Closed Thread [Closed] Heralds We All [Gathering 14CF2020]

You're a Rockstar, a Superhero!
Get up, get up and show 'em what you're made of!

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It wasn't long after Palestar made her comment that Moosestar came, leading ThunderClan through the bushes that edged the hollow. The tom's ears were slightly tilted down until he slowed at the base of the Great Rock, nodding his greetings to Palestar.

A bit unlike normal, the tom appeared rather solemn, if not irritable, not giving the relatively cheerful greetings of the moons before. His tail flicked at an uneven tempo, and he was glancing at Palestar carefully, as if he expected a wrong move to cause her to lunge at him- or at least invoke a hiss.

"Hopefully tonight is more normal than the last." The brown tom murmured, settling down nearby (but not too close) to Palestar while awaiting the arrival of the two remaining clans.

[OOC: Arrivals from Thunderclan are Kestrelswipe, Tigerrush, Sunstrike, Wildcry, and Dovepaw]

Out with the old - In with the bold

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Boldstar led his group over the crossing below the falls with little trouble, then to trespass point (the site of far too many apprentice shenanigans) and along the unclaimed grass between the Rockpath and WindClan’s border. They’d managed to reach Fourtrees in good time.

As the RiverClan delegation made their way in it was in time to hear the exchange between Palestar and Moosestar. It made his fur prickle in an uncomfortable way. ”I wouldn’t joke so lightly about your lives, Palestar.”

Likely the younger leaders would think him stuffy and straight-tailed for the comment, but he didn’t care. They would understand once his news was spoken. 

((Who, From RiverClan: Boldstar, Coldgaze, Nettlepaw, Briarfang and Thornstrike.))

KESTRELSWIPE

Kestrelswipe sat himself down near the base of the Great Rock, hoping the warriors they left back at home wouldn't cause too much trouble. Don't be silly, he told himself. Savagefox is unpredictable, but they're not stupid.

He gave a courteous nod to both Dawnflurry and Coldgaze as he saw them, surveying the clearing as he prepared for his first gathering as deputy. He didn't have anything he needed to do--at least, he didn't think he did. Had Moosestar given him any specific instructions? He hoped not, because he couldn't remember any. It's fine, he thought as he scanned the arriving cats. At least there aren't any kits this time around.

BRIARFANG

Another gathering, another night sticking to the edge of the crowd. Briarfang's dark tortoiseshell coat blended in with the shadows cast by the full moon, and they settled into a spot from which they could get a good view of the rest of the cats. A small smile came to their face as they spotted the orange-and-white Thunderclan warrior Nudging Thornstrike's shoulder, they murmured, "There's the one who got herself stuck upside-down in a tree by the river. Good to see her leg was fine enough to make the journey."

Coldgaze:

The gathering was here once more, and Coldgaze took up his spot below the talking rocks near the brown Thunderclan cat he couldn't recall the name of. No kits tonight. But there was tension - there always was. He kept an eye on his own patrol. Having Briarfang here to back him up was nice, but at the same time might complicate things if the older tom went running his mouth.

Either way, tonight was likely to be anything but boring.

Sunstrike:

Moosestar's unexcited demenor continued at the gathering place, and she for one wasn't entirely upset by it. She always found him to be too friendly to the other clans - although if he didn't have a problem with killing cats he spoke with every moon then all the power to him.

She padded a few foxlengths from the leaders, rocking between her front paws - waiting for the meeting to begin. Kestrelswipe was probably buzzing with nerves but from what she could see he didn't show it.

Fawnbriar made a mental note that WindClan was last to arrive this moon, but they didn't appear to be that late, right? If they were, she was sure once the other three clans heard the news, they would no doubt understand. She approached the other leaders, her chocolate dappled tail raised in greeting. "Good evening. I hope my clan hasn't kept you all waiting for long."

((Who, From WindClan: Fawnbriar, Rowanglade, Piperpaw, Aspenberry, Beewhisker, and Brightpaw.))

Dovepaw trotted into the clearing behind Moosestar and the older she-cats, green eyes casting around to see who else from the other clans had been invited. Would she be lucky enough to talk to other apprentices or would she be stuck listening to all the warriors and what appeared to be them not talking.

Piperpaw:

Seated next to Rowanglade, Piperpaw held her breath. It felt like all eyes were on them - even if it wasn't true. Certainly, many of the other clans had noticed Badgerstar's absence... especially Thunderclan and Riverclan. She almost didn't notice the Riverclan Medicine Cat apprentice's approach until he was right up next to her.

