June's Gathering [2020]

The scars under the long grey fur of the SkyClan medicine cat panged with phantom pain at the voices of the cats who had inflicted them, and only Softcloud's bump took him out of his reverie. Mistedsong pressed himself to his apprentice's side, just as much for his own comfort as for hers. Somewhere in the back of his head he acknowledged that she was just as big as him at this point, but he ignored the thought in favor of praying to StarClan that this night would not end in bloodshed, not without any sort of healing supplies in decent proximity.

---

Amber eyes widened in a mixture of fear and confusion as Coalspark turned from the embrace of her mate's mother to process the arriving group of rogues that were threatening the group of cats that wildly outnumbered them. Anger and derision left trails of heat and tension along her spine, her black fur spiking up in their wake. She remembered herself after a moment, though; she had more to protect than just her own tail. "I don't think they're stupid enough to actually attack us right now, anyway," the queen meowed back to Lionflame, rasping her dark pink tongue over his head to hopefully calm him some. At Breezebranch's hollering, she squinted; the molly's heart was in the right place but she was probably just scaring the apprentices more than doing anyone favors.  

---

Bruiser took one look at the dung-colored kit that dared to address him, tipped his maw back to the rapidly gathering clouds and let out a shrill cackle that rivaled the volume of the wailing child on the fancy rock. "I cracked the skull of a Clannie kit barely a moon younger than your pathetic apprentices with my own paws. I would bet that one would cry even harder before it died," the rogue chuckled as he watched Hulk tower over the particularly stupid apprentice, odorous flecks of diseased spit landing on Eaglepaw's face.

A pleasant, toothy smile returned to the tom's scarred face, muscles rippling under his surprisingly well-groomed fur as he directed his attention back to the rock-dwellers. "I don't care for the drabble of cats obsessed with stars and rocks, so save your breath while you still have it and run far, far away while you're still able, because your mouse-brain religion will not save you when you're bleeding into the dirt. I didn't want violence, but you've given us no choice. See you later, Clannies," he chirped cheerfully, turning and promptly exiting the scene, his striped crooked tail waving behind him.

Hailpaw noded off towards his mentor and ran towards the other apprentices and kits.

Bunnypaw, at the sound of many voices, ran off towards the other apprentices. She stopped besides Eaglepaw and nudged him. "C'mon." She said quietly before bolting off.

---

Outrage, hot and overtly pungent in its cresting flood, promptly died upon the tongue at the sudden blanching of darkness that eclipsed the chaotic clearing. The rapidly dwindling light available to the eye rendered the discordant happenings between the variously scattered collections of Clan cats nothing more than withering shadows, nearing on indistinguishable from their newfound foes lurking on the very same grounds. Flinty stare verging on hardly anything more than a narrow glare, tension was palpable in the reflexive twitches that crept through her tightly wound muscles- the sudden influx of agitation made her muscles go tight, her pulse go fast, everything screaming with the urge to leap down from the Great Rock. Silverstar deciding to act out his apparent revenge fantasy, with two of her Clanmates directly in the path of the inevitable maelstrom of violence that could easily erupt, stayed her movements. If she went blindly charging down into the clearing like a tom sick with the urge to spray, there was no telling what could happen- even with the moon covered.

Swallowing down the intense fury and dismay at the futility of merely watching Heronfeather and Eaglepaw attempt to edge themselves clear of the visible divide between Clan-dwellers and intruders, the porous surface of the Great Rock began to crumble under the anxious ravines carved beneath the cruelly hooked weight of her claws. May a bone splinter in his throat, Brindlestar couldn't help the vicious vindictiveness that laid heavily upon her curled tongue, and leave him to die gagging on his spit while his Clanmates watch. Magpiewing's aimless shifting alongside those who remained atop the Great Rock caught her attention, evidently too sick with grief to process the current calamity unfolding before him; an easy target for her fright-fueled anger and dismaying hopelessness. Lifting a slim paw to roughly slam down the dark-tom's tail against the stone, easily catching the appendage between the weight of her forepaw and the solid shape of the ancient stone, the bristling Leader rounded on her immensely disliked counterpart with a snarl.

