GATHERING 2.0

[Amber]

All the sights and sounds were confusing, it was so much to take in. She had been accoustomed to her own Clan, somewhat by now. It hadn't taken her long to learn everyone's name. Good thing there wasn't too many cats in the Clan, if there were as many as she had heard the other clans had, that would be a bit more challenging. She would have to mingle with the cats of the clans now, hopefully she would somewhat remember names. The fluffy pale ginger she-cat stayed as close to her brother as possible. Lilypaw didn't want to leave his side, especially after arriving and seeing the amount of cats already there. And that was only one other Clan.

The apprentice sighed and as they entered, she took a seat next to Rookpaw, keeping the closeness. He would protect her, and she knew it. She watched her mentor as he sat down, and would have gone to sit by him. Lilypaw was becoming less afraid of the other cats, and actually enjoyed her mentor. She wasn't even too scared when one of the warriors approached her. Lionclaw...that was a name she remembered, just because he was a new warrior. "I guess so, I just didn't expect it to be so big." she mewed, glancing around. This is your first time as a warrior, right? I bet you are even more excited than I am."

No sooner than she had said much, another cat had come over. He looked to be an apprentice like she was, maybe they could be friends! "I'm Lilypaw." she announced, though he was talking to Lionclaw. And then she was once again "invaded" with another set of apprentices. One introduced himself as Rabbitpaw. He seemed nice. And the next was Otterpaw. Well that was quick. When Bristlepaw introduced himself to the other two she heard him mention he was from WindClan. And the other two must be RiverClan, since she knew what ShadowClan smelled like and they smelt like fish.

"Nice to meet you. I"m Lilypaw, and this is my brother, Rookpaw." she mewed, still cowering a bit behind her brother. Lilypaw was doing better than she thought she would, she wasn't completely nervous, after all it was cats her own age at the moment.


It didn't take much to realize they were the last Clan to arrive. Though she didn't know why ShadowClan were cowering around. The young medicine cat apprentice sighed. Her sister was at camp, and she was once again alone at this place. Not even her sister's best friend was here for her to chat with. Ivypaw felt a little isolated. She wasn't one to really socialize with others, no that was her sister. She stayed in the background.

If Cloverpaw had been here, or even Pebblepaw, Ivypaw would have sat by them. Looks like she would have to settle with sitting by her mentor. Unless....her eyes looked around and spotted a familiar black pelt. Thank StarClan! She made her way away from the Clan and to the tom.

"I'm so glad you are here. I hate coming to these things and not seeing someone I know." she mewed, sitting down beside Crowpaw. "How's training been going, any better?" she had remembered their conversation at the half-moon, and hoped things were looking up for Crowpaw. Lately she had been doing her best to teach him what she was learning. Ivypaw, herself, wasn't too great of a teacher, she didn't think, but she figured anything was better than nothing.

"Meet me tomorrow night in the usual place, we can go over a few more things.....if you want." Ivypaw added quickly.



Nightpaw was growing bored with just sitting here. They looked like the biggest idiots in the entire forest. What was Specklestar thinking? She felt her brot....friend beside her and sighed as she looked at Dreampaw. She was going to open her mouth and speak, but Brightpaw came up and asked the same question she was wondering. "Dunno, lemme know if you find out." she mewed.

When Reedpaw came closer, Nightpaw relaxed. Having two of her three best friends by her seemed to calm the urge to want to claw off the face of any cat who looked at her weird. If she stayed by them, she wouldn't be tempted to run off and go cause trouble...well not much trouble.

"We already look like a bunch of mousebrains. We're gonna be looked at so strangely when we finally move....if we ever move. Maybe we should shove Specklestar in the right direction, her head might not be working right." The black apprentice hissed in frustration.

When Specklestar finally led them down she hissed. "It's about time. Now maybe my paws won't fall off and "

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

The night was cool, as greenleaf nights went. The rain that had fallen earlier that day had moistened the earth and cooled the air, so that even without the constant breezes that swept through his own territory, Ravenstar could feel comfortable as he sat in the spacious clearing. He did not know what would happen at tonight's gathering; whether the tenuous peace between the four Clans would hold, or if ShadowClan would come out with some new and insidious plot, as they were known for. That stunt with the kits had cost him six future warriors, and had created turmoil within his Clan. He had been unprepared, and for this he was now berating himself viciously. Still, there were ways in which he could turn the situation to his advantage. While his relationship with Specklestar had unquestionably worsened, WindClan's relations with the RiverClan may have changed for the better. Perhaps tonight he would see if he could earn a bit more goodwill from WIllowstar; it never hurt to have allies--or pawns, as the case may be.

ThunderClan's arrival to the gathering came shortly after WindClan had settled in; looking at the size of the patrol that Ashstar had brought with her, the small tom almost wondered if her Clan had doubled in size overnight. She must have brought at least half her Clan, to put up such a strong show. Dipping his head silently in return to Ashstar's greeting, he mewed a casual reply. "The rain has left the air quite pleasant. I trust your journey here was without difficulty." The words were scarcely out of his mouth before the scent of RiverClan hit his nostrils, and Willowstar lead her Clan into the clearing. Excellent, then all four Clans had arrived. Now, if only Specklestar would cease her skulking, then the Gathering could begin in earnest.

