June Gathering 2022

Nightpaw bristled, and instead of staying put she drifted back toward her own Clanmates, resisting the urge to chase after the incredibly rude SkyClan apprentice. She was better than that, after all; and instead sought out her siblings. She would take her time to simmer and think things over, and only then would she seek revenge on the one she felt had wronged her tonight.

And then chunks of something she didn't know fell from the sky. The night just got better and better.

---

Leopardsun's fur stood on end. She turned to Echomist, voice low and conspiratory- a little harmless conspiracy had never hurt any cat, after all, and she had no desire to see StarClan's wrath wrought upon the clearing. Particularly not on her first visit. "I bet if we slip away now, no one would notice. You've got to be as eager to get out of here as I am, right?"

Suffice it to say, she wasn't exactly a fan of Gatherings. Certainly not this one.

And then, almost without further warning, ice rained from the sky. Playful conspiracy quickly turned to worry. "...Unless we missed our chance. At this point, I think I'm willing to risk it."

---

The ice came not without warning, but sudden and unexpectedly, and Thalia's anxiety spiked. "This is why I avoid this place," she murmured, still loud enough for anyone nearby to hear. There wasn't a crown of flowers in the world that could keep this sort of fear away.

She had learned enough of the Clans' culture and their relationship with their ancestors over her life in the forest that she recognized the signs before her. "...I take it StarClan isn't happy. We should go."

Pinepaw had never seen such a mess. He turned around to see Briarthorn with new kits, complete with some of the leftover viscera (a thought that made the tom want to puke), then squabbling WindClan elders trying to attack Beechfang, then Beechfang’s daughter locking onto one of the elder’s tails. Pure unfettered chaos.

“Idiot rabbit-chasers, get out of here,” the tom snarled, hearing a cacophony in the skies. Then, like water, the ripples of noise faded into the night, and there was silence. Clouds rolled like they were marching to battle, and an unnerving current of sound broke the sky. Still nauseous from Briarthorn’s kitting, the tom looked to the clouds in time for a massive hailstone to strike him directly in the head.

Pinepaw slammed onto the ground, limp, coughing heavily, writhing but unable to get full control of his body back.

“Foxdung,” Fuzzypaw blurted before noticing the stones, watching Pinepaw get struck. “I said a bad word, I said a bad word…”

The hail thudded as it made contact with the ground.

“SkyClan, one of your apprentices is down, he needs cobwebs! Head wound, head wound!”

Mintheart turned to the circle behind her, just to spot Stumpytoad still latched to the leg— and an apprentice on his tail. “HEY! YOU! GIT OFF O’ HIM!”

“Don’t you even dare, not in yo’ condition, Brackenwing,” Mintheart meowed as she approached the edge of the ring. “Let ‘im go! Git!”

The hailstones pelted the earth, Mintheart saw a SkyClan apprentice get struck in the head. They needed to take cover.

“Rats’ tails, we’re gonna have ta sleep in the stupid tunnels.”

Snowfoot gasped as the hail began to fall. A single thought swept over her entire being The kits. I have to get home! Not waiting for Frostgaze’s direction, Snowfoot bolted. Or at least she tried to. After all, there was a crowd in her way.

Blazepaw suddenly shot up from the dirt as a chunk of ice landed nearby. In a blind panic, she shot off in a random direction, then skidded and turned around as another hailstone landed right in front of her. Smaller ice pellets pelted her back, each one stinging just a little more than the last. She stopped abruptly when, not watching where she was going, she charged straight into another cat.

Blazepaw and Snowfoot have collided! More to come…

Swiftheart heard the storm behind her as she looked back at fourtrees. So Riverclan and Skyclan had not settled their differences... figured. That was most unfortuanate.


Luckily for her she had left before all that had started and was in the clear of that. She feared for her clanmates and hoped that none of them had gotten involved.... starcaln would not punish those not even involved in violation of breaking the truce of the gathering surely. She reasoned to herself.


She heard pawsteps approaching and soon a shadow came near their pelt matching the shadows perfectly so that all she could see was a blur of momvement. She crouched low and let out a warning hiss "show yourself!" she hissed

"i dont wish to fight you but I will"

she stood up straight and embarrassed when she recognized her clanmate and good friend duskflight. Running to him she looked him over to see if he was hurt at all. She had left just as the skyclan cat she had met at the border went into kitting. She wasnt sure if shadowclan had been drug into something and hoped not.

"You okay?" she beckoned towards shadowclan land and camp. "Come on lets get out of here. Froststar and Nigthstalker will make sure our clan is safe." she said confidently rushing at a faster pace than she had started with back towards the safety of their home.