"Don't just mope as though you're some heartbroken Queen." Brindlestar seethed, unable to distinguish her rage at the situation from her usual distaste for the apparent ShadowClan Leader, "Lick your evidently bleeding wounds later, and act as a Leader." Heart thrashing wildly against the confines of her ribcage, the pale-furred molly whirled around to try and catch a glimpse of the darkness-shrouded happenings within the clearing. Wild nape bristling at Bruiser's blatantly obvious threat, the terse she-cat was quick to plunge down into the loosely scattered collection of cats milling below.

"WindClan! StarClan has covered the moon, they wish for no violence tonight. We depart immediately." Brindlestar called out, low voice easily carrying upon the clashing whispers and hisses decorating the hollow of Fourtrees.

---

There was a foul taste building in the tense confines of Nettlesplash's throat at the sudden stench of aggression and fear upon the air, entirely too familiar- how many times would bloodshed occur in this forsaken hollow before the consequences actually mattered? They had played this game before, even against their own kin, and even then he found himself combating the urge to simply flee. Purposefully avoiding turning a pointed glare skywards in the direction of the cloud-covered moon, his skin was prickling under the irrefutable wariness that slipped through his veins like a murky flood. It took several heartbeats for the shifting sea of cats to eventually deliver Crakepaw and Whitepaw, both young toms evidently posturing to compensate for the sudden decline in atmosphere. Roughly nudging the pair of young cats forward and deeper into the opposing end of the bustling clearing, the ruddy tom remained relatively silent as he attempted to judge the situation unfolding.

Judging by the words of the little raiding party's ambassador, they had no intent on provoking a legitimate fight. Nettlesplash's slitted gaze remained fixed upon the shadowy figures currently retreating into the murky depths of the yawning darkness, easily lost to the sinister curtain of rapidly dwindling light. Certainly none would be so foolish and rash. Easily steering through the sifting swathes of cats anxiously lingering in broken clusters of bristling pelts and narrowed gazes, the tense Warrior was quick to seek out the companionship of familiar faces.

"So much for your first Gathering, huh." Nettlesplash tersely projected, thinly-veiled attempt at humor drawing sour upon the tongue.

---

Thick tendrils of darkness crept across the bustling clearing, the sudden appearance of heavy cloud-cover only serving to heighten the tension and unease currently plaguing those residing in the sacred hollow. Acornpaw, blatantly ruffled and prickling with discomfort and fear, could only turn a hapless gaze in the direction of Robinpaw. Pitching her weight forward, the young tortoiseshell didn't feign any semblance of nonchalance as she pressed her shoulder tightly against her companion, content to share warmth and comfort as chilling bits and pieces of various conversations hung heavily upon the tense air.

"Sorrelwing says my fighting skills leave something to be desired." She mewed after a heartbeat or so, unafraid to revel in her relief that Robinpaw seemed a bit more controlled, confident and collected as always. Prickly whiskers brushing against the delicate fur along her pale denmate's nape and throat, the young SkyClan molly remained quiet for several lingering moments, gazing upon the bristling sea of cats with poorly disguised apprehension. What if a fight broke out? Her muscles instinctively fidgeted at the appalling thought process, what would happen if someone got hurt? Shaky exhale seething past tightly clenched teeth, Acornpaw twisted a bit to toss a wide-eyed stare in the direction of Robinpaw, "I'm glad you're here."

---

Ears falling flat against the pitched slope of his skull, Shrikepaw was quick to shoulder his way through the tremulous sea of agitated Gathering participants- uncaring of who he happened to irritate, single-minded in his pursuit to follow after his mother. It was difficult to disguise the wariness that crept up within him, everything prickling and tense with the adrenaline coursing through his rapidly thumping heart. Heronfeather was hardly present on the best of days, but the thought of his mentor getting caught up in the worst of a potential fight - all because of one his rabbit-brained denmate's had some sort of superiority complex he felt the need to flaunt - made his throat go tight. Pausing beside Brindlestar, the mottled young Apprentice was shifting and pitching his weight apprehensively; unsure of what to make of the entire fiasco that had just unfolded before his eyes, entirely too reminiscent of the tales he had once heard from his Elders.

