May Gathering [Leaders]

[BEAR.]

Do NOT post here if you are not a Clan leader or their deputy. This is for high ranks only - any posts made by non-high ranks will be deleted.

Brilliance
hiraeth
.:Blue Wishes:.
Aurora Australis
starfall
Celestial
Suspiciousmindz
Fuzzyfeline
Duskflight
Empress Of Evil

[Brilliance]

Passionstar sauntered forward, head raised proudly as he led his clan into the gathering. He used to be the one sitting on the sidelines...now? He was the one leading announcements and sorts. He recalled being a deputy at these events...the wars...meeting the other high ranks and trying to not make a fool out of himself. Now, it was his first gathering as the new leader of Thunderclan. Was he nervous? He was dying internally. Yet, he comforted himself with the knowing fact of...what changed? Only his title and rank. Other than that, going to the gathering would be like when he was a deputy himself. Passionstar had settled down, giving his chest fur a couple licks. One thing he was content about? Powdernose being there. His deputy and best friend. Another thing? He wouldn't allow anything to ruin his calm mood. Nothing. He certainly was looking forward to seeing the other leaders and their deputies. Hopefully peace would maintain on the glorious night under the stars.

[:blue:]

As he reached seastones, Goldenstar was relieved that he had gotten this far. He could still remember the battle, it was almost like it had just been a day. He wondered if tensions were going to be high, as he was reasonably tense, just hoping that there was no battle. He didn’t know if he could say the same for other clans, but there was a bit of relief knowing that everyone would most likely stay safe. A lot had changed since he had last been here, it was amazing how several moons could change things in the clans. Almost all of their higher ranks had changed in some way, except for him.
As that thought came to his mind, he remembered what Tallwhisker had said to him, even if it had been a few moons ago. He didn’t think he had changed that much, his name had just gotten changed. But according to Tall, so much had changed. This wasn’t somthing he lingered on, though it was still a bit of a blow, coming up whenever it wanted to. But right now, he couldn’t linger on that, jumping up to be with the one Passionstar, trying to remain calm.

[lio]

as powdernose walked alongside passionstar, he felt as though his heart was going to burst. he swallowed thickly, a large lump on his throat forming and his breathing heavy. being the new deputy of thunderclan had proven to be difficult enough, but a gathering? the siamese wasn't entirely sure of how he would be able to handle it. powdernose glanced towards his best friend, the one who had assigned him this rank. who chose him to be worthy enough of the deputy position, despite his lazy attributes and anxious personality. oh, don't humiliate yourself and just follow passionstar's orders.
his tail lashed behind him and he sat down in his respectful place, eyes flicking across the area. seastones. the place where battles had been fought before snowstar has resigned. before he was shoved into the duties of thunderclan's deputy. of course, powdernose enjoyed the experience, besides his emotions going rampant every time he found it in himself to become doubtful.
powdernose let out a sigh and forced his racing heart to calm, blinking away the blacl spots in which had begun to form around his vision. as a grounding mechanism, he looked to passionstar again, remembering that he was the new leader. a much more difficult job than the deputy. all powdernose really did was assign patrols and try to stay awake, at least, for the moment. when a battle came he would need to be absolutely ready to fight alongside the leader instead of cowering back like he always did. shaking his head, he cleared away his worryful thoughts and waited for the other clans to get there, having watched goldenstar arrive, though absentmindedly.

[vellichor]

Windygale was fizzing with excitement. He felt like he may burst at any given moment. He attempted to calm himself; he told himself he was no better than a new apprentice at their first gathering. Besides, the Clans were at war. Cats have died because of this. That thought immediately dampened his mood and wiped away his smile. He looked up as his leader, Goldenstar, jumping beside Passionstar. He allowed himself a small smile. After all, this was a time of truce; a time where cats of all clans gathered to share tongues. What could go wrong? He sat down at the base of the rock, watching the two Clans that were there mingle. He looked over to see the new ThunderClan deputy, glad he wasn’t just going to sit there awkwardly and not talk. “Hello,” he spoke softly to the other deputy. “I’m Windygale.”
hiraeth

[lio]

he jumped at the sound of another voice, a soft squeak pulled from his throat. "powdernose," the tom said quickly, body tense as he moved his gaze from his paws to the other deputy. powdernose's ears flattened and he frowned. it's better not to speak, powdernose. you'll make an utter fool of yourself, his head resonated, tail curling up to his side in response. "i-- i need to pay attention to my clanmates, sorry," he mumbled, head turning to look out across where all the thunderclan cats had begun to mingle. unintentionally, he found himself searching for a certain silver warrior, but he stopped doing so after a while.
crystal blue eyes were wide and bright with both embarrassment and curiosity, as he had never made it to many gatherings before. either he was sleeping or had made an excuse not to come and instead hide away, staring at the stars. paws kneading the ground, powdernose let out a slow breath and forced his tensed body to relax.

[vellichor]

Windygale nodded once the deputy, Powdernose, revealed his name. He opened his mouth to speak, but the other tom beat him to it. With that, his smile dissipated. “Oh, okay. Sorry,” he replied, scuffing his paws in the sand. He looked at his paws, now covered in grains of sand. His fluffy tail unraveled itself from his paws, seeming to have a mind of its own. He looked up and about the mingling Clans; everything seemed fine for the moment. After all, only two Clans were present so far. He hoped things didn’t go south when the other Clans arrived.
Out of the corner of his eye, Windygale noticed Powdernose scanning the throng - perhaps for some cat. Windygale wanted to ask about it, but the other deputy had made it clear he was uncomfortable, and Windygale wanted to respect that. So he kept his mouth shut and his thoughts to himself. He did a quick sweep of the crowd with his amber eyes, making sure everything was fine. He then turned around and looked up at Goldenstar and the ThunderClan leader, Passionblaze - or Passionstar now. Well, that would make sense.
So much had changed so far since the last Gathering. There was a new ThunderClan leader and deputy, and he was deputy. What now, a new leader or deputy for WindClan? RiverClan? SkyClan? The leader and deputy of SkyClan had been Grousestar’s and Auroraflame for a significant amount of time. He hoped there weren’t too many new names and faces to learn and retain.

