May Gathering 2023

Wolfblossom strode into the clearing at Birdstar's side. Skyclan wasn't the first to arrive, but Wolfblossom was relieved to see that most of the leaders had taken their normal places rather than sitting at the base of the great rock. Padding up to the other deputies, the pale she-cat offered a nod in greeting, tail curling over her paws as she sat.

---

Stoneheart padded into fourtrees with the rest of Skyclan, as usual finding a spot among her clanmates to sit. It wasn't that she disliked the other clans, she just preferred to be with her own.

---

Moondancer stalked after Shadowclan, choosing to sit at the farthest edge of fourtrees that she could. She despised going to gatherings, she despised seeing the other clans, and she only came to keep up appearances. Still, her face remained stoic, betraying nothing of her disgust at being present for this nonsense.

---

Graywind sat with her clanmates as well, glancing up curiously at the great rock. Birdstar seemed to be speaking with one of the leaders, while Wolfblossom sat below. She knew her name would be among those announced tonight, something to take pride in having become a warrior at last.

Beechfang and Brackenwing won't be attending.
Wolfblossom is open to talk.
Stoneheart is open to talk.
Moondancer is open to talk at your own risk if you aren't Shadowclan.
Graywind is open to talk.

Juniperheart padded in behind Wolfblossom and Birdstar, unusually quiet for a night like this. ThunderClan had arrived but she hadn’t seen Lichenwing yet, which both excited and worried her. While gatherings were the only time she could visit the tom without having to watch her back, she was in the presence of her entire clan, and his too. They needed to keep it cordial, though Juniperheart highly doubted Lichenwing even knew that what meant. The last thing she needed right now was his big mouth getting her into hot water— she supposed for the first gathering  in her life, she would need to put some space between the two of them.

Luckily for her, that was easier to accomplish than she had thought. to her right sat a cheerful looking Marigoldmask— a pretty SkyClan molly that Juniperheart liked but never got to speak with. This was what she needed, the molly supposed; friends that are in her own clan and don’t give her life more trouble than it needs. ”Hello, Marigoldmask!” Juniperheart greeted as she padded up to the molly, happy smile on her fuzzy face. ”I sure hope this gathering isn’t like the last one!”

Juniperheart is talking to Marigoldmask, but is still open to conversation. 




Toadlegs marched his way into Fourtrees, feeling a lot more confident than he looked. This was going to be his first gathering as a warrior (he had skipped the last one, which had turned out to be the right decision) and the skinny little tom could hardly contain the excitement. RiverClan was small now, which didn’t bother him, but gatherings meant many more friends than he could make back in camp. He wasn’t even sure if any of his clanmates liked him anyway, besides from Rowanpaw. Not even Perchstar seemed to enjoy him being around. 

Toadlegs is open to talk to!

Shrikestar did not feel comfortable as he led his clan into the Gathering. After speaking with Batsong, he knew something was going to happen, and he did not have the clairvoyance to know what would become of it. However, he trusted his medicine cat, and he trusted his ancestors. He could only pray that things would turn out alright.

He made his way to the Great Rock, climbing up onto it. He nodded to the leaders in turn, though any eye contact with Nightstar was incidental. "Good to see you back, Perchstar," he mewed evenly, noting that it felt more... correct to have all five leaders back on the Great Rock.

WindClan may enter the Gathering!

Harriertalon was not far behind Leopardsun and Nightstar, taking her new place at the base of the Great Rock. Black, fluffy tail swished around her paws as she nodded greetings to her fellow peers.

With scarcely any clouds peering over the Great Oaks, perhaps this gathering would fair well...

---

Batswarm took a careful seat beside his sister, Moondancer, without even casting a glance in her direction. Diluted calico fur was fluffed up, trying to keep out the chilly night air. Ears back, it was obvious the tom was not going to have fun tonight- or any night spent here, actually.

---

Followed close behind Mirkyripple was a stoic Firefly. StarClan had done its due diligence in reminding her to stay in her place under the full moon gathering; her scarred face aching slightly.

Normally she would be with Comfreyheart, Rosepaw, and Curlyfluff, though they were probably somewhere behind her this time.

Harriertalon has greeted the other medicine cats/apprentices!
Batswarm is open to talk to, but beware of his and his sisters bad attitude.
Firefly is open to talk to, but beware if you're not TC.

The first Clan to arrive after RiverClan was ThunderClan. Perchstar felt a somewhat unfamiliar warmth sink into her bones at the pleasant recognition of Mottlestar's face. There was an open expression of welcome on the other leader's face that somehow made her initial unease dissipate. "I am glad to be back. ...Thank you." They were, of course, not alone for long--meaning that any words Perchstar wished to say about their as-of-yet unofficial alliance would have to wait. Nightstar was the next to arrive, offering words that could have just as easily been genuine or derisive. It might have been a jab toward Poppyshine, but she remembered recently that the ShadowClan tom had been somewhat maligned for his previous inability to phrase what he wanted to say in a non-offensive manner. She could not tell one way or the other, so she settled for a dip of the head to his appearance. Her neutral expression remained, but she felt the lines around her eyes soften slightly as Birdstar made her way onto the rock soon after. Perchstar had been lucky to not get caught on SkyClan's territory, but hopefully any pawprints had not caused undue worry. "Thank you." She offered the SkyClan leader a slow blink of gratitude before their last colleague arrived. Shrikestar, to her momentary surprise, also welcomed her back. Was this all performative, or were they genuinely glad to see her back? She nodded to him as well, not sure whether or not to be glad about these new developments.

Though she was aware that Mottlestar and Birdstar were at least on the positive end of neutral toward her, she had never really spoken much with Shrikestar or Nightstar. The fact that there were no thinly veiled threats or failed attempts on her territory spoke well to both of their priorities. Perhaps the forest could have peace in these days, after all. Perchstar sat back and wrapped her tail around her paws, not wishing to start the Gathering before all the cats below could file in and converse with each other. But tonight... the glow of the full moon felt a little bit more soothing than it had before. Maybe she could put her anxiety toward previous Gatherings aside and allow Fourtrees to be the sanctuary that the code promised.

Perchstar has responded to all of the leaders.
Flutterpetal will be coming later once I feel like writing him. He's a bit late today.

The Thunderclan deputy calmly entered the clearing and took his place with the other deputies. He barely managed to stifle a yawn, his eyes watering slightly at the effort. He brushed it away with a quick swipe of a forelimb and nodded once in greeting to the other deputies. "Hi guys," He said rather pleasantly, which was weird for him. "Do you think Starclan would be offended if I asked them to start holding gatherings during the day?" He barely stifled another yawn. Notably, his mood had changed for the better despite his tiredness.

Darkspirit is just shooting the dirt with the other deputies.

---

His heart was racing and his blood roared in his ears. What a sight for sore eyes this was... despite it being so so familiar. Falconmoon wanted to run, to bolt out of here. Of course he couldn't, not without raising suspicions and everyone asking questions. His blue eyes wandered to the deputies and he spied Darkspirit. I am so unbelievably proud of you, kid. His eyes lingered, a smile twitched at his lips, but then he looked away. It would not do to be gawking at Thunderclan's deputy as a run of the mill Skyclan warrior.

