Full Circle [Gathering 1]

[TANGO]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-image: url(http://i42.tinypic.com/n2nzas.png); width: 500px; height: 594px;border:1px solid #000000] The bengal spotted she-cat's eyes widened in surprise as Fogstep arrived with ShadowClanners in tow. Was Brokenstar dead? Her fur bristled at the thought. ShadowClan and RiverClan were close allies—so close that ShadowClan thought it had a right to hunt on RiverClan territory. If something had happened to Brokenstar, RiverClan should have been told. But Fogstep said nothing. Leopardstar's tail curled at the deputy's aloofness. "Where's Brokenstar?" she hissed impatiently. This didn't reflect well upon ShadowClan in Leopardstar's opinion. She was already fed up with their skinny, smelly warriors hunting RiverClan prey, and Fogstep's unexplained appearance merely reopened the wounds. The testy leader had to remind herself that tonight was a time of peace, and she had to focus to keep her breathing even. Fogstep couldn't stay silent forever. After all, the whole point of a Gathering was to speak. Ladies. The voice of Mothfur caught her attention, and the she-cat turned to watch the tom approach. She was surprised as the tom sidled up to the leaders' ledge. The last time she had encountered Mothfur, he had been a warrior. She had heard that he had been promoted to deputy, but she hadn't heard that he was a leader now. Had something happened to Tallstar, too? She wondered if ShadowClan and WindClan had gotten into another bloody battle. Mothfur surprised her, but he did not irk her as Fogstep's appearance had. WindClan was RiverClan's enemy. They had no obligation to reveal their leaders to RiverClan. It's good to be here again. Leopardstar nodded. "It is. The war has changed too many things." Boundaries, friendships, lives... "The Gathering should not have been one of them." And it seemed StarClan agreed, for their clouds avoided the moon tonight. Skirted it, flirted with it, but did not touch it. StarClan wished for the clans to talk tonight. Leopardstar could feel it. She watched with pleasure as her warriors mingled with cats from other clans, realizing just how right Mothfur was. It was nice to see peace and camaraderie amongst the clans again, even if one of the clans was still missing... As the night grew darker and time passed, Leopardstar wondered where ThunderClan was. At the thought of seeing Tigerstar again, she was possessed by a variety of emotions. Anxiety. Nervousness. Anticipation. He was the one cat in the whole forest who made her blood boil just at the thought of him, and she wondered what havoc he was wreaking on ThunderClan by being their leader. But perhaps he wasn't going to show up... "It's getting late," Leopardstar commented. "Should we start without ThunderClan? They may have decided not to come. Or, if they're just running late, we could fill Tigerstar in when he gets here." It wasn't protocol to start without one of the clans, but it might be necessary. It wasn't protocol to go to war either, but that had certainly been necessary... She looked at Fogstep and Mothfur, her eyes asking what they thought the clans should do. [OOC: I just suggested this so that maybe we could get things rolling in case Robin doesn't have time to post anytime soon.]

[talltale]

Mintpaw
She-cat || 6-moons || Windclan
--~-----~--

Mintpaw had followed her sister around and and dipped her head respectfully as she was gestured to, she felt so shy and didn't know what to say. So it was better not to say anything right? At least that's what she thought. Her whiskers twitched curiously though and the different scents of each clan and their members drifted over her nose. If she memorized the scents now it would be a good thing right? She could prove to her new mentor that she knew something, that she wasn't totally useless and all clumsy! Though... she knew she was. Mintpaw sighed to herself and looked about the gathering for more familiar faces. She was pretty sure Cinderfoot was here with them but she had lost sight of the Medicine cat apprentice now and decided that staying next to her sister was the safest option. Though everyone had friendly faces on there was tension and Mintpaw could feel it through her fur seeping into her skin and making her shiver even though it wasn't cold.

Be brave. She had to remind herself of this many times and though she was happy to be here she also just wanted to run and duck for cover. She wouldn't do well in battle and she begged starclan that the war would not break out, not now and preferably not ever! But if it had to, she begged for it to give her time to become strong!... while she was at it she begged starclan to be merciful and make her capable of being strong. It was almost a laughable request, she was sure Starclan was mocking her now.

Mintpaw sighed and tried to be part of the conversation, "Of course they eat fish you mouse-brain!" she said to her sister, "Can't you smell it on them?" She asked and looked around the gathering, she felt it was easy to pick out what cat came from what clan based on what they smelled like. "My question would be how in the name of starclan do they catch those slippery things?!" she giggled remembering looking into the water once and seeing the slimy scaled creatures. How any cat could pull them out of the water was beyond her.

