May Gathering 2024

She had, effectively, zero wish to be there. Anxiety had the large molly pulling out parts of her fur in tufts, leaving portions of it noticeably thinner than the rest of her overly-bushy, thick pelt. Sunfire's disappearance had done little more than cause turmoil for the molly in addition to the unresolved guilt that came from Beechfang's ultimate death, sending her into a quietness that she couldn't quite see a way out of. It was at the suggestion of one of her clanmates that she at least tried to go beyond her norm to try and socialize and regain a bit of that friendly spark, but it didn't quite matter to her at this point. She'd go through the motions, then return back to Skyclan's camp and continue to wander. Her gaze focused purely on her kits, making sure they were safe at every moment. It almost made her head spin with the effort that it took to ensure they were all accounted for, but by the Stars, she'd do it.

Mintglade is keeping an eye on her kits!

---

The loss of several of her family members had hit the molly hard in the recent days, but the appointment of her sister as deputy had been reason to celebrate. She wouldn't miss Rapidfire's first gathering as deputy if she had anything to say about it, especially as both her mother and father wouldn't be there to cheer her on, either. The thought carried a fair amount of grief with it, but it was brushed away on a newleaf breath. There would be no use in holding that bitterness tonight. Crakeburn's gaze turned to the stars, and for a moment, she wondered if they were watching. Looking over towards her clanmate Eaglefly, she ultimately took a spot by him. "All of the clans appear thinned." She commented, quietly. Though she was next to the tom, the comment was truly to no cat in particular. Had they all suffered some sort of blow?

Crakeburn is open to talk to, and is sitting by Eaglefly.

The rest of the leaders arrived shortly, and Wolfstar simply offered them a small nod in greeting. Her attention was mostly focused on the base of the great rock where Falconmoon now sat with the other deputies... He seemed to be doing alright with the new station, which was good.

A familiar trill from near the base of the great rock had the Skyclan leader glancing down, gaze landing on the familiar white apprentice. Her purrs brought a weary smile to Wolfstar's face. At least someone seemed content in these times, and tonight Wolfstar really didn't have the heart to grumble at Acornstar as she might have. Didn't sweet Hopepaw recognize they were different clans? She watched as the apprentice bounded off, gaze turning uncharacteristically distant.

---

Graywind had not wanted to come tonight. Not at all, when her clan was hurting so much. Her own pelt seemed nearly as thin and ragged as Mintglade's was, the spark of curiosity usually held within her gaze replace by that of worry and weariness.

The scent of Windclan invading her nostrils made the warrior glance up, golden eyes finding a familiar pointed tom settling in beside her. "Hemlockfox!" She purred a greeting, gently bumping his shoulder with her own, trying desperately to project some sense of cheer to see him. "Don't be such a stranger, nephew. I know you're... With Windclan, but we miss you, you know?" She was tired of losing her family. It seemed like it didn't end, and from the tension written all over Hemlockfox's face, he had noticed how thinned Skyclan's ranks were, the changes near the base of the great rock. Her ears flattened, though she was glad that he at least was here.

"It's... Been bad, the last couple weeks." She acknowledged softly, he was still family, even if he was in another clan now. "Smokepetal died from illness. And the dogs on our territory..." Her claws flexed into the grass anxiously, "Honeydew, Mallowcloud and Shatteredsky all died at their fangs. Falconmoon's our new deputy. Sunfire is... Missing. I think the dogs got him too." That no body had been found was far from reassuring. She wanted to have some hope that her brother was alive somewhere, maybe captured by twolegs, but so many cats had been lost in such a short time that Graywind felt just as lost herself. "Most of our warriors decided to stay back at camp, just in case..." Their scents had gotten uncomfortably close to camp, and the warrior could have swore she heard the sound of barking, even though the dogs had probably remained on Skyclan territory. The thought of what might happen while they were gone made her heart hammer against her ribcage, uncomfortable anxiety making itself felt.

"How are you doing, Hemlockfox? How has Windclan been treating you?" She was desperate to change the subject, desperate for anything that wasn't talking about Skyclan's problems.

