Aftermath [OPEN Post September Gathering Meeting]

((Takes place after the September gathering, before the October gathering, you know the drill. This is less a formal meeting and more to let everything react to everything that went down at the gathering. As for timeline purposes, Wolf/Timberpaw is part of the clan. Fox and Hickory are warriors, Wasp is technically an apprentice because she was at the gathering, her ceremony happened after Fox's so the soup worked itself out nicely this time.))

The trek back to camp from fourtrees felt like it took ten moons. Wolfstar's pelt might have shown more blood than the white fur beneath. The clanmates she leaned against as they walked were probably just as bloodstained, but at least the blood wasn't theirs.

The leader turned her head, glancing over her clanmates as the sun rose through the trees. Tired, bloodied, fear and fading adrenaline made more than a few paws unsteady. But somehow they had all escaped major injury. No deaths, other than her own temporary demise.

Considering how their last encounter with wolves had gone, Wolfstar found herself grateful for that. The words of the Starclanner she'd spoken to rang in her ears as the weary group stumbled into the camp. Doubtless the scent of blood preceding them. Wolfstar was inclined to head directly for her nest and close her eyes. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, the loss of that life had set in, leaving her more exhausted than she'd felt since greenleaf had begun to relinquish its' grip on the forest. There was explaining to do, however. The faces that greeted the gathering party's arrival were ones of shock and fright at their clanmates' appearance. Leaping up to her perch on the tallbranch was probably a bad idea - definitely a bad idea. Wolfstar chose to sit below instead as she called her clanmates forward. Her own wounds still bled sluggishly despite the cobwebs and other herbs one of the medicine cats - she wasn't sure who - had patched her up with. She had been adamant that she wouldn't leave her clan leaderless, even as injured as she had been. Starclan had healed what killed her, time would heal the rest just fine. Still, the long walk back to camp had not done the deep wounds that covered her sides any favors. It was nothing she couldn't handle though. Still, the lack of a medicine cat and the potential for what could have happened... Something needed to change. For now, though...

"Skyclan, come here." She was too tired for formalities, and suspected those involved in the fighting were as well. She would make this brief. She waited a few moments for the clan to settle before continuing. "The gathering was eventful, to say the least. For those of you old enough to remember fleeing the lake last leafbare, two wolves descended on fourtrees. For those of you not old enough, they are giant, vicious beasts. Larger and meaner than any fox or dog. It took all five clans fighting to defeat the two of them."

"I'd love to yell at those of you who immediately jumped into the fray, honestly. There's a fine line between bravery and stupidity, but I can't. Those beasts were on us before any of us could react. We are so very lucky to have come out of that without major injuries or death. Had you all not fought things would have gone a very different way for all of us." Aside from her own, but what did it matter? She had the lives to spare, they did not. "The other clans have more injuries to deal with, you all are to respect our borders and theirs. The two wolves who attacked the gathering are dead, but we don't know if there are more of them. I'll remind everyone to be careful. Even if you stay in the trees. If there are any strange sightings, report them to Falconmoon or I immediately. The camp guard will be doubled for the next two moons, just in case." Though even with a camp guard... She did not want to acknowledge just how swiftly those beasts had moved.

Wolfstar's head turned, glancing over each bloodstained clanmate, "You fought well. Clean yourselves up and get some rest." They had earned it.

The smell of blood hit the warrior's nose before he could see who was approaching camp. Hickorysmoke swiftly scaled a tree and looked down on the arriving party. It was his clan no doubt but most if not all were covered in blood. He jumped down from his perch and sat as close as he could to his grandmother.

They had been attacked by wolves at the gathering. "Of course when I stay home..." he thought to himself but then his eyes widened in fear. Not at anything his grandmother had said but at the thought of Honeypaw being at the gathering.

The young tom quickly walked away from his current sitting spot and made his way through the crowd that attended the gathering. His sister's pelt caught his attention and he forced his way to her. "Are you ok?! Did they hurt you?! I'm so sorry I wasn't there! he fussed as he started removing the blood from his sister's coat.

(Yeah I ditched the september gathering cause I had 0 muse for it. Storm was there ... I guess he just fought in the background or something idk Its also very possible he was helping apprentices get out of there who knows really)

The gathering was a mess, total disaster and failure. His pelt was still all spoofed out from the ear splitting howling of the wolves and the battle that had occurred, it was all a blur to him mainly he just remembered Wolf falling and somehow they had all gotten out of there?

He didn't even really remember how he got back to camp just the mad dash though the darkness and feeling like every pawstep something was behind him.

Total shellshock and disbelive this was happening to them twice now...

He went over on shaky paws to where Wolfstar was now calling a meeting and sat down a distance away from her. He mainly looked down at his paws not able to look for long at all the blood stained pelt he saw on her.


