June Gathering 2024

Stars, what a moon.

Sleepycloud limped after the rest of ThunderClan, trailing behind the group despite her best efforts. The new medicine cat apprentice knew well enough that for her leg to heal, she had to stay off of it. But Sleepycloud also knew that if she wanted to begin learning anything about herbs and what it means to be a medicine cat, she needed to make an effort to appeal to the other medicine cats herself.

Her eyes locked suddenly on a cat that stood on the great rock. Mom. Was Poppyshine the leader of RiverClan now? Poppystar? A mixture of emotions brewed in her chest. Her adoptive mother fit right in with the other leaders. It felt odd not seeing Perchstar's stoic face among the leaders. Despite that, Owlshriek would have been so proud to see Poppystar standing there. It was Sleepycloud's fault he was gone. The guilt ripped at her chest, feeling even fresher with the loss of Stormsong, too.

A bump from behind drew the she-cat from her thoughts. Hopepaw appeared at her shoulder, nudging her along into the clearing. "Okay, okay." Sleepycloud signed to her daughter and took the cue to migrate toward where the medicine cats typically sat. Settling in, she opted to rest completely, extending her injured leg to the side and resting her head on her paws. The trek to the gathering never felt that long.

Sleepycloud waits for the other medicine cats and contemplates napping.

---

Mother just stood there. Come on!

She confidently bounded into the crowd, pausing to look up at She Who Breathes Power and the newest cat that stood among them. The newest cat looked nice! Attention back on her friend, Hopepaw let out a familiar trill in greeting and waved her paw as she had done before. "Hello!". Satisfied, she turned and bounded into the mass of cats again. He Who Protects hadn't shown up the other times. She wondered if he was at their camp or had gone underground like Father had. The thought injected a bit of sadness into her trot.

But He Who Protects would certainly want her to make more friends! More friends are always good. Holding her head high, she scanned the crowd for a cat she thought could use a friend. Ah! That one with no emotion on his face. That meant he needed a friend, right? He was alone, surrounded by other cats that smelled like rabbits. Oh, wonderful! She also loved eating rabbits. She bounded over like a kit let out of the nursery for the first time and slid to a stop right in front of her to-be friend. For the second time that night, Hopepaw waved: "Hello." It was her favorite word and the easiest for any cat to learn!

For emphasis, the apprentice touched noses in greeting, trying to reel in her enthusiasm just a bit.

Hopepaw bounds over to Thistlepaw!

---

Lakepaw didn't hesitate to stroll through the dense bushes, trying to look cool, calm, and collected. Of course, on the inside, he was very excited to meet the other clans. All the different scents! He wondered what it was like to live in the marsh like ShadowClan or catch fish for food like RiverClan. There was so much to learn about the other clans. Glancing towards his sisters, the tom followed behind them as they walked through the crowd. After a few moments, he opted to split off from them and weave his way through the other cats.

He realized that despite his young age, he was already broader than some of the similarly aged apprentices. He was aware of the size difference based on the apprentices at home, but this put it in perspective for him. After a few minutes of observing the other cats, he settled in an open space and began 'accidentally' eavesdropping on nearby conversations.

Lakepaw is open to talk to! (Aka Kitty)

Swandive padded into fourtrees along with the rest of her clan. It was strange to see her former mentor now atop the great rock instead of sitting below with the deputy, filling her with a mix of pride for her former mentor and grief for the leader that Riverclan had lost, but she knew their clan was strong. They would overcome the losses... And the other clans would not view them as weak.

She was content to sit among her own clanmates, though her gaze did slide curiously over the other gathered clans. She wasn't so much interested in them as she was eyeing the potential threats - particularly Thunderclan and Skyclan.

---

"Hey, you." Honeypaw offered her brother a soft smile as he made his way up to the branch she had perched on. She had noticed him frowning as they entered the clearing, though wasn't sure why exactly. Perhaps it was the growing crowd.

"It is." She agreed, "I think I'd rather be up here than on the ground, honestly. I'm surprised more of our clanmates don't do the same. Part of me wants to try getting to know others here but... I don't know. There's just... So many cats." Honeypaw mewed.