"Good evening, Willowstar," Ravenstar meowed suavely to the silver-furred leader. "Prey continues to run strongly on the moors. Your Clan looks well." Would ShadowClan be making their appearance soon? Specklestar should be making her grand entrance right about... now. Ravenstar hid a smirk beneath his usual calm facade at the sight of the spotted she-cat making her way across the clearing. Coming to him. And that was just fine.

As the rest of ShadowClan's members began to filter throughout the shadowy clearing, Specklestar approached the other three Clan leaders and made a surprisingly civil and polite greeting. Very cool, for a leader who probably felt like she had been cheated out of what was rightfully hers. Just as Ravenstar felt animosity towards her for the problems that she had caused him. But he too could hide his true feelings beneath a mask of smoke and mirrors. "Indeed, Specklestar. It would be a shame if the Gathering had to be canceled because of a lingering shower."



The slender she-cat floated through the clearing with a deceptive delicacy, her small paws moving in light, graceful steps and her pace slow and measured. Slim and fragile, she looked almost vulnerable to those who glanced her way, a lone she-cat who was padding quietly through the throng. Her eyes were the colour of robins' eggs, that pale, pale blue that was so uncommon among the rest of her Clanmates, and her mottled fur was a dusty mixture of rich brown and cream. She looked very much the part of a dainty young queen. But though she was young, yes, and though she was small, the WindClan she-cat was not without will, not without purpose. The illusion of the peaceful lady was broken when another cat, a tom smelling of ShadowClan, crossed her path and the two collided.

"Hey! Watch where you're going, mouse-brain!" In contrast to the venemous words that shot out of the she-cat's mouth, her voice was low and sweet. Surely enough to make one wonder 'what would it sound like if it wasn't so angry?' Immediately the ShadowClan tom, an unremarkable-looking cat with dark brown and black fur, dipped his head obligingly and winked bright yellow eyes in apology.

"Forgive this clumsy warrior," a surprisingly warm voice entreated her. "My mind must have been elsewhere, for I don't make a habit of smacking into beautiful she-cats, especially not on the night of the Gathering-"

"You can save your flowery words for someone who cares. Sorry, but I'm looking for someone." Without another word the diminutive she-cat continued on her way, padding gracefully off and disappearing into the crowd without another thought for the confounded tom that the left behind her. What she had said had been the truth; she was looking for someone, and she didn't intend to be distracted by some foolish ninny of a tom. Doveclaw had no way of knowing whether the cat she was looking for would even be attending the Gathering tonight, but she had to look. It might be her only chance to speak to him for a while, because while she could easily seek out her four friends, she didn't have a convenient place to meet with the ThunderClan tom Tigerheart.

Fortunately, she spotted the powerful form of the cat in question with relative ease. Doveclaw made her way over to where the tabby tom was sitting with a Clanmate, striding purposefully over to the two ThunderClan cats without a flicker of doubt or unease apparent on her face or in her demeanour. He wasn't alone, which was annoying; she would have preferred not to have to deal with a third party at the same time. But, maybe having another cat from his own Clan would make the tom more relaxed. Not that she bothered with such overly-complicated thoughts. Doveclaw simply wanted talk to Tigerheart, and there he was. So, she did.

"Hello Tigerheart," she mewed pleasantly, taking a seat across from him and the unnamed she-cat. "You're looking well. Care to introduce me to your friend?"



It would be a lie to say that Batheart wasn't a little disgruntled by his run-in with one of WindClan's most unassuming and yet hot-tempered she-cats. He wasn't used to having she-cats brush him off in the middle of a sentence and then disappearing before he had the chance to at least attempt to change their minds. He knew he wasn't a prince among cats, but regardless of how annoyed, angry, or exasperated she-cats had become with his pursuits, he had never before been ignored.

It wounded his ego a little, to say the least.

Therefore, Batheart spent a good ten seconds being upset by his rejection before moving on to bigger and better things. It wasn't really in his nature to sulk over a she-cat; flirting was all a game to him, and it was meant to be fun. So, with that in mind, he set about finding some other lovely she-cat to entertain for the evening, because he knew that there had to be at least one on a night like this. Gatherings were the perfect opportunity to meet new acquaintances and to catch up with cats he had met on previous occasions. Certainly there was nothing wrong with a repeat visit to the same cat, as long as she was amicable to the idea. Sometimes he even made a friend along the way; a nice surprise.

And so, Batheart padded languidly through the crowd with his eyes bright and alert. He had the whole night ahead of him; who knew what he could accomplish in that amount of time?

[:c a i:]

T i g e r h e a r t

Tigerheart turned and nodded in greeting to Swallowfang as soon as she approached him. "Ah well, I suppose they're trying to live up to their name and mess around in the shadows for a while. Just to keep us all waiting," he replied dryly. With a glance over his shoulder, he spotted the two newest ThunderClan apprentices talking with some other young cat, and his tail twitched pensively. One of those was Swallowfang's to mentor, and he was curious as to how they were doing so far. He had his reservations about letting non-Clan cats into ThunderClan arbitrarily, but there was little ground for complaint given their current population.