His eyes searched for the others. He was careful not to let his gaze linger for long on anyone. Falconmoon took his place among the Skyclanners and waited for the gathering to start. He stared at Nightstar, full recognition back to him. He was there... he was only a warrior then but he'd been there. Shrikestar... You bloody traitor... But I understand why you did it. I understood even then. Maybe one day I can remove an ear of yours, but it will go no further than that. He surprised himself at his own... non-malice? Was that the word he'd use? He took in a deep breath to keep himself calm. He was Falconmoon. That's all anyone would ever see. It's all anyone had ever seen.

Falconmoon is open to talk to!


Bloodstrike is not allowed to come and doesn't want to.
Amberstone is not in attendance.
Lionstripe is not in attendance this time either.

Fernpaw looked at the clearing with wide eyes. She has never seen so many cats together. Were the clans really that big? The white-and-grey she-cat followed the rest of her clan and sat down, looking from the corner of her odd-eyes at the unknown faces.

Fernpaw is open for interaction for now.

[an initial OOC reminder:
There has been alot of guessing on discord what this May gathering will bring. And while I (clearly) love the drama of this stuff. Let's all agree right now to keep it strictly in character. Remember that this is just our fun chill hobby. No bad blood out of character over any of this at all! We are all friends ooc and lets keep it that way.

This is just meant to be fun and be alot of drama in character. While I love the activity it needs to stay strictly as that though. I am all for a fun time and drama like this but if any OOC shenanigans starts over this I will not hesitate to pull the plug on the whole thing. Period. Any ooc drama that comes of this and I will just end the mini plot and we will not continue this type of thing, we will go back to have nothing different happen at the gatherings. With all that in mind lets enjoy, and away we go.]


Batsong walked in with her clan.  She felt like she could hear her heart pounding with every step that she drew closer to where the gathering would take place.  Once they arrived at the clearing she paused taking a deep breath in.  Her nerves were crazy high right now.  She didnt like calling clan meetings : yet alone what she was about to do right now.  Speaking to the entire forest was probably on her top 10 worst things she would ever want to do.

The shy medicine cats eyes darted around all the cats now in attendance for the big day.  She wasn't even on the stage yet somehow it still felt like everyone was already looking at her even if this was not true yet.

Giving a quick glance to Smallbean she gave a little nod... she knew what she had to do. She knew the importance of the speech and presentation she was about to give and the weight that it would carry for potentially moons to come.

Glancing upwards the silverpelt above showed brightly and she sent a silent prayer to the ones up above.  She was doing what she believed to be the right thing and the right thing for the forest as a whole.

Her tummy got those awful butterflies you get right before you have to make a big speech or public display and aren't used to it yet.

Pushing her own feelings to the side she thought about the ones who were hurt because of what had been allowed to remain for far too long now.  All of them deserved justice and for that to happen she needed to put aside her fear of this.  She had the authority to do this and just needed to do it.

Spotting her friend Rosepaw nearby she went to her quickly.

“R-rosepaw?” she stuttered resting her forehead against the apprentices for just a brief moment.
“T-there is something I h-have to do now. I’m s-scared to do it but I k-know in my h-heart it has to be done.” she whispered quietly.

“I b-belive that everyone has the ability to c-change the world around t-them and t-try and make it a better p-place. Every once in awhile w-we get a b-big chance to make a b-big change. And e-even though the f-first steps might be terrifying… I t-think it is s-still my duty to t-try and do it to make the f-forest a s-safer place” she whispered quietly to her friend.

She rested her tail gently on her former apprentice's shoulder.  She had to say that to Rosepaw she felt.  She knew that this speech and presentation could make her be seen as different and so she wanted Rosepaw to know ahead of time that she was doing this because it needed to be done and that it was with the right intentions of making the forest better as a whole.

“IF … If things get ugly. I want you to just get back to camp.  But dont w-worry I don't think they w-will” she purred quietly.

Before she could change her mind or back out of this last second she approached the elevated platform where the leaders now all stood and one second later she was standing next to them all up on their platform having hopped up.  So Perchstar was back now?  She gave a little nod to the riverclan leader.  They may have gotten off on the wrong paw and for the most part Batsong was willing to let old things go.  “G-good to see you s-safe and back Perchstar” she welcomed the leader before turning to look over the crowd and masses now gathered.

WOW... So this is what leaders saw when sharing all their news?? It was terrifying.  She took a couple seconds just to breathe before stepping forward to take center stage glancing down at all those around.

"h-hello"

she stuttered in a barely audible voice

Everyone was still settling in or talking to their neighbor and alot of them looked to not even notice her yet... she flicked her tail uneasily... she had to get their attention and had to do so now.


"QUIETTTTTT!!"
If noise could have raised the sleeping elders in the farthest camp she would have been close to achieving such an effect.

"SIT DOWN AND SETTLE IN THIS GATHERING IS GONNA BE DIFFERENT FROM ANYTHING ANY OF YOU ARE USED TO!"

The moments that followed were an echoing silence that she let persist for a little bit just letting that sink in for all of them.

She tried actively not to think of how many eyes were now locked onto her and just chose to stare out above the crowd as she talked in a more normal voice but still loud enough for all to hear.


"For t-those of you who do n-not know me, I am Batsong: Medicine cat of Windclan.  I stand here before you tonight with troubling news of recently revealed code b-breaking"

she paused again just strategically letting that sink in for a second or two.

"Before we go any further, let me remind you that this is a g-gathering and will be treated as such. Meaning it will stay as a civil conversation to work towards a solution that benefits the entirety of the forest."

Her eyes specifically landed on some of her own unruly clanmates Jayfrost definitely included in that little reminder, Jayfrost had caused trouble before at gatherings and she would not have her clan do that: not on such an important one.  But the warning and reminder was for all just the same.  Mess around and get the full wrath of being smite by starclan with a big ol lightning bolt. And if you survived that, face punishment beyond that. Gatherings were a time of peace and she would not have this descend into anything but a peaceful resolve

"There will be no fighting at all and severe consequences for those involved in any fight will be considered.  Understood?" It wasn't really a question rather that of an order.  This gathering would remain civil and very steep consequences would enforce that.  This was needed given the situation about to unfold.
Now that that was settled she continued.

"Before you, standing up here with me are two cats who have broken the code and starclan has revealed this now"

she waited for any gasps or murmurs from the attendants to die down before flicking her tail continuing onwards.

"That's correct, two leaders were recently caught of code breaking and as such must be reprimanded and consequences must be discussed.  I will present to you what I believe to be fair punishments for each of these cats.  If enough voices however disagree with me, we can settle for a different punishment for either one of them."

It was time to begin her opening statement and present her case, as well as present to the forest what she believed to be fair punishment for each defendant.  Everything she had practiced and prepared for was building up to this.

"During the medicine cat moonstone gathering it was revealed from starclan our ancestors that Nightstar and Mottlestar have had a forbidden relationship that resulted in kits."

She put a front paw up wanting to maintain some level of order in the crowd after such a big reveal although she was certain alot of murmurs and whispers were already beginning to carry themselves through the crowds of attendees.

"Order! Silence!" her eyes narrowed awaiting the quiet to resume once the initial shock of two leaders in a forbidden romance was past.

