September Gathering

[perseus.]

Ospreypaw
he/him | large brown tabby with a green and copper eye | @Orion
★・・・・・・★
Ospreypaw looked around excitedly at all the cats that were here at the gathering. His tail swished around as his eyes landed on a small group of apprentices, he ran over there, stumbling on the sand slightly, nearly slipping as he came to a slight skidding stop in front of the apprentices, "Hello!! My name is Ospreypaw, I'm from Thunderclan! What is your guys name?"

[CacklingMemester]

Originally Posted by Gay'Fluff

He smiled, tilting his head, although a small part of him missed that he didn't get to know his mother very well. All the fights clans do and all... it scared him as a kit and still to this day. He looked at the two of cats, a small purr rising. They both seemed really fun, and he hoped he'd get to know them better someday.

Mistyflight enjoyed this young cat's company, and she thought he'd be a good influence on Fogshadow. Hehe, they did seem to like him, "Kinkcloud, I'd like to invite you to have some prey with us sometime. You can meet Foggy's lil sister Redkit and my sister Skyshimmer. Besides", she winked, "you and Fogshadow seem to get along very well". Fogshadow looked as red as they could be, "Mommmm, stop being cringy". Mistyflight blinked innocenty, "Ofc I meant that you seem to be good friends".

[Gay'Fluff]

Originally Posted by IdkWhatToPutHere

Mistyflight enjoyed this young cat's company, and she thought he'd be a good influence on Fogshadow. Hehe, they did seem to like him, "Kinkcloud, I'd like to invite you to have some prey with us sometime. You can meet Foggy's lil sister Redkit and my sister Skyshimmer. Besides", she winked, "you and Fogshadow seem to get along very well". Fogshadow looked as red as they could be, "Mommmm, stop being cringy". Mistyflight blinked innocenty, "Ofc I meant that you seem to be good friends".

"I'd love that miss. And Redkit seems amzing already, as well as Skyshimmer." He smiled politely, the smile widening a little as she added the last part. He liked to think they did. His own ears went a little red as he looked at Fogshadow, seeing that they were red to. Great Starclan. Looking back at Mistyflight the fluffy tom blinked happily, he really would love to hang with these cats.

[Captain]

High Rank Announcement [#hrannouncement]

Once the Rootstripe situation was handled and the disrespectful feline was out of sight, the tall dark-furred oriental focused on the rest of the clan leaders and what they had to say. Dawnstar was done, so Twilightstar silently took her place in front of everyone else as WindClan announcements began. He listened in a polite, but thoughtful silence as the molly spoke of the ups and downs that her clan had faced, notably of the clanmates they had lost recently. It reminded him of RiverClan’s own deceased, so he sympathized with that dreadful loss. Bravebird, Barkpaw and Cottonwish. Pikestar closed his eye and bowed his head in silent prayer for about five seconds or so. “May they rest well in StarClan.” He thought, feeling bad that he couldn’t have had a moment to do the same for ShadowClan when Dawnstar had spoke. Rootstripe had taken up all his focus and it had distracted him, so it wasn’t intentional. He made a silent note to do better in the future. Pikestar was exhausted and stressed, but he didn’t want to disrespect the other clans. Perhaps he was simply overthinking.

Moving on though, thankfully there was good news to be said. New clanmates. That brought a small smile to Pikestar’s maw, glad that WindClan was doing well in that regard. Berrypaw, Snowypaw, Fawnpaw, Blossompaw, and Patchpaw. So many new apprentices! The RiverClan leader genuinely hoped to hear about them all becoming warriors at a later Gathering. Maybe it was weird for him to be happy for another clan’s success, but he didn’t really care if it was. Leechscar and Dreamlight. Two new WindClan warriors. Excellent. That must be very exciting for them indeed. He thought about Bluepaw, his own apprentice, and how he was so close to becoming a warrior too. Pikestar eagerly looked forward to hosting that ceremony. He continued listening, his ears twitching with intrigue as there was mention of former ThunderClan cats joining WindClan ranks. Huh. Aspenstrike, Shiningskies and Ivypaw. Lovely. Pikestar nodded his approval, glad that Twilightstar and him shared that lack of discrimiation towards cats that came from other clans. He could sense that ThunderClan was not too pleased with this, but Pikestar stayed quiet. It wasn’t his… what was the word… business to involve himself. He would’ve done the same thing though, as Twilightstar. Anyone who thought he wouldn’t didn’t truly know him then. Hopefully everything will work out.