---

"You fight for your Clan?" Hulk echoed, the tremulous rasp of his voice threading down to a silky whisper, baleful gaze hot and heavy upon Silverstar, weighted with generations of hatred. The massive tom's aimlessly prowling brought him back in a wide arc, curtailing dangerously close to the SkyClan Leader- the distance between them so minuscule that one could easily glean the hard scars and fine silver hairs that graced the menacing intruder's broad features. "Tell me," He suddenly bellowed, thunderous voice rising above the clamorous outcry of vocalizations and easily ringing within the spacious confines of the evidently sacred hollow, "Was it fighting for your Clans when you committed massacres for these lands?" The tailless Rogue turned a sharp glare flaunting contempt in the direction of the authority figures, accusation heavily laden in his vicious roar. "Was it fighting for your Clan when you murdered our mothers and fathers for their rightful lands, and drove their kits to forsaken grounds where no cat could possibly survive? Were you justified in slaughtering others for lands that your blood gives you no rights to?"

The consequences of the moon being covered by the clouds had little to no bearing upon Hulk's consciousness, hate-skewed thought process seeing nothing but the usual cycle of weather occurring in the sky before him, unable to understand the sudden deference on behalf of most Clan cats who lingered before him. Scar-flecked features curling in contempt, the tom leaned ever closer to Silverstar, painfully unafraid of the potential consequences of breaching such boundaries amidst such a terse interaction.

"Riddle me this, do wrong-doings and crimes only matter when enacted against Clan cats? For the crimes of your ancestors far outweigh what blood my paws have shed." Tattered ears perking at Bruiser's parting words, the heavy muscles laden against Hulk's bones worked to obey the older tom's movements intrinsically, a fluid mirror of the other Rogue's sudden departure. Dark shape easily swallowed up by the yawning darkness that framed the outskirts of the clearing, the tom threw a singular careless glance back in the direction of his newfound opponent as he quickly disappeared after Bruiser.  

"You stole these lands through wrongful violence and murder, do not weep and wail victim when the favor is repaid to you."

---

Effectively blind to the implications of the rapidly gathering darkness, Blitz's sluggish response to the hateful exchanges was effectively eradicated at the snobbish mention of kits- the mottled molly's pupils shrinking to narrow slits, prickly and unkempt fur rising into a wild and near comical bristle. "The lives of your kits will forever be meaningless," The tortoiseshell snarled, words sharpened by the sudden torrent of spite and envy, as she promptly rounded on Breezebranch, "when you refuse to care for what you've done to our kits. You condemned them to die! You have forsaken them to death before they are even able to open their eyes, because you have driven us to seek refuge in lands so foul that even the air is poisonous." Darkly mottled lips peeling back to reveal a sharp mouthful of stark teeth, the Rogue's gaze was nearly frenzied with the sheer amount of hatred that seemed to resonate from her scrawny shape.

"Some Queen you pretend to be," Blitz seethed, already backing away into the soothing embrace of the terse night, "valuing only those who are born into a pretty little hierarchy, settled upon stolen lands. Have you no heart, no compassion for others?" Practically trembling with rage, the tortoiseshell was quick to turn tail and plunge into the blossoming greenery that fringed the clearing- unwilling to depart from her companions for long, unwilling to stay in the presence of such terrible cats for any longer than necessary.

Silverstar remained calm even as Hulk drew extremely close to him. He still didn't show any sign of fear towards the rogue. As Hulk accused not just him, but his ancestors too, of murdering and leaving cats to die, it made him more mad. He wasn't alive when the clans arrived in the forest, that means this rogue was accusing his parents of such acts. Frankly, that felt even more insulting than just accusing him. 'Skystar would always tell me war is a last resort... There's no way she could have done such a thing...' he thought to himself. He opened his mouth to speak when Hulk suddenly turned around to leave with another rogue. Silverstar stared him in the eye as the rogue gave him one last look before leaving. With Hulk's departure, his anger began to subside, like a tide during sunrise. But as that tide rolled back, it revealed the other negative feelings inside of him. Feelings that began to well up on their own, becoming its own tide. He started to feel dread as he looked up at the sky, he couldn't help but fear the future. The rising tension had upset StarClan. But what else was he supposed to do? Usually the moon and the stars gave him comfort when he felt troubled or dreadful, it made him feel not alone, but when the warriors of StarClan didn't stare back at him, it only made him feel more lost. He looked back down at his clanmates, but that didn't help either. He saw how Breezebranch made sure all the apprentices were safe and was threatened by another rogue that ran off as well. After that, a feeling of failure began to press down as dread rose up. He should have been making sure his clanmates were safe. He sighed as he was unable to force away these negative emotions, he forced his head up in order to mask them away. "SkyClan! StarClan is displeased. There will be no bloodshed tonight. We leave, now." he called to his clan before he turned around to leave for his territory. There were many things he had to think about tonight.