“Mottlestar has confirmed that this Forbidden Romance, this code breaking did indeed occur”

"Tonight! We must decide the credibility of each of these two leaders and if they are justified in maintaining their current positions or not.  This one act of code breaking is bad and frowned upon in the highest level especially when committed by two leaders who should be held in higher speculation to the code than others.  However, currently I believe that this one action should be paired and cross examined with their other overall character which we will also dissect and examine tonight!"

Yes, that was a lot to take in for sure and she took a bit of a breath glancing at the two leaders in question.  She felt a little bad for Mottlestar, her reputation was that of a good leader, caring, protective of her clan, willing to help those in need.  She had made a mistake, yes but Batsong for one did not believe that her sentence should be overly harsh...

However, as her gaze shifted to Nightstar: her gaze could have melted a hole through his pelt if it remained on him any longer than it did.

His character was about the opposite of Mottlestar's which she would get to in just a minute here.

"It is important, that we not only consider this act of their code breaking when considering their consequences, but take into consideration who they are as a leader and what their past actions can tell us about them."

she continued.

"As lead prosecutor on this trial I will begin"

"However, In order to ensure a f-fair trial and that justice be maintained and that all have a voice. I would like to present speakers from each of the clans to come forward and speak to this trial once I have made my points.  If I call your name please step forward for questioning, right after I present my viewpoint"

and with that, the case of the year was underway.

She began with addressing the Thunderclan leader turning to face her.

"Mottlestar, while you have broken the code here, it is fair enough to say that as far as I know, your reputation as a fair and just leader precedes you.  Your actions of kindness, protectiveness over your clan and care towards many have helped to make this forest a safer and better environment for all.  As such, unless new evidence were to come to light in this gathering I do not see a reason to further prosecute you really.  I propose, unless anyone objects that your punishment and sentence for this crime be that you take a trip to the moonstone, admit to starclan what you have done and ask for forgiveness from the ancestors."

She gave Mottlestar a little smile of reassurance, Mottlestar wasn't the one Batsong was really after here and wanted to make that... somewhat clear, the kits from the romance were also not the target at all.  She was somewhat sorry that Mottlestar had to be drugged through all this but to achieve the results that Batsong wanted and to make the forest what she believed to be a safer place this was the way.  Furthermore, in case if there WERE to be underlying issues unknown to Batsong about Mottlestar this would now give thunderclanners the right to share these.  If new evidence were to come to light then her current stance on Mottlestars sentencing could be changed.  However, she doubted this would happen but all leads must be pursued to ensure that justice was met and that tyranny would not be allowed to grow in the forest.

Her attention turned to that of her utmost mortal enemy now. Someone she borderline still hated and definitely used to hate.  As a med cat she wanted to protect all life and while she had once saved Nightstars life from him bleeding out on the thunderpath she wondered now if she would repeat such actions...She hoped she still would as hard as it had been.

Regardless of such things her past hatred was turning more and more into just pure disgust and the slightest amount of pity for the creature that stood before her. Everything about him made her want to yeet him off the leaders stand right now herself.
"However, I believe that the penalties for Nightstar need to be much steeper as this is yet another sin in a long list of transgressions and grievances that he has against him.  A pattern is emerging that shows his true nature.  A nature that is not fit to be a leader and I will show such evidence now.  I remind the court and forest here that this punishment is not only about the forbidden romance and code breaking that he did here but also about a countless number of other grievances that s-show who he is as a c-character that need to be w-weighted upon"

she paused scanning the crowd till she found the cat she needed.

"Amberstone of windclan. Was attacked brutally and without mercy by Nightstar himself.  Her patrolmate lost an eye over it in what can only be described as a blatant disregard for the value of life of others.  Nightstar himself then dragged Amberstone back home nearly dead"

her tail lashed angrily remembering it all.

"And I am the one who pressed herbs onto my clanmates desperately trying to keep them alive to heal something that never should have happened in the first place!" she took a breath trying to calm down... she couldn't let her personal feelings get in the way of this, it was too important.

"I understand that Amberstone was trespassing at this time but the code states that such acts of reckless overkill are not to be used, especially after all the clans had just gone through at the time with all the twolegs and earthquakes.  One would expect that a cat fit to be leader could have handled this situation much much better.  This is an action I would expect out of an apprentice or maybe a new warrior... but for a leader to be maiming others for a simple border cross?" she shook her head disapprovingly.

"He had the right to attack, yes, and he had the right to defend his land and territory but to carry out such reckless overkill to the point of nearly killing both my clanmates is something we have not seen since the dark days when the silverpelt went out.  This type of behavior was not approved then and it should not be approved of now, especially not by a leader"  


"This unfortunately is not the only time that Nightstar has been recklessly out for his unquenchable thirst for blood however.  Later on, he tried to get another one of my warriors killed on the thunderpath.  I found them both nearly dead having been struck by a monster.  If I had arrived moments later both would be in starclan for good potentially.  I saved both of their lives that day however because of Nighstar's actions Brackenwing is now eldered and has a hard time walking.  She will never hunt, or be able to defend herself in the same way now due to the injuries caused that day.  Not only did he try and trick my sister into getting hit by the monster, he recklessly threw away one of his own nine lives in doing so.  Cats of the forest, a leader who wastes their lives like this is undeserving of the gift that Starclan gave them."

she shook her head again.

"These are just the KNOWN crimes that Nightstar has committed.  I urge anyone with more grievances to come forward tonight to further show what kind of leader Nightstar really is.  As such, the prosecution seeks the following sentence against Nightstar.  Seeking a MINIMUM one moon removal from his leadership position, during which time Leopardstar will temporarily take control of shadowclan.  At the end of the sentence, Shadowclan can reevaluate who they want to live under.  I believe that many shadowclan residents might rightfully be scared of Nightstar and rightfully so after seeing just a little of what he is like.  I hope that during this new period of his temporary removal, it will allow for Shadowclanners to see that they do not have to live under a dictator and tyrant in fear.  It will also give Night a chance to reflect on his actions and perhaps if he were to return one day to -star he can reevaluate how he might carry himself.  In addition to all of this,prosecution seeks the same suggestion as was mottlestars sentence, being he should also have to go to the moonstone and repent.  And furthermore, he should publicly admit wrongdoing and publicly apologize for all listed crimes here tonight.  Failure to publicly admit said crimes or failure to visit the moonstone will result in prosecution pressing further charges of Nightstar having to be removed from leadership for a longer period of trial time."


She took a long pause sure that there was an upcoming uproar of protests, agreements possibly, and many more banter and yelling...  she waited for that to die down, raising her paw once again for silence.

"as mentioned before though... I recognize I am only one point of view and above all else I want this to be fair and that in the end goal should be that justice is provided in the correct amounts, therefore: will the following cats from the clans please step forward to give further testimony and insight into such matters.  If you are called forward you and you agree to speak, know that starclan is watching, lies here are not only being dishonest to the entirety of the forest, but also to your ancestors in starclan."

[OOC:
alright so I can't exactly ask each of your cats questions one at a time even thought that is likely how it would have worked, but due to it being an rp and wanting to keep this moving imma ask them all at once this allows more flexibility for people to respond when they can : ) So... the timing is such that cats can respond sorta all at once ya know? but in character like they are not talking over each other  I think this is the best way to sorta do it since we had such awesome high number attendance in the sign up for this so thank you all for wanting to join this

So basically, what I am saying is, even if your character is asked a question like last in line you can answer right away/whenever you are free, I have tried to set it up so that it works as well as possible for that.

