May Gathering

[Charmer]

Originally Posted by blue jellie

[ @king kaleb! ]

The female relaxed as her mentor pressed their fur against hers. Sound disappeared around her, and only her mentor's voice and her heartbeat sounded in her ears. Thud-thud. Thud-thud. Breathe in. Thud-thud. Thud-thud. Breathe out. Slowly but surely, the hold on her chest loosened. As she calmed, the SkyClan medicine cat's voice broke through her blockage. She looked up, her shoulders raised and her ears flat. Thud-thud. Thud-thud. Breathe out, Flashpaw. Breathe out. Thud-thud. Thud-thud. Flashpaw. Breathe out. Her breath was caught in her throat. The world disappeared. Thud. Thud. Blackness swamped the edges of her vision. Thud. Finally, one voice broke through, making her exhale finally. Branchpaw. "Control your asthma, fox-heart. You can't let it get to you that easy when you have to take care of a queen, kit, or when stopping a warrior from bleeding out." The voice snapped her out of her trance, and she began breathing normally again. Only then did she realize it was Shinefang, not Branchpaw, that had been ridiculing her. The effect was all the same. She curled her lip, but said nothing. She had no words for that medicine cat.

Originally Posted by king kaleb!

daydream stayed by her side until her breathing subsided, ignoring shinefangs words at first as their only concern was flashpaw at the moment. but watching her put herself together and curl close to them quietly, with no words, made daydream finally process what shinefang had said. they were flooded with one emotion: anger. they slink away from flashpaw for a moment, mumbling that they would be back and taking a few steps closer to shinefang, taking a sheathed paw and jabbing the medicine cat right in the flank, lip curled,"Youre a medicine cat, yet have no sympathy for a cat with a disability." they snarled,"i could mention how many you have, why you shouldnt be a medicine cat, but that didnt stop you. dont you dare talk to flashpaw that way ever again." their tone was a low growl, tail raise to make themselves clear. "Youre not the only one who lost juniperpaw, we all did." they reminded him. daydream had been the one to train juniperpaw, daydream had been the one to console her worries. daydream had been there, training right alongside juniper under geckoleaf. the roles were reversed, it seemed like, as shinefang had given them somewhat of the same talk when geckoleaf had passed. that they needed to get over themselves and not take it out on other people. "Youre not the only one with a tragic backstory of loss. so stop acting like it." they were extremely protective of flashpaw, standing confidently between her and shinefang, glaring at the older tom with nothing but rage and greif in their amber hues. they wanted to cry, too. they wanted to be petty and be angry. but they couldnt do that anymore. they had an apprentice now to take care of and raise, to shape and help her grow, they needed to learn how to move on, and so did shinefang. daydream turned away from the tom, nudging flashpaw gently with their muzzle. they didnt want flashpaws first gathering to be nothing but a bad experience. "Come on flashpaw, theres still more medicine cats for you to meet. im sure theyd love to say hello to you." they mewed gently, some positivity returning to their tone, even if it seemed like fake comfort. its a shame, really. daydream had spoken so high of shinefang to flashpaw beforehand, and this is how he acts? way to go, dude.

As Shinefang continued to watch the leader's speaking, her passively sat and listened to Flashpaw's labored breathing and Daydream's coaching. Slowly but surely, the apprentice's breathing became more steady and slow. She lives another day I suppose. He thought to himself. He heard pawsteps closing in on him and glanced over his shoulder. Sure enough, there was Daydream looking huffy as they did half the time. The Shadowclan cat launched immediately into a lecture on compassion, and handling his feelings better, and how he shouldn't be a medicine cat. The old tom listened and watched the younger cat in total silence. When the younger cat was done, they left and he turned back to the leaders again, unphased. He wasn't bothered by Daydream's words. He wasn't interested in comparing his own suffering to theirs. Daydream hadn't lost what he had. Daydream may have lost mentors, parents, friends, much that a young cat should never have to lose. But Shinefang had suffered the greatest loss any cat could...any creature could. He had lost his children. He had buried them. He had held their tiny bodies by their cold scruff while the elders had dug their grave. With their still and stiff little frames, he'd buried his hopes and dreams as a father: the day he would have seen his kits open their eyes, call him father, receive their apprentice names, groan as they got assigned to tend to the elders, earn their own warrior names, and have their own kits. With his children, he had buried his future and a thousand happy days that he would never see. Juniperpaw hadn't just been another medicine cat apprentice to him. She had been a glimpse of just a pawful of those happy days, and like a cat dying of thirst, he had lapped them up like water. He had gotten a small glimpse of what it could have been like to be a father. And now, without even a body to hold, he had buried his children all over again. That was something a lifelong medicine cat like Daydream could never understand. The old tom's steady gaze remained trained on Fallenstar as the burly black tom listened to the other clan leaders.