Swiftheart is running home after meeting up with duskflight





Batsong tried to get her clans elders to stop this nonsense. Couldnt they see that windclan was not even involved in this??? And worse yet their clan was not exactly primed for war at the moment if they had not noticed... Their warrior numbers were few from the dark forest and she for one would like a couple more moons to settle into the role of medicne cat before doing anything against one of the most powerful clans (Skyclan). Right now she could patch wounds okay... but it did not feel like she was a full med cat yet she had alot to learn and calling for an execution of a cat during a gathring was a mouse brain of an idea....

Dont get her wrong... she did not like this silver molly one bit either... no one should be killing med cats... she fealt very strongly about that... because of some self interest as well. If med cats were fair game to be picked off to weaken other clans she worried that she might have a target on her back. ... and seeing as how she was surrounded by skyclan cats right now because she was trying to help briarthorn ... and seeing as how her clan elders were calling for the death of a skyclan cat.... she didnt exactly feel the safest at all, even during a full gathering and being a med cat which should have given her the highest level of immunity possible she still felt like any second one of these skyclan cats would attack her for what her clanmates were doing... even though she just wanted to help their clanmate who was in the middle of giving birth! She glanced nervously at the skyclan cats surrounding her

"no...noo no... Im only h-here to help her" she said pointing at beechface.

She knew she smelt strongly of windclan and that they probably knew the windclanners were the ones chanting for punishment of this silver cat right next to her.

What an awkward position to be in how did she manage to get herself here??

She glared at her eleders "back off you mousebra---" she didnt finish that sentence as the sky darkended and ice began to fall from it.

Great... just great could they go one gathering without something like this? she whipped her head to the silver molly "get the kits out of here" she meowed quickly.

she pushed against her clan elders who decided it was a good idea to attack beechfang

"starclan ab-above I swear I am your med c-cat but d-dont think I wont put you in the med d-den myself if you d-drag us into a w-war over something that doesnt even effect us.
This is riverclan and skyclans m-mess she shoved her clanmates back roughly. any windcalnner that was trying to start something would hopefully listen to their mca at least. She wasnt hopefull seeing as how they had lost all sense attacking during a gathering.

Mottlerose watched everything unfold before her with a look of curiosity, but at some point, shock. The announcement of Skyclan having murdered a medicine cat, followed by a kitting. Motherly courtesy had found the tortoiseshell molly simply looking away. Having kitted herself, she understood just how vulnerable of a time it was. It was only more puzzling to watch as it was the self-proclaimed murderer also be the former medicine cat... All of the details just simply became too much. Mottlerose had to hone back in on her clan, keeping an eye on everyone there to ensure they were behaving themselves.

It seemed the stars were rightfully justified in their warning for the comotion breaking out. The loud crack of thunder had surprised her, with her tail fluffing up in response. Thankfully, Thunderclan mostly seemed to be outside of the chaos and commotion. They behaved themselves... mostly.

With the sky opening up to give their final word to the forest of the gathering, Mottlerose looked atop the Great Rock. It seemed she would have to make the call. Mottlerose quickly shuffled towards it, looking up at the leaders. "Please know that Thunderclan means no disrespect... But this weather simply isn't safe for us. Starclan has sent their sign." She dipped her head in deep respect, particularly looking at Perchstar, and who seemed to be her deputy. With that done, however, the tortoiseshell molly turned towards her clan.

"Thunderclan! Starclan has sent their call for peace. We will heed it, and be returning to camp! Find a clanmate to stay next to!" There was a surprising authority to her voice, carrying over the clearing as best she could through the comotion. For such a small cat, especially one that was soft-spoken, it was quite loud. Perhaps she'd learned a thing or two from Minnowfin and Stoatstar...

Thunderclan is leaving the gathering!

Perchstar had hoped that since the kitting was over, the Gathering would retain some semblance of normality, and that Frostgaze and Minnowfin would have the chance to give their announcements. No such luck. Whatever chaotic rumble that was going on around the murderer, the queen, and apparently some loudmouthed elders had apparently drawn the ire of StarClan. First, a rumble of thunder shook the clouds-- then, shortly after, pieces of ice began to pelt down from the sky. Mouse-brains. After StarClan saved all our tails, has every cat in SkyClan forgotten how to respect them? And those doddering old fools.... I know Shrikestar is new, but hopefully he knows not to bring senile idiots to the Gathering after this. Refusing to flinch away from the hail, the gray and white she-cat squared her shoulders and glanced around at the mess of a Gathering. She couldn't deny it... she was frustrated. All she had tried to do was communicate, face-to-face, on equal footing, with another leader. Then, he and his Clan had apparently made it their priority to destroy the peace of Fourtrees. Well-- there wasn't anything left that she could do.