Next was something that he didn’t expect to be brought up, but Pikestar wasn’t surprised by it either. He met Twilightstar’s gaze as the two of them looked at one another as she broke the alliance between RiverClan and WindClan. Honestly, after the whole mess that was the battle for Firefly Cove, this was something that was gonna happen one way or another. But, it didn’t anger him, nor sadden him either. The WindClan leader was right. Both of their clans were grown enough to stand alone. He couldn’t do anything to erase the past and the trouble that RiverClan had given other clans, and he had no intention to bury it deep and forget about it. He wanted to do better. And show them all he was different. A good difference. He dipped his head as a silent understanding and respect for her choice. There was no hostility or dispect here between them. Pikestar would come to address it when his turn was here, but for now, he would remain silent. With that, Twilightstar returned to her spot and sat down, politely awaiting the next set of announcements. His partial gaze slid over to Sparrowstar, wishing for her to go next. It was only fair after his disruption.

However, the outburst of another cat caught his attention, making him look out to the crowd. Ah, it seemed a ThunderClan warrior couldn’t hold back their displeasure towards WindClan taking in former clan members. They looked familiar in a way that Pikestar couldn’t place, but he simply stared with a calm gaze as they spoke of Aspenstrike and Shiningskies. Hm. Not worth their time, they claimed. More bickering and whatnot. Stuff that he didn’t have enough brain cells to focus on. It wasn’t long until Sparrowstar commanded them to stop. Pikestar nodded gently in agreement, but said nothing from his spot as the ThunderClan leader brought order back to Gathering. And thus, ThunderClan announcements began. The dark-furred tomcat had already been made aware of Cindersky’s death through his nine lives ceremony, but still, hearing the news tugged at his heart. The gray-furred shecat would always be a friend to him, a dear friend, despite their clans’ history with one another. He bowed his head and closed his eyes again, wishing her well among the stars as he sat there. A badger attack… Pikestar shook his head and focused on the present. Copperfire was deputy now. Sparrowstar and Copperfire. ThunderClan’s newest chapter.

More death. Duskfall and Thunderchaser. “Rest well, all of you, among the stars.” Pikestar thought, realizing that maybe all the death that had taken place in RiverClan wasn’t unnatural after all. Luckily, there were positives among the negatives. More new apprentices! Rainpaw, Hazelpaw, and Crocuspaw. The last one being an outsider that was welcomed into ThunderClan. Good. It was always a calming sight to see outsiders welcomed with open arms to the clans. He had been a kittypet once, after all, and then a loner, before being taken in by RiverClan all those moons ago. Pikestar listened intently as Sparrowstar spoke of a surplus of rogues, bold ones, racing across the borders. Hm. Maybe RiverClan’s problems were isolated to their own clan, after all. It didn’t really bring him much peace on the subject though. The oriental longhair nodded to warning, thinking over some things as Sparrowstar returned to sitting with the other leaders. Oh. That meant it was his turn, didn’t it? Pikestar rose to his paws and took a steady breath before stepping forward, taking his place before the rest of the leaders on the Seastones. His stomach churned anxiously.

