June's Gathering [2020]

Punctuality was hardly one of Brindlestar's strengths; it likely existed somewhere between her obliquely implied narcissism and infuriating lack of self-control.

Reigning in the loose scattering of her Clanmates as they stood on the cusp of the ceremonial gathering grounds, the slender molly's sharp features were graced with the faintest note of surprise at the realization that they were the first Clan here. Perhaps the Dark Forest had returned, because that was the last time WindClan had arrived in a timely manner. Dismissing the unsettling emptiness of the sacred hollow with a soft chirp, the pale-furred Leader was quick to pull herself atop the Great Rock, with only the soft flourish of silky fur and sharp claws against roughened stone to announce her presence.

Jaws splitting widely in a dissatisfied yawn, Brindlestar reluctantly settled into the seat that she had made an unknowing habit of claiming, unable to resist the pinprick of boredom as she was deprived of conversation.

---

Nettlesplash could feel the faint building of tension within the base of his skull, the tender beginnings of a fierce headache already welling up within his eye-sockets. As one of the eldest Warriors in the entire Clan, it was always anticipated that he would make an appearance at each Gathering. It was difficult enough to find enough energy to the devote to the task of coming to the Gathering, let alone scraping together the energy required to pretend like he enjoyed being surrounded by so many cats- especially after spending all of his spare time tending to the training of Whitepaw and Crakepaw.

Keeping to the outskirts of the clearing, the ruddy tom opted to simply find a seat atop a gnarled mess of roots- dark gaze often drifting between two unknown points, occasionally searching for the familiar outlines of his Apprentices but usually defaulting right back to where Lichenstar would soon sit.

---

Hurriedly scampering away from the closely knit collection of SkyClanners, Acornpaw's dark coat was quickly lost within the sea of mingling cats who dwelled within the sheltered confines of the clearing. The young tortoiseshell occasionally paused in his aimless wanderings to offer up a short and friendly greeting to any familiar face she happened upon, although -- as per usual -- her attention seemed entirely fixed off in the distance. Unable to resist a slight shudder as she caught a taste of WindClan's scent markings and making a prominent mental note of ensuring adequate distance between herself and any potential WindClanner, Acornpaw's big gaze couldn't help but steadily drift back towards the looming outlines of the high-ranking Clan figures who seemingly swarmed to the Great Rock.

---

It was quite unusual for Shrikepaw to keep such close attachment to Heronfeather or Brindlestar, but there was always a first time for everything; after all, who could blame him? The last Gathering he had attended was... odd, especially considering his relatively off-putting encounter with that SkyClan molly. Sprawling out in the soft grasses just a few tail-lengths or so from the looming shape of the Great Rock, the blotched tom simply eyed the slowly growing crowd with an odd expression. It was difficult to discern whether or not he wanted to find that rabbit-brained SkyClan cat again.

Her whiskers had betrayed the slight anxiety that was ever-present under her thick pelt and in olive eyes, a worry that was well-founded. With the uptick in warmer weather came longer days and more prey, but that only attracted more predators and better yet, more rogues. So far WindClan had steered relatively clear of the vicious cats that prowled the edges of the territories, however the fact they were yet to encounter a battle patrol left her a lot more stressed than if they had. Flicking a brown ear in dismissal, she allowed her tail to float along the grassy slope of Fourtrees, taking in a deep breath. The same surprise Brindlestar had shown was mirrored in Heronfeather's gaze - their clan being early truly was unheard of.

She cleared away the disbelief on her face and padded towards the spot where the deputies gathered, flashing a small smile at the patchy form of her apprentice, Shrikepaw. The way he had stuck nearby to the two she-cats on the way over had initially unnerved her - he was always desperate to be on the other side of the clan from Brindlestar - but she hadn't questioned him directly, and was pleased to see him settle in. Beginning to groom herself, Heronfeather waited patiently for the other clans to arrive.

