff."

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Flintstar glanced over as a voice spoke up - Wolfstar, mentioning that Briarthorn was settling in nicely in SkyClan. He gave a short nod, not wishing to waste the breath on words - not when he was feeling so...Terrible. There was some sort of commotion at the medicine cats, but a quick glance told him that none of the cats were his so he didn't really care. Instead, he stood up and took a step forward, clearing his throat - which sounded a tad disgusting as he truly had some gunk in there from his sickness. "This Gathering has started!" he managed, raising his head to glance down at the cats. "...ShadowClan is doing fine. We've had many apprentices named recently. I'm currently sick but recovering well. I want this Gathering to be over, that is all," he said simply, a tinge of annoyance in his voice as he promptly spun and took his seat again. He felt worn and tired, having truly overestimated how much better he was feeling. He had felt worse, that was true...But all he wanted to do was collapse back into his nest and sleep.

Swanpaw finally looked up as the gathering started and brushed her tail over the shapes in the dirt, her feathering tail was now dirty but she could clean it later. Now, she had to listen to the leader of Shadowclan.

The leader spoke in a voice that had an echo of annoyance to it. The leader said he was recovering but Swanpaw didn't really believe that.

She stayed quiet, as always and looked back to her paws. Waiting for the next leader to step up.

Wolfblaze laughed at Kestrelswoop's retort, but didn't respond for a moment, looking anywhere but him. Quickly, she looked at the leaders on the rock. "Oh I don't know, Skyclan sorta looks like they always have thorns in their nests. I see what you mean though, everything is... tense." For once, Wolfblaze sounded serious. Gatherings always seemed to be a bit tense, but not like this! It was strange. Though she visibly lightened up when asked about her apprentice. "Oh, Sparrowpaw has been great! Less problematic I'm sure. She certainly seems determined when I've trained her though! I'm assuming that the one you got is a pawful? Though, if anyone can handle a pawful, you can." She said this with a smile, however, she turned her head to look back up at the leaders as Flintstar began the gathering. He seemed annoyed, and his speech was short-lived. Though he did sound sick, what an unfortunate way to spend a gathering.

Wolfblaze is talking to Kestrelswoop!

"Uhhh, I think the simplest way to describe it is that Skyclan likes being in the trees, and Thunderclan likes being in the undergrowth near them? I think we are better at climbing trees at least than Thunderclan." Nightpaw said this gently, not wanting to say something bad about Thunderclan. This is just what he thought the difference was. As he finished speaking, the lanky apprentice heard the gathering begin with Shadowclan. He felt bad for their leader, being sick must feel terrible!

Nightpaw is talking to Bumblepaw, Smokepaw, and Wasppaw!

“Mmm… makes sense.”

Suddenly, Flintstar started the Gathering. StarClan’s kits, he looked terrible. How come she hadn’t noticed that? Would other Clans take that as a sign of weakness? Would she get sick?

She shook her head, attempting to concentrate. “I’m no good at climbing trees,” she muttered softly. “What’s SkyClan territory like? Maybe our trees are different. For that matter, what’s ThunderClan like, Wasppaw?”

Smokepaw is talking to Nightpaw, Bumblepaw, and Wasppaw.

Bearspirit blinked at Swiftspirit's response. Dogs were certainly no fun, but they both were aware of that already. "One of your clanmates? Is he here now?" Then the realization hit him like a stone. Bearspirit hadn't been able to speak to Bloodstrike or Wolfstar at the last gathering, as it had ended abruptly. This had to be about Dawnhawk.... it was the only thing that made sense. Which means.... His eyes went back to Skyclan. Before he could say more, Flintstar declared the gathering was due to begin. Bearspirit sat down where he was rather than join his clan. There was a lot he wanted to ask... but he feared he wouldn't get the chance now.

