Written in the Stars

the air was thick tonight, but unlike the others, tigertuft welcomed its cool collection on her fur. it has been a while since she has traveled this far away from the usual dawnclan hunting grounds, and with the light of the moon leading the way, the girl knew that this gathering would be a good one. aside from the lingering scents of wolf traced around the land, it seemed that dawnclan had little foul news to report. the stars had blessed them this moon. despite their proclaimed absence.. tigertuft had never been close to her ancestors, however, and because of that it was likely she wasn't even too aware of the rumors. all that she knew was of the strength in her clan. nightclan and oakclan had better be shaking in their fur when they arrive. oh, but she brushed her thoughts aside for now, focusing on the empty clearing before them as she broke into a gentle sprint, following spiderstar down to the plateau as he dewy grass brushed against her belly far more welcoming than the rocks and dirt of the mountains. finally as she reached the bottom, she slowed herself down, breathing in the crisp air. 

seeing as the clearing was still empty aside from them, tigertuft went ahead and found herself a temporary spot for now, cleaning out the dirt and grass that had collected on her fur during the travel. perhaps this gathering she would go out of her way to socialize and meet somebody new. there was no harm in forming some small acquaintances with others; anything to ease tensions between their neighbors as the threat of leaf-bare grew closer with the days. for now, however, she would simply clean herself and wait for the others to assemble. 

Webshine held no particular fondness nor dislike for gatherings; aspects of it were entertaining, but the cats were loud and tense  energy always seemed to thrum between her fellow clans. She never understood how Oakclan and Nightclan's distaste for one another began, and she never would. She wasn't looking forward to hearing whatever new development that could've started a new rivalry between the two of them, either.

On the bright side, Webshine enjoyed getting to watch her brother and mother during gatherings. It still felt odd to see her addressing all three clans as a leader rather than a deputy, but she seemed to embrace the role fully. Her brother, on the other hand, enjoyed the socializing aspect most. She was happy for him, even if it meant he'd likely wander off halfway through the night to chat with someone.

"Hm," Was her small acknowledgment to his comment. As he leaned towards her, she couldn't help but purr at his blatant nervousness. "It'll be okay, don't worry," She murmured, tail sweeping to curl behind him in an attempt at reassurance. 

Thankfully, all his concerns seemed to dissipate when something else caught his attention. Webshine noticed briefly, before purposely returning her attention back to her other surroundings. 

// aelita 🌷 anyone is welcome to interact w/ Web as well !!

Mothmaw had a plan for this gathering. He had been inspired by his latest apprentice. Badgerpaw was a rascal with an apparent insatiable desire to get into fights. This was hardly a problem, of course - Mothmaw saw a little of himself in the young apprentice, in fact - but it had given him an idea that he had become rather fond over once he had begun to mull it over.

If his apprentice wanted to fight, then why not encourage it and create some kind of entertaining game? In fact, why not create a competition? A secret competition - because the fact that the clan leaders wouldn't approve was as clear as the nose on his face - in which all three clans had their apprentices battle it out to see who was the best. Of course, it would all be done in a controlled environment - Mothmaw didn't want anybody to actually get hurt? Not seriously, at least.

As the clan arrived at the gathering, he was already on the lookout for which warriors he could bring the idea up with. He knew of a few names in the other clans that would undoubtedly want to join in. If they were attending, then his plan was to have a quiet word with them and see what he could organise...

Badgerpaw had been told to stick close to his mentor; well, bugger that idea. It was his first gathering and he wanted to explore; and besides, while he had grown to have at least some sort of begrudging respect for his mentor, it wasn't nearly enough to admit it. He wanted to see the cats of the other clans, to try and suss out whether or not they were good, healthy or even worthy competition to any of his clanmates. All Mothmaw would do, he assumed would slow him down.

Still, the black and white tom padded along beside them, head held high, until Spiderstar gave the clear that they could go and socialize - then, of course, his head whipped around to his mentor, tail lashing as he sort of...complained.

"How'er we supposed to socialize if none other clans have even shown up yet?" He hissed. "I mean - it's good that we're first and everything - but what am I supposed to do? Go offer to chase Tigertuft's tail for her or something?"

beepaw (nightclan)

Eveningstar's instructions were heard certainly - but Beepaw's focus was only partially on her leader. The small apprentice's ear flicked away as he spoke, half-focused on the others gathered already. Unfamiliar faces and scents lifted her mood into excitement and restlessness, eyes flicking every which way to try and process as much visual stimuli as possible. There was a decent chance that she wouldn't catch anything helpful, not that that prevented her from nearly vibrating as Nightclan made their way into the gathering.

Her attention no longer on her leader, the apprentice eyed those unknown faces from other clans. Dawnclan cats were big, something that she'd known of course - but it was one thing to be aware of a fact and another to see it in front of you. The black apprentice was suddenly very aware of her smaller size, and she straightened up as she moved along with the rest of her clan. As soon as she was able, she planned on darting off - not far by any means, but if she was going to attend a gathering she didn't want to glue herself to a clanmate's side. 

Tactical

Hearing NightClan before scenting or smelling them, Spiderstar's ears pricked, her head turning to the left just before NightClan's patrol crested over the horizon, then rushing down to join DawnClan on the plateau. At least DawnClan weren't alone anymore - Spiderstar was sure she hadn't arrived that early, had she?