[SuspiciousMindz]

Blazingstar was the next leader to arrive at the Gathering. The fluffy orange tabby jumped up the Seastones with ease, moons of practice now making it easy for him to do. This was nothing new to the leader, although he sort of missed the adrenaline rush he got the first time or two he was up on these rocks. It was exciting then, but now with the clashes between clans, he dreaded coming to the Gathering. However, he did want to know if Fallenstar was going to behave this time or if he was going to start some drama again. Maybe him causing conflict once more will make Grousestar favor WindClan. SkyClan's alliance would be nice, the game changer to this ridiculous tension that's been dragged out for more than half a year now.

They needed a battle. Everyone knew that. A battle that involved all five clans. Whether this ended in a temporary drive-out of another clan was up to the circumstances. Driving out ThunderClan would give everyone a break wouldn't it? Just temporarily though. Something to scare them into behaving once more since Snowstar decided to destroy everyone but RiverClan's respect towards ThunderClan. That was just how Blazingstar saw it.

He settled himself in his normal position, giving Passionblaze a curt nod before looking away, wanting nothing to do with Thunderclan. Blazingstar wasn't aware of the leadership change that occurred between this Gathering and the last one. This nod was then given to Goldenstar, however, his gaze a was a little more warm towards the Shadowclan leader.

[Starfall]

(Where's Fallen's babysitter? lol)

The leader pushed his way into the clearing littered with cats, already scenting Windclan, Thunderclan, and Shadowclan. Grousestar wasn't here yet. It felt as though the last gathering was only yesterday, the anger, the hatred, all of it. The last time the voices in his head were so loud was when Honeypool disappeared the first time. The tom's stride was wonky, wobbily, his gait disproportionate, almost as if his body was telling him to turn back now. His soul, on the other hand, wanted to go in with claws unseathed and fangs showing. He figured neither were good. The burly feline looked behind him, making momentary eye contact with his clanmates before he swung his head back around and began to climb up the Seastones, still not completely used to how steep it was compared to the Streamstone. After a second of struggling, trying to pull his heavy self up the slick, mossy rocks he finally made it to the top, to the plaetou the other Leaders and Deputies perched on. He could already feel it, something cold tickling his spine, playing with the tips of his fur. Regret? He bit his cheek and pulled himself out of it, making the yells and shrieks become nothing more than whispers in his mind. The Riverclan leader padded past Blazingstar only giving him a shallow nod, an awknowlegement, before sitting himself down aside from all the rest, away from Shadowclan, away from Windclan, away from Thunderclan even. He swiveled his head and looked out toward the horde of cats, recognizing a few faces from other clans, wondering, hoping that maybe he would see a face in the crowd he ached to see again. He didn't want to be up here.

[Fuzzy]

Buttercupbreeze padded beside Blazingstar as they headed towards Seastones. It was still strange walking beside her leader in the front. Would she ever get used to it? Though it was just her second gathering as Deputy, she had time to get used to it. Hopefully.
As the creamy molly followed her leader she spotted that ThunderClan and ShadowClan were already there. It seemed Passiomblaze was standing in for Snowstar, unless the gossip was true and Snowstar had disappeared. She'd heard that from a few different Clanmates but hadn't thought to tell Blazingstar as she didn't believe it. Maybe I should have told Blazingstar, Buttercup thought. It could be true. She added. Noticing that there was a ton sitting in Haftgaze's spot she was a bit confused. Had Halfgaze died? It was impassable to know.
Shaking her pelt out she sat down with the other Deputies, witch she didn't know. Once Buttercup was settled she dipped her head to both toms. Though she didn't speak, Blazingstar hadn't so maybe she shouldn't. With a flick of her ear the WindClan Deputy looked over the crowd. She could spot cats she new from her own Clan, but she couldn't spot the one feline she'd been looking for. She joined ThunderClan when we were apprentices, we haven't really talked since. I don't even know if she's alive. The creamy ginger molly reminded herself. It was her sister she was looking for, only if she'd stairs in WindClan.
The stench of Fish pulled her completely out of her thoughts, RiverClan was here. She just hoped Fallenstar didn't stir up trouble, there was supposed to be peace. But the RiverClan leader hadn't seemed to care last time.

[The Cannibal]

Running late wasn't something that the Skyclan leader actively tried to do, if anything, he much preferred to be early above all else. But perhaps he had put off heading to the gathering, the memories of the previous gathering still fresh in his mind. He needed to clear his head and get himself level again before he took his clan to the 'peaceful' gathering of clans. Despite taking the time to cool himself off and collect his thoughts, he was still deeply bothered by what had transpired. He would need to keep his eye on that Riverclan leader. He was hostile and unable to hold his own wagging tongue and if Grousestar wasn't careful, his own tongue could start wagging. He hoped not, he hoped he had the self control and he believed that, for the most part, he could control himself better than most of the other leaders. But regardless, he was weary of this gathering.
And yet here he was, padding his clan into the clearing where all of the other clans had gathered. His head wasn't held high, but level, his emerald gaze collected and neutral, and the lightest, pleasant smile fixed on his muzzle. However it was slightly less cheerful and upbeat than what it usually was. It wasn't forced, but it didn't hold the extreme optimism he had been known for.
Letting his clan filter in amongst the others, he made his way up to the true Seastones, easily making the bounds to join the other leaders. There were new faces, and he was glad to see that all of the other clans were here. Unlike the past gathering. There was plenty to catch up on that was for sure. Nodding his head politely to each and every leader, the Skyclan leader would quietly take his seat next to Blazingstar with no verbal greeting. His tail curled neatly around his paws and he allowed his shoulders to relax slightly. He would show no outward signs of tension, but he would allow his gaze to occasionally flicker over to the black tom that served as Riverclan's leader.

