November Gathering 2021

Flypaw had just about resigned themself to watching the Great Rock for the rest of the night when the sound of pawsteps pulled their attention away. A pair of young cats, neither of them familiar. One looked as close to a cloud as a cat could get; the other was plain white aside from the bits of color woven into his pelt. Both of them smelled very…pine-y. The first gave his name, Driftpaw, and the reason for the pine scent. SkyClan. Of course. Flypaw’s mouth tightened. Two newish apprentices weren’t much of a threat, seeing as this was a Gathering, but then again, SkyClan had proven themselves willing—no, eager to break the truce before. Flypaw carefully looked Driftpaw up and down, then turned to Hailpaw, gesturing at the petals scattered throughout his chest fur. “First, what’s the deal with those? And it’s Fl—”

A third shape approached from a different angle, and Flypaw went quiet. Though they didn’t recognize the newest apprentice from their brief stay in WindClan’s camp or their forays onto the moor for rabbit-hunting, the wind-tossed scent was the one they remembered. Some of the tension in their paws eased. “Sure,” they said with a wave of their tail. “I’m Flypaw.”

Yet another cluster of apprentices came storming up before they could say anything else, giving rise to one more round of introductions. The pine scent grew stronger. If Flypaw scooted a whisker closer to the first WindClanner—Dreampaw—well, that was no one’s business but theirs. “I’m not ShadowClan,” they grumbled beneath the greetings, “and you look pretty young to be SkyClan’s finest.” They were still outnumbered four to three (or one, they couldn’t count on the WindClanners' help), but everyone was being civil so far. The least they could do was return the favor. This time, they waited for a few solid heartbeats of silence before saying, “My name’s Flypaw, for now. It’s my second Gathering…oh, and I’m from RiverClan.” As proof, they raised a paw and spread out the toes to display the webbing between them. “The toughest Clan in the territories.”

Ratpaw kept close to the edges, out of the light, as many more cats filtered into the clearing. The wind was chilled and gentle, and with it came the scents; it felt like being in Shadowclan camp, with all cats close by. Some were feeling stressed, or afraid, others calm or attentive. And at this point, they felt... the same. They were... cats. And while maybe the variety of coat colors were impressive, they weren’t any scarier than Shadowclan cats, and none had giant fangs. A little unimpressed, Ratpaw’s ears twitched. Why would we be afraid of these cats? he wondered, genuinely.

The young tom’s paws felt better, at least, after his rest. But he didn’t feel particularly like getting any closer, even though he saw Webshadow not too far away. ...Perhaps he’d find some prey, instead? Although, any gathering of carnivores this large would surely drive off everything close. Maybe he’d find some insects, at least, in the leaf litter. He licked his nose — Ratpaw favored the brittle, or those with a sour tang. Beetles and ants were good choices. He hardly got those in the marsh, though. You had to go far.

Sniffing, the dark tom was about to begin his search into the forested parts when he nearly tripped... over a leg? He blinked. There was... another cat, here. Limbs akimbo, sprawled strangely, and also young — perhaps about Duskpaw’s size. His pelt was lighter than Ratpaw was used to, marking him as one of the other clans, but he was also way out here, too, when his clanmates had already made it to the center. ...Not to mention he was on the floor.

A bit puzzled, Ratpaw wondered if he was ill. Or dead? But no clan would let a cat fall and die and then keep going. (Or would they? He blinked. That would be a thing feral foxes would do.) But a moment later, Ratpaw found that the tom was only asleep — solving that crisis.

The apprentice — and the Otherclan tom must’ve been, he wasn’t much bigger than Ratpaw — looked oddly peaceful, sprawled in sleep. And Ratpaw... sighed. It looked nice. If his mother wouldn’t have killed him for it, he’d think of doing the same.

But — maybe, he could just sit here with this tom? And not ever join closer?

With a nod, the Shadowclan apprentice left to hunt briefly — there were a few little black bugs, and a cicada — and returned, head tilting in consideration. At least, Ratpaw could stop a cat from truly tripping over him. It was only polite.

