March Gathering 2023

Thornstalker nodded, though she didn't quite understand. She didn't know what was so interesting about Nightstar that you had to pay close attention to him. What was Tigershriek seeing that she wasn't? She probably would never know, and she wasn't going to ask. At least not this time. If she ran into him again then maybe she would. "Name's Thornstalker." She told him, getting quiet as the gathering started. "Just earned your warrior name?" She said to the tom after hearing Nightstar's announcements.

--

Tigerpaw wasn't expecting... well that. He opened his mouth to speak, to give at least somewhat of a decent reply until he was disturbed by another cat, green eyes turned to meet the appearance of his deputy. "Everything is fine on my end Smallbean." He responded to the deputy, before turning his attention back to Rowanpaw.

"Sorry for the assumption, you just seemed a little off when I approached." He wasn't sure if that was still the case or if the Riverclan apprentice was putting on an act. Part of him leaned towards the later. "I'm Tigerpaw, of Windclan, as I'm sure you already know." The scent gave away the clan so obviously but since the other apprentice included it he felt inclined to do the same. "It's a shame to hear you got taken by the twolegs.. A few of us were lucky to never have such an incident."

Blazefang’s world ground to a sudden halt. Silverwing wants to see me again! She doesn’t hate me! “Okay, um, back here in three days? I’ll be here at sunhigh. It’s really good to see you again, Silverwing.”
Blazefang is once again arranging to meet someone at Fourtrees.

Smallbean tentatively nodded, relief snuffing his worries as Rowanpaw and Tigerpaw returned conversation. "Yeah..." The deputy felt pity for Rowanpaw. To know that a normal gathering was a foreign concept was disappointing, not to mention how much of a disaster the last gathering ended up being. He was surprised to find that the Riverclanner was among those captured. He wondered how he could deal. The way he spoke made it seem like he was unbothered, he was appalled by his nonchalance. "Oh, well... I'm glad you made it back." He meowed, slowly.

When Rowanpaw paused to introduce himself it reminded him of how little formality he possessed. "Oh- Um- No worries!  I haven't even... introduced myself... I'm Smallbean, Windclan deputy." The introduction was aimed toward Rowanpaw. When Tigerpaw spoke up again, he nodded along to his words.

The familiar call signaling the gathering's official inception dragged his attention from the apprentices, and he began to weave around them. "It was nice to meet you... I have to go now, though... sorry. I'll umm..." He switched his gaze mostly to Rowanpaw. "I'll talk to you some other time." The words held no purpose to Tigerpaw; he'd probably be talking to him just the next morning to assign him to a patrol.

Waving his tail in farewell, he swiftly padded over to the deputies, placing himself on the far edge of the group, near enough to Poppyshine to hear the conversation. Unfixed gaze directed toward the clearing, Smallbean stared until he heard slight shuffling nearby. He turned, meeting the cat he recognized as Shadowclan's medicine cat. "Oh, uh... Burdockroot, is it...?" The words carried a slight tremble. The deputy was unsure of Burdockroot's stance on Windclan since the fall of the alliance. It was a medicine cat's job to stray from clan conflicts. He hoped that Burdockroot would heed the rule. "Um.. So, how has your night been...?" The question was forced, Smallbean felt that something had to be said.

---

Astershine greeted Forest with a smile. "Yeah, it has!" It made his chest feel warm and full when Forest expressed that he missed him too. "Oh, Nice to meet you, Pipsqueak!" The skyclanner offered the same smile in greeting to Forest's brother. Maybe he could befriend Pipsqueak as well.

With a loght-hearted wave of his tail, Astershine's attention returned to Forest. "Yeah, I haven't really been up to much! I'm part of Skyclan, so I usually just take care of my duties. We should uhhh... We should talk more! Y'know?" A voice in the back of Astershine's mind wanted to get closer to Forest. "Do you stay in the Twolegplace? Skyclan is right on the other side of the fence, in the pine forest." His words were hushed, so much so that Lightningpaw couldn't even hear. "We could meet sometime! Hang out, maybe!"


Smallbean has left Rowanpaw and Tigerpaw to sit with the deputies. He is now talking to Burdockroot
Astershine is talking to Forest and Pipsqueak

Nightstar's ear flicked towards Mottlestar as she leaned towards him conspiratively, no other part of his body showing that he was listening. Giving the she-cat a small, subtle nod, his thoughts started to fill with curiosity and concern. "Shadowclan! Let us return home!" He yowled, leaping from the rock with nary a moment to waste, his tail raised and high as he plowed through the crowd like he was untouchable.