--~-----~--

[robin]

The flame orange she-cat emerged from the leader's den where Tigerstar resided. She rolled her eyes as the lichen fell back across the entrance. Damn Tigerstar was making her lead the clan to Fourtrees and appear at the Gathering without him, with Scourge accompanying her. She knew that her leader wasn't one to stay true to the Warrior Code but he was sending her and Scourge to the Gathering? It was not a very thought out nor smart choice. Foxheart would have done things differently, but of course there was no arguing with Tigerstar, he simply would not hear it. So, the deputy leapt up onto the Highrock and yelled out, "All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highrock!" Her voice echoed through the seemingly deserted camp. Foxheart's tail flicked with irritation, Thunderclan was going to be late to the Gathering. She continued as her Clanmates appeared beneath her, "Scourge, Cloudfall, Eagletalon, and Tawnypaw will be attending the Gathering with me to represent Thunderclan."

The deputy then proceeded to jump down from the Highrock and waited for the chosen cats to come to her. Once they were all accounted for, she trotted towards the entrance and up the ravine, leaving her camp behind. "Come on, we're gonna be the last ones there. Move your tails," she spat at them, irritation oozing from her voice. Tigerstar's last minute resignation to attend the Gathering annoyed her, she made it pretty apparent with her lashing tail. Foxheart was not looking forward to the other Clans finding out that Bloodclan was allied with Thunderclan, that was something that Tigerstar needed to announce, not her.

After what seemed like forever she could see Fourtrees up ahead. From the scents on the wind, the other clans had already arrived and Thunderclan was late. Foxheart pushed on, picking up speed as she descended the hill. Finally, they had arrived. "We're here," the deputy called out kurtly. She pushed through the crowd of cats, her fur bristled as she brushed pelts with the other Clan cats. Foxheart hesitated before the Great Rock, she wasn't sure if she should sit beside the leaders or below with the deputies. However, seeing as Scourge was new to the Clans' ways she decided he'd probably need some help acting as Tigerstar. In a quick movement, she leapt onto the Great Rock and sat beside Mothstar seeing as Windclan and Thunderclan were allies. She nodded in greeting to the other leaders. "Time to get this Gathering started."

[Blush]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=width,425,true] [atrb=style,background-color: #EFEFEF;] ❝ F ogstep curtly ignored Leopardstar's prying. Her ears pinned back as the she-cat hissed at her about Brokenstar. Fogstep didn't have to tell the bossy leader anything, and she wouldn't. She remained silent, staring off into the distance, wishing she could be anywhere but here. Oh, why had she ever agreed to be deputy? When Mothstar arrived, the gray cat greeted him with only a single nod. She didn't like WindClan any more than she liked RiverClan, but perhaps now Leopardstar would have someone to talk to. She didn't want to be on the receiving end of the spotted cat's jostle for information, and she got a vindictive pleasure from knowing Leopardstar would just be dying to know what happened to Tallstar. Should we start without ThunderClan? Just like Leopardstar to be all aflutter at the thought of one clan being late. Couldn't she have some patience? Fogstep hadn't thought a leader could be annoying than Crookedstar, but trust RiverClan to prove her wrong. And trust ThunderClan to prove Leopardstar wrong, Fogstep thought smugly as the scent of the forest grew stronger, signaling ThunderClan's approach. As Foxheart appeared, Fogstep turned to Leopardstar. “Well, there you go. Your fears are assuaged.” she snarked. She nodded cordially at Foxheart, a she-cat she knew very little about but instinctively admired, even if she was “the enemy”. Really, every cat was an enemy to Fogstep. Time to get this Gathering started. Fogstep sighed. Time indeed. Her hour was up, and she would have to face the music. But maybe she could stall a little longer and buy herself a few more moments of peace. “I'm not going first,” she vowed and took a step back. Let one of the other clans volunteer. ❞

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=width,425,true] MADE BY AYU OF BACK TO NEVERLAND [x] WORDS 288 TAGS leopardstar, mothstar, foxheart NOTES woop tc in da house

[kratos]

Just the idea of the Gathering annoyed Scourge. The ruthless leader of BloodClan knew that the other cats for the most part wouldn't recognize him, and the ones that did would despise him. Nevertheless, Scourge finished ripping the throat of the kittypet he had tracked down quicker than he had hoped to and began the walk to FourTrees.

"With any luck, the Clans will have all killed each other by the time I get there and I will get the enjoyment of walking amongst their slain warriors."

As he made his way towards the Gathering, Scourge began to realize how important his presence was going to be amongst all the Clan cats. As the leader of BloodClan, Scourge realized that his big announcement was bound to launch him to a position of immense power within all of the cats in the forest.

"I cannot wait to see the looks on the faces of all of the other cats when I announce that BloodC..." Scourge stopped his thought, he smelled something on the breeze coming from the direction of FourTrees...it was strong.

Scourge was used to the smell of other cats, but not pungent odor of so many in one place. With the exception of some of the larger scrums he had been in during his time in the forest, Scourge had never been apart of a large gathering of cats and the smell...the smell...it awoke the monster inside that separated him from so many of the other cats in the forest...it awoke his furious blood lust.

Within a few minutes, the slight odor had become a wave of nauseating cloud of "other-cat" and Scourge stepped into the ring of the Gathering.

