July Gathering 2022

Nightstalker nodded a greeting to Mottlerose and Poppyshine respectively after he was satisfied with Smallbeans introduction. "I'm Nightstalker, of Shadowclan. It's nice to finally get a moment to greet all of you." The young Shadowclan deputy responded, dipping his head briefly. "I hope after what was the disaster of the last moon, that everyone is doing well." Building a good rapport amongst his peers would be beneficial, if they liked him they would be less inclined to think Shadowclan weak and attack them. But he was sizing up his competition, and he could certainly see that Windclan's pick of deputy was not the strongest, it would make them vulnerable.

"Right. Of course." Adderpaw responded, his mew stiff and firm. The tabby's tone made his hackles rise in an instant, eyes narrowing to regard the larger tom. There was more he wanted to add on, a new sense of confidence rising at his irritation, when he was asked a question. Adderpaw's ears twitched in thought, and he was silent for a moment as he deliberated over whether or not he wanted the other cat to be involved in the search for his brother. His moment of thought was, apparently, a moment too long, though; just as the slight apprentice's jaw was parting to say No. another cat arrived, short and silver-furred, and shaking worse than he did. Dark eyes flicked in the newcomer's direction; and again, Adderpaw was interrupted before he could speak.

This time, it was by something touching his flank– someone's tail. Initially, he wanted to startle, but it was only Goldenpaw. The other apprentice had arrived with his chin high, looking as regal as any apprentice could. Really, he looked more like a warrior, now– if a little small still. Adderpaw studied him for a moment, steady gaze flicking back and forth across his features as he spoke. Goldenpaw introduced himself first, then Adderpaw, which added somewhat to the tom's agitation. He found it hard to stay frustrated with Goldenpaw, though; He's just helping. Turning, Adderpaw refocused on the cats before them.

"I'm alright. You don't have to worry." The ruddy tom assured. The protectiveness in his companion's tone made Adderpaw's thin tail bristle; not out of irritation of any sort, though. At the moment, that was all reserved for the tabby and his friend. Though it wasn't that, he couldn't quite place what it was making his fur stand on end, either. Stepping closer to Goldenpaw, he added, "They weren't bothering me. We just–" honeyed gaze narrowed, serious and thoughtful, "ran into each other." Adderpaw nodded, whiskers twitching slightly, and kept his level gaze on the other pair of toms.

Adderpaw is talking to Hawkpaw, Goldenpaw, and Rainpaw.

-- Murkypaw, Shadowclan, A shorthaired tall and lean smoke tortoiseshell she-cat with yellow eyes
Murkypaw hadn't been expecting anyone to talk with her right away, much less a cat from another clan, so when a cat she didn't recognise sat down next to her, her ears perked in surprise. "Oh, yes, it's my first Gathering!" Murkypaw purred in response, she managed to keep herself calm and collected, despite excitement bubbling all up through her. "Murkypaw of Shadowclan." The silvery she quickly introduced herself. "...If you couldn't tell from my scent."

She was about to bring her focus back to the Gathering when a dark-furred cheerful cat bounced up to her, catching her a little off-guard. She broke into a tiny giggle as the fellow apprentice started asking her tons of questions. "My name is Murkypaw- also a new apprentice-, I'm from Shadowclan, my leader is the small fluffy white tom, Froststar." She breathed a sigh at the end of that sentence. Hopefully I answered everything...
Murkypaw is talking to Beetleshade and Flutterpaw!

--Hickorypaw, Riverclan, A thick-furred shorthaired large brown ghost tabby tom with orange eyes

Quote :

Hickorypaw practically bounced into the large area that was known as Fourtrees. There was no way the large tom could keep his pure excitement contained. Bright orange eyes gleaming, the ghost tabby tom sat down within his clan's little group, keeping an eye out for cats he might want to brag to... The all-amazing Perchstar was his mentor after all! This obviously meant the tom was destined to be the greatest warrior in all of the five clans!
Hickorypaw is open for conversation!