[wren]

Brilliance hiraeth .:Blue Wishes:. Aurora Australis starfall Suspiciousmindz Fuzzyfeline Duskflight Empress Of Evil

(( I'm not impatient.. No.. Not at all ))
:heartbounce:

Rowanflower slipped up next to fallenstars flank as they entered the clear, admittedly she wasn't so keen on coming to gathering. There was always the opportunity to to blame it on her kits, explain she needed to leave due to forgetting to give either gorsekit or shorekit their feeding but she had reluctantly followed behind obliged to accompany the fallenstar to the gathering. He needs all the support he could gather. she gently ran her tail down his flank reasuringly as she passed by him and took her place at the base of the rock nearest the newer deputies, word had spread about halfgaze which had been disappointing to even her. Now another tom took her place seated next to powdernose the thunderclan deputy. She dragged in a deep sigh and moved up next to them seated beneath fallenstar and keeping her gaze purely on the riverclan cats who now merged into the mass of cats beneath them.

She passed a tender glance at the new shadowclan deputy enhancing few words than resuming her watch on the cats below. "You must be the new Shadowclan deputy" she said gently, not turing to look at the other tom. Both powdernose and this new tom seemed somewhat on edge, who wouldn't be? Rowanflower couldn't help but supress a gentle chuckle at it, with this constant change of leadership soon enough veterans like Auroraflame would disappear and nobody would understand what to do anymore. She turned her head to glance up at fallenstar who had seemingly shuffled farther away from the other leaders, her gaze softened and filled with warmth and encouragement. You can do this, I'll be here if you need me to be, to step in for you. as she turned her gaze fell upon the familiar pelt of buttercupbreeze appear next to blazingstar. Relief flooded her gaze and she blinked a gentle welcome as the she cat padded closer and took a seat beneath her own leader. Despite tensions between windclan and riverclan she wasn't hesitant to be welcoming to buttercup although she didn't speak.

[Empress Of Evil]

The inky black deputy followed her leader closely, turning her head back every now and again to check that no one had fallen behind. By the smell and looks of it, all the other clans were already here. Typically SkyClan wasn’t last, as Grousestar did like to be punctual, but it seemed that this time they were the last to enter.

Auroraflame wasn’t looking particularly hostile at this point in time. If anything, her expression was slightly bored. The deputy was expecting something to happen, likely something such as Blazingstar and Fallenstar getting into a fight again. She had gotten used to violence between the clans so really she wouldn’t be surprised by more drama. I know I’m expecting something bad to happen, but hopefully nothing will, she thought, her eyes darkening. She stopped at the entrance to Seastones and waited for every cat to file in before she made her way towards the other deputies.

She briefly glanced at the other deputies before taking a seat next to Rowanflower. “Hey,” she greeted Rowanflower quietly before turning to look at the other deputies. Buttercupbreeze was somewhat familiar, Rowanflower probably the most familiar because she’d had the most interaction with the RiverClan deputy, and the rest were new. She parted her jaws and tasted the scent of ThunderClan and ShadowClan. She then looked up at the leader’s rock and noticed that Passionblaze was up there. Was he the new ThunderClan leader? Had something happened to Snowstar? Her gaze then flickered to the ShadowClan. It was still Goldenstar. Something must’ve happened to Halfgaze, she concluded. Honestly, she didn’t feel particular concerned about what had happened. She hadn’t known the former ShadowClan deputy very well and unless she’d died, she didn’t exactly care that there was a new deputy. “Hello. I take it you’re the new ThunderClan and ShadowClan deputies?” she said questioningly to the two toms. She gave them a kind smile, knowing that they must feel a little nervous. The ThunderClan deputy certainly seemed anxious and not very open to conversation. He would get used to it after a few moons. Just look at Auroraflame, she had been the SkyClan deputy for many moons and despite being the deputy of the newest clan, she dared to consider herself the most confident of the deputies. She wasn’t nervous about having the eyes of so many cats on her and she wasn’t nervous about greeting another deputy, new or old.

[SuspiciousMindz]

Duskflight starfall .:Blue Wishes:. Brilliance


"Evening, Grousestar," he spoke calmly as the SkyClan leader sat down beside him. He kept a rather polite tone towards the tabby, wanting to keep on his good side. He was planning on doing it tonight. He was going to ask Grousestar about an alliance again. The first time he asked, the leader wanted to stay neutral, but SkyClan had to pick a side now. It was long overdue and having an evenly matched battle each time they fought would only cause war forever. SkyClan was their changing point. "Glad to see you're still around, the clans seem to be having a lot of changed ranks lately," he commented, staring down at the deputies then looking at ThunderClan's new leader.

Once Grousestar was given a chance to respond, Blazingstar let out a long sigh. The greeting stage had dragged on long enough. It was time for the Gathering to begin now. "Shall we begin?" He asked the leaders rather loudly.

[lio]

powdernose passed a polite, though shaky, nod to the other deputies, aiming it mostly at auroraflame. he remained silent, however, and sat anxiously as he waited for the leaders to begin. his gaze flicked up to where passionstar sat, hoping the thunderclan leader would look at him like he did when they were apprentices, telling powdernose that everything would be okay, that he didn't need to be so skittish. the siamese deputy then closed his eyes and looked across the crowd, still not seeming to find the one he truly wanted to see. i guess he didn't come, powdernose thought, shoulders falling. he shook his head with a sigh, perking up and masking his face with that of confidence despite the thoughts soaring through his mind. keep your head up and set an example of thunderclan. you don't want it to seem as though passionstar made a faulty decision of deputy, do you? he curled his tail up over his spine, chest puffing out and eyes bright and narrowed. you can do this.

