February Gathering 2022

Mistysky padded into the clearing behind Goldenstar. Her face was expressionless, but her eyes hovered over a particular black apprentice. Batpaw was already shy, but now being filled with grief, she couldn't imagine how hard it must be for the young cat. And to be in a crowded area like the gathering, the poor thing must be so overwhelmed. Mistysky actually found that she pitied the poor scrap.

Padding to the apprentice, she let their pelts brush. "If things become to much for you, you can come find me, ok?"

She might as well not have said anything. Batpaw seemed to be rather cheerful, bounding right up to another apprentice. Blinking in surprise, Mistysky huffed before going to sit on her own.

Mistysky is open to talk to!

Swiftspirit padded into the gathering after Goldenstar and the rest of her clanmates, ears pricked as pale blue eyes swept over the clearing. Shadowclan certainly looked like they could've been better, wounds covering many of their pelts. A battle, maybe? Swiftspirit was sure they'd hear about it if it was something to do with one of the other clans soon enough.

She sat near the edge of her own clanmates, gaze continuing to travel across the other clans. She wasn't wondering about a certain marbled Riverclanner at all. Definitely not, though he seemed to not be present just yet.

Swiftspirit is waiting for someone.
Beechfang is on the herb patrol still.
Smokefeather and Mistyfalcon are not in attendance.

Bearspirit arrived closer to the back. He entered the gathering and his eyes immediately found Swiftspirit. Healing wounds hit his nose however, and he cast his eyes towards Shadowclan. Stars... what happened? He looked over Windclan, grateful that no one there seemed injured. He glanced guiltily toward Dewlight once... before padding over to Swiftspirit.

"Hi!" He said cheerily, at this point not even hiding their friendliness. Everyone was going to know soon enough... probably. He took one big, fluffy paw and used it to push her shoulder. It was a friendly gesture, though he had purposely made an attempt to stagger her. It felt good to be back at gatherings. It felt good to finally be around her again.

"You flimsy little Windclan cats..." He snickered teasingly. "It's a wonder you don't get blown away in the wind. Or is that it? It's called Windclan because the wind takes you where ever it wants?" To someone on the outside, this might have seemed passive aggressive. But as friends... this was just casual talk.

Bearspirit is talking to Swiftspirit and literally pushing her around!

"Hey, you," Swiftspirit grinned, easily shifting backward so Bearspirit's paw brushed against fur but didn't stagger her. He was stronger than he looked (which was already impressive), that was obvious to anyone with eyes.

"Too slow! Though I expect nothing less with how you Riverclanners sit around pawing at fish." She smirked back. There was no animosity to her tone, only lighthearted humor. "You learn to be quick as the wind if you have to chase down hares for prey. I see you've learned to... Keep your pelt glossy?"

Quietly, Hollyleaf had followed her peers into the clearing of the Gathering. An unexpected sight caught her eye as she scanned the area, seeing so much ShadowClan cats with fresh injuries on their pelts. Had an attack happen? Although there were no particular cats that she was very fond of, a couple of pelts still stood out in the crowd.. though she preferred to only talk to one, or more. Hollypaw didn't seem to be here yet, anyway. Particularly, a grey-ish, white-colored she-cat was the one she intended to approach. With a deep breath, the molly approached the she-cat. With an inclination of the head and a slightly hesitant smile, she sat down, attempting to start a conversation.

"Greetings, I'm Hollyleaf from RiverClan. And you are..?" Hollyleaf's whiskers twitched, and the other warrior's scent evidently told her which clan the molly came from— WindClan. She needed to make some more acquaintances from other clans, even if they'd only meet in Gatherings again. As.. well, some were still better than knowing none at all.

Hollyleaf is attempting to start a conversation with Mistysky.
Duskflight is on the herb patrol.

Slightpaw whipped around to face Batpaw, relief on his face. "I've been waiting forever!" he purred, brushing his nose against her cheek. curling their tails together, he led the black she-cat behind some ferns. He carefully plucked a white feather from behind his ear and tucked it behind hers. "There, it look much better on you than me. My trainings been good, I've fought owls and racoons! this is a feather from that owl-" he showed her the feather that was twined into the base of his tail "-and I've caught this giant pigeon!" he was delighted to see Batpaw from reasons unknown to even himself. he never had someone to talk to before, being the only kit in the nursery at the time.

"By the way, who was that ginger tom you were with?" He asked casually, betrayed only by the flick of his ear.

_________________________________________

Deerpaw noticed a pale tabby she-cat sitting not too far away from her. from the looks of it, the she-cat seemed just a little older than Deerpaw (around 11 moons). she smelled like something familiar... the high pine! so she was a skyclan cat. it's always useful to know your neighbors, right? gathering her courage, Deerpaw approached the she-cat from the side. "Hi! I'm Deerpaw, from Shadowclan. you are...?"