"AH- Oh. Nettlepaw." She smoothed out her tail. "Uh, sorry. A lot on my mind." She tried to sound excited or at least happy to talk to him. Medicine cats had to rely on each other... even the boring ones.

Coldgaze:

Interesting. Coldgaze stared at the Thunderclan cat who nodded at him for a moment. Who was this... ?Certainly they had met but his name escaped him.

Either way, Dawnflurry interrupted his thoughts and broke the intense eye contact he was making with the new deputy. "Better than last moon." Coldgaze agreed. And less distractions... He started to acknowledge Fawnbriar before squinting at her. No Badgerstar... was she leader now?

"Fawn...star." He finally settled on a name after a quick scan of the clearing, and gave a respectful nod. Of all the leadership she was one of his favorites. Not as traditional as he would like- but no pushover either. Well deserving of the title.

Sunstrike:

Oh. Oh no, cats were looking at her. She vaugly recognized the Riverclan warrior from the other day, talking with someone. Motioning in her direction. Starclan, please don't remember me...

Sunstrike swallowed her fear for a moment. Surely this was the time to talk to the other clans. The deputies were talking... the apprentices were talking... so that stood to mean she should talk too.

After a moment of steeling herself, she padded over to one of the Windclan warriors - a pale spotted she-cat who looked almost as nervous as her! "Uh. Is it just me, or is everyone standoffish." She took a seat next to Aspenberry, and tried to refrain from nervous grooming.

KESTRELSWIPE

Kestrelswipe had just opened his mouth to introduce himself as a new deputy to the others present when he noticed Fawnbriar coming up to the Great Rock. He sat quietly, attempting to appear polite, though he couldn't help but give her a curious and wide-eyed stare. He hadn't known Badgerstar to be ill or anything, but perhaps Windclan had kept it a secret.

BRIARFANG

"I'd hate to see her try to swim," they smirked, looking over the rest of Thunderclan. It seemed the she-cat who'd scolded that white-and-orange one was present, looking incredibly grumpy. Perhaps she realizes how incompetent her fellow clan-mates are.

Briarfang didn't bother to move out of the way of Thornstrike's tail, but followed her gaze to the Windclan arrivals. Leading the group was not the slightly-familiar Badgerstar, but his deputy. Which usually only meant one thing. They couldn't help but look over to Coldgaze to try and read the stoic warrior's expression. Fawnbriar become Fawnstar probably wouldn't affect his plans much at all, but it was...well, it was something.

As the moon shined its light down on the cleared out hollow of fourtrees, Beewhisker noticed that the great rock was already full, all four leaders situated on the peak of the rock, Boldstar of RiverClan, Moosestar of ThunderClan, Palestar of ShadowClan and Fawnbriar... though not given her leader name yet, Beewhisker still saw Fawnbriar as WindClan's leader, and would be loyal to her and WindClan at all costs, as they once stated in their warrior ceremony. Though, the ache of Badgerstar being taken away by twolegs hurt. But there was not a lot that could be done, despite how much Beewhisker wish there were.

Despite their conflicted feelings between Fawnbriar and Badgerstar. Beewhisker made their way into the large hollow with a bounce in their stride. It wasn't out of the ordinary that Beewhisker was excited to attend a gathering, in fact, it would be odd for their character if they weren't. The large tortoiseshell feline glanced around the clearing in search of a cat they could speak to before the leaders made their announcements. Their eyes landing on the ThunderClan deputy, with a flick of their damaged ear, they bounded over to the chocolate tabby tom and flicked their tail in greeting.

"Hi Kestrelswipe! Is prey running well in your clan?" The rather plump cat meowed, sitting down beside the deputy of ThunderClan and curling their white tipped tail over their paws. They had not really spoken much to Kestrelswipe before now, but they have heard his name and seen him many times before, and from what Beewhisker knew, they were around the same age, so they saw no reason to distance themself from speaking with a cat from a different clan.

The atmosphere felt like a boulder silently crushing Beewhisker's tail until they spoke again, breaking the thick heavy silence "Don't tell me too much, I'm sure Moosestar will explain a lot of events in ThunderClan of course" They added with a friendly gleam in their pale blue gaze

KESTRELSWIPE

The confusion in the crowd was distracting enough that Kestrelswipe hardly noticed the tortoiseshell Windclan warrior approach him until they spoke. He blinked, trying to remember if he knew them very well. He tried to associate enough with other clan cats when times were good, but seeing them only once a moon made friendships difficult.