Morale was low enough and in his deepest hearts he didn't believe just having a lookout would solve their problems, probably because the real problem at paw was much deeper than anything they could currently do. Despite his pessimistic outlook on that he didn't say much at all just frowned staring at the ground below him.

"some help the stars were tonight" he grumbled to himself sarcastically. The star's oh so precious sacred land did fox dung to keep them safe at all.

What was the point of having all the clans gather like that anyways? He was beginning to become more and more leery of anything to do with the stars above.

As a warrior, he hadnt even had a moonstone, Bloodstar just gave him his warrior name one day when he looked too old to be an apprentice, the constant shuffle of mentors he had made tracking his 'requirments' too difficult apperntly... and he hadn't been struck by lighting yet ... what exactly was the purpose of the stars anyhow seeing how useless they were tonight.

Eyes narrowing he concluded that the stars were very much so real, he had seen proof of their existance, but they were not what most of his clanmates thought they were.

Either the stars were not as powerful as they claimed or they were not such a force of good at all.

If the stars held the power of forsight like they oh so mightily claimed they could have not held this gathering...

and if they HAD known what was coming then the 5 clans below were just a source of entertainment for the starclan. A group of living cats to slowly torture and manipulate.

Well... he for one was done with the strings being pulled above him.

Honeypaw's tortoiseshell and white pelt was stained with red too, and now that they were away from fourtrees she had to fight to keep her paws from shaking as the adrenaline began to fade. When she finally made it into camp, it was a relief to see it unscathed, and their clanmates too.

Honeypaw sat heavily, tail curling over her paws, blue eyes flicking toward Wolfstar as she spoke. The leader looked exhausted, and who could blame her with what those wolves had done?

Hickorysmoke reached her side, and Honeypaw shook her head at his concern, "Blood's not mine, I'm alright." She mewed softly. "Be glad you weren't, those beasts were more vicious than anything I've ever seen." She couldn't get the image of Wolfstar's body flung to the ground out of her head. Or that of the Shadowclan leader either, for that matter. Leaders were supposed to be strong and powerful, but if the wolves could do that to them so easily... Honeypaw shivered.

---

Stoneheart was simply glad to be away from fourtrees. Things could have been much worse, she knew, but the place had to be cursed, that was the only explanation for this round of chaos. She stuck close to Mistflower, saying nothing as Wolfstar called the clan to gather and gave those who hadn't been at the gathering a very brief explanation of what had happened.

Stoneheart's ear twitched when she caught the quiet mutter of Stormwatcher. Indeed, some help the stars had been... "Fourtrees has never been a place of safety." She grumbled back, tail tip twitching back and forth. Even outside of the wolves, faint memories tugged at her mind, of chaos and twolegs flailing as cats ran in every which direction.

Stormwatcher's ear flicked and he glanced confused upwards. At first he felt intense dread someone had managed to overhear him. He flicked his tail annoyed at first, ready to defend himself in case it was someone he had managed to upset.

But realizing what was said and who said it made him equally shocked... it was Stoneheart!? and she... agreed with him??

He wasn't sure if he was more surprised at what was said or whom it came from but he welcomed both equally.

He hardly even knew what to do with that information... just that at least someone else saw that this was some hot fox-dung levels of trickery the stars were up to. And it wasn't even just 'someone' else even... it was Stoneheart... deep down he knew he had some level of a crush on her though nothing had ever come of it, wasn't so easy when he refused to show any form of how he felt if it was avoidable.

He gave a little nod of his head and rubbed at his head with a front paw, his rugged pelt a mess after the event of tonight. Everything was disgusting right now.

"let the dead be dead" he muttered. He didnt realize it now but perhaps that phrase would be his new motto for things to come.

He began losing focus on Wolfstars words... instead he sat there wondering how many other clanmates felt the same way they did and were just too worried about being alone to talk about it openly.

Hickorysmoke sighed at his sister's words. She wasn't hurt. His ear flicked back at a nearby muttering. Curious orange eyes locked with those of his mentor for a brief moment. "Let the Dead be Dead! he lowly growled with a simple nod of his head then continued cleaning the blood from his sister's pelt.

Mistypaw was in just the right spot to hear the murmur rippling below the surface of the crowd. StarClan had truly failed them, that was for sure. She knew as well as any cat that when the clans fought at Fourtrees, StarClan would intervene. Her own mother had the lightning scar to prove— wait. Lighttail hadn’t even been at fault then! So not only did they do nothing about the wolves tonight, but come to think about it they’d unjustly hurt her own mother. Mistypaw’s claws dug into the earth and her ears pinned back. Who did these dead fools think they were, anyway? She lifted her gaze to Stormwatcher’s and repeated the phrase. “Let the dead be dead.”