---

Bloodstrike forced himself to not react to Beechface pulling away the way that she had, though it cut through him sharper than he would have liked. As the words rumbled out of her mouth, Bloodstrike let out a big, tired sigh. It was as he feared. He closed his eyes, an intriguingly calm expression on his face considering the news he'd just gotten. Only a moment later, his eyes popped open, and a green inferno raged behind the deputy's eyes.

"They have made their choice then. You should let Wolfstar know. I will be by the other deputies, struggling to keep my temper in check as usual." Yet his voice was level, not at all matching the intensity of his gaze. Bloodstrike then moved passed Beechface and took his seat with the other deputies. His eyes stuck on Dayspring for several heartbeats... an uncomfortably long time, before he finally blinked.

"Evening." He spat at her, before he looked away, his nose wrinkled with disgust and froth building up around his exposed fang. So they would likely meet in battle at some point, unless Wolfstar had another plan in mind. His tail nub twitched in aggravation, but for the remaining duration of this gathering, Bloodstrike would try to keep his mouth shut.

---

Moonshine post coming tomorrow. I have to go to bed. x.x

Harrierpaw had arrived with ThunderClan, sticking close behind his twin the whole way over. He remembered his first day of training when his mentor had brought him over to Fourtrees during the day. It had been a bit underwhelming then since there was nothing really going on but now that he was present during a gathering, he had to admit that it was much more interesting than he'd initially thought. It was bustling and he couldn't keep focus on any one thing in particular. He was a bit...fascinated, not that he'd ever say that aloud.

The young apprentice's attention briefly flicked over to Starlingpaw. Oh boy. He could already see the stars in his eyes as he probably figured out that this was a perfect opportunity to garner a lot of attention. Harrier rolled his eyes and huffed. Hopefully his brother wouldn't return home with an extra inflated ego. It's the last thing anyone wanted really. He began to walk away but not before he addressed Starling, "Don't lose your head in the clouds furball. The last thing ThunderClan needs is you returning back to camp with a superiority complex." He padded up to him and ruffled his head with a paw then briskly took his leave before he got the same treatment.

It didn't take him too long to come across someone he was somewhat interested in striking up a chat with. The fluffy ThunderClanner strode up to the lanky tom sitting a bit by his lonesome. "Hey. M'name's Harrierpaw. I'm from ThunderClan and it's my first time at a gathering. Are you new too? Kinda seems like it...no offence though. Just an observation." The apprentice's gaze wandered around as he waited for the other to give him a response.
After having arrived with her clan, Rainypaw had spent a lot of time just wandering around and observing others as much as she could. Her clan had been extra tense and anxious for a while now and the young she-cat had put two and two together after hearing passing snippets of conversations back at camp. In the center of their current problems was a cat named Dawnhawk, who they've been trying to catch for a while now. She wasn't sure of the exact details as to why they wished the Dark Forest upon him but whatever it had been, it must've been worthy of such threats.

The lithe she-cat made mental notes of where her siblings were as she passed on by. Intelligent blue eyes narrowed in on a particular scene amongst the many. Beechface was currently fuming and heading over to where the leaders and deputies congregated, probably with the intent to slice a few pelts. Her mission was paused by what was probably ThunderClan's medicine cat but she didn't let that little encounter faze her. Rainy couldn't hear the words exchanged by them nor the ones with Bloodstrike but it was most likely bad news. She traced Bloodstrike's sight with hers and noticed him watching WindClan's deputy. Well, this was not going to bode well for the moor runners. The apprentice lowered her gaze and began to walk again. For now, it'd be best to not ask questions.

Rainypaw, after a few more minutes of wandering, decided on starting up a conversation with RiverClan's medicine cat. He'd seemed rather lonely where he was and could probably use some company. The young apprentice briskly walked over to...what was his name? She couldn't really remember what his name was exactly and it irked her. "Hello. My name's Rainypaw. I'm a new apprentice from SkyClan." she greeted, with a respectful bow of her head, "Do you mind my company? I could leave if you wish. I noticed you sitting by your lonesome and felt the need to give you a bit of companionship." Hopefully that had been a good first impression. Perhaps he'd share some things about his clan with her. It was unlikely but still, it could happen.

