August 2021 Gathering

Jasminepaw did not like this. She didn't like this at all. Why was everyone fighting? Why couldn't they stop fighting? Why did they always have to be fighting!? "Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" She yowled, unable to hold back her tears. "Stop fighting!" She hadn't actually fought, but she heard enough times that the WindClan cats were tricked, that Dawnhawk came to them with black fur and a different name. But everyone just wanted to fight. Why did they all want to fight? "Just stop it! WindClan said they didn't know it was him, that his fur was black. Just p-please... Stop fighting! Stop hurting each other! Why doesn't any cat ever just talk?! Why do we have to hurt each other!?"

At the point the small brown and white apprentice was full on sobbing, and shifted closer into the nearest cat to her, Shimmerdust, who was the RiverClan cat who was friends with Willowdance. The tabby hiccuped, shrinking into herself. She wished the nice StarClan cat who spoke to her was here. She wanted Ferretshine. Ferretshine was nice. Primroselight was nice. But she was probably angry with her. All of SkyClan were probably angry at her, for going against Bloodstrike and for crying. She was pathetic, but Jasminepaw already knew that. They'd probably exile her. She'd be no better than Dawnhawk.

If she wasn't so upset at the moment, she might have felt fear of the idea of being exiled. But she was too busy sobbing to be afraid.

She wasnt brave, or strong. She was weak and soft. She was just a lonely little apprentice with no loyalties to any cat. "P-please..."

Bearpaw's remained still as Flintstar brought up Smokepelt's name. Her friend was either dead or missing... and there was no way for her to find out what had happened. The tip of her tail twitched anxiously as the ShadowClan leader stepped back to where the other leaders were standing on the Great Rock. Next, it seemed as if WindClan's leader couldn't bring herself to speak. Now, how pathetic was that? Lilacstar had taken the liberty of leading her Clan to the Gathering, but when it was time to actually give the news, she couldn't do that. Instead, her deputy had to do so, and Bearpaw could barely hear a word that Dayspring said. The apprentice couldn't help but stare at the splint that was attached to the WindClan she-cat's leg. The sight of it made her eyes glisten. She had been too preoccupied with her own fight to watch her father snap Dayspring's limb, but she still found it admirable to say the least.

After Bloodstrike, Bearpaw expected one of the other leaders to begin their announcement, but the faintly familiar voice of a RiverClan cat suddenly reached her ears and echoed throughout the clearing. Wasn't that the medicine cat that Wolfstar had attacked when the battle began? Her eyes narrowed with obvious annoyance as Cloverpaw dared to share her side of the story. Her intentions were clearly to paint SkyClan as the bad cats and make the rest of the forest sympathize with RiverClan and WindClan. If only ThunderClan and ShadowClan knew what had really happened... they would surely side with SkyClan, then.

In a sudden burst of impulse, she rose to her paws.
"Excuse me, I have to go." She whispered to Poppypaw.

The apprentice padded past the rows of cats, slinking through Fourtrees with one destination and one cat in mind. If RiverClan lacked the decency to knock some sense into their Clanmate, then Bearpaw would have to take that matter into her own paws instead. All the while, she heard her father begin to explain the situation from SkyClan's point of view, but she was too focused on her own mission to pay attention.

She reached the medicine cat apprentice once Bloodstrike was done speaking.
"Good evening, I'm terribly sorry to interrupt." Bearpaw addressed Cloverpaw, her voice dripping with mock politeness.
"It's just, I found some fault in your words and I think I should address them. We're the bloodthirsty and cruel ones? The last time I checked, RiverClan was the one that decided to aid a Clan that willingly harbored a murderer. Now, you have the audacity to make us seem like we're the enemy?"

She let out a giggle as if her next words were the funniest joke she had ever heard, and her voice was eerily cheerful as she spoke.
"Wolfstar should've killed you when he had the chance! Maybe it would've spared RiverClan from having such a stupid apprentice in their ranks. In fact..."

She trailed off as she lifted her unsheathed claws and swiftly dragged them along Cloverpaw's forehead. Her bubbly voice immediately dropped to reveal a tone that was far more grim.

"...maybe I should finish what he started."

bearpaw used "front paw strike" on cloverpaw, dealing 6 damage and costing 7 stamina.

bearpaw
hp - 20/20
sp - 53/60

cloverpaw
hp - 9/15
sp - 40/40

Flintstar had blinked as a new voice - a young one - spoke up, declaring SkyClan as no better than rogues as they had viciously attacked...Them? She wasn't very clear on what SkyClan had done but nonetheless, the leader listened to the words of the young she-cat before he turned to stare at Bloodstrike. The she-cat seemed rather passionate in her hatred of the Clan but Flintstar knew emotions were a tricky thing - and there was more than one side to the story. Then, Bloodstrike launched into his rant - listing out Dawnhawk's crimes and how WindClan had sheltered him then let him escape, all without telling SkyClan which led to this...War. And RiverClan was there - that was the thing that caused the leader to pause. He was allies with Ivystar, with RiverClan. Did he had a stake in this due to it? He hadn't known about it until now so he doubted Ivystar wanted to be involved or at least drag his Clan in.

