Riverclan? Antpaw feels nervous just thinking about going near those stinky fish eaters, but since it's his father, he nods.
"I'll stay here." He meows, somewhat less nervous now. He was in the middle of Thunderclan warriors, by himself, sitting down peacefully. What could possibly go wrong? Antpaw listens to the leaders speak, ignoring any cats that come close. He's going to stay like this until the Gathering ends.
Medicine cat?? Blinking in surprise, the gray furred deputy watched as the slightly unstable looking... apprentice? Made their way over to where Berries was. Had ThunderClan lost their medicine cat? Words coiled on the edge of her tongue and she parted her jaws - but something poked her gut, a feeling that it might not be the smartest decision to ask why ThunderClan had only a baby sitting where the medicine cats did. Berries was no baby, being 11 moons, but Dusklion didn't want to deal with any snide remarks about the young cat - or Fallownose might not be the only high rank death under her paws.
She tossed a side glance towards Bumblestar, then to Spiderthroat as he got bapped on the head. A snort was the only acknowledgement she gave as the RiverClan deputy glanced back towards the entrance. WindClan's scent came and immediately Dusklion straightened up, blue eyes watching as Twilightstar led her Clan in. She met the leader's single green gaze, and something about it made her feel small. Very, very small. There was no acknowledgement given to her outside of that, even as the gray-furred deputy watched the lilac leader ascend the stones and settle where leaders did.
A loud voice jerked her head though as two more cats entered and - why was that cat so loud? Dusklion watched as a large black and white tom, trying to recall a name, when another loud voice caught her attention. Blue eyes darted over to Sedgeflake, stomping away from Reedshade. She wanted to sigh and roll her eyes - it was annoying to watch a full grown warrior yowl like a kit, but unless claws were drawn she didn't care too much.
Back to the black and white tom. Cr....owtooth, if she recalled correctly. He joined them and immediately pointed out the jabs. Dusklion just rolled her eyes, parting her jaws to toss one his way when ShadowClan's scent washed over her. It was difficult to keep her claws in as narrowed blue eyes slid over the beach and towards the colossal leader that led them in. Her muttered comment didn't go unheard as Dusklion simply twitched an ear and refrained from springing up at her right then and there.
The deputy joined them shortly after, and gave her a nod (which is the first time she had actually been acknowledged outside directly) and Dusklion hesitated before returning it. She didn't like ShadowClan, not one bit, but she didn't want to be the reason another fight started. Her jaws parted to speak, but before she could, Mistlewhisker and Crowtooth seemed to dive into a conversation about future battles and plans.
...Oh. For the first time tonight, Dusklion didn't feel nervous. Or anxious. As she watched the two converse, clearly still loyal to their Clans yet enjoying a bit of light back and forth banter, the RiverClan deputy realized she felt... jealous. Jealous. Here she was, in the spot she had dreamed of for moons, wondering what it would be like to trade punches with her other fellow deputies and... everyone hated her. In fact, no one had really congratulated her come to think of it, aside from a pawful of RiverClan cats (and not even the entirety of her own Clan).
She sat back and looked out at the crowd, trying to ignore the tightness she now felt in her chest. It was stupid, really, to expect anything other than sneering jabs that weren't done in a light-hearted manner and instead meant to twist and turn in her gut like a sharp thorn. She wanted to rip the thought to shreds that she would ever, ever be able to fit in sitting on this rock, be someone great, someone worth respecting. As she stared out at the gathered cats, Dusklion blinked once, concealing her thoughts in an expression of neutrality (or at least, tried to). Fine, if that's how it was going to be, that's how it was going to be. Two could play at these games.
A single ear flick was given to Bumblestar discussing some border incident with the ShadowClan leader, which reminded her... ugh. Right as she made a resolution to not speaking with any of the cats up here since she could just feel how unwelcome she was. Begrudgingly, she turned to look first at Crowtooth, then up at Twilightstar. The dull ache in the large scar left by the WindClan leader returned and she blinked. "Speakin' of borders," she began, in a voice that she hoped was void of emotion but in reality didn't sound as... confident as she would've liked, "we've noticed some otters - big brown creatures, like to mock you with laughter - in the river near Smallpines. ThunderClan knows of 'em already," a glance towards Bumblestar, because Dusklion had rescued Wolfhive from them prior to their exile, then back to Twilightstar.