It should be noted that staff said it would be fine to do a court thing like this but they told me that since its rp that cats do not have to follow any such rules really since rp is unpredictable.  Which is great by me so: Your characters can answer the question, ignore the question, yell, kick, scream, eat dirt, throw dirt, play in dirt... or anything else you wanna do with them obviously, they are your characters. So what I am saying is you are not locked into the questions given. I just gave the questions as sorta a jumping off point but feel free to go in any other direction you want with it if you want. feel free to have them expand on the questions in any way you see fit as well.  I broke up the characters being called forward with a dashed line.  

Also I know Batsong might not know your characters name directly as they might not have interacted… and for awhile I tried to have her like point to the character next if they didnt know each other… but it got super hard to write and so like I reverted back to her just calling their names up.  The IC explanation for this being that someone is like helping her with the witness calling so yea, some of em have it this way some of em she points at you… This topic was written over quite a few sessions so yeaaa.

Also alot of people signed up for this and I do mean a lottttt!  It is totally possible I missed some of the characters who signed up and I am sorry if I did but it was alot to write.  If your character was missed it is nothing personal at all feel free to join in. Also some had alot of characters posted for it.  I may have just put one or two in.  Again, it is totally fine with me if you join in with all of your characters, meaning you do not have to have had the sign up to join in.  The whole idea of this is to have fun so yea.]


"First up, while my testimony is still fresh in your minds, Amberstone please step forward" she called her clanmate forward asking her to present the following answers... there wasn't exactly a ton of room left on the leader platform but as far as Batsong was concerned Amber could have Nightstar’s spot since he should be booted off this anyways... Well standing just below the leaders platform would be fine enough that all could see and hear her well enough.  That place right below the stand could be where all of the witnesses could come up to in fact.

"Right then, amberstone, can you describe the events in more detail of how Nightstar attacked you with his patrol and the language that he used while doing so please?  Feel free if you are comfortable, to also share the extent of overkill used against yourself and the patrol you had led "


------

"Next up to testify, I want to get a bit of an outsider's opinion on all this. And again since the goal of this is to make the entire forest a safe place for all I believe it still relevant to the case at paw.

Poppyshine of Riverclan please step forward" she tried to think of a fair question for the riverclan deputy... riverclan was not directly affected by all this per say,.. but they were affected in terms of sharing a forest with the shadowclan.

"As a neutral party, I think it is important to get an outsiders point of view on all this: given what you have heard so far, do you believe that a one moon temporary removal of Nightstars leadership status is justified? So long as he admits and apologies for the crimes  If not, what do you believe to be a just sentence of punishment in its stead?"

--------

Batsong gave a little sigh … all this public speaking was draining for her but she wouldnt stop till justice was served, this next witness would be harder she assumed, but as she had been trying to drive home the point of wanting this to be fair it was needed that shadowclan voices could be heard as well.

"Iceheart I believe it is?"

(In character Batsong doesnt know of Pine's recent name change.  If she did know she would use her new name for sure, but I have to keep knowledge distinction between my characters per the rules)

"please, step forward.  Having lived in the clan and serving as Nightstars more senior warriors, what are your thoughts on this? Do you believe him to have been a fair leader?"

her eyes narrowed, she sorta dreaded this answer... warriors were loyal to their leaders as they should be... but the sinking feeling that what if a shadowclanner really was concerned about Nightstars actions but was too fearful to speak out against him... well there was nothing she could really do about that... she was giving a platform now for that someone to come forward, taking the step was up to them really... assuming they even existed.

-----

Next was someone who was needed to sorta, verify what Batsong already had assumed.  Someone who would either make or break Mottlestar's case.

"firefly of thunderclan. Please, step forward."

"umm firefly, was it at all public knowledge in your clan what Mottlestar had done?" she asked a bit unsure how else to ask that.

"How does this news make you feel and do you agree with my assessment that Mottlestar is in general, a good caring leader and that this was likely a one off code breaking?  Adding on to that, do you agree with the sentence of her
having to visit the moonstone to repent?  Would you change the sentencing? And if so, to what?"

(an important OOC note here: Batsong has no idea that Firefly is actually Mottles daughter 0-0… Firefly can uhh maybe deduce some things here if Fly wants to…)

----------

"alright, I think it is important that a voice on the other side be heard who is also a medicine cat, Harriertalon please step forward"

"Harriertalon, as a fellow med cat, after hearing my testimony tonight about how brutal Nightstar attacked and how this has happened multiple times, do you believe, as a fellow medicine cat that someone like that should be the leader of your clan?"

[^^ in real court this is probably borderline leading the witness and the defensive lawyer would likely object it as such...but since I'm not a lawyer and since these are cats we are talking about who have no real courts ... full send!! Lead the witness batsong!]

---------
next was also someone she had recently met along with firefly at the border when she originally went to see mottlestar about all this...

"Curlyfluff, would you please step forward now?" Curlyfluff had been very kind to Batsong when she had gone over but she tried to stay neutral and keep friendships out of the business that was occurring to keep things professional.

"Curlyfluff, similar line of questioning that was given to Firefly, I would however ALSO like to know however, if the forest should be made aware of any other recent shortcomings or possible code breaks that have occurred under Mottlestar?" it seemed a fair enough question, as far as Batsong knew there was none but this was the time to air out anything that was out there.

----------

Next up she wanted more shadowclan representation, this was after all about their clan and the future that they would pick based on tonight's answers.

"You there" she purred pointing to Tawnyshadow
(Batsong has never met her IC so she doesnt know her name)
"Do you feel safe living under nightstar? Knowing now that he has broken the code in these instances do you feel the proposed punishment is acceptable? Should he be removed temporarily from power to allow a chance for shadowclan to experience life under someone who has not broken the code and who is not so violent?"

-------

Next it was back to thunderclan to either further proof Mottles good vibe nature (or to shatter it with a possible unexpected bad report, but batsong did not expect for that to happen… still if tyranny was happening in thunderclan it was her job to try and help uncover and fix such things).  From what she herself knew of Mottlestar, she wasnt sure how anyone could give the leader a bad report at all but this gathering after all was about making sure that no leaders were getting too out of control.

she pointed to a younger cat she hadnt met yet but they had been kinda close to Curly and fire

(idk if thats accurate, in the post lapis signed up with they said rose and curly and fire were pretty good friends so I figured they would be nearish ... if thats inaccurate forget I even mentioned it)

"hmm and how do you feel now learning what Mottlestar had done and any other thoughts you have on this?"

(i know... pretty open ended question but I wanna let Rose have as much free reign as possible and just let Rose be Rose..
A quote from lapis in the sign ups on this
"This one's honestly very very fun for drama. She's loud, rude, lives for the thrill, easily offended, cares only for herself (+ maybe curly/fire) and is simply the drama queen."

so yea open floor to Rose!)

(Go Rose GOO! is dramaaa time)

------

"wow alright this is alot already and thanks for everyones patience as we work this all out.  I want to get another neutral-ish voice back however and who also happens to be a med cat"

Her eyes landed on Sandyshell and she flicked her tail inviting her up.