[The Cannibal]

Suspiciousmindz starfall .:Blue Wishes:. Brilliance

"Good evening, Blazingstar." Meowed the brown tabby in response, turning his gaze to fix a much lighter and pleasant smile upon his face, head slightly dipping. The polite tone was a much needed relief and quietly, he was thankful that at least one leader wouldn't be trying to start something this gathering. He was curious of what had happened between Thunderclan and Shadowclan however, seeing as Passionblaze was representing the forest clan. What had prevented them from coming the previous gathering? Flicking his ears, he'd glance slightly down towards the deputies as the Windclan leader made mention of changed ranks. He was right, there were certainly new faces among the deputies. "Glad to still be around. I could say the same about you." Again his gaze flickered to the Riverclan leader. Maybe his attitude had changed. He wasn't overly eager to find out and in a way, he wasn't overly happy to see that he was still up on the leader's rock. Surely it would only lead to trouble further along.
Minutes dragged on it seemed before Blazingstar let out a sigh, Grousestar turning his head to look at him with an almost sympathetic smile. "Now would be as good as ever. Who would like to go first?" Now he would turn his gaze upon the others, offering the chance up to them to start off with their clan news.

[Starfall]

.:Blue Wishes:. Brilliance Duskflight Suspiciousmindz
As he hauled himself up the steep boulder, he felt a tickling sensation on his flank, causing him to swivel his head and look at his deputy in confusion. The two had grown close since the incident a moon or so ago regarding Tumblesteps disappearance and the death of her kit, but, a bit after that he had begun to avoid his clanmates, hide away in his den. That had only begun to change recently...very, very recently. He gave Rowanflower a curt nod and continued.

His lapis optics watched the Skyclan leader as he appeared, and felt his blood boil as the Windclan leader immediately latched onto him. Leech, groveler, that's all Blazingstar was in the eyes of the Riverclan leader, he didn't understand how him and Russetstar were friends. 'They're both frauds.' He felt his fur prickle at the voice, a familiar feeling burned within him. In an effort to push it away the burly tom picked himself up and began to pad forward, refusing to look at any of the leaders "I'll go first." he stated, voice low, guttural. 'Can't hide it, you know it's true. Just don't want to accept it...that you've stooped down to their level.' It was always that voice, the loudest voice, that managed to set him on edge.

Fallenstar stopped walking as soon as he was a little farther ahead than the rest of the leaders, tail twitching behind him. "Riverclan is doing well." he began, casting glances to the other leaders before beginning. "The loss of Juniperpaw was tragic...but, in an effort to continue growing, Heatherfur has taken the place of the former Medicine Cat." he called, casting a glance toward the molly. He still didn't trust her, but he felt a flicker of satisfaction at his words. She used to be Blazingstars, and now she was appart of Riverclan. Of course he didn't state that aloud, the rest of the clans needn't to know, all they needed to know was that Riverclan was fairing well, that they had no reason to fear the rest of them. "We had some felines join Riverclan, Twigdove, Skykit, and Lunakit. We've also had a few kits become apprentices, Patchpaw, Frozenpaw, and Riverpaw." he announced. "Other than that, prey is returning to our streams. That is all." as he was finishing he turned on his heels and began to pad back towards the back of the leaders group, casting Blazingstar a glance as he walked past the flame colored tom, a bit of a smirk twitching at the corners of his lips before they melted back into his usual stotic expression.

[Brilliance]

Passionstar may have been new to this, but he seen Snowstar do it quite often. With that installed in his head, he remained in a straightened posture, nodding respectfully towards each leader - even Shadowclan and Windclan. Currently, Passionstar had no beef with anyone, and as long as everyone else was calm, then he would remain composed as well. Passionstar usually wasn’t the one for much conversation, preferring to listen, but keeping a dutiful smile plastered on his maw as Fallenstar offered to announce Riverclan’s news. Passionstar was quite certain that many felines can read between the lines, inferred that he was the new leader of Thunderclan, and the small Siamese was his deputy, Powdernose. Soon enough, he’d announce it when it was his turn. He wanted the other leaders to go first - after all, they’ve been leaders longer than him. His eyes briefly glanced over towards the other deputies, checking to make sure Powdernose was fitting in, recalling how skittish his best friend was. He did smile broadly over to them, smiling brightly to all the cats below them. It was still exhilarating, yet frightening to know that he was among the leaders. He must had looked ragged compared to the others. He hardly got any sleep during the night, in lieu of taking nightly runs to tire himself out. It didn’t work, however. He only looked down briefly at his paws, itching to start running again because he hated being stationary, but once the Riverclan leader began delivering his news, Passionstar gave his undivided attention to the Black tom.

starfall | Duskflight | .:Blue Wishes:. | Suspiciousmindz

[vellichor]

hiraeth Celestial Fuzzyfeline Empress Of Evil

Windygale almost jumped out of his fur when the other deputies arrived. He felt like a piece of fresh-kill, being looked over to see if it was good to eat. Of course, it wasn’t that extreme. It was simply his nerves acting up on him. He wanted to get to know these cats, though they may be enemies. “Yes, I’m the ShadowClan deputy,” he said proudly, though wincing internally when his voice cracked and went up another octave. He struggled to get it in control, hating the humiliation. Once he was sure he could talk again, he offered a small smile that, fortunately, seemed pretty genuine to him. “I’m Windygale. And you?”
Well, that was that. He introduced himself. He tried to maintain eye contact with the other she-cats, especially the WindClan deputy. He wanted to remember all of their names and faces so he didn’t humiliate himself later. Plus, WindClan was his ally. He gazed about the clans murmuring amongst each other. He opened his maw to say something, then glanced back at the leaders. He didn’t envy Goldenstar’s position. Being deputy was stressful enough; he couldn’t imagine being leader. As Fallenstar announced that his Clan was doing well, he nodded toward the RiverClan deputy, hoping his eyes said what his awkward mouth couldn’t.