As NightClan's dark pelted leader joined her on the slope, Spiderstar's sharp eyes caught the slight limp, and the almost inaudible groan as he jumped up. What had happened? It was clear Eveningstar didn't want to show the weakness - but Spiderstar knew that DawnClan had nothing to do with it. Perhaps it was OakClan?

"Running well, Eveningstar." The she-cat gave a slight purr as she dipped her head, before her whiskers twitched, "Are you okay? You seem to be struggling a little bit..." Of course, Spiderstar wasn't one to ignore when someone seemed uncomfortable. She was the type to check and ask.



adrian

Padding along near the back of the patrol, Weaselfrost paused at the edge of the clearing, glancing at those present. OakClan didn't seem to be here yet... that was something, at least. DawnClan were present, of course, but that wasn't the clan that Weaselfrost was particularly bothered with right now. She hadn't been at the battle, but she knew things had taken a turn for the worse, and one could argue that OakClan came out on top. Not that she'd admit that, of course.

As the rest of the patrol headed forwards, Weaselfrost started to pad, although movement of the cat at the back of the patrol caught her eye. Duskracer - she must be nervous about today. This was her first gathering as deputy, wasn't it? Even if not, it was the first one after a major conflict.

"What do you think OakClan will say about the border fight?" Weaselfrost spoke as she became level with Duskracer, tail waving slightly, "I trust Eveningstar won't speak of his weakness, but who knows what Foxstar and Cloudchaser will do."

No sooner had he complained about their not being any other cats, there seemed to be an arrival; scrawnier, slinking cats whom Badgerpaw immediately curled his nose up at. They weren't very...impressive to him. And yet they said he should try and make friends with them? What was anyone thinking? Dawnclan clearly had the superior cats, that was certain.

Although as they began to mingle, he felt as if there were a weird, crawly feeling at the back of his head, whipping around to narrow his eyes and focus on another cat who couldn't be much older than he was [Beepaw bits ]. 

"What'er you staring at?!" He huffed; small, blunt-muzzled face set in a bit of a sneer. So much for the friendly introductions of course. He wasn't there to make friends, but even so he seemed to forgot that Gatherings were for him to make enemies at, either. 

---

This Gathering would not be an easy one; her clanmates that followed her seemed to be tense with the expectations of trouble - and she couldn't blame them. There were new cuts under her thick pelt, patches of fur that would have to grow back between her shoulder blades, along her side - and she had come out of the fight fairly well. She kept her pace with Cloudchaser [Sorrel ] well, but it was hardly the quick, excited steps that brought her forward to speak with the other clans before. 

"Do not rise to any unnecessary challenges." She whispered to him, encouragingly. It would be one of his first as his official deputy - and she trusted him immensely, but times were tricky and she was worried about the unsavory neighbors to their swampy East goading trouble just for the sake of chaos. Truth was, she wasn't about to give any sort of leeway to them, nor underestimate what they were capable of. "I trust you - I know you will do us proud...but I want you to be my eyes. If you spot any sign of trouble, alert me." 

It was a similar tone that she used when she turned to address those cats who had joined her. "I don't want us to appear wary of our neighbours, but if anything it may be best to keep clear of turmoil with Nightclan; unless, of course, they decided to act out under the eyes of Starclan. I do not want any cat here to start something - but we will finish it, if trouble comes to pass." Each and every cat, every warrior and the few apprentices they had felt prevalent to invite along to show off the strength of their new generation. She trusted them as her family; with all her heart.

They were the last to enter the clearing, and while it might have been a weaker stance to have shown up last, she wasn't tardy; she strode with her shoulders back and head held high, not hiding the few marks of her weakness, but wearing them as badges of honor, rather. 

"Pleasure to see you well, Spiderstar." She greeted the Dawnclan cat with a polite nod of her head, though her tone cooled quickly upon addressing the third cat, suspicion and disdain dripping from every syllable. "Eveningstar."

Fidgetpaw was surprised she had been picked to go to the gathering already since she was a new apprentice. She was excited to go but also nervous. There was going to be so many cats there and if she thought her brothers were loud and rowdy how was she going to feel at the gathering surrounded by so many cats? She followed Foxstar to the Mist Plateau where the gathering was held. Upon reaching it her the gathering her golden yellow eyes grew wide at seeing so many cats. She swallowed nervously but followed Foxstar down into the gathering with the rest of her clan mates. She decided that this time she would just stick close to one of the warriors. Glancing around she spotted Cloudchaser [Sorrel] and padded over to him. "Can I stay by you?" Fidgetpaw mewed nervously while her eyes continued to scan the crowd.

beepaw

Trying to find somewhere she could see past the congregation of cats was easier said than done. Patience wasn't in her vocabulary, and her frustration had her glaring ahead of her. She was startled when the Dawnclan apprentice [Badgerpaw Broadfae] whipped around to face her, her eyes wide. 

What'er you staring at? Beepaw was no friendlier by nature, and the sneer on the Dawnclanner's face was matched with one of her own. The smaller apprentice narrowed her eyes, refusing to back down. Badgerpaw was a stranger, but she could still act with the same bravado as she did among the Nightclan apprentices. 

"Same thing half of us are staring at - the back of a Dawnclanner's head," she craned her head to look over Badgerpaw's shoulder, exaggerating the motion to drive her point home. As if to spite this absolute stranger, Beepaw decided that this was actually an excellent spot from which to watch the gathering. There was a hint of glee just beneath the defiant set of her narrow features.