---

So much had happened in the past few moons, more than his mind could possibly keep up with. Although, if he really stopped to think, let his rather slow brain catch up to where he was right now; the cream tom would probably realise a lot of his life was a series of unbelievable, inexplicably fast paced events. To think that a few moons ago he had yet to attend his first gathering, and now he was mates with a ShadowClan she-cat - with his mothers knowledge and approval - and he'd survived a vicious rogue attack? It was all rather surreal, and he was happy to be standing atop the familiar grassy ridge, fondly recalling his first meeting with Coalspark and the night they spent curled up in the roots of a tree together. 

A soft purr rumbled in Lionflame's throat as he took a seat near the outside of the clearing, a familiar spot as he waited for his dark-furred lover to appear. How he missed those intense amber eyes of hers, ones filled with both an insane amount of fierceness and love simultaneously. He truly didn't mean to gush over the she-cat, but she was so beautiful and he found himself fighting off his purr increasing in volume at the mere thought of seeing her. He really hoped she was coming tonight.

---

A rather large yawn escaped the tomcat, a very very large yawn, as evident by the moisture gathering in the innermost corners of his eyes and the slight tremor that passed around his body. Shaking his head to clear the bleary eyes and fatigue gently weighing on him, he followed closely behind Nettlesplash and Whitepaw, feeling a slight pang of annoyance his excitement for the gathering was being swept away by an annoyingly persistent exhaustion. Crakepaw was pleased to find the closer they got to the infamous Fourtrees the more his sleepiness dissipated and he was imbued with newfound energy and excitement. Trotting quite happily down the spongy grass of the ridge and into the clearing, he nodded his head slightly to Nettlesplash - so much so that unless someone was really watching, it was hardly noticeable - before settling down in an area quite central to the base of the rock. He hoped that Whitepaw, or anyone really, would come and join him. He'd heard it was technically against the rules to become friends with a cat from another clan, but rules were made to be broken, weren't they?

Bunnypaw hopped into the gathering. It was how she walked. And now here she was, at her first gathering. She twitched one of her big ears before sitting down.

OOC: Come talk to this Tiny tsundere gal. And feel free to mistake her for a child

Blackclaw padded into the gathering with Shadowclan and went to the other meds right away as he didn't think anyone else would want him to talk to them.

Rainpaw padded into the gathering with breezebranch making sure no one could see him. He was still terrified of others so he never left her side.

Waterpaw limped into the gathering with riverclan and straight away started looking for lilypaw. When he noticed her next to the familiar Skyclan cats he was last time he was in skyclan, waterpaw gave up and sat alone, ready for it to start.

(Badger isn't coming as he hasn't been blinded yet so paradox. Fern isn't coming as she is mourning the death? Of patchpelt. Swift isn't coming cause she deaf. Wisppaw isn't coming cause she with her mother. Fire isn't coming cause she with badger. )

Blackclaw is talking to meds. Rainpaw is hiding. Waterpaw is waiting for lilypaw.

Silverstar walked into the gathering alongside the rest of SkyClan. He hopped onto the Great Rock and didn't say anything to the other leaders. He didn't feel like chit-chatting tonight. All he really wanted was to share the news and listen to the others. His expression wasn't cold or dead per se, it was just empty.

Roseeye walked into the clearing and sat down in a someone secluded area.

Scorchpaw padded in and curled his tail around his paws as he sat down, a blank expression on his face.

Hailpaw ran into the gathering. It was his first gathering ever! He ran up to Rainpaw and sat down beside him. "Isn't this exciting? Our first gathering ever! I wonder if Brindlepaw came too. Oh do you know Brindlepaw? I kinda have a crush on her. Oh please don't tell her that. I wanna tell her myself. Anyways do you know where she is? You've gotta meet her!" Hailpaw blabbered.

Minnowstream walked into the gathering.

OOC: Hailpaw is talking with Rainpaw but is open to conversation! Oakleap won't be intending this gathering. Minnowstream and Bunnypaw are open to talk to.

Wolfstorm walked in along, a stride behind Lichenstar. He toook his place by the deputies, just as he had last month. With a nod of greeting to all of them, he watched the clans file in, starting to mingle with each other. ”How have you guys been?” he asked the deputies, wondering how the other clans were faring.