... poor sandyshell looked almost like she would pass out though... Batsong blinked briefly, reconsidering... Sandyshell was somehow even more shy than herself... maybe asking the riverclan med cat to talk to everyone in the forest wasn't the best of ideas seeing as how the riverclan med cat barely liked talking at their small med cat meetings... but the truth must be known and Batsong didn't wanna be blamed later for not allowing a fair representation from all clans to be heard so...

Her co-worker was a good cat from everything she had seen and she understood the nerves of talking to everyone and could see that Sandyshell was facing the same issue she felt... Perhaps an open ended question would be easiest ...

"Sandyshell... if you could weigh in on this?  Any thoughts are welcome" she asked as gently as she could given the circumstances.

------

Next it was back to thunderclan...

"Comfreyheart, you have long served your clan and your current leader.  In your belief and point of view, should Mottlestars sentence be worsened for any reason?  Does the positive preceding reputation of Mottlestar hold true when at home in camp when no one else outside of the clan is watching?"

------

Next was an older warrior, one very respected and well known for his loyalty to the code.

"Rookfire please, step forward and take the stand."

she tried to think of a good question for him to get at the core issues here.

"Rookfire, you have lived a long life and served your clan well.  You have seen many leaders come and go in your time. In your opinion, has Nightstar served his clan in a way that you would want to continue serving him even if you now have the option to try out a life living under what could be Leopardstar for a time being?
Do you believe that Nightstar has the traits required for the leader role in shadowclan?"

-------

"hmm umm I want to be sure that shadowclan is fairly represented in our speakers and witnesses here since I know and openly admit that I am biased in this case, as such, can you please come forward" she asked pointing now to Sablestrike.

"hmm how would you describe your relationship to Nightstar? Is it one you would consider is healthy? Has your voice ever been ignored or made to feel unimportant under his rule? Are there other things the court should be aware of about his character?"

-------
The next witness picked was also another shadowclanner

She pointed for tiger to step up to the stand.

“Tigershriek” she asked after learning his name seconds prior “how do you view Nightstar? You may speak freely here. Is he a leader you wish to continue serving?  How has your view of him changed tonight learning of these things now?”

—---

That was a lot of shadowclan opinions for everyone to be taking in... and Batsong wanted at least one more sorta on her side so to speak.

She knew that she was biased in this case obviously, so that was another reason for wanting so many shadowclan voices to keep things fair as possible... As much as she despised Nightstar, she still wanted a fair trial for him.

However, finally a witness that was kinda more on her side was a welcoming sight... It being a close friend and someone she really liked too was even better!

She hoped that Silverwing was proud of her for standing up to Night's bullying and not letting her clan continue to be stomped on by the bully.  Batsong and Silverwing went about fighting the bully in different ways… Silverwing had attacked Night after what he had done to their clanmates.  Silver had tried to fight fire with fire and ultimately it led Silverwing to be banned to skyclan.  Batsong was fighting this same bully Silver once had tried to but was doing it in a new way, a systematic way of what she hoped would at least remove him for a moon possibly more and even if he was allowed to stay in power, his reputation would be muddier than the swamps he lived in. Additionally, if he was dumb enough to try more aggressive tactics after this the whole forest would expect it.

"Silverwing of Skyclan, please step forward" she called to her former clanmate and still good friend.

"Silverwing, it was your apprentice that Nightstar attacked and nearly killed that day.  Now that you are living in skyclan, have you had further incidents of Nightstar attacking you or any of your new clanmates?  Has any of your skyclan clanmates been harmed either from the action or inaction of Nightstar?  Finally, can you describe the fear of nearly losing your apprentice... and losing them to the paws of a leader who is to be held to a higher scrutiny of the warrior code?"

-----------

She then turned to the leader of skyclan:

"Birdstar, same line of general questioning to you as well really since I want a fair representation of your clan.  Has Shadowclan while being led by nightstar been causing any trouble for your clan?”

—------

Next up were two very important testimonies indeed.  The deputies of the clans at the core of this problem

Turning to Leopardsun who she only sorta knew… She knew that Leopardsun had been a somewhat more stable voice of reason during the drama of Nightstar dragging the windclan warriors nearly dead back to windclan camp.  It was part of the reason why she was advocating so much that Leopard should take the control of the clan for a little bit at least to allow things to cool down a bit.

“Leopardusn? You obviously work with Nightstar quite alot. What else if anything should the court know either for better or worse about him? And finally… if the f-forest were to agree with my sentencing would you take the control of your clan for a moon?”


—-----

Then turning to Darkstripe:

“Darkstripe, I have offered your leader a much kinder sentence and punishment because from what I know of her character is that this forbidden romance was likely one of the only times she ever has broken the code or betrayed starclans trust.  What I ask of you is if you know of any other things that have occurred?  And do you as her second believe that her remaining in power is the best path forward?  Would you for any reason seek out a punishment for her more similar to Nightstars?”

She had to be somewhat cautious here… she knew very little of Darkstripe.  If he were to be a power hungry he could easily toss Mottlestar under the monster here just to grab at potential promotion.

She narrowed her eyes
“Remember… starclan is your witness tonight think about your answer very carefully”

The deputy's words carried a lot of weight here and openly asking if he wanted a moon of trial leadership felt like asking the fox if he wanted to guard the chickens a bit… hence the reminder that starclan was witness to all tonight.  Any lies spoken here tonight would only provide him a very short term gain.  The last thing batsong wanted was to accidentally get a second Nightstar into power here.

IF Darkstripe had something like that he had better be able to back it up with some amount of proof as currently Batsong only wanted the moonstone trip as Mottles punishment.  To raise the sentence for Mottlestar would require either a big lie from him or a big surprise of something Batsong was not aware of.  If thunderclan had any big events happening that would be the only thing that could really allow for reconsideration of such a sentencing of Mottlestar.

—----------

She felt it was important to get all of the med cats opinion on this and so her eyes shifted over to her co-worker smokestep.

Smokestep didnt look like she was overjoyed to give a public speech and to be honest Batsong had not been either but it was important on such a big case to have the med cats represented.

“Smokestep… as a neutral m-med cat on this issue what are your thoughts?”

—----------------

Right next to Smokestep had convineitly been Fawnshine… Fawnshine would also be able to provide alot more insight into Mottlestar.  Even though Batsong knew Mottle to be a good cat she had to be sure and what better way to confirm than the clans med cat whose job it was extended to the well being of the forest as a whole?

“Fawnshine… I apologize f-for not filling y-you in on this earlier b-but it had to be kept somewhat quiet… In your pr-professional opinion, does the proposed sentencing sound just for Mottlestar?”

—------

So far, Batsong had purposefully actually been trying to avoid calling her own clanmates: she knew that to keep this fair she had to get enough voices from all the clans.  However, it had been awhile since she called on a windclan cat… So:

“S-sleepyhollow, it was your friend Russet that was attacked and so brutally mauled by Nightstar.  C-can you speak to how this type of attack could hurt the forest as a whole?”

—------

Next up was Snoowfoot, a warrior from shadowclan:

“Snowfoot, knowing that what you say here is s-safe.  Has nightstar been a leader y-you would want to keep following?”

—---------

And finally she turned to what looked to be a shadowclan apprentice

“Hmm Dawnpaw” she purred “What has living under Nigthstar’s rule been like?  Are you being treated well as an a-aprentice?”