“Hello,” he mewed politely. “Beewhisker, right? Not to take words out of Moosestar's mouth, but we've been pretty well on our side of the forest. Nothing too exciting.” He flicked his tail, happy at least someone from another clan was friendly enough to chat. With some hesitancy and a glance up at the leaders, he added, "How has Windclan been faring?"

Beewhisker kneaded at the ground that rested at the bottom of their large white paws, betraying their anxiety about the announcements that Fawnbriar would speak. Would her words be a comfort to the other clans or would they be considered as weakness? What would she even say about the situation with Badgerstar? Beewhisker took a deep breath of the night air and sighed. WindClan was many things but weak was not one of them, Brightmaple and Barleyswipe's kits would be here in about a moon, the nursery will be full of life. Barleyswipe is Beewhisker's kin through their mother's sister, Claycinder, though Beewhisker had never really met Claycinder, they knew of her and knew that these kits were their kin as well, even though not direct, they plea to protect them at all costs.

The large tortoiseshell was snapped out of their thoughts when Kestrelswipe returned their greeting with a simple 'hello'. Relieved, Beewhisker gave their ear another flick to dismiss their current worrisome thoughts. "Yes! I'm Beewhisker" They mewed, wrapping their tail over their paws, the tail fur silky, reminiscent of their mother, Tawnyflight's tail, but she had died three moons ago, so it was fairly old news now. So Beewhisker changed their train of thought to the deputy of ThunderClan, speaking of the wellness of his clan this past moon.

"As much as exciting could be a good thing, things being ordinary brings peace at least" Beewhisker meowed with a smiled on their face, their canine fangs poking out of their upper lip, fangs of which seemed to disappear when the smile became less toothy. Their mind soon drifted to Skyeyes, she had died rather recently, and though Beewhisker had no extraordinary relation to her, deaths always seem to hurt the most with clan news, but that was up to Fawnbriar to speak of.

Then there was the question of how WindClan was faring this moon, aside from the death of Skyeyes, Beewhisker saw no reason to be worried for WindClan, so they felt the news wasn't theirs to give. But they were more than happy to share the news of Barleyswipe and Brightmaple's expecting their kits. "Brightmaple is expecting her kits soon, They'll be my kin through Barleyswipe you know" The large tortie purred with pride as they gazed wide eyed at Kestrelswipe.

KESTRELSWIPE

The chatter of cats settling into the gathering was becoming background noise, and Kestrelswipe wasn't one to waste an opportunity to chat. He supposed it was the least he could do with the leaders still getting ready up on top of the rock. Besides, it had been a while since he'd had the chance to talk with someone so friendly. "Oh really? That's great news, then, congratulations to both you and Brightmaple," he purred. "It's been a few moons since Thunderclan was expecting any kits, as far as I know. It'd be nice to have a litter around again. Though, Coyotekit is doing just fine in the nursery right now. A real cute one, she is."

He paused, wondering for a moment about Coyotekit. Though the clan had pretty much accepted the young kit as one of their own, he still wished he knew where exactly she came from. He wished she was able to have that knowledge herself. He also wondered about Fawnbriar and Badgerstar. Beewhisker was acting unusually chipper for what could possibly be grievous circumstances. He glanced up at the leaders again, shifting the weight in his paws.

As the broken tabby tom mentioned a kit in his clan with such affection, it made Beewhisker's smile peak past their lips before giving their tail a few gentle licked, drawing their paws over their muzzle. I'm smiling too much, he surely has questions of Badgerstar's disappearance from this meeting, Beewhisker thought to themself as they gathered their thoughts with a flick of their ears. "I hope to see Coyotekit at some stage when they are apprenticed" Beewhisker's voice was less chipper giving a tone for more seriousness.