Where did he even begin? How did he start… “RiverClan has been doing well, despite all that has happened in the past few moons. Our river is thriving with fish and there are many healthy kittens in our nursery. Skystar unfortunately has left us, being taken by some kind of internal injury that was unseen until it was too late. StarClan themselves have granted me a new name, so I do not stand before you as Snowleap, but Pikestar now. I have chosen Slatewhisker to be my deputy.” His partial gaze swept over the sea of cats below. “I’m sure many of you have also noticed that Snakeheart and Reedpaw are not here. Both are our medicine cats have gone missing, and I can only hope that wherever they both are, they are alive and well. RiverClan must trudge forward though, so our ancestors sent me an omen and decided that young Fawnpaw will be our new medicine cat.” Another pause from him, a gentle smile resting on his maw for a short moment. “She has shown great promise so far as our healer and I am confident that StarClan made the right choice.” Stars above, he felt like he could be wording all of this so much better. It was one thing addressing his clan, but this was all four clans at once. Pikestar wasn’t the best when it came to social interaction and often got what twolegs called ‘stage-fright’ but he shoved the anxiety deep down and continued talking.

“RiverClan has, sadly, had to say goodbye to more than just Skystar recently. Pounceleap, Flowernose, Lilyheart, Risingpaw…” He paused, the name of his own apprentice—his own son—being amongst the deceased, “...as well as two of our young kittens, Sproutkit and Weedkit. May they all rest easy in StarClan.” Pikestar didn’t look to Lilycreek in the crowd, wishing he didn’t have to make such an announcement in front of the four clans, but he couldn’t just sweep it under the grass and keep other cats in the dark about such things. He turned to look at Twilightstar, Dawnstar and Sparrowstar, “The young ones were killed by a rogue’s claws, so I wish to warn you all so that you can keep your little ones safe. I wouldn’t wish the same fate upon any other clan.” He knew his neighbors had gone through similar troubles with outsiders as of recently, but the oriental longhair still wanted them to know that one, or more, of these cats were targeting children. Or at least, it seemed that way from Pikestar’s perspective. The RiverClan leader didn’t doubt any of their abilities to protect their own though, so he didn’t dwell on the subject any longer than he needed to. “Thankfully, however-” He remarked, turning back to the crowd, “-many of our clanmates have returned to us. Birdpaw, Stormpaw, Greenkit, Flowerkit, Mintyleaf, Asterhawk, Sunnypaw, Halfkit, Heronflight and Puddlekit. They’ve all returned to RiverClan safe and sound, and for that, I am eternally grateful.” Pikestar’s roleplayer is marking off the other joinings and rejoinings as happened after the Gathering takes place, so keep that in mind. Timelines are always a mess.

Pikestar cleared his throat and turned to look at Twilightstar. “I completely respect and understand your decision to halt our clan’s alliance. From one clan leader to another, I hope your clan thrives in the future moons and that prey continues to run well for your cats. You will get no trouble from RiverClan.” His partial gaze swept over his own clanmates for a moment. “Or they will have to answer to me personally.” It was a small warning to his clan to stay out of trouble, behave and be respectful or else they would suffer a punishment. With that said, Pikestar continued. “I wish I could have more positive news within my own clan, but times have been tough since Skystar’s sudden passing. We will survive though, and thrive once again, after enough time to mourn and heal from the losses we’ve faced.” He remarked, his tail swishing behind him, wondering whether or not to say this next part. “I truly do hope that all of you and your clans see better days. At the end of the day, we are all cats just trying to survive and have a fulfilling life. Maybe I am soft for saying so, but it’s what I believe. I cannot take back the awful mistakes of the leaders before me, nor do I plan on acting like none of it happened. What I can do though, is strive to do better than them. There will be no unnecessary bloodshed or drama from RiverClan directed towards the other clans if I can help it. All I wish to do is focus on my own clan and its health right now.” The oriental longhair dipped his head to the other leaders with a gentle smile resting on his muzzle for a moment. “I wish you all well, despite our differences. May we all see one another at the next Gathering with much more happiness to share.” He said quietly before hopping off the Seastones to the ground below, waving his long bushy tail as one last farewell to the three other clan leaders.

“RiverClan, time to head home! We’re done here.” Pikestar called out to his clanmates before weaving through the crowd and swiftly heading towards the tree line without even a second glance. He was exhausted, stressed-out and a sickly feeling of anxiety crept along his skin, so all he wanted to do right now was retire to his nest and not think about anything for a little while.

