June Gathering 2022

Dandelionflight bounced after her clan, down into the clearing below. It would be nice to meet new cats again. This would be her first official gathering in a long time, so there were bound to be tons of them! Riverclan and WindClan had arrived just before them, and it seemed they both had new leaders. Perchstar and Shrikestar, she assumed. Dandelionflight made her way towards the center of the gathering, hoping to find a cat to talk to.

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Cherrycloud flicked her tail to and fro as she walked to the gathering. Stoatstar and Appledapple had disappeared, and she felt...disheartened. They were both great warriors, but Appledapple was also her only sibling left. Cherrycloud never knew her well, but it still hurt. She pushed those thoughts away, gatherings were about connecting to the other clans, not being sullen about her own life.

There weren't nearly as many items woven into her fur. Still, it was most of her collection. The moons she couldn't escape from the busyness of camp and spend hours looking for pretty plants had depleted it to near nothing. Maybe there's something here that I could take. Cherrycloud wandered down the slope and began to investigate the surrounding vegetation. There! A small patch of yellow flowers caught her eye, and she started the delicate process of collecting them.

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Dandelionflight is open to talk to!
Cherrycloud is open to talk to, even if she might not look like it!
Dappledlight hasn't arrived yet!

Aether turned his head as a voice rose above the crowd, spotting one of his Clanmates. Hawthornpaw had recently moved into the apprentice's den, and Aether could already see the Tom was an unpleasant one, so he avoided him. And now he was bullying a cat from another Clan.

So much for Aether not making a scene.

With a groan, he made his way over to where the altercation was happening. "Don't you have anything better to do than pick on others? Where is your mentor, go bother them instead! Or at least shut your mouth for once."

The Tom let out an exasperated sigh, annoyed with Hawthornpaw's actions. He had always hated the way Clan cats acted superior, and that was never going to change. At last, Aether turned to the lanky apprentice he had defended.

"Sorry about Hawthornpaw. I promise not all of us are as bad as him, just most of us. My name's Aether. Or if you want to use the Clan name they forced on me, then it's Crimsonpaw. Whichever you prefer."

“Oh, cool,” Blazepaw said in response to Stormpaw introducing his mentor. “He seems pretty nice.” She noticed the toms grow uneasy as another clan arrived. “Is everything all right?”

Frostgaze had been musing about leading Shadowclan to a gathering since he had been appointed deputy, though it never quite felt as if that time would come. However, it had, and there was nothing the white tom could do about it. With those still injured from their battle with the Dark Forest, he hadn't wanted to get his lives just yet, and risk depriving his clan of their medicine cat. Flicking his gaze back to find Nightstalker, he gave a small nod to the tom as he broke off from Shadowclan, leaving them to disperse at their leisure. He looked at the Greatrock momentarily before leaping up onto it, doing so carefully to ensure his small stature didn't cause a scene of him falling. With a brief glance to the others upon the rock, he dipped his head in greeting. There were new faces... it seemed Shadowclan was not the only one to lose a leader.

Shadowclan may now enter the gathering!

Fuzzypaw walked after Frostgaze as he entered the clearing. So many cats, so many Clans, it was complete chaos. The fluffy brown tabby spotted another cat, which it was mentioned in passing that she was another medicine cat.

“Hello,” he greeted Fawnshine with a trill. “I’m Fuzzypaw. Basilbloom is my mentor, what’s your name?”

He hadn’t had the chance to meet the other medicine cats. Perhaps he would get to tonight! Fuzzypaw wore a goofy grin as he faced the others behind him. This was it, when all of the Clans would get together.

Fuzzypaw of ShadowClan is speaking to Fawnshine. All MCs and MCAs are especially welcome to say hello!

Webshadow had almost declined his place in the Gathering, wanting desperately to stay within camp instead. He had never liked the whole affair, and now he had a host of excuses to keep him from going– but he had an even better reason to follow his Clanmates to Fourtrees. Frostgaze would be leading them, and he wanted to be there to support the tom. So, he filed into the clearing alongside everyone else, and only when he reached the hollow did he realize how quick his breath had come. There hadn't been a proper Gathering since– he squeezed his eye shut and forced himself to swallow a steadying breath. Picking out a spot not far from the ring of deputies, where Frostgaze could surely spot him if he needed, the dark tabby hunched his shoulders and curled his tail around his paws as he sat.


Dayquill lagged behind ThunderClan as they joined the clearing, eyeing the treeline through narrowed, anxious eyes. The only Gathering he'd been to had been an explosion of terror and violence– was every Gathering like that? Maybe not with the Dark Forest, but what was to stop the other Clans from deciding they didn't want to hold to the truce anymore, from turning on their rivals while they were vulnerable under StarClan's peace? He shuddered, clinging to the back of the crowd as he searched for somewhere to sit.