A ThunderClan calico who bore herself with some authority murmured a few quick words of reassurance to Perchstar, momentarily catching her off guard. Was this Minnowfin's deputy? Or simply a senior warrior? Either way, the small moment of kindness in a completely hostile environment was very welcome. "I appreciate that," she responded, dipping her head respectfully to the she-cat. With that said, the calico had the right idea. The hail was beginning to hurt, and-- even if two Clans apparently did not-- Perchstar knew when to listen to the ancestors. "This Gathering is over, by the will of the stars," she called out, her perfectly neutral voice ringing through the clearing. "RiverClan, we are leaving-- calmly. Make sure everyone is accounted for. We will confront this senseless murder later." With one last glance towards Bloodstar, who she had lost all respect for, and one last understanding nod to the other three on the Great Rock, the RiverClan leader leapt down. Her tail streamed gracefully behind her as she beckoned to Poppyshine, and quickly rounded up the rest of her Clan from their spot in the masses. At least she could say that the anger of the stars had not been her fault... though it left a sour taste in her mouth that her chance to civilly solve the issue of the murder had been stolen by pettiness and bad circumstance. Hopefully all would be well.... But she was not looking forward to explaining at Cloverheart's vigil how she had failed so badly.

RiverClan is departing the Gathering.

Foxpaw gladly obliged to the molly's words, sticking immediately to the first clanmate she could find. The darkening skies and whatever it was, falling from Silverpelt (Rocks? Pebbles? It certainly wasn't rain..) did nothing but reaffirm the fact that the other clans were bad news. So many discordant shouts from aged and young voices alike sounded through the clearing when the RiverClan leader finished her announcement..

She took a few faster steps, focusing again on the comforting scent of ThunderClan.

Foxpaw has left the Gathering.

Elders yelling for the execution of his mother, the sky turning darker and darker, the anger and panic of the cats around him.. The moon was covered in more shadow than he'd ever seen it before-- even less of it visible than at a quarter-moon. Each passing moment made him feel more and more uneasy. Were all Gatherings like this? He had thought it would be a time of peace for everyone..

Lichenpaw winced as his siblings readied themselves for battle so easily. Though it wasn't like they had much choice, the.. WindClan? elders had rushed for Beechfang with clear intent. They were the same cats who called for his mother's execution. But surely they wouldn't hurt Beechfang- it was a Gathering-- and they'd keep the peace no matter what, right-?

Then the crackle of thunder and.. some other noise, rumbled through the clearing. In the new darkness he could hardly see Beechfang; though the elders' pelts seemed to be retreating, thankfully. He turned his head, meeting gaze with Wolfpaw. "Are you okay?" He frowned, adding,  "..The elders didn't hurt you too, right?"

Only a moment after his question was asked, the odd noise of the clearing made its source more clear. A sudden crash of pain came to his shoulder; followed by a lump of ice dully bouncing off onto the ground.

Lichenpaw starts talking with Wolfpaw, and is minorly hurt by the storm.

Well, this wasn't exactly how he expected his first Gathering as leader to go. His own elders were making him look bad, all over business that wasn't theirs. In a way, he was thankful for the hail that pelted the clearing, even if the little balls of ice stung as they hit his fur. It was a sign that it was time to go, and he was more than ready for that. At least he had gotten to say his peace, with respect to the clans who had not gotten a chance to speak.

"WindClan, we're leaving!" he yowled over the pelting hail, jumping down from the Great Rock and heading directly for his elders, who were around the SkyClan kits and the warrior who had admitted to killing the RiverClan medicine cat. He hissed lowly near them, doing his best to keep his words away from the SkyClan cats. "We're leaving, and I will have words for all of you when we get back." He couldn't allow anyone to make him or WindClan look bad: not even his own clanmates.

WindClan is leaving the Gathering.

Brackenwing nearly growled at being called a kit, but refrained. She supposed, to these older-than-dirt elders, she was closer to kit age than to theirs. Mintheart, however... Had apparently only heard the word 'kit' and nothing else.

"I'm not- Oh, you stupid fleabags." She muttered, "Batsong needs to clean your ears when we get back to camp, I think. And maybe never let you out of the elders' den again." But Mintheart had turned to try and get Stumpytail off of the massive, scarred Skyclanner, at least, and so Brackenwing turned as well, impatience flashing in her green eyes.