[The Cannibal]

.:Blue Wishes:. Brilliance starfall Suspiciousmindz

The Skyclan leader drew quiet as the dark burly tom of Riverclan shouldered his way to the front to announce his clan news first. In a way, it didn't exactly surprise him that the aggressive, or at least that's how he appeared to Grousestar, wanted to go first. None of the other leaders would object either, there was no reason to.
So quietly he listened and nodded his head with a polite smile to hear that Riverclan was doing well, but his smile ceased as he heard about Juniperpaw. He hadn't met the young medicine cat, in fact, he couldn't recall meeting any of the medicine cats aside from his own, but the loss of any life was tragic. His head nodded as he heard that they at least did have a replacement medicine cat. It would be even more devastating if they were left with no cat to tend to their sick or injured.
"Good to hear Fallenstar." Grousestar meowed with that polite smile of his, giving him a small nod before looking around at the other leaders. None of them seemed to make a move to stand up, so he did instead. "I suppose I'll go next!"

Clearing his throat, the lean muscled brown tabby strode forward, looking upon the sea of cats below.
"Skyclan is also fairing well. Auroraflame remains deputy-" He would pause to nod with a bright smile to the black she-cat before continuing. "- and Shinefang remains our medicine cat." Now he would search for the older tom in the crowd, giving him a nod, before assuming his report. "Prey is returning quickly enough and no major illnesses have affected our clan. We welcome two new apprentices, Kestrelpaw and Eaglepaw." Flicking his tail, he'd almost sort of bow before stepping away and taking his seat back where he was originally.

[Fuzzy]

hiraeth Celestial Aurora Australis Empress Of Evil

The creamy ginger molly was quite, witch was normal for her around cats she didn't know. At times she found herself feeling any but she could be decried as socially awkward just as well. Her thoughts had calmed down now that the gathering had started and the mumbling cats calmed. Hearing Windygale she offered a smile, she wouldn't want to have a bad impression on her ally would she. "Nice to meet you Windygale, I'm Buttercupbreeze," She greeted with a polite dip of her head to the other creamy feline. It was kinda fun to say her long name and see other's reactions to how long it was. " It's quite a mouth full isn't it. " She added trying to be casual. Being tense was to much work and it got mentally and fiscally painful sometimes you just have to let loose. Did Blazingstar ever do that? The creamy ginger molly wondered glancing slightly at her leader out of the corner of her eye before looking back at the other Deputies. Maybe he did.
Pulling her bushy tail around her slender legs Buttercup lessened to Fallenstar tell the Clans his news. He didn't mention that Heatherfur was once one of WindClan's warriors. He's probably embarrassed. The Deputy thought flicking her right ear. Maybe it was better that way, but at the moment it'd be up to Blazingstar to mention it. Honestly she was glade when the SkyClan leader took the RiverClan's leaders place and brought good news of new apprentices. It was always good to hear of that, Fallenstar had mentioned two as well but Buttercup felt sorry that they had to be lead by him. He had a huge ego and seemed to think he was better then any of the other Leaders. All this molly could do, was support Blazingstar right know though and hope she'd make a good leader like him.

[lio]

as the riverclan leader spoke, powdernose sat in silence, eyes glazed over. his ears were perked and his body tense as though he were listening, but the sianese tom was really actually not paying any attention whatsoever. he blinked slowly, tail swishing behind him as his gaze trailed the crowd. swallowing thickly, he parted his parched mouth and felt his paws begin to fidget more than before. passionstar would mention how he was the new deputy, wouldn't he? that would bring the attention to me, he thought anxiously, breath growing shaky and uneven, that'll lead to a disaster. as everyone around him spoke, mingling together, tge tgunderclan tom paid no mind. he would only talk if absolutely necessary, remaining half in his thoughts, half focused on the gathering. all he really wanted was to get this over with.

[wren]

hiraeth Aurora Australis Fuzzyfeline Empress Of Evil


Rowanflower smiled at both the windclan and skyclan deputies, the only cats she could recognize from previous gatherings aside from powdernose. The she cat settled back down as the enthusiastic shadowclan deputy introduced himself. Rowanflower felt a gentle smile pull at the sides of her mouth than she blinked her eyes gratefully at the Shadowclan tom, than as auroraflame settled she glanced back at the black she cat as well. ' ' you look amazing ' ' she whispered gently looking back out to the crowd as other cats seemed to settle in and fallenstar began to speak. She couldn't help but simply let out a sigh of relief as fallenstar spoke, despite the underlying fear and distane for talking, he was doing good. And she was very proud.

[Empress Of Evil]

The ebony feline blinked curiously at the ThunderClan deputy’s reaction. She knew that typically new deputies were nervous at their first gathering in their new rank, but this was a little different. The ThunderClan tom seemed a little more nervous that usual. Auroraflame’s lips pressed tightly together in a sympathetic frown and she offered the tom a reassuring smile. She noticed his eyes flickering up to look at the rock that the leaders were perched on, watching as his gaze went to land on Passionstar. She was tempted to say something to the tom but decided not to. He didn’t seem like he really wanted to talk right now. She had been hoping to get a name at least but if he didn’t want to, that was fine.

Auroraflame then moved her gaze to put it on the other tom present. A smile widened a little. At least there was somebody who was willing to talk. There was nothing wrong in keeping quiet, but a bit of chatter made the air a little more relaxing among the deputies. “I’m sure you’ll do a wonderful job,” she purred, a glimmer of amusement passing through her icy blue gaze as the tom’s voice cracked though she made no comment on it. She remembered saying something similar to Buttercupbreeze, when it had been the WindClan deputy’s first gathering as deputy. Once again, she didn’t know whether Windygale was a capable deputy or not, but it seemed like it was the right thing to say. “I’m Auroraflame, SkyClan’s deputy,” she replied, her tone slightly questioning, but she didn’t let much of her surprise pass through. Honestly, she was slightly confused as to how he didn’t know her name yet. She wouldn’t consider herself to be famous, but surely she had been deputy long enough for most cats to know her.

Whilst waiting for a response from the ShadowClan deputy, Auroraflame tilted her head up to look at the leaders and see what they were doing now. She watched blankly as Fallenstar chose to go first and made his way forward. There wasn’t anything particularly interesting that he had to share it seemed, other than the disappearance of their medicine cat. She hadn’t gotten to know the she-cat so she couldn’t say she was particularly sad, but she bowed her head respectfully anyway. The loss of any cat was something to be sad about. Her gaze then moved to focus on Grousestar as he gave his report. She cheerfully returned the smile before looking away as Rowanflower spoke, also giving the she-cat a smile.