"I know that river extends up towards Sedgewater Valley so just... tell your warriors to be careful 'round the banks. Never seen one before this, 'n I plan on takin' a patrol out to deal with 'em, but they seem pretty adapt to the water. Wouldn't want... any of your cats fallin' in." Okay. Yeah. That was good. Unable to meet the WindClan leader's gaze much longer, Dusklion dropped it and looked at her paws briefly before back out over the crowd. There. Done. She had spoken. She set her jaw in a line and wrapped her tail around her paws.
rookfire couldnt quite tell if his excitement stemmed from what he had planned or what he knew was to come. perhaps both, he hadnt been to the last gathering, injured and all, so this one would be his very first since coming to shadowclan and rookfire couldnt help but feel giddy at the thought of seeing the riverrats that had once felt like they knew him and just being, well, better. whilst he was sure riverclan had suffered quite a bit since the battle moons ago, judging by dusklions outward appearance recently anyway, rookfire had left his old live behind not only by name, rank but also by growing a good bit since finding his place amongst the shadows.
on the other hand, he had been anxiously waiting for exactly this to happen, for dawnstar to call for meeting and announce the full moon gathering, because now there was really only one thing he was missing. with the funny feeling in his stomach, he now knew wasnt fear or worry but something more akin to positive nerves, swirling around with every step and his chest feeling light, rook quickly went through the motions of grooming his dark fur, not spending long enough to get all of it to lay flat -especially not the unruly pieces- but enough so he would look a bit more like he cared, then slipped into the warriors den to shuffle around his nest and gather what he had hidden.
dont get me wrong, he still hadnt moved out of the medicine den since no one had asked yet, simply moved to where the herbalists took their rest instead of taking up patient space after offering his time in guarding both of them from the cannibal. nothing endangering mossfreckle or grousepaw had happened since, but two bodies blocking the storage was probably better than one at the end of the day anyway.
now, to specify, the second thing that caused a weird mix excitement and dread to loom in his chest was the very same that got him stepping up to mossfreckle with two rook feathers and a slightly off coloured bundle of flowers, he had attempted to dry, held neatly between his jaws. gifts placed upon the ground between similiarly white tipped yet differently tinted and sized white paws, clearing his throat quietly, ear twitching with nerves and maw pulled into a honest smile, "walk with me?".
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dark fur brushing light brown one, rookfire followed dawnstar towards the seastones, cementing this day as the first time he would walk to the semi familiar landmark from shadowclan territory, having taken his place close to the front of the group he was able to see and smell that riverclan had already arrived early. fadingsun, dusklion, some brown cat rookfire wasnt sure about but would definitely bark a laugh at if someone told him they were the medicine cat after mistyshard had failed. honestly, what a surprise! rookfire wouldve never expected the cat that earned their warrior name at 36 moons and never worked for their position to fail miserably at being a medicine cat after only a couple of months. especially considering he had pretty much handled all medicine work before being so rudely replaced by a failure of a cat, rook already felt pretty damn good about himself and this gathering. lovely start. a bunch of riverclanners he didnt care about, adderpaw, cobwebpaw (who he noted with a bit of a spark in his heart, looked like absolute death), oh well who cared. but oh. still as small (or had they just both grown?) but not as scrawny anymore, marigoldkit. his heart clenched at the rapid change of emotion, from being happy about riverclans suffering to aching for another chance with his friend. they hadnt spoken in so long. he didnt know if he could. so much had changed, it was bound to happen probably..
mistlewhisker took on the reminder this time, repeating the basic rules for gatherings whilst dawnstar already made her way towards the large stones reserved for high ranks. no sharing sensitive informations, nothing any cat shouldnt know. pretty much the only difference for rookfire was that he was now responsible for keeping his clanmates in line and didnt get to just sit and watch, which he had decided was a good thing though.