Ratpaw settled down, and wondered what the slight, distinct tinge to his scent was. A little like water-musk, when you’ve been in the marsh too long and it dried on your fur, but. Hmm.

Ratpaw is sitting with Greypaw. (He appreciates the vibes.)

Dovefrost followed Minkstar into the gathering, parting ways from the leadership when he reached his usual spot. While he could see some others around, he choose this time to sit on his own. If others approached him, he would gladly speak but for now a lot weighed heavily on his mind.

--

Starlingflare let out a grumble as he noted the rather large crowd here at the gathering. While something like this used to excite him when he was younger, right now with everything that happened, it only irritated him. Pain bloomed steadily on the side of his head from his missing eye. While some of it still needed to heal, there was some pain that didn't seem like it was touched by the herbs supplied by the medicine cat. As his yellow eye scanned around he noted a cat with.. some scars, but she was missing her eye as well. Interesting. Maybe she knew what it was like. He approached her dipping his head being polite for now. "Excuse me, but I have some questions if you don't mind." His tone being polite.

--

Batglow had followed his clan into the gathering. His wounds still hurt from the battle previous days before. Vea was gone and that was the good thing. He didn't really know what to do at the gathering, but for once it seemed his mind was light. Yellow green eyes looked over the crowd before noting that Flintstar was on the ground... Could he not make it up the rock? Oh stars.. He moved forward turning his focus to Mistyfalcon, sitting close to the tom but not saying much.

Dovefrost is open to talk!
Starlingfalre is talking to Beechface!
Batglow is with Mistyfalcon!

Beechface turned at the sound of a voice addressing her, something almost akin to relief crossing her expression at the intrusion of the Thunderclanner upon... whatever Cloverheart was wanting to talk to her about. "Questions?" She eyed the tom, noting the injuries he carried. Missing eye, though Beechface could tell the cause was a cat's claws and not a burning piece of wood. At a quick glance, it seemed as though Dovefrost had done well with healing what was left, though that was unsurprising. Thunderclan had always had reliable medicine cats. Mossbloom's death must have been hitting the clan hard, but Beechface thought Dovefrost would manage. "Ah, I don't believe I caught your name. I'm Beechface."

---

Mistyfalcon offered Batglow a faint smile as he sat near him. He'd watched as Flintstar remained with the deputies at the base of the great rock, not a good sign. Basilpaw had been joined by another medicine cat it looked like, while the hulking form of Beechface moved away to talk to a different cat, looking none too pleased at the interruption to whatever conversation they'd been having. Loudnose was talking with a golden-furred warrior... She looked somewhat familiar, almost reminding him of Moonshine. She looked like a Skyclanner, and Mistyfalcon could only guess that they were related somehow. Either way... Not his business, and Mistyfalcon was glad to turn his attention back towards his friend.

"The sooner this starts, the better." He muttered to Batglow. "I'm not sure how Loudnose and Basilpaw convinced me to come."

First, what’s the deal with those?

Rude, but he supposed not everyone knew about decoration. It wasn't something that warranted a response despite the itch beneath his pelt urging him to. It wasn't his fault some cats couldn't see fashion.

But then another cat approached, one who introduced himself as Flamepaw. "Bits of-" Hailpaw looked at the cat incredulously, unable to even repeat their sentence. What did they mean bits of bush?!? Did cats really see his adornments like that? Like he had gotten in a fight with a bush and lost? No,  these cats were simply blind, more blind than he was. "These are decorations, thank you. They were intentional." His tail flicked behind him with slight irritation. Apparently, other clans had no style.

Quietly, he adjusted the flowers in his pelt, convincing himself he wasn't at all bothered.

Hailpaw is sulking talking to the group of apprentices!