Allister watched as tensions rose between the clans and rogues. But just when he thought a fight was about to start, the rogues and the clans started to leave. They didn't leave bloody and wounded, but they didn't leave without tension either. He wasn't disappointed by this. This night was the beginning of something more, an anacrusis to whatever conflict may lie in the future. Perhaps this confict was a lot more than what he originally thought were petty squabbles over food and territory. Allister had seen enough, so he turned around and silently walked away from the location.

As the vibrantly gray-hued clouds fracted the silvery moonlight, Robinpaw's coat became dappled with shadows. More yowls tore through the air, as sharp and demanding as jagged lightening. Clan cats were one the defensive as threats and accusations were thrown from the ragged bunch of rogues. Breezebranch's voice, as commanding as it was, became paled against the grizzled and foreign voices. The apprentice's ears flickered in all directions as she strained to pick apart what was happening. Given gathering law, she would never be the first to leap forward with claws. Yet, there was no problem with defending oneself and clan mates against what threatened their lives. There couldn't be.

A pounding seemed to settled in the base of her skull, throbbing as she tried to prepare herself for the true possibility of battle for the first time. The light chill of night air seemed to have forged invisible tendrils of icy thorns. It prickled her coat and fluffed her fur ever so slightly. And then there was a pelt pressed to hers. Underneath her chin, Robinpaw caught a flash of tortoiseshell fur. Acornpaw had shot forward quick enough that her normally sharp senses hadn't caught the movement. This was easier; no longer would she have to pinpoint the location of her companion and their shared enemy all at once. And there was reassurance. Dipping her head slightly, Robinpaw's maw lowered, allowing the delicate furs of her chin to gentle graze Acornpaw. Sharp eyes gazed out over the crowd from this new defensive postion. The now steadied pounding of her heart told her that this was where she should be, defending Acornpaw.

The soft voice from her denmate broke through the noise, reaching her ears moments before the call from their leader. Her ears pricked. I'm glad you're here. No cat had ever said such a thing to her before, not with such a raw honesty, bubbled up from the tension of a real threat. She found herself nodding in agreement, the slightest twist of the head. But it didn't need to be said, right? Acornpaw had to be able to tell she felt the same. There was a light shake of her head, dispelling the moment to gather herself to her paws. Silverstar was leaving and they had to follow suit. She drew her fluffy russet tail around the slope of Acornpaw's frame, offering a low response of her own, " I'll teach you to fight properly sometime so Sorrelwing won't have to worry." And neither will I.

Hyde let out a disappointed sigh as Bruiser called for them to leave. He was nearly twitching with anticipation for the incoming decimation of these mouse-brained clan cats. He was so excited to unleash his freshly sharpened claws on these weak, soft-hearted fools. But, as his companions began slinking away from the gathering, he followed along, albeit reluctantly.

---

Magpiewing's mind was clouded as noise erupted from the clans below, the leaders beside him bristling with hatred and fear as unknown shadows entered the gathering. His ears were stuffed with cotton, their voices muffled behind the inner workings of his mind. He was numb to the action occurring in front of his eyes, letting the other leaders speak as necessary. He knew there were rogues there. He knew they threatened his clan. He knew it was something he should be worried about, but he couldn't control the grief and sadness that filled his heart.