next, with the clan actually setting foot on the landmark, rookfire was able to see a lot more of the cats already gathered, silver eyes fell on black-orange fur, narrowing slightly whilst his remaining ear twitched and the enforcer straightened up a bit more, intend on showing off the height he had gained on her. unlike the last gathering, still as riverclan, he had attended, this time he didnt want to sink into himself and hide from every glance, instead presenting himself openly with half a thought about cats seeing him and mossfreckle together lingering infinitely and making him feel a bit giddy. however, back to goldfish, the warrior had taken her place in the riverclan crowd close to the center and appeared to be alone. snarky voices whispered possibly every bad thing one could come up with by that information alone in his ear and instead of supressing a smile entirely, he turned to face mossfreckle again as they walked, putting love and adoration instead of schadenfreude into it. goldfish alone, well, rookfire couldnt say he wasnt happy that she was sitting there, alone and looking not very happy in the middle of the crowd.
still, he averted his eyes, touching his nose to mossfreckles cheek one last time before parting from him to select a seat whilst the herbalist went for his designated one. the one the enforcer deemed suitable was pretty much in the middle of the crowd but a bit further to the outside so he could still see most of the cats in front whilst having the best possible audible ability to identify any fighting. whilst he wasnt really one to brag, his promotion to enforcer was surely something he would like addressed this gathering, be it as an announcement or privately. there was just something marvellous about rising through the ranks at rapid speed after being stuck as an apprentice for moons to long.
♤ Goldfish ♤ ♤The Ace of Spades♤ Go With The Flow | Agatha Kitty | Primal Instincts [Climbing] ____________________
…and there they were. Why, why, WHY did Rookpaw just have to be here? Have to stare at her so intently? They must be a warrior by now, at this point. So.. Rook. Until she found out their suffix, of course. Not that they deserved one. Selfish, selfish, selfish. Suck-up. What a disappointment. How dare she ever think Rook could become anything? Goldfish shuddered at the mere thought, meeting their gaze with a steady cold one of her own. You want to play games? Just because you’re large? Just because you snuck the medicine cat a boop? Well guess who. The hell. Cares. nobody. Do they really think that medicine cat wants them? Wants a selfish rat? Did they REALLY think that a medicine cat would dare love someone like them? Ha! It felt nearly psychotic. Psychoticslly pleasant. A manic expression was behind her eyes. Her uncaring eyes.
There was something distasteful in her expression. Despite her neutral expression, she almost looked curious, as The Ace of Spades didn’t. Even. Recognize. Them. Rook was a stranger. She strengthened her act by putting on a disgustedly confused face, expression revealing nothing. She longed so bad to make them feel what she had. Small. Insignificant. Perhaps.. perhaps the cat who had once seemed like a mother could do so. For a summary of Goldfish’s expression, she looked confused and curious, as though she didn’t know who the hell Rook[fire] was and why they were staring at the lionheart.
Swiveling her head away, Goldfish caught sight of her apprentice. She and Rook.. had been friends. Close. ”Mari!” she called. There was a primitive urgency to keep her apprentice safe from them. It throbbed in her heart. Mari could no. See. Rook. No matter what. ”Come sit up here.” if Marigoldpaw came and Rook saw this, Goldfish wouldn’t even acknowledge them any longer. She no longer knew them. They. were. nothing.
”If they aren’t human, they don’t receive human rights, now do they?” ~ Bloom
Marigoldpaw
She, Her\Apprentice\10 moons\Riverclan
"There will come a poet whose weapon is his word."
Purrks: Dreamwalker [ACTIVE] Chill of Death [ACTIVE]
- - -
Marigoldpaw was having a good amount of fun trailing along the beach, narrowly dodging crabs, and picking up shells. She found one that was green, metallic, and smooth, thick at the bottom but thinning out into lumpy swirls near the top. She smiled widely. Oh, Aspenpaw would love this one! And apparently, a crab liked this one too. Its beedy eyes locked onto her hazel and Marigoldpaw froze. "Whoops! Uh, sorry sir, er, ma'am, but I need this for a friend. I'm sure you can find something else to your interest? I'll uh help you find a home when I get back, okay?" Marigoldpaw knew she might be seen as silly or borderline insane for talking to a crab as though they were a cat but she felt that everything deserved that level of respect.
The crab didn't blink, it just stared eerily before waddling away with a walk that made it look like there was something up their flank. Or they were constipated. Such a thought made Marigoldpaw snort a laugh. Okay, okay, focus. Where's Aspenpaw? The older apprentice worked the shell onto her maw before she dove into the crowd, her nose immediately getting overwhelmed by the various scents that danced in the inky air. She crouched low, hoping to not intrude on any conversation. Soon enough the grey pelt of Aspenpaw (and somecat else? Hm, interesting) came into view and Marigoldpaw straightened herself to her full height and smiled widely.