He had to admit, Bloodstrike's words were good - but they were once again passionate but only accounted for his side of things. WindClan was known to be brash but allow a murderer like that in? After they had wanted Thalia dead for a single accidental death? He...Okay, perhaps WindClan was that finicky - he swore they changed directions as quickly as their name-sake could. But still, he wasn't about to cast judgement without all sides stories so he could find the middle ground, gaze shifting to look at Lilacstar and Ivystar - then there was a blinding light and a resounding crash. Perhaps it was luck that the whole clearing was washed in white for a heartbeat and nothing could be heard from the thunder - because Flintstar leapt to his paws with a sudden screech, seeming even bigger than normal as his fur was fluffed. He stood there panting as everything resumed - the creaking of wood barely covering the sound of his rapidly beating heart before he blinked as rain started to fall upon them.

Thunder...He hated it. It was his greatest shame, unable to stand the sound of it - the boom that would echo through the darken sky. He wasn't sure why but he...He took in a deep breath, pushing forward past the other leaders. "I think the message here is clear, the Gathering is over. You can continue to bicker among yourselves, but my Clan will have no part of it. SHADOWCLAN! WITH ME!" he yowled as he jumped down from the rock, giving his pelt a shake as he felt a silent relief that the rapid downpour - and now a light drizzle - was slicking his fur down to hide how puffed it ought to be. With that, the ShadowClan leader left as fast as his paws could take him - leading his Clan home and leaving the other Clans to sort out their issues on their own.

The young voice startled Turtlefur, and he whipped around to see the brown SkyClan apprentice speaking to Cloverpaw in a strange tone. Was she going to start an argument in the middle of a gathering? …well, that wouldn’t be surprising, actually. But then she struck Cloverpaw with unsheathed claws and snarled something vile, and Turtlefur was whirling on her in an instant. His mind was devoid of anger or aggression, moving entirely on instinct and fear for his medicine cat’s safety. He dug his teeth into Bearpaw’s scruff and yanked her back sharply.

Turtlefur used Teeth Grip on Bearpaw, dealing 7 damage and using 15 stamina.

Bearpaw
13/20 hp
53/60 sp

Cloverpaw
9/15 hp
40/40 sp

Turtlefur
50/50 hp
105/120 sp

He froze with the apprentice still in his mouth. Filled with horror that he’d lashed out physically at a Gathering, his jaw swung open and he dropped her. Turtlefur stared wide-eyed at Cloverpaw, then swung his head towards Ivystar with a pleading look. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, I just-I was—” He was cut off by the blast of air that filled the clearing with a horrible noise. He took several steps back, looking around wildly as though StarClan themselves would descend. They didn’t. Their crack of lightning and the following downpour sent enough of a message. Turtlefur crouched low, shaking slightly from the intensity of the moment.

OOC: I will give other people a chance to respond before I respond with Bloodstrike again.

IC:

Bearspirit

Bearspirit spun on Cloverpaw and a low growl escaped his throat to warn her to be quiet. Of course she didn't. Once the damage had been done, Bloodstrike spoke after. He closed his eyes and sighed, though his expression was closer to that of rage than exhaustion. "Don't encourage this, Turtlefur. Cloverpaw is an apprentice and should be silent on delicate political matters like this." Bearspirit hissed. And then... chaos. It had happened in what seemed like a blink of an eye. Cloverpaw was struck by a Skyclan apprentice. A storm blew in and lightning split the sky, igniting one of the Great Oaks. Bearspirit back-pedaled from the heat. Turtlefur grabbed the Skyclan apprentice off of Cloverpaw, an action that he feared would warrant retaliation from Skyclan.

"Let her go!" Bearspirit said, loud enough that all cats nearby could hear. He forced himself between Turtlefur and the Skyclan apprentice and threw a forepaw out towards Cloverpaw to pin her to the ground... particularly her face in an attempt to silence anymore impulsive words. His eyes went to the Skyclan deputy... a tom that had already proven his brutality once. Was Riverclan so blind that they wanted it to happen again?

"Starclan wants this to stop! We will stop!" He yowled. He was desperate for Skyclan to see, to hear, that the fighting wasn't supported by all of Riverclan. Hopefully they would let this go and go home as well. "Next cat to step out of line I'm going to sit on!" He growled. He looked to Ivystar for back up.

---

Burningpaw

What had unfolded in the Gathering was sickening. The reveal about Skyclan's brutality, that Windclan harbored a code-breaking maggot, that Skyclan then started a fight here... But then finally... justice. Starclan intervened, crackling divine wrath down up on the medicine cat in the Great Oak. Burningpaw watched in stunned silence as a Great Oak was ignited with a thunderous boom and fell to the ground, smoldering. Something about the sight of it stirred a wrathful, vile beast within the apprentice. Fire... it was... beautiful. The flames, before they died to the rain that fell, called to him somehow. It was beyond just his name, Burningpaw... It was as if he had been reunited with a soulmate from a previous life. The heat was pure. The crackling was pure. The death of a Great Oak... an omen.

Where there were Fourtrees... there were now three.