---

Well, it wouldn't be long before the entire gathering knew, huh? Ravenclaw came to stand next to Beechface, getting as close as she could to whisper in her ear. "We can't tell Wolfstar yet. If he knows, then it will come up in the gathering. Someone will tell him, and he'll escape. We can't let him get away from us. That WindClan tom... He wants Dawnhawk too." She looked back at the gathered throngs, but she could no longer see the tom. Was he the only one to let this information leak? Perhaps WindClan was thoroughly fractured. Or perhaps they were leaking misinformation to destroy the calm of the gathering... She lashed her tail in annoyance. There was no way to know for sure until tomorrow night, but if they acted too quickly, then there would certainly be payment at paw. ...Wait, since when had she been the reasonable one?

Wolfstar watched Bloodstrike and Beechface intently, his eyes flicking to Ravenclaw as she, too, joined the conversation, but eventually things settled down, and everyone took their places - just in time for Flintstar to start the gathering. Once ShadowClan's leader had finished, Wolfstar swallowed past the growing lump of dread in his throat, and stepped forward, trying to keep his voice level. "SkyClan welcomes Maplepaw, Newtpaw, Spottedpaw, Bearpaw, and Nightpaw, to the apprentice den this moon." He kept his voice low, clipped, and flexed his claws into the stone beneath him. "That is all."

He'd wanted to mention Dawnhawk, but... it was pointless, now. If someone had information, they'd proven they didn't want to share it.

The other Clans arrived, and Minkstar returned their nods mechanically, the end of his tail-tip twitching on the stone as he watched his own Clanmates interact with other cats, an odd twitch of uneasiness sparking to life in his gut. Kitefire... He'd never noticed her drifting away, never noticed her hanging out with any cat in particular, never seen. Were there any of his Clan here doing the exact same thing while he watched, oblivious? Why am I thinking about this?

Green eyes sparkled to life in his memory, from the past, before the shattering stars and darkness that had scattered it into a thousand pieces. He shook his head, trying to shake off this buzzing restlessness sticking to his paws, and then the voice of his medicine cat caught his ear, urgent, low - right beneath them. Snapping down, his gaze caught the white tom stepping in front of SkyClan's healer, the imposing molly's eyes flashing. Automatically, his muscles tensed, the fur along the back of his neck rising, claws extending just a hair from their sheaths. What in StarClan-?

She backed off, and he relaxed slightly, the fur on the back of his neck settling back down even as his eyes stayed on them warily for a moment longer. She was clearly upset about something, turning to the deputy with a moment of inaudible conversation that left the massive tom stalking over to the others with a look in his eyes that didn't bode well. One that seemed especially directed at... WindClan's? That she-cat was theirs, wasn't she? Sifting furiously through his mind, he could distantly remember something about it. Their leader was talking to Ivystar a moment ago. A glance in her direction showed nothing, but he could feel the tension crackling in the air as well as any cat. Stars, not again. Can't we have peace for one foxdunged moon?

A low growl rumbled in his chest, and he rose to his paws as Wolfstar stepped back, setting his paws firmly on the edge of the rock. Kerath's warrior ceremony, Wolfblaze.... The whole of Waterlily's litter.... So many names.... he'd tried, but he doubted he could remember them all now, especially with this agitation still coursing under his pelt. His voice rang out firm, anyway, their Clan's announcement ringing through the clearing over the low mumble of conversation. "ThunderClan is doing well, our ranks swelling with a new litter of kits born to Waterlily and her mate, all of them becoming apprentices over the last moon." A glint of pride flickered in his eyes as he continued, "We also welcomed Kestrelswoop and Wolfblaze into our ranks as warriors. Sadly, Batbite is... still not able to resume her duties, and so for a time I have appointed Thrushnose to take her place." He gritted his teeth as his voice cracked slightly at that last, stepping back to indicate that he was finished and resuming his former position on the rock, expression forcefully closed.