Slightpaw is talking to Batpaw
Deerpaw is trying to start a conversation with Rabbitchaser

In a rare burst of foresight, Flywhisker had tucked themself amongst the taller warriors soon after leaving camp. It didn’t help much. Another frigid gust roared past them just before the clearing, and they pulled their ears back. Hunting in the cold was one thing; if the chase wasn’t enough to ward it off, the all-encompassing focus helped them ignore it. But the prospect of sitting in it, alone, for ages— They ducked to hide a grimace. Still, they’d chosen to be here. Not just for tradition’s sake, not just to strengthen the idea that RiverClan was thriving instead of starving. Their biggest reason was the most selfish one. A cat only had one chance to hear their full name announced before every soul in the forest, and Flywhisker wouldn’t miss that chance for every star in Silverpelt.

The cluster around them broke apart, its warriors scattering throughout Fourtrees in search of warmth and conversation. Flywhisker watched them leave with a shiver. Then, turning on their heel, they made for the trees at the clearing’s outskirts. Their gaze settled on the Great Rock as they sat. ThunderClan hadn't arrived yet, and ShadowClan’s leader looked…awful, really. So did most of her warriors. A flicker of interest crossed Flywhisker's face. Too bad RiverClan didn’t share a border with them; this would’ve been a perfect chance to score extra hunting grounds.

Flywhisker is open to talk!
(Thrushnose is on the herb patrol + Emberleap is too injured to attend)

Batpaw's heart beat faster as he led her to a quiet spot, she was relived to see him again. It took her mind off all the horrible things that had been going on. When she was with him she was relaxed and happy... it was a nice change from being sad and gloomy in camp. She also could talk alot more around him... she trusted him so much, she felt so much better with him around.

Batpaw purred seeing the feather he gave to her and giggled when he put it behind her ear . I-ii...it... it's beautiful she said with her usual stutter.

Thank you so much she added on happily.

her eyes widened listening to all his adventures and fights he had been getting into. w--wow!... you are really brave! and she really meant it.

she looked into his eyes a slight amount of concern stay safe though she said quietly as she gave his ears a friendly lick. She was worried he would get himself hurt... but it was more than just worry it was hard to describe the feeling she had but she wanted him safe... he could probably take care of himself better than she could so she was probably overthinking

my training is okay... but Mistysky was not happy with my fighting level she said a little embarrassed. It was true Batpaw struggled with fighting... at least her hunting was good she thought.

oh and that is Scorchpaw my friend. We have known each other since kittens and used to play together all the time. she answered his question pointing to the ginger tom. She had not caught on to his ear flick and figured it was just a curiosity question from him.

He did seem really curious and it nice to be able to talk with someone she trusted...
oh so good news! we got our old medicine cat back he escaped from being impressed by twolegs! she said smiling from ear to ear purring softly

Isnt that great? she asked him. She had told him the troubles of being short on medicine cats but now they had one. He would be happy to hear that. At least she thought so.

She sat close to him.

hmm wow! l-l---look at all the shadowclan cats... she stammered a little

they all look really sore...look they all have wounds even them trying to hide it is not working... wonder what happened? she looked at him curious if he knew at all.

Pawsteps alerted Rabbitchaser to an oncoming cat, and she saw an apprentice approaching her. Smiling, she dipped her head as the molly joined her. So, she was ShadowClan? She certainly looked better off than the rest of her Clanmates.

"Hi Deerpaw. I'm Rabbitchaser, from SkyClan. Um, if you don't mind me asking, is everything alright in your Clan? Not to be rude or anything, but everyone seems a little, uh, you know." She inclined her head towards the injured warriors, feeling a bit awkward for having brought it up, but it was too late now.

---

A gray she-cat, apparently from RiverClan, had joined Mistysky, and she nodded her head to the newcomer. The molly, Hollyleaf, was oddly formal, but Mistysky could do formal. After all, it was much better than some chatty apprentice. Mistysky preferred the calmness this cat provided.

"Hello. My name is Mistysky, from WindClan. How is RiverClan faring? I hope all is well?" While she seemed in much better shape than ShadowClan, Mistysky wanted to make sure that whatever happened wasn't spreading around to the other Clans. The last thing they needed was trouble.

Scorchpaw trotted behind Goldenstar, barely resisting the urge to race into the clearing like he had an entire pack of foxes on his tail. His first gathering! He couldn't contain his excitement, which was evident in the way his eyes flitted around at the gathered cats, unable to focus on one thing for more than a moment. There were so many cats already, and by the looks of it, Thunderclan hadn't even arrived yet!

Spotting Batpaw a distance away chatting with another apprentice, he padded curiously over. Truthfully, he hadn't had a chance to ask her about the time he'd caught her sneaking out of camp, and her response that day had done nothing but worry him further. But maybe she was feeling better, now that she'd made a new friend.