Scourge arrived at the Gathering and flashed a sinister grin at the cats while scanning the crowd for Foxheart. When he saw the other cat, he walked smoothly toward him and stared at the cats around him.

By the time Scourge got to Foxheart, he was extremely annoyed by the amount of cats around him. Scourge looked into the eyes of Foxheart, "Well, I am here."

[willow]

Eagletalon

[/b][/center]

The dark brown tom had been enjoying an evening meal of freshly caught mole when the flaming orange she-cat that was his deputy came onto Highrock and called a meeting. He didn't bother to hide his annoyance at hearing her doing something the leader should be doing...then again he wouldn't even like Tigerstar standing up there looking all proud. Either way, he opted to just stay where he was and finish his food; He could see her from here and very well hear her. What exactly had she to say this time?

Eagletalon stiffened at hearing his name called for the Gathering and he found himself glancing up at the moon as if to confirm it was actually time. Hmph...it was a bright, shining full moon. A few clouds were barely touching it but not covering. Maybe it was time to finally see how the other clans were doing in the war, make some new allies or even new enemies. His evergreen eyes narrowed against the various rouge cats that filted in the camp as he swallowed the last of his vole. Of course there were already enemies of his within camp walls. Scourge, of all cats! Not going to the Gathering was one thing, sending a new non-clan deputy in his place is another, but being accompanied by a shady rouge leader was absurd! Eagletalon could only imagine the shock and anger the clans would have towards the alliance...no good would come of this, he was sure.

Still, there was no way he was going to miss the show. Getting to his paws, the handsome shook out his fur and joined the group of Gathering cats. At Foxheart's comment about them being late, Eagletalon couldn't resist rolling his eyes and murmuring loudly, "If Tigerstar hadn't been so ill-prepared, we might have made it in time." He then made it a point to stay at Cloudfall's side, keeping his chin up and focusing on the path ahead as they set off to Fourtrees.
It was a long journey, longer than he had remembered, perhaps due to the company. He found himself constantly slowing to keep an eye on the small black cat and Foxheart, a very suspicious eye. He didn't trust rouges. Period.

"Every other clan here but us...and we bring a nasty surprise, too...Oh I can hardly wait to see how many more enemies we'll make." he grumbled as the group filed down beneath the Great Rock. Two of the group anyway, him and Tawnypaw for example. He didn't really like the company and wished for Cloudfall to stay with him, they were nest-mates anyway, but she would likely be off to find the other medicine cats, leaving him with the daughter of the devil.

Grumpier than usual - and showing it - Eagletalon stayed a few paw steps from the apprentice and looked around for a familiar face among the other clans and saw the large-eyed Windclan tom, Owlflash, an intelligent, tough, young tom he vaguely knew. A pleased smile curled on his maw as he noticed the blue-furred older warrior, Jaymist. She was a real kindly cat and wouldn't be likely to give him the cold shoulder despite everything between the clans. Between the two, he opted for the latter and made his way over casually but then abruptly stopped before the Windclan-Riverclan mingle group. His ears angled to the side, obviously perplexed as to why the two rival clans were so nice with each other, after Riverclan had an alliance with Shadowclan not Windclan. His chance at a conversation was done and he had no other cats around him he really knew. However he was beside a young tortishell she-cat he did not know and she smelt of Riverclan.

"Er...um...Hi there." Real smooth Eagletalon...

tag; DUSKYFIRE

Runningnose

Finally, all the clans were here. Instead of feeling annoyed or even relieved, the Shadowclan medicine cat was extremely anxious, so much so that his paws were kneading the ground. Wide gray eyes looked up at the Greatrock where two deputies replaced their leaders and a strange black cat with a vicious stare and collar looked upon the entire clans with a hunger. It worried Runningnose so and he immediately wished he hadn't come.

The only relief and happiness he felt was when he finally saw another medicine cat, Thunderclan's Cloudfall. The pretty young she-cat wasn't speaking with anyone, neither was he, so it was only common sense to invite her over to have a friendly interaction. Despite the war, all medicine cat's were friends and ignored the rivalries of the rest. Rather than raise his voice above the dull rumble of conversation, he stood and raised his tail high in greeting, waving it in a signal meant to catch Cloudfall's attention. He desperately hoped she would see him and decide to humor the old cat with companionship.

tag; HULLO DER CLOUDEH xD

[{ KYRA }]

relief came instantly at the sight of thunderclan. no longer was windclan surrounded by its enemies. it was a comfort to have an ally among the crowd, mothstar thought, even if those allies were lead tonight by rather dubious characters. he had hoped tigerstar would be attending the gather tonight, because as much as he appreciated his alliance with tigerstar, there were some questions mothstar would like answered. apparently, thunderclan's leader had better things to do than follow the bidding of starclan... although, mothstar couldn't very well judge. windclan hadn't attended a gathering in a long time.

as he stared at foxheart and the scruffy cat that followed her, the tom wondered how he would get to speak to tigerstar now. judging from the roguish scent coming off thunderclan, the situation with their allies wasn't getting any better. perhaps it was time that windclan sent a patrol to thunderclan. mothstar would like to speak with his accomplice in person. windclan owed thunderclan much, but there were some things a leader couldn't overlook...

i'm not going first

the shadowclanner's caustic remark drew mothstar's attention. he glanced at foxheart and leopardfur, but since none of them seemed to volunteering, he decided to step up. she-cats, he thought wryly, but aloud he merely said, i suppose i shall go first then. unless anyone protests?