Lilypaw walked in excitedly. She wanted to see Waterpaw, more than anything! After nodding to her mother, she bounded off. ”Waterpaw!” she mewed, running up to her white-pelted friend. ”How are you?” asked the fluffy apprentice, sitting down next to the Riverclanner.

Ferretpaw walked into the gathering, excited for what would happen today. She wanted to meet someone new! Her eyes landed on a young looking cat, very young looking. She hopped up towards the small she-cat with a smile. ”Hiya! I’m Ferretpaw.” introduced the apprentice.

Eaglepaw proudly strutted into his first gathering behind Brindlestar. He wanted to meet the other clans, share them some of his immense knowledge. Windclan was obviously the best clan, no doubt about it, but he could learn about some of the others. He wanted to show offf himself. His eyes found their way up to where the leaders stood. ”I’ll stand up there, someday.” he mewed to himself. He imagined leading his clan in, as Eaglestar. But his daydream was popped by a cat starting to talk beside him. He whipped around in annoyance.

Wolf is taking to the deputies,
Lily is talking to Waterpaw
Ferret is talking to Bunnypaw
And Eagle is open to talk!

Bunnypaw turned her gaze towardsa she-cat, one the smelled of oak trees. Thunderclan. "Well hello. I'm Bunnypaw." Bunnypaw said regally, sounding like a seasoned warrior rather then a new apprentice. "Your from Thunderclan I presume."

Cloudbreeze had brought up the rear this time for her Clan - instead of walking right beside her father, she took to the back. Safety had her on edge, and she didn't want the end of her clanmates unprotected. If anything happened, she would know immediately. However, StarClan blessed them with safe passing, allowing Cloudbreeze to then safely slip to her place. She made sure to nod to all of her clanmates along the way, the protective she-cat not letting her guard down for one moment- even if it WAS a gathering.

Sorrelwing padded in after Silverstar, taking her place underneath the rock with a quiet expression. She hadn't really bothered speaking with the other deputies in a while, but when Wolfstorm spoke up, she turned his direction and rolled her eyes. "Just fine. Dandy. Peachy. Swell..." she grumbled. "What's it to you?"

Bramblepaw padded in with Shadowclan, keeping to himself. While he liked listening to the news of the others clans in the gathering, he didn't like having to mingle in with the crowd. There was too much waiting before the gatherings started. Awkwardly, the apprentice sat towards the back of the clearing, trying to avoid the others.

Blizzardpaw smiled widely as she walked into the clearing, white fluffy pelt carefully groomed to look her best. She would be lying if she said she didn’t like the gatherings even if just because it gave her a chance at meeting more cats from different clans under peaceful circumstances. Maybe even make a couple new friends as well. Her whiskers twitched happily as she looked around, while part of her told her to take her spot between the rest of the meddies, the other told her to try and find someone else to talk to. Just because she wasn’t training to become a warrior didn’t mean she didn’t have all kind of interesting subjects to talk about and her own opinions on battle moves, after all.

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Ebonypaw had spent longer than she was comfortable admitting grooming her pelt to get the smell of dirt out and make it return to its glossy black color. At least none had complained or called her out on her excessive grooming in camp, so that was a plus indeed.

She looked around, ears twitching in an attempt to catch as much information at once as possible, the pseudo-ears she had moving along even if slower. She was unsure of who she could approach to first this time, maybe a one on one chat? Or joining a larger group? Hm….


OOC: Blizzardpaw and Ebonypaw are open to chat!

This was to be her first gathering. It was a mark of honor to be chosen to attend and represent their clan, and yet Robinpaw found herself uncomfortable at the idea of rubbing pelts with other clans. All this meant was another step to warriorhood. Already she had troubles with companionship in her own clan, a situation that Acornpaw and been fruitlessly attempting to fix. A low sigh escaped the side of her maw and she ground her teeth together as they raced into the clearing. She lingered near the middle of her group. When the leadership dispersed, she found herself utterly lost, and opted to silently settle down at the fringes of Skyclan cats that had chosen to remain near each other.

