August 2021 Gathering

Muddyleap frowned as he scanned the cats, having trouble picking out Newt. The tom had to be here, right? His eyes nervously fell to the Great Rock, noting that Wolfstar was gone and Bloodstrike was in his place. Hm... His ears twitched at the sound of a voice, glancing over in surprise before his eyes widen as he realized that his target had found him instead. "Newt!" he gasped as his answer to the question, eyes bright in joy of having found his new friend. "Oh, I was hoping that you were okay! I-I did my best to get you to the edge of the camp after you fell unconscious and..." he stopped himself, taking in a deep breath before he gave the tom a sheepish look. "Yeah, I remember you. But, uh...I didn't actually catch your full name. Mine is Muddyleap, just in case you forgot."

Goldenfang was proud of her Clan, but she was not at all pleased with their victory over SkyClan. It had been senseless and entirely unnecessary. It hadn’t been fairly won, either; her pride was still wounded over RiverClan’s intervention. At least the neighboring Clan would be WindClan’s pet for a while until they had their primary source of food back. That would keep SkyClan from coming back, assuming their many wounds and embarrassing defeat weren’t enough. The pale she-cat stuck near her Clanmates for once. She wasn’t eager to mingle with others, instead sticking near Swiftspirit, Ashfall, and Dayspring. The three of them had been hurt quite badly. Goldenfang wanted to be close enough to step in if someone threatened them but distant enough to not look like a queen fretting over her first litter.

Goldenfang is open to talk to.

A Gathering.

Yet another thing Cheetahpaw couldn't quite.... grasp the concept of. All you did was talk. With foreign cats. There was the opportunity to do that most every day all day right in your own camp! Why would you rather exchange quite personal information, Cheetahpaw thought, with cats who, for all you know, could be the head of a Clan looking to plot the end of your Clan! Even the little news that was shared was... not really as interesting as one might expect.

Some cats... Their mindsets were incomprehensible, goodness gracious.

Really, the only reason she was currently following at the heels of Flintstar and her Clanmates tonight was to get out, make herself known a little more. Make her reputation presentable. How these conversations would go -- because she just knew cats couldn't resist blabbering off their mouths to one another -- really didn't concern her. She wasn't necessarily looking to make any long-lasting acquaintances.

Dispersing from the cluster of ShadowClan, she took a seat at the back of the growing crowd.

Cheetahpaw is open to talk

Quickly and pointedly, Ivystar pushed her way into the clearing and weaved her way through the plethora of already seated cats waiting for the gathering to begin. Her focus lie on the great rock ahead of her, and she made a beeline toward it and ignored the many voices from every direction and she approached. Leaping to join the other leaders (and deputy), she gave a very curt nod before taking her seat and wrapping her tail neatly over her silver paws. RiverClan filed into the gathering closely behind her.

Ashfall was grateful that she was allowed to go to the gathering, it would do her good to be moving around again after her time in the medicine den. Despite that, she was a bit cautious, she was still deeply uncomfortable with her new blindspot, and that made her want to stick close to her clanmates, or at least someone she could trust. Sticking a Windclanner in her blindspot was... preferable. Thankfully, Dayspring and Swiftspirit would also be in attendance. She had grown... closer with them since they had spent so much time in the Medicine Den together. In particular, she had taken a liking to Windclan's deputy. Ashfall could at least say she respected her, unfortunately, the same could not be said for Lilacstar, but she hoped that perhaps in time that could change. Meeting the other two at the entrance to camp, she began to limp alongside them to the gathering. Thankfully she was steady enough to lend a shoulder for Dayspring to lean on, even if it hurt her paw a little. The pain was inconsequential, helping Dayspring get better was the least she could do, besides, it wasn't like her wounds would ever completely heal anyway.

The limping was getting old quick, Ashfall realized. Her paw still hurt, though not as much, but it remained numb and cold more often than not. It was fairly immobile as well, making putting any weight on it a dangerous task, she had discovered (through her own actions) that weight could cause it to buckle fairly quickly. So she adapted, as she always did. Now she either had a heavy limp, or picked her paw up completely and padded along best she could on three legs. She was just glad that she could see the injured paw still, it helped in her figuring out where it needed to go.