--Peach, Kittypet, A mediumhaired oriental mostly-ginger tortoiseshell van with light green eyes
Peach's features seemed to light up as soon as the longhaired tortoiseshell tabby stepped up towards her. Green eyes shining, the oriental she-cat seemed to take no notice of any annoyance in the heavily-scarred wild cat's voice. "Oh! My twolegs let me out on purpose! I'll be back before they wake up!" Peach purred. She then flicked an ear as a darker she-cat approached her, seeming much more warm and welcoming... Not like that'd effect Peach's actions. "Me? Hurt anybody?" She laughed at the thought. "I don't even think my grandmother did that!" Of course, Peach didn't exactly know her grandmother, she died before Peach was even born, but she still thought positively about her, especially with what stories her mother told.

"Hello Comfreyheart, I'm Peach, by the way!" She purred. "I'm quite comfortable here, and I'd love to talk with both of you!" Peach glanced at the tortoiseshell tabby again. "Are you okay?" She sounded a little concerned, reaching out towards the scars all over the she-cat's body. "You have so many! Not good at fighting?" She joked. The strange wild cat was also quite large... Stomach-wise, but she decided not to mention it... Well, at least while she still had control over her words and wasn't rambling.
Peach is being confronted by Forestfire and Comfreyheart!

At his light teasing, her heart hammered in her chest again and her ears grew hot, and she forced an awkward chuckle, struggling to meet his gaze. "S-Something wrong? Me? Never!" The molly internally spat at herself, wishing to escape from her body as she realised how odd she was acting, coupled with the stutter. Her mind whirred as she tried to figure out an out to her less-than-subtle behaviour as he reassured he was joking. As if on cue, Thistlemask immediately relaxed herself - although, if anyone had an ear to her chest, her heart was still clearly thumping - and grinned, swishing her tail over her paws.

"Convincing performance, right?" Her voice was a coo, and she hoped that the tom was not of some incredibly high level of intelligence, or else this was going to get significantly worse. Figuring that changing the subject was probably her best bet, the molly latched onto it instantly, inwardly thinking that this might be a good way to vent her frustrations anyways-- a ShadowClan tom couldn't exactly dob her in to her clanmates.

"We're doing fine, at least better than some other clans," she snuck a look at Briarthorn on the stone, thinking back to her conversation with Crimsonflame. "It is taking Minnowfin forever to get his lives though, which has certainly been interesting. I wonder if he's telling the other leaders or not..." The mollies thoughts trailed aloud, and she shot him a sharp glance, realising she probably shouldn't be revealing intimate details like this, especially if her own leader hadn't yet. It was just difficult managing these thoughts with no-one to talk to, her only friend being the deputy and mate to Minnowfin, meanwhile the tom she had sat next to had no stake in ThunderClan's leadership- it wasn't like he would turn his back on her for it.

Thistlemask was a little concerned however, and acknowledged she should probably cover her bases with Duskflight. "I said nothing, by the way. I don't particularly want to get my ears clawed off by Mottlerose."

Thistlemask is talking to Duskflight!

---

Having mostly been fixated on a blade of grass on the ground, Grebepaw was truly up to absolutely nothing. And she was miserable for it. Has an apprentice ever left a gathering before it's started just because they're bored? I can set a new record, she thought with nothing short of sarcasm, wishing her mother or brother had been in attendance. Oh wait, no, Owlshriek can't come, because he's a fish-brain. The apprentice sighed, beginning to slump over, head resting on her paws, when a voice suddenly chirped nearby. She shot up, invigorated at the interaction, and turned to the tom to introduce herself in turn.