PIKESTAR HAS LEFT THE GATHERING. RIVERCLAN IS HEADED HOME.
[ @Undertaker @Moonraven @Jayvines @Fierce Roses @birdie ]

[sol.]

-Lilycreek-

Her eyes watered a little as her leader mentioned her son. However she tried to stamp it out of her cool facade, she just... couldn't. She was glad her leader didn't make eye contact with her- one look from his one-eyed gaze would have been enough to spiral her feelings out of control. He was the only cat she felt truly comfortable around in these times, and she didn't want to shatter it into a million pieces.

Heeding Pikestar' call, she rose on shaky legs, aching for her son and her nest to curl up in. She gave a respectful nod in the direction of the leader's rock (though she wasn't exactly sure if they would see or care), and trailed after her clan, melting away into the night, on the path toward home.

[plum]

Crocus shrinks away from that rude Clan cat and slinks away from the Gathering.

[beau]

High Rank Announcement [#hrannouncement]

Sundust padded into the clearing, slipping through the crowd to join the other medicine cats at the base of the Seastones. ”Good evening.” His greeting to the other medicine cats was accompanied by a wave of his tail. He then turned his gaze to the leaders to listen to clan announcements.

He was a bit surprised to hear Twilightstar break WindClan’s alliance, but grateful all the same. That meant RiverClan was a little less of a threat; though, judging by his reaction to the alliance being severed, Pikestar was far more levelheaded than his predecessors. Maybe the rivalry would be over soon.

[ @Shade. @Ravensong @TheNyanCatMinecart @x ghostie @birdie ]
[ apologies for my late reply, I completely forgot about this gathering. I was having trouble catching up on what happened, so this response is a little short ;w; ]

[taillow]

High Rank Announcement [#hrannouncement]

Fawnpaw
It was easy enough to hear a certain voice over the whisps of conversation going on around her. One that always seemed to float above the rest as if meant to capture her attention onto something a lot less stressful. Blue eyes moved away from the cats around her over to Flickerpaw, and Fawnpaw couldn't help but smile. Something about the way she was able to be so carefree made the tension melt from her weighted shoulders. Stars, how she wished she could be more like her black pelted friend.

Looking back over at Cowpaw, she watched as his paws seemed to move in a flurry and it flustered the young cat. What was he saying? She could make out some of it but the rest was foreign. Something about... Snakeheart? The concern on his face filled in the missing information and Fawnpaw shook her head solemnly. "I'm... not sure. No one has really seen them for awhile..." Stars, she certainly hoped they were okay, and that Cowpaw was not too mad at her for being the one to deliver such news.

Next to her shell gift to the ShadowClan medicine cats, Fawnpaw took notice of the poppy seed flowers. It made a smile unfurl along her face and almost worked a few tears to the surface of her eyes. "Thank you, Mr. Cowpaw." she murmured as she glanced up at him, giving a nod of appreciation. Not only did she appreciate the flower, but also the way Cowpaw seemed to dismiss Rootstripe's ranting and not place any stock in it. It made the young medicine cat feel much better.

Ivysnake speaking up made Fawnpaw turn her head back around to eagerly await the medicine cat's response. She sounded rather upset, but the brown dappled she-cat simply chalked it up to all of the stress currently unfolding around them. But her next comment had her smile faltering. "Oh! Uh, it doesn't have any healing properties... I don't think... but they're rather pretty! I have a few in my den and they sparkle under the moonlight!" Another soft smile as Fawnpaw tried to explain her gift to the ShadowClan medicine cat. Despite her best efforts though, it truly seemed as though the shell was unwanted. That... that was okay. Swallowing her disappointment Fawnpaw offered a nervous chuckle. "That's okay - you don't have to take it. It... you're right, it's definitely not herb knowledge." Which, she would've shared if she had any. Quickly the young she-cat ducked her face out of view to avoid the crestfallen expression to be noticed. It seemed Ivysnake was more interested in meeting Cowpaw anyways, so Fawnpaw had no qualms about gently removing herself from their conversation.