Just as he was about to ask about them, something caught his eye which made him promptly forget that train of thought. He glanced over to see a small figure of pale fur and striking sky blue eyes. It was apparently a sight which had become startlingly pleasing to Tigerheart sometime between the last time they met and today, a fact which made no sense to him since they scarcely saw one another and even more scarcely spoke. Perhaps, he thought musingly, that little stir of pleasure at the sight of her was simply because it was difficult to see a WindClan cat outside Gatherings.

"Doveclaw," he greeted her with a smile that was more present in his eyes than his mouth. "Of course. Doveclaw, this is my Clanmate Swallowfang. Swallowfang, this is Doveclaw of WindClan." Tigerheart introduced the two she-cats pleasantly, though his gaze kept subconsciously flicking over in Doveclaw's direction. She did look lovely tonight, to tell the truth, and she was a little calmer than he was used to seeing her. Not that he disliked her feistiness - on the contrary, he liked it a lot, though he certainly wouldn't be telling her that anytime soon. He feared she wouldn't welcome such a comment from him anyway.

"How have you been?" He asked amicably, leaning himself down to sit more comfortably while they waited for the Gathering to begin. "We haven't spoken in a while," he commented slightly regretfully.

R o b i n w i n g

Robinwing found herself wandering through the clusters of cats, all from different Clans, but she couldn't see anyone she particularly wanted to sit down with. Unusually she wasn't with Gingertail, who usually spent the Gathering with her and their WindClan friends, and so she ended up more or less alone as she ambled through the groups of cats, young and old. She found herself musing about last moon's Gathering and remembering, and not without a little squirm of secret happiness, that she'd met a handsome tom last time. Maybe, just maybe, she'd have the same sort of luck and see another handsome tom, and one with whom she had a chance of - dare she think it - forming a real relationship and becoming mates with.

After all, the pressure was on. She had to get a mate sorted soon, or else her friends would all be discussing kit names without her. She was so busy thinking about this that she didn't notice she walked virtually under the nose of a certain dark-furred ShadowClan tom and almost went to go straight past. She didn't, however, because she caught a scent. It wasn't a familiar scent, but it was one she'd caught before, just once. One moon earlier. Robinwing frowned and looked to her left, her eyes widening slightly as what she saw confirmed her nose was still functioning.

Batheart was here. And she'd managed to bump into him again, of all toms. She would be lying if she said her stomach didn't do a peculiar sort of flop that she wasn't accustomed to, and she wasn't quite sure how to act now. She hadn't been counting on ever seeing this tom again, and yet here he was. So she paused where she was, hiding her uncertainty beneath a mask of neutrality. He could make the first move, she decided.

[/blockquote]

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Swallowfang flicked her ears at Tigerheart's suggestion, all too likely to believe it. Although the black she-cat did not see ShadowClan's lurking to be clever or mysterious in any way. She found it irritating. Supposing they were somewhere around the area- with all the cats and different scents around her, Swallowfang found it hard to tell- she just wished they would come out of hiding so that the Gathering could get under way. They longer they waited to appear, the longer they would be holding up the Gathering.

The voice of another she-cat drew Swallowfang's attention to the pale-furred warrior as she approached them and sat down. She eyed the cat- WindClan, from the smell of her- suspiciously, less than pleased at the sudden company of a cat from a different Clan. She called Tigerheart by name, so Swallowfang assumed this was an acquaintance from another Clan the he had met at some earlier point. Well, she wasn't ready to leave just because another cat had come to talk with Tigerheart, so she stayed put and listened as her Clanmate introduced them.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Doveclaw," Swallowfang said, dipping her head slightly to the other she-cat. Although she didn't usually speak to cats of other Clans and preferred to stick around her own Clanmates even during Gatherings, she was still able to have a bit of manners toward them. While the two talked, Swallowfang listened suspiciously Hadn't spoken in a while? Wasn't that obvious? The only time they saw each other were at Gatherings. Leaving the two to their conversation, she watched in the direction of Rookpaw and Lilypaw, wondering how they were getting by at their first Gathering.

Brightpaw twitched her tail some more and huffed under her breath. While appearing impatient and demanding was the least of her intentions, that was how she currently felt. She did not understand why Specklestar was holding them back while the other Clans arrived; in her opinion it was better to arrive earlier than the other Clans to avoid looking incompetent. Of course she did not speak up against her leader, but Specklestar's actions did not make any sense to her.

Nodding in response to Reedpaw's grumble, Brightpaw took a moment to sit down. If they weren't going to enter the clearing soon, then she could at least try to be relaxed while she waited.

At last, once all three of the other Clans had arrived, Specklestar decided it was finally time to enter Fourtrees. Brightpaw watched her leader and thought about her words, although she still was in no hurry to believe them arriving last had been a good idea. She padded down the slope with her Clanmates, trying her best to look dignified despite how undignified they had been hiding in the shadows and waiting for everyone else to show up before them. She wondered if any of her acquaintances from other Clans had shown up tonight, and after seeing Dapplepaw go off to join a group of apprentices from the other three Clans, Brightpaw padded after to join her.