His excitement was palpable, and she felt a little sorry for him, having been here for longer and seeing there was nothing to be so enthusiastic for. As much as she wanted to deliver the sad news of gathering's being less interesting than picking ticks off elders, the molly was aware that there was no way she could disappoint the other apprentice, and decided to suck it up and match his energy. "Hi Lichenpaw! I'm an apprentice too. My name's Grebepaw, I'm from RiverClan." The bicoloured apprentice wasn't literally bouncing on her paws, but her tone was chipper. "How are you, on this fine night?"

Grebepaw is chatting with Lichenpaw!

“Thanks for the compliment,” Blazefang mewed. “To be honest though, I’m still sort of figuring things out. A lot of changes have happened recently, after all. And yes, I’m sure you’ll be a warrior soon!” At the next piece of news, though, Blazefang startled a bit. “Wow, already? Can you point them out to me?” Her heart fluttered a bit at the thought. Her nieces and nephews were right here at Fourtrees with her! Another feeling nagged at the back of her mind, too, but she couldn’t quite put her paw on it.

Blazefang is talking to Stormpaw!

The last Gathering had been a disaster. Thalia was sure that no one was under any delusions about that entire mess- StarClan themselves had rained hail upon the forest, after all. Still, she followed the well-worn path to Fourtrees and prepared herself for a long and- stars willing- uneventful night.

Thalia is open to talk to!

---

Leopardsun wasn't sure why she followed the rest of ShadowClan into the Gathering rather than turning around and returning to the safety of her own territory, but she did. Unlike last time, though, there was no tingling feeling of excitement- it was, instead, replaced with a lingering sense of dread.

Leopardsun is open to talk to!

---

Nightpaw's first Gathering had certainly been interesting- she had wanted to learn about the other Clans, and had learned far more than she had wanted or needed to- but she could only hope that her second would let her actually learn about the clans' leadership. The last Gathering had descended into chaos too quickly for her to actually understand much of what was said.

Nightpaw is open to talk to!

Rookfire padded behind Froststar. Last gathering, RiverClan and SkyClan seemed to have a lot of tension in the gathering, compounded by the issue of a pregnant queen giving birth in the middle of the gathering. Most likely to stress, Rookfire had mused. Now, SkyClan seemed to have a new leader - the queen who gave birth last gathering, it seemed - and tensions between the two clans seemed to have dropped. SkyClan's new leader probably gave RiverClan what they wanted - Beechfang's execution.

He didn't know how to feel about that, honestly. Beechfang was... troubled, but she certainly seemed to have changed since he had last seen her. At the same time, her personality didn't seem to shift at all. She had spats with other medicine cats before, so it didn't seem very out-of-character for her to go overboard against a medicine cat she'd butted heads with. It was honestly scary that a cat he knew, a cat who he had a good relationship with, murdered a medicine cat. Gazing at SkyClan's ranks, he didn't see Beechfang's face anywhere. I guess she's gone for good.

Gazing at the clearing where the medicine cats gathered, the black tuxedo scanned the area for new faces. There seemed to be one new face, somewhat young but old enough to have trained to warriorhood. The silver molly seemed unsure of herself too, though it seemed like the other medicine cats were treating her nicely enough.

"Um, sir?"

The voice of another she-cat caught Rookfire off-guard. "Yeah?"

"It's kinda... creepy when you're looking at my sister like that," Kitespring said. "Could you please..."

"Say no more," Rookfire said, turning away from the silver molly. "I was just wondering who was replacing Cloverheart as RiverClan's meddie, but there's no harm in looking away now." Since this dark ginger she-cat smelled like fish, and said that the cat he was gazing at was her sister... "So, you're the sister of a medicine cat, huh?"

Kitespring nodded nervously. "Um... yeah," she said. "I think the role of medicine cat would be perfect for her. She... she needs it."

Rookfire nodded. "My name's Rookfire, by the way," he said, smiling. "The medicine cat before Basilbloom. See the tortoiseshell over there?" The black tuxedo pointed to Basilbloom in the crowd of medicine cats. Technically, she was his apprentice, but he didn't ever get the chance to ever train her before he got captured by Twolegs.