---

Ebonypaw shook his head. "No, not yet. I've thought about it though. I'm sure there are a lot of nice cats in other clans, but I've always preferred just... sticking to small, familiar groups." His eyes were on the large group of apprentices as he spoke. He didn't know how anyone could enter that and not have a heart attack on the spot. He had a hard time enough with his own clanmates, who he knew at least on a minor level. Everyone here was a complete stranger.

"We could find someone to talk to if you wanted to though. I think the point of gatherings is so the clans can intermingle." A light chuckle fell from his lips. He wouldn't chain Hollypaw to the Riverclan side of Fourtrees.

Ebonypaw is talking to Hollypaw!

Hardly any time had passed since the ceremony that had named Stoatfur deputy. The title had yet to settle and it was hard to remember the position that he now bore, but the weight of responsibility that crushed into his shoulders and stifled his breathing had yet to let up. It all seemed so overwhelming, even if he pushed such insecurities tightly to the back of his mind and wore nothing more than a neutral expression. However, his features twisted into something slightly stoic as they reached top of the clearing. All of the clans were down there - they too would recognize him as deputy.

Honestly, time alone sounded vastly preferable to sitting up in front of the forest's finest.

Minkstar caught his attention as he notated the sight on the rock above... the cat in Skyclan's position on the rock had changed. And another new deputy lingered at the base. In Wolfstar's place was the over-grown brute that most of the forest had come to know - for better or worse. Stoatfur had little opinion on the tom but he understood his own leader's concerns and dipped his head head slightly, "I'll keep my ears open. Better to be prepared for anything, especially now."

Stoatfur shook out his coat and turned back towards his clanmates with the faintest hints of a smile before following Minkstar in. He had to remind himself to trot towards the base of the great rock. He sat down on his haunches, finding himself to be on the smaller side when it came to deputies, but he didn't paw mind to it. Size meant nothing when it came to skill or ability, he'd proven that enough times over. His tail streamed out behind him, tip flickering slightly. He offered a polite nod to the other deputies there but opted to hold his tongue for now.

If they wanted to speak, he was sure they would engage with him, but until then, the little brown and white warrior was contented to listen to the babble around.

Seeing Flamepaw's rather dramatic entrance, Dreampaw's eyes quickly shifted from glittering with curiosity— to a dull shade of soft green. It seemed as if the troublesome apprentice has finally come over. He was not amused. Despite having the tom as his sibling, they barely talked to each other before. He assumed they were simply too different to get along, despite Downtuft's many attempts to do so when they were still in kithood. Not surprisingly, he'd just seemed to offend an apprentice. How fairly unamusing. Slowly, their tail tapped on the ground, ears slightly held back. "Please excuse Flamepaw for his attitude," They glared lightly at the tom. "He's just like that." Dreampaw hesitantly moved back, realizing how crowded this group just had gotten. They weren't a large fan of socializing— unlike the other apprentice right there, whom had just been mentioned by them a second ago.

Once again, they left space for the other apprentices to sit over, though not so much so that they would be completely covered. If they did though, however— Dreampaw would perhaps take the chance and sneak away. Too much socializing wasn't for him, it would usually leave him drained afterwards.

---

Hollypaw nodded, glancing to the decently-filled group of apprentices from a distance. For sure, she wouldn't do so much as to join in there. It seemed.. too crowded for her taste. "You're right," She spoke, "Who do you think would be nice to talk to?" The molly asked, her eyes scanning the space around. Everywhere was filled with scents of each clan now, as they have all arrived. After a brief while of gazing, her eyes finally widened, spotting another familiar face. Scarletriver. The apprentice's tail twitched stiffly, not being able to decide if she wanted to approach the warrior, or not. They have hardly ever talked since their first meeting together, and that somewhat made her anxious. She masked it rather quickly, though. She didn't want to be seen as too obivious in front of the tom, that would be awkward.

Shaking her head away from her thoughts, Hollypaw looked back to Ebonypaw, and waited for him to speak up again.