She recognized the WindClan tom, Bristlepaw, but the other four she didn't. Two from RiverClan and two from ThunderClan. The two toms looked to be just about six moons, but the two ThunderClan cats seemed to be a bit older than that, closer to her own age. Hmm. "Hello, how has everyone been?" She greeted simply, sitting down next to her Clanmate.

Rabbitpaw grinned as his brother quickly joined him in the small group of apprentices. This was just so exciting! He thought, wiggling a bit where he sat. If there hadn't been any other cats to talk to, he wouldn't have been sad. Because the simple fact that he was at a Gathering was putting his spirits on cloud nine. But of course there were other cats talking to him so he couldn't be rude. Pigeonheart seemed to have joined them as well, though not looking too happy, but the brown tabby simply shrugged and turned his attention to the tom who had spoke to him.

"Hi!" He chirped again. "Yep! Otterpaw's my brother and this is our first Gathering. It's so fun!" He purred, sitting up proudly. Yes, he was finally six moons old and he was closer to becoming a warrior. It couldn't get any better! Another scent hit his nose, this time one he didn't recognize. He tilted his head, confused. Rabbitpaw knew the scents of WindClan and ThunderClan from the few border patrols he'd already been on. But this was a different, stinky smelling scent, ShadowClan maybe? Yes, that must be it. "Hi, Dapplepaw, Brightpaw!" He said cheerily, happy that he had so many other apprentices from other Clans to talk to.

"How long have you all been apprentices?" He asked, looking out to each of them, Bristlepaw, Dapplepaw, Brightpaw, Lilypaw and Rookpaw. He hoped it wasn't too long, he'd been a kit seemingly forever!

It didn't seem to be much time after WindClan arrived that other Clans started to appear at the Gathering as well. First was ThunderClan, led by the young leader Ashstar. So that was her, he thought curiously as he spotted the gray she-cat at the head of the ThunderClan patrol. He'd heard that ThunderClan had a new leader but this was his first glimpse- or even knowledge- of the she-cat. It went without saying that the tom wasn't one to keep up with gossip or get to know too many other cats. Plus not sharing borders with the forest dwelling Clan meant that news of that particular Clan usually took the longest to reach them.

The next Clan to arrive was RiverClan. Dustfur watched as the cats entered the clearing behind Willowstar, noticing that the number of cats there was small, much like WindClan's and ThunderClan's patrols. That was odd, but he didn't spend too much time wondering about that. He found himself scanning among the crowd for the ginger pelt of the cat he had come to call his friend, wondering if she had been able to attend this Gathering.

There she was! He spotted Gingertail among the RiverClan cats, but he hesitated where he was. She probably had other cats to talk to, especially her WindClan friends. He didn't need to go over and greet her now, although he probably should at some point... Dustfur stayed where he was, watching as one of her friends- Robinwing- went off on her own. As a matter of fact, Doveclaw wasn't going over to greet her friend either. She was talking to a couple of ThunderClan cats. He didn't see Littlestream, so either she wasn't at this Gathering or she was talking with someone else too.

She was alone. Inwardly he cursed his shyness, for somehow it was harder when he was around lots of other cats than when the two of them were alone. Finally deciding to do something, he stood up and left the group of cats he was sitting with and padded toward her. "Hi, Gingertail," He said quietly, nervous with her Clanmates near and hoped he didn't seem too weird. "I-I'm glad you could come," He added quickly.

It was about time. Willowstar turned her head to watch as the ShadowClan cats entered the clearing, seeming to appear out of nowhere as if they had been there the whole time. The RiverClan leader narrowed her eyes a bit but said nothing, just watching as Specklestar approached the group of leaders beneath the Great Rock. She noted that the ShadowClan patrol was small like her own, and a small prick of worry stung at the back of her mind of what the rest of that Clan was doing at that moment. They couldn't all be back at camp... Willowstar pushed the thought away though, she had prepared well and she would not let herself show worry to any of the other leaders.

"Yes," She said slowly, "Although my Clan wouldn't have had much problem with the rain. It is still good that the others could make it." Ah, the perks of being RiverClan.

[/justify]

((Cats left needed to post: None. Maybe Earthfoot and Harewhisker.))

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Doveclaw enjoyed the lush feel of green grass under her paws as she sat and chatted with the cat that would, if all went well, be head-over-paws in love with her before the moon was full next Gathering. Well, maybe not head-over-paws in love. If she wanted such a soppy fool for a mate, she would have simply turned her attentions on Firepool, and been able to keep her attentions inside her own Clan. But alas, Doveclaw had no intention of making such a lazy, irresponsible cat her mate, and so here she was, speaking with a ThunderClan tom that she knew only briefly.

But already she could tell that he had potential.

"Swallowfang,is it?" The she-cat looked over at Tigerheart's black-furred friend, and wondered if she was leaving. It didn't look like she was. How should she get her to leave? She didn't want some snooping ThunderClan cat listening in on every word she said. But she couldn't be too blunt about it otherwise she would never- "Afraid I can't say the same." Wait, what? Swallowfang had said it was a pleasure to meet her, and then... Hmm, she probably blew it, letting her mouth run away on her. That wasn't exactly how one made nice at a Gathering. Oh well, it was too late to turn back now. "But that's alright," she continued, "We can't all be friends. Especially when the cat in question is me." Doveclaw's sky-blue eyes glinted wickedly, and she returned her gaze to Tigerheart's muscular form.