[TANGO]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-image: url(http://i42.tinypic.com/n2nzas.png); width: 500px; height: 594px;border:1px solid #000000] Leopardstar's ears flattened at the sight of Scourge. She had heard rumors about the rogue tom, and the smell coming off him identified him as none other. It was a rank scent that reminded Leopardstar of the twoleg stench she encountered when hunting in the Tallpines. She had opened her mouth to spit an insult in his direction when Mothfur cut her off, suggesting that WindClan speak first. StarClan's telling me to keep my mouth shut, the little bengal realized. It would be terrible for her to end such an important Gathering early by picking a fight with ThunderClan. Even if ThunderClan had provoked it by bringing non-clan cats to a sacred Clan event. Biting her tongue, she nodded at Mothfur, signaling to him that she would be perfectly fine if he were to speak. Maybe WindClan would have news to share that would take her mind off the ThunderClan traitors sitting beside her.

[{ KYRA }]

confidence was in his nature so it took him rather by surprise to feel his paws trembling nervously as he stepped forward. for the first time he was addressing the entire forest as mothstar, leader of windclan. what an awe-inspiring thing, both amazing and terrifying... perhaps at this moment more terrifying than amazing... starclan, calm my mind and bless my tongue. fervent thoughts in this time of need.

a little cough to clear his throat, and then he was ready to begin. he focused his eyes on the trees in the distance, just beyond the scrutinizing faces of the cats below. he would speak as he needed to and not allow the crowd to affect him. wishful thinking, perhaps... but necessary thinking, if he were to get through this speech.

he wanted to avoid grand gestures, so he kept his address simple. "windclan, thunderclan, shadowclan, and riverclan... i'm grateful that i can stand here tonight with your peaceful cooperation. gatherings have been postponed for too long." getting his wits about him, he was able to finally lower his gaze toward the faces he was speaking to. a thousand eyes, all on him... or at least that was how he felt.

"i regret to inform you that tallstar has passed to starclan. sickness took him this leafbare." he bowed his head in respect for his deceased leader. tallstar was watching over them now, he could feel it. "i have since been to the highstones to receive my nine lives and take the name mothstar, and i have appointed iceclaw as my deputy." a sigh threatened to escape his lips. a new leader was rarely good news, even if the new leader was him. he would usher in a new era for windclan, but tallstar would be missed.

"newleaf has been much kinder to us. we have three new apprentices: breezepaw, mintpaw, and stonepaw. we also have recently named a new warrior. just one moon ago, mousepaw was earned the warrior name mousedapple when defending our borders from a vicious rogue." his eyes swooped involuntarily to scourge at that point. not that he had any idea what rogue had attacked mousedapple on windclan's territory... but he had his suspicions that it was a cat connected to bloodclan.

temporarily he was distracted but not for long. "the prey has been running well in our territory, and the great weather and good food allow us to keep our training sessions frequent." there was a glint in his eye, possibly of anger... possibly of pride... "i think the entire forest will find that windclan has strengthened and grown much. we are well-prepared to defend our borders, if it is needed." he softened. "although tonight, i hope, we can begin to discuss plans for a more permanent peace. the war has taken so many lives, and one night of peace is too brief." he glanced over at leopardstar, fogstep, and foxheart. "that is... if the other leaders are as equally prepared as i am to take this first step."

[Blush]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=width,425,true] [atrb=style,background-color: #EFEFEF;] ❝ S he hated being here. Truly, utterly, to the bone. She barely listened as Mothstar spoke. Instead, she mulled over how much she hated being deputy. If she hadn't feared Brokenstar's wrath, she wouldn't have taken the position, but she knew that once the tom chose her, it would be impossible to refuse. No one refused Brokenstar. But how she wished she could... It was almost better to be dead, she thought, than to be stuck here listening to this filth. Why did she care what WindClan's prey was like? If she wanted to find out, she'd simply sneak through the tunnels and snatch one of the rabbits herself. When his tone shifted, she could tell he was nearing the end of his speech, and her ears perked up enough to catch something about first steps toward peace. Ha! She did her best to contain a snort and produced instead a skeptical little cough. Peace? WindClan's new leader was as skeptical as their last... But she would smother her fury at the tom's ignorance and recite the line she had been repeating aloud since the day ShadowClan had chased WindClan off its territory. "ShadowClan would like peace," she said tersely, "but we have mouths to feed than our territory can support. I will not let my clan starve." Curses! She had accidentally spoken up when she had no intention of addressing the Gathering until absolutely forced to. But now it seemed her time had come. Her little outburst had attracted enough attention that it seemed necessary for her to step forward. She sighed miserably. She would do her duty, even if it killed her. "I'm here tonight on behalf of Brokenstar as I have been appointed deputy this past season." Again, she gave no reason for his absence. The cats who weren't in ShadowClan had no business knowing why Brokenstar had missed tonight. "ShadowClan is doing fine, but I cannot agree to peace on my leader's behalf. Especially not with so many lives at stake." Her wispy fur blew in the gentle breeze as she spoke, and with her silver fur and glittering eyes, she appeared more ghostly than ever. Her voice was quiet and chill. She did not wish to say more, even though she knew the whole forest was waiting to hear about what apprentices had been given which mentors, and of course they'd love the hear the juicy tale of how Blackfoot had died. But let them dig for their own gossip. She would say nothing about the inner workings of her clan. ❞