The beast sleeping within the dark apprentice stirred even more, like a vengeful phoenix rising from the ashes of another life. The feeling spread and the pressure from the heat inside forced Burningpaw to throw his head back, part his maw, and a laughter unlike any other erupted into the night sky like a volcano. The laugh from the apprentice rose in volume to almost that of the thunder that had previously shook the earth. Burningpaw laughed. And laughed. And laughed. Until there was no air in his lungs to continue, leaving him in an almost suspended state of convulsing, divine-wrath fueled by otherworldly ecstacy. He remained that way for several minutes, the lack of oxygen making him dizzy and sending his elation to profound heights.

Once he was finally able to breathe, he did so greedily... letting the heat from the burning oak fill his lungs. He didn't even choke. Burningpaw's sulfuric gaze settled on where the medicine cat had been previously and approached the fire without fear. I understand, Starclan. As the rain fell, the flames died away before him as if clearing a path to the Oak. Four Great Oaks, now turned Three. I accept this task. Did Windclan even really count as a clan at this point? Just rogues, all of them not descended from Windstar... No wonder there were only Four Oaks, when one "clan" was hardly a clan of the warrior code at all.

But another reduction had been made. Now only three... Only three... Burningpaw stopped in front of the smoldering branches and only gazed lovingly at the coals, hissing in defiance of the rain. Three Oaks. Three Clans. I will burn two away. His fiery gaze turned to Bloodstrike, then to Lilacstar. And I already have a good idea of which two.

The dark apprentice turned away, though he was loathe to do so and not just watch the oak with the medicine cat trapped in it burn... but his leader told him to leave. So leave he would. It didn't matter now. Burningpaw had found his purpose. He considered himself lucky. Most apprentices had no idea what to do with their lives yet... and Burningpaw had already resigned himself to a lifetime of burning the life out of heathens.

Pantherpaw shot to her paws at the sound of the sky tearing. The tree… fire, flames, thunder. StarClan was angry. At- at her? No- at SkyClan, or WindClan. Flintstar called the Clan to leave, and it was with relief that she did so, following him out of the clearing, away from the bickering. She wanted no part of this. If the other Clans wanted to fight, they could fight. She would stay on the marshes, where ShadowClan belonged.

Henpaw sprang to her paws, a battle yowl on her lips before realizing she wasn’t about to die. Well, not from the tree, anyways. It was on fire: something she’d never seen before. StarClan must be furious. She backed up a bit, laying her tail on her brother’s back, scanning the crowd for the cats she knew and loved. If anything happened to them, she’d kill SkyClan, gathering or no. Why couldn’t they leave too? Lilacstar, use your brain. We need to get out of here. She was no coward, but she had a brain and used it. They’d have to appear good in front of ThunderClan to uphold the traditional alliance. If it wasn’t for that, she’d be right up there yowling about SkyClan’s deputy trying to kill her as a kit. The rain startled her out of her thoughts, and she shrunk back some more, towards the moor. “Timberpaw,” she said, sternly, “You are staying right here with me. This is dangerous.”

Dawnpaw let out a frightened yowl as the tree, mere fox-lengths from her, burst into flames. Her eyes, wide with fear, watched as it fell, almost as if it was in slow motion. Wh-what happened? She wanted Prima, or Hawkuncle, or Smokema, or her mentor, or somecat… she was scared. She hadn’t done anything! All she did was sit here! Was she not allowed to sit under the tree? The thunder scared her out of her fur, and she cowered near the fallen tree, big, frightened blue eyes fixed on the dying embers. Was Beechaunt alright? Sh- she was too scared to look away from the embers… she was scared…

Swiftspirit grimaced as Lilacstar seemed unable to make the announcements, and Dayspring stepped in to speak. Poor Day, she sounded absolutely terrified to be speaking in front of a gathering, and Swiftspirit tried to catch her eye, offering her friend an encouraging smile.

Neither Dayspring nor Bloodstrike mentioned the battle that had been fought in Windclan’s camp. Maybe it was for the best, other clans didn’t need to be involved, and Swiftspirit was sure many of her clanmates would’ve liked to put it behind them. Only, it seemed that not everyone did, and she rolled her eyes as the Riverclan medicine cat apprentice stepped up to the rock, voice rising so that the clans could hear.

“Is antagonizing Skyclan really wise? Can’t we go one gathering without drama?” She muttered, tone low so that only Ashfall could hear her. “She’s not wrong to be upset, but this is stupid.”

Bloodstrike had launched into a response and Swiftspirit couldn’t help but listen, and her face shifted from one of mild annoyance at the Riverclanner to one of horror as the huge scarred tom went on. And on. And on. Detailing what Dawnhawk had supposedly done to Skyclan. Killed kits, killed elders... And then a flash of anger crossed her expression. Lilacstar would have never sent Dawnhawk to attack another clan’s camp. “If even half of this is true... It has to be, cats don’t get this passionate over things that don’t happen, and Skyclan doesn’t have the wits to craft such a convincing lie.” Except for Dawnhawk... But the anger that had radiated off of Skyclan for moons couldn’t be faked.

And then a Skyclanner was barreling towards Cloverpaw, and Swiftspirit’s fur bristled as she leapt to her own paws, eyes wide. Bearspirit and another Riverclanner were restraining the two, and Bearspirit’s voice rose above the crowd, calling to an end for this. Swiftspirit eyes lifted to his in worry, though there might have been... a slight... hint of admiration in their depths as well.

