Why was he here again? There had to be a reason. A good one. A reason so earth-shatteringly urgent that proved that Alderstep should be here at Seastones with what felt like the rest of ThunderClan. Except there really was no reason. Yet again, the russet tabby had roped himself into a social gathering for no damn reason other than 'it's tradition.'

Oh, how fun. Alderstep watched Thrushfur walk away. This wouldn't go well. It couldn't. His mind flitted to the thought of ShadowClan, worrying for a moment before the tom flicked his tail and sought out a spot to settle down. Whatever happened at this gathering...it was bound to have happened, no matter who was the leader of ThunderClan.

Hah. Why was he acting like there was some sort of imminent threat? He had to stop blowing things out of proportion. The tom tucked his paws under his tail, an action that was almost becoming a nervous habit. At least it kept his paws warm. Alderstep observed the rest of the clan from where he sat, contemplating both going back home to sleep and who'd be next to show up to the gathering.

((open))

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MallowHeart

ThunderClan
A Beautiful tortoiseshell She-cat with Green eyes.

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MallowHeart has decided to make an appearance at this months gathering. It was time for her to get her social game on. Though not trying to be ambitious, there were plenty of higher rank positions open and she wanted them. She was hoping to get a good look with the higher ranks of other clans.

Thunderclan being first to arrive gave her tons of time to get herself to look pretty. As she found a seat rather close to where the higher rank warriors sat… Maybe she’d have a conversation with an enforcer from ShadowClan…! Though that might not go well, considering the recent drama… OKAY! Not ShadowClan… hm…

WindClan lacks any sort of higher warrior rank so, maybe a shield from RiverClan? Those fish cats were strange but she’d be willing to tolerate it. You never quite know someone until you meet them, right? Okay! Mallowheart was hoping to speak with Riverclan shields! That was her goal today!

Finishing her grooming, she sat in a presentable position and waited. She hoped she was close enough to be dragged into whatever was discussed. Politics, history, new births? Anything was good enough. She just wanted to establish herself as someone to be respected…
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(This is post is semi closed to anyone but as you can see, I have a preferred audience as the other clans arrive. Please shoot me a vm and wait till I respond with an answer. Make sure to tell me which of your characters would like to interact!)
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At least whatever cat had approached him had a familiar smell- oh, wait. Alderstep snapped out of his placid reverie, noticing Buzzflight next to him. Right. A Thundercat. He turned his gaze to her calico pelt, his stomach sinking into the weight of just plain dread. This one talked like Rabbitchatter. That was never a good sign as if the fact that his clanmate seemed to be so cheery wasn't enough of a warning that this wasn't good news for him.

Alderstep flicked his tail, brushing some snow away from one of his paws before resettling it. "Who is ever excited for meetings?" he grumbled, glancing over around Seastones, wondering if any other clans had shown up yet. Nope. The warrior looked back to Buzzflight. "Are you excited for it?" he half-accused. She seemed like the type that would love to eat up all the gathering drama. Maybe she'd even squeal in delight when ShadowClan declared war-

No. That was not happening.

Whatever. Buzzflight was just an overenthusiastic cat. Most likely. Still, he'd rather keep ThunderClan close to him this gathering rather than have to deal with some pesky, other-clanner 'paw.

@ophelia

{Springpaw}

The feeling of the light cool breeze running through her thick fur made the pastel calico shiver. This was Springpaw’s first gathering, and from what she’s encountered from eavesdropping on occasional conversations at ThunderClan camp, her own clan was in trouble with ShadowClan. The thought itself made her stomach begin rolling like barrels. She hated feeling this nervous at a gathering. Her blue eyes scanned the dark, dimly lit area only to find that her clan had arrived first to the gathering. She felt a bit at ease for it, but that didn’t stop the churning anxiety in her chest. Her eyes trailed up at the seastones, her mouth open agape at how large it was. She never heard much facts about it, other than the fact that all of the high ranks were mainly up there. It looked memorizing to see with the bright moon shining down along it.