Wolfstar has silently acknowledged the leaders and Hopepaw.
Graywind is talking with Hemlockfox.

Leopardstar seemed to take mercy on the rest of them by starting this time, and Wolfstar was grateful for it. It didn't make the prospect of announcements any easier to swallow, but at least she would not be the first one to speak. When the Shadowclan leader had finished, Wolfstar took a deep breath before stepping forward.

"Skyclan welcomes Ploverwing to the warrior's den, and Kestrelpaw as an apprentice." She mewed. There had been more ceremonies since the last gathering, of cats who had died far before their time. She would not share Skyclan's losses beyond the ones that were most likely to be noticed. "Our senior medicine cat Smokepetal has passed on to Starclan from illness, as has Honeydew while in defense of her clanmates." The words were like claws twisting in her gut, but the leader's expression remained stoic, showing none of her inner turmoil. "Falconmoon is the new deputy of Skyclan." She glanced toward the base of the great rock, hoping that the new deputy - not the only new deputy, she realized - was holding his own. He seemed to be, and that was all Wolfstar could ask.

"That is all." She stepped back, allowing the other leaders to continue.

Creekpaw hadn't been to the last gathering, and had been excited to attend this one. Unfortunately, however, she had a habit of being a bit shy and doing things on her own. The opposite of what the gathering was truly for. So, slinking around the outskirts, the gray tabby found a suitable spot away from too much hubbub. With a whisk of her tail, she sat down, observing the leaders from afar with curiosity. As the gathering had begun, the announcements had been short and standard. Boring for her, but normal was good she assumed. Perhaps another clan's announcements would be more interesting for her, at least then she'd have something to talk about with the other apprentices.

Creekpaw is not interested in talking.

Silverdusk trailed into the gathering, tail held high, but it quickly fell upon noticing the absence of Honeydew beneath the branches of the Great Oaks. Perhaps she was sick, or there was another issue at hand, but they knew better. The shape of another cream pelt, which she unfortunately recognised confirmed their suspicions. Honeydew was no longer deputy. There was a nagging to what had caused her friend to step down, but in time they were sure Wolfstar would offer an answer to her curiosity.

The leaders began to speak and Silverdusk listened attentively. As Wolfstar stepped forward, the warrior’s heart lurched into her throat. And when she spoke it stayed there, forming a lump and choking the silver she-cat. The truth was cruel. Honeydew was gone, a bright spark crushed by the cruel nature of the forest and the stars the clans served. A tear fell from Silverdusk’s green eyes, splattering on the ground below as she grieved. Peace was so fickle, life too. Of course, her little warrior had died valiantly, protecting those she loved. A death so noble, she would have been honoured in Gekala, but they knew Honeydew’s spirit lied with StarClan. The ThubderClanner sniffled, there would never be a clear sky to meet under. Not in life, and not in death. She drew her gaze back to the deputies, fixing Falconmoon with a cold gaze. There certainly wouldn’t be clear skies with a preacher like him as the future for SkyClan. Silverdusk huffed, straightening themself.

-

Mismatched eyes and large pointy ears, desperate for distraction from the pain that tore at his heart, were quick to find a familiar tuxedo pelt, and the commotion that came with it. He couldn’t blame them, Asmodeus was something! Whatever was going on with him was far more interesting than anything the buffoons atop the Great Rock had to say. Especially Leopardstar, he didn’t care to know if she would honour the deaths of his friends or brother. The future of ShadowClan… Gone. And he wasn’t sure he planned on sticking around to see it fall.

The white tom sauntered over to the rogue, playfully bumping against him. “Two apprentices and a warrior.” he corrected with a laugh, glancing between Boartusk and the wailing RiverClanner. “Though, I totally threw our fight.” Nettleweaver plonked himself down beside Asmodeus, eyes brighter, enjoying how riled up the large tom was. “Larkshine, Boartusk…” he greeted in turn, dipping his head. The warrior paused to ponder on how to greet the Riverclanner. Normally he was all for peace, would have been happy to start a conversation, befriend him either- what even were borders? But, he wasn’t his normal self. Grief, annoyance and ears that stung with the notes his voice hit, weren’t doing the tabby any favours. Ironic that a cat so big acted like such a kit. “… Oversized kit from FishClan.” he still dipped his head, we wasn’t completely rude.

