October Gathering 2022

Stoatpaw perked up slightly at the mention of siblings. He didn't really have any family members, but he knew he couldn't just tell her that. It would only make their conversation awkward, and he wanted to avoid that at all costs. "No siblings, but I wouldn't mind meeting your some time! If they're any bit as great as you are then I'm sure we'd all get along." Stoatpaw's attention was drawn by the Shadowclan leader's announcement. Predators in Skyclan territory, huh? Something about that felt very familiar.

Stoatpaw is talking to Lightpaw

---

Leopardsun listened as Nightstar relayed their news and announcements. She wondered vaguely what they would think of the new policies, sought out the apprentices in the crowd as their names were called, purred loudly as Honeylight's new name was acknowledged, and held her head high with pride as he officially declared her new position (and how strange it was, that it was still new when in the scramble to rebuild their lives it hadn't felt like it). The warning of predators had her remembering that she needed to arrange more scouting patrols- she couldn't keep doing them all on her own, but she didn't want any other warrior going alone; it was a balancing act. Surely they would run out of places to hide eventually.

(Of course not. Or if they did, it wouldn't last. If there was a way to be rid of them, some cat would have done it by now.)

As Nightstar wrapped up ShadowClan's news, ThunderClan's leader was quick to speak. So ThunderClan had lost a leader as well- a tragedy, and she felt a pang of sympathy. Mottlestar named her deputy and a single warrior, and relayed the rest of their news quickly and concisely. Leopardsun could certainly respect that.

"...I'm sorry for your loss."

The words were quiet. Whether they were heard or acknowledged wasn't up to her, but it felt right so she had spoken them all the same.

---

Nightdancer blinked as she was approached by another cat. "I-" She recalled her other, less-than-pleasant encounters with cats outside of ThunderClan, and resolved to be polite rather than making more enemies- with Roseburn, it hadn't gone so badly, but they had certainly gotten off to a rough start. "Nightdancer of ThunderClan. I don't mind."

She didn't feel like talking all that much, but it felt- nice, in some small way, to have company for a moment.

Mottlestar called her name, and this was a moment she was meant to take pride in; she held her head high and puffed out her chest and willed herself to feel it. To relish in the acknowledgement of her accomplishments, the name she had worked so hard to earn.

(The first of her siblings to become a warrior. Eggdrop didn't count, she had been a medicine cat; Nightdancer was first. The title was hers, not that it mattered now when there was no one left to challenge it.)

(The only one left.)

Though she stood proud, she wanted to shrink in on herself instead. She had been an apprentice for so long, and they wouldn't know what she had gone through; any cat who had seen her before would simply think she had taken far too long.

She didn't want to speak, but the silence was burning like fire under her fur. "Your name is... Quite pretty." That wasn't much of anything, even if it wasn't offensive, so she tried again. "Is it true you climb trees?"

Genuine curiosity shone through in her voice this time. Learning was her first love, after all.

(The first that was still with her, if nothing else.)

Nightdancer is talking to Moonlily!

Perchstar blinked in slight surprise to see Mottlerose on the rock again. She had been up here just last month... had Minnowstar not recovered from his sickness in so long a time? A creeping fear began to sneak into her stomach. Either way, she nodded to the other leaders as they arrived, Shrikestar and Briarstar being the last two. After a little while of silence, filled only by the chattering of their Clans below, Nightstar took the initiative to start the Gathering. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised he would want to, given the little I know about him. I certainly didn't want to start the Gathering on my first foray as leader. She listened quietly to his announcements, merely flicking an ear at his mention of predator troubles. It seemed like RiverClan was not the only ones who had an influx of intruders during greenleaf. Still, since they shared no borders with the marshes, perhaps the problem would not pass over back to them. She was also unimpressed by the declaration of border-strengthening, but again, it was no issue for a Clan they were across the entire forest from.

Mottlerose spoke next-- no... Mottlestar. Perchstar's suspicions were confirmed at the gentle, motherly voice naming Minnowfin by his old name. At least he wasn't dead. Still, the friendly deputy who had listened to her when no one else had... he had deserved his time as leader. It was disheartening to hear that such a bad illness had forced him to step down. She lowered her head briefly, allowing herself that one moment to feel grief. The rest, she could feel later. Shrikestar's brief announcements passed in one ear and out the other. Then, it was her turn.