"I've been well enough, Tigerheart. Those rabbits have kept me on my toes, and that is a fact." Ah, had it really been a moon since the last Gathering already? Time certainly had a habit of flying by. "You're either a very patient tom, or just stubborn, to put up with a cat like myself and ask after her well-being. Tell me, how has greenleaf been treating you?" Would there be no end to her teasing? Apparently not. But then, it would certainly have been foolish to expect anything else.



She-cats to the left of him, she-cats to the right, she cats sitting in groups and walking around in search of friends. So much opportunity for a fun-loving cat like him... Raising his head, Batheart drew in the bouquet of night scents, recognizing some, others not so much. But then the scents were forgotten as a slender tabby she-cat crossed his path.

Robinwing?

After a few moments he realized that he had stopped moving, and was, in fact, staring. Which was quite rude. Coming back to himself, Batheart plastered a smile on his face that didn't quite carry off his usual air of confident charm, and called out to the familiar figure. "Robinwing! What a gift to be able to see your here again." He wasn't joking on that count, either. With the small number of cats that ShadowClan had brought to the Gathering this time, he was fortunate to be able to go. And he was truly pleased to be able to see the RiverClan she-cat again. Sauntering over to join her, the silky-furred tom leaned down and pressed his nose against Robinwing's fur, his amber eyes teasingly daring her to object. But he couldn't deny the shiver of warmth that ran down his own spine even as he did so.

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

It hadn't been more than a few moments since Swallowfang looked away from the two talking cats before she heard the WindClan cat speak back to her. While she was in no mood to talk with cats of other Clans- she usually never did at Gatherings- the she-cat was attempting to speak with a Clanmate of hers so it wasn't like they were talking directly. But what Doveclaw said drew the black she-cat's lips into a snarl and eyes to a glare in a matter of seconds.

"Excuse me?" She spat, turning her head back to glare at the lighter-colored cat. "If that's the case then you can just leave." Okay, so she tended to let her temper get out of control at times like this. But she did not like this cat's attitude, and especially the smug way she went about displaying it. And if the mousebrain thought she was going to insult her and then talk to her Clanmate like nothing happened, she was mistaken. "Go find someone else to talk to." She added simply, with another growl.

[/justify]

[Yoko]

"Nice to meet you too," Bristlepaw mewed, addressing the two ThunderClan cats.

Bristlepaw turned his head to Brightpaw as she arrived. His pelt prickled in discomfort. His mentor had specifically warned him about chatting with ShadowClan cats this time. Also, he was mildly conscious of the fact that the Swamp-dwelling Clan had just taken two WindClan kits from their mother and caused another four to be split up.

But, he thought, tension in his muscles yielding. It was not the fault of the apprentices. In fact, it was probably only Foxfur's fault for making such a ludicrous demand...

Keeping this in mind, he managed an honest smile, "Hello Dapplepaw, Hi Brightpaw."

In the meantime, the newest apprentices were curious about them all. "We'll I've been an apprentice four moons now. I hope my final assessment won't be long."

His amber eyes were all aglow with excitement for the Gathering. Dreampaw stood tall beside his sister (which he stubbornly insists on calling her). Although it was true that this was his second Gathering, it was Nightpaw's first.

He, like many other apprentices, was growing edgy from waiting around. What was the leader thinking? His ears flattened at his Nightpaw's harsher echo of this thought.

"Yeah," he hisssed in agreement.

Time to go. Dreampaw eyed Reedpaw on Nightpaw's other side. He couldn't see he was fond of the tom standing that close to her, but otherwise he was a pretty cool cat.

As he glided beside his sister down the slope, he noticed an huge group of apprentices, all clans, gathered together. He pointed his tail at them. Brightpaw was already on her way over to them.

"Come on, let's see what all the fuss is about."

The gold-furred tom was usually quite social at events such as this one. However, at the moment, he was mildly distracted Rabbitheart could not see anyone he was particularly interested in talking to tonight.

RiverClan had arrived, but he could not see her in the crowd. Was she not invited to come? His heart felt dulled by the thought. He had been looking forward to this Gathering. It would have been nice to speak to her without calling over the running waters. His usually bright grin was watered down to a content little smile. He wrapped his tail patiently around his paws. At least it was nice night.

[:c a i:]

Tigerheart blilnked. In a matter of moments, the easy relaxation of his conversation with Swallowfang had turned into a tense and prickly face-off between his two she-cat friends. He swivelled his golden gaze from one angry face to the other and grimaced. This was, he presumed, generally a situation that toms preferred to avoid. These were two of the most hot headed cats he knew, so perhaps introducing them to one another was not such a good idea, but it couldn't be helped now. Just as he was wondering how to go about defusing the situation without offending either she-cat, he glanced up and saw a striped orange-and-black figure vaguely visible from behind a small crowd of cats.

