Gatherings/Archive 01

**SplashClan -**
Divestar,
Otterthorn,
Shellskip,
Silverpaw, Sandrattle, Rockrose, Swallowfern
**GladeClan -**
Rosestar,
Wolfleap,
Fawnspots,
Sharpeagle,
Shadefern,
Breezepaw, ~~Mottlepaw~~
**BreezeClan -** ~~Halfstar~~, ~~Wildfire~~, ~~Rainfeather~~, Hailgaze,
Fallowgleam,
Snowpaw, ~~Deerpaw~~, Brownbreeze

The moon rose high over the rocky clearing, the sight obscured only by a sparse handful of twisted, stubborn trees. With a slight spring in their step, the spiky tabby leader emerged from the pass that allowed entry to their gathering place, stopping to shake mud from their paws before continuing on to the pile of rocks that they would speak from.
With an effortless spring, Divestar leapt up to the top of the pile, surveying the cats that had followed them in. As always, Otterthorn took a place directly at the base of the rockpile while Shellskip drifted off to one side looking discontented. Divestar made a mental note to check on him later, then realised ruefully they'd been doing a lot of that lately without any result.
Raising their angular head, Divestar tasted the air, the scents of the two other Clans reaching them over the distinctly salty scent of their own Clan. When patrols from GladeClan and BreezeClan entered the clearing, they nodded respectfully to the leaders, indicating positions to either side. They couldn't quite see Halfstar but perhaps the tortoiseshell was concealed by his warriors, the mottled coat did blend in well in the shadows. If he was not in attendance, surely a senior warrior would have the confidence to speak in his stead.

As the leaders waited to announce the Gathering's beginning,
Otterthorn surveyed the surroundings keenly, searching for a particular black smoke form with the GladeClan patrol. Her heart skipped as she picked up Shadefern's particular foresty scent, lighter than her Clanmate's and more familiar from their illicit meeting. Standing to make herself taller, she met the other warrior's yellow-green gaze and mouthed ''*talk soon?"*, not wishing to draw so much attention to them as yowling across the distance would do.
Shellskip, as Divestar had noticed, was particularly morose today. He felt uncomfortable, sure someone would notice the compromising situation he'd been placed in. Hoping to avoid notice, the tortoiseshell slunk off to the side and settled himself in a dusty little nest, paying attention while attempting to avoid the company of the other medicine cats for a short while at least.
When the representatives from GladeClan and BreezeClan had joined them on the rock, Divestar stood and let out a piercing yowl. "Let the Gathering begin!" One riot,one ranger! 19:41, February 19, 2019 (UTC)

The brown mackerel tabby Li Hua heard the howling of the others and soon clean zirself and ready for the gathering. This is the first time have ze ever went to a gathering. It has been a month ago when the brown tabby was being adopted into the Breezeclan. Ze is only 2 years of age but ze is a trained warrior and the clan members have deemed zir of a qualified member to attend the gathering since ze respected loyalty and honor above all. Ze perked zir ears up, hearing the others coming in.
Brownie snorted and laid zirself down in a clean patch of nesting that ze has made for zirself, preferring to be on alone as ze doesn’t trust anyone other than zirself. Brownie start to clean zir pelt silently as ze begin to pick up emotions of the others. Some excited, some unwell and some feeling indifferent. Brown perked zir ears up, curious to the leader’s speech of the gathering. It is both a blessing  and a curse to feel everything so deeply...
Hailgaze stepped up to the rocky platform, with both Halfstar and Wildfire afflicted with a bout of whitecough it fell to the senior warrior to speak in their place. With a less-than elegant series of leaps the blue-and-white tom made his way to the top of the pile and seated himself beside the two leaders, eyeing them both with none of the expected deference before looking out over the small Gathering. It was leafbare so only small patrols were in attendance with BreezeClan's the smallest of all, and he could pick out the conspiring figures of his apprentice and sister easily in the bright winter moonlight.
With a disdainful eye cast at Divestar, he stepped forward first and flicked his tail, signalling he wished to speak. "BreezeClan is prospering this moon. The snow doesn't quite reach our territory and prey is running well. The cold winds have brought whitecough as always, but Halfstar will be back and stronger for it. We also have a new apprentice being mentored by Irontang - Snowpaw." he called out, directing a condescending glare at his sister, the apprentice in question, as the Clan cats called out her name. Finally, he stepped back and nodded for the other leaders to speak.
