July Gathering 7/25

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SC;
Spottedstar's amber eyes gleamed as she entered the Gathering place. The light of the full moon threw silver light across the grass and trees, turning everything silver. Even her pelt was tinged with this nightly gleam. The ginger and white she-cat stood at the front of ShadowClan, glancing about to note that they were the first to arrive. She did not have much to report at this Gathering though, be it good or bad. Her Clan had yet to even hear of the plane crash off in the distance of the poppy fields. Twitching her whiskers, the patched leader bounded over toward the leaders' rock, leaping onto it with both grace and strength of a true feline, and settled down there as she waited for the others to arrive.

Brokenflame was not far off behind his leader as they stepped into the clearing. As he looked about, his orange eyes also tried to look through the masses of fur around him. He had not seen much of Phoenixpaw since the night they had been supposed to rid the Clan of her sister, Blossompaw. Now he was about as confused as ever as to what their plan had been.

Mudstripe padded near the back of his Clan. Irritation was coming from his pelt in waves, showing through his eyes, tail, and even the way he walked. His blue-green eyes glared about him as he looked for one cat in particular. Runningpath. She had a lot of explaining to do, what with her defending a loner he'd been prepared to shred. The tabby warrior didn't plan on making any sort of move yet, especially at a Gathering, but that didn't mean it didn't bother him to no end.


TC;
Sunflash was still back with ThunderClan in their position. He was standing strong, not a fear bothering his mind. Age had yet to begin to press him closer to the earth. His muscles were still hard, his claws still sharp. And at this particular Gathering, he felt great. He had a mate and apprentice now, and was still feeling strong enough to carry out all the duties he had before. True, he was not in the spring of youth any longer, but the golden tom planned on stretching that out as long as he could.

Flightpaw was near Sunflash, her hazel eyes dark and unhappy. The once-cheerful apprentice was growing moody with age. And with reason. Here she was, ready to be made warrior at last, but to no such thing. Why was she still an apprentice? The caramel tabby knew she was ready, that she could pass any test. She no longer even felt close to Rainwing. Resentment had taken root in her belly. She wanted to lash out, but her claws only found the ground to rake. It wasn't fair.


RC;
Ravenstone waited with the rest of RiverClan. His green eyes looked dull and lifeless, and the rest of him fit to match. The black tom had tried moving on from memories of Snowfeather, but it just wouldn't happen! He thought about her constantly, which made it so much harder to keep away. The warrior wanted so badly to find her hiding spot and bring her back. But that would go against the promise he'd made himself- to leave her alone.

Icepaw stood farther off from Ravenstone, his blue eyes shinning in wait. Another Gathering. He felt excitement of a young apprentice flow through his veins. The pale tabby tom must have been about nine moons old now, so he was a bit more mature, but he couldn't suppress the excitement of seeing all the cats in the territories once again.


WC;
Badgerstep was trying to see through the dense trees and into the clearing a little ways off. He was beginning to smell cats, familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. The reek of ShadowClan was the strongest so far. But even though it irritated his scent glands, the black and white warrior was putting his best paw forward. Things were different at Gatherings. Unfortunately, though, not everything. He glanced around in an attempt at spotting Moonspirit without being too obvious. With her belly as full of kits as he was, the tom was determined to do whatever he could to make sure the rest of the Clan was oblivious, and that she was safe.

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Windclan::

FoxStar looked over her shoulder at all the cats behind her, and then looked at Swiftfire beside her. She took a deep breath, then started trotting down to FourTrees. She was a bit nervous, yes, only because she wasn't there last time.

She had an excuse, yet no one was glad about it. I bet they were excited about going to the gathering this time. She made no doubts.


GoosePaw was trotting along gleefully. He felt happy. He had AshStorm, a mentor who knew bird techniques, and well, he was at a place that he could call home. He was no longer alone, nor was he traveling by himself all the time. He felt decent.


SootClaw felt a bit happier since of that time with CedarClaw. It seemed as though things were coming along great now. She seemed to feel a little bit of the same feeling, and that was good enough for him. At least she didn't try to rip his pelt to shreds. He appreciated that. He loved that fact.

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ShadowClan::

RunningPath prowled over next to MudStripe, flirting once more. She liked to distract most cats, and she might as well try to get on his good side. She didn't want him blabbing the wrong thing to SpottedStar when he didn't know everything.

She nudged his shoulder gently with the tip of her nose, and smiled softly.

"Hiya," she whispered.


PheonixPaw soon showed up beside BrokenFlame, her aura//pelt looking tense and angry. She wasn't the best of all apprentice's no longer. She didn't seem to care anymore. Nothing seemed to go right. TigerStorm stopped chatting with her when BlossomPaw disappeared. She disliked that. Was he ignoring her?

