October Gathering 2022

A voice sounded near to her, and Dovesight opened her eyes to see Fawnshine had joined her. She gave a small, half-hearted smile before she spoke. "I'm doing well, now. Thank you. I'm sorry I didn't go to the meeting. I probably could have managed, but Poppyshine and Perchstar decided otherwise."

She inclined her head to where the deputies and leaders sat, eyes fixed mainly on Poppyshine. She chuckled slightly before turning her attention back to Fawnshine.

"Is everything alright with ThunderClan? I noticed Eggdrop isn't here, is she alright?" Her brow furrowed as she spoke of Eggdrop. It wasn't like her not to attend, so she was a little worried.

Head low and eyes lower, Smallbean entered the gathering alongside the rest of Windclan. There wasn't anything in particular to be worried about this moon, at least on Windclan's end, thank the stars. Hopefully the same thing could be said about the other clans too.

Smallbean had gotten pretty good at avoiding cats on his way to the Great Rock, but it seemed that watching your paws instead of watching where you were going was the perfect way to bump into someone. Great. Sighing, he looked up and met the eyes of a grey she-cat. "Oh, sorry about that." He said, backing away. Normally, he'd end it there and be on his way, but he realized that he had time to talk, and Skyclan still hadn't arrived. Maybe this would be a good oppertunity to practice his conversational skills. He'd start with an introduction, making sure to avoid the mistake he made when talking to Nightstar. "I'm Smallbean... from Windclan." If he was careful with his words, this should work out just fine.

Smallbean has bumped into Crowspirit
Asterpaw has not yet arrived

Blazefang perked up as she saw a face in the crowd. Hawksomething, another nephew of hers! She knew Dayquill was probably expecting to see her tonight, but she didn’t see him yet so she figured she’d introduce herself to her nephew. Confidence boosted by her success last moon, Blazefang walked over.
“Hi,” she mewed. “I’m Blazefang of WindClan. You don’t know me, but I’m your mother’s sister. What’s your name? Hawk…?”

Blazefang has approached Hawkshriek.

Mothpaw walked close to her mentor as they entered the clearing. There was a certain feeling of anxiety that swelled in her chest at just seeing how many cats there were, at the overwhelming scents and sounds. For the first time, she wanted to curl up and hide away instead of interact and learn. In fact, she even froze on her way in, paws digging into the ground as an alarmed look widened on her features. Her ears flattened against her head, the green eyes wide and searching among the crowd with panic. It felt as if there would be little solace, even if she clung to her mentor. That wasn't an option for the young molly, though, as she wasn't a kit. She would have to deal with it. Swallowing hard, she gave a nod to her mentor, before honing in on a familiar face. Sablepaw.

"Hey, Sablepaw. ... Can I sit with you? It's a bit overwhelming here." Maybe she'd branch out soon - but for the time being, she'd stick to the familiar.

Mothpaw is scared, and decided Sablepaw is her comfort buddy!

---

Minksplash found herself towards the back of Riverclan's crowd, not particularly keen on interacting during the gathering. But at the same time... there would perhaps be a chance she got to speak with the same Thunderclan molly she had met last time. So, instead of fully charging into the clearing, Minksplash hung back towards the edge of the trees. She would serve as a sentry, keeping watch for any predators that may have opted to try and test their luck...

Minksplash is waiting for Comfreyheart!

---

Mottlestar adjusted slowly to her position upon the Great Rock. While the other leaders seemed a bit intimidating to interact with, at least there were some familiar faces just below. So, the small tortoiseshell settled onto her paws, hanging them just over the edge of her new position at the gatherings. Peering over the edge, she gave a prrt~! in greeting. "Smallbean, I hope all is going well! And if I caught your name... Leopardsun? Nightstar's new deputy~?" There was a much looser feeling in her chest at interacting with them. It still felt as if that was her position to be in. There had been a trend of rather antisocial leaders during the gatherings, and that was something that Mottlestar was keen to disrupt a bit. After all, the gatherings were for interacting with everyone. Why couldn't she as well? And hopefully, it'd give the added benefit of giving Thistlemask some comfort.

Mottlestar has done a little peekaboo and is saying hi to the deputies!

Dovesight's eyes went wide as Fawnshine spoke. Eggdrop was missing? That was a troublesome thought at best. What if something happened to her? Why would she leave? Surely she wouldn't abandon her own Clan, would she?

"Of course we'll keep an eye out for Eggdrop. I hope she makes it home safely."

It seemed he wouldn't be getting that conversation, instead he would be comforting, at least trying to comfort, his fellow apprentice. With a quick sigh he turned to Mothpaw. "Sure, I can understand that, I'm not too fond of this situation either, but you'll have to get used to it at some point." Sablepaw sat down, resigning himself to a mediocre evening. He had to admit, if only to himself, that he was relieved Mothpaw wasn't ready to meet the other cats, it had given him an excuse to do the same. As Iceheart approached, Sablepaw perked up slightly. "Hello, Iceheart. It's not too bad, attending gatherings is going to be a constant for me after all." It was easy for him to say that, but the warrior's presence had already gone a long way to ease his nerves.