Having greeted them all, Nettleweaver turned his attention back to Asmodeus. “I fear that reputation you mentioned upholding to me might need to be let go if you plan on attending these more often. As you can see, some cats are so temperamental, they don’t understand what it is like to live outside the clans. I understand.” The corners of his mouth twitched upwards, eager to stir the leaves up. “Living alone… No true friends, hanging on to everything you have… Just trying to survive. Of course, things got heated… You were just doing what you had to do when fighting these cats… Fighting for your life, while they were only fighting for a clan. If they had something real to fight for, maybe the outcome would have been different. You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Asmodeus, I get it.” he nodded earnestly, before snorting with laughter. “… Is what I would have said if I cared, boo hoo. Get over it. You lost a fight, hardly the end of the world.” Nettleweaver slid forward onto his belly, eyes closed. Peace was overrated, especially when he didn’t have any friends to fight for.

-

Silverdusk is open to conversation.
Nettleweaver is defending asmodeus in the most annoying way possible.

Acornstar nodded her head to each of the leaders as the rest arrived - her eyes drifting down towards the base of the rock in surprise as there was two new deputies among them. Honeydew and Sootstorm were nowhere to be found, had something happened? She held her tongue even as curiosity prickled at her - almost desperate for news that her Clan wasn't the only one facing hardship. Her hopes seemed dashed at first when Leopardstar spoke, keeping her news to that of new apprentices only but when Wolfstar stepped forward to admit that both a medicine cat and their deputy had died - one from illness, the other in defense of their Clan...

Was it wrong of her to be somewhat relieved? It wasn't as shameful as her situation - having Clanmates outright disappear, including her medicine cats but... It was enough for her to gather her wits, taking a step forward even if she wasn't quite sure what she would be saying until the words started to tumble from her mouth. "ThunderClan...Is surviving, but not without struggles," she carefully admitted, bowing her head. "We've lost a pawful of cats in the recent moon, along with a few of our cats simply...Disappearing - including...Including our two medicine cats," she sighed. "Any attempts to follow the trial of Echosong and Fawnshine has failed - so I beg of the other Clans to please share any news they might find and...I also beg aid," she added, turning to face the other leaders although she wasn't sure if she was going to receive the answer she wanted from any.

"One of our warriors was attacked by a badger when out with her mate - he did not survive, but she managed to slay the badger and even pull the two of them back to the camp. She is alive despite her injuries, thanks with what limited herb knowledge my Clanmates have... But she requires more aid as her leg was broken so if a Clan could spare a medicine cat for a sunrise or two to aid her and give us the knowledge to see her recovery on our own, we would be in your debt but...I also know we ask for much." A heavy sigh escaped her as she shook her head. "...If you cannot offer aid, I understand - but I must at least make this request as it is my responsibility to do whatever it takes to ensure my Clanmates survive." With that, she stepped backwards - there was good news she could have shared. Apprentices gaining their name but... Getting help for Sleepycloud was far more important - she would just have to wait to see if any of the Clans would be able to give her the aid they needed...

Perchstar remained still and silent as the other leaders stepped forward to give their announcements. No strife among them, so far... a welcome reprieve after how many chaotic Gatherings she had seen. Leopardstar spoke first with the briefest announcements that Perchstar could ever recall hearing. She did not blame her; she herself had little to say. However, the diminished numbers of ShadowClan belied that something must have happened. Well, whatever it was, it would no longer be her business. Wolfstar spoke next, explaining the change of deputy... Honeydew dead. That was a blow. Not a blow to Perchstar, though she could not help the surge of long-simmering anger that flared unwanted to life inside her when her eyes fell on the tom who'd killed her. SkyClan's new deputy. So it seemed that their path to peace was gone, then. She would have much preferred the kind and friendly young she-cat to the unnervingly self-righteous cat who'd given a full speech at the end of the battle, over his Clanmates' corpses. But no matter. Unless and until her borders were threatened, whatever her former allies did could not be of any import to her. So Perchstar extinguished the flame and listened to Acornstar's announcements.