"Tigerheart, can I borrow Swallowfang for a while?" Flameclaw called cheerfully over the noise of the other cats. "I said I'd introduce Ternclaw to her."

"If she wouldn't mind, then of course." Tigerheart said courteously, silently thanking StarClan for his brother's timely intervention. He turned to Swallowfang, looking questioningly at the black-furred she-cat and praying she wouldn't immediately bite his head off. He felt he really ought to tell Doveclaw off for being rude to his Clanmate, but he didn't want to annoy the WindClan she-cat either and so he smiled apologetically at Swallowfang and hoped she wouldn't be offended by this encounter.

Fortunately, Swallowfang did eventually go to see what Flameclaw wanted, and Tigerheart relaxed slightly. Apparently it would be best not to talk to Doveclaw and Swallowfang simultaneously in future. Tigerheart raised his eyebrows and turned a mock glare on Doveclaw. "Well thank you for that. I am quite certain she's going to be planting ticks in my nest for the next moon thanks to you," he said, picking up on her teasing tone and returning it, lightly reprimanding her for her insolence. "Greenleaf had been going very peacefully, but I see you enjoy changing that for me." Tigerheart looked ruefully after Swallowfang, shaking his head slightly. "Why so rude to her, Doveclaw?" he asked, eyes glinting mischievously. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you didn't like seeing me with another she-cat." He couldn't resist teasing her. After all, she had just insulted one of his good friends, and really: all was fair in love and war.


Robinwing let out her breath in a tiny sigh of relief when it became apparent that her pleasure at seeing Batheart was indeed mutual. For a moment, he had simply stared at her as if he didn't know who she was, and she had almost ducked her head and quickly moved away to save herself from embarrassment. But then he'd called out to her and come to meet her, causing her heart to start thudding inside her chest. A wide smile spread over her face as he dipped his head to touch his nose to her fur, and she gave a small snort of laughter at the look in his eye as she returned his gesture with some pretence of demureness. It was as if the past moon was nothing at all, for they seemed to pick up exactly where they left of - which was, essentially, Batheart flirting and Robinwing pretending not to reciprocate.

"Batheart. Ever the charmer." She replied coyly. "I didn't think we'd run into one another again. You look well." she commented, subtly running her eye briefly along his dark-furred body. Very well indeed, she thought with a smirk. Not that I'm going to tell you that...

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[{ i z z i e }]

The earlier rain had come to an end, and now the night was fresh and clear as RiverClan made their way to the Gathering. Littlestream had spent the journey walking with her friends, chatting animatedly with Gingertail. When they reached Fourtrees, she caught the scents of all the other Clans -- they were the last to arrive, which wasn't ideal, but still, they were here.

It seemed like some of the other Clans had also brought smaller patrols than usual. That made Littlestream a little worried, because it meant that all of the Clans had left many of their warriors behind to guard the camps, a sign that tensions were running high in the forest.

While some of the apprentices ran excitedly forward into the clearing, Littlestream remained in the middle of the crowd, even when Gingertail and Robinwing went on. She was, in truth, observing the ThunderClan patrol, looking for a certain tom with golden fur. The pact she had made with her four closest friends was weighing on her mind; if she couldn't find a mate soon, the entire plan would be ruined thanks to her... The small gray tabby pushed that thought away, not wanting to let any negativity ruin the otherwise fine night.

She caught sight of Doveclaw with one of the toms from ThunderClan, while Thrushtail was nowhere to be found. Littlestream sighed quietly. She'd been rather looking forward to talking to Rabbitheart, for once not separated by the rushing river.

Then, suddenly, she noticed him sitting by himself, tail curled around his paws. There was a little less youthful cheerfulness on his features than usual, but nonetheless she was glad to see him. Slipping through the crowd of cats all gathered at Fourtrees, Littlestream went to sit next to Rabbitheart, her tail flicking in greeting.

"Lovely night, isn't it?" she said brightly. "I hope you've been well, and Ravenkit too."

[/justify]

[Yoko]

The Golden Warrior was vaguely aware that a cat had sat next to him. It was not until he heard her voice that he started a little. A grin spread across his muzzle, as he turned to see his silver tabby friend.

"Hello Littlestream," Rabbitheart mewed cheerfully, tail waving slowly a behind. "It's nice to see you here."

And indeed it was nice to see her here. Her fur seemed brighter in the moonlight, her stripes stood out more, and her eyes were blue like the river. Earlier that day, Rabbitheart had not been sure he would recognize her at the Gathering. Talking at a distance could make a cat doubt his eyes. He now knew that it had never been a problem, but one of those nervous worries when it comes to meeting new cats. Had they really known each other for only a moon? It seemed longer with all their neighborly chats. And Rabbitheart had certainly never felt this exhilerated in meeting his fellow clanmates every day.

"Ravenkit and I have been getting along rather well," mewed Rabbitheart, but he paused as he realized this was not quite true and added, "Except for his new living conditions that is...You see, he's used to having the nursery all to himself and with the WindClan kits, Stonekit and Spottedkit, moving in along with their kin, he's not entirely comfortable anymore. How are the ones in RiverClan getting along? The new kits I mean."