He finally snapped out of his grief-induced shock as his tail was smacked down and held tight by the aggressive molly he hated so dearly. His ears fell flat against his head and his amber eyes stared deep into her's as she insulted him. He let out a growl deep in his throat as she spoke. As if she would understand. Her leader stepped down like a coward.

He sat still, his anger stirring like the clouds in the sky. The clans began to disperse, ShadowClan sitting patiently for their new leader to call for them to leave like Brindlestar and Silverstar.

As the tabby she-cat jumped down from the Highstones, Magpiewing followed suit, rage building as he quickly followed her. Mimicking her action, he slammed his tail down on her tail. His claws dug into the fur of the arrogant WindClanner. "You want me to act as a leader? I will."

"Mark my words, Brindlestar," he spat her name, "you will regret speaking to ShadowClan's new leader in such a manner as you have now and before." He let go of her tail, small furs stuck to his claws as he pulled away and shoved her to the side. She had no compassion, so why should he show her any? "ShadowClan! We're leaving!"

Parsley watched in slight frustration as the leader of her group called for them to leave. Of course, obedient and proud, she followed - the silent assassin being sure to give a few daggered looks and lethal grins towards any of the smaller cats that she passed. Even if she couldn't attack tonight, she would certainly be the evil cat that they would come to know her as. Silent, stealthy, angry, and proud - she would be one of the remembered faces of the battle to come.

---

Seeing all of the leaders leap down and StarClan cover the moon above, Cloudbreeze muttered an angry curse under her breath. StarClan take care of them all, she awaited for her father to call the Clan to leave much like all of the others. Seeing the spat between Brindelstar and Magpiewing, the she-cat slipped beside him momentarily as he led his own clan away. "Despite the moon being covered, I still speak under a truce. If you should need anything, let me know - the transition to leadership isn't an easy path." It was the softest her voice had ever rang, the dip of her head towards the new leader being her parting nod as she quickly went back to her place to await her own movement. "ThunderClan, be ready for Lightningstar's word! StarClan wishes for no bloodshed."

Listening as the rogue spoke, Lightningstar's hackles were raised and he bared his teeth as his claws scraped against the stone bellow. The moon was soon engulfed in a thick blanket of clouds and just as soon as they'd arrived, the rogues began to leave; working their way out from the masses and back into the forest. "You coward!" He yowled, though over everything that was happening down bellow, he wasn't sure if the lead rogue had even heard him. Amongst their squabbling, Magpiewing and Brindlestar called for their clans leave, soon followed by Silverstar.

Leaping down from the rock, Lightningstar didn't say a word to any of his clanmates as he pushed his way through the crowd. That rat-skinned tom wasn't going to get away that easy, not after deliberately confessing of his crimes and insulting him and his clan. StarClan may have been angry, but why wait to finish off such a threat when they were already standing in front of their noses taunting them? Lightningstar wasn't about to go on live under constant worry of those heartless rogues harming anymore ThunderClanners, so the large, brute of a tom, now completely operating under his anger and rage, made his way through the clowder of cats after Bruiser; ready to finish the job once and for all, before any-cat else got hurt.

~~~~~~~~~~

Before he was able to do or say anything else, Jekyll's ears perked at Bruiser's call. Great mouse-tails... they had to go already? Letting out a huff, he followed after his brother and the rest of the rogues. They'd be back, that was for sure. Bruiser had ruffled their fur and now, the real fun could begin...

~~~~~~~~~~

Following after the rest of the group, Gus gnashed his teeth at a group of younger clan cats as he passed by. They'd definitely sent a harrowing message tonight, that was for sure.

The tortoiseshell pelt had once more found its position of power when she heard the too-well known yowl of her father. Her gaze widened in shock as the leader actually had the gall to go after the leader of the Rogues after she had just called out the desire of their ancestors. While her Clan might not have noticed or thought of it, the deputy recognized the look in his eyes. The hunter behind his walk. It was one she would not tolerate - especially given that he was the leader. The rest of the clans were leaving peacefully - why couldn’t they? Even Brindlestar and Magpiewing, the two cats who seemed to get along like fire and water, left with their clans without unsheathing their claws. Anger quickly fumed the she-cat as her gaze narrowed into that of deadly daggers. With her clanmates still parted for their leader, Cloudbreeze herself launched from her position to catch up to him.