[vellichor]

hiraeth Celestial Fuzzyfeline Empress Of Evil

Windygale ducked his head, amber hues locked on the sand he was kneading with his paws. Of course, he knew Auroraflame. She was probably the most well-known deputy. She'd been a deputy far longer than any other. He couldn't even remember the last SkyClan deputy. Then again, he did have the memory of a goldfish. Well, not really. But when it came to some things, like names and faces, he hadn't a clue.

"I, uh... thank you," he replied to the night-colored deputy. He then turned to face the WindClan deputy, and nodded at her. "Yes, but it's a nice name. It's unique." Windygale almost laughed. "And I'm a ShadowClanner named Windygale.' A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. He knew he probably wasn't supposed to laugh in the middle of a Gathering, so he held it in. Barely. But at the thought of Goldenstar being disappointed in him, the laughter died in his throat, leaving in it's place a hard lump. He kept his smile, though it was more forced than before, until he eventually dropped it entirely, eyes darting to the sand once more.

[SuspiciousMindz]

starfall Brilliance .:Blue Wishes:. Duskflight

Blazingstar froze up, staring at the crowd as Fallenstar announced the new medicine cat. Oh, the regret he felt was real. He wished things wouldn't have gone down the way they did. Thankfully, Fallenstar had enough dignity to leave out the part where she was from WindClan. Once his gaze hit Heatherfur, he simply stared for a moment, guilt flooding his gaze before he pulled himself together for the sake of the Gathering. Instead, he turned his attention to Fallenstar, giving the leader a scowl as he walked past. He could see the satisfaction on the leaders face, but refused to let that bother him.

Next, Grousestar spoke, Blazingstar listened intently before the leader was finished talking. It appeared Grousestar was doing well in the territory he took over a while back. As the tabby sat back down, Blazingstar gave the leader a small dip of his head before taking the spot on the stones to give announcements.

"All is going well in WindClan. The warmth brings many rabbits and prey. We have grown in numbers lately, welcoming many new warriors and apprentices," he began, giving a short pause before taking a deep breath to give the bad news. "Sadly, we have lost a very important member to the clan," he spoke, his voice revealing his grief for the feline that walked him into leadership so long ago. "Surgestorm has passed away recently, leaving his apprentice at the time, Oriolepaw, as WindClan's new medicine cat," he called loudly, raising his gaze to the stars wondering if the medicine cat was looking down on them currently. After a moment of silence, the leader rose back to his paws and retreated to the back of the leaders, ending his announcements.

[:blue:]

starfall Brilliance Duskflight Suspiciousmindz

Goldenstar was more then relieved that tensions, while still seeming high, didn’t make any clan seem like a threat. He wondered how these battles could be solvedwithout bloodshed, but negotiations never seemed like they would be likely. He had never heard of them in his lifetime, which wasn’t very long, but still. If one clan wouldn’t give up, would it just be cat after cat after cat getting killed until no one was left? That was against the warrior code, right? As Goldenstar slowly got farther into these questions, the voices of the other clan leaders rang through his ears, and he snapped to attention.

Relieved to hear that everything was good with the clans that had gone so far, the tom decided that he would share next, trying to keep the anxiety out of his voice. He hadn’t done this yet, what if he messed up? Before he froze up, he stopped himself, and began to speak. “Shadowclan is doing well, prey is becoming abundant,” That was maybe a stretch, but Golden continued speaking, “Daydream has taken on Flashpaw as an apprentince. Sadly, Halfgaze has disappeared, and Windygale has taken her place” That was all he needed to say, right? Before the anxiety welled up too much, Golden sat back down, looking over at Windygale and smiling slightly, trying to give a bit of support.

[Brilliance]

Once Shadowclan finished speaking, Passionstar supposed it was his turn. The other leaders went, his first time in this area. It felt...weird, almost. Nonetheless, he was here. He needed to focus on what was at task instead of the whirlwind thoughts in his mind. Fairly, Passionstar kept his composure until it was his turn. He exerted a type of confidence - for Thunderclan. Not himself. Usually, the tom was vague with his words, simply stating what needed to be said before he’d relax again. Evidently, everyone must be wondering where Snowstar was...the last time the gathering happened, she was the one in his place.
Passionstar stepped forward, smiling at the others before he let out a breath of relief. He wasn’t used to speaking before a crowd - Thunderclan? Yes. The entire clans? Epic N-O. “Thunderclan is faring well.” He first said, making sure everyone knew everything was good on their side of the forest. “As if it’s not obvious, Snowstar has resigned, I’m the new leader of Thunderclan,” he paused for a moment, flickering his tail toward Powdernose. “Thunderclan’s newest deputy is Powdernose.” A gentle smile caressed his maw. “Thunderclan’s medicine cat has received her new name: Caliaflame.” Passionstar proceeded to name off the newest warriors and apprentices that would do Thunderclan justice. He usually didn’t talk much, not that he was an introvert. He preferred to listen, but announcing events at a gathering was a mouthful for him.
Once he finished, he padded back to his spot, head high to display a feign confidence. Among other leaders, you never wanted to show weakness.

starfall | Duskflight | .:Blue Wishes:. | Suspiciousmindz

[lio]

as passionstar began speaking, the siamese tom's entire body froze up. his eyes widened and he sucked in a large, heavy breath, a tremble scouring through his entire body. no- no- gah! powdernose's name finally came up, sending a burning heat through his body, embarrassment clawing at him. he lowered his head quickly, a silent whimper breathing through clenched jaws. calm yourself, powdernose. wouldn't want to make a scene, would you? the voice purred in his mind, cold dread creeping up his spine. go away! leave me alone! powdernose's ears flattened against his head, a frown pulling at his lips. aw, are you embarrassed? poor little coward. too frightened to even attend a gathering, hm? his claws scraped at the surface beneath him, limbs twitching as he had a mental battle with hinself.
you're overreacting.