[Kitty]

Gingertail was still scanning the crowds (although a large amount of cats were present at the Gathering, she still noticed that there were fewer this time than there usually were) in search of the dusty tabby pelt that had come to be familiar in the past moon's time, largely due to the fact that they'd met on the borders a few times. Before she'd gotten an apprentice, that is.

Anyway, she was so busy searching for the tom that she didn't even notice him standing beside her until he spoke. And when he did, she nearly jumped out of her fur. "Hi, Gingertail," he said nervously. She whipped around with a little squeak of surprise, then heaved a sigh of relief. "I-I'm glad you could come." His little stutter was adorable. Gingertail! He's in another Clan! she scolded herself, but couldn't help it when she felt her fur become a bit warm.

"Dustfur!" she trilled happily. "I was just looking for you! Its great that you could make it this time!" she purred. He seemed nervous, but she was perfectly relaxed, even twining her tail with his briefly in greeting, disregarding the surrounding cats. Surely welcoming a friend in this way was alright, and besides, Gingertail didn't care what other cats thought. "I've missed seeing you on the borders! Ever since I got an apprentice - oh yeah, you don't know about that, do you? Well, I got an apprentice! His name's Otterpaw," she went on, barely stopping to take a breath. Finally she paused to let him respond.

((Dapplepaw post coming soon~))

[Sydney]

[/b] It was frustrating, Rookpaw could barely keep up with the amount of cats in ThunderClan, he'd never be able to keep up with these many cats.

He said nothing as Lionclaw arrived, instead merely shifting his position so he was close to Lilypaw. And then several more cats, apprentices, he assumed, showed up. Glaring at the “invaders”, the black tom held his head up. ”You smell like fish.” He started, leaning against his sister. ”Rotten fish.”

Well, wasn't he charming.

And then two more cats showed up, she-cats this time, and Rookpaw gave a mental groan. Great, just great. ”Yeah yeah, hello.” Flicking his tail, the tom gave a snort to Rabbitpaw's question. ”Far too long, in my taste.”

Ah, that Rookpaw.[/ul][/color][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[° i c y - -]

Baderstorm

Oh my. It has seen to his attention that RiverClan has arrived, and this had made him grin. He hasn't grinned like this for a long, and he means /long/ time. His amber eyes darted from each cat to another, until he finally saw the one he had been searching for. "Beechstorm!" He called out to the ginger she-cat, whose head whipped around to initiate a glare at him.

[/size]
"What in the name of StarClan do you want, Badgerstorm?" The younger warrior replied in a growl. "If this is about your kit again, I will personally rip out your throat and feed it to the pidgeons." She went on, her eyes narrowed into thin slits.

"You know how I feel about her!" The senior tom replied in a low voice. "With pleasure I must say, I have a new apprentice. Speaking of her, I should see how she's getting along." He continued, turning away from the RiverClan warrior toward where his apprentice had trotted off to. His amber gaze wavered toward a cluster of apprentices, and thus he could see Lilypaw, next to her brother, Rookpaw. He didn't quite reconize the other apprentices around her, yet he didn't really wish to intervine. Instead, he stayed a few fox-lengths away, looking around the Gathering place.

[/size]
Beechstorm[/i]

Hmph! Well, that was particulary random, She thought to herself, giving herself one more second of the glare at the tom before trotting off in the opposite direction. She hadn't been to one of these Gatherings in quite a while, mostly after Beeflight had been ki- she meant died on the Thunderpath. No way in StarClan would she reveal that she murdered that pesky she-cat!

"Hm, wonder if /anyone/ even wants to talk with me. Badgerstorm seemed pretty decent to chat with, yet what do I have in common with a ThunderClan cat?" She muttered under her breath, keeping her head parallel to the ground. She stuttered a weak mew, suddenly realizing how tired she was. And I still have to tell Sootwhisker when I get back... About what happened here... She reminicized, right when she was leaving. I promise I will tell you about everything that went on... Oh great. Now Beechstorm will be too tired to talk when she gets back.
[/blockquote][/color]

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Brightpaw narrowed her eyes at the ThunderClan tom. He smelled strange; of course he had ThunderClan scent on him, but it wasn't very strong, not the sort of scent one would have if they'd spent their entire life in that Clan. He seemed to have a different scent to him as well; one that she didn't know but was sure didn't belong to any of the Clans. Add that to the fact that she had never seen him before and he looked too old to be six moons, it left her rather suspicious. But she wasn't going to say anything; not until the strange black cat had snapped and said something very rude to one of the young RiverClan apprentices. Brightpaw sniffed loudly and turned her nose upward, scowling a bit at Rookpaw.

"You don't smell so pleasant yourself." Was all she said, but enough for her. She wasn't one to go around throwing insults at other cats, and ShadowClan wasn't on the best terms with RiverClan presently (they weren't on good terms with any of the Clans, actually) But she couldn't ignore the hurt look on the young tabby's face.