She looked over at BrokenFlame, her gaze looking rather stern. She shook her head, and looked forward once more.

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Swiftfire nodded towards Foxstar and the clan set off. She felt butterflies in her stomach as they neared. This would be her first meeting as Swiftfire, deputy of Windclan. It would be the night the other clans found out. They would also find out about the battles, kits, warriors, and new apprentices. Perhaps they would even talk about the weird sound heard off in the poppy fields.

As they raced towards four trees, she realized that Foxstar was a bit nervous. Flicking her ears, she kept going, once looking back to make sure everyone was following quietly. Soon the four trees lay out beneath them. Her eyes traveled around and saw many cats, leaders already there. Flicking her tail, she waited for her leader to signal them to go down.

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Foxflight waited with Thunderclan, looking down eagerly into the mingle of cats. Here, the plan would spread like a disease. His belly felt light, but his eyes shifted around into the arrived clans. Who would listen to him? Two or three from each clan should help.

His eyes went to Sunflash and the apprentice near him. The tom looked just like the strong senior warrior he was. Soon though, that might change.

Kneading his paws, he awaiting the signal to go down, once looking across towards the moors to see Windclan waiting too. Ah yes, everything would start now.

[Deleted]

TC;;

Riddlehawk padded up towards Foxflight, casting him a smile that was all so knowing. His gaze turned back to the rest of the clan, his eyes landing on Sunflash. The tom was older than him. But he was still no match at all. Riddlehawk turned his gaze away, towards the clans that were gathered below. Now just for Tanglestar's signal.

--

WC;;

Ashstorm padded after her leader, the smokey grey she-cat's eyes watching the other cats carefully. She sensed an unease between members of clans. What could possibly be going on in the other clans? A storm was brewing.....and she could tell it was going to break loose.

--

SC;;

The black tom with a white flecked pelt padded into the clearing. His gaze turned to Spottedstar and then back away. He looked back at the clans, then smiled when he saw his sister. He purred and padded over to her, licking Ashstorm's ear affectionatly. He had no idea about Goosepaw. He was just happy to see his sister every now and then. Sure, they were in diffrent clans, but that was because they were seperated as kits during a fire. His eyes turned back towards their respective leaders. Windclan and Shadowclan were almost always at peace so he could visit her on the border without conflict. It seemed his life was perfect. Well...seemed that way.

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GoosePaw padded over to AshStorm, and watched the tom lick AshStorm's ear. GoosePaw couldn't help but pin his ears against his head, and hissed softly.

He looked really small compared to the tom, but he didn't want anyone to steal his rare bird. Not one bit.

He rested his muzzle across AshStorm's shoulder-blade, his eyes glinting over towards the tom, who was AshStorm's brother. He didn't know that though; he barely knew anything to begin with.

He stared at the tom, a look that looked like it was saying, "mine".

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Ashstorm caught the looks given to Stargaze by Goosepaw. She nuzzled Goosepaw gently.

"Goosepaw, this is my brother. His name is Stargaze." She said gently. Her gaze turned to her brother, flicking her tail.

"And this, Stargaze, is my mate. His name is Goosepaw." She said, her eyes a bit cautious.

"How wonderful to have met you." Stargaze said with a nod to the unfamiliar tom.

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"What's on your mind Riddlehawk?" A familiar brown tabby appeared beside him, the medicine cat's green gaze studying the deputy's expression closely, having to look up because even though he had grown and was quite big himself, he was no where near the size of Riddlehawk. These two used to be so close, mentor and apprentice, but now they both had positions of high importance and seemed very distant to each other. Even so, in Rainwing's eyes, he still had great respect for the scarred tom.

He kept his own emotions hidden, except for that of curiousity because he didn't, worry and anxiety would be radiating off him like heat off the sun. That prophecy they had received at the last medicine cat Gathering...the look of concern in Dappledfrost's eyes, he could see it so clearly. His tail twitched and wondered if the others had told their leader's yet, because he couldn't keep it from his and had told her as soon as he could. He also wondered how Twitchpaw was dealing with it.

Ooc: I figured this would be the timeline.....Med cat meeting, tell leaders (need to make that board), gathering, plane crash...? Does that make sense? And since Goldy's not here....Stormstrike has to lead Riverclan?

The lithe body of Stormstrike glanced back to Riverclan, a frown on his face. He knew Firestar was a little ashamed of her actions and had been staying back from the clan as much as possible since her mistake....but wasn't this a little much? Now he needed to lead them to the Gathering? He didn't expect to have to do that till he became leader. He took a breath, then let it out to calm whatever nerves he had. "Riverclan, let's go." He murmured, then flicked his tail for them to follow him into the clearing.