Sandbreeze sat at the edge of the gathering. His father had taught him when he was young that it was always better to observe from a distance, and that's just what the yellow l pale yellow did. His amber eyes surveyed the cats, resting for a moment on a familiar pelt. His heart swelled in his chest at the thought of her before turning his gaze back to the rest of the clans.


Iceheart's paws itched with energy. This was his first gathering in a fairly long time, and his first as a fully fledged warrior. His bright white coat shone in the darkness like a beacon. He didn't much enjoy feeling like eyes were staring at him, so gre slight out a familiar face. "Hey Blizzardpaw. Heard anything interesting yet?" he asked as he sat down next to her. 



A fluffy young apprentice dashed excitedly into the clearing, not waiting for the approval of her mentor as she gazed with wide eyes at the gathered clans. Flowerpaw spotted another female that looked to be a similar age and bounced over with a wide grin on her face. "Hello, I'm Flowerpaw! What's your name?"

Interactions with Blizzardpaw and Robinpaw!

Softcloud padded in, taking her usual seat near the other medicine cats, noticing with a rather bit of alarm that Blizzardpaw was not with them. She inwardly sighed in relief when she spotted Blizzardpaw in the crowd, chatting with a white tom. Turning her head a bit, she looked at Mistedsong and smiled. "Hello, Mistedsong. How are you? I've recieved an apprentice to train for RiverClan, her name is Adderpaw." Turning to address the dark furred she-cat, she nodded in Misteddong direction.

"This is Mistedsong, Adderpaw. Out of all of us medicine cats, he's the oldest. Not by many moons, though! He was still a 'paw when I became one! This is Adderpaw, Mistedsong." She introduced the pair, hoping Adderpaw wouldn't strike up too much of an attitude towards her closest medicine comrade.

---

Violetbriar wasn't quite sure what to do with herself. Wolfstorm was sitting with the other deputies, and her kits had all wandered off to have their own conversations. Then, of course, Softcloud was associating herself with her fellow medicine cats. She didn't really have many friends, she realized. Violetbriar couldn't see Willowshade anywhere, so she walked around until she noticed a rather familiar silver pelt. That was the ThunderClan apprentice she'd met at Sunningrocks! "...Ferretpaw?" She called, hesitant. That was her name, right? And Firekit... Undoubtedly Firepaw by now. She couldn't see Firepaw anywhere, and Ferretpaw was talking to a tortoiseshell who smelled like WindClan.

---

Breezebranch once again found herself alone. And as such, her mind wandered to Mudmask, and for the second time at a Gathering, she found her eyes drifting up to look at Brindlestar.

---

Bouncing, hardly able to stand having to wait for Silverstar's signal, Mudpaw bounded down the hill, one pelt on her mind. The black and white tom. Brindlestar's kin. Which in turn made him her kin. Darting between pelts, she finally saw him, his back towards her. Squeaking in delight, Mudpaw charged forward, rolling and tripping over her paws, tumbling a bit.

She got up quickly however, and the mottled faced she-cat didn't appear the least bit fazed. "Hey, WindClanner!" Her high pitched, bubbly voice called out, and as he turned, she ran up to him, bright eyes shining.

---

Mudpaw is speaking with Shrikepaw of WC!
Breezebranch is open to talk to, just a bit busy... uh... staring at Brindlestar.
Violetbriar has approached Ferretpaw of TC and Bunnypaw of WC!
Softcloud is speaking to Adderpaw of RC and Mistedsong of SkC!

Despite the excitement evident on the young tom's features, Whitepaw was feeling somewhat nervous on the inside. He wasn't about to let the hesitancy surface though. This was supposed to be great experience for an apprentice. Most of the ones he could spot all seemed to be buzzing and excitedly chatting away. Here he was sitting and fidgeting. His mentor and apprentice friend, Crakepaw, weren't too far from him. His wariness stemmed from not wanting to make a fool of himself in front of anyone. This was a big event with a plethora of cats from all clans present. No. He wasn't about to completely ruin the mood for himself. He was going to enjoy the Gathering...while just sitting here. Just observing and listening to the conversations happening around him from afar.