"Hey Batpaw! Who's this? Skyclan by the smell of him. What's up with Shadowclan by the way? I knew they were grumpy but I didn't know they were this grumpy. Do you think I should say hi? Maybe they're just bored."

He rambled, his inquiring gaze sweeping over the cats. He fidgeted in his spot, unwilling to stay in one place for too long.

Fawnpaw entered the gathering walking close to his brother, Scorchpaw. Unlike him, though, the ginger tabby wasn't all that excited to meet other clan cats. To him, it seemed like a waste of time considering how often the relationships between clans were aggressive and ended up fighting over land and prey.

As expected, Scorhpaw quickly left his side to chat with some other Windclan apprentice, Batpaw. A soft hiss came out of his mouth. That was Mistysky apprentice and he did not want anything to do with him or his apprentice. So, instead, the white and ginger tom gave a quick nod to his brother and walked away, sitting among other Windclan warriors.

Fawnpaw is open to talk to

Only the soft flourish of silky fur scraping against freshly-fallen snow and a silvery cloud of simmering breath announced the otherwise silent arrival of Elkpaw, the young molly apprehensive at touting her newly loosened reigns- slightly overwhelmed by the calamity of scents and voices rising above the chilly evening. Soft steps going unnoticed under the fiery streak of perpetual conversation wreathing through the small knottings of purposely clustered onlookers currently presented, the blotchy molly resembled a snow-capped shadow against the fragmented shade of the barren late season forest. Tilting a round chin and curious gaze upwards to the statue-like figures of Leaders atop the ice-capped Great Rock, it seemed as though WindClan's presence atop the stone hardly seemed to incite much of a reaction- especially considering the pale wounds snaking through Murkystar's coat.

Elkpaw was so enamored with the fictions images blossoming within her mind at the prospective conversation that was likely not occurring between the blanched figures of the Leaders that she nearly collided with a ginger tom, only just managing to recover her course of steps without directly stepping upon the poor little thing. "Sorry," Elkpaw floundered, embarrassment easing the way for a surging of her lingering discomfort, a sharp longing for familiar faces tightening her bones, "still not good at navigating crowds like this."

-
...
...
Elkpaw has approached Fawnpaw of WindClan!

Shrikestorm and Ravenclaw both entered the Gathering. Ravenclaw entered as usual, but Shrikestorm had a new place to go. He joined his fellow deputies, who would obviously have questions about him. After all, the former deputy now stood as leader, and he in her place. He puffed his chest out proudly, though. He was the deputy, after all, and that was a high honor.

The cold bit at his paws, and he felt incredibly irritable as a result, a twitching tail-tip the first red flag signalling the truly atrocious mood he was in. Aspenpaw was hungry, he was cold, and stars above he had not had a good night's rest in what felt like moons at this point, waking up shivering at all hours of the night. Still he continued onward, trying to find pride in the fact he was chosen to be present at the age-old gathering, watching his mentor on the Great Rock.

He chose to sit on the outskirts of the clearing near his clan, curling up and puffing out his fur as he attempted to retain some semblance of warmth.

The swift gusts of wind buffeted the little white she-cat and rattled the branches of the great oaks. Between the leafless branches the round full moon shone bright through thin veils of cloud. ShadowClan had broken from the icy fog as they came upon the hallowed clearing, the frigid haze unwrapping its tendrils from her white fur. At the lead of the patrol, pushing through the drifts of snow, Shypaw shivered between her mentor and dad as Murkystar and Frostgaze stepped down into the empty clearing, the three cats' paw prints the first markings on the snow. Shypaw’s tail brushed her mentor’s side and she gave her shoulder a light nuzzle as Murkystar turned to the great rock, wincing a tiny bit as the wounded leader climbed it. Her dad lingered reluctantly, his stoic face tense and drawn, his wounds threatening to reopen from the walk here. She tucked her head gently under his chin and wrapped her tail over him in a hug before he took his place under the great rock.

Her heart ached for her clan even while it filled with pride, a flitting shadow of guilt for not bearing the same wounds. All the warriors were battered. Shypaw’s fur was unscarred, the wounds from the owl cleanly healed, though she had expected the encounter that almost took her life to leave a mark, her fur was soft and pure. She hadn’t gotten any scars or grown bigger or taller yet, but Shypaw had grown in skill as the apprentices were sorely needed while the warriors recovered, and it showed in the fluid grace of her movements native to ShadowClan. Shypaw shook out her fur, walking around the sheltered clearing to warm up, taking it in for the first time.

As more cats flowed into the clearing, Shypaw quickly lost her clanmates among the many-coloured pelts and sharp unfamiliar scents as cats mingled and chatted. Her heart thumped in her little chest as she looked around wide-eyed.


Shypaw of ShadowClan is open to talk to <3