—---------------

(Alright that wraps up the requests of the sign ups. Even if you didnt do the sign up, jump in now for sure! Post your character doing what they do.  I tried to get at least one character from the people who signed up.  Some characters may not have gotten to but I am running out of enough original questions for them all lol.  We had an amazingly high sign up number and I thank you all for the interest in it! Remember, you can still have your characters speak up if they have anything to add to this at all.)



*I will post with my other characters later: however admittedly most of them will have to be background for a bit here while I focus on Batsong for this gathering most likely.

(Oop, this post went a lot of rewrites and during one of those it looks like I dropped burdocks questions out my bad)

Finally: batsong turned to her friend burdockroot. Batsong felt a little guilt over not sharing this to her friend ahead of time but at the same time to keep burdock safe of being put in a weird position she had not told her ahead of time. She hoped that this trial would not effect their friendship but understood if it did. She was doing what she belived to be the right thing and hoped that burdockroot would at least see that.

“Burdock as the full med cat of shadowclan. Has nightstar treated you fairly? Has he allowed you preform your duties as med cat?”

Fernpaw noticed the black-furred medicine cat talk to one of the apprentices of the clan. The she-cat shifted her attention to the pair because of how worried Batsong looked. When she left, Fernpaw approached Rosepaw and sat next to her, concerned. "Hey, is everything okay? Why is Batsong...?" Before she could continue, the sudden and unexpected yell of the medicine cat made her shut up and look up. The apprentice wondered if this was normal for a gathering... but she quickly realized it wasn't.

With every word Batsong's spoke, Fernpaw's eyes grew wider and her fur perked because of the anger and indignation she felt. The furious she-cat had to contain her claws from coming out by clenching her fangs and growling. Her green and blue eyes looked at the Thunderclan and Shadowclan with anger and disdain, but her hate was deeper towards the latter. This tom has maimed her clanmates, caused Brackenwing to go into the elder's den early and still has the right to be called a leader?! How had his crimes gone unnoticed for so long? Why wasn't the clan aware of Nighstar's misdeeds? How much longer would have it taken for him to kill one of her friends and family? Was the rest of Shadowclan... aware of his actions? The Windclan apprentice couldn't contain herself any longer. Fernpaw stood up, her tail lashing furiously. "Batsong is right!" She hissed, her claws sinking into the ground beneath her paws. "Nightstar deserves to be punished! Even more, he should be exiled! A future murderer and a cat who doesn't have regard for other cats' life doesn't deserve to be a leader or be called a warrior. Even if he takes a moon of demotion, who can assure that once he is back he won't attack Windclan for revenge? Or any clan that doesn't take his side?!"

(OOC: Fernpaw doesn't know a thing about Nighstar and this is her first impression of him, so that's why she is asking the maximum punishment and being extreme hehe)

Fernpaw is yelling at Nighstar and Shadowclan in general.

Oakpaw doesn't care because it doesn't affect his clan and is waiting for the gathering to end so he can go home.

Lichenwing had taken every opportunity to get out of camp. Every hunt, every border patrol, even just down time when he could sneak away from camp. But since he'd last seen Juniperheart at the Fallen Oak, he'd seen no hide nor hair of her anywhere, despite his literal searching. He was beginning to grow worried... had she been banned from the border? Confined to camp? Even worse to think about, was she injured? Though he'd tried his best to hide it, Lichenwing's usual cheery demeanor had grown distant and concerned... but he couldn't exactly march over the border and demand to see her, could he?

So when he was offered a spot at the Gathering, he took it. At least, he figured, she would be there, if she was okay - and if not, he could pester a SkyClanner for answers without being super obvious. Now, as ThunderClan arrived at Fourtrees just after RiverClan, Lichenwing peeled away from his clan and found a place to sit, his eyes trained on the hill he knew SkyClan would descend from, when they finally arrived.

First, though, ShadowClan showed up... and then, finally, Birdstar's massive silhouette appeared at the top of the hill. The only ones left to show up were WindClan, but Lichenwing wasn't here for WindClan. As SkyClan began to disperse, the gray tom picked Juniperheart's pelt out of the crowd, and inhaled slightly. She was okay. He rose from his spot, taking a step towards her and waiting for her to notice him and break away from the others... but she didn't. Juniperheart's glance met his for only a split second, and then she tore it away, deliberately avoiding eye contact with him. Before he had a chance to get closer, she struck up conversation with another SkyClan she-cat, and any intention he'd had of going over to say hello died then and there. Lichenwing's brow furrowed, an unfamiliar ache deep in his gut making him exhale a quick, sharp breath.

He didn't get to dwell on it long, thankfully, as a loud, commanding voice rang out over the clearing. Lichenwing's head snapped up, confusion replacing the hurt in his expression. Was the Gathering starting already? WindClan had only just arrived... his eyes found Batsong on the Great Rock, and the edge of confusion deepened. He didn't know this cat's name, but she wasn't a leader, or a deputy... because they all looked equally as confused as to what the heck she was doing up there.

Batsong introduced herself, and then started talking... and kept talking... and continued talking... but it was the contents of this announcement that finally and truly distracted him from Juniperheart's cold shoulder... this WindClan cat was slandering Mottlestar. Nightstar, too, sure, but Lichenwing didn't care about that part, obviously. They'd had kits - so what? Lichenwing strode forward to the center of the clearing, "Mottlestar is the best leader ThunderClan's ever seen!" She was the only leader he'd ever known, but that didn't matter, surely. His logic was sound. "We ain't ever been happier, never questioned her judgement. Even if what you say is true, why not settle this privately? You're draggin' innocent kits into something that's done an' over with, an' now the whole forest'll be in ThunderClan and ShadowClan's business! There're only two clans involved here, not five! Leave the rest out of it."

Lichenwing has acknowledged Juniperheart's cold shoulder, and chose to yell at Batsong instead of feel feelings about it.

Everything that had been so calm and peaceful just moments ago was shattered by an ear-splitting yowl. Perchstar could not believe her eyes as Batsong stepped onto the Great Rock, hardly even hearing the words welcoming her back to RiverClan... and she certainly could not believe her ears as the medicine cat began to speak.

Accusing Mottlestar of a forbidden relationship with the leader of ShadowClan? Not only that, but calling for Nightstar to step down? Taking charge of the entire Gathering, stepping on the Great Rock where she did not belong, calling for other cats to let their thoughts be heard, and taking it upon herself to execute judgment on two leaders?

Even if this had involved two leaders that Perchstar did not care about, she would have been outraged by the slap in the face of completely throwing away all tradition in such a manner, and practically ignoring the Code. As it was... she couldn’t help but watch Mottlestar’s face. She had only interacted a few times with the she-cat, all things considered, but she felt like she knew her. She felt like they were on positive terms with each other. They were nearly allies, for stars’ sake. Having her ally--no, her friend--be so maligned in such a declawing, humiliating fashion... It took a moment for her to readjust her facial expression to that of neutrality. But her blood was beginning to boil.

The voice of Shellwater, the StarClan cat who had given her the life of justice, rang in her ears.

”Sometimes, you must allow that instinct of anger to show you the path forward. Don't let them get away with it."

She had no intention of letting Batsong get away with this.