While he lent an ear to a particularly interesting conversation, the white-furred apprentice spotted his brother sitting while glancing occasionally at a group of cats. He seemed to want to join them but for some reason, he stayed put. He almost looked like he was longing to be with them. Why wasn't he though? The Gathering allowed cats from any clan to chat and get to know one another. Whitepaw's thoughts were interrupted when a she-cat from the group broke away and ran up to Waterpaw. Was that the she-cat his brother told him about? The one that he saved from drowning and protected from a dog? 'Lilypaw' his mind reminded him was her name. He now finally knows what she looks like. She appeared to be rather sweet and energetic. The apprentice shook his head and quickly averted his gaze. His brother deserved his privacy. Whitepaw went back to idling around but this time, however, Waterpaw and Lilypaw were now on the forefront of his mind despite his best efforts to push away those thoughts.

OOC: Whitepaw is open to chat with. ^^

Padding into the gathering, Lightningstar hopped up onto the rock in a single leap. Sitting down beside Silverstar, one of his allies, he gave a nod to the silver pelted leader and then to the others. He kept quiet, per usual, lost in thought. The appearances of rogues in and around their territory was still on the rise and he wondered when they would finally teach them not to even step a paw around their forest...

Not far behind the rest of WindClan, Cloudpaw trotted into the moonlit clearing, his white fur gleaming. A Gathering just like any other. Though to a lot of cats it felt boring after the first few times, the young tom found the chatter soothing. It was an excuse to leave the territory for a bit, too. He glanced towards Heronfeather as she went to sit with the other deputies. 'She looks a bit nervous.' He gave her a warm look of encouragement before moving into the greater throng of cats. Perhaps he'd see that strange ShadowClan tom again, though he hadn't seen him for quite a while. 'Perhaps I should ask one of his Clanmates if he's alright.'



A gaping yawn split Lichenstar's face as she led her clan into the clearing. They'd gotten a late start - her "afternoon nap" had turned into more of a slumber. She'd only woken up when Nettlesplash had essentially slapped her and said that there was a snake in her nest. Now that got her up. 'He's still mad at me, huh?' Leaffall-colored eyes focused momentarily on her fellow warrior as he pushed ahead. She could only hope that this disagreement was temporary and that soon enough they'd be arguing again. About more trivial things, rather. She scaled the Great Rock and settled on the end, giving the other leaders a polite nod.

Sharp gaze flinty in the stark light of the late twilight sky, Brindlestar's austere features remained relatively devoid of anything other than passive interest at the gradual arrival of her counterparts. Giving each of her counterpart's nothing more than a flourishing flick of the tail, which resulted in the silky tendrils of her fur grating and catching uncomfortably against the porous surface of the Greatrock, she could feel a slight twitch of agitation resonate through her being.

Of course ShadowClan was keeping them perched here, all but idly grooming their tails. If that harebrained Deputy was in charge of the Clan again, it was hardly surprising that they were failing into such a state of disrepair.

---

Spine prickling under the unwarranted sensation of less than subtle staring, Nettlesplash was quick to return Lichenstar's glance with a narrowed, glare that oozed insufferable indifference, ears folding back and whiskers trembling with the urge to roll his eyes. Had they found themselves in the limited privacy within camp, there would be no doubt that he would've pressed the tortoiseshell's buttons further- unable to resist the seemingly innate desire to infuriate his old friend made all the worse by his low-simmering anger pertaining to recent events. Ah well, it would just have to wait. Gaze purposely shifting to some uninteresting and unimportant face in the crowd, Nettlesplash forced the lingering tension building below the surface to dissipate.

---

Shrikepaw froze at the sudden exclamation, an icy pinprick of tension crawling its way down the length of his spine. So much for a relaxing evening. Dark gaze sparking alight with a low-simmering flame of irritation flickering within their flinty depths, the dark-furred tom forced himself to swallow down a sharp puff of irritation as Mudpaw eagerly approached. Reclining further in the soft and luscious grasses he was currently sprawled across, the young WindClan tom's tail gave an agitated twitch at the situation- why did this have to happen again? Wasn't one painfully odd conversation enough?

