August's Gathering [2020]

Watching as each leader took their place atop Great Rock with their clans scattering to mingle bellow, Lightningstar stood up and make his way to the front of the rock. Times were changing and fast, but that didn't mean that traditions could go overlooked, even if they had postponed last moon's gathering for the sake of their clans' safety.

"Let the gathering begin!" the large, fluffy leader's voice boomed as he stood on the edge of the rock, his silhouette against the moonlight looking as strong and confident as ever. Waiting a few moments for every-cat to quiet down, he began his usual oration.

"ThunderClan has been fairing well this past moon... But of course, every-cat knows of the looming nuisance that are the rogues. This past moon, several patrols were attacked and while we were able to send them with their tails tucked under their legs, they are persistent on making their presence known," Lightningstar spoke, his voice serious. Those rogues were beginning to become a true bother as well as a threat to his clanmate's safety and something needed to be done about them sooner rather than later.

"That is all for ThunderClan, though at some point tonight, I suggest we discuss a solution to this... pest problem," he finished, turning his gaze to the other leaders before taking his place back among them.

Austere emotion hung heavily in the frigid depths of Brindlestar's fractionally narrowed gaze, a faulty disguise that ravenously sought to carefully encase the scathing pulse of disappointment that wreathed through her pulsing heart at the realization that Magpiestar would in fact, not be in attendance this moon. There was a bitter weight upon her tongue at the bizarre mix of disappointment and relief that curdled behind the tightly clenched confines of her teeth, apprehensive tongue gently pressing against the delicate ridge of her incisors, unsure of this sudden and unwanted development. Swiftly turning the sharp ridge of her angular muzzle upwards, after a brief respite of casually eyeing those seated atop the Great Rock beside her, the ragged-furred molly was quick to replace Lightningstar- giving his thinly veiled request nothing more than a disinterested sniff.

Their ragtag alliance could fend for itself.

"WindClan does well this moon; the weather has given us plentiful prey, and we have thankfully experienced very little disruption from issues from unwanted intruders such as roaming predators or invading rogues." Brindlestar eventually began, low and ragged voice easily carrying atop the gentle hum and whisper of those gathered below, "We've fortunately welcomed several new litters into our nursery, as well as gained several new apprentices their latest status within the Clan- including Yewpaw, our latest Medicine Cat apprentice." Pale coat generously frosted by the chilly light of the moon, the lanky molly idly abandoned her position at the preferred speaking point.

---

Acornpetal's softly rounded features further slackened under the surprise and overwhelm that she had currently been plunged within- dark gaze hurriedly drifting between Heronfeather, Yewpaw, and Wolfstorm during their respective tidbits of conversation, brain activity frenzied in its attempts to keep up with the different words, advice, and futile attempts to pair names with the faces before her. Hastily nodding and offering short little puffs of polite laughter when deemed appropriate, she struggled to rid herself of the uncomfortable tension that reverently coiled within her unyielding muscles.

"You find this comfortable?" The tortoiseshell couldn't but disbelievingly echo Yewpaw's insinuation, disquieted gaze fixating upon Heronfeather and Yewpaw respectively. "I'd sooner rather welcome a fox into my nest, than spend another heartbeat up here with everyone... staring."

Robintail followed the rest of her clan into the clearly. An uneasy feeling settled deep in the cavern of her chest as Acornpetal pulled away to dutifully take her position in front of the forest. It appeared there were talkative cats in the higher ranks, her clanmate would likely feel more at ease among them than at her side anyways. She settled down near other Skyclan cats, somehow less interested in mingling with the other clans than previously. There was little time between their arrival and when the leaders spoke. Half-heartedly, her ears pricked to listen to the news of the forest, but she thought little of it. Her eyes were trained on the familiar tortoiseshell pelt ahead as she remembered the rogues from the last gathering. Claws flexing into the earth she only dared flicker her gaze away for fleeting moments. Just in case.
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"Doesn't Skyclan sleep on rocks or something?" Yewpaw was pleased that the strange cat responded to his inquiry. Leaders had started speaking but that didn't stop his munbling below. Instead, he pressed back at Acornpetal, declining to answer her question with little more than a grin. The tabby twisted his neck to get a better look up at her. Only a glimpse confirmed his thoughts; this she-cat was at new as he was. There was a twitch of his whiskers and a dismissive flick of the tail, scuffling the well-worn earth. From his position on the ground, it became painfully evident that he had no intent of getting up, or caring what others may think about his unusual resting position. The other medicine cats were dutifully posed and the thought made him scoff slightly. Yewpaw finally kicked out a hindleg to tap Acornpetal's haunches, "Don't look at them then. All those rabbitbrains are too worried about being eaten by rogues to care about staring at you." It came shortly after Lightningstar's mention, and Brindlestar's lack their of. Already it seemed the medicine cat and leader shared similar beliefs.