[The Cannibal]

{This is free for anyone to respond to!}

This is the first gathering he's been to in a while and perhaps it will be one of his last ones to join as a warrior. He was getting up there in age, Badgersong knew that. And he knew that his scar was beginning to ache the longer he was out doing things. A couple more moons and maybe he'd speak to Goldenstar about becoming an elder. He knew it would come eventually and he had spent all of his life working for Shadowclan, putting all he had to further his clan. He's fought battles, seen the rise and fall of leaders, the joining of Skyclan to their area. He's raised children, had a few relationships and had a bestfriend. Now his bestfriend was gone, his kits don't speak to him and he's utterly alone aside from the clan he lives in.
Settling into an empty spot, the black and white tom with a long scar stretched across his arm focused his gaze on the cats around him. He could try to make a friend but that wasn't in his nature. He wasn't interested in trying to make friends. He was only interested in serving his clan. The only chance another cat had of befriending him was to have the same vision as him. To be as hardworking, as narrow minded and as strict as him. It was hard for him to get along with others who didn't think the same way. But he didn't regret this, and despite his sadness in no longer having any living friends, he wouldn't change himself to try and make more. Exhaling slowly, the tom now focused his gaze on the leaders as they went on with making their reports.

[Mauve]

Originally Posted by king kaleb!

"Heatherfur, if you had know how many times ive cried infront of cats." they replied, raising an eyebrow. they knew somewhat of how heatherfur felt, everyone took in things differently, but they could relate on the subject of loss. "When geckoleaf died, she wanted me to promise her that i would live for myself, and not for her. that i would try to be happy and not grieve for too long." it felt odd to talk about such a traumatic time in their life so bluntly, but they knew heatherfur really needed it right now. the memories came back, geckoleaf in their arms taking her last breath. the blood and how it sank into the snow. "and i still struggle with that today. but i have things to do..im practically training half to forest. i know she would be proud of me for what ive done." they mewed seriously,"give yourself more credit than you have. were badasses that deserve to be happy." they were usually the most positive, they were known throughout ALL of the clans for cutting people with their sharp words, but they knew when they needed to push that aside and be there for another person.

The dark waves that had once crashed down upon Heatherfur when she had first spotted Daydream in the crowd began to subside, and for a moment the RiverClan medicine cat could see a bit of the light. It would get better - not today, perhaps, but it would - and she knew Surgestorm would want her to continue her training with Daydream, and make him proud by being the best medicine cat she could for RiverClan. She at least owed it to him to not fall apart now. Once was okay, and it seemed that not many cats had taken noticed; they all had their attention focused on the leaders as they each addressed them in turn. "I can see now why you've earned much respect," she mewed, sniffling as the last bit of her tears dried up. All the loss she had endured before the WindClan medicine cat's death seemed to make her a bit tougher, and instead of continuing to cry, Heatherfur knew that she had to be brave. For herself, for Surgestorm, for the future of RiverClan. "And I'm glad you're not giving up on training me. I think I'm ready to fully commit to learning. It's what Surgestorm would've wanted." It almost felt like Heatherfur was stepping out of one world and into the next. Her paws were leaving that of her warrior background and into the world of healing and mystery and StarClan themselves. Being a medicine cat also meant dreams from those who had passed, and just that thought alone gave hope to the tabby that maybe, one day, Surgestorm would visit her.

[Dovekit12]

Originally Posted by RosePelt145

The blind tom perked his ears at the voice, raising his head to sniff the air. A SkyClan cat, judging by the scent. Wolfeye put a gentle smile on his maw. "Greetings." he gave his chest a quick lick diligently before flicking an ear towards the other tom. "My name is Wolfeye. May I ask, how are things in SkyClan? Are you enjoying the nice weather?"
((Sorry for the short reply, I have kinda lost my role-playing muse))



Wolfeye perked his ears, raising his head. The blind tom smiled softly and flicked an ear towards the she-cat. "I am Wolfeye of ShadowClan. You?"