Soon enough, they had arrived at Fourtrees. Though Ashfall's blood became ice when she saw who was sitting atop the Great Rock. Bloodstrike. She stopped cold in her tracks, just staring in a shocked silence. Though when Dayspring spoke, she sprang back to life, looking at her quickly. "He... I'm sure Wolfstar is just recovering from his injuries. Better for you even, you won't need to stand near him, and I'll stick close to you regardless." Ashfall had taken it upon herself to be protective of the deputy, it wasn't like she could get hurt much worse than she already had. Not to say that Dayspring couldn't defend herself, but that she felt guilty about not being faster to stop her injuries the first time around. Perhaps in the future it could be different.

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Wolfblaze entered the gathering, padding alongside Kestrelswoop. He was excellent company, and she enjoyed hanging out with someone she knew. Not that she couldn't hang out with others, but she certainly enjoyed being with Kestrelswoop the most. She was momentarily surprised, however, upon seeing Skyclan and Windclan. Some of their warriors looked injured, certainly more than there had been last gathering. Had the tension caused a battle? Specifically, Windclan's deputy looked beat up, along with a few of the cats near her. Not only that, but Skyclan's deputy had taken the Great Rock... Wolfstar wasn't dead, was he? This was crazy!

Ashfall is speaking with Swiftspirit and Dayspring!
Wolfblaze is open to talk to!

Tipping his head to the side, Newtpaw looked the golden tom up and down. So he'd tried to help him, then? That was actually... really, really nice of him. He couldn't say that he would've done the same. Settling down, he curled his fluffy tail over his paws, hoping that would stop its restless waving, but the steady wave just turned into a constant flicking. "Muddyleap, yeah, yeah, I remember," he sighed, looking down at his paws. As nice as this cat was, he wished he'd never met him, wished he'd just stayed home. Shaking himself out, he raised his head again, trying a smile, but it was weary and mirthless. "I'm Newtpaw. It was actually real nice fightin' ya, y'know, Muddy." A purr, but it was warmer than his tired grin. Despite the little scar he'd left on Newtpaw's face, he seemed really nice, and he was kind of funny, too. He would be good company for tonight, at the very least.

As SkyClan and WindClan entered the gathering, there was bound to be some bad blood. Everybody would be aware that there were going to be some sparks. Except maybe ThunderClan, who got to live in blissful ignorance of this whole debacle. A still-enraged Ravenclaw wanted to take on the entirety of WindClan right there at the gathering, peace treaty be darned. There was one specific WindClan cat she was looking for, though: one particular tom whom she had a few words for.

"You!" She saw Shrikestorm milling around by himself, which was the perfect opportunity to get right in his face and claw his ears off, relatively speaking. "You led us into a trap! You spineless, rabbit-belly coward-"

"Quiet!" Shrikestorm hissed back, annoyance obvious on his face as a couple cats looked over at the commotion. "I told you nothing but the truth. One of your cats snuck into our camp and gave Dawnhawk word that he was being targeted. He left before you came in. If your leader had listened, then the fighting could've been avoided." He hadn't wanted to fight SkyClan. If they had listened to reason, then they could've followed him to... well, wherever he was going, rather than wasting time fighting WindClan: a battle they lost. "I didn't want Dawnhawk anywhere near our camp, but someone found out and leaked it to him."

"No way would it be from us," she hissed back, digging her claws into the ground. It was the only substitute she had that wasn't his stupid face. "SkyClan would never betray its own." Just ignore the whole Dawnhawk thing. He wasn't real SkyClan. Of course, Shrikestorm's face said it all. "Shut your face, rabbit-breath. Your clan is lucky you won that battle. Next time you're going to wish you had just given Dawnhawk to us when you had the chance."

"Whatever you say, birdbrain."