Flashpaw offered up an interesting idea, it definitely piqued the dark apprentice's interests. Eyes narrowing, Halfpaw's tail flicked back and forth once thoughtfully before he rose to his paws, apparently agreeing to the prospect of tormenting weaker apprentices. "Fine. Let's go." He couldn't care less about the goings-on of the other Clans, weaving in and out of gathered cats in order to find the perfect young apprentice to scare. A golden-pelted young tom caught his eye and he made his way over, putting on his slimiest, friendliest smile. "My, my," he purred, his voice sickeningly smooth. "Aren't you just a pile of fun, hm? What's your name?"

(OOC: Halfpaw is talking to Mothpaw!)

Mothpaw turned at the sound of Halfpaw's purr, he grinned brightly in response. Everyone was just so friendly here, gatherings were awesome! "I'm Mothpaw!" he chirped. "From Riverclan. What's your name?"

Flashpaw with his large lanky self walked behind Halfpaw, glancing around the gathering he wasn’t sure if he felt relived or disappointed that his mother and siblings weren’t here, especially after he overheard they had been picked up by skyclan, so they went to go live with his traitor father after all. He flicked an ear dismissively and stood next to Halfpaw. This apprentice was talkative were all riverclan cats like this . “.. I’m Flashpaw..” he said simply flexing his claws in and out of the dirt .

The dark apprentice's eyes narrowed just a hair, examining Mothpaw with scrutiny. His smile faded just a moment before returning, and he circled around the RiverClan cat once as if he was sizing him up. "Mothpaw, hm? I'm Halfpaw. ShadowClan." He flicked his ear as Flashpaw joined him and introduced himself as well. "...Yes. This is Flashpaw."

Mothpaw blinked as Flashpaw joined the group. When Halfpaw circled around he remained in place, just curiously turning his head to follow the distinctively marked cat. "That's cool! This is my first gathering, there's so many cats here! What's Shadowclan like?"

There was no denying the way embarrassment stained the molly's cheeks, a sharp intake of breath making itself necessary as her son sprawled out in front of the clans, and as he continued to chat away through both Lightningstar and Brindlestar's reports. Acornpetal seemed to entertain it much to her minor annoyance, her need to please and serve authority was currently gnawing at her haunches, and she offered a kind smile in the young deputies direction. Yewpaw beat her to her initial response, while a little more harsh, and she was proud of the tom he was becoming. "A little bit of a blunt way to put it, but Yewpaw is right. Normally everyone's too busy paying attention to the leaders to spare a second glance down here. Honestly, you're less likely to attract attention down here than you are anywhere in the crowd. Although..." There was no doubt that when Silverstar rose to speak he would direct the gaze of all five clans onto the newest addition to the deputies, and she chewed the inside of her cheek as she prepared a warning. "You should probably prepare yourself for the big announcement Silverstar will have to give. Hopefully Yewpaw will mind his maw for that one," the molly shot an incredibly loving glare at her son, wanting nothing more than to rasp her tongue over his head. Heronfeather was rather prone to bouts of maternal love and affection; but she knew better than to act on it in this setting.

Flashpaw kept kneading the ground and grinned, “kinda small aren’t you for your first gathering..” he said in a teasing manor, “shadowclan is strong and will remain so, and we’ll be happy to prove it anytime” he lashed his tail from side to side . Ears flicking when he heard the leaders call the start of the gathering . It seems his mother was to much of a coward to show her face .

Mothpaw tipped his head in confusion. He.... wasn't small? He glanced down at a large paw before looking back to Flashpaw, brow furrowed, not really sure what the other tom was talking about. "I'm.... not small?" He paused a moment, "Congrats on being stong?" He was thoroughly puzzled by the turn the conversation had taken, but turned to watch the leaders as the gathering officially began.