Springpaw tore her eyes away from the stones and began looking around. She spotted a couple of her clanmates speaking with one another, some being familiar in her peripheral vision. The one that mainly caught her eye was her sister, Autumnpaw. This was also her first gathering as well. I wonder how she’s taking it all in. Springpaw thought mentally to herself. She decided to not keep it in much longer and trod her way towards the bright orange molly. “Autumnpaw!” She spoke, her voice warm and welcoming as she looked at her sister. She hadn’t interacted with her much lately, and that honestly made her anxiety act up. She didn’t like it whenever her siblings and her were split. It… made her think of when they were kits. “First gathering, huh? I wonder how the other clans will be like. What about you? What do you think?” She stated, sitting down next to Autumnpaw as she locked her bright blue eyes with her own. She was half tempted to tell her to not cause trouble, but she’ll tell her that after they at least chatted a bit.

@ophelia [Sibling interaction :eyes: ]

{Springpaw}

The pastel calico watched as Autumnpaw excitedly expressed her thoughts about the gathering, resisting the urge to chuckle at her antics. Springpaw was used to Autumnpaw being like this, as Springpaw herself had been the oldest of the litter, essentially knowing how every one of her littermates acted. She drew her paw over her head as she purred out her response. “Well, I won’t know what the other clans will be like. But most likely, they’ll fit the description of what you said. Knowing most likely though, I think we’ll catch a whiff of RiverClan’s stinking fish scent first.” Springpaw mused, flashing a short genuine smile towards her sister. She couldn’t help but feel a bit of unease enter her. ThunderClan and ShadowClan had been rather tense with each other, the thought only making her fur bristle. But she desperately tried to ignore it. This was espoused to be gathering. No fights would happen during a gathering, right?

Focusing back on Autumnpaw, she decided to have some sort of small talk with her. It had been quite a bit since they’ve last spoken, so she was interested with how her training was currently going. Springpaw had practically raised her and her brothers ever since their mother abandoned them. So she felt like it was her top priority to keep her siblings in check. “How is your training going, Autumnpaw? Not causing trouble for your mentor now, are you?” She asked halfheartedly, a twine of amusement glinting in the long-furred oriental molly’s blue eyes. She knew how Autumnpaw was with those rather boisterous adventures of hers. But she decided to not mention it whatsoever.

@ophelia [This post feels so ew- I feel like I didn’t put enough effort to it]

Alderstep forced the tension from his shoulder muscles as Buzzflight claimed sarcasm. Yeah, whatever. He totally knew that. He had to try to loosen up and stop being on edge, or whatever Frostfeather had suggested. Except for this time, maybe he did have a good reason. The tom glanced around Seastones again, keeping his eyes out for any more joining clans. No, it was just Thunder, still.

His eyes fixated on the she-cat beside him, watching her settle down. Alderstep was finding himself agreeing with her first statement. He did find meetings boring. Though... "Aren't they the same?" the tom asked, though he was voicing his inner thoughts rather than intentionally speaking. Truly, though, what was the difference between curiosity and excitement? They always seemed like the same thing. With a shrugging motion, Alderstep looked out at the other cats again. His itch to keep an eye on others was acting up, probably because he had a bad feeling in his gut about this meeting.

Oh, what was this? The fluffy warrior's eyes caught sight of his apprentice's dark figure with what he assumed were his siblings. And he was messing with the sea creatures?? Alderstep let his green gaze linger for a moment, almost embarrassed. What kind of apprentice got freaked out over those? Or got pinched by one? With a flick of his tail, Alderstep returned his attention back to Buzzflight, though he kept an ear turned in the general direction of Ghostpaw. If that cat made a fool of himself...hah. Like Alderstep didn't do that just by simply showing up and getting riled up over the littlest things. Another reason why he was going to keep to himself or Buzzflight. The latter was just a maybe. He wasn't too sure how annoyed he'd get by her presence, yet.

@ophelia
@Yugo. -ghosty mention