Just then Twilightstar began to speak, and Fawnpaw lifted her head to listen to the eldest leader. She spoke of WindClan saying their goodbyes to three of their Clanmates; Bravebird, Cottonwish, and Barkpaw. Ears drawn back the young medicine cat briefly bowed her head out of respect for the names given. Even the loss of one Clanmate was hard enough, and three at once seemed downright brutal. But thankfully it also appeared that their neighbors had gained quite a few new ranks in apprentices and warriors. That would be good, surely.

There was mentions of WindClan taking in former ThunderClan cats, though Fawnpaw didn't know much on that subject. It sounded like they would get a second chance there, and the young medicine cat didn't really have anything against Clan cats leaving one home to go to another - after all, her former mentor had been from ShadowClan.

At the thought of Lynxfall, Fawnpaw's smile fell a little before her eyes flickered up towards the swath of stars above. Was he among them tonight? Was he looking down upon RiverClan, having found peace with his daughter Shadepaw? She certainly hoped so - if any cat deserved endless paradise, it was him.

The next piece of news came as a bit of a shock; WindClan was breaking off their alliance with RiverClan?? Alarm shot through her as she looked between Pikestar and Twilightstar. What would happen now? But the WindClan leader laid rest to her initial fears when she stated there would be no animosity or disrespect, and Fawnpaw let out a gentle sigh. Hopefully that would mean she would still be able to talk with Cowpaw.

Oh - oh stars. A rather commanding voice steered her head away and Fawnpaw spotted a lean warrior standing near the middle of the crowd. One of the cats who had joined WindClan... had been ThunderClan's former leader?? Well that was certainly a development as the RiverClan medicine cat found herself captivated by the tom's impromptu speech. It sounded like there was a lot of bad blood between the former leader and her Clan - or at least just this cat. Fawnpaw didn't know anything about it, and even if she did she would've remained quiet. It wasn't her place, anyways.

After a bit of back and forth, the new leader of ThunderClan - Sparrowstar - seemed to step forward and put an end to the quarreling which Fawnpaw was grateful for. She then launched into the announcements and although she knew it was coming, Fawnpaw still felt saddened by the death of Cinderstar - or was it Cindersky? She had seemed like an honest and respectable cat when she had briefly met the silver bengal during Pikestar's lives ceremony. ThunderClan had also lost others, and gained some new ranks. The news of rogues attacking sent a shudder down her spine; so it wasn't just RiverClan.

Shortly after Sparrowstar had concluded her announcements, Pikestar began his part. It was a welcome distraction as she shifted her eyes to focus on her brother. He gave out his new name and then... oh stars. He named her officially as RiverClan's new medicine cat, and she felt heat creep up the back of her neck. After the fiasco that had just happened, Fawnpaw wasn't sure how she felt about having more attention. But then Pikestar spoke of how she had shown great promise, and most of the tension left her shoulders. A smile even came to her face and she gave a grateful nod of her head to her leader.

Next he spoke of the deaths - stars, there had been so many - and of the returning cats. And then he spoke of his thoughts on Twilightstar breaking off WindClan's alliance and... stars, was she proud of her brother. He spoke with a certain genuine tone that was rare these days - at least to Fawnpaw's ears. She smiled lightly as she watched him, eyes glowing as she nodded along to what he spoke of. It was all true, and she hoped the other leaders received it as well as it sounded. Perhaps the days of true darkness lingering over RiverCLan were finally over.

He wasted no time leaping down from the rock and calling for RiverClan to head home. But - but wait! Frantically, Fawnpaw got to her paws and looked at the medicine cats. "I apologize that I wasn't there for the last half-moon meeting, but I know where the Starcave is now! I will definitely be at the next one." Oh! A new cat! A smile flattened itself across her face and Fawnpaw dipped her head. "Hello! You're... Mr. Sundust, right? My name is Fawnpaw, I'm RiverClan's new medicine cat." Lifting a paw to slide the last shell over, she grinned. "This is for you and Ms. Rosepaw!"