"Hellooooo Aspenpawwwwww!!!" Her mews came out hollow and ringy as though she was yelling with her paw over her mouth. Well, she did have a shell in her mouth, so the same effect. She gave the cat he was conversing with (though they did look a bit peeved) a wide smile. She dropped the shell at her friend paws and touched her nose to his side, also taking note of his aggravated nature and posture. Huh... Maybe Marigoldpaw had just unknowingly broken up a fight. "For uh you!" She told him, then added, "Be nice." She then trotted off, hoping that Aspenpaw wouldn't get kicked out for whatever had bubbled between the two cats. [@burntToast @Neptune.]
Back to the shore she went, the fur on her paws dragging as they filled with wet sand and salty water. Just a few more shells.... One for Minkpaw and then Fishpaw. She scavenged around for a bit before finding something that truly suited the cats. Though Minkpaw was more of a mystery now, she knew that Minkpaw was kind, caring, devoted, and just. She wanted to give her something that reflected that as well as how grateful she was for her. She owed Fishpaw a shell because they haven't yet gone on their trinket hunting expedition and in truth Marigoldpaw felt pretty bad for that...
She ended up with something suitable for the both of them. Fishpaw would be getting a shell that had stripes running across it, swirling up into a spiral of orange. The shell itself was pointed like a horn. For Minkpaw, she managed to find something large and wide. It was splattered with soft colors of blue and orange but mostly devoid of color. Plus, it was kinda sharp so Marigoldpaw had to be careful with it.
Then she head something, her name ringing out into her ears among others.
"Mari! her nickname came first, in a tone that was verging on urgent. "Come sit up here."
Goldfish. A wave of guilt washed over her. Out of all the cats she was shell hunting for, she didn't even consider her mentor! Marigoldpaw shook her head. No, no, she'd make it right, she'd find her something. "Coming!" Marigoldpaw hiccupped before scrambling over the shore in search of something fit for her friend. She wasn't able to find anything perfect, but she found a round and flat shell that had a rich red on it and ridges all throughout its frame. Okay, that would do.
Her white and orange pelt fanned out as she galloped over to her mentor with a various range of shells stuffed into her thickening pelt. "Yes... Uh, hello! Did you need me for anything? Oh, I uh got you something!!" She wound herself up and curled her head to her back, pulling out the shell she had collected just seconds before. By now, Marigoldpaw was noticably damp from her shell hunting expedition. She placed her gift at her mentors paws and smiled. "Isn't it great? I hope you like it, kinda uh found it in a rush." She gave Goldfish a wide smile.
"Tonight is pretty great, don't you think?" She said, a clear smile pitching up her maturing voice. She looked up to the stars above before she searched the crowd for Minkpaw. She didn't wish to miss the chance to speak to her again, ask her why she hasn't visited, ask her how her shoulder was doing and how the medicine cat patched it up, ask her if she missed her as much as she had, ask her if Shadowclan was all she really wanted. She just wanted her to be happy. Everycat deserved that, didn't they?
rookfire had lost track of marigoldkit somewhere between staring daggers at goldfish and parting from mossfreckle so when he took his place at the back of the crowd, he watched with interest as goldfish called marigold over to sit with her. the amusing aspect of this was thinking about her reasonings, in most cases, it was interesting to consider why cats do what they do, but in this case, rookfire couldnt help but engage in this thought that it was because of him. he was nothing if not a changed cat, no longer ashamed of simply being but instead happily lingering on thoughts thatd view him in the best (or at least the one he liked) light.
even though he had originally had no plans to approach goldfish, this was too good of a opportunity, and he didnt have all that much time to wait around for marigod or goldfish to approach him after all. besides, he was active, rook wasnt like minkpaw anymore, he wouldnt hide in fear (even though that was exactly what he had done the last 2 times he had addressed more personal things with mossfreckle.. 'hes different though'..).
pawsteps silent amongst the crowd as rookfire moved closer, slipping past unfamiliar bodies like a mere shadow. thank the stars his past self had taken to practicing stealth more than he absolutely had to to full fill the training requirement, that made this far easier. from blending into the crowd despite his size and knowing to keep his steps quiet, using the dull mass of bodies as a cover in order to approach unheard. "'been awfully long since we had the pleasure dont you think, goldie? quite rude to pretend you dont know me hmm?" rookfire spoke up from besides goldfish, finally stepping into view, all sharp angles, - from long limbs, ragged scars, unruly fur sticking out in places, to his maw pulled into a sharp grin -. a nod upwards as if urging goldfish to defend her behaviour, whilst hoping to hit goldfish where it hurt with the way he spoke and acted, something akin to malice sparkling clearly in cold grey eyes.