---

Cloudpaw strode into the gathering alongside the rest of Windclan, head held high and her shoulders back. The lithe calico gazed around at the other clans, hiding her sense of wonder. It was her first gathering, but they didn't need to know how nervous she really was to be here. She had known there would be a lot more cats than just Windclan, but knowing it was five clans' worth of cats hadn't quite sunk in until she glanced around and saw just how many there were. Cloudpaw found a place to sit by her father, gazing up at where Tigerstar had leapt onto a rock with a few other cats. That must be where the leaders sat.

Swandive is open to talk.
Honeypaw is talking with Hickorypaw.
Cloudpaw is sitting near Kestrelchirp but is open to talk.

Deep breath in, deep breath out. I can do this. Gatherings still made Lighttail nervous, but she’d made a point of coming tonight. With her kits growing fast, she’d be unable to make the trip to Fourtrees soon. She still had to mentally scratch herself that she was a queen again. It was truly hard to believe. She decided to approach a pair of WindClan cats, the most neutral option at this point. “Good evening,” she mewed. “I’m Lighttail, and you?”
Lighttail has approached Kestrelchirp and Cloudpaw.

Sunflare was decidedly not in the mood to talk to other clans this Gathering. His mind was still awash with shame and guilt, and a determination to be better burned in his chest. He took a seat next to Quillsplash, figuring that at least he would have the younger warrior’s company.
Sunflare is with Quillsplash.

Sageroot nodded in greeting to the new face. “Hi Cindersky! I’m Sageroot, deputy of ThunderClan. I just realized Sablestrike is the only cat here who’s been here longer than me, but I’m still fairly new myself. I know things haven’t been great between our clans, but I hold no personal grudges so feel free to ask for advice if you need it.”
Sageroot is being her usual cinnamon roll self.

Sunflare watched the cats mill about, rather disinterested in it all. Every flash of tortoiseshell fur in the crowd seemed to remind him that Tawnyshadow wasn’t there. His heart squeezed even at Quillsplash beside him. “I’m sorry I never thanked you for being a friend to her,” he said almost in monotone, eyes cast somewhere into empty space.
Sunflare is talking to Quillsplash.

Being at the Gathering without Perchstar was... strange, to say the least. Dovetail couldn't quite shake off the feeling of wrongness at the stoic gray-and-white leader's absence at the head of their party. At least the figure of Poppyshine was a constant. He hardly enjoyed Gatherings anymore--it felt more like an obligation than anything. He supposed it wasn't the worst obligation in the world, but somehow he always worried that something awful would happen. Sometimes it had. He could hardly forget his first-ever Gathering interrupted suddenly by a storm, or the several tense arguments that had broken out. He lashed his tail in subdued annoyance, but found a place in the midst of RiverClan to settle down and keep an eye out for those he cared about.

Dovetail is open to talk.

--

Hedgepaw liked Gatherings. At least, she thought she did. She hadn't made many friends; usually she either stuck with her family or found something else to distract her. This time, though she still remained near her brothers and Wolfpaw's grumpy aura especially, she kept her bright green eyes scanning the crowd for anyone she may want to meet. After all, Gatherings were supposed to be peaceful, right? What better time to meet anyone than now? Briefly the small apprentice waved her tail to Quillsplash as he left, offering him a bright smile to assure she'd be okay. And she would! She knew how Gatherings worked by now. The sheer deluge of sight and sound still scared her a little bit, but nothing bad had ever happened to her before. The closest to that had been the time she'd dragged Fish behind a tree--but, she hadn't seen him since then. Was he doing okay? What had happened to him after that?

Hedgepaw is open to talk to!
Bubble and Larch coming later.

cloudpaw looked at others from time to time but sometimes she wondered what would be said at this gathering it being her first after all but her eyes darted from one cat from another waiting for the exiting things to begin.

Owlcall followed Poppystar into the clearing. Blue eyes looking over his siblings momentarily before returning back to looking ahead of him. They were all old enough now to take care of themselves, but that didn't stop the large brown tom from worrying. They were always going to be his little siblings. The fluffy tom sat down in an empty spot, curling his tail neatly around his paws. If someone wanted to speak with him they were more than welcome.

Owlcall is open to talk.

--

Ravenfall let out a small huff. He didn't really want to be here at the moment. The full moon was one of the best times to go out and find pretty rocks, but he was told to attend the gathering. While rocks were important, he supposed that supporting their new leader was also important, so he didn't complain too much on the way here. The black tom quickly found a spot, and settled in for the night.