A small grin and dip of her head as she began to back away. "It truly was wonderful to meet all of you - I hope you have safe travels back to your Clans!" With that, she turned and gave a small smile towards her father before following after RiverClan.

[ @x ghostie @Ravensong @TheNyanCatMinecart @Naiad @Shade. @canineantics @vellichor - for beandad @Orion - for mentions of flicker ]

[occultation]

After listening to all that Pikestar had to say, Slatestripe walked away with the impression that RiverClan’s leader may be a bit too soft on the other Clans for his own liking. A Clan leader shouldn’t speak of the other Clans as if they all had the same goals and the same ways of achieving them. It wasn’t as simple as saying that everyone was just trying to live.

Nonetheless, perhaps Pikestar just wanted to avoid trouble with the other Clans. Slatestripe just hoped the new leader would stand strong against any threat that came from any other Clan in the future. It didn’t seem like he had any intention of fighting for Firefly Cove again, which disappointed Slatestripe. Maybe he’d change his mind once leaf-bare set in.

He chanted the names of RiverClan’s three new apprentices. Once Pikestar gave the signal to leave, Slatestripe was one of the first to go. He was tired, and couldn’t wait to be back in his nest.

[SpiritedWarrior]

@Wingnettle

Flamepaw looked at Ashpaw as RiverClan and WindClan went on with their announcements. She dipped her head in respect to all the fallen warriors, apprentices, and even kits. Of course, it was a rogue who killed the kits. Could it have been possible to have been that 'Lilystorm' ThunderClan encountered? Whatever the case was, she had to help ThunderClan keep their young safe. After all, kits were the future of every Clan. The orange and white green-eyed tabby apprentice let out a low growl about that.

"We'll have to work extra hard in ThunderClan to protect our Clanmates if rogues are killing kits now," she whispered to her friend.

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@Eaglet - Thrushfur mention

As the Gathering seemed to have gotten much calmer, Rainpaw relaxed a bit more and steadied his breathing to be normal after noticing it had gotten faster. But with his father present, it helped a lot more than if Thrushfur hadn't been around. It was sad to have heard so many Clanmates from the different Clans had died or switched. Without the experience or knowledge of what the other Clans really think, the tom decided to observe the different Clan leaders. This way, he'd learn about each Clan and how they acted. Of course, there are plenty of cats who disagreed with their leaders. A good example for the night was Rootstripe, the newly exiled warrior of RiverClan.

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@Estelle

Littlepaw sat quietly and dipped her head in respect to all the fallen cats the leaders on top of the Seastones mentioned. It was a hard time for the Clans, that was for certain. Who knew how much harder times would get with leaf-bare coming soon? At the mention of WindClan taking in ThunderClan warriors, the she-cat decided to stay quiet. Aspenstrike was ThunderClan's leader before ShadowClan took over their Clan for a bit of time, so she didn't understand how that cat could betray the Clan that they had led. It was wrong in the cream tabby's opinion, but who was she to judge after multiple cats have either switched around Clans or just downright left?

But before long, Pikestar had given the go-ahead to return back to camp and Littlepaw lightly tapped Gingerfrost on the shoulder with her paw to silently (and politely) tell him she was leaving the Gathering. Shortly after she let her mentor know, the cream tabby went ahead and rose to her paws, padding away from Seastones. Well, in her eyes, this was a successful

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@Moonraven

Badgerpaw was a little perplexed as to why Twilightstar mentioned their dead Clanmates and new apprentices but not him. Maybe outsiders weren't supposed to be mentioned when they joined Clans? But then ThunderClan's leader announced that an outsider had joined their ranks. Perhaps the half-blind WindClan leader just didn't want it mentioned, he could respect his mentor's decision. The tom sat quietly and dipped his head toward Twilightstar when she had flicked her tail toward him. Of course, he was a little upset that Twilightstar felt the need to break off the alliance, but he understood her reasoning.