August 2021 Gathering

A familiar voice made Cloverpaw hope the cat she had run into had just been one of her Clanmates, but just as she was turning around teeth snapped by her head and an unfamiliar, rough voice was barking at her for not being careful. Her eyes were wild, and her lip curled as she looked back and forth between them.

"Beechface is threatening me!" She cried, high-pitched and strained. Her tail was lashing back and forth, and her claws had started to flex, scoring the soft earth below. "I'm not doing anything! It isn't my fault their leader is a foxing brute!"

Cloverpaw was shouting now, her little form trembling with adrenaline as she stared the two larger warriors down, challenge written across her face. She wasn't in the wrong– she refused to be in the wrong. Switching her focus to Bearspirit, she went on, "You were there! You saw what they did to WindClan, to– to us." She turned behind her, looking at Beechface like she was a rotten piece of prey before shuffling forward to stand half-between, half-behind the warriors. Tail still lashing, she glanced at the ShadowClanner, dropping her voice to mutter, "Sorry for running into you, but," a pause, then a little louder for the other medicine cat to hear, "I wasn't trying to get ripped to pieces. Again."

Unbelievable, that she was the one being scolded. She had been the victim before, she was being threatened now, and the two of them wanted to snap at her? For what, pointing out SkyClan's criminal nature? She snorted, staring between her two new guardians with blazing fury.

The last thing Lichenblaze wanted to do was attend this Gathering, but he forced himself to go to just be able to do something. He looked disheveled, numb, dull, and simply followed the crowd as his father led the way. Wolfstar elected to stay home, and the mottled warrior didn't blame him. Half-heartedly keeping an eye on Newtpaw, Lichenblaze took a seat on his own and crouched down into the dirt, not looking anyone in the eye.

---

Shadewing decided to go to the Gathering in place of her sister, although she was still recovering from her own injuries. Her pawsteps were clipped and short, her muscles stiff. The Gathering would most likely not be a pleasant one, but it was better to get it over with. The pretty SkyClan warrior sighed and took a seat, fluffing her tail. If anyone wanted to approach her, she would be friendly of course, but she didn't have the energy in her to do too much socializing tonight.

---

Sunpaw plodded into the Gathering with the rest of WindClan, shoulders hunched with worry. There would be SkyClan cats here tonight...Hopefully he wouldn't have to see that apprentice he fought in the battle. His cheek still stung a little from the scratch he had received...Smallbean even mentioned it would scar. What's a battle without a few scars? he mused, sitting with some other WindClan cats. He would avoid SkyClan tonight, but maybe he could make a new friend from a different Clan...

Sunpaw raised his head, large ears perked, to see if he could spot any other apprentices.

---

Lichenblaze is not open for conversation!
Shadewing is open for conversation!
Sunpaw is open for conversation from any cats not from SkyClan!

Beechface ignored the Shadowclanner that the apprentice backed into, and merely gave the warrior that chastised her a gruff nod. He had some sense, at least, though she wasn't stupid enough to think he had stepped in for her benefit.

Bloodstrike called her name and she twitched an ear in her father's direction as he spoke. "Antagonizing the wrong cat will get you into trouble, kitten. Don't push your luck." She stated, tone flat. She would not respond to her continued jibes. She would not, much as she wanted to. Much as she was still angry, Bloodstrike had told her enough was enough, and bloodshed at a gathering truly hadn't been on the agenda at tonight's gathering.

With a snort, the medicine cat turned her back upon the Riverclanners, turning toward the great oak she'd been sitting under previously, leaping rather gracefully into one of the lower hanging branches and stretched out to watch. If the little Riverclan apprentice still insisted upon antagonizing her, well, she could always drop down on her by accident. The trees were treacherous, after all, and Beechface didn't spend much time in them.

