Open to Join [Sticky] Long Sun Gathering

"Run. That is an order."

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Cinderwisp's secret beloved was coming to the clan gatherings. She loved nothing more than to learn about the other clans and to be amongst the other cats she shared a code with. But she couldn't let it show. She had to be serious. So despite her warm heart, she tried to keep her expression cold.

Perhaps arriving earlier was something she could work on if she ever became leader. The molly watched as Coldstar bounded up to his spot in the speaking rocks, the she-cat mildly annoyed at WindClan's late arrival. But she supposed RiverClan couldn't be considered much better if WindClan arrived in the next few heartbeats.

The deputy was surprised when Kestrelswipe addressed her, her heart almost jumping out of her chest as she hadn't been expected to be spoken to. However, she was able to collect herself quickly. "Kestrelswipe. It has been well. Thank you for asking." It had only been a moon? It felt like it had been longer.

Frost-kissed fur hides a fiery spirit
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Rimepaw’s whiskers twitched with barely contained excitement, eyes distracted as she nodded quickly towards her mentor. "Don't worry, Wrentalon. I am keeping my wits about me." Her bouncing paws suggested her wits were… spirited at best.

"Mama says Gatherings are for picking apart other clan weaknesses and I'm gonna learn everything I can." Her words trailed as movement in the clearing caught her attention.

A sleek, chocolate scarred tom that matched the description of who she knew to be the RiverClan leader. She didn't hesitate. With a flick of her tail she darted forward, weaving between older warriors until she stood within a couple fox lengths of the tom she knew to be Coldstar.

"Hey!" She piped up, lifting her chin high. "You're Coldstar, right? I’m Rimepaw of ThunderClan." She grinned, muzzle lifting in a big grin. "This is my very first one! And I’m really excited to fight your clan someday!"

Her tail lashed with enthusiasm rather than threat, eyes shining with earnest pride.

There’s always something to do.
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Smallbird slipped quietly after her clan into the Fourtrees hollow. It felt strange to be here. It wasn’t often that she was invited to Gatherings and this time her heart was heavy with guilt, especially as she glanced over at the spot where she had met Fox. Thankfully no one knew about the rabbit as she had caught a mouse and a vole to bring back. Yet she still felt bad over her temporary lapse in judgement. It was just that Fox was so charming and without him she would never have caught the rabbit anyway unless Starclan had given her an obscene amount of luck.

The gray tabby shook her head and settled at the edge of the clearing. It wasn’t likely that any cat would approach her and talk to her. She really ought to be trying to make friends or at least practicing those skills, but her heart simply wasn’t in it tonight. Besides, she feared her loyalty was wavering with the thoughts Fox had unwittingly inspired in her the other day. No. She would be a good girl and simply sit here, watching and listening.

Tiptoe through the murk and mire
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Duskmantle padded into the hollow with the rest of ShadowClan, the humid greenleaf air thick with mingled scents. Normally he kept to himself at Gatherings, but tonight, someone snagged his attention.

A small grey tabby sat stiffly at the fringe of the hollow in a way that didn’t read as simple shyness... Duskmantle wasn’t the type to intrude, yet something about the tension in her posture drew him forward.

He approached in his typically soft pawed way, steps measured. "Evening." He meowed plainly towards the she-cat - a ThunderClanner by her piney scent. "You look troubled. Probably should do better at hiding that while you're at a Gathering."

The young warrior meant to be polite - his advice wasn't uttered in bad faith, just something obvious that once was pointed out towards him from his own clanmates, leading to only more embarrassment.

There’s always something to do.
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Smallbird watched as the cats of the clans made their way into the hollow of Fourtrees. She watched as some cats moved to spots together and other sought out cats from other clans. She watched as the elders began to group up to share stories, their age allowing for friendships to now build. After all, there was little risk of disloyalty from a cat who no longer had to raise their claws in battle unless it was the most dire of situations. Even then, there was almost no chance that they would encounter their friends in such a battle. The apprentices, too, were grouping up, although some stayed firmly near their mentors. A smile lit the tabby’s face for a moment as she thought of how they would be bragging about their accomplishments to each other. That smile died quickly as she remembered that she, herself, had never been able to participate in such conversations although she had dearly wanted to.

