Full Circle [Gathering 1]

[Blush]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=width,425,true] [atrb=style,background-color: #EFEFEF;] ❝ I t was infuriating to have to sit here and listen to the other leaders ramble on. Oh great, so ThunderClan was doing splendidly. Who cared? And they had their pathetic little ally BloodClan to back them up. Who cared? And now Leopardstar wouldn't stand for it. Who cared? Except... Was Leopardstar talking about ShadowClan? Fogstep sat up a little straighter and tried to find out what, exactly, the RiverClan meant. "We will no longer recognize any alliances." Crap. Fogstep winced. That had to be a threat to ShadowClan. What should she say in response? The wily little gray "deputy", as they insisted on calling her, couldn't care less about the well-being of ShadowClan. Any cat who couldn't hunt for itself, regardless of boundaries, hardly deserved to exist. She had grown up on lizards and newts, so why should the little brats in the nursery get it easy? But she knew what Brokenstar had to say about their arrangement with RiverClan. He'd kill her when he found out that this had happened on her watch. She had to say something, but the words just wouldn't come out. And then, suddenly, a chilling voice filled the air. A voice that was not her own. "Oh, how absolutely hilarious! Fogstep's heart skipped a beat. Brokenstar. After it's slight hesitation, her heart began to race. Blood thundered in her ears as she stared at her leader, sauntering around, carelessly blathering away. "How. Dare. He." The words came out in a hiss so quiet and mangled that Fogstep was sure no one else could make out the distorted words. Was he trying to torture her? She barely wanted to be his deputy and she sure as StarClan hadn't wanted to act as leader for him. She had loathed summoning the warriors, the painfully long walk from ShadowClan to the Fourtrees in the company of those bilge rats, sitting up here trying to ignore the small talk of the other pathetic cats who called themselves leaders... She had been forced to speak in front of all these cats because Brokenstar hadn't been able to attend tonight! And all the while he had been sitting in the trees! Listening, doing nothing! This was his clan. What did he think she was? Some kind of kitsitter? Well, she wasn't going to just stand here, she told herself. Tail held high, she pivoted, turning her back on the self-engrossed leaders and marching towards the shadows. She wasn't going to watch over this pathetic bunch of good for nothing cats so Brokenstar could listen from the branches! The mangy, lying little hairball. She could see red in her eyes from her blood, pumping with all the force of the river through her veins. She couldn't wait until the day she could claw that cocky grin off his face. The sounds of the other cats softened as she stalked away from the Fourtrees and left the Gathering behind her, but her anger didn't. She didn't think she would be returning to her nest in ShadowClan camp that night. She doubted she would even cross the ShadowClan border again, at least not until a few sunrises from now... One thing she knew for certain was that next time she saw Brokenstar, she would give him a piece of her mind. And someday soon, when the timing was right, she would get her revenge against the tom for turning her life into this nightmare. ❞

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=width,425,true] MADE BY AYU OF BACK TO NEVERLAND [x] WORDS 599 TAGS brokenstar NOTES fogstep be all 'why the hell you couldn't just come here in the first place and lemme stay home?'

[StarClan]

Above the dark landscape of the forest, the Silverpelt glimmered in anticipation. The stars in the sky wavered as the ghostly cats of StarClan held their breath, waiting for the cats of the living world to snap.

"We should end it." The words came from a little white she-cat with fretful eyes.

The dark tabby tom beside her shook his head. "They have to learn how to keep peace."

"They do."The she-cat began to pace. "But they haven't yet. And if a fight breaks out in Fourtrees now... It won't be civil, there's too much ill-will. Cats will be slaughtered."

"She's right." A silver feline emerged from the shadows. The tie-breaker, apparently. The dark tom narrowed his eyes. His vote was outnumbered.

"They must learn," he growled. "Even if they have to learn it the hard way. It's their duty to keep the Warrior Code."

"And it's our duty to make sure the clans do not fight themselves into extinction," came the sharp reply. "There's too much at stake tonight. If we don't send them home now, they'll have killed each other by sunrise."

"Fine." The tom rose to his paws reluctantly.