"Lightningstar, stop what you are doing this instant!" Her voice seethed with the rage of a mother scolding her kits attempting to leave the camp. It was a deep anger few other cats had seen radiate off of the molly, and it was not going to be held on a leash very long for this absolute insolence. Taking the bounds to jump in front of her leader, the disappointed and angry she-cat hissed. While she lacked the fluff and frame of her father, her anger brought her pelt to near-match, her tail flicking in absolute frustration.

"StarClan has covered the moon and has called for no violence. This is the night of the Gathering, where we come in peace even with intruders. Stop acting like an absolute blood-crazed kit. I call for our Clan to follow you and this is what you are about to charge them into? A war with several other rogues? We have already lost a kit to their violence. When StarClan gives the call to back down, We. Back. Down. Not the direct opposite and charge into a battle that will cause us to loose even more of our warriors." Her words were seething through her teeth. They hissed and scolded like a flame, with little repentance behind them. "Usually I stand dutifully behind your actions as your deputy and kin. But I cannot stand behind this direct order from StarClan and your insolent disobedience." She rose more pridefully as disappointment laced her tone.

"StarClan should take away one of your lives for this. You should know better than to charge like a moss-infatuated kit." She spat angrily. Spinning to her Clan, she rose. "The deputy's place is to also rise when the leader cannot. It seems tonight you can't." Disappointment shone clearly in her tone.

Calling out to her Clan, Cloudbreeze's voice rang out with authority. "ThunderClan, we leave back to camp. There is to be no fighting to go on tonight. If anyone unsheathes their claws, it will be counted as an act against StarClan." Her gaze pointed towards her father in her last comments, the she-cat turning to lead her Clan from the gathering.

The fluffy white tom's peace was easily broken. His tail twitched at the news of Firestar's death, and he could only help but wonder how - she was young, wasn't she? Had it been... a disease? Unease crept across his pelt wondering if a similar fate would or had befallen Ratpaw. He tucked her paws beneath his chest, but immediately jolted upright at the sudden appearance of many rogues. He stared as they wove like snakes amongst the Clan cats, breathing down their necks with barely restrained fury. He rose to his feet, his tail nervously dusting the ground. Yellow eyes followed a particularly large and intimidating tomcat, right up until Eaglepaw stood in his path. Was it bravery? Or stupidity? 'Eaglepaw, you cotton-brain!' He quietly hissed to himself, paws shifting to get a better look. Lucky for his denmate, someone had come to get him out of there. Unlucky for Cloudpaw's heart, it was Heronfeather. He made a noise of surprise and shuffled past the other fearful, angry, or simply surprised cats, trying to make his way to the bicolor deputy. Once he finally reached her though, the outsiders were already just milling out. He let out a relieved sigh before bumping his shoulder against hers. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

-

Lichenstar watched silently, her eyes half-narrowed and mouth partially open. What in StarClan's name was going on. One moment her fellow leaders were giving their usual, boring but necessary news, with ShadowClan's deputy reporting that Firestar had recently passed. And by the look on his face it had hit close to his heart, wherever it was. She opened her mouth to give her condolences to both Magpiewing and ShadowClan, but a wave of a rancid, Monster-like scent floated into the clearing, soon followed by a ragged and thin group of strangers. They talked big, and there were certainly a few among them that she'd hesitate to fight, yet it was the reactions of her allies that made her hackles raise.

"You were the one who beat my clanmates within inches of their lives."
"You kit killers are nothing to this forest and I'll flay your pelt myself if needed, just tell me when."

These were the cats that had maimed SkyClan's medicine cat and killed a ThunderClan kit? She wanted to hit her head against the Great Rock. Of course they were all working together. Of course. Because no season could ever be normal and boring here in this star-damned forest. Stomach twisting as for what to do, it seemed quite a few cats had the bright idea to usher their apprentices and loved ones back towards their territories, Nettlesplash included. How many of these cats were there? Certainly a small clan's worth, if she were right in counting how many entirely unfamiliar faces were in the crowd. Her eyes flashed to Silverstar as he seemed to... actually, literally challenge the bear of a cat threatening cats left and right to a fight.