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=width,425,true] MADE BY AYU OF BACK TO NEVERLAND [x] WORDS 425 TAGS mothstar NOTES the reason I'm not saying anything is because ShadowClan hasn't really had anything new happen lately

[robin]

So it seemed that Fogstep would not be going first. Foxheart rolled her eyes at the younger she-cat's words. The sea of clan cats parted before her to reveal a small tom, finally Scourge had arrived. He jumped up and sat beside her, looked her in the eyes and stated his presence. The orange she-cat dipped her head out of respect and turned back to the other leaders and deputy. The other clan cats had been caught off guard and Foxheart's lips curled up at their reactions, especially at the bristling of the other leaders' and deputies' pelts.

Mothfur had decided to step up and go first, his confidence took the she-cat by surprise. Her eyes narrowed at the news of Tallstar's passing, shaking her head, quietly she murmured, "That's a shame." Tallstar had been the one to allie Windclan with Thunderclan, would the now Mothstar be willing to keep their alliance? She would definitely have to report and meet with Tigerstar about that. The two leaders would need to reconcile and discuss the direction they would be moving in as allies. However, this peace that Mothstar spoke of would be an issue, Foxheart was sure. Her smile was more of a grimace at his words.

When he was done she nodded and tentatively picked up a paw, about to speak next on her clan's behalf. But, Fogstep had beaten her to it. Foxheart smiled at the recently made deputy's response, it was very blunt, she liked it. The deputy waited for her to say more, but she seemed to be finished with her little outburst. Foxheart stood then and spoke, "Sorry for Windclan's loss," she started politely, "but congratulations on becoming leader. Of course, Thunderclan is doing well. More than well actually, in fact we are thriving as always." A smirk seemed to have permanently plastered itself to her face. "You are all probably dying to know who this cat is," she flicked a tail at the small rogue beside her, "This is Scourge, the leader of Bloodclan. He has allied his clan with Thunderclan and therefore also with Windclan." There, she had been the one to break the news to the other clans of Thunderclan's new alliance. All chaos seemed to break out among the cats beneath her and beside her. There were whispers and wide eyes throughout the crowd of clan cats. Foxheart sat down once again, devouring the scene before her.

[willow]

Eagletalon

[/u][/center]
The she-cat he had decided to try and converse with was too slow to answer. The deputy of Windclan stepped up to the front of the Highrock and Eagletalon simply abandoned the she-cat and returned to his post next to Tawnypaw, keeping his attention firmly fixed on the deputy. Correction, leader.

That was slightly depressing, to hear about Tallstar's death. He was a good cat, lead his clan well. He should have at least died in battle, not lose himself to sickness. That just asserted how weakened the clans were during this time of war. Well, most of them. Thunderclan was thriving, aside from the rouge nuisance. Apparently Windclan was having some non-clan cat problems. Eagletalon looked over at the black cat among the other leaders and deputies and smirked. No doubt it was one of Bloodclan's unruly rouges. If they keep this up, they'll be kicked out of the forest. His claws itched to sink into their stinky fur.

But Mothstar was talking about peace. Though he right that the war needed to end, Eagletalon wanted it to end after Bloodclan was taken out. They were just as bad as Shadowclan, no even worse. At least Shadowclan knew and obeyed at least some of the code.

Attention was then taken over to the new Shadowclan deputy, whom he didn't know or recognize. She was obviously not in agreement with Mothstar, but then again Shadowclan didn't agree with anyone any other than themselves. They did not want peace, they still wanted this war to go on, because they had so many mouths to feed. Thunderclan knew why, they were having their young kits stolen from the nursery. Their medicine cat, Spottedleaf, had died defending their kits from the sinister Brokenstar's cats and now they wanted no peace so they could take care of their stolen kits?

Eagletalon growled loud enough that everyone around should hear him. A snarl distorted his expression for a brief moment as Foxheart so 'gracefully' gave the news of Scourge's alliance with Thunderclan and apparently Windclan. It was bold, but more tact could have been used. He wished he could speak out, but that would be going against his clan and he couldn't have that going around. Besides, it was satisfying to hear the chaotic exchange between the clans at the news.