---

Can't be bothered to do anything with Sable so she's floating around just listening and becoming a puffball from all the tension lying around.

"I... You're right." She acquiesced to Ravenclaw, eyes closing for a moment as she tried to control her breathing. "Later." She agreed... Though maybe it was more of a reminder to herself than it was conversation directed at her sister.

Beechface watched as Bloodstrike closed his eyes and took a breath... And his eyes opened. He spoke, agreeing that Wolfstar should be told... And oh, he was furious. He wasn't the only one, of course, and if Bloodstrike decided violence was the answer tonight, Beechface wasn't sure if she could prevent herself from following. She could almost smell the blood in the air.

"Yeah... Wish me luck with that?" She muttered, a strained half-laugh escaping her. Keeping tempers under control... Probably the smart thing to do. She didn't want to, though. She wanted to make someone pay, she wanted to race off and find her littermate before anyone else could. Bury her fangs in his neck like she'd dreamed of doing since he'd led the Asylum to their camp.

Her paws carried her back to where she'd been sitting, though Beechface's expression indicated that attempting any sort of conversation would be very, very unwise. She didn't noticed when the leaders began to give their updates, yellow-green eyes staring ahead at nothing in particular as her claws flexed in the grass.

Dayspring had to lower her head in order to prevent her eyes from anxiously looking around the clearing. Every time she inhaled, it seemed as if the weight on her shoulders proceeded to press down even harder. Staying quiet and laying low for the rest of the Gathering would most likely be the best decision for her to make, but she couldn't help but lift her head up to observe as SkyClan's medicine cat started making a beeline for the Great Rock... and Beechface looked nowhere near happy. Bitter bile began to rise in her throat as she watched the interception and the conversation, and although she had no idea what was being said, that didn't stop her mind from running through possible scenarios.

What if they were talking about Dawnhawk? What if they were talking about where he was? What if they-?
Her train of thought was instantly thrown off track as Bloodstrike made his way toward where the deputies were instructed to sit. Dayspring swiftly glanced in the opposite direction, intentionally making it seem like she hadn't been staring. When the WindClan deputy turned her head back to greet him as if nothing was wrong, she noticed that the SkyClanner had already begun to look at her. The two of them proceeded to stare at each other for what seemed like ages to Dayspring before Bloodstrike finally opened his maw to say one word.

The tom's tone of voice was enough to send chills down Dayspring's spine.
"Oh, good eveni-" She spluttered before noticing that Bloodstrike had turned away.

Dayspring felt as if she was going to be sick. Either some cat had put a pinecone into the SkyClan deputy's nest that morning... or he knew. There was no way that any SkyClanner could possibly have any idea about the situation, unless someone other than her and Lilacstar had decided to spread the word like it was ordinary Clan gossip during tonight's Gathering. Then again, the she-cat was known for overthinking. She decided to swallow the lump in her throat, glance back down at her trembling paws, and avoid making any contact with Bloodstrike or any other SkyClan cat for the remainder of the period. There was no need to make herself more tense than she already was.

Lichenblaze had entered the Gathering with the rest of SkyClan, half-heartedly keeping an eye on Newtpaw. He was more focused on his father and Beechface, however, and the lingering, horrible memories that plagued his mind. He had to force himself to go to this Gathering after what happened with Tigersong, and even now, as he sat among the crowd, his stomach turned nervously. Newtpaw was the last of his worries as he kept his eyes trained on Bloodstrike, Beechface, and now Ravenclaw, watching their growing hostility as if he was a ghost. Invisible, intangible...his paws tingled uncomfortably.

If others were talking to him, he didn't hear them. He instead found himself moving towards Ravenclaw. Keeping his voice low, he simply meowed, "What happened?" If the answer was what he thought it was...he feared the worst.

Lichenblaze is talking to Ravenclaw!
Shadepaw stayed home to care for the elders.
Sunkit is too young to come!