Thunder and lightning cracked the sky, and Swiftspirit’s eyes widened as she caught sight of the tree the Skyclan medicine cat was sitting on as it burst into flame and began to tip. The medicine cat has been about to leap off of the branch she was on, but hadn’t been quick enough. Debris swirled and Swiftspirit turned away, wide gaze snapping towards the great rock and the deputies that sat beneath. Dayspring was injured, she had to help get her out of here.

“Dayspring!” She called, bounding towards the rock, “We need to get out of here!” She hissed.

---

Beechface rested quietly on the branch, tail flicking idly back and forth as the leaders gave their announcements. Lilacstar seemed unable to speak, and Beechface felt her maw wrinkle into an ugly sneer as Windclan’s deputy fumbled her way through a few announcements, sounding absolutely terrified. They were weak, so weak. They condoned murderers and traitors, and couldn’t even stand up for themselves? Pathetic. Flintstar and Minkstar could at least make a respectable announcement, though they’d had the good fortune of not being involved in any drama. Even had they been, Beechface was sure the Thunderclan and Shadowclan leaders could’ve still been able to do something without tanking their clan’s reputations.

Her gaze wandered idly as Bloodstrike spoke. He was predictable, at least when it came to telling other clans Skyclan business, and Beechface’s gaze rested upon a golden face that lurked below in the bushes... A golden face with blue eyes, but too young to be her littermate. A face that had been missing from Skyclan territory for a moon, since they’d returned home to find their camp in shambles.

Dawnpaw was back. Beechface was relieved, Primroselight had been so distraught and they’d looked all over the territory for her... The medicine cat scanned the little she-cat for signs of injury, not trusting that she was unharmed. Dawnhawk had killed kits, he’d attacked elders. There was no way that Dawnpaw wasn’t injured--

Wait a minute.

If Dawnpaw was here and had been taken by Dawnhawk... Dawnhawk would have to be nearby. Beechface’s gaze swept across the clearing, and her vantage point meant she was able to see things much better than the cats on the ground would have. She didn’t see Dawnhawk anywhere, but that didn’t stop her hackles from rising once more. He was close, he had to be. The clan needed to be warned, and stars help Windclan if any of them tried to defend him.

Beechface tensed slightly, preparing to jump back to the ground and catch Bloodstrike once the gathering was over. Only... No more announcements were forthcoming. Instead, a shrill, absolutely infuriating voice rose above the crowd, and Beechface curled her lip at the audacity of the Riverclan medicine cat to speak up out of turn. She was determined to make this everyone’s business, it seemed, and determined to paint Skyclan as villains.

Before she could do anything else, Bloodstrike was speaking, and detailing many of the things that Dawnhawk had done, the things that Windclan had tried to hide him from and the things that Riverclan had seen fit to stick their nose into.

That did not dissolve Beechface’s desire to rip the Riverclanner’s throat from her body. Beechface’s blood boiled with each word her deputy spoke, her blood boiled with each moment the Riverclanner stood there, defiant and bold.

And she wasn’t the only one, it seemed. A dark shape barreled into Cloverpaw, and Beechface chuckled softly upon realizing who it was. Bearpaw, of all cats. Maybe her half-sister wasn’t so bad after all...

And then chaos erupted, too fast for Beechface to even react.

The loud clap of thunder had Beechface jolting to her paws, alarm surging through her as she attempted to leap from the great oak she’d claimed as a perch... And she was a heartbeat too late as lightning struck the tree. Her fur stood on end as the tree burst into flame. It toppled, dumping the medicine cat unceremoniously from the branch, which normally would have been fine from such a height... Had her muscles not been locked in place. Every movement was fire, and having been dumped onto the ground below, Beechface found that she couldn’t move still. Bits of flaming debris scattered about her, the Skyclanner completely unable to move out of the way as something hot caught the side of her face. The additional pain was hardly registered, blending into all the other agony as she lay there. Her ears were ringing, vision fading as the pain became too much to bear.

She was distantly aware of her chin hitting the ground... Not a way any cat should have ever landed from such a short distance. She was distantly aware of the smell of burning flesh and fur, but all of that awareness faded. Time seemed to stand still, or maybe it stretched on for hours, or days. Beechface didn’t know.

A choked growl escaped the medicine cat sometime later, even such a simple action resulting in pain. Beechface clung to it, struggling to claw her way back into consciousness, registering that she was still on the ground. She hadn’t moved from where she’d landed. Her thick fur was soaked, and all Beechface could do was hay there, sucking in pained breaths. Her face hurt, her shoulders hurt, her chest... Bits of... something... were scattered over her, caught in her thick fur. Beechface struggled to open her eyes, a weak hiss of pain escaping her. One eye finally cracked open, the other... Something was wrong. Very wrong. Why couldn’t she...?

Rain continued to fall in a drizzle- that explained why she was soaked- and Beechface winced at the sting of water in her eye, closing it. Once more her nose finally registered the stench of burning, burnt now, she supposed, flesh. The agony she felt said that some of it had to be hers. The rain hitting her was shockingly cold, or maybe she felt too warm. It was greenleaf and fire could--

Fire.