Pantherpaw was… nervous wasn’t quite the word. She wasn’t prepared. She was a very new apprentice. She didn’t even know all the cats in her own Clan, and this was, quite frankly, overwhelming. Her paws faltered momentarily. Did she even want to talk to cats from other Clans? Not really… she searched the crowd for familiar faces. Rosethorn looked troubled. She didn’t see Webshadow. Did she know any of these cats? There, Cheetahpaw… but she didn’t really want to talk to her sister. Maybe later. The scent of ShadowClan hit her nose as she walked past two apprentices talking. … Poppypaw, that was it. Oh. Did she want to talk about death? No. Where was someone quiet to talk to? Pantherpaw felt separated from herself as she weaved through the milling cats, like she was watching herself from above. Suddenly she was brought back to earth by walking straight into a cat. From another Clan. Oh. “Sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going.” WindClan, by the scent. Hopefully not as angry as some of her Clanmates looked.

Pantherpaw is talking to Goldenfang.

Shimmerdust arrived in the Gathering, her eyes flicking to the SkyClan cats in worry-and her gaze filled with panic as she realised that Willowdance wasn't there. Did something happen during the fight? Dear StarClan, if Willowdance was dead, she could never forgive herself.

Her eyes swept over the crowd anxiously, before padding forwards, heading towards the crowd. "Hello? Is Willowdance okay?" Shimmerdust asked the first SkyClan cat she could see.

---

Amberfluff padded along and sat down at the front as always, one eye kept on the SkyClan cats-especially Beechface. However, she stayed quiet.

---

Hopepaw bounded into the Gathering, beaming, though she slowed in her steps as she felt the tension in the air. If she tried, she could probably touch it with a paw. That was how intense the tension was. In response, Hopepaw slowed, looking around for a moment. "What's happening?" She asked Rosethorn, who didn't look happy. Best to do something to distract her.

Shimmerdust is talking to...a SkyClanner, feel free to jump in if you want to talk to her!
Amberfluff is open to talk to!
Hopepaw is talking to Rosethorn![/b]

Attending the Gathering was the last thing that Spottedfrog wanted to do tonight. Previously, she'd found them, if not a little strange, at least interesting. She liked getting to see all the other clan cats, filing away faces (and names when she could get them) for later use, putting scents to memory, and taking in all the tidbits that she heard here and there. There was only so much she could learn in SkyClan, and though she currently had no desire to leave, it was always good to know things.

Tonight, though... she didn't care. StarClan themselves could have descended from the heavens and they'd have been met with a blank stare. Spottedfrog just... couldn't bring herself to care. The only thing she wanted to do was back up her father, and that's why she was here. Wolfstar had stayed in camp - as well he should've, given what she could gather of his current state - and he wasn't the only one. SkyClan couldn't look weak. Not tonight. So she trailed in behind Bloodstrike, watching as her brother wandered off to converse with some WindClan warrior. Her lip curled in anger, but she had no interest in fighting, or even arguing, so she just pinned her ears and pointedly looked away. All around her, as cats entered the clearing, shocked faces stared up at her father, and Spottedfrog liked it, the way they all suddenly seemed uncertain and shaken the moment they saw the behemoth upon the Great Rock in Wolfstar's place. Her claws sank into the dirt at her paws, and she stared up at him, too, fluffy tail twitching thoughtfully. A shape moved up beside her, and Spottedfrog glanced sideways as a she-cat that bore RiverClan scent approached, asking about Willowdance. Spottedfrog's eyes narrowed, and she wrinkled her nose, "Why don't you worry about your own clanmates, RiverClanner," she spat, turning her shoulder.


Badgermask slunk into Fourtrees at the rear and found a spot near the back, where she usually sat, away from the others. The tension within the clearing was thick, thick enough to pierce with a claw, and more cats than she could count bore scratches and wounds, mostly healed. SkyClan, WindClan, RiverClan. Badgermask's hazel eyes flicked from cat to cat, growing curious with each new wound she spied. She sat, curling her tail around her paws, and waited for the Gathering to begin, hoping that someone would say something about what happened - just... not to her.

Both Spotted and Badger are open to talk to, though they're both grumpy as hecc.

Convincing Ivystar to let her make the trek to Fourtrees hadn't been easy, exactly, but the leader relented at Cloverpaw's insistence that she was strong enough, that she was healing well (halfway there she realized it wasn't such a great idea, but she refused to ask one of her Clanmates to lean on them). Even if she had to beg someone to carry her there, she refused to miss this.