"I'm Owltail of Thunderclan," she said politely. "How are you?" She said starting a conversation.

[fresh]

Originally Posted by Charmer

As Shinefang continued to watch the leader's speaking, her passively sat and listened to Flashpaw's labored breathing and Daydream's coaching. Slowly but surely, the apprentice's breathing became more steady and slow. She lives another day I suppose. He thought to himself. He heard pawsteps closing in on him and glanced over his shoulder. Sure enough, there was Daydream looking huffy as they did half the time. The Shadowclan cat launched immediately into a lecture on compassion, and handling his feelings better, and how he shouldn't be a medicine cat. The old tom listened and watched the younger cat in total silence. When the younger cat was done, they left and he turned back to the leaders again, unphased. He wasn't bothered by Daydream's words. He wasn't interested in comparing his own suffering to theirs. Daydream hadn't lost what he had. Daydream may have lost mentors, parents, friends, much that a young cat should never have to lose. But Shinefang had suffered the greatest loss any cat could...any creature could. He had lost his children. He had buried them. He had held their tiny bodies by their cold scruff while the elders had dug their grave. With their still and stiff little frames, he'd buried his hopes and dreams as a father: the day he would have seen his kits open their eyes, call him father, receive their apprentice names, groan as they got assigned to tend to the elders, earn their own warrior names, and have their own kits. With his children, he had buried his future and a thousand happy days that he would never see. Juniperpaw hadn't just been another medicine cat apprentice to him. She had been a glimpse of just a pawful of those happy days, and like a cat dying of thirst, he had lapped them up like water. He had gotten a small glimpse of what it could have been like to be a father. And now, without even a body to hold, he had buried his children all over again. That was something a lifelong medicine cat like Daydream could never understand. The old tom's steady gaze remained trained on Fallenstar as the burly black tom listened to the other clan leaders.

[ @king kaleb! ]

Flashpaw slowly came back to reality as the scene before her played out like an old movie. Daydream was snarling at Shinefang, and yet he still seemed unphased. A chill ran down her back as she looked at the old medicine cat. Despite agreeing with her mentor that he wasn’t the only one that had experienced loss, she couldn’t help but feel bad for the old medicine cat. Maybe she wasn’t thinking at the moment, or maybe she was a bit confused from the asthma attack, but instead of following Daydream, she moved to sit next to the SkyClan medicine cat. “It must’ve been horrible to bury your family like that,” she murmured. She wanted to meet the other medicine cats, she truly did. She especially wanted to follow her mentor and spend more time with them. But she simply couldn’t bring herself to leave such a broken cat. Flashpaw had felt loss, she’d felt pain. And while she knew that sometime she it did help to be alone, everything was good in moderation. No cat could be alone forever.

[SuspiciousMindz]

Originally Posted by RedHead

Tawnystripe had pricked her ears as Fallenstar had started the gathering, and she hoped that the other warrior would be listening to. Maybe that way, she could get out of any possible questions about Halfgaze. But her ear twitched as Slatesting continued to meow, questioning the name of the new deputy. Tawnystripe had to agree with her though. She had wondered why a Shadowclan Queen would name her kit Windykit. But then again, there was the possibility that Windygale’s mother could’ve been from a different clan. I don’t know anything about him, or his family, so I shouldn’t be one to judge. She simply just nodded in agreement to Slatesting’s comment as these thoughts went though her head, glancing sideways at the black-furred feline for a moment.
The Windclan warrior’s next statement seemed abrupt to Tawnystripe, like she was trying to keep the conversation going, even over the leaders. But the calico feline didn’t truly mind, for what she had said interested her. “Um no, I’ve never really met any other cats from a different clan, besides you of course.”
As she continued, Tawnystripe nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I know what you mean. Though I don’t really... have many.. friends.” That came out a little... sad. Tawnystripe flicked her tail, smiling a little. “Well what I mean is that I’m just not that sociable.. I prefer to stick to myself... if I could meet other cats I would, just not... um..” She trailed off, knowing that she might just be digging herself a deeper hole. She’d opened up to talking to Slatesting, mainly because she didn’t see anything wrong with the other she-cat. She seemed nice enough. And secondly because the ebony warrior hadn’t probed about Halfgaze. And Tawnystripe appreciated that. But the conversation itself was her problem, the Shadowclan warrior wasn’t the best at holding a conversation, the best at talking to another cat in general. She often tried to talk to others, but she always ended up making a fool of herself. And she always overthought and scolded herself for her decisions later on. Which was most likely the first thing she’d do upon returning to the camp.