Rabbitpaw stared at Bristlepaw in astonishment, his jaw dropping as the WindClan apprentice told how long he'd been one. "Four moons? That's a long time!" Almost as long as he'd been a kit! It wouldn't really take that long to become a warrior, would it? He liked being an apprentice so far, it was lots of fun, but he didn't want to be one forever! Whimpering a bit and casting a surprised glance at his brother, he was at least grateful that the other apprentices were being friendly. Well, most of them. One of the ThunderClan toms- one who was older than him, but most of the cats here were older than him- said something that Rabbitpaw was sure he'd misheard.

"I.... I don't smell! It's just because I'm RiverClan!" He squeaked, eyes wide and hurt. That was a mean thing to go about saying he smelled like RiverClan, and the young tom didn't know how to respond to it. (And he didn't eat rotten fish!) Thank StarClan one of the ShadowClan cats stood up for him, and he glanced gratefully in Brightpaw's direction. Why were cats so mean?

Well, it seemed like his apprentice had no problem finding other cats to socialize with. Harewhisker watched as Bristlepaw conversed with apprentices of each of the other Clans, content at least to see that he was a good cat, and grateful that he had been given such a competent apprentice. Ripplepaw was alright too, but there were other apprentices in WindClan that he would not have been pleased to have to mentor. Like a certain tom called Thymepaw... well. This was no place to think such thoughts about his Clanmates, he was at a Gathering and supposed he should make some effort to talk to other cats, as much as he was indifferent about the idea.

Harewhisker watched, intrigued, as his brother went off to talk to a RiverClan she-cat. That was unusual; he had thought Dustfur to be much too reserved to go up to other cats and talk, especially one of another Clan. Perhaps he didn't know his brother as much as he thought he did, however. Glancing around, the tabby spotted a RiverClan she-cat of his own that he supposed was as good a cat to talk to as any. At least he shared borders with her so any gossip or information she might slip up would be of interest to him.

He got up and approached Beechstorm, meowing a polite greeting to her as he got closer. "I hope you don't mind my company," he simply said, though not expecting her to at all.

Dustfur felt a rush of relief when Gingertail recognized him and genuinely looked happy to see him. If he'd been ignored, or she'd just brushed him off, that would have been horrible. He was glad that wasn't the case, although it was quickly becoming a bit too awkward for him. Dustfur felt his fur grow hot as she twined their tails, if not for the action itself but for all of the other cats around. He thought they were being a bit too personal for being of different Clans, although they were really just friends, but it was still awkward. He smiled a bit, though, glad to see her and that she was still her same bubbly self since they hadn't seen each other for a bit.

"You got an apprentice? Congratulations," He said once she'd finished her cheerful rambling, glancing toward what looked like a group of apprentices talking and wondered if Otterpaw was among them. He'd never had an apprentice himself, and the idea didn't really appeal to him, but he was happy for his friend. "What else has been going on? How are you and your friends?" He asked, looking back to her. He had to admit, he was a bit curious of their 'plot' but, he wouldn't say anything in front of so many other cats. He wasn't that nosy or as clumsy with his words.[/blockquote][/justify]

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

    The stars overhead may have been peaceful and silent, but they did not reflect Doveclaw's mood tonight. She was on a mission, not just schmoozing with whoever and enjoying the Gathering with her friends. Which she could have been, if she wanted to, but Tigerheart was here and she wouldn't lose the chance to speak with him. Even though he had come with a date. In a Clan that was filled almost entirely with toms. No! He hadn't brought a date, she was just a friend. And she was leaving in any case, so it didn't matter what she may or may not have been. Although, Doveclaw had honestly not considered the possibility that her companion might already have a mate before. She had assumed he was an eligible tom, but what if the cat she had just snarked at, or some other, was already mated to him?

    She would be completely back to zero.

    This thought stunned her for a moment; she had felt so confident with Tigerheart! She was sure she had finally found someone who met all her criteria, even if he was from another Clan. But perhaps she was really no farther along than she had been before. Well, the only way she would know for sure would be to find out by herself. Finding that she had mostly ignored the rebuttal of Tigerheart's ladyfriend, Doveclaw narrowed her eyes with the intention of giving as good as she got, but stopped when... was that some kind of Tigerheart double? Great StarClan, it looked just like him. The strange appiration whisked away Tigerheart's companion promptly and left Doveclaw stewing in unanswered questions and leftover nerves. Lashing her tail crossly, the queen allowed herself a little grumpiness while Tigerheart finally answered her queries. This Gathering had started out nothing like she had planned.

    "Then you'd better be vigilant," she advised, eying the retreating form of Swallowfang discerningly. "I think I may have pushed her farther than I intended." And that was about as close to an apology as he was likely to get out of her at that time. "But in any case, your double seems to have taken care of it. You never told me that you come as part of a pair." Tigerheart's playful barb had her hiding a wince. Never! Jealousy was for petty apprentices, not cats like her who had been warriors for over a year. She especially wasn't going to become jealous over a tom like Tigerheart. What business did he have being so ruffled and handsome, anyway? Doveclaw assembled what loftiness she could muster, which wasn't an insubstantial amount, with the absolute intention of brushing off the idea as if it was completely laughable. "Well, it's a good thing you know better, now isn't it? Otherwise there are all manner of ludicous ideas you could come up with."