Runningnose

[/center]

Tallstar dead? Cloudfall had failed to see the old medicine cat before the announcements started, and the first news was a dark cloud over the clans. The wise, old Windclan leader was dead...That meant he was watching this Gathering closely in Silverpelt above. Runningnose looked up to the sky and watched the stars glitter outside the ring of the moon's light. We will all miss you, Tallstar. The clans will grieve this loss but celebrate in Mothstar.
The gray and white tom curled his tail around his paws and nodded approvingly at the new WIndclan leader's call for peace. If only the other clans would agree...Apparently Shadowclan wasn't one of them.

Runningnose sighed loudly in frustration at not just Fogstep, but at Brokenstar as well. He knew his brother well enough that he would refuse peace, making the same claim that Fogstep had just announced. They had mouths to feed. If his brother didn't send out cats to steal other clan's kits, maybe they wouldn't be desperate for food...or herbs. What was going through these cat's heads? Where was the sense in it all?

The most shocking news of all was what Thunderclan's representative had. The mysterious black cat was leader of a clan, Bloodclan, and was allied with Thunderclan and Windclan! He normally wouldn't speak out against an announcement at a Gathering, but everyone else was murmuring about this new revelation. He might as well find out what this all was.

"Bloodclan? Where does this clan come from? Not from the forest I know." he let his voice rise loud enough to be heard, narrowing his gray eyes at the orange she-cat standing above the rest of the clans. It was important to know what was going on, what they all were dealing with regarding this new 'clan'.

[TANGO]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-image: url(http://i42.tinypic.com/n2nzas.png); width: 500px; height: 594px;border:1px solid #000000] It was difficult for Leopardstar to hold her tongue. She was eager for her turn to speak. She had her words planned out nicely, a speech she had recited in her head dozens of times. This was the new RiverClan, she would say. They would not be used by anyone, not even their 'allies'. But she had to wait. She wanted to hear what WindClan, ShadowClan, and ThunderClan had to say before she gave her ultimatum. Because her words might just end the Gathering. As Mothstar spoke, she listened with utmost attention. She was curious to hear what the tom would say. Where was Tallstar? Why was the tom here instead of WindClan's experienced leader? Dead? Her eyes widened, although she wasn't sure why she was surprised. Lives were lost too quickly in this war. She dipped her head in respect for the passed leader. She had not respected all of his decisions, but she had respected his character. Hopefully Mothfur, or Mothstar now, could live up to his predecessor. He wanted peace, it seemed. A noble wish, but a foolish one. More blood would be shed in the forest before the clans found peace again. Her silent point was proven by Fogstep's response. Mouths to feed, Leopardstar scoffed. Mouths to feed with RiverClan fish, all the while complaining about the smell of RiverClan, the laziness of RiverClan... When she looked at Fogstep, all she saw was laziness. And insolence. Why wouldn't the she-cat speak? What was ShadowClan trying to hide? With those cats, it was always something... They couldn't be trusted. Crookedstar might have feared them, but Leopardstar didn't. Secrets and schemes were only used to mask the true weakness of the clan. They would be easily overthrown. And then Foxheart began to speak. If Fogstep was insolent, then what did that make Foxheart? The little bengal's blood boiled at the sound of the she-cat's voice. She wasn't Clanborn and yet there she stood, as if she somehow had the authority to speak for any Clan. ThunderClan were a pack of idiots if they thought this cat was anything but trouble. They had put their trust in the wrong leaders. A rogue deputy and a leader who was too cowardly to show his face tonight. Just like Brokenstar in ShadowClan, Leopardstar suspected that in Tigerstar's case, a fierce hiss hid tiny claws. The tom would tear the forest apart trying to prove himself. Thriving as always, Foxheart said, a turn of phrase which captured the RiverClanner's attention. Lies. She spat the word, but only in her mind. She was just barely holding on to her tongue, and she had to claw the ground for her mouth to stay still. How could ThunderClan be thriving when RiverClan prowled their Sunningrocks and roamed their Tallpines? How could they be thriving with a hoard of rogues bleeding them dry like leeches? Lies. All lies. But she was interested in hearing about the rogue Foxheart had towed along with her, so she must hold her tongue. "This is Scourge, the leader of Bloodclan. He has allied his clan with Thunderclan and therefore also with Windclan." His clan? BloodClan was his clan? No. That was where she drew the line. Clans were not simply made. There were formed by StarClan. They weren't born out of Blood or violence but out of the natural state of the land, of the thundering woods, the windy moors, the shadowy swamps, and the river island. Blood was not the foundation for a clan. Blood was the domain of rogues, of clan haters, of lawless bandits. They did not adhere to StarClan or the Warrior Code. They could not be a Clan. Wasn't someone going to say something? "Bloodclan? Where does this clan come from? Not from the forest I know." Finally, a ShadowClanner talking some sense. "Perhaps you don't understand how this works," Leopardstar said to Foxheart, talking a calm but cold tone. "Clans do not simply choose to exist. They are founded by StarClan, based on the warrior code, integrated into the land." Just like that, the dam had burst. She should never have opened her mouth, because suddenly, there they were. Words. Words she hadn't rehearsed or hadn't planned, but words that flowed effortlessly from her mouth nonetheless. "I am sick and tired of this... ridiculousness. Rogues thinking they can be clan leaders. Forming new clans, illegitimate clans. Half-hearted alliances, clans having no respect for borders, no respect for prey rights, no respect for other clans! This is chaos! What must StarClan think of this?" Leopardstar was fuming now. Her blood was boiling, and there was no holding back the thoughts in her head. Even if her thoughts could endanger her clan. "RiverClan is finished playing games. We will no longer recognize any alliances. We will no longer tolerate other Clans on our territory, and we will not allow a band of rogues to claim our forest. We will act as a Clan is meant to act: we will stand on our own four paws and defend our own borders, without depending on our neighbors for our survival. It is what the warrior code calls for and what StarClan expects of us. Any clan, or group, who does not do the same will be considered an enemy of RiverClan." Standing on their own. And standing alone. It had sounded so good in the moment, but as she stood there, taking in the countless eyes, it sunk in that she had just declared three-fourths of the entire clearing as her enemy. Returning to the warrior code was the right thing to do, but how many lives would it cost RiverClan? Five? Ten? Twenty? And as her eyes scanned the crowd, wondering which of these faces would live to see the next moon, she couldn't help wondering if she had just made a very big mistake.