And slowly, a long cloud shifted in the sky, moving toward the moon. As the entire surface of the moon was blocked by a thick cloud, the light that spread across the earth changed from silver to a dim gray, covering the Fourtrees in shadows. It was a sign every cat knew: StarClan was displeased with the clans' behavior; the Gathering was over; it was time to return home.

[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 head snapped up at the arrival of Brokenstar. Her eyes were wide with surprised and she surveyed the tom carefully. She did not trust him. Where had he been while all the other cats in the forest had gathered in the clearing? Obviously, he wasn't ill. She was willing to bet he had been scouting out their camp, preparing to launch an attack. As he sauntered in her direction, she no longer bothered to pretend that her claws were sheathed. She let her daggers knead the ground, imagining the dirt was Brokenstar's soft underbelly. His words angered her to the point where it was difficult to speak. How dare he call her an oathbreaker! She wasn't going back on her word at all! She had never promised RiverClan's territory to ShadowClan. Crookedstar had been the one to make that claim, and he had only agreed on a temporary basis. ShadowClan had never been told that they could hunt in RiverClan forever. Their kits were well-fed now, so there was no reason for the Clan to remain. And what of RiverClan's kits? Were they to starve during Leafbare because ShadowClan was too lazy to hunt for difficult prey? Duskfire, it seemed, found her voice before Leopardstar could. A look of mortification crossed the bengal's face as one of her warrior's screeched out. She couldn't say she disagreed with Duskfire's assertion, but she shot the she-cat a glare anyway. "Get yourself under control, Duskfire," Leopardstar hissed, although there was little chance the she-cat could hear her over the din she was making. She felt powerless to her warrior's tirade and she knew that every second Duskfire continue to yowl gave the other clan's more evidence that RiverClan was imploding upon itself. She had already declared basically every clan here as her enemy. She didn't need them thinking she was weak. Leopardstar was about to put her unsheathed claws to good use when suddenly the clearing darkened. StarClan had read her mind, she realized, as she glanced at the sky. A cloud had passed in front of the moon, shaming Leopardstar's violent wishes on a supposedly peaceful night. It was best to obey StarClan, she knew, and she slowly sheathed her claws again. But before she would take RiverClan away, she wanted to leave a parting warning with Brokenstar. "Even StarClan knows there is no chance of peace with you around," she hissed at him. In a low voice, she added, "It was never my promise that ShadowClan could feed indefinitely on RiverClan prey, and I feel no guilt about ending the arrangement. So do not mess with me, because if you do, I will shamelessly, easily wipe ShadowClan out. Got that, vermin?" She didn't stick around to hear the trumped up threats that she knew would follow from his mouth. Instead, she leaped down from the ridge and spoke loudly and clearly, "StarClan wishes for the Gathering to end, and RiverClan will obey them. My cats, follow me!" She barely waited for her warriors to gather round before sprinting off in the direction of RiverClan camp. As she led her clan away from the Gathering, she muttered quietly to her most fiery warrior, "Oh, and Duskfire, meet me at my den when we get back to camp." She had a few words to say on the subject of self-control... [OOC: The gathering's over guys. You can choose to post an exit (especially clan leaders) or not. Either way, this thread will close on Monday, August 1.]

[gray]

That stupid little RiverClan warrior was going to get herself into big trouble one of these days, not to mention her entire Clan. Leopardstar, unable to control her own warriors? It was laughable. The little spotted tabby may talk big, but her actions would never match her words. Crookedstar, at least, had been decisive, even though he was weak. Such an honorable cat, he was. Unfortunately, honor never brought greatness. Honor got you killed.

Brokenstar's eyes glittered warningly. I drove off WinClan, he wanted to spit,

[/i]and I can do the same to RiverClan.[/i] Now was not the time or place; StarClan had ended the Gathering and even Brokenstar would not outwardly argue with that clear command. The big brown tabby didn't even notice his deputy's departure, too fixed on his fury to pay much attention. Unable to restrain himself, Brokenstar yowled after the RiverClan leader. "Your threats mean nothing! You are weak!" The screech hung in the air as he gathered his Clan together to return to camp. "And we are strong."

He turned around with his Clan behind him and left.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]