It was with a measure of surprise and dread that she noticed a tom making his way toward her. She didn’t instantly recognise him which told her that it wasn’t a clanmate taking pity on her. Smallbird tensed up, expecting some rude or snarky comment. Maybe a dare from a friend had sent him her way. Instead, his words seemed gentle, friendly even. The gray tabby blinked before she replied. ”Oh umm…no, uh…” Smallbird shook her head, confused. ”I’m not trying to hide?” she finally replied, a quizzical look on her face. ”Besides, wouldn’t it draw more attention if I were to try to hide at a Gathering? We are supposed to mingle after all…aren’t we?” The tom had her seriously doubting whether she was remembering things right. After all, she hadn’t exactly been mingling by sitting over her at the edge of the hollow. If anything, she had been avoiding others and hoping to remain unnoticed. Something that had clearly failed.

Tiptoe through the murk and mire
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Duskmantle’s head tilted slightly as he watched her stumble through her explanation, the confusion in her voice genuine enough to soften the faint edge of his earlier words. She didn’t seem the type to bristle or snap...more like a cat who flinched inward long before she ever thought to lash outward.

He studied her a moment, eyes narrowing not in judgment but in thought. Then, with a small exhale, he lifted his shoulders in an easy shrug. As introspective as he believed himself to be, there were times when he lashed out, he could admit it.

"Maybe that’s just me then. Gatherings aren’t exactly my favorite thing. Trying to look like I belong here usually makes me look worse." At least he wasn't viewed as an apprentice anymore. He wasn't nostalgic for a youthful lack of freedom.

His whiskers twitched, the ghost of dry humor in his tone as if remembered the whole point of the Gathering. With a belated jut of his chin in an introductory fashion, the smoke tom announced himself. "I'm Duskmantle of ShadowClan." An ear angled towards the smaller she-cat, eyes narrowing faintly with interest even if that interest was more divested in whatever news she might relinquish.

"You?"

There’s always something to do.
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Smallbird’s eyes narrowed with thought and her tail flicked slowly as she considered the tom’s words. She was just about to open her mouth with a thought when the tom suddenly decided to introduce himself. ”Oh! I’m uh… Smallbird of umm… Thunderclan,” the gray tabby stumbled over her own introduction. ”And uh,” she began then paused. ”If trying to look like you belong makes you uh…well…look like you’re ummm…not…then maybe don’t try?” The Thunderclan warrior looked confused at her own advice and she looked away from Duskmantle.

”I mean,” Smallbird meowed slowly and turned her amber gaze back toward the Shadowclan tom. ”Eventually your efforts begin to take a toll on you and if they’re not getting you where you want to be, well, what’s the point in trying anymore?” It was a thought that had been sounding in her head for a couple of days. If trying didn’t bring happiness, and the results of trying were never the desired outcome, was it worth the effort? Some things were, of course. Like hunting. A cat could attempt to hunt all day without a catch, but that was still worth trying to do or you would go hungry. But trying to fit in? If trying didn’t result in acceptance and not trying didn’t, then best to use the energy elsewhere. Someday somecat worth the effort would appear.

A smile softened the gray tabby’s features. What she was thinking about to smile so pleasantly was completely unclear, but her posture relaxed. ”Besides,” she meowed sweetly, ”you look like you belong here to me.” Smallbird’s tail flicked in smooth curls. ”Not everycat approaches others to talk. Many stick rigidly to their clan groups, but the very point of these Gatherings is, from memory of the stories, for us to remember that we’re all cats under Starclan’s guidance, no matter the clan we’re from.” Yes. Cats united against exterior threats, not interior. For some reason each clan saw their internal borders important and forgot the external threats. Until days like recent moons had brought. Memories of the murders were on most cats minds and it had brought a sort of peace between the clans. Peace that Smallbird hoped would last forever.

Tiptoe through the murk and mire
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Duskmantle listened, head angled slightly as though turning her words over from multiple angles. Smallbird’s thoughts came out tangled but they weren’t nonsense.

"Don’t try..." He whispered under his breath just to weigh the idea. Effort without result… It was something he’d chewed on himself in quieter moments. From expectations to failure, to improvement.

His tail shifted as the tom gave a slight shrug, chin tilting over his shoulder as his cornflower eyes watched the comings and goings of the cat's of his own clan. "Maybe you’re right. Might be better to just… show up as you are." To some, Duskmantle had everything to prove as an outsider raised clan, and while he tried his best it wasn't for the benefit of his clan, but to give himself purpose.

But her talk of unity... of remembering they were all cats beneath StarClan, made a different thought tug at him. A less comfortable one. "Has ThunderClan been hit since the last Gathering? Any more signs of that rogue near your territory?" He frowned in thought.

"I've seen her and what's she capable of."