"RiverClan is also faring well," Perchstar announced, her face perfectly neutral. No trace of sorrow remained from the one moment of head-bowed silence. "We have no shortage of fish, and no shortage of warriors." She turned her head, meeting Mottlestar's gaze for a moment. "We offer our condolences for Minnowfin's sickness, and hope that he has a peaceful retirement." No new apprentices or warriors... her announcements were brief, short and simple. There was no need to make a declaration of strength or of her border policies. Those were irrelevant to the larger portion of the forest as long as the Code was being followed. Dipping her head to signify that she was finished speaking, Perchstar stepped back among the other leaders, awaiting Briarstar's words to conclude the Gathering.

--

Flutterpetal smiled happily at the tom's friendliness. "Honeylight is such a wonderful name too!" he purred. "It really fits you. If you'd be willing to teach me, I'd love to learn how to make them! But if right now isn't a good time, we could always meet later." He glanced over to Adderdawn, noticing the amused grin on his brother's face. He nodded at him in thanks for saving the poppies from being blown away. His own small, black paw moved for them, rolling one over to Honeylight's larger golden feet. "These are poppies. They're the flowers of the same plant that poppyseeds come from. WindClan has a lot of pretty flowers! They grow out in this big field in the territory. Wish I could show it to you." His tail flicked in annoyance. Border this, borders that... it would be so much better if everyone could see the flowers. Why couldn't they just share? He shook away the thought with a smile. "Here, you can have a poppy if you want! There's plenty more where that came from back in the field. I learned a lot of flowers from Batsong... she's the medicine cat. They know a lot of the flowers. Maybe you can try asking your medicine cat about them sometime! I'm sure they'd love to teach you." His voice was warm and friendly. "I'm sure you'll learn in no time!" He stopped talking when the announcements began, cheering when he recognized both Honeylight's name and his brother Adderdawn's. This tom must be around the same age as them, then. He loved Gatherings... the one time he was allowed to be friends with every other kind of cat. Why couldn't the Clans be like this all the time?

Flutterpetal is speaking with Honeylight and Adderdawn.

Woolywing shook his head with a smile. "No worries, really. I should expect to be approached by cats at a Gathering!" He gave a light laugh. This was his element. Polite conversation with someone who didn't know him, had no expectations from him. WindClan, it seemed, produced very well-mannered warriors. Though he did have irrational grievances with Flutterpetal, he kept that to himself. He opened his mouth to say something about Whisperear's mentoring skills, he was interrupted by something bumping his right wing. He turned jumpily, ears alert, and sniffed. Even with all the tens of cats at the Gathering, there was no mistaking this scent. "Yarrow!" He exclaimed, just barely disguising the worry in his voice. He was worried; Yarrowblossom had just recently fought off Greencough. He was weak and in Woolywing's opinion still sick, was he really okay to come to gatherings now? Who knew what kinds of illnesses he could catch, with all these cats here... But he held his tongue. Friendly as Whisperear was, he doubted Yarrowblossom wanted his physical condition revealed to them. He'd always been adamant about Woolywing not worrying about him, anyhow. So he settled for a gentle press of his head to Yarrowblossom's shoulder as a greeting before he turned back to Whisperear.

"It sounds wonderful. RiverClan doesn't have many trees either, really. Willows and the beech copse, perhaps, but it's mostly reeds and streams. I like it the way it is, having seen ThunderClan across the river I don't think I'd be able to hunt with all those trees. Especially not now, I'd be bumping into things!" Okay, perhaps that was a bit of an overstatement. His whiskers (and now his wings, too) usually warned him before he bumped into anything. Still, running at full speed, it was better to be somewhere open.

Driftcloud padded into the Gathering with the rest of SkyClan, settling down in a comfortable spot to listen and watch. There were some new faces on the Great Rock this moon, piquing their interest. Loafing now, they licked their chest fur idly as they listened to the announcements.

Driftcloud is open to talk to!

---

Birchpaw followed Batsong in to the Gathering, making their way towards the sandy spot that the medicine cats had claimed under the Great Rock. They had grown a bit, their legs longer, their form more filled out as they aged. Birchpaw smiled in greeting to the other medicine cats, sitting down next to Batsong to listen quietly to what the leaders had to say.

Birchpaw is open to talk to!

Fuzzybelly sat at the base of Fourtrees. He scanned the crowd, looking for familiar faces. Truth being told, he was on the mend from a rather nasty cold, and he was hoping that no one would make a big deal out of it...

Fuzzybelly is chilling with the other medicine cats and is free to talk to!