Dayspring was grateful for Ashfall and Swiftspirit's support. They were right; Bloodstrike being on top of the Great Rock meant that she wouldn't have to sit near him tonight. That was the biggest amount of optimism that the she-cat could gather. There was still the smallest chance, however, that Bloodstrike was now named Bloodstar. Even thinking of it made her feel even sicker than she already felt.
"I agree. The forest does not need to see him as a leader anytime soon," Dayspring began, glancing over at Swiftspirit, "and as for their warriors, I trust that they won't instigate anything tonight... but I wouldn't put anything past their high ranks."

She sucked in an uneasy breath as she addressed Ashfall.
"Thank you. That makes me feel a lot better." The deputy mewed with a sincere tone.
She would've preferred to sit with Ashfall, Swiftspirit, and Goldenfang, who had decided to stick close to them, but she knew that joining the other deputies below the Great Rock was one of her duties, even if it was a rather small one.

"Um, I guess I have to go and sit. We can reconvene once it's time to head home." Dayspring gave the warriors a tiny smile before making her way over to the Great Rock as carefully as possible and giving each of the deputies that were gathered below a quick nod.
The least she could do was be polite, even if this was the last spot that she wanted to be.
"Hi." Was all she said to them.

Her splint stood out like a sore paw, and it made Dayspring feel more and more insecure by the second.

Bearpaw nodded her head eagerly once the ShadowClan apprentice repeated Smokepaw's name. The smile on her maw was unmatched as she listened to Poppypaw's words. Smokepaw was Smokepelt now? It made the she-cat wonder when she would be gaining a warrior name of her own. When the ShadowClan cat fell into silence, Bearpaw pressed her ears against her head. Something was wrong.

"What happe-?" The apprentice was cut off as Poppypaw suddenly relayed the news to her.
She could feel her tail drooping as she stared directly into the eyes of the stranger in front of her. Smokepelt and Bearpaw hadn't been close friends, but she had been hoping that there would be at least one familiar face in ShadowClan, especially since she was still considering...

Never mind. It didn't matter what she was considering.

"Oh, I..." She blinked, unsure of how to react, "...I'm sorry. I had no idea. How did she die? Or is that question a bit too intrusive?"

A vaguely skeptical hum came from deep in his throat at Thrush's suggestion - she didn't sound certain of it, either. Marks like those on the cats milling in the clearing didn't match dog-bite injuries, or most other predators. Unless an army of raccoons had swarmed out of their territory when they weren't looking and spread to the other Clans. As he mused, she spoke up again, and he gave her a nod, feeling a trickle of relief. "We'll compare any findings afterwards. If hostilities have opened, it could be bad for the rest of us...." The last he half-spoke to himself, gaze flicking to the deputy of WindClan, one of her legs in a splint. No, it didn't bode well for any of them if battles had started up again.

They split, Minkstar's ears twitching as he padded the rest of the way to the Great Rock, catching snippets of conversation, fragments of information that painted a disturbing picture. The name of Bloodstrike came hissing from several maws, hatred flashing in hostile glances. Even the medicine cats seemed to be having problems, an unfamiliar apprentice cowering before the massive molly who cared for SkyClan. SkyClan again. What in the stars have they done?

His eyes turned to the rock, seemingly emotionless as he leapt to the top, quick-fire thoughts running like lightning beneath the surface. SkyClan - the Clan who had come to them, and presumably the others, to give warnings about a rogue warrior who had fled from their ranks. A Dawn-something. A murderer. Coincidence? Then again, SkyClan had always been an island sitting in the middle of the river, practically isolated from everyone else and bristling with hostility. Lately, though, they hadn't seemed so hostile towards his own Clan.

With that in mind, he met Bloodstrike's gaze evenly, returning the other's nod, but not moving on as the others had. The other tom might be taller and more heavily muscled, but he'd never shown anything but respect before. A part of Minkstar was curious to see how far that would extend before he was given a glimpse of what every other cat seemed so afraid of. He kept his tone polite, however, his body language loose and unassuming. "Greetings, Bloodstrike. I hope Wolfstar's fine; it looks like the rest of SkyClan's been through some thistles since we last gathered."

Minkstar has decided to enact conversation with Bloodstrike.