[Tanglekit]

Tanglestar padded down the slope towards the middle of the four trees. She had heard whispered of a large monster crashing down in Poppy Fields and in her mind the clans should leave it alone. It was easily five or even ten sizes of the other monsters, and all monsters did was bring painful death. So for now she didn't want her warriors even thinking that t an expedition to the great monster was even possible. Her dainty paws picked down the towards the other clan and for the first time in moons she didn't feel bitter or anger, all she felt was peace of mind. She had apologized to Dirtfur and now she really thought of him as one of Thunderclan.

Rippledcrest followed slowly behind the rest of her clan. She hadn't been to many gathering and all of the new scents and smells and stories being told made her nervous. She backed up to the shadows just within hearing distance and laid down alone.

Leopardclaw sat at the rim of the slope that lead down to the sacred meeting place. Firestar was not here which meant that Stormstrike was in charge. The clan had begun to get more and more restless and opinionated and they started to distrust Firestar's judgment. He did not like the looks of this whole affair and he feared the out come.

Leafheart walked into the clearing a little heart broken. It had been days if not weeks since she had seen Skapha. He had been so busy with his crew that he had not the time for her anymore. The days dragged on and she felt so alone in the world. Skapha and her had made an almost instant connection, or at least she thought, but now the distance between them was really taking it's toll.

Smokewisp followed his leader into the mess of other cats and clans. From he looks of it just sbout every clan was here and he could feel peace, at least that's what he thought he felt.

[Deleted]

ScarShadow padded up behind Tanglestar, letting his ears prick up. He was still disgusted how she let that DirtFur feel like he was one with the clan. It bugged him. Not to mention, his Shadowclan stench still lingered on his pelt. It bugged him.

-

DirtFur soon padded with ThunderClan, feeling a bit out of place still. He hoped to see some of his old comrades. Then again, he hoped he didn't. They would most likely swipe his whiskers off and call him a traitor. Then, facing SpottedStar would be even worse...

He saw RippledCrest lay down alone, which got him to pad over by her, sitting down beside her.

"Hey," he spoke quietly.

-

CowSpot padded or rather trotted along with ThunderClan, his ears pricked. It seemed as if things were at peace, but could that be even close to true? He didn't know the answer to that, and he didn't think he wanted to even know.

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CoonPaw, Cowspot's identical, Padded along side SunFlash. His ears were pricked. This was his first gathering, and he wasn't really excited at all. He would probably just boast about himself.

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MiracleFur looked over at StormStrike, and sighed softly. She was really uncomfortable about a lot of things.

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NeedleHeart limped on in the gathering, her ears flickering side to side. She wasn't sure on how to feel. She wasn't nervous. She was just worried about certain problems. Things were falling apart, and she didn't enjoy that feeling.

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"Nothing at all Rainwing....just things of the past." Riddlehawk said, his gaze turning to the young tom that had once been his apprentice. His gaze then turned to Dirtfur as he studied him carefully. His gaze seemed to turn from one place to another today, his mind a bit indecisive it seemed. Or so it appeared. He followed Tanglestar down the slope, his eyes turning to the leaders gathered there. He took his place besides where the leaders were gathered.

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((OOC: Everyone who has a cat in the plot, please bring the cats who are going to be doing some evilness into the gathering if they are already not. I'm thinking Foxflight just puts ideas in their minds as he gets friendly. Later on the plan will be said to them because other cats can't know))

Foxflight saw the look Riddlehawk gave him. He turned his head away and smirked as Tanglestar started going down towards the rocks. The male started to go down with the clan as his ears pricked up the noise of the medicine cat. Not looking back, he listened to the conversation as best he could as he got closer to the assembling cats. Soon, he was out of earshot of the two conversering toms, but he looked about the clearing.

Looking towards Riverclan territory, he found that the clan was just coming down. Noise behind him told him that Riddlehawk was done talking and he watched as the deputy took his place. Now it would be a little bit before the meeting started. His eyes probed the cats around him for any who would understand his plan.

[Deleted]

Rainwing watched the deputy pad off, frowning thoughtfully. "It was nice talking with you...." He murmured in disgruntled way. He pushed the thoughts of Riddlehawk aside and moved to find the other medicine cats and his apprentice. He had promised to introduce her to the other important cats after all.

Stormstrike made his way confidently through the data to where the leaders sat. Instead of sitting below with the other deputies, tonight he was up with the leaders. With one leap of strength and grace, he was up with the others. He nodded to each of them in respect, then exchanged a glance with Riddlehawk. As the only two toms in power positions, they were recently close to being friends.