Fire ran through Perchstar’s veins as she stepped forward, facial expression calm, voice regulated, but icy blue eyes glaring daggers into the intruder’s face. “What is the meaning of all of this?” she demanded, incredulity barely evident in the forced calm of her tone. ”Batsong, have you truly lost your mind? Medicine cats are the mouthpieces of the stars, but I cannot in good conscience allow such a farce to take place in this clearing. Since when has a medicine cat been given the right to determine the fate of leaders as judge, jury and executioner? Since when have the Clans been ruled by popular vote rather than by the word of the leaders, as is specified in the very Code that you claim to be following?”

This was absurd. She would not stand for it. She had no reason to dislike the medicine cat before, despite their one interaction not going in the way she might have hoped, but a fierce loathing of such underpawed tactics was beginning to color her view. ”Batsong, you may be a medicine cat, but that does not give you the right to take such drastic action, or to presume to lead a coalition of the entire forest to meddle in the affairs of two Clans that are not your own,” she nearly snapped, barely keeping her face and tone steady. ”Even if these two leaders are to be punished, then their judgment will certainly come from the stars and from their own Clans, not from you. So, with all due respect given that is expected from your position, and not a fragment more, I would request that you step off of this rock and remain in your proper place.”

Having dealt with Batsong, hopefully, Perchstar returned her attention momentarily to that of one of the leaders in question. Her friend. Mottlestar looked entirely stricken, shaking almost like a leaf with the weight of the entire forest knowing of her code-breaking. If it had been anything like her time with Felix... then Perchstar knew that Mottlestar likely already regretted that night with everything she had. Though she didn’t presume to understand everything, she recognized the swimming mixture of anxiety and guilt that had completely overtaken the normally bright she-cat. It would be enough to give any cat pause, let alone one as kind as Mottlestar.

Perchstar gritted her fangs and looked back over the clearing, her steady glare now directed at the throngs of cats of all Clans--and especially many of those whom Batsong had apparently called on by name.

”As for these allegations... Yes, the romance between Mottlestar and Nightstar was forbidden. However, I do not see how that is any business of RiverClan, SkyClan or WindClan. If the stars disagreed with these two having their positions, they would already have been stripped of their lives. As that does not appear to be the case, I cannot imagine how the words of warriors or medicine cats would supersede that of the Warrior Code. The word of the leader is the Warrior Code.” Her tail lashed once behind her, a rare display of emotion. ”As Batsong herself has just admitted, Mottlestar has not done anything wrong. She may have simply made a mistake in a moment of passion--and who in this forest can say they have not done something similar, whether or not it was of lesser magnitude? None of you have any right to judge her. None of you. Unless you die and ascend to StarClan and then return in a cloud of lightning and flames, I will accept none of your judgements on her character. She has been nothing but a good leader, mother and friend. Any problems between her and the stars are hers to sort out, and hers alone. None of you get any say in how she is treated.” Perchstar’s vehemence surprised even herself. She had not known that she felt so strongly about Mottlestar until the words came out, but she realized that she did in fact value their friendship--if that was, indeed, what they had. Hearing her even implicated in such a malicious fashion was enough to make her unhappiness at this situation in general even worse.

Slitted eyes momentarily moved toward the other leader who was involved in this. Nightstar. She had little to no opinion on the tom; they shared no borders, had only interacted a spare once or twice, and none of his actions had ever had much bearing on her or her Clan. If the other things Batsong said were true, then he was not a good cat--but, as much as she wished it was, being a good cat was not a prerequisite for being a leader. He was nowhere near as bad as Bloodstrike in either way. Though she had come to Mottlestar’s defense, she felt no inclination to do so for him. But she still believed this was not the right way to go about such a confrontation. “I have no stake in the allegations toward Nightstar,” she said, voice returning to complete neutrality. ”If he has committed other crimes, that is between him and the Clans that were harmed. They can talk it out on their own time. I agree wholly with my deputy, Poppyshine, that this entire speech seems to be dedicated to bringing Nightstar down, and Batsong apparently has a grudge towards him. But that should have nothing to do with the meeting under the full moon and the blessing of the stars. This clearing, this Gathering, is supposed to be a time of peace and discussion. It is supposed to bring Clans closer together, not drive them apart. This time is not for the airing of personal grievances or of others’ supposed crimes, especially if they have not hurt any cat like Mottlestar has not. What Batsong has done nearly breaks the Code in its own right--” here she sent another sidelong glare toward Batsong, who had better be getting off of the Great Rock, before looking towards the crowd once more-- ”and I suggest that none of you do anything to break it further. The problems between Nightstar and WindClan are just that: between Nightstar and WindClan. Batsong’s agenda in this matter has become very clear to me. But I hope that it can be dealt with elsewhere, and that she will not insist upon dragging RiverClan, ThunderClan and SkyClan into her mess.”

She had never talked this much in a Gathering before. She had hardly ever spoken this much at once before, period. She had only felt this blood-burningly angry at a Gathering once before, when Bloodstrike refused to answer for Cloverheart’s murder even after a confession. While this was not quite as bad, as far as diverted justice, it was awful in a completely different way. The entire Gathering had been made into a sham. She couldn’t speak for the other leaders or Clans, but she wanted no part in any of this stars-cursed “trial” or the fool leading it. Batsong could go and scream at ShadowClan all night for all she cared, but it had nothing to do with her Clan, and very little to do with Mottlestar.

Perchstar’s voice, which had already been loud, took on a commanding tone as it rang over the cacophony of the clearing. “RiverClan, we will not participate in this mockery. We are leaving. Now.” If any cats did not obey her order, they would have to answer to her. However, she had faith that her Clan was not comprised of fish-brains. They knew when to listen to their leader.

In the meantime, she couldn’t help but notice that Sandyshell had nearly collapsed upon being personally addressed by the one-cat whirlwind of attempted-diplomatic-terror that was Batsong. The poor she-cat had never been one for public attention, and this was certainly no exception. But even as Perchstar took a step forward to collect her medicine cat, she noticed again how badly Mottlestar was taking it. She was wide-eyed, huddled up, trying to disappear into herself. She needed someone, and Perchstar was unsure who else could help her at this moment.

The RiverClan leader glanced toward her deputy. ”Poppyshine, will you help round everyone up? Get Stormdance to take care of Sandyshell. I’ll be with you in a moment.”

After receiving confirmation, Perchstar walked over to the small calico, who seemed even smaller in her intent to cease existence in front of the staring, judging eyes of all five Clans. She stepped forward to shield her at least from Batsong’s presence, though not from all the Clan cats below, given that she was very slim and could not completely encircle the she-cat. ”Mottlestar,” she whispered, ”is there any way I can help? Are you all right? If you... need a place to stay....” The questions were likely a tiny pinprick of light against the ocean of darkness, like a timidly faint star, and likely wouldn’t be of much assistance at all. But perhaps they would offer even a modicum of comfort. Mottlestar deserved so much better than this farce.

RiverClan has been called to leave. Any RiverClan cats who do not begin to leave the Gathering at some point soon may face IC consequences. You are free to respond before doing so--you can say your character said their piece before hearing the command to leave, or that they said something before heading out.