Sablepaw is talking to Mothpaw and Iceheart

It was another gathering, which meant another chance to meet new cats and potential friends. Blazefang was off on her own again, meaning Silverwing was alone until she could find Brackenwing. She hadn't joined the warrior on the journey to Fourtrees, opting instead to give her some space. As soon as she saw the Brackenwing however, that would change. She wouldn't be saved by Shadowclan this time, Silverwing would push her into conversations even if she had to fight for it like last time.

Silverwing is waiting for Brackenwing, but is open to talk

She dipped her head at Leopardsun, recognising her scent to be ShadowClan's - tail-tip beginning to flick a little nervously as she recalled any of her interactions with Nightstar, wondering if he had passed any of his knowledge of her heritage to his new deputy. Noticing the way she was quick to show kindness and formalities to her, she doubted he had, or that if he had it wouldn't be as great of an issue as she feared. Stilling her nerves, she dipped her head to the deputies, tightness in her chest loosening as she realised Mottlestar was peering down and talking to them too.

"I am Thistlemask. It's a pleasure to meet you both," as anxious as she was, she was sincere - Poppyshine had been a constant, and if Leopardsun was Nightstar's pick, she was bound to be good. But still, ever the quiet type, she couldn't find the words to continue the conversation and hoped one of the others would pick it up.

Thistlemask is chatting to the other deputies (and Mottlestar!)

Briarstar quickly padded into the gathering, swift paws carrying her directly from the treeline to the rock in the center. She nodded briefly the the deputies at the base of the rock, a polite greeting and nothing more, before she bunched her muscles and jumped atop to her place among the other leaders. She once again offered a brief nod to them out of nothing more than courtesy. Her Clan filed in behind her, taking their spots beneath the light of the full moon.

Crimsonflame padded into the gathering behind Briarstar, keeping close to Asterpaw. His jaw dropped as he realized where Thistlemask sat. So did that mean she was a deputy now? His poor sister seemed so out of place, looking as anxious as she was, although the other deputies seemed to treat her well. At least he was able to be certain that her Clan still treated her well if she was given the deputy position.

He turned to his son. "You can go and socialize with the other Clans if you like, but be careful not to share too much. If you don't know if something should be said, then don't say it. I'll be over here if you need me." And with that said, he took his place among the crowd.

He sat as close to the deputies as was socially acceptable, still within the crowd, but hopefully Thistlemask would at least notice him. If she did, he would give a smile of encouragement to her.

Crimsonflame is trying to get Thistlemask's attention, but is open to speak to.

Nightstar nodded to Perchstar, and held Shrikestars eye contact for the brief moment they shared before he turned his attention away. Mottlestar was the next to arrive, and he nodded to her as well before he went to talk to his deputy. Annoyance crossed the Shadowclan toms gaze before his attention was pulled to Briarstars arrival, he nodded respectfully to her as well before he continued to watch his clan members converse.

Willowpaw padded quietly into the clearing beside her clanmates. All the sights and sounds and smells were a bit overwhelming; she had never seen so many cats in one place before. She settled herself near the other apprentices and curled her tail around her paws, hoping one of them would come speak to her.

Willowpaw is open to speak to but is very shy.

Spottedfrog's eyes were half-lidded with exhaustion as she trailed the rest of SkyClan to Fourtrees. The late nights and early mornings training with her new apprentice had taken their toll, though there was no complaint from the she-cat to be heard... in fact, the responsibility for Willowpaw's training had done Spottedfrog well, giving her something to occupy her mind with that didn't involve... well... death.

She watched the little gray she-cat scamper ahead, and before she could get too far, Spottedfrog quickened her own stride. She spoke to Willowpaw, her voice low: "If you need me, I won't be far." She gave the youngster a quick, gentle headbutt and then separated, ignoring the flash of mottled fur in her peripheral vision that she knew wouldn't be there when she turned.

Managing to find a spot relatively close to the rock, but also far enough back that she wouldn't be crowded, the fluffy tuxedo she-cat settled down on her belly and waited for the Gathering to begin.

Spottedfrog is open to talk to.

Going to gatherings was far from Brackenwing's favorite thing to do, but her paws led her to fourtrees with the rest of Windclan out of a stubborn sense of obligation regardless. Windclan wasn't the first clan to arrive, and she hung back towards the edge of the hollow as the chilly leaf-fall breeze ruffled her short fur. She spotted Silverwing's pelt easily within the crowd, and debated padding forward. Some ought to keep her out of trouble... Though if Brackenwing had to guess, Silverwing would be heading her way soon enough. On one paw it was almost nice to have a clanmate by her side at these things, on the other, that clanmate was far too interested in getting her to talk to strangers for Brackenwing's sanity. Her paws would stay put for the moment, the marbled tabby content to watch what went on around her.

---

Wolfblossom padded into fourtrees, following after Briarstar and the rest of her clanmates. The breeze ruffled her long fur, and Wolfblossom was glad for the colder weather. The changing leaves above were pretty to look at, and she resisted the urge to bat at a leaf as it floated past her on the wind. She was quick to find a place among the crowd, not really aiming to talk to anyone in particular, but not wholly against the idea either.

Brackenwing knows dang well Silverwing is going to find her.
Wolfblossom is open to talk!