[gray]

The words of the leaders were so silly. They were so obviously trying to prove themselves above the others, when they should know they would never be great. It was interesting that Tigerstar had chosen not to come tonight, instead leaving his little ginger rogue of a deputy to unveil his vast secret. What a stupid idea, it showed so little support for his own idea! The paradox of the whole thing made him chuckle. He had originally chosen to merely stay back in the shadows out of boredom; the Gathering was sure to be just as mundane and repetitious as always. It seemed that he had thought wrong.

Tallstar was dead! Oh, the hilariousness of it all. The meddlesome black-and-white tom had finally stopped clinging around. But this BloodClan nonsense... now, that was just too much. He simply couldn't believe Tigerstar's arrogance in revealing this mouse-dung from behind the scenes. He thought it would be that easy? Oh, no, nothing would ever be that easy.

Leopardstar?! It seemed he had read the little spotted tabby very wrong indeed. What was that utter rubbish she was spitting? No, that would most definitely not do, would never under any circumstances be acceptable. Blood boiled, ears flattened, anger flooded his veins.

Slipping unnoticed from the sidelines and deftly mounting the great big boulder, Brokenstar swept his tail across Fogstep's flank to signal she had done well. "Oh, how absolutely hilarious!" He announced his presence with the coldly mocking statement. "What makes you think it will be that easy? Is it because you thought I wasn't here? You're so brave now that Brokenstar isn't around?" He shouldered past the others to stand at the front, his yellow eyes glittering icily. "You can't expect to stand against the might of all your enemies, Leopardstar—which, might I say, seem to be adding up quickly." The massive brown tabby shouted down to the mass of cats below him. "Will you allow an oath breaker to lead a Clan?" he shouted. "Someone who goes back on her word? Or will you stand up and demand we all honor our decisions? That we see our choices out instead of change our minds like cowards?"

Lifting his chin high, Brokenstar announced, "ShadowClan will! We will not lie down and watch as those around us break their word! My deputy Fogstep is right—we cannot agree to peace when there are oath-breakers intent on watching our kits starve. Our kits should not be sent to StarClan so young, punished for the success of their Clan—we cannot control where we are born!" He enjoyed watching the crowd below respond to each leader's words. They were swayed so easily, pulled first one way and then another. "ShadowClan has done RiverClan no harm," he said sadly, "and yet RiverClan..." He trailed off with a grieved sound and remained standing, silhouetted by the moon alone at the front of the others, allowing others to finish the sentence for themselves.

ooc; I figured that, since the only reason Brokenstar wasn't gonna be at the Gathering was because we didn't have him (but now we do), I could just toss him in here.

[Lo]

DUSKFIRE

The tortoiseshell she-cat frowned as Leopardstar listed her name to attend the gathering tonight. Duskfire was hardly social with her own clan, although perhaps that was why she’d been chosen: because Leopardstar knew that she wouldn’t spill their secrets to the other clans. If she could get away with it, she wouldn’t even talk to them at all. But as great as Gatherings had once been, Duskfire had never really enjoyed them. But then, she’d been born when the Warrior Code was being broken every day, when Riverclan land was hunted on to feel Shadowclan kits. And she still blamed the other clans, specifically Shadowclan, for the losses of her littermates Mallowkit and Petalkit.

But regardless of her wish to not attend the Gathering, the tortoiseshell she-cat dipped her black and russet head and murmured her agreement to behave along with the three other cats who had been chosen to attend with their leader. It had been so long since the last Gathering - Duskfire had still only been Duskpaw then. And Oakspirit had only been Oakpaw. And Honeyflame had still been Honeypaw. How long it had been. Oakspirit probably would have enjoyed socializing with cats from other clans. Duskfire, for one, certainly did not.