A memory stirred to life, and Beechface flinched, pain flaring across her body and not limited to any one particular spot. She needed to stop doing that. Terrified yowls, being shaken awake by her parents. Angry reds and yellows searing through camp, feeling like the heat alone would be enough to kill her. Panic bloomed in her chest, Beechface’s breathing turned ragged... Not that it had been stable before.

The pain was what pulled her out of it, the agony impossible to ignore as she’d attempted to stumble to her paws and had maybe gotten as far as a barely-visible twitch before stopping. Why couldn’t she move?

Her head swam as she struggled to recall the last few moments. She still couldn’t hear the cats yowling around her, the sounds muffled and distant and hardly audible over the ringing in her own ears. Bloodstrike had been speaking, had launched into an explanation about Windclan and Riverclan and laid down the facts for the whole forest to hear, because Cloverpaw still couldn’t keep her mouth shut. She’d only been half-listening, having been caught up in seeing Dawnpaw’s small frame sitting among the bushes below, caught up in the panic that she knew Dawnhawk was near. She’d gone missing after Dawnhawk’s little raid... Primroselight had been distraught. Bloodstrike, even Smokefeather had been. The deputy had wanted to find her, but she’d found them instead. The clan needed to be warned that he was close. She needed to check Dawnpaw over for injuries, there was no way she wasn’t hurt after spending a moon stars-only-knew-where.

Bearpaw had launched herself at Cloverpaw... And Beechface thought she might’ve laughed, might’ve said that her half-sibling had done her proud if not for the sudden chaos that had engulfed her. She couldn’t remember what had happened after that, but she’d still been sitting on her branch, hadn’t she? Now she was on the ground and her fur had been wet.... But it shouldn’t have been wet, it was a gathering. Had it rained?

And that didn’t explain the agony she felt with every little movement. It didn’t explain why she was laying on the ground or why she couldn’t seem to open one eye. It didn’t explain why Beechface felt like she’d stepped too close to the fire- except that even that paled in comparison to the pain she felt. The pain was indescribable. She’d been ripped to shreds before, had stepped on burning debris as Skyclan had sought to flee the territory during that greenleaf night. She’d stayed as long as she could with Sagelight, trying to save what they could of their precious herbs before the whole forest was engulfed... None of that compared to what she felt now.

Beechface struggled to get her breathing under control, but her heartbeat raced erratically despite her efforts as she tried to stay as still as she could. Staying still made the pain almost tolerable. What was wrong with her? She needed... Needed to check on her clanmates. Needed to make sure they were okay.

Except she. Couldn’t. Move. If only she could ignore the pain... There was an idea. She’d only spent what had to be collective moons yelling at Bloodstrike to stop pushing his body past its limits, but the idiot deputy hardly even seemed to feel pain at all. It occurred to Beechface that it would’ve been useful right about now.

Stars, even unsheathing her claws hurt. Beechface clenched her jaw... That also hurt. Everything. Hurt. She just had to ignore it. Focus on breathing, she had to get up, she couldn’t stay here.

Her muscles were strangely stiff, she realized, trying to get her legs beneath herself. Each movement was protested, pain making her eyes water uncontrollable.  She wasn’t sure how long it took to get first one paw, then a second beneath her. It took even longer attempting to stand, and the medicine cat swayed on her feet, a wave of dizziness pulling her sideways, only she didn’t hit the ground. Beechface blinked slowly, fighting off the confusion as she turned her head slightly... Something was wrong, she shouldn’t have had to turn her head that far to see something right beside her.

That something, it turned out, was a tree trunk. Blackened, split, still smoldering. Beechface could only stare at it in morbid fascination. Smoke curled upward, heat still radiating from the felled tree despite the blessedly cool rain. Still, Beechface leaned against it, too winded to move any farther as her gaze dropped to the ground. She was panting as if she’d run all the way to fourtrees, but she definitely hadn’t done that.

Her movements had sent bits of bark and debris scattering to the rain-slick ground beneath, and Beechface winced as something pulled free of the side of her face. A large chunk of charred tree branch, she realized. Bits of fur and... The pain hit her as she realized.

No wonder she couldn’t seem to open her eye. Pain radiated all over her body, but her face had been truly hurting. And Beechface kept very still, breathing slowly as she fought to keep a sudden burst of nausea at bay and to keep her dinner from making a reappearance, the scent of burnt flesh had been coming from her. Beneath the general agony of her existence right now, she could pick out spots that seemed to burn more hotly than they should. A burning web of pain flared behind her left ear and trailed down her neck, spreading across her shoulder and down her leg. That... Explained some of the difficulty she’d had in getting the limb to move.

And the smoke... It wasn’t just coming from the downed great oak. Beechface turned her head, trying to assess the damage that she could see in the darkness surrounding her. Her fur stood on end, and wouldn’t lie flat now that the rain was no longer soaking it. She didn’t think she was bleeding anywhere... But fire could cauterize wounds, she remembered that from the fire that Skyclan had fled what seemed like a lifetime ago.

Beechface remained leaning against the fallen trunk, finding that she did not have the energy to move and could not seem to force herself to do anything other than stare blankly ahead. She’d tried to raise her head, to look for her clanmates, but even that was far too much effort than she could muster right now.