ThunderClan bore ill news as well. Sleepycloud, injured. Something tightened inside of Perchstar's chest. She had enough to worry on her own Clanmates' behalf, with no one knowledgeable enough about herbs to assist should anything similarly terrible happen to them. She had no aid to offer, and no empathy to extend. She could not afford to care about a ThunderClan cat.

That made it her turn, then. Perchstar steeled her expression and stepped forward. Her voice rang out into the clearing, calm and emotionless. "RiverClan remains strong. We welcome new kits to the nursery, and new apprentices Twilightpaw and Oleanderpaw." Compared to the dearth in the other Clans, RiverClan appeared to have suffered relatively little. Still, as she spoke neutrally about the fourth medicine cat who had died prematurely under her leadership, the words turned to dust in her mouth. "Littlesplash has recently passed. We grieve his death, and I express my condolences for all who have lost their Clanmates." Her eyes went to Acornstar for a moment, knowing she would need nothing else in explanation. Even if RiverClan had a medicine cat to loan... would she have? After the other leader had disintegrated their alliance? She did not know the answer. Thankfully, she did not need to know. "We retain our borders and territories. That is all." With that she stepped back. She had said all that she could.

All of these deaths... had Sootstorm passed too, then? She turned her neutral gaze to Tigerstar, waiting for the final announcements to be given. Perchstar could not hope it was not so... all she could do was wish. Hope had forsaken the forest, it seemed.

Perchstar has made her announcements.

--

Dovetail dragged himself, unwillingly, to the Gathering. RiverClan had suffered enough over the past few moons. The unkindness of the stars in stealing their medicine cat from them felt like almost too much to bear. However, he was shocked to find upon arrival that the other Clans seemed far more diminished than his own. What on earth had happened this moon?

Dovetail is here.

So much had happened in such a short time. Another warrior smelling of fish approached with the little brat he taunted not that long ago. Asmodeus gave Sprucebark puppy eyes and a wry smile at his comment of this being a night of truce. "I have been good." He cooed softly... tauntingly. Then the kids began to run their mouths, causing Larkshine to pull away from him. He grinned and big, toothy, dirt-eating grin as he listened to the exchanges that took place. At Elmpaw's threat, Asmodeus only chuckled and fixed the apprentice in his mismatched gaze like a target.

"Don't tease me, darling." He said, though his tone was playful, there was a hint of blood-thirsty malice rumbling under the feigned innocence. The hilarity that ensued after Nettleweaver entered the conversation was priceless. Asmodeus leaned into Nettleweaver affectionately the same way he had with Larkshine. Apparently the tom was good at getting under his own clanmates' skin. Boartusk had his outburst and turned to leave, at which Asmodeus decided to call out to him.

"Boartusk, is it? You have your warrior name now, so you must have proven yourself good enough to get promoted beyond your apprentice stage. If you'd like, we could spar sometime. I won't use my claws. Feel free to use yours. Get your vengeance, if it will make you happy." To the fish clan, his eyes landed back on the kid that was once again popping of at the mouth.

At Elmpaw's indication toward Sprucebark, Asmodeus saw a golden opportunity and he had to take it. "Is that what he told you?" Without skipping a beat. Then he cackled like it was the best joke he'd ever heard. Once Elmpaw's back was turned and he was leaving, Asmodeus fixed the apprentice in his gaze once more, bloodlust dancing like flames in his eyes.

"Run, run little tom." He growled now, with a malevolent grin spread across his face as his tongue played with the points of his fangs. A moment later he gave the father a lazy look. "Keep him close. It sure would be a shame if you found out one day that he wasn't a good swimmer after all."

Heatherberry stayed silent, keeping alongside her clan. She needed an extra set of paws, and she needed them soon before exhaustion took her out. Her steps slowed as she reached the base of the Great Rock, dropped into a loaf before closing her eyes and allowing her head to fall with a thud.

At first she was still. Quiet as the dead... Until a soft snore rumbled the ground beneath her.

Heatherberry is sound asleep.