Slatesting's whiskers twitched a little at Tawnystripes apparent struggle to speak. It was fine to her, not everyone was as out-going as she was and she understood that. "I can understand that," she replied with a rather happy tone, giving the she-cat a small nod. "I have those moments too, but you just learn to become more sociable. It doesn't come naturally," he spoke, flicking her tail a little before looking up towards the leaders. So far everyone had spoken except for Passionstar. They had some time left to talk, but not much. The ebony she-cat couldn't help but think if their relationship would remain this way or at the next gathering they would be strangers once more? Of course, Slatesting wouldn't treat her like a stranger now, but she couldn't speak for Tawnystripe.

[graves]

Originally Posted by Charmer

As Shinefang continued to watch the leader's speaking, her passively sat and listened to Flashpaw's labored breathing and Daydream's coaching. Slowly but surely, the apprentice's breathing became more steady and slow. She lives another day I suppose. He thought to himself. He heard pawsteps closing in on him and glanced over his shoulder. Sure enough, there was Daydream looking huffy as they did half the time. The Shadowclan cat launched immediately into a lecture on compassion, and handling his feelings better, and how he shouldn't be a medicine cat. The old tom listened and watched the younger cat in total silence. When the younger cat was done, they left and he turned back to the leaders again, unphased. He wasn't bothered by Daydream's words. He wasn't interested in comparing his own suffering to theirs. Daydream hadn't lost what he had. Daydream may have lost mentors, parents, friends, much that a young cat should never have to lose. But Shinefang had suffered the greatest loss any cat could...any creature could. He had lost his children. He had buried them. He had held their tiny bodies by their cold scruff while the elders had dug their grave. With their still and stiff little frames, he'd buried his hopes and dreams as a father: the day he would have seen his kits open their eyes, call him father, receive their apprentice names, groan as they got assigned to tend to the elders, earn their own warrior names, and have their own kits. With his children, he had buried his future and a thousand happy days that he would never see. Juniperpaw hadn't just been another medicine cat apprentice to him. She had been a glimpse of just a pawful of those happy days, and like a cat dying of thirst, he had lapped them up like water. He had gotten a small glimpse of what it could have been like to be a father. And now, without even a body to hold, he had buried his children all over again. That was something a lifelong medicine cat like Daydream could never understand. The old tom's steady gaze remained trained on Fallenstar as the burly black tom listened to the other clan leaders.

Originally Posted by blue jellie

[ @king kaleb! ]

Flashpaw slowly came back to reality as the scene before her played out like an old movie. Daydream was snarling at Shinefang, and yet he still seemed unphased. A chill ran down her back as she looked at the old medicine cat. Despite agreeing with her mentor that he wasn’t the only one that had experienced loss, she couldn’t help but feel bad for the old medicine cat. Maybe she wasn’t thinking at the moment, or maybe she was a bit confused from the asthma attack, but instead of following Daydream, she moved to sit next to the SkyClan medicine cat. “It must’ve been horrible to bury your family like that,” she murmured. She wanted to meet the other medicine cats, she truly did. She especially wanted to follow her mentor and spend more time with them. But she simply couldn’t bring herself to leave such a broken cat. Flashpaw had felt loss, she’d felt pain. And while she knew that sometime she it did help to be alone, everything was good in moderation. No cat could be alone forever.

daydream watched flashpaw go. they werent angry, or upset. they understood. anyone else wouldve done the same thing. they..they couldnt. maybe it was their unempathetic streak kicking in again, but they had so much to say, so much they wanted to yell towards shinefang, but knew he would just block them out. everyone handled loss differently, to one cat it could be something little but to another it was the whole world ending. geckoleaf was more than just a mentor. she was a mother. cricketpaw was more than a bestfriend. she was their other half. juniperpaw had been more then just a training buddy, she had been a sister. so daydream would claw shinefang in half if he dared compared their losses - to see which one was worse, to which one had more pity, a more sadder loss. they sighed, sitting down and looking towards the ground, waiting for flashpaw to return to them. they werent going to drag her away by any means, but just wait.

[bellaheart]

smokeclaw sat and watched the other cats walking around and talking. he drew his tongue over his paw and waited for the gathering to start.