"You're persistent," Shrikepaw grumbled, ears folding against his skull, "you know that, right?"

---

Amid her aimless and fruitless wanderings, which resulted in several unwarranted collisions with innocent bystanders, Acornpaw happened across a young RiverClan cat who appeared to be of a similar age- evidently just as without conversation as she currently was. The little tortoiseshell quickly abandoned the irritated criticism being tossed her way and instead scampered towards the pale-furred tom, her flustered state of mind quickly dissipating as the victim of her idly ventures disappeared from her line of sight. Stinging smart of her wounded pride quickly balming to nothing more than a forgotten slight, the young she-cat hardly hesitated in her choice to give her new companion a sharp prod between the ribs.

"Hello!" Acornpaw mewed, soft voice rising above the low hum of countless conversations, "I don't think I've seen you at a Gathering before."

Shaken from his musings by a sudden jab at his ribs, the large apprentice quickly looked up, mouth opening to vocalize his slight displeasure but voice dying in his throat. He offered the stranger a sheepish smile instead. Couldn't make a bad impression. Inwardly, he felt a bit silly having been caught staring off into space. He hoped this she-cat didn't think him to be weird in any way. Oh StarClan. This was his first conversation with someone outside his clan. He was rather desperate for this to go well.

The white-furred Riverclanner mentally shook himself to full attention and made haste with his reply, "O-Oh! Um, hello there! It's my first time so that's why you haven't seen me at a Gathering before." The young tom sat up straighter before clearing his throat and then giving a somewhat proper introduction, "The name's Whitepaw. I'm from RiverClan b-but i'm sure you already knew that..." Whitepaw nearly visibly cringed. 'Come on now! Did you really have to add that at the end? You can still recover from that though...' he silently berated himself for the slight awkwardness he had just displayed. He gave the young tortoiseshell a rather silly grin. "What's your name? Going by your scent, you...you're from SkyClan right?" He couldn't help the little bit of his mind that wondered if she was a friend of Lilypaw's. Even if she wasn't, she must certainly know her. He wasn't about to ask though. He made sure to hold all those types of questions back.

At Shrikepaw's reply, Mudpaw grinned, the smile reaching her eyes, ears flicking contentedly. "My momma tells me that too! She also says I talk too much. She doesn't really like my bouncing. But I dont like sitting still. Do you like sitting still? Bouncing is so much fun, do you like to bounce?" As if she hadn't learned from before, she spewed just as if not more words from her maw, the entire time never standing in one spot for more than a heartbeat.

Then, as if reality finally set in, she turned to him and curiously addressed him. "Heya, I just realized... I dont know your name! How can we be friends if I don't know your name? I'm Mudpaw, if you don't know. My momma named me after my papa!"

((EDIT: Let's assume Sootpaw is already a warrior now to avoid time paradoxes.))

(OOC: I am not sure with the mentorship of Stormpaw, so I will just bring Sootpaw ATM. She is open to talk to.)

It was her second gathering. The white-pawed she-cat padded into the gathering, her eyes curiously scanning around. There seemed to be many new faces, and familiar faces as well. She sat in a corner and started to think about what to say to greet them.

Blizzardpaw’s ears perked up when she heard a known voice, head turning just enough for her icy blue gaze to meet with the odd-eyed cat’s. A smile soon made its way to her muzzle as she twitched her whiskers involuntarily as a reaction to her overjoyed personality. She was just happy whenever anyone approached to chat, as usually most cats seemed to think it twice when approaching a Medicine Cat…something she couldn’t help but find a bit strange. Yes, the paths they took were vastly different, but she was just like any of them at the end.

Now, she was no stranger to Iceheart’s…situation. Mistedsong didn’t share the details with her, and only hinted at things vaguely whenever asked, which she guessed was because of her still lacking experience, but she was young, not stupid, so putting the pieces of the puzzle together through the fractured information she had received wasn’t that hard…now she couldn’t say she could see the whole picture, but she saw just enough of it. A cat with two halves of a whole soul was something of great interest, yes, but she saw no reason to treat her clanmate any different just because of it. He felt pain just like she did, he still ate the same freshkill she did and had the same ability to feel joy and sadness she did. He might have to deal with another side to himself that she would never be able to understand, but in the end, he was still the clanmate she knew and saw every day at camp.