Bloodstrike was satisfied that the two medicine cats were now leaving each other alone. He cast a side glance at Lilacstar, wondering what exactly it was that she intended to say on the matter. Bloodstrike himself would personally rather not let the entire forest know their business, but if she insisted, then he was prepared for it. Minkstar approached him and began to talk, snapping him out of his ponderings. He'd never had a problem with Thunderclan, not once. Minkstar had nothing to fear.

"Wolfstar is alright. He's been overly tired with rogues entering the territory and giving birth. I forgot how loud kits can be sometimes when they're upset or hungry." He chuckled, keeping the mood light. "He was going to come, but I told him I would be happy to go instead. I'm the next leader after all. I may as well start getting accustomed to leading the clan to gatherings and handling the announcements." Of course this wasn't true, but what sane clan leader would tell other clans of their weaknesses? "Skyclan doesn't normally accept outsiders but she came to us heavily pregnant and needed a place to stay. I suppose Wolfstar figured, why not." He laughed a little more, but he was still soft. "He's regretting that now, though. Do you think I should have been smug and told him, "This is why Skyclan doesn't accept outsiders."?" At least some of it was. Sapphire... he had his reservations about rogues but so far she and her kits seemed alright.

"Thistles of sorts, indeed. Training regimens can get a little intense from time to time." He answered simply. He did however, say it loud enough for Lilacstar to hear him. He didn't look at her, but he hoped she was at least smart enough to pick up on the fact that unless she announced their war, he wasn't going to. He doubted she'd get it. He pretty much waited to see if she would whip around and start yowling about what a horrible cat he was like the typical she-cat that she was.

"Anything interesting in Thunderclan lately?"

Starlingpaw grinned brightly once Heronpaw had mentioned doing better now that he was here, something seemed a little off with the she-cat. "Everything is alright in Thunderclan. Training here and there, the occasional predator but nothing too bad." The tom said. Yellow eyes went from excited to a little more serious as he moved to his next words. "Is everything okay with you? Okay in Riverclan? I can't help but notice something seems a little off." He asked.

Quaildock padded into the gathering to see a rather strange sight. Skyclan, Riverclan, and Windclan all seemed, more... injured looking than usual. Wonder what happened there. Quaildock thought as he sat down. It seemed Wolftstar was missing from the leader lineup as well. Strange. This gathering might have a bit of drama tonight.

Quaildock is open to talk to! Spotlake is staying back at camp, Nightwolf is in the elders den, and Quietstep is sorta out right now

Silverlight trekked behind his clanmates with wary eyes that shifted everywhere every so often and a tenseness in his limbs that was probably going to make them feel sore eventually. Just seeing Bloodstrike on top of the Great Rock made his fur crawl. He didn't know what happened to Wolfstar but at this point, he just didn't care in the slightest. Wolfstar brought pain and the less he saw of him, the better. The past moons had been awful and the recent battle had only added to that lift. He was tired and aching in every sense of the word. He just didn't feel like conversing with anyone this time around. He'll just try to keep his senses open to the conversations happening around him. Another thing was that he had to avoid any and all SkyClanners at all costs... for obvious reasons. It was... better this way.

---

As soon as he'd arrived behind ThunderClan, something felt wrong, a bad feeling raced through him as he walked further and further into Fourtrees. Wolfblaze was by his side so he felt a bit calmer than he would've felt if he was alone but he just couldn't shake the feeling that something had happened or will happen. It was... strange.

The moment he laid eyes on the Great Rock, he started to understand. The she-cat next to him seemed to have picked it up as well. Most of WindClan and SkyClan... looked like they were run over by a monster twice over. They seemed tired enough to sleep for moons and beaten up bad. Bloodstrike was atop the rock instead of Wolfstar which was definitely not a good sign. The last Gathering had been seemingly tense for both those clans and something tells him that they didn't settle their issues peacefully. He hoped to StarClan that they wouldn't break out into a brawl this night or the stars might bestow their wrath upon them all, which was something he'd very much like to avoid.