"oh hello mari, i like your feathers." rookfire greeted, turning his attention to the kit, and where he had been all mocking smiles and venom laced words, the second he addressed the smaller feline, his entire demeanour changed into something far more open and honest. leaning down a bit to be closer to eyelevel with marigold, rookfire materialised a feather out of seemingly nowhere, dark fur having previously swallowed every sign of it. a rook feather, one just like the two he had offered mossfreckle as a gift mere moments ago, and so awfully personal rook hoped goldfish would be seething. "its a rook feather"
[ believe it or not, i didnt actually plan on having both my characters gift marigoldpaw a feather of their namesake. apologies if this makes no sense, im very head empty today. ]
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"i wish things were different, but it werent us who changed."
Bouncepaw relaxes, feeling the atmosphere loosen somewhat. He feels a lot less nervous now they were on a casual, easy topic.
"I'm having some trouble with hunting," Bouncepaw admits. His paws unconsciously go over to his nose as he recalls what happened; he had been bitten by a mouse last hunting session. One month, and his hunting skills were still less than what was desirable. Not that he was ever going to tell this to Cricketpaw, of course.
"But my mentor's really nice, and they're helping me a lot, so it's fine. He meows, "And I don't mind the chores much. Someone's got to do them." He pauses, "What kind of chores do you have, anyway?"
When Boucepaw tells her he's been having trouble with hunting, she gets a flood of sympathy.
"Yes, fishing is quite difficult, due to the fact that water is rushing, under, around, behind you, nothing has happened recently, but I have heard of cats drowning. As for hunting, I find it difficult to stay quiet." she laughs a little, staying quiet wasn't one of her strengths.
"Chores, just the usual, den cleaning, and ticks and gross stuff other cats don't want to do, I would much rather be learning than cleaning." it was true, she despised the cleaning with a burning passion.
"But I'm sure Windclan is... " she wasn't quite sure, then something bubbled up, and it kinda just escaped her jaws. "Is it true you guys run around underground! In tunnels! That sounds so cool, do you get really dirty afterwards?" her face contorted almost to a silly unnamused expression. "does dirt take really long to get out of your fur."
♤ Goldfish ♤ ♤The Ace of Spades♤ Go With The Flow | Agatha Kitty | Primal Instincts [Climbing] ____________________
As Marigoldpaw approached, Goldfish’s expression softened slightly. A gift? She didn’t need a gift! But it did send a warm prickle through her spine. Goldfish grinned a bit, but it didn’t quite reach the urgent, commanding expression in her eyes. The expression that screamed escape. The expression that showed her strong desire to keep her apprentice away from something. Away from Someone. but despite this Goldfish cheerfully took the shell. ”Thank you! It’s beautiful. she purred, inspecting the gift. But when she shifted her body to further block the view of Rook, she realized they weren’t there. She tensed.
”Mari~” She started, voice laced with urgency, before Rook came right up behind her and spoke. Their voice sounded different. They looked different. Acted different. But this cat was still Minks, and this cat was still selfish. Ah, yes. A masculine undertone to their voice. Goldfish took all her control to avoid snorting. ”Quite rude to stare, wouldn’t you say? After all, I thought you said you were an adult. If you’re a child still intent on pretending you have interest in speaking to me perhaps you wouldn’t be sucking up to that flower boy.” Goldfish pointed out briskly, making nonchalant work of switching the attention to the cat before her. However Goldfish found her voice lacking any hidden malice. She didn’t sound angry or even remotely bothered. In fact, she sounded.. bored. As if this conversation was nothing but a monotone.