Hollypaw is talking to Ebonypaw
Duskpaw is talking to Dandelionflight
Dreampaw is trying to escape talking to the group of apprentices

Burningwing quirked an eyebrow at Hentooth as she went on. The longer she talked... he slowly looked at her more and more incredulously. Whacko? Loner-born??? She wants me to kill her, clearly. And then she finally confirmed how absolutely filth-ridden Windclan was. Even the Asylum head's daughter was in Windclan? Burningwing's claws twitched behind his toes. "Your clan sounds..." Just as empty-headed and as doomed as mine... "... chaotic." Did anyone else know this?

He took a step back, wondering if maybe half of this was nonsense and the filthy Windclan warrior sent Hentooth here to get a reaction out of him. "Was Windclan not hit the hardest when the Asylum came? Didn't several of your clanmates die to them? This was before I was born, but my parents filled me in on the details... So why would Windclan allow this? Do your clanmates mean nothing to you?"

There... maybe that was the reaction they were looking for. Well, not quite. He felt like he was making perfect sense... but the clans had proven to be dumb time and time again. Windclan had no solid reason to be different. "Which one is Eris's daughter? I don't believe you."

“What?” Hentooth asked, flicking her tail and quirking a brow. What was with this tom- she’d apologized, in her way, for the misunderstanding- was he not of loner blood? “That’s why we don’t let cats into our Clan willy-nilly-“ She began…

Stars-cursed foxing horse-dung.

“You clearly have no ears,” she hissed, hiding her uncertainty and fear under anger. “I said we have a few former Asylum members. ShadowClan does too. Before you get all hissy at me go talk to your own Clan leader- none of our former Asylum cats have proven themselves to be anything other than loyal Clanmates. Marsh-snorting hare-brain, I said nothing of the sort. I mentioned we have Aslyum-trained cats. Get your head out of your rear end!” She lashed her tail, being careful to keep her anger in her voice, not her actions. She was trying to cover up her slip, yes, but she didn’t want to be the next Beechface.

“You pile of horse-dung!” She hissed at him, turning and slipping into the crowd to have time to process what she’d done… she’d betrayed a friend and loyal Clanmate… her claws unsheathed as she pushed through the crowd, keeping her head down. What was she worth as a medicine cat if she couldn’t keep her foxing mouth shut?


Dawnfeather beamed happily. “Thank you, I think you’re nice too!” She listened intently to his description of the trees… awesome. She’d have to tell her apprentices about this- abruptly reminded, she glanced around, spying Antpaw talking to a group of apprentices, another SkyClan apprentice with her- at least, she thought.

“Those trees sound awesome! You should definitely try climbing them- well, as long as you don’t get eaten by the marsh. Is it true the marsh tries to eat cats on full moons? Is there a spooky monster that roams the marsh? Is it true you guys have Raven friends that help you?”

Hentooth has left Burningwing. She’s open to WindClan cats only.
Dawnfeather is happily chattering to Loudnose.

Basilpaw listened closely as Beechface shared her own experiences, the small tortie she-cat's tail twitching anxiously, and what the SkyClan medicine cat had to say...wasn't promising.  Gaze dropping to the ground, she recalled what she had seen of Flintstar's leg; the outside was merely a reopened scar, deep and slow to heal but at least it was making progress.  However, he didn't seem to have full function or control over its actions, if at all.  The ligaments are connected to the muscles, if one or both of them was torn or even if a nerve was damaged...  Basilpaw sighed, pushing aside her more complicated thoughts to simply nod at Beechface with a thankful half-smile.  "I see, thank you Beechface.  I hope your mother is doing well, despite her injury."  As the elder medicine cat was pulled away by Cloverheart, Basilpaw changed her focus to the rest of the clearing.  Though she didn't regret asking about Flintstar's leg, she chose to store that information away for now and instead enjoy the Gathering.  