As RiverClan approached the clearing, the scents of the other Clans hit her, and her hackles rose at the thought of seeing anyone from SkyClan. She had never been an angry cat, but since she'd had time to think she'd been stewing in her fury. If she could've, she would've dragged herself to SkyClan and tackled Wolfstar herself. Or, at least, she would spit something nasty at him from below the Great Rock and have a chance to show the rest of the forest what he'd done to her.

She'd been so focused on thinking of what to say to that fox-heart that she almost didn't notice it was Bloodstrike sitting in his spot. Bloodstrike. Had... had Wolfstar died? No, he had to be sick or busy or anything else, right? Cloverpaw scanned the clearing, searching for Beechface. If she was here, then Wolfstar couldn't be sick. And soon enough, she found the cat in question, and, feeling particularly bold and spiteful, made her way over.

"Where's your big, bold leader?" She tipped her head to the side, trying– and failing –to keep the heat out of her voice. And just as much as she couldn't hide the quiet fury in her mew, she couldn't hide the way her lip curled, the way her tail had bushed out as she kept her gaze leveled on Beechface.

Turtlefur padded close behind Ivystar. The WindClan raid obviously hadn’t alleviated any tension, and the patched warrior was concerned once again that this sacred meeting would boil over. A deep sigh leaked from his chest as he took a seat in the middle of a swath of his Clanmates. Tonight would be long and uncomfortable and he found himself wishing each Clan could get along.

Turtlefur’s focus was fixed on Flypaw. His apprentice had been brave; no one could say otherwise. However, bravery wasn’t his job tonight. If something broke out then Turtlefur would be the first to intercept an attacker on their path to his still-healing apprentice.

Riverclan arrived, and Beechface let out a low, rumbling growl in warning as a shape approached her. Spiderquill's apprentice, though she hadn't cared to remember her name. She certainly looked worse for wear with hardly-healed injuries, that had been Wolfstar's doing, but those injuries weren't his fault. No, the fault was solely on Ivystar for sticking her nose where it didn't belong.

Apparently this one had a mouth on her just like another medicine cat Beechface had known. She clearly didn't take after her mentor, Spiderquill at least had the good sense to stay quiet and avoid Beechface. Her lips peeled back as her eyes settled on the apprentice, the rage that she'd been trying to tamp down on bubbling to the surface at her words. If the apprentice wasn't seeking trouble, she'd said the wrong thing to the wrong cat.

"He's back in camp, like you should be. Don't worry about him, I can finish what he started, kitten." She growled, claws digging into the grass as she glared down at the apprentice. Her words weren't a threat, they were simple fact. If the Riverclanner hadn't learned her lesson, Beechface would be very happy to beat that lesson into her.

Heronpaw padded along with RiverClan. Though they didn't send many cats to the war, the clan did come out more bruised than she had ever seen it before. The Twolegs on the river had made more and more of the clan's hunts less successful, which made her weaker than normal. Even still, she looked forward to this Gathering. She hoped to see Starlingpaw once more here, and maybe make something excellent alongside it. Heronpaw, I know you are infatuated with this tom, but please, go and find someone else to love in your own clan. You have family here. Kitefire, Jayshriek, Flypaw, what would they think if you just left in the middle of the night? Sighing, the silver-and-white she-cat padded over near ThunderClan's side of the Gathering, searching for him. Talking to him would be a nice release from the crazy stuff that RiverClan had been dealing with.

Heronpaw is looking for Starlingpaw.

As a voice came up to her, Rosethorn turned, recognizing Hopepaw and giving her a half-hearted smile. "I'm honestly not sure. Whatever it is, though, it doesn't seem good. I would take our lack of knowledge as a good sign, though. Means whatever happened doesn't involve us, and it is one less thing we have to worry about. Speaking of things to worry about, how's your training coming along? Batglow's a pretty awesome mentor, right?"

She gave a little grin at the apprentice, a little hint at the common mentor they shared. Batglow was also the cat that trained her, so she found it to be pretty cool.