[SuspiciousMindz]

Duskflight Fuzzyfeline

Once the leaders had finished sharing their announcements, Blazingstar turned to Grousestar, speaking low enough for the leader to hear, hoping that Fallenstar -- if any of the other leaders -- wouldn't hear him speaking. "Grousestar, I would like to accompany you back to SkyClan territory, or at least part of the way. I must speak to you in private," he spoke, his gaze almost begging the other leader to accept his proposition. Even if he didn't, Blazingstar would still follow the brown tabby in hopes of getting his words to him.

Letting Grousestar answer, Blazingstar turned to Buttercupbreeze at the bottom of the Seastones, his gaze was firm for once, clear that he was on a mission. He jumped down from the rocks only to rest his fluffy tail over her shoulders and begin to walk, hoping his tail was enough to bring the deputy away from the others so he could speak to her for a moment.

[The Cannibal]

Suspiciousmindz Empress Of Evil

Glad to hear that the other clans were doing well, for the most part, aside from the passing of Surgestorm and the disappearance of Halfgaze; other than that though, the news was relatively good. And now it seemed the meeting was about over. Everyone had shared their news and the cats in the clearing certainly had had enough time to talk to each other. It was time to head home. Letting out a quiet sigh of relief, happy that there was no confrontation or violence this gathering, he was about to stand when the low voice of the Windclan leader caused him to stop.
Swiveling his ear just slightly to hear him better, Grousestar brought his emerald gaze to look at the golden tabby for a moment. The look in the other leaders' eyes was one of what could have been mistaken as desperation and for a second the brown tabby was silent. He had a clue about what he wished to discuss, after all, hadn't it been brought up before? Only things were different now.
"I will allow it, but only you. You will not allow any of the other leaders to see you for I don't wish for this to be known. We will speak privately in my den." His voice was low, stern, and it was clear that he wanted exactly what he asked for. It would be the only way the Windclan leader would receive an audience with him.

Once he had spoken, he would turn towards his own deputy and leap down, motioning for her to follow him so that he could speak to her out of the ear range of the other deputies and cats. She would need to know what was going on.

[Fuzzy]

Suspiciousmindz

Buttercupbreeze lessened patiently as the gathering came to a close, hearing that Halfgaze was only missing not dead was good news. The creamy ginger molly had never personally known the ShadowClan deputy but it was always good knees to hear that a car wasn't dead. Death was a painful thing even if you knew they were going to StarClan. As Passionstar, not blaze anymore, announced that the new Deputy was Powerdernose she glanced at the tom for a bit a brief heartbeat to get a good look at him to match the name with. Though she would over her gaze long as she didn't want to stair at the ThunderClan tom long, or at all. Buttercup just wanted to make sure she'd remember him, Windygale to, he seemed like quite the outgoing cat. Maybe they'd get along, that'd be good possibly continue the alliance when they were made leaders themselves, witch hopefully was many moons to come. Soon enough the gathering was ending and cats were starting to chat yet again. This made the WindClan Deputy give a quite sigh, the gathering went well for once, maybe it'd continue to. After a few heartbeats of just looking around, silently just taking in the beauty of the night. The full moon, bright stars and clear sky, it was nice for once this full moon.
After awhile the creamy molly caught Blazingstar's eye and noticed the firmness in them. There was something serous he wanted to tell to her about, it was clear in his gaze. That was what she was there for though, to be there for her Leader. As he laid his tail over her shoulders she gave a brief not to the other Deputies and followed the golden tom. Once they were a bit off she opened her mouth. "What is it?" She asked in a calm and serous tone keeping her voice lower then normal in case Blazingstar didn't want any cat to hear them.

[SuspiciousMindz]

Duskflight Fuzzyfeline

Blazingstar was elated about Grousestar's agreement. He wouldn't have to pester the other leader after this unless he was dire. Once out of earshot of the other deputies and cats, he let his tail fall behind him again. "I need you to gather WindClan up and take them home. I'll be traveling with Grousestar tonight," he replied, keeping it vague in case there was someone still listening. With that, the leader departed into the group of felines at the Gathering hoping to not be seen joining Grousestar when the chaos of leaving started.

[Empress Of Evil]

Duskflight
The Bombay flashed the ShadowClan deputy a brief grin before turning her head up to gaze at the leaders. She listened curiously as each of the remaining leaders, who had yet to share their news, came forward and spoke. Her mind was flooded with names, as it seemed each of the clans had had some sort of rank change or name change among the high ranks, except for SkyClan apparently. Don’t the clans know how to take care of their own? She thought. SkyClan was the new clan here and their high ranks had barely changed since coming here. The only change had been their medicine cat. All the others clans seemed to have a new cat every gathering. Honestly Auroraflame found it quite funny. The deputy let out a snort of amusement at her thoughts before falling silent once more, awaiting more news.

Once Passionstar had given his announcements, the gathering was over and cats were starting to speak once more. Auroraflame still didn’t say much. She was too busy being impressed that Blazingstar and Fallenstar hadn’t managed to spark up an argument once more. The she-cat then rose to her paws and arched her back to stretch it. When she was done she returned to her normal, straight posture and looked up to see if Grousestar was ready to go. Her icy hues narrowed when she spotted Blazingstar speaking to her leader. What does he want now? She thought. Her gaze was focused on the two toms until they moved away to search for their deputies. She padded over to Grousestar, her face shifting into a wary expression. “What was that about?” she asked the tabby tom as they padded out of earshot, her gaze flickering suspiciously to the WindClan leader before looking back at Grousestar.