Webshadow is open to talk.
Dayquill is open to talk.

Snowfoot took a deep breath at the sight of Fourtrees. Memories flooded back to her, some of them innocent enough such as goofing off with Deerleap, but mostly she remembered the last gathering, when a terrified Snowpaw cowered in Frostgaze’s fur like a kit. Shaking the memory off, Snowfoot padded into the hollow and found a place to sit.

Snowfoot is open to talk to, though announcements will probably begin soon now that everyone’s here.
Blazepaw is talking to Stormpaw.

Shrikestar took a deep breath before he stepped forward on the Great Rock. It felt wrong for him to be the first to speak, but then again there were so many new leaders that it seemed that there were no more senior leaders to take the lead. It would have to be him to do it, then.

"Let the Gathering begin!" he called out, demanding the attention of the clearing. He waited for the chatter to die down, noticing all the eyes on him. This was just like gathering his own clan, just five times bigger. No reason to be nervous. "For those who do not know me, I am Shrikestar. Goldenstar has fallen ill and is no longer able to continue on as leader. I have already received my nine lives and appointed Smallbean as my deputy." Might as well get some good news out there. "Thanks to the change in seasons, the prey is running well again. WindClan again remains well-fed and strong." He remembered from previous Gatherings that it was good to let the other clans know better than to mess with their clan.

"Things should remain the same otherwise, but there is one change I wish to speak about." It was time for a serious change in WindClan's policies. He knew that not all of his own clan agreed with it, so he could only imagine what the other clans would think. He knew it was the right decision, though. "WindClan will no longer be accepting outsiders into our clan. All rogues and loners will be turned away, and any other clan cats will be returned to their own clans. No harm shall befall any cat, as long as you do not make yourself a threat." Time to see how that would go down.

Mottlerose chuckled as Foxpaw came to seek comfort from his mentor, noting at the plethora of cats. It was easy to understand how it all could be overwhelming, she herself was overwhelmed from her first gathering as an apprentice. It only flicked a memory for the tortoiseshell molly... Many of the warriors here would also be attending their first gatherings. The dark forest's hold had meant the true sanctity of the gathering was shattered, and meant that, if they chose, they would observe the evening from their camps. "You're more than welcome to sit with us. It's crazy to think that all these cats live in our forest, isn't it? And this isn't even everyone." She began.

"Remember how some of our clanmates stayed back at camp? Imagine, there are many other cats back at their camps too. So there's so many of us. It's amazing, but also a bit scary." She mused, chuckling as her thoughts were simply rambled into the air. "But the best part of it all... we all swear to keep peace tonight. So even with all of us? It'll be safe. Whether you sit with Comfreyheart and myself, or you go say hi to some other cats." She purred, pressing a kind nose to the top of Foxpaw's head. That was one thing that her time was giving her - wisdom. It was the dark forest who had broken the peace of the last gathering, not a true clan cat. Especially given they were gone... it would be safe.

Mottlerose is speaking with Comfreyheart and Foxpaw!

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Maplespring gave a nod at Owlshriek's comment of when he came around. "I think I was born just before... Maybe just after, I'll be honest, I don't remember. But all I can remember is them being here... and like you said, the starless sky." It was certainly interesting, looking up to see a twinkling pelt that once had just simply been pitch black. Part of her had found it hard to sleep the first few nights they had returned, as all she could do was stare at the dim light. But now, it seemed to simply lull her to sleep within her nest back in Windclan.

She watched with curiosity as his attention seemed to drift, staring at the next clan to arrive. There was almost... frustration behind his gaze, and it was something that made her only more intrigued. It was to be a night of peace, and deep down, she hoped she wasn't speaking to the cat that could ruin this momentous occasion. Maplespring cleared her own concerns as he cleared his own head, however, returning to their conversation.

"No worries." She quickly replied in response to his apology. "Oh, I don't doubt. Shrikestar's comments on who could go essentially were whoever wanted to, as we all are sure the whole forest is interested in keeping peace and returning to normalcy." There were certainly a few warriors back at camp there to defend it, but nobody in their right mind would stage a takeover of a camp during the gathering. "As for Windclan... Goldenstar fell ill and lost her lives, so Shrikestorm has now become Shrikestar. Our deputy is now Smallbean." She said simply. "Aside from that... It's the usual newleaf bloom, apparently. Lots of prey, lots of new kits and apprentices. It seems like the forest was ready to rebound from the harsh winter and the way the Dark Forest restricted us. Any interesting news for Riverclan?" Maplespring returned the question, her head tilting with curiosity.

Her attention would break as she heard Shrikestar's call to begin the gathering, however. With a quick glance, she shrugged to Owlshriek. "I suppose I'll hear from your leader about news?" She then asked, her tone quieter to respect the leaders.