(I want Tigerstorm in on it)
The large tabby padded through the darkness to enter the gathering, his golden amber eyes glowing. If there was ever a time he truly looked like the jungle cat in his name, this was it. He sat down towards the back, eyes on the leaders as his tail wrapped around his paws.

[Deleted]

As he was padding after Tanglestar, Sunflash was becoming aware of a prickly feeling on the back of his neck. It was making his fur stick up a little. Wary, the golden tabby twisted his neck around as he continued on to get a scan of the cats around him. All he could see behind him were his Clanmates.

Mouse-brain! Cats are looking all over the place. That shouldn't be unusual. He twitched his whiskers as he scolded himself. He really was being a mouse-brain. Mentally shrugging the matter aside, the warrior found himself a place in ThunderClan's normal part of the clearing at blinked up at the leaders.

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Badgerstep followed Foxstar into the Gathering place, his black ears swiveling around to catch snippets of different conversations going on around him. He had to find a way to relax before he exploded with tension. The tom's amber eyes looked around for some cat to talk to, one that wasn't from WindClan. He needed to get away from them for that night.

He spotted one tom not too far off, coming up with ThunderClan. Badgerstep couldn't say that he'd ever really known this tom. Maybe he'd seen him at Gatherings, but never talked to the warrior or even learned his name. It seemed like a good idea in his mind to maybe share a few words with the red warrior.

The patched tom made his way through the gathering crowd of cats, and over to where the other tom was. He seemed to be looking over to the deputy, Riddlehawk, so he hoped he wasn't interrupting something. "Hello," Badgerstep started, trying to sound friendly. "I'm Badgerstep, from WindClan. Who are you?" He blinked in a smiling sort of way, but he had trouble laying that same enthusiasm over his stressed mew.

~~~~~

Icepaw bounded into the clearing, his eyes still bright. He was about to settle down with the rest of his Clan when his blue eyes noticed Riddlehawk on the other side of the clearing. The fur on his tail immediately started fluffing up with the familiar rage that tore at his belly. The urge to use his claws was almost too strong to control.

But the young tom forced his fur to lie flat, and to looked away from the scarred tabby. No. Not here, of all places. But the feelings was still so strong.

[Deleted]

Swiftfire followed her clan down into the clearing. It was a beautiful night and it had just begun. She briskly made her way among the cats and weaved through the familiar pelts of her clan until she came up to the rocks right under the four trees.

Her eyes looked up in amazement at the shear size of them up close. Before she could blink, Stormstrike made his way up to the top. She cocked her head confused. Where was the leader? Hiding her confusement, she meowed a hello.

Then she saw that Riddlehawk had just taken his place under the leaders as well. She flicked her tail in a hello, not knowing what she was supposed to say. Instead of standing there like an idiot mouse, she sat down and curled her tail under her paws. Her pelt was a bit ruffled from all the stress of not knowing what to do. Swiftfire's eyes shone though with the pride she felt.

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Foxflight merely looked bored as Riddlehawk sat down near the leaders and Stormstrike went onto the rock. Then a sudden voice behind him made him turn his head around wildly in shock. With all the scents and noises he hadn't heard the tom come up. Upon inspection he found that this tom was indeed Windclan, which was then confirmed by it's introduction.

Regaining his composure, he returned the hello. "I'm Foxflight of Thunderclan, Badgerstep. I am glad to meet you."

He then turned around for he could face the Windclan warrior full on and not be rude.

"What's got you all stressed out Badgerstep? My ears don't lie," he mewed lightly with a smile.

His ears swivled as they heard paw steps behind the gathering cats. It sounded like a big cat and from his periphial vision he saw a tiger looking one. He turned his attention back onto Badgerstep with the same smile.

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Badgerstep smiled pleasantly, slightly relieved that the ThunderClan warrior was responding in a friendly was rather than in one of coldness and dislike. He felt his shoulders loosen a little. Maybe this would be easier than he'd thought. Just a little talk, some tension relieved, some peace of mind.

Foxflight's next words, however, did not seem to be heading in that general direction. His shoulders tensed up a little. He hated lying, and he knew he wasn't the best at it. The only way his secret had survived so long was because no cat ever thought anything of it, and he'd never really had to defend it. And when he had to Miraclefur, she'd seen right through him. StarClan, don't let that happen again, he prayed silently.

The warrior closed his eyes and shrugged. "Aw, you know. Clan stuff. A cat can't be too at ease around the other Clans, even at a Gathering, ya know?" He couldn't help but open his eyes after saying so, hoping that he wouldn't see suspicion in the other tom's. "WindClan's been tense since the whole thing with RiverClan."