Smiling as she left the group of medicine cats, she looked around for someone new to chat with and realized that a whole big group of apprentices from all clans had gathered nearby.  Basilpaw was getting a bit old to be considered apprentice-aged, as medicine cats trained for longer than warriors, but one cat in the crowd caught her eye - a white-furred tom with many flowers twisted and twirled into his pelt.  It looked so pretty, she had to at least compliment him.  Approaching the tom (who, despite being younger, was still a bit taller), Basilpaw gently nudged his shoulder to gain his attention and purred.  "Excuse me, I just wanted to say that I love your flower-pelt, it's so colorful and lovely!  I'll have to try that sometime.  Once in a while, I'll tuck some herbs away behind my ear in case I need them but that's more for safety than decoration."  Ending her statement with an endearing laugh, she waited for the tom's response, offering a friendly nod to the other apprentices in the circle.

---

Orchidmask followed her mother and sister into the clearing, head held a bit higher than usual.  This was her first Gathering as a warrior, and though the events weren't exactly her favorite to attend, this night her status as a worthy warrior of SkyClan would be announced before the whole forest.  She was glad that her mother, also boasting her new name, had decided to attend, and the large colorpoint she-cat kept pace with Lynxpetal as she spoke to Primroselight about the truce.  Losing interest in the conversation, Orchidmask sat down nearby next to her sister Oliverain, who was chatting with a ShadowClan apprentice.  Casting her gaze upon the Great Rock she noticed that one leader seemed to be missing, but soon found him among the deputies at it's base.  Icy eyes narrowing, she took in Flintstar's injured leg and lowered position with interest.  It seems that ShadowClan has taken quite the hit...  The apprentice Oliverain was speaking to seemed uninjured though, which made her even more interested.  Instead of asking questions though, she simply watched the crowd and waited for the leaders to call their attention.

Basilpaw is speaking to Hailpaw (and acknowledging the whole apprentice group)
Orchidmask is with Oliverain and Dappledpaw, but is open to talk to

Dandelionflight beamed at Duskpaw and meowed in response, “Thanks!” He seemed to pause for a few moments before continueing to how she got her name. “Uhh…I guess Wolfstar just found that it fit my personality. I didn’t really do anything noteworthy to get it,” she had never really thought about why she had got her name before, “He did mention my energy and enthusiasm, so maybe that’s why I got my name!” That seemed to make sense to her, dandelions dancing through the wind was very energetic and fun sounding. “What do think your warrior name will be?” She asked Duskpaw.

———————

“Nice to meet you, Oliverain and Lynxpetal,” she meowed to them. Lynxpetal seemed to be talking to another SkyClan and two others soon appeared. One of which looked a lot like Lynxpetal and Oliverain, she guessed they were related. “Yes, I’m from ShadowClan, and the prey has been running well,” meowed to Oliverain before hearing the black and white apprentice’s greeting, “Hello, I’m Dappledpaw, what’s your name?”

———————

Cherrycloud followed after her clan into the noisy clearing of Fourtrees. Judging by the amount of cats gathered, it seems that ThunderClan was last to arrive. She had spent most of the evening weaving an assortment of items into her fur, so that she looked nice for her first gathering as a warrior. She glanced around and settled in spot that wasn’t quite so crowded.

———————

Dandelionflight is talking to Duskpaw!
Dappledpaw is talking to Oliverain, Lynxpetal, Yewpaw and Orchidmask!
Cherrycloud is open to talk to!

Webshadow had been expecting to spend this Gathering alone– he did most times he came to Fourtrees, at least –and he'd just settled into an unfocused daze when a voice at his side pulled him back. Ears lowering, he turned to see who had join him, body tense as he prepared himself for small talk. But it was only Frostgaze, and the dark tom quickly relaxed, nodding slowly.

"Ratpaw is alright," Webshadow assured, tail thumping lightly against his legs. A quick sweep of the clearing found Ratpaw settled off in the distance, next to... some little cat that appeares to be asleep. Webshadow tipped his head towards the distant pair, adding, "Nervous, I bet... But I can't blame him. I don't like coming to Fourtrees, either. But I believe he's fine." The warrior let out a little hum, watching the apprentices for a moment longer before returning his attention to his friend. "And how are you, Frostgaze? Alright, since–" Webshadow paused, eyes narrowing as he thought on his words, then settled on, "since Carrionplace?"