"But I suppose many of the cats here might have questions of the whereabouts of Badgerstar right?" The tortoiseshell meowed from their great height above the tom. Beewhisker soon tucked their tail beneath their paws, letting their white paws knead at the thick yet silky fur of their tail. They knew it wasn't their place to talk about the whereabouts of Badgerstar, they barely knew about it themself, but even provided with the information they knew, it was Fawnbriar's decision. "It isn't my place really, but I'm sure Fawnbriar will inform everyone"

Beewhisker's statement seemed uncertain, as they didn't know what Fawnbriar would say during this gathering, after all, they weren't Fawnbriar. It was up to her to make the announcements regarding WindClan's issues. "But the kit in our clan, Fallkit should hopefully have his apprentice ceremony in about three moons" Beewhisker cooed, in a half minded attempt to lighten up the situation, but they were not even sure if the situation could even be lightened, had the cats of the clans assumed Badgerstar was dead? It would be what Beewhisker would think if the clan's deputy took the leader's place on the great rock, but they would have to wait and see for themself.

Kestrelswipe nodded with understanding, glancing back up at the leaders as they took their time before starting officially. The calmness of this gathering was much better than last moon's, however, which he supposed they should all take a little extra time to enjoy. "That makes sense."

He looked back to Beewhisker. "Fallkit, huh? That's an unusual name."

Piperpaw:

"Well enough." Piperpaw sighed. "I'm not really supposed to talk about it but - Badgerstar..." She looked conspiratorially over her shoulder at her mentor, who she was hoping wasn't paying too close attnetion to her. "No, I shouldn't say. Fawnbriar wanted to announce it to everyone."

After a moment of hesitation, she perked up. "Windclan is going to be having more kits soon! I got to diagnose and announce it myself." She preened a little bit at that. She didn't know if Nettlepaw had experience with that sort of thing but in her mind it made her Very Cool.

"What about you? Any medical tips for me?" She swayed her tail in half-interest. He was probably going to start rambling about something boring but it would be rude to not ask - right? "I wonder if any of the other clans are gonna have a MC apprentice soon..."

Coldgaze:

Kestrelswipe - Coldgaze did now this cat. He was one of those 'fiercebloods' as they call themselves; son of that insufferable she-cat Wildcry who, by the looks of things, was at the gathering. He seemed surprisingly friendly to cats of the other clans... but that didn't make it much better. Seating himself next to Dawnflurry he watched the Windclan and Thunderclan cat converse while the leaders exchanged pleasantries.

"Is Fallkit any stranger than Coyotekit?" He asked Kestrelswipe, rather bluntly and quite abruptly. "We don't usually name kits after deadly predators - but the circumstance of their situation is also unusual." Turning to Beewhisker, he kept the same neutral - but likely to be construed as grumpy - tone. "Silence is a virtue." He meant it more in a 'stop talking about things you aren't supposed to talk about' way, but he also didn't mind if she took it as 'shut up.' He was tired of gossip. 

Sunstrike:

(literally just sitting awkwardly near Aspen. Girlie is so bad at socializing. Tied for last place with Coldgaze fr)

Aspenberry had been too absorbed within her own anxieties to even notice the red ticked she-cat seat herself next to her. It took her a moment to process the question, before she turned to face Sunstrike, a little flustered. 

She didn’t think she had talked to Sunstrike before, but was welcoming towards some casual chatter, for she had seen her at gatherings before, and she seemed like a decent enough cat. ‘Ah, sorry, Sunstrike, right? A little absorbed in my own thought, you know?’ she said with a little laugh. ‘And yeah, I guess after last gathering no one knows what to suspect, and I think a few of the clans have some news to share’ she replied, giving her own hint towards Fawnbriar, and herself even, though if she had it her way she would rather there be no announcement of her new position at all. The attention was not needed. ‘How have you been? I don’t think we’ve talked before, so, nice to meet you’ she said while giving the warrior a quick, friendly nod.

Fawnbriar felt rather uncomfortable being called Fawnstar by Palestar, especially since she hadn't technically been given a leader's nine lived by Starclan, but she didn't let it show. She couldn't let WindClan appear to be weak. She did, however, blink in surprise as the ShadowClan leader made a brief comment about exciting news. Something else must have happened of importance that had been shared before she had arrived.

Then Moosestar spoke up and asked the question that was no doubt on everyone's minds. Her tail twitched lightly as she met the ThunderClan leader's gaze and replied polietly. "Indeed there is, but once the Gathering has commenced, I'll be able to share the details for all."

Her gaze shifted around so she looked to Boldstar so that he knew Riverclan was not forgotten in this initial exchange before glancing at the other two as well. Her voice remained pleasant and was almost amused in tone. "Shall we end all the suspense and get the Gathering started?"