The tortoiseshells eyes expressed cool neutrality, as though this was a whole new cat before her. Beneath the neutrality, however, The Ace Of Spades found herself uncertain. As though there was a fight or flight instinct kicking her shins. Walk away? Stay and snap back? But the attention was swiveled to her apprentice, Goldfish gripped the shell in her forepaw. They still cared about Marigoldpaw, it seemed. But it made her feel super uncomfortable. No cat should be acting like that with her apprentice. They complimented Mari’s feathers. Offered her one. A r o o k feather.
It happened on instinct. It happened without thinking. Goldfish felt her feelings build up in her claws. They flexed so hard they trembled. The Ace of Spades, in a burst of violent movements slapped the feather- hard- away from Marigoldpaw. ”My apprentice won’t be needing that, thank you.” A smile grew in a bulging movement onto her maw, emphasizing the fact that Mari was her apprentice. ”In fact, I’m rather surprised you even bothered, considering the way you acted driving out RiverClan. Guess what?” her grin solidified in icy dislike. ”Im a lionheart now, Minks. I have a family to look after. And frankly, you aren’t part of it. I loved you and trusted you- I called you my own- and you disrespected that. Call me weak all you want, you devil. Because I’m not listening. In Riverclan, we don’t tolerate ShadowClan creeps causing problems. So I’d appreciate if you leave Mari and I the hell alone and go scurry off to your fake little lovey. I don’t trust you any longer. Handle it like an adult, and Please leave it at that.”
at that Goldfish turned to her apprentice with a super intense ‘we need to leave now’ expression. She would stand up to pad away, tense and stern expression clearly not looking for an argument. She needed to get Marigoldpaw away. She needed to get herself away. In theory she would closely guide her apprentice away. She expected questions. She expected ‘why?’ From the brown and white apprentice. And The Ace of Spades felt so damn ready to bust her gut explaining.
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@Marigoldwhisper @alec [LOVING THIS POST ACK]
__________________
Goldfish Is one of Riverclan’s Lionhearts!
She is Open to Apprentice Training and Plot ideas!
isla, Alec, Bean, phantom, Morrigan, Dolomedes, Marigoldwhisper, and iliri all reside in here. They will never escape :>
Staff Sign?
- Wolfpaw -
- He/Him - 7 Moons - ThunderClan Medicine Cat -
- A large dark brown tabby tom with green eyes and a missing hind leg -
This cat was weird. Wolfpaw watched as the other medic squeaked out her name, then clearing her throat and saying it more clearly. "Wolfpaw," he said again. A few heartbeats later, he scented another clan. He couldn't quite figure out which clan it was, watching as a large lilac she with a missing eye made her way over to the leaders. He didn't know which clan it was, but from the smell of the moors, it was most likely WindClan. Not long after, a large dark brown tabby molly made her way to join the leaders as well. Wolfpaw heard Bumblestar greet the brown leader with 'Dawnstar', so he knew that it was ShadowClan.
He felt small amongst the other high ranks. To be fair, he was the youngest, buts still! Green hues bounced from leader to leader, deputy to deputy as Wolfpaw watched them talk. Where were the other medicine cats? Stars, he wish muddy was here. "Do you know who the other medicine cats are?" he asked Berrypaw. Aside from Berrypaw, the tripod didn't really know any of the other Medicine Cats, not even their names.
x ghostie is haunting this signature
Bean's favorite staff member Lillian was here
lio sneezed here (achoo)
you see crude graffiti... it spells "velli wuz here"
Rose caught the sickness (oh dear)
fenrir stares at rose with a spray bottle of water in hand
My Soul is in @/Ian's basement with some ice cream
QUILLPAW he/him. 9 moons. dark grey tom; tabby markings; light grey markings, amber and blue eyes.
[ mind reader ]
there's a heavy stench lingering in the air as quillpaw pads onto the beach. one that's familiar, yet sticks out in a horrible way— nose scrunching up and eyes narrowing. riverclan. while he was aware of their return (he dislikes them, but he's sure their next failure will provide some amusement), he didn't expect them to show up to the gathering. he supposes this is their leaders way of showing that riverclan is truly a 'clan', but really, only an idiot would fall for that. a clan driven out of their territory for two moons had little potential. practically none at all..
"how embarrassing." he mutters with a scoff, travelling to a shadowed spot of the beach. taking a seat, a natural scowl rests on his face. hopefully no idiots will try to annoy him, although...it could be good to try and get some information for future reasons.
Re: September Gathering