--

Flutterpetal had barely managed to enter into the Gathering when the whole clearing was turned upside down. He’d been running late, trying to pick out a few flowers to give to Honeylight, or any new friend that he met. He’d been almost looking forward to this Gathering despite all the other bad things that had happened in the clearing. However, stepping into Fourtrees, he was met almost immediately by Batsong shoving her way onto the Great Rock and yowling for everyone to be quiet.

The flowers in his jaws fell to the ground as she spoke.

A... forbidden romance? Between two leaders? ThunderClan and ShadowClan, apparently. But wait--what did that have to do with WindClan at all?

Oh. The way Batsong turned to Nightstar and began listing the many things ShadowClan had done to WindClan made Flutterpetal wince. Of course she still held a grudge. Of course that was the reason for all of this. But was this really the way to do it? In front of all five Clans? By herself, likely without ever speaking to Shrikestar beforehand? This was bound to go poorly.

Flutterpetal himself did not care much about “forbidden” romances. He believed that Clan borders were tenuous at best, and that keeping friendships and other relationships from across them was pointless and served no purpose. However, his opinions would not change anything, and he had never been good at raising his voice. He simply shrank away in the back of the crowd, silently hoping that Shrikestar would tell their Clan to leave just as RiverClan’s leader already had. Where was Adderdawn? What would his brother think? And what of Honeylight, whose leader was being accused of such heinous crimes? What would happen to his Clanmates and his friends now?

Thalia followed ShadowClan into the Gathering, watching the Great Rock with cautious interest. The announcement that followed... To say that she certainly hadn't expected it would be an understatement. She did, however, regard her former apprentice with pride: Pineblossom was handling the situation far better than she felt she could have.

---

Nightdancer sat at the edges of a group of ThunderClan warriors, keeping mostly to herself. The sudden announcement, and all that followed, didn't cause any outward changes; but she tensed, tail-tip twitching, as she studied her leader in a new light. Dayquill, Nightdancer herself (though nothing had ever come of that)... And now Mottlestar. Was every cat she cared for destined to break the code, in practice or in spirit?

---

Lightningbreeze waited for someone to approach her, or the announcements to start. In the meantime she kept near her SkyClan friends, watching the Great Rock with interest- and some amount of shock at what she was witnessing.

---

Mistpaw kept close to her sister, having dared to venture out of SkyClan to stay by her side- just for tonight. "...Never again," she muttered as the chaos began. "Don't let me do this to myself."

---

Leopardsun followed Nightstar into the clearing, as she had so many times before, and took her usual place at the base of the Great Rock. A casual, friendly greeting to the other deputies, simple pleasantries- that were swiftly interrupted as Batsong, WindClan's medicine cat, first approached and then ascended the rock; shouting from atop it before any leader had the chance to speak.

Not for the first time, she thought-

Does WindClan not teach their kits any manners?

Before she could debate whether it was worth questioning what this interruption was for, the medicine cat introduced herself and gave her reasoning. Code-breaking was a serious matter, but not one that was typically announced publicly by medicine cats. What reason for it could there possibly be?

Demanding that everyone remain civil was all well and good- so long as cats bothered to listen, which Leopardsun wasn't sure they would. The revelation that followed, while leading to many hushed whispers, caused only stunned silence where she stood.

Nightstar... And Mottlestar?

Her leader, a cat she often disagreed with and was open to challenging (so long as she did so in private); and one of the leaders she'd come to like quite a bit. As Batsong revealed that Mottlestar had apparently confessed to this, her mind raced- when? How? Didn't either of them have a better sense of judgment?

However, her fur bristled as Batsong claimed to have decided their punishments herself. What business did a WindClan cat have, punishing cats of different Clans? Leaders, even; and what might they decide should they start poking their noses into other cats' lives?

She listened, processing the words, and trying to decide what she wanted to say. She was not going to let this act of arrogantly deciding they knew what was best for the forest proceed uninterrupted.

However, as Batsong declared that she wished Nightstar be removed from leadership- even temporarily- that wasn't the thing that made Leopardsun's blood boil. She would suggest a similar punishment, in fact, with different conditions.

"My name," she spoke, her voice carrying over the clearing with a cold fury, "is Leopardsun. It is not Leopardstar, and you will not address me as such. If I am to give you the courtesy of listening, of hearing out your accusations toward Clans you do not belong to and claiming to decide their punishments, I expect you to give me the courtesy of using my actual name."

As her voice carried, she heard the medicine cat begin questioning the cats around her- including, she realized, her own daughter. It made sense: Harriertalon was a medicine cat now. But still, she felt something run both cold and hot in her blood at her oldest child being dragged into this.

Pineblossom, too, was questioned- with her old name. She was quick to correct the medicine cat, and Leopardsun felt a surge of pride for her Clanmate. Her impression had always been that Pineblossom was a good, honorable, and level-headed cat; one that proven correct by how swiftly and concisely she tore down the needless accusations Batsong had tossed at Nightstar in particular. However, despite a similar thought process, her conclusion was a different one than Leopardsun had come to; and so it seemed she would need to voice her own concerns after all.

The rest of the questions she listened to, though less closely, waiting for what she expected- and she wasn't disappointed to hear her own name called out. At least it was the correct one, this time.

"Pineblossom raises several excellent points. You, Batsong- what gives you the right to decide what other Clans should do with their code-breakers, over their own Clan? What proof do you have that it was Nightstar, in the first place, other than- allegedly- Mottlestar's word? You're known to be biased against him, after what happened at Highstones. There may be valid reasons for your grievances, but you cannot reasonably claim to be unbiased in this situation. While I might not always agree with his methods, his priority has always been ShadowClan's safety- his treatment of your Clanmates was unusually cruel; you may recall that I was there to witness the aftermath, as well as Silverwing's attack on him- but your clanmates' repeated acts of trespassing were also against the code. You do not get to just pick and choose when it applies- otherwise, there would be no point at all to having a warrior code."

She kept her stance calm and composed, her tone as even as she could manage as her anger threatened to overtake her; but she couldn't keep herself entirely still, bristling with barely-restrained fury.

"If you wish to grant me authority over my own Clan, one that you do not belong to, then I believe that they are the ones who should decide what punishment is fit- if, and only if, what you say is true. Should my Clanmates- all of them, not just those who are here tonight; all of ShadowClan is affected by news such as this, not just those who choose to attend Gatherings- decide they wish for Nightstar to be temporarily demoted, I will take his place. Should they decide he stays, you do not have the authority to overrule them."

Leopardsun swallowed her anger. She had to be a voice of reason, for everyone's sake.

"Frankly, Batsong, if you want my opinion on the matter... I believe you've far overstepped your position as WindClan's medicine cat. This was clearly a matter that could have and should have been addressed privately, and it's quite clear to me that the only reason it was not was that you hold a personal grudge against Nightstar. It was my understanding that medicine cats are expected to be above such things."

She was finding that she also had a bit of a grudge against Nightstar, but she would address her grievances with her leader and his ability to make the entire forest furious- something she had previously warned him about, on multiple occasions- later, when ShadowClan was safe in their own camp.

"As it stands, I wish only to hear from ShadowClan and from Nightstar- in our own camp, and not before the entire forest. Likewise, I believe that ThunderClan's business is their own, though you've seen fit to make that the forest's concern as well."

I most certainly will not let some WindClan cat's delusions of grandeur and desire for petty vengeance get in the way of ShadowClan's well-being!