The brown and white warrior turned to look at Wolfblaze with a worried glint in his eyes. "You think Wolfstar's dead? I'm pretty sure that both WindClan and SkyClan had a bit of a nasty fight and Wolfstar not being here is starting to make me think that things went wrong real quickly for them. I hope they don't start anything during this Gathering. I'd rather not watch them make StarClan angry." he muttered rather quietly to her as his eyes continued to scan their surroundings.

⌘ Stoatfur blinked and managed the softest of sly grins before his features flickered back into a palatable smile. It seemed that his idea to coax one of Windclan's younger members into providing information that his restless mind so desperately craved had gone exactly as planned. The young tom prattled on about the affairs of his clan, providing a little more information than requested. Missing mother, huh? Apparently this kit had a lot going on. He listened intently flicking his tail. If there had been a battle between Windclan and Skyclan, something serious must have happened. In his few moons of life, the warrior never seen a large scale brawl, and highly doubted that Minkstar would ever engage in such a thing without reason.

"Windclan and Skyclan, huh? Must have been something pretty big to make that happen, Timberpaw. You're right, warriors do fight in all kinds of battles but usually there's a reason and never one that makes cats happy." He pointed out, remarking slyly and hoping it would draw forth more information to quench the desire for answers. If something was brewing between the clan, Stoatfur wanted to know. Sticking his whiskers beyond the borders of Thunderclan was reserved specifically for moments like these - when there was knowledge to be sought and the full moon had brought them all together. The ancestors didn't yet seem pestered by his persistent prodding and prying. There was a brief pause before he added an after thought, "So, your mother, has she gone missing before? She got somewhere to be?" ⌘

✘ He could have cared less whether or not either cat responded to him, as long as they stopped their squabbling, or moved it somewhere that pestered him less directly. The larger of the pair seemed to respond to the other warrior that stepped in, some tom that reeked of fish. Fangsnap simply flicked an ear and turned away towards the front. However, the mouser was still at his side, whining about the misdeeds of her opponent. Wanting to box her over the ears was an overwhelming urge in that moment. Instead, he flicked his tail into her pelt before letting it lash behind him in agitation, "Carrying on is very unbecoming of you. If you don't want to get shredded, stop moving your tongue and sit down. You can stay here if you like, I'm known for finishing brawls rather than starting them." There was a gruffness to his words but a hint of dark humor crept into the russet tom's tone. He paused and spared her a quick glance, "You pick any more fights, though, mouser, and I'll be chasing you away instead."  ✘

Waiting for Brookmistle’s response, Henpaw’s roving eye caught somehting that immediately riveted her attention- Timberpaw, all by himself, talking to what might be a SkyClan warrior!!! From here the scent was too jumbled to tell, but with a mumbled excuse to Brookmistle, Henpaw hurried over to her brother’s side, memories of SkyClan’s deputy (hopefully not leader) returning. Fur bristling, she motioned Timberpaw behind her with a flick of her tail. ”And you are?” His scent was very similar to SkyClan’s, but more earthy and… solid, in a way. Henpaw’s fur slowly flattened, but she stayed in a wary posture. Must be ThunderClan. They had no quarrel with ThunderClan. “I’m Henpaw. Timberpaw is my brother. I thought you were a SkyClan cat.” She didn’t know quite what to think about this. They had no quarrel with ThunderClan, yes, but she hadn’t liked the look on his face. Maybe she was being overprotective. That was probably it. Hopefully Timberpaw wouldn’t be mad- but he was never mad.

Henpaw is ‘talking’ to Stoatfur and her brother.
Pantherpaw is talking to Goldenfang.
Dawnpaw is nowhere near Fourtrees.
Thrushflight’s at camp resting.

"I don't think even SkyClan are dumb enough for that," she mewed in response to Henpaw's last question. As the apprentice shifted her gaze, Brookthistle's followed. Oh no. She was too far away to tell who the cat was by scent, and as Henpaw mumbled a hasty apology, she shook her head "Dont apologize, just go make sure that's not a SkyClan brute."