She found her mouth opening and closing like a fish, absolutely dumbfounded as to what was going on. Did no one smell these cats coming before they'd entered the clearing? Which territory did they travel through to even get here? Why were Brindlestar and Magpiewing yelling at each other at a time like this? She wanted to go back to sleep. 'This sucks absolute fish butt.' But now was not the time to be thinking about bass. The moon had been covered over. StarClan was angry. Yet what did they want them to do? Her voice raised. "RiverClan-!" In the heartbeat that spaced her words, she heard her fellow leaders call for an... end to the Gathering? Certainly StarClan had sent the clouds to let them fight these interlopers? Did she misinterpret the message? Well, the rogue cats were leaving anyway. She quickly recovered her sentence, though a bit uncertain and embarrassed in her decision-making skills now. "We're going home. And watch your tails on the way back." She leapt off the rock and watched as a few mangy stragglers moseyed out behind their leader. Once they were all gone, she let out a deep sigh and followed behind her clan. This was going to be exhausting, wasn't it?

Blizzardpaw listened silently the exchange between the rogues and the leaders.

She was no longer a naïve kit covering under a queen’s belly, she was old enough to understand that the clans didn’t own these lands since the dawn of time itself and they came into possession of them generations ago. However, the stories of how that came to be were never something she put too much thought into researching…were the first clan cats really that brutal? Or were these stories like the elder stories in camp, spiced up and passed down from cat to cat until fiction became impossible to distinguish from the reality behind such tales?

Well, regardless of what the answer to that question could be, the result was still the same, and it was on clear display before them all in that specific moment.

She would need to make a mental note of collecting as many herbs as possible and keep the storages at full capacity at all times. Dark times were ahead of them and she wasn’t about to risk running out of herbs when a cat needed them the most.

Her thoughts were taken away from the chaos when darkness enveloped the clearing and the voice of Silverstar reached her ears. She turned to look at the tom as he yowled his orders for the whole clan to hear. With a polite nod she got up and turned around to join the rest of the SkyClan cats so they could return home at last. She had some planning and thinking to do.

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Ebonypaw’s ears twitched as she glared at the newcomers. Not only was their intrusion in the gathering extremely rude, but to spit insults and threats to all clans like they owned the place? Well, at least she could tell that she wasn’t the only one getting rubbed the wrong way by it.

She could feel the tension rising exponentially between both rogues and clan cats, and at this point she couldn’t help but wonder if a battle would break out at any moment. The Clan cats heavily outnumbered these rogues, so if they tried anything at all they would be rabbit brained at its absolute best.

Judging by the words coming from the leaders, blood would’ve been spilled by now if this wasn’t a gathering, that’s for sure. Part of her started to wonder if things would take a turn for the worst after all given how much the rogues were pushing their luck by attempting to claim ownership over the lands that no longer belonged to them…only for her attention to be diverted from it all by the sudden darkness that surrounded them.

Confusion was clear in her eyes until she looked up to notice the now cloud covered moon and her the call of the leaders as they called for their respective clans to leave, including Brindlestar.

A soft huff left her muzzle as she forced herself to follow the commands given. This gathering would surely be one to remember though, so she couldn’t be too upset about it finishing early.

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Jester smirked to himself with amusement. To barge into the wild cats’s clan meeting and throw away threats and insults like they are invulnerable…that was a rather ballsy thing to do, if not borderline stupid. Yes, there seemed to be some kind of peace treaty between the clans, something related to their religious beliefs, apparently…but that treaty wasn’t going to last long.

And when this tense peace time was up, things would surely get rather nasty.

He kept his safe distance, hiding between the shadows in complete silence as he rested on the soft grass. His ears moved restlessly as he picked up every single noise, every single word. With so many rogues like himself being so openly aggressive and running their mouths with little to no restraint, it was no wonder he almost never got to experience a peaceful encounter with clan cats in the past.

His eyes momentarily drifted to the moon as the clouds covered it, which caused the wild cats to react unfavorably and start leaving…which was interesting in itself. Something about the stars being upset? Well, that added another question to his growing pile, that’s for sure.