Quaildock watched in silent horror as it was announced that Skyclan had attacked Windclan in their own camp for harbouring a cat whos done horrendous things, cats started attacking each other at a gathering, and a bolt of literal lightning, on a clear night, that maybe possibly crushed the medicine cat of Skyclan, Quaildock wasn't so sure. Gosh I need to lie down. Quaildock thought, scanning the crowd for any Thunderclan cats. His gaze then shifted over to the Highrock, where his father was sitting. Bolting towards Minkstar, careful not to touch any cats, that might think that his was attacking them, which could very well happen, since everyone is more panicked then a family of mice whose burrow got found, including him.

Reaching the base of the great rock, Quaildock stared up at Minkstar calling to him. "Uh dad, uh do you think now would be a good time to leave? Shadowclan seems to have the right idea."

Lichenblaze found himself up on his paws once more as the Gathering dissolved into arguments. That RiverClan apprentice felt the need to stick her nose in everything...The Gathering could have gone so much smoother if no one had mentioned the battle. Grumbling, he began to push through the crowd while his father was talking, intending to give Cloverpaw a piece of his mind, but a small skirmish broke out at the base of the Great Rock. The sky then opened up, and a mighty lightning strike demolished the tree Beechface had been perched in.

The warrior hadn't been alive during the fire that ravaged SkyClan territory, but he had heard many stories... It was if StarClan itself had descended upon them. His fur stood on end with the electricity remaining in the air, rooted to the ground for a moment as he gathered his thoughts.

Beechface... A low growl left his throat and he bounded towards the base of the rock, where the fallen tree once stood. "BEECHFACE?" he yowled, his voice carrying over the din of the other cats. "WHERE ARE YOU? You better not be dead, you...crowhearted, squirrelbrain..." Hesitant to get too close but determined to find his favorite sister, he picked his way through the scattered, broken bits of wood, finally spotting the medicine cat's singed, gray pelt in the dirt. By the Dark Forest, she looked bad. Lichenblaze rushed over to her and grabbed her by the scruff, ignoring the sparks in his mouth from her fur. She was larger than him, but he did his best to drag her away to safety without hurting her too much.

At least she's still alive...for now.

---

Shadewing frowned as the Gathering got increasingly more hostile, curling her tail tighter around her flank. Maybe it was right for the RiverClan apprentice to speak up, the other Clans deserved to know...or did they?

StarClan had other ideas, apparently, because a flash of lightning struck one of the Great Oaks, sending it crashing to the ground. Rain slicked her pelt to her skin now, and after the shock cleared, she found herself pulled to the scene to make sure everyone was okay. A bulky form raced by her, Lichenblaze, going after Beechface. She was taken care of, so Shadewing focused her attention on the others. "Is everyone okay? Is anyone hurt?" she cried, pushing through the crowd.

---

"G-Go with you? I dunno, I mean, shouldn't we stay here?" Sunpaw asked, watching as his friend took off towards the medicine cats. As much as he figured the RiverClan apprentice needed to be protected, he wasn't sure if it was really his place to get involved. Before he could make up his mind, however, the sky above opened up and down came a terrible lightning strike. His ears rung painfully at the noise and commotion, and it took him a moment to clear his head.

"StarClan..." he breathed, ears lowered as the rain soaked his thin fur. Without thinking, he raced towards the Great Rock. He had to tell Dayspring something.

"D-Dayspring! StarClan is unhappy! I-I, um, I think we should go home, ShadowClan is smart...What if something else happens?!" He didn't want to see any more bloodshed, especially not during a Gathering.

Before Brookthistle could retaliate against the stupid SkyClan apprentice, the RiverClan warrior hauled her off. "Don't apologize," she snorted, rolling her eyes, "She attacked Cloverpaw, and enraged StarClan. Not the other way around. All Cloverpaw did was run her mouth, she didn't break a sacred truce like some cat." She sideway glanced the brown SkyClan apprentice, snarling. "Are you okay, Cloverpaw? It seemed all SkyClan cats are as wicked as they come. Not even the young ones are nice."

Her tail lashed angrily behind her, "We should all probably leave, now. Lilacstar and Dayspring will take us home. Ivystar is a sensible cat, she'll do the same. Safe travels, RiverClan." She mewed, dipping her head to Cloverpaw, Bearspirit, and Turtlefur before turning and following after Sunpaw. "If SkyClan is stupid enough to fight some more after StarClan sent lightning down on their medicine cat, then they're dumber than I gave them credit for," the young warrior's claws unsheathed. "But Sunpaw is right. Dayspring, Lilacstar, take us home."

Ashfall looked to Swiftspirit, about to retort, as Bloodstrike began to speak. With every sin of her father that was listed, she felt as if weight piled onto her back, her shoulders, her own soul. All she could do was stare at the ground as she listened on. He was a monster. Her father was a monster. Dawnhawk was a monster. Now she had to make it right. She was his kin, she had an obligation to make up for what her father had wrought. The coward had gone so far as to kill kits, elders, innocents all. When he was done, Ashfall muttered toward the ground, "My father is a coward, and a monster."