[Fuzzy]

Suspiciousmindz

Buttercupbreeze lessened closely to make sure she'd heard her Leader right. Travel with the SkyCan leader,it was a bit unusual but the creamy ginger her molly guessed what it was about. "Are you going to ask him?" The molly couldn't help but ask, her voice nearly a whisper. They go letting anyone else here them if they were to talk about anything important. Giving Blazingstar enough time to respond Buttercup have a nod. " I'll make sure every cat gets back safely. " She promised determination flickering in the depths of her brownish eyes. She wouldn't let her Clan down, not her Leader. I'll protect them as I've soit out to do my whole life. She thought. It was true, Buttercup would protect her Clan with her life but that was a warrior's job. Taking that job seriously was the only thing some felines lacked, sadly.
Honestly Buttercup wanted to tell Blazingstar that he'd better come back safely but she couldn't do it with a straight face. The thought of her treating her Leader like he was an apprentice or something was quite entertaining. She could just imagine telling Blazingstar: "You better come back safely now." But it felt like she should say it at the same time. Finally deciding Buttercup gaze a smile to her Leader before she left to round up WindClan. "Oh, you gotta come back safely ya know. So don't go losing a life on me." The molly told him wanting to lighten his mood a bit. Let him loosen up before talking to the SkyClan leader. But she didn't leave yet wanting to make sure there was nothing else Blazingstar wanted.

[vellichor]

Windygale felt... overwhelmed, out of his element, a bit... strange. He was surrounded by she-cats, which made him feel a bit uncomfortable. And the only tom seemed very uncomfortable as well, perhaps embarrassed. He rested his fuzzy tail-tip on the other deputy’s shoulder, hoping to give a little support. But as the deputy didn’t want to speak, Windy complied. He gave a soft nod, then returned his tail to cover his paws. As Auroraflame quickly grinned at him, Windygale nodded with a soft smile himself. He whipped his head back to see Goldenstar step to the front. He tried to meet the leader’s mismatched eyes, an overwhelming amount of support for Goldenstar brimming in his amber hues.
As his name was announced, Windy simply scanned the crown. He didn’t puff out his chest or lower his head. He simply watched with a simple smile. Once more he glanced back at Goldenstar, meeting his gaze. He wanted to support Goldenstar; that’s what a deputy did after all, right?
’perhaps I should meet with Daydream soon,’ Windy thought. He’d met with Flashpaw, albeit not planned. He’d also recently met with Goldenstar in his den. A clan couldn’t survive without the most underestimated, perhaps overworked, high ranks. Medicine cats.

.:Blue Wishes:. | Empress Of Evil | hiraeth

[The Cannibal]

Empress Of Evil

Grousestar kept his gaze forward and did not look towards his deputy as he spoke to her, his tail slightly lowered and a somewhat stony look on his face. He didn't like this, but he knew that it would be better to act now and make an ally then be left further along the line with nothing except for regret on a missed opportunity. It was a decision that would have been made eventually anyways. After living here for a couple of moons, he's gotten a good gist of how things went and it was clear that neutrality just wasn't going to cut it after a while, even if he did save all of them from the malevolent leaders that had taken over.
"Blazingstar will be traveling back with us and I will be speaking privately with him in my den. I believe he wants to spark an alliance between Skyclan and Windclan."
Slowly he would flick his tail back and forth in thought. "And I believe I'll entertain his notion, but it's not going to be a known alliance. I am going to try my hardest to keep this as quiet as possible, if you would help me do that Auroraflame, I would greatly appreciate that." Now the brown tabby would look over at her with an almost pleading look in his eyes. The only way that this alliance would work, was if it was kept silent. If Riverclan ended up finding out about this, then war would break out all over again, except Skyclan would be a part of it. And personally, Grousestar detested the thought of having to go to war with the very cats he saved moons ago.

[Empress Of Evil]

Duskflight

The deputy's eyes widened ever so slightly as she was told that Blazingstar would be walking back with them to their camp. "Just Blazingstar?" she questioned quietly. She supposed it was alright if Blazingstar were to come back with them to discuss important matters, but she wasn't comfortable with the idea of a whole WindClan patrol coming over. With all the current tensions between the clans, Auroraflame found it hard to trust any other clan.
Although she had been a little surprised that Blazingstar would be coming back, considering how Grousestar would prefer to stay away from all this alliance business, she wasn't surprised that the ginger tom wanted an alliance between their two clans. Of course he does, she thought, her eyes narrowing. She wasn't particularly pleased that Blazingstar wanted to drag SkyClan into this, but there was logic in it. It would better to pick a side before it was too late.
"Of course," she said, lightly dipping her head. She would do as her leader wanted her to do. Plus, she could see why. If anyone else were to find out about this alliance, a war would break out almost immediately and everything would come crumbling down. "Do you want me to be there as well for this meeting? Or will you be alright by yourself?" she asked.

[The Cannibal]

Empress Of Evil

"Just Blazingstar." Confirmed the brown tabby without looking over, though he could sense her uneasiness. He too was uneasy, despite going to gatherings the past couple of moons he didn't know the other leaders quite as well as he would hope. He's never fully sat down with them for a day to speak with them and, truthfully, only knew what they let on at gatherings. But again, he felt it was a risk he needed to take at this point in time. He was the only other leader he knew more than the others, and had any inkling of trust in.
At her question, he would flick his tail for a moment, thinking about his answer.
Eventually he would shake his head slightly. "His deputy is leading his clan back, I think it would only be fair if I kept the conversation between us. Though I will be sure to speak to you afterwards and fill you in."

[Empress Of Evil]

Duskflight

"Good," she muttered quietly, her eyes narrowing once more as she through one last glance at Blazingstar. Auroraflame would certainly have some things to say had the answer been different. Perhaps she was being a little too unstrusting, but the ebony feline found that she couldn't take any risks. All that she had seen since coming here was violence between the other leaders and she found it hard to trust even one of them in SkyClan's camp.
"Alright then," she responded, dipping her head respectfully. As long as she got to hear about it somehow, she didn't really mind what happened. "I look forward to hearing about what Blazingstar has to say," she remarked, a genuine look of curiosity in her eyes. Although she was suspicious of the ginger tabby and unimpressed that he insisted on dragging SkyClan into this, she was still curious as to what exactly he wanted to say. Did he want to discuss an alliance like they expected him to? Or did he having something else to surprise them with? Only time would tell.