Frostbite filed in behind Crimsonflame, her own silver pelt glowing warm under the leaf-fall sky. It was a miracle they made it this far, it felt like. It was peaceful, things were going well. Too well.

Asterpaw was with his father, and that was all she could ask for.

Frostbite is open to talk to!

Mintheart sauntered in with WindClan, spotting Twistpool. "Do my eyes deceive me? Stars, honey, I thoughts you was dead. Like seasons ago, dead. Wut'cho up to?"

Mintheart is enjoying finding all the old people and making everyone just marginally more uncomfortable!

Dandelionflight ran down into the clearing and watched her kits closely. She wanted to ensure they weren't too overwhelmed by the gathering. She watched from a little ways away as Willowpaw approached another apprentice. She smiled, happy that her kit was meeting new cats, and turned to Splashtail. She twined her tail with his and waited for the gathering to begin.

Dappledlight followed her other clanmates to the gathering, following Snowfoot and Lightpaw. She was oddly tired and didn't feel like talking to anyone. She found a quiet spot away from the noise and lay down.

Torrentpaw wandered through the crowd, looking for anyone to talk to. It was so boring. He wanted to find another apprentice to talk to, but couldn't. Aha! Rowanpaw was prowling through the crowd. "Hey Rowanpaw! Whatcha doing?" He meowed.

Drizzlepaw looked toward their family as they walked to the gathering, a bit nervous. They didn't know what to expect. The bustling crowd scared them. He kept close to Willowpaw and was startled to see her going up to another cat. He didn't quite know what to do. Should I go up with her? They scurried over careful to not get too close. He wanted to stay on the sidelines, there was a smaller chance of being talked to.

---

Dandelionflight is open to talk to!
Dappledlight is not open to talk to!
Torrentpaw has approached Rowanpaw!
Drizzlepaw is hiding near Leafpaw and Willowpaw!

\

"Oh, please," Her clanmate's playful nudge earned one in return and a soft huff, bemusement flashing in Brackenwing's dark green eyes for a moment. Silverwing had, she admitted, managed to worm her way into friendship. Or more like dragged Brackenwing into it. She was... glad of it.

Silverwing, it seemed, was enjoying making her anxiety spike with every word. Brackenwing reached out, flicking Silverwing with her tail in admonishment. The gathering was supposed to be friendly, and Brackenwing didn't trust that to hold up at all. Things had gone beyond sideways before, and she had no reason to trust that it wouldn't again over some unfortunate wording from a curious young warrior.

Thankfully it seemed that Dayquill was reasonable, and a little of the sudden tension left her shoulders at his words. "Well, we do have Smallbean..." She nodded in the direction of the deputies at the base of the great rock, where the aptly named Smallbean seemed to be in conversation with his peers. And Dayquill did have a point, Thunderclanners, it seemed to her, weren't overly noticeable compared to the other clans in size. Skyclan, however... She could see several silvery tabbies among the crowd, and their leader up on the rock was as large as they were too. "You think it's mostly fur? Not that I'm inclined to find out either way" The one-eyed tabby who confessed to murder wasn't in their ranks anymore, if previous announcements were to be believed, though Brackenwing's memory of that gathering was still hazy.

The leaders had began speaking, and her ear twitched as she glanced up at them, quietly taking in what they had to say. Little of it was of any importance to a Windclanner, of course, save Shrikestar's own announcements. And Nightstar, well, the less of him she saw around the borders, the better. Brackenwing was sure he was a good cat, but she'd rather her dignity intact than have him defend her from her own foolish clanmates.

Trufflesnap was here only to see the other ThunderClan cat. It had been a whole moon since they last spoke at the Gathering. Shoving through the crowd, she found her pelt hidden among the rest. She was sitting along. Perfect. As she almost reached her target, the leaders began speaking. Sitting down swiftly, Trufflesnap didn't waste time. Leaning to whisper in Beetleshade's ear, her eyes sparkled with delight. "If you're not too scared of the dark, meet me where we first met in two moonrises?" Her breath was soft, only so others around them couldn't hear. Trufflesnap pulled her head away immediately. With her luck, her stupid sister would somehow spot her in the crowd and question her.

Trufflesnap is speaking to Beetleshade.

Leafpaw flicked his tail as he saw everyhing happening unaware someone was watching him and willowpaw he kept his ears perked

leafpaw is on alert and interacting with willowpaw still while drizzlepaw is stalking him open for more interactions