Ashfall's shoulders had slumped slightly as her thoughts began the familiar process of whirling, when she felt Swiftspirit practically leap to her paws next to her. Her head snapped up, and she saw what her friend had seen. A fight. A Skyclan apprentice had begun a fight. Struggling to her own paws, Ashfall began limping toward Dayspring. If a fight broke out, she wasn't letting her get hurt more. She wouldn't, she couldn't. Suddenly, a crack of thunder, and looking over her shoulder, Ashfall saw the smoldering remains of the tree, embers only beginning to fly off. Then rain began to drench her, out of nowhere. The moon was now hidden. Starclan was angry.

With a frantic look, Ashfall hurried quickly to Dayspring, arriving just after Swiftspirit. She looked back to the now fallen tree as the rain began to lessen once more. It was just a drizzle now, but Starclan's wrath could be unpredictable. "Day- Dayspring. We should leave, in case more fighting breaks out." Her eyes were still wide, revelations of the evening having scrambled her brains.

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Wolfblaze had, at one point, simply been enjoying Kestrelswoop's company. The next minutes were filled with terrifying facts from both sides of this fight. It was insane what had gone on. Windclan had taken in a murderer? Why? How? It was terrible. Dawnhawk must be stopped! He's a monster, a cat who deserves to go to the Dark Forest and then some! When the thunder and lightning of Starclan's wrath descended upon the gathering, Wolfblaze's fur fluffed out to its fullest extent. She wrapped herself protectively around Kestrelswoop, amber eyes now angry coals. Look what the other clans had done. If a fight broke out, she wanted Thunderclan to have nothing to do with it. Looking up through the now drizzling air, she found Minkstar still on the Great Rock. She called out, trying to raise her voice above the crowds. "Minkstar! We need to go!" It was then that she got into even more of a protective stance. She would let nothing happen to her mate, Thunderclan did not need to be involved in this fight, even if she wanted to go and smack every single one of those Foxhearts, Skyclan and Windclan.

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Frostpaw listened to everything said boredly. Great, more things that Shadowclan did not need to be involved in. Of course, it was useful to know, for multiple reasons, aggressive or not. Yet the drama, the theatrics. It bored Frostpaw out of his mind. Say it normally, you don't need to bring emotions into everything. This 'Dawnhawk' is a murderer, plain and simple. He has abandoned the code, and is a dangerous rogue. He would die at some point, especially if Skyclan actually organized more efforts to find him, instead of keeping it to themselves.

Then there was a fight. Idiots. When Starclan struck lightning down from the heavens, it momentarily surprised Frostpaw. It was interesting that they could do such a thing, who made the choice in Starclan? Was it a council? Maybe it was the five original leaders who decided? Nevertheless, Frostpaw grimaced as he was suddenly drenched, head to tail, by the sudden downpour of rain. Shaking himself, his ears perked up. He heard... laughter? It didn't take much to notice the source. Burningpaw...? What was he doing? He stared icily from afar at the tom, curious. When he heard Flintstar's call to leave, he slowed his pawsteps until Burningpaw was next to him. "What were you doing? I did not see much funny about all of this." His pawsteps continued, moving further, and further, away from Fourtrees alongside Burningpaw.

Barely moments after she returned to the crowd, chaos erupted.

Bloodstrike launched into a tirade, Turtlefur and Bearspirit were quick to rush to Cloverpaw's side, and a SkyClan cat she vaguely remembered seeing rush into WindClan sauntered right up to her– and dragged her claws across her head. There was a yelp of shock and hurt, then Turtlefur was grabbing the apprentice, then Bearspirit was shouting, then Flintstar was shouting, everyone was shouting, and then the sky split.

With a screech of shock and fear, Cloverpaw flattened herself to the earth. More cats had crowded around her, and she heard a voice she didn't recognize ask if she was alright before another paw struck her, pressing her head into the ground and holding her there. Pain lit up her legs at the position she'd been contorted into, and she let out an agonized, furious wail. "Bearspirit, let me go! I'm not stupid, I didn't– I didn't do anything! Get off get off get off!" She tried writhing, but wounds both old and new begged her to lay still, so she let her body settle. Even if she wasn't actively trying to wrestle away from the warrior, she alternated between whimpering and spitting curses, pleading with her Clanmate to let her off the ground.


"Oh, stars. She was with ya at the... Mm. At the war, right?" Newtpaw grumbled to Muddyleap as some obnoxious little RiverClanner shot her way front and center. He'd seen his grandfather send her flying halfway across the hollow, but what did she expect? She'd come to war, and she'd gotten hurt. The mottled tom rolled his shoulders, watching with irritation as she went on and on. "She's alive, ain't she? Oughtta be happy f'r that much." He set his jaw tight, thinking about Maplepaw's cold, still body, and then realized the cats around him had exploded into an absolute frenzy.

One shape, he recognized immediately: Bearpaw had come into view, and she gave the little white cat a well-earned smack with her claws. Newtpaw barked a laugh, and was quickly silenced by an deafening crack of thunder.

The sky shook, and he buried his claws in the soft earth to steady himself. "Uh, Muddyleap?" He started hesitantly, ears lowering. Lighting flashed, bathing everything in iridescent white. "This ain't supposed to happen, right?" Fire sprung out around one of the Great Oaks, and with a low, bone-deep moan it fell to the earth with a thunder of its own.

Cats were screehing and darting out of the way of the fallen oak, and Newtpaw looked up with wide, suddenly terrified eyes, trying to catch his father's gaze. Were they going to leave? They had to leave, right? Before he could get an answer, his brother's voice rose above the din. Beechface...?