[Charmer]

Originally Posted by blue jellie

[ @king kaleb! ]

Flashpaw slowly came back to reality as the scene before her played out like an old movie. Daydream was snarling at Shinefang, and yet he still seemed unphased. A chill ran down her back as she looked at the old medicine cat. Despite agreeing with her mentor that he wasn’t the only one that had experienced loss, she couldn’t help but feel bad for the old medicine cat. Maybe she wasn’t thinking at the moment, or maybe she was a bit confused from the asthma attack, but instead of following Daydream, she moved to sit next to the SkyClan medicine cat. “It must’ve been horrible to bury your family like that,” she murmured. She wanted to meet the other medicine cats, she truly did. She especially wanted to follow her mentor and spend more time with them. But she simply couldn’t bring herself to leave such a broken cat. Flashpaw had felt loss, she’d felt pain. And while she knew that sometime she it did help to be alone, everything was good in moderation. No cat could be alone forever.

Originally Posted by king kaleb!

daydream watched flashpaw go. they werent angry, or upset. they understood. anyone else wouldve done the same thing. they..they couldnt. maybe it was their unempathetic streak kicking in again, but they had so much to say, so much they wanted to yell towards shinefang, but knew he would just block them out. everyone handled loss differently, to one cat it could be something little but to another it was the whole world ending. geckoleaf was more than just a mentor. she was a mother. cricketpaw was more than a bestfriend. she was their other half. juniperpaw had been more then just a training buddy, she had been a sister. so daydream would claw shinefang in half if he dared compared their losses - to see which one was worse, to which one had more pity, a more sadder loss. they sighed, sitting down and looking towards the ground, waiting for flashpaw to return to them. they werent going to drag her away by any means, but just wait.

Shinefang fully expected both cats to leave. When he heard noise beside him, his ear gave a twitch and he glanced down at the source, breaking eye contact with the leaders. There was Flashpaw, just sitting there. He couldn't for the life of him imagine what she wanted. She didn't seem nearly as prickly as Daydream so somehow he doubted she was there to have her turn chewing him out.

“It must’ve been horrible to bury your family like that.”

The older tom froze. Of all the things he might have guessed, this was not among them. And there was nothing disingenuous about the apprentices words. The were just solemn, pure sympathy. In spite of the ice on his chest, he found it touching and his features softened just a hair. He let the tip of his tail rest on the younger cat's shoulder for just a moment and took it off again. "Your mentor is waiting," he said simply before turning his gaze back toward Fallenstar.

[graves]

Originally Posted by Mauve

The dark waves that had once crashed down upon Heatherfur when she had first spotted Daydream in the crowd began to subside, and for a moment the RiverClan medicine cat could see a bit of the light. It would get better - not today, perhaps, but it would - and she knew Surgestorm would want her to continue her training with Daydream, and make him proud by being the best medicine cat she could for RiverClan. She at least owed it to him to not fall apart now. Once was okay, and it seemed that not many cats had taken noticed; they all had their attention focused on the leaders as they each addressed them in turn. "I can see now why you've earned much respect," she mewed, sniffling as the last bit of her tears dried up. All the loss she had endured before the WindClan medicine cat's death seemed to make her a bit tougher, and instead of continuing to cry, Heatherfur knew that she had to be brave. For herself, for Surgestorm, for the future of RiverClan. "And I'm glad you're not giving up on training me. I think I'm ready to fully commit to learning. It's what Surgestorm would've wanted." It almost felt like Heatherfur was stepping out of one world and into the next. Her paws were leaving that of her warrior background and into the world of healing and mystery and StarClan themselves. Being a medicine cat also meant dreams from those who had passed, and just that thought alone gave hope to the tabby that maybe, one day, Surgestorm would visit her.

daydream almost wanted to laugh in her face at the word. respect. most cats didnt respect them, they had to demand it. but they simply gave a small nod, lighting up to see her humor growing back. "It takes a bit of time to accept medicine cat responsibilities. it was hard for me to leave my warrior life behind, too." they mewed,"and its okay to cry when these things happen. ive bottled it up so much, its hard to cry anymore. but well eventually get through it all, together." they didnt know where all of this positivity was from, they were probably speaking from their ass, but they knew id eventually make heatherfur feel better. "Juniperpaw wouldve loved to meet you." they mewed, their tone much softer, less aggressive than when they had mentioned the apprentice last. they wish she couldve been here to comfort them in the time of need. or just be here again.