Once Henpaw left, Brookthistle looked around to see if there were any cat she wouldn't mind talking to. Sunpaw! She spotted the ginger point and grinned making her way over. "Sunpaw, hey!" The molly called out, sitting down beside him.

brook is talking with sunpaw

Muddyleap grinned as Newtpaw - Newtpaw, that was it! He was honestly a bit surprised that he was just an apprentice, he had put up such a good fight - perhaps that is why Muddyleap hadn't been quick to assume that he was an apprentice. "It was nice fighting you as well!" he purred, tail curling around his paws before he ducked his head in a sheepish manner. "That was...Actually kinda my first fight - I've done a few sparring but I'm not really allowed to fight cause of the whole...Um...No pain thing," he added that with a lower tone - not wanting it to be overheard by a lot of cats. He had been a bit...Rash in just revealing it to Newtpaw during the battle but he had been so caught up in things. "But! You did great! L-Like I'm surprised that you are still an apprentice cause you did great! I'm sure that would have been a tough battle for me if I had actually...Uh, felt any of it."

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Flintstar huffed, ears twitching as he could hear Bloodstrike speaking with Minkstar about what SkyClan was up to. The ShadowClan leader didn't truly care in the slightest but he found it impossible not to listen in to his annoyance. Finally, as the deputy finished and turned the conversation to what was happening in ThunderClan, Flintstar pushed himself to his paws as he had quite enough of listening to idle conversations - he wanted this Gathering over so he could return to protect the camp. "This Gathering had started!" he yowled as he took a step forward. "While ShadowClan is surviving and we've had many new apprentices, there has been trouble brewing on our territory. We've recently come under the threat of rogues who prowl our territory and attack our cats. Their interest seems to be entirely in our Clan so our neighboring Clans should have nothing to worry but still I implore you to keep an eye on your borders." There was a pause, ear twitching before he let out a soft sigh. "...One of our newest warriors has gone missing recently. Smokepelt. She disregarded my orders and went out alone and has not been heard of since. Any attempt to track her has failed and while I assume the worst - either falling to rogues or perhaps something else... I suppose my Clan would appreciate any information on my missing warrior. That is all."

Wolfblaze returned Kestrelswoop's gaze, seeing the worry in his eyes. "Hey, if they fight, Starclan will get angry at them and sort it out. Thunderclan's priority should just be staying out of the way of them, even if I do love a good fight. Have you seen some of Windclan's warriors? They look pretty messed up, I mean their deputy is wearing a splint! Skyclan's warriors must have been pretty aggressive to inflict that kind of damage. It makes me wonder just who won that fight anyway, even if Wolfstar isn't here tonight. Wonder if they'll even mention it, Skyclan seems pretty private, but Windclan seems pretty angry still... might not be good."

She leaned gently against him, attempting to comfort Kestrelswoop in some way. If there was a fight, and Thunderclan got involved... they'd regret involving them. Wolfblaze had more to fight for now than she ever had before, and her claws hadn't been able to really stretch in a long time. She'd keep Kestrelswoop safe if it was the last thing she did. Her gaze left him as the gathering began, Flintstar starting it. Seems Shadowclan had been having a bit of a rough time recently, but Wolfblaze was sure it was nothing they couldn't handle.

Wolfblaze is speaking with Kestrelswoop!

Timberpaw frowned in thought before shaking his head. "No, at least not for very long." He flicked his tail. "I'm very worried... that she might not come back that is, not the fact that she would be hurt, mother is never hurt!" He saw a flick of a tail, turning, he noticed Henpaw standing there, bristling. "Hey, Henpaw this isn't necessary!" He flicked his tail in a bit of surprise. Not surprise at Henpaw, she was always like this, but more at himself, he didn't usually stop Henpaw from doing things, but the she-cat was already calling down, maybe nobody noticed. ".. Like I was saying, mother is never hurt, she's one of Windclan's best warriors! Along with father, father is amazing too!"

Timberpaw is talking to Henpaw and Stoatfur