As Beechface's attention turned to her, Cloverheart quailed, taking a few hurried steps backwards and lowering herself to the ground. Suddenly, she didn't feel quite so bold... not with the scarred medicine cat looming right in front of her, offering threats that seemed much more real. Thin tail curling against her flank, Cloverheart swallowed hard. Ask now, or never get answers.

"I– Beechface, I wanted to ask if you could–" And then another cat sauntered his way over, all height and muscle and... he was missing an eye, too. Cloverheart gave the pair a curious look, whiskers twitching, before sputtering out, "Beechface, stay after the Gathering? We have to talk." Hopefully neither of them would try to bite her ears off for that. With a heavy breath, Cloverheart shuffled past Beechface's side to hover near the other medicine cats, shuffling her paws anxiously.

Webshadow is talking to Frostgaze.
Cloverheart is hiding from talking to Beechface.

Swiftspirit was focused on the great rock and the seeming new deputy, Flintstar's injuries were preventing him from climbing up to join the other leaders, clearly, and Swiftspirit wondered what had happened there. Shadowclan had mentioned rogues, maybe they had managed to fight them off? She watched as their medicine cat almost timidly approached the hulking form of Skyclan's medicine cat, to be joined by a few more cats quickly enough. It wasn't long before the scarred Riverclanner that had been attacked by Wolfstar joined them, and Beechface looked none too pleased by whatever was said. Swiftspirit's gaze drifted over the gathered cats, landing on Bearspirit briefly before she forced her gaze elsewhere. Bearspirit was Riverclan, nothing more.

Movement caught the Windclanner's eye, and she turned to see Hentooth stalked away from the Shadowclanner she'd fought here previously. The medicine cat looked like someone had put lizards in her nest. Standing, Swiftspirit padded over, lightly touching Hentooth's shoulder with her tail. "What's got your fur ruffled? I see you found that foxheart Bearspirit and I fought at fourtrees." She mewed softly, shooting the tom an unfriendly glare. Swiftspirit hadn't been close enough to hear what was said between them, but if was bothering her clan's medicine cat...

---

Before the Thunderclanner could ask his questions, the pesky Riverclan medicine cat piped up again. Beechface's ears flattened against her skull at the request. Her gaze lifted to Bloodstar's, trying to catch his eye, but he was still in conversation with the other leaders. She'd catch him as he jumped from the rock, then. Maybe he'd give her an excuse to not stay for... whatever this meeting was. She turned back to say something to Cloverheart, but the medicine cat was already backing away. Somewhat relieved, Beechface returned her attention to the Thunderclan tom.

"I'd rather choke on crowfood than spend more time here." She muttered, tail tip flicking in agitation as the medicine cat slunk away from her. Scared? Good. She should be.

Swiftspirit is talking to Hentooth.
Beechface has heard Cloverheart and turned her attention back to Starlingflare.

Burningwing stared at Hentooth with the most unamused expression he could have given another cat. She ranted and raved then walked off. What were those insults? His eyes traveled to Windclan and he set his gaze on Swiftspirit. His tail lashed once, practically trying to burn a hole through her pelt with his eyes, before growling to himself and stalking off in a different direction.

"How typical of a clan that still defends fugitives like Dawnhawk. All emotion and no sense." He said it out loud, not caring who heard. If Swiftspirit heard him, great. She could come say something to him if she liked.

---

Bearspirit picked up Burningwing's voice and his eyes snapped over to him. His fur bristled and he took several hurried steps toward the Shadowclanner. "I was trying to knock him out and bring him to Skyclan until you threatened to kill me!" Bearspirit hissed, also not caring who heard. "Maybe you could have, if Swiftspirit hadn't attacked you first! If anyone helped that criminal, it was you!"