And then an apprentice - Skyclan, she assumed, calling the the big one her mother - lunged at Stumpytail. Stupid elder deserved it, of course, but Brackenwing's ears flattened as the crack of thunder rang through the clearing. Starclan was angry. Very angry. The skies had continued to darken, and she wanted nothing more than to drag Stumpytail and his idiot denmates home. This gathering was clearly over, with cats yowling to each other to leave and others darting about to and fro. Massive chunks of - was that ice? In late newleaf? - were falling, pelting Brackenwing, the scarred Skyclanner, and everyone else. Foxdung. A large chunk slammed into her shoulder and she flinched, stumbling back a step, but the chunks of ice were everywhere.

Something slammed into Brackenwing's head, and everything went dark. The marbled tabby fell to the ground in front of the elders she'd just been arguing with.

---

Wolfpaw glanced up at Lichenpaw's voice, relieved to see him standing amidst the chaos. "I'm fi- Ow." A chunk of ice catching her side and bouncing to the ground made her wince. "Fine, fine. What about you? We need to get out of here, this can't be good for Briarthorn or the kits..." Her gaze slid to Beechfang, who looked... Well. She'd never seen panic quite like that on her mother's face. Why wasn't she trying to fight? "I think... Mom might need help. I don't know how without making things worse." Like Birdpaw had just done. The elder that had attacked Beechfang deserved worse, of course, but attacking him seemed to just have made the stars even angrier. "I thought gatherings were supposed to be peaceful- Foxdung!" She complained, ducking as another chunk of ice when hurtling past her head. "Someone needs to help Briarthorn and the kits get out of here. This isn't safe. Let's move." And with that she started toward Briarthorn.

---

Beechfang had hardly even noticed Birdpaw sinking her fangs into the elder that was attached to her foreleg. The air around them was suddenly cold, and while she noticed the sudden chill, the shiver that ran down her back had very little to do with it. She registered the hail and Birdpaw somewhat belatedly, her mind fogged by memories of a burning fire and agony. "Birdpaw, get away-" She growled at her daughter, frustration leaking into her voice. Birdpaw was going to be in so much trouble when they got home. If they got home at all. Hypocritical perhaps, coming from a confessed murderer. But she hadn't intended on breaking the gathering's peace tonight. She knew how badly that always ended. Tonight would be no different.

"Bat- Shrikestar, get your foxing elder off of me before I do it myself." She hissed through gritted teeth. The implied threat of her words was lost beneath the rising tide of her panic, however. Starclan's wrath was real, she'd experienced it first-paw, the evidence all over her ragged silvery pelt. She could hardly hear her own words over the pounding in her ears, a pounding that matched her tripping heartbeat. Vaguely, she was aware of the hail pelting the surroundings, though she hardly felt it hitting her pelt. On instinct, she ducked, twisted. The thought of striking the elder with claws and burying her fangs into his neck did cross her mind, but was quickly dismissed. That would make things worse, and there was no fighting in fourtrees. Starclan would just find a way to heap the punishment on her, anyways. Just like they'd done for Cloverheart and Bearflower's stupidity. Although, maybe things couldn't get much worse anyways.

Planting the paws that didn't have a stupid elder attached to them, Beechfang wrenched herself back sharply in an attempt to dislodge the elder. In that moment she was wholly unaware of the force she was using... And might not have cared anyways. If the elder lost a few teeth to this, that wasn't her problem. Right now she just wanted to leave and go home. And forget whatever chaos had been born tonight.

Brackenwing has been knocked unconscious (and is going to have a lovely concussion whenever she wakes).
Wolfpaw is talking with Lichenpaw and telling him to come help Briarthorn/the kits.
Beechfang has snapped at Batsong/Shrikestar, is attempting to wrench herself free of Stumpytoad and is panicking.

Just by the sheer look of bewilderment and panic in her eyes, Snowfoot guessed the ginger cat was an apprentice, WindClan by the smell of it. “You okay?” she paused to ask her.
Blazepaw stood stock still as the stench of ShadowClan overwhelmed her. This cat belonged to the clan that beat up Whisperpaw! “I’m fine,” she answered stiffly, through clenched teeth. She looked around. Which way was she going again?
Snowfoot motioned towards WindClan with her tail. “Your clan’s leaving, that way,” she mewed, then ran off, streaking home to her kits.
Blazepaw looked in the direction the other cat pointed and gasped. Brackenwing! She must’ve been hit by the falling ice! Blazepaw ran to the young warrior’s side and stood there, unsure of what to do.

Snowfoot has left.
Blazepaw has discovered Brackenwing.
OOC: If you want help writing a concussion, PM me. I’ve had several and am unfortunately kind of an expert…