Fur bristling irritably at the BreezeClan warrior's arrogance, Divestar stepped forward next. They were confident that some other member of BreezeClan would report to Halfstar and the tortoiseshell tom would deal with his abrasive senior warrior, it was far from a good look for such bad manners to represent the peaceful northern Clan. "SplashClan is also doing well this season." they began, melodic tenor voice carrying well in the still air with the cadence of a trained speaker. "Though the weather encourages prey to hide, the rivers are beginning to melt and we are surviving well. While we have no new apprentices, Skyflower has blessed us with her kits and we are growing strong, with luckily little sickness so far." the chocolate tabby continued, diplomatic as ever though leaving out the more concerning details. Honeywhisker, Swiftstrike and Ashfeather were still sick - though as they'd said, luckily it had not spread farther - and they doubted Skyflower's kits would live to see the next full moon. The rivers allowed for fishing but the moorland Clan was lacking most herbs and while they would survive, the next moon or so before the turn of the seasons would be difficult. Purely for distraction, the chocolate tabby cast their warm amber eyes around the small Gathering, gaze falling on a spotted tabby tom they recognized as Rosestar's son, Sharpeagle. Whiskers twitching as they eyed him appreciatively, the spike-furred leader directed a lazy, teasing wink at the tom warrior.
Seeing her Clanmate sitting all alone with nothing but her prickly self for company, Fallowgleam trotted over and settled herself beside Brownbreeze, one ear twitching as the cold sometimes triggered a slight tic. "Hiya," she greeted the other warrior cheerfully before settling down to wash herself as well, though secretly she would have much preferred Halfstar to have attended the Gathering with them. The tortoiseshell tom's soft-spoken manner was much more comforting than Hailgaze's abrupt way of speaking. Still, it was not in Fallowgleam's nature to complain and so she remained silent.
Breezepaw slipped out from under Sharpeagle's disdainful eye, bounding over to the small huddle of apprentices - the two from BreezeClan - one familiar, one not, and one rosetted SplashClan she-kit who ze had met last moon. "Hi!" the blue-silver apprentice greeted them all brightly, bumping noses with Snowpaw in greeting. "You're new and my mentor doesn't like me talking to other-Clan cats so of course, I have to do exactly that. Hey Honeypaw, Silverpaw. How're you all doing? I know the leaders leave out all the interesting stuff when they speak, has anything cool happened in your Clans?"
Snowpaw blinked, a little startled at the GladeClanner's enthusiasm. "Er, hi," she mumbled awkwardly, trying to slide back out of view - a hopeless endeavour, given her thick white fur near glowed under the moon's cold light. She turned her mismatched eyes on Honeypaw anxiously, the impression was clear - *help, who's this crazy cat?* One riot,one ranger! 02:17, February 20, 2019 (UTC)
Rosestar slipped into the gathering clearing, her sandy pelt glowing slightly under the silver moonlight. At her flank, her deputy, the thick furred tom, Wolfleap, walked. Her ear flicked at him as he slipped from her side and made his way over to where Otterthorn was glancing around, watching her curiously, he shrugged and let it slide from his worries, He greeted her with a nod before slipping to sit at the base of the rock formation. Rosestar bounded up stones, her supple muscles rippling from the effort. The pale ginger warrior flicked her ear in greeting to Divestar.
Shadefern blinked when Otterthorn caught her eye, forcing her pelt to lay flat, instead of bristling in surprise that the deputy had spotted her. She gave a nod to her, earning a fierce glare from Sharpeagle who happened to be right at her side "what was that?" he hissed at her. Fear ignited in the small shadow pelted tabby's eyes. Though the hard mew of Sharpeagles sister cut the air that was surrounding the two. "Sharpeagle, what Shadefern does, is not your problem. She is a loyal GladeClan warrior. And she should have your respect, not your scorn." Fawnspots gave her littermate a firm stare, and the darker spotted tom slipped away from Shadefern who shivered. "S-sorry Fawnspots..." she stammered, her ears flicking uncomfortably, she knew that it was wrong, she shouldn't be drawn so much to the SplashClan deputy, but something about the fiercely beautiful, brave warrior called to her on a deeper level. Something she couldn't explain, something that made her heart flutter in a way it never had before. Quietly she glanced at the warrior who was currently on her mind, the muscular form of the other she-cat was burned into her mind now. How could something that felt so right be wrong? Shaking her head and breaking contact with Otterthorn, Shadefern slipped among her clanmates and sat down.
Sharpeagle however had turned to his apprentice, watching zir pelt slip away from the rest of the clan and over to the apprentices.
Fawnspots nodded to Shadefern before making her way towards the scent of the splashclan medicine cat. She weaved her way around him comfortingly, pressing against him to obscure him from most eyes. If she knew anything, it was that he didn't want to be asked questions, he was struggling enough right now, and questions would only make it much harder for him to cope with the 'problem' at paw. She purred and rasped her tongue over his ear fondly. "You're still eating well, aren't you? Make sure to take some chamomile and thyme to help relax you, as often as you need. If you get low, just send someone to GladeClan and I can send some back" she murmured into his ear softly, keeping her voice low so no one else would hear her.
Silverpaw stared at Breezepaw, "Hi Breezepaw, you're as bubbly as always, How's Sharpeagle treating you?" she asked, flicking her ear. Honeypaw however glanced up at her mentor, flicking her ear at Breezepaw, more in shock about how brash her mentor was being, did he have to be so brash? The golden apprentice shook her head, that was just like Hailgaze. Though he could have been a little nicer to Snowpaw in front of all the other warriors and apprentices. Silverpaw looked at Snowpaw, "This is Breezepaw, ze's always that energetic, I'm not sure I've ever seen anything else...."