"I see her," Kitespring said. "My name's Kitespring, by the way."

Rookfire nodded at Kitespring, gazing up at Smallbean. From captured, to becoming deputy of WindClan... it definitely seemed like a lot for someone who had as many nervous breakdowns as him to handle, but Rookfire felt hopeful that he'd hold it together. Turning back towards Kitespring, he realized that she had begun watching the deputies up there as well, seemingly focused on one of them in particular. "Hey, who are you lookin' at?" the black tuxedo teased.

Kitespring's fur got hot. "Um... um... no one! I wasn't looking at anyone!"

Rookfire chuckled. He knew that she was lying, but he knew to hold his teasing. She probably wouldn't react well to that sort of thing. "So, what do you like to do in your spare time?" he asked.

Kitespring blinked. "Well..." Should she say it? She barely knew him. He seemed nice enough... "I like organizing flowers in cool patterns. And creating my own stories." Stars, she said it. This was terrible. Terrible, terrible, terri-

Rookfire's eyes widened. "Hey, I have a cat you might want to meet," he said. "Her name is Thalia. She actually makes flower crowns. Maybe you two could talk about flowers or something."

Kitespring nodded. Thalia... That was an interesting name. She made flower crowns? "That sounds... interesting," she said. "She's a member of ShadowClan, right?"

"Yeah. And I think... she came to the gathering. You should go talk to her. Say that I recommended you or something."

Was that something that Kitespring wanted? Maybe, if she learned how to make flower crowns, she could give one to Poppyshine. That seemed like a great idea. But... talking to other cats... "Um... yeah. I'll go do that." Looking around, she turned back to Rookfire. "Hey, Rookfire, what does Thalia look like, by chance?"

"She's a dilute calico she-cat with amber eyes. She wore a flower crown to the Gathering, actually, so she should be easily to find."

"Okay," she said, giving Rookfire a curt nod. "Thanks, Rookfire." Padding towards ShadowClan's side of the camp, she looked for a cat wearing a crown of flowers on their head. Noticing the cat that Rookfire was talking about, the russet-furred she-cat smiled at her. "Hey, Thalia," she said awkwardly. "Rookfire, um, told me a bit about you. Could I... learn about how to make flower crowns?" Was that too blunt? That was too blunt. She regretted literally everything as soon as she did it. It was going to turn out absolutely terribly, wasn't it?

Kitespring is talking to Thalia!

Rookfire was talking to Kitespring, but now is open to talk to!

Mottlerose collected the names of the other deputies as they spoke. Smallbean of Windclan, Poppyshine of Riverclan, Nightstriker of Shadowclan. A quick glance around let her know that it seemed no Skyclan deputy was in attendance tonight, although that was made obvious by the figure that now was atop the Great Rock with the other leaders. Her head dipped with the respect given to any deputy of any clan, and a smile stayed gently on her face. "Mottlerose of Thunderclan. It's nice to meet you all." She purred.

It was strange being apart from her clanmates, and her gaze drifted out to survey them more often than she thought it would. It wasn't nearly out of any distrust for ther clan, she kenw they'd behave without even asking. But no, it much moreso was the idea that she was so used to being out there with them, typically with Thistlemask or Comfreyheart. But instead, the she-cat found herself set aside from the rest. She'd hopefully make friends with those who sat with her tonight. "I hope there's peace found in all of your Clans. It's been a particularly chaotic last few moons." Mottlerose said in well-wishes.

Mottlerose is talking to the deputies!

"Yep, Dandelionflight!" she responded, a smile forming on her face. "What's ShadowClan like?" Dandelionflight questioned. She didn't know much about the other clans.

---

Dappledlight watched Lightpaw run off through the crowd and flicked an ear towards Snowfoot as she began talking. She laughed under her breath at her sister's comment. She kinda did sound like an elder.

---

Dandelionflight is talking with Roseburn!
Dappledlight is sitting with Snowfoot, but is open to interaction!