Ravenfall is open to talk.

--

Harespring followed the rest of Skyclan into the clearing. The pale tom didn't really want to be among the large crowd at the moment so he settled near the back of the growing crowd, content to rest here for the moment.

Harespring is open to talk.

--

The large crowd amazed the black spotted she-cat. Amber eyes looked around at all of the different cats, small and large, thin and thick. It was very different from what she had seen back in Thunderclan. Even all of the scents were overwhelming. She knew of a few scents from her learning patrols, but encountering them all at once was a different story. Blackpaw shoved her way through the thick crowd not minding if she disturbed anyone. Her exploration was more important.

Blackpaw is open to talk.

Sablestrike found his place under the Great Wock with his fellow deputies. He had missed out on the past couple moons, and it seemed in those few moons had shuffled the cats that would be joining him. Wolfblossom had become Wolfstar, though that was something he already knew, it was still odd seeing her on the Great Rock with the rest of the leaders. Poppyshine had joined her, and while Windclan didn't have a new leader, he still couldn't spot Sootstorm. The only truly familiar face left in the pack of deputies was Sageroot. A shame. He would have loved to speak with Wolfblossom for once.

Dark ears swiveled towards a new voice, and soon after his eye followed. "It's pleasure to meet you, Cindersky. I am Sablestrike, Shadowclan's deputy." He had never been close to Poppyshine, nor did he ever actually speak to her, but maybe things could be different with Cindersky. Leopardstar did say he should start branching out and making friends in other clans, who better than the other deputies? For now however, that was not was he was worried about. Sageroot had begun speaking as well, and that comment didn't go unnoticed. Sablestrike is the only cat here who’s been here longer than me. An innocent comment, yet it meant much more to him. How many moons had passed since he had become a deputy? Faces shifted in their tiny group of deputies, the same deputies he had first met were all now leaders, and he was the last of them still crawling around below the stars. He felt like an elder among the newer deputies, a realization that dulled his mood. When would Leopardstar just step down and let him live his glory?

Sablestrike is with the deputies

A gathering! Oh, Moosepaw was so excited! She buzzed about the crowd the second she arrived alongside her siblings, wasting no time in sniffing each cat she crossed. Quite a few had frowns plastered on their faces, but it didn't dampen her spirits even when they didn't return her greetings. It was their loss to not make a friend tonight.

Her prancing stopped right in front of a tom with a tail like a snails shell, his eyes focused on nothing at all as though lost in thought... "Hellloooo?? Mr. Snail Tail? I wanna talk to you!" She squeaked, a paw raising to wave in front of the older toms face. Truth be told, Moosepaw had nothing important to say to him, but everyone else seemed occupied or grumpy. She liked his tail a lot, though. He was cool!

Moosepaw is trying to get Snailpaw's attention.

---

What an interesting little gathering with room enough for one more! Grub Jr squeezed through the crowd, taking in every teeny tiny little scent she could get hold of, wrinkling her nose at a few. The chatter was boisterous and the cats were stinky. She wouldn't have it any other way.

Her yellow eyes did, however, pinpoint Wolfstar up on the big ole rock surrounded by four great oaks. Bathed in moonlight, she thought briefly that SkyClan's leader was rather pretty. Kind of a useless trait if it wasn't also paired with being intimidating because of her size. She figured those beside her were also leaders of some other clan she didn't give a mouses behind about. Though the spotted one looked cool.

Taking a seat, she wrapped her mottled brown tail around her little paws next to an older cat who stank of fish.

Grub Jr has sat next to Swandive and is open to talk to.

---

Heatherberry took her usual spot at the base of Great Rock amongst the other medicine cats, though something was very different this time. It was noticable with just the RiverClan molly who called herself Pigeonpounce, but the added attention to yet another new face had Heatherberry perking her ears. "Two new faces... Not entirely unusual, but surprising. I'm Heatherberry, ShadowClan's medicine cat. And this is my apprentice, Nightpaw." Her tail flicked towards the brown tuxedo, encouraging him to mingle. She nestled down to mimic the one scented with ThunderClan's musk, not finding it to be a bad idea to rest. Her head lay on her black paws as she curiously looked at both Pigeonpounce and the molly who had yet to speak.

Heatherberry is speaking to Sleepycloud and Pigeonpounce.

---

Vinecrawler is not in attendance.