Sharpeagle sat to the side, watching as Divestar gave his announcements. the dark coated warrior's face gave nothing away. His ear flicked back to the apprentices, let Breezepaw think that he wasn't keeping an eye on the four younger cats. Though his attention was thrown the moment Divestar finished. Their gaze swept the clearing before settling on him. And then they winked. Sharpeagle stiffened, surely they couldn't be serious. Sharpeagle was a GladeClan warrior, and Divestar was the Splashclan leader, not only that, Sharpeagle only liked she-cats, 'That's not true and you know it' a voice in his head told him. Bristling, he shook his head and pointedly looked away from Divestar. Uncomfortable at the thought that crossed his mind.
After Divestar had finished their announcements, Rosestar stepped forward, "GladeClan has been blessed with little sickness and no deaths this leafbare, Prey is running well, though we have no new warriors, kits or apprentices this moon." she announced to the clans. It was short, but there really wasn't much to say at the moment. As far as Rosestar was aware, everything was good and smooth in all the clans, including her own.
A light shines best in the dark..
BrownBreeze swiveled zir ears in response of the other warrior named Fallowgleam. Ze looked at the warrior and gave her a slight smile as well as a polite nod, making space for the other warrior to settle down beside zir. Brown responded.”Hey.” Zir voice sound hoarse but has a melodious tint in zir’s tone. Brown began licking zir fur and cuddled up to Fallow, for the night is cold. Ze preferred shared warmth with zir fellow warrior. It is both a blessing  and a curse to feel everything so deeply...
As Rosestar ended the gathering with her speech, Otterthorn slipped off to the side and tilted an ear at Shadefern, hoping the silver-eyed warrior might follow. She wanted to apologise for her behaviour the other day, not sure *why* she felt the need to mend the relationship but also very certain that that was, in fact, what she wanted. The gentle smoke tabby's sweetness touched her prickly heart, and she'd enjoyed the quiet moment of distance from the drama of Clan life. "He's still on your case? He needs to lighten up. Maybe Fawnspots should start slipping thyme in his freshkill, he seems very tense." she murmured as she greeted the charcoal she-cat with a slightly more-than-polite bump of her nose to the GladeClan she-cat's cheek.
Divestar acknowledged Rosestar's brief speech with a polite nod, watching with amusement as their teasing threw the white-spotted dark tabby for a spin. They'd already pegged Sharpeagle as somewhat repressed and the warrior's reaction confirmed it almost perfectly. The marbled tabby pretended not to notice their deputy slipping away to meet the sooty she-cat, it seemed harmless although they'd definitely discuss it if it went any further. The Clans generally had a fairly peaceful relationship, more concerned with internal power dynamics than external conflict.
Shellskip withered under the gaze of others, pressing into Fawnspots' chest as he was again allowed just a little moment with someone who understood. "I'll have to tell Divestar soon. I can't keep hiding this much longer." he murmured, voice breaking. While in his rational mind he knew this wasn't his fault, that a just leader such as Divestar couldn't punish him, the darker parts of his mind still tortured him every moment with anxieties and worse-case-scenarios of what could possibly happen. The shame of what had happened was so great, he felt crushed under the weight of this thing he couldn't confess to his own Clanmates. Medicine cats were distant from the Clan for a reason, but sometimes this distance did more harm than good.
Breezepaw rolled zir verdant eyes, indicating the pale-dappled tabby across the clearing with a bad-tempered flick of zir head. "He's about as approachable as your average porcupine," ze grumbled. While ze was sure the tabby had his own internalized struggles to deal with, it didn't make him much more fun to deal with. "But Deerantler's great, I wish they were my mentor instead. They're so fast! Like, whoosh, I hope I can hunt squirrels like that someday." ze gushed excitedly, fur fluffing out as ze relished the opportunity to gush about the object of zir hero-worship.
Snowpaw blinked. "Oh. That's... how? Ze's not tired at all, ever? Because it's moon-high, even my whiskers are tired." she ventured shyly, and it was true - the newest apprentice was looking exhausted. Hailgaze's visible and very public disparaging tone wasn't exactly doing wonders for her confidence tonight either, but these apprentices seemed nice. "You look kind of like Violetpaw, although you're more brown than her. She couldn't come tonight - small patrol and all that." the pale apprentice added, struggling to add anything to the conversation. Maybe this apprentice would like to hear about a different Clan, although anxiety said no. "Who's your mentor? Irontang's mine, they're really cool. Pretty strict but they're nice to me."
Fallowgleam purred softly, the rumble rising in her solid chest at the pleasant contact and she returned the favour, nibbling the tabby's ear playfully before resuming the comfortable mutual grooming session. While Fallowgleam was by nature a very social creature, she appreciated Brownbreeze's preference for near-solitude and didn't make any moves to beckon anyone else over. One riot,one ranger! 10:43, February 22, 2019 (UTC)