After licking her long white coat a couple times, she finally shook her head at Iceheart’s question “Nope! Not yet at least. I wonder if that will change once the leaders start the gathering though. It usually seems like the short time that goes by before they do is the calm before the storm” Her eyes drifted towards the Great Rock, looking at the leaders gathered on it’s top, wondering what kind of news they had to share this time… “Wonder if the whole rogue issue will be addressed again…they don’t seem to be willing to retreat from our territories, that’s for sure. I doubt any clan is exactly happy about it”.

Softly sloping features, made all the more delicate by the gentle light of the moon, dusted with the gentle remnants of friendly amusement and sympathy, Acornpaw's honey-sweet gaze was further warmed with the irrefutable evidence of her altruistic nature. The stuttering young tom before her was painfully familiar - all too reminiscent of her painfully awkward companion Robinpaw - which further flamed her desires to try and fill the lackluster gaps that yearned within their otherwise choppy conversation.  Dark lips peeling back into the slight curves of a playful smirk, the young tortoiseshell ignored the stares that had been redirected in their direction following the aftermath of her unorthodox greeting.

"First Gathering, eh?" Acornpaw echoed softly, tilting her gently rounded skull in a blatant display of eyeing her newfound water-dwelling companion, "I wouldn't of guessed that! You're taller than most of the WindClan cats that are older than me. Absently gesturing to the slight and practically emaciated shapes of the various moor-dwellers who happened to be frequenting in their immediate proximity, the molly's whiskers twitched in an empty, reflexive gesture of her rapidly-moving thoughts. "My name's Acornpaw, and evidently I've been to a few more Gatherings than you- but honestly, I don't seem to enjoy them too much, most cats aren't very conversational."

---

There was a glossy undercurrent evident within the usually sharp depths of Shrikepaw's dark gaze, an obvious proclamation of his rapidly dwindling attention. The young SkyClan molly's words seemed to resonate hollowly within the space between his tufted ears, rapidly dissipating in the ensuing whirlwind of their entirely one-sided conversation. There was a slight tremor evident in the hard length of his quaking jaw, a gentle click of his overly-pronounced teeth that easily signified his rapidly mounting dissatisfaction with the entire situation. Couldn't he have just one thing?

The unexpected lull in the ceaseless storm of words caught his attention, his detached brain suddenly forced to work overtime to try and recall Mudpaw's parting statement; the comment of her apparent namesake going entirely and completely over his rapidly churning thoughts. "My name's Shrikepaw,' He reluctantly revealed after a heartbeat's reprieve, "dunno why my mother gave me such a name though. Probably nothing too special." Shrikepaw gave a slight shrug to enunciate the lackluster statement, feathered tail giving a slight twitch as his gaze eventually wandered to the looming shape of his mother atop the Great Rock alongside the other Leaders.

"Probably. I heard a Thunderclan warrior was ambushed and nearly killed. I think that's him over there," he motioned toward  a pale yellow tom at the edge of the crowd, his pelt still bearing the scars from the fight. As torn up as he still was, Iceheart was amazed the tom had even survived.

Iceheart gave the female a soft smile as he glanced in her direction. She had always been a kind cat, even ignoring his sometimes foul mood. Though, if they knew the truth, could anyone really blame him for being angry? He didn't want to die. As if on cue, Iceheart felt a sharp pain in his chest, making him wince. He flexed his claws as he turned his head away in an attempt to hide the momentary agony from Blizzardpaw. After a few moments, the pain subsided. Dark forest curse it all!


Flowerpaw gazed happily at Robinpaw and nodded. "I became an apprentice just under a moon ago," she explained. The young female looked down at her limbs as the other apprentice mentioned her height. She'd never really thought of herself as being tall, but then, she hadn't really thought about it at all. "I'm from Riverclan. What about you? You're little, so are you a Shadowclan cat?" Flowerpaw asked cheerfully.