Riverclan was the first to arrive at the Gathering and by the time they had arrived at Fourtrees, Duskfire had decided it was best if she did not talk to anyone that night. She knew she had a temper and often had trouble holding her tongue. So she should just hold her tongue all night and then she wouldn’t disobey Leopardstar. A Shadowclan party lead by a she-cat that Duskfire vaguely recognized as the deputy was the next to arrive. Why was she here instead of the clan leader? Or had she become clan leader now? She couldn’t be any worse than Brokenstar. Could she? No, nobody could. Where was Brokenstar? Perhaps he had died.

Oh, if only they could be so lucky.

But nobody had given them any news of his passing and so Duskfire felt doubtful that such a wonderful thing might have occurred. Windclan was next to arrive, and much like Shadowclan they were not lead by their leader. Had Tallstar died? Had all the leaders changed? Duskfire couldn’t help wondering such a thing as the Thunderclan deputy showed up, late, and without Tigerstar. And with a rogue in tow. Duskfire couldn’t fight the feelings of unease that she felt upon seeing the tiny black tomcat with a kittypet collar that had had some gruesome alterations made to it - it appeared to be studded with teeth.

Another cat caught Duskfire’s attention with a greeting, but Duskfire didn’t want to talk to anyone. She had promised to be on her best behaviour and if she knew anything about herself it was that she hated anyone who wasn’t Riverclan and dislike associating with those who were not 100% Riverclan. So Duskfire pretended as though she hadn’t heard him. Better to be rude than to say something that could very well spark a war. Or at least, provoke another attack. They were already at war.

She didn’t have to pretend for very long because the Windclan deputy began the Gathering then. He announced that he had replaced Tallstar as head of his clan. Despite the war going on between them, Duskfire dipped her head a moment as a sign of respect for the lost leader. They were against Windclan, but her parents had never really complained about Tallstar. It was always Brokenstar and Tigerstar. The new Windclan leader made a plea for peace that Duskfire couldn’t help wrinkling her nose at. As long as Brokenstar and Tigerstar were in the forest, there would only be war. Or at least, that was her opinion.

The tom that had tried to make conversation with her abandoned his efforts when the leaders and representatives began to speak, and Duskfire had to admit she was glad that he’d made the decision to leave her alone. She wasn’t in the mood to be social, and even if she was, these cats would be on the bottom of her list to socialize with.

Of course Shadowclan would refuse the offer of peace, but then with Brokenstar still plaguing the forest, what could one expect? Obviously not peace. Thunderclan went next and after giving condolences for Tallstar’s death, they introduced their rogue to the clans. If Duskfire’s hackles hadn’t been up before, they were definitely up now. And for once, Shadowclan seemed to be in agreement. Their medicine cat, Runningnose, called out to Foxheart, demanding to know where the rogue’s Bloodclan had come from.

Duskfire was proud of Leopardstar for standing up against the rogue and throwing off the yoke of Shadowclan oppression. She’d been desperate for Crookedstar to do the same, minus the Bloodclan thing because it hadn’t been an issue before he’d gone to Starclan. Duskfire wanted to yowl her agreement to Starclan as she listened to Leopardstar’s speech. She honestly couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this proud of her clan. Her chest was filled with the fire of pride and passion. Riverclan was finally free.

And that’s when all hell broke loose.

Brokenstar had come to the Gathering, and he’d been lurking in the shadows. “HOW DARE YOU, YOU LIAR!” Duskfire yowled up at Brokenstar, finally losing the hold she had on her tongue and temper. She’d told Leopardstar that she’d try to be on her best behaviour, but now confronted by the cat who she blamed for the deaths of her littermates Mallowkit and Petalkit, her resolve had vanished. She’d tried, she really had. But Brokenstar had ruined everything.

“How dare you talk about honour when Shadowclan does not even know the meaning of the word honour!” She hissed at the ugly Shadowclan tom. The passion of an intense hatred burned in her chest, and it was fortunate that she was too far from the clan leaders because she wasn’t in a logical mind and if she’d been close enough, she might have lunged for the tom. Her hackles were well raised now, and her teeth were bared for battle. And her tongue was capable and ready of fighting the battle that her body craved. “Shadowclan has taken advantage of Riverclan charity and starved Riverclan kits to death!”

Well, starved two of her siblings until they were too weak to fight off a bout of greencough.

Perhaps she shouldn’t have announced that weakness to the three clans who were enemies of them now. But Duskfire’s brain was in temper mode, and temper mode was even less tactful than calm Duskfire was. “If Shadowclan cares so much for kits, perhaps they should try to show some concern for kits in the other clans as well!”

Perhaps Leopardstar would have been better off choosing Oakspirit instead. He was not as easily riled up as his sister was. Although in this particular instance, perhaps he’d have been a little riled as well.