---

Burningwing spun on the marbled tom. So he had finally wanted to say something after all? Good. "Nice lie, Riverclan filth. Anyone who knows me knows I wouldn't assist him. It's far more likely that a Windclan rat," He shot a look in Swiftspirit's direction. "And a Riverclan moron would conspire with him and make up stories when they're caught. Your clans have defended him once already, after all. Tonight I learned Windclan even has Eris's daughter in their ranks! It's not much of a stretch to believe he still has sympathizers in Windclan at the very least, if not Riverclan as well. I bet you wished you actually had killed me now..." He was done. He was so done with this whole gathering. Burningwing had said it loud enough anyone nearby would hear and he couldn't care less what anyone else thought.

---

Bloodstar had been keeping an ear out for what was going on at the gathering and his attention immediately focused on any mention of Dawnhawk. He listened to the bickering of a Shadowclan warrior that he didn't know and... Bearspirit? He thought that was his name. His lip twitched, but aside from that he didn't react much to the news. He hoped no one else in his clan would either. He was determined to put an end to this. How tired he was of hearing his son's name and immediately chaos and discord followed. It could nearly be used as a swear word at this point. He did cast a brief glance at Ivystar and Daystar. Flintstar was below him, so out of line of sight for now. He wondered how the leader of Shadowclan was going to handle these... accusations.

"The gathering will now begin!" Bloodstar's voice bellowed out loudly, demanding attention and silence. Anyone dumb enough to keep talking was going to be talked over. "Skyclan is doing well, but has much to report. I have received my nine lives and I am the new leader of Skyclan. Wolfstar, now Wolfcall, has left the forest with Juniperlight. I do not know when they will return but we will be waiting for them. I have chosen Ashstorm as the new deputy of Skyclan. We have new apprentices in our ranks, Hollowpaw, Dreamypaw, Driftpaw, Cricketpaw, Hailpaw and Yewpaw. I look forward to giving these apprentices their warrior names when they are ready.

We also have four new warriors, Oliverain, Dandelionflight, Orchidmask and Pigeonsun. The rogue that sheltered with us earlier in the season has also been fully accepted into Skyclan and has earned a proper clan name. Sapphire is now called Lynxpetal and Skyclan is fortunate to have her. " He paused for a moment, thinking about what else he might need to say. When he couldn't think of anything, he stepped back and allowed another leader forward. "There is nothing else to report."

Driftpaw frowned, a rare expression for the carefree cat. Flypaw was being rude, and he could sense Hailpaw's discomfort as the white tom sat next to him. He brushed his bushy tail against Hailpaw's flank to offer some silent comfort, his brows furrowing. "Hey," he meowed, his voice stern. "C'mon, Flypaw, don't be rude. I think Hailpaw looks nice. But..." He tilted his head, expression fading back to his contented neutral one. "'S RiverClan nice? I've seen the creek that runs through SkyClan, I don't think I'd be too good at swimmin', though, ain't it cold? I dunno if I wanna be that wet..." Driftpaw trailed off, humming thoughtfully. The gray and white apprentice then turned his attention towards the two WindClanners. "What 'bout you guys? How's WindClan? I bet the sky's real pretty at night, y'all can see it real good from camp right? Since y'all don't sleep in dens? I think I heard that somewhere..."

A mottled molly approached them then, commenting nicely on Hailpaw's fur. She smelled strongly of herbs and plants, so Driftpaw came to the conclusion that she was some sort of medicine cat. "Oh, hey. We're havin' our own apprentice Gatherin' over here, apprentices only," he joked, a playful grin on his maw. "Nice t'meet ya, though, I'm Driftpaw from SkyClan, an' this is my friend Hailpaw." He gestured with one heavy paw towards his denmate.

Driftpaw was distracted by the sound of Bloodstar's yowl. The Gathering had officially begun, apparently, and he wasn't quite sure if he needed to actually pay attention or not. Blinking, he glanced around at the other apprentices. He'd copy what they were doing.

Driftpaw is talking with the apprentices!