"I– I gotta go," he yelped in a hurry, scrambling to his paws and bounding forward, picking his way through debris and scrabbling over the branches that had missed getting singed. There they were, Lichenblaze trying to haul their larger sister away. Hurrying over to them, Newtpaw fell in at Beechface's other side, pressing against her to help hold her up. "Beech? Beech?" His voice was thin and worried, and he cast his wide eyes to Lichenblaze, searching for.. anything, really. Answers, an excuse to leave, anything the other tom had to say.


In truth, Webshadow hadn't been paying attention to the Gathering. He rarely ever did. He showed up and sat quietly and went home. This one was different, though: RiverClan's little medicine cat he couldn't remember the name of was making an announcement. SkyClan had attacked them...? The dark tom snorted, tipping his head. Then Bloodstrike was talking a second time, and he zoned out again, and thunder rolled so hard through the sky it made his legs shake.

In an instant he was on his paws, ready to see himself out of Fourtrees when Flintstar rose and announced they would be leaving anyway. Saying a silent thank you, he watched from his distant spot as lightning lit the clearing, sending one of the Great Oaks up in flames. He shuddered when it hit the ground, gracelessly backpedaling until he got his paws under him well enough to turn around and race after his retreating Clanmates.

Dovefrost was on his paws the second something seemed out of place, as much as he wanted to silence all of the cats speaking up right now, he couldn't. It wasn't his place. The large white tom clinched his teeth, and bit his tongue. He could tell by the increase of wind Starclan was mad enough.. and then in a second everything changed.

The Thunderclan cat pressed himself to the ground, as the bright flash ruptured the sky followed by the loudest sound he had every heard. The crack causing green eyes to look up with fear as be watched one of the oaks ever so increasingly fell to the ground. Stars.. no..

"Minkstar get Thunderclan out of here now! We will have no part!" This was a matter for the two clans to sort out, not Thunderclan, not Shadowclan. Dovefrost turned on his paws to head back to Thunderclan and take shelter from Starclan's wrath but a shouted name caused him to freeze.. Beechface.. was she alright. Quickly scrambling the tom branched off from his clan, green eyes scanning the area frantically, looking for the medicine cat he called his friend.

Eventually he caught sight of her, aided by another Skyclan warrior he didn't know the name of, nor did he care. He needed herbs.. Stars.. how was he supposed to take care of her? Regardless of the thoughts racing through his mind, he rushed over, almost shoving Lichenmask out of the way. [color:4c98=dark gray]"Set her down. Now." He growled out. If they moved her too much they might make the damage worse. She needed some treatment and now.

"Hang on Beechface.. I will get you taken care of." The tom ran off picking up a yellow flower rather quickly from near by, and a couple other herbs in the area. It wasn't much but it had to work until they could get her back to a camp.. any camp would do right now.

As he returned back to his friend he quickly chewed up the yellow flower, allowing the juice to poor into the damaged eye. Hopefully it should help soothe the pain it was sure causing her. The other herbs he grabbed, chewed into a paste and began to spread on the burn wounds littered on her body. It wasn't the exact herb he wanted but it should soothe the pain some.

Green eyes scanned Beechface's body looking for any untouched wound, anything he could do to help ease her pain, to get her in decent condition again. His eyes grew dark as soon as he saw her jaw. It had to be set.. that was going to hurt her. "I need to set her jaw. Hold her. Now." He didn't have the patience for them waiting around. He needed them to act now.

Dawnpaw was petrified as cats headed her way, cats she vaguely recognized through the mist of tears. She watched dumbly as Lichen… something and Salamanderpaw rushed to Beechaunt’s side, followed by… somecat that was probably a medicine cat, judging by the herbs he used… to… herbs he… herbs… for… Beechaunt… Dawnpaw struggled to her paws, coughing and choking on the smoke and the tears. She rushed over, hovering anxiously in the background, before catching the white tom’s last few words. Hold Beechaunt? Why- oh. She wouldn’t be much use at that… but she’d try… Dawnpaw hurried to Beechaunt’s side, barely sparing a glance for the toms she barely knew. “It’s alright, Beechaunt. I think this might hurt… but it’ll be worth it,” she crooned softly, placing her paws gently on the unburnt fur. She flicked her tail at… Aha, Dovefrost! to show she was ready. Well, as ready as she’d get. To be honest, the two bigger toms would be much more helpful in this situation. She’d do her best. That was all she could do, although she wished Prima or Smokema or Hawkuncle was here. Through the tears and smoke, she could hardly see her aunt’s injures, but… from what she could see, it wasn’t pretty. Beechaunt… maybe if she’d called out to her, or, or something, she’d have come down… and then maybe it would have fallen on her and paralyzed her or killed her, she reminded herself. Be thankful for what you’ve got. Even if it… it ain’t much right now… she started sobbing again, not attempting to hold the tears back any longer. What was the use? Everything was falling, falling, falling apart, like a bird with broken wings. Maybe the sky was falling- it felt like it.

Dawnpaw is freaking out and attempting to help Dovefrost and Beechface.
Henpaw is keeping Timberpaw away from harm.
Pantherpaw is gone