July Gathering

[fresh]

Originally Posted by Bad Wolf

Midgepaw shifted their weight from paw to paw, staring wide-eyed at the other cat, probably an apprentice from another Clan, though Midgepaw was still rather new to being in a Clan, so they couldn't be certain. The WindClan apprentice nodded, still looking rather uneasy as they flattened their ears due to all the commotion going on around them and the stranger. At this, Midgepaw gave a confused shrug, not entirely sure they followed. “T- truce?” they asked, trying their best to keep the stutter from the voice, but not doing very well. This was Midgepaw's firs gathering, and hopefully their last, but nobody had really described it to them, just left them to guess for the most part. Midgepaw shook their head slightly, trying to push away their fear of the other as best they could. All reasoning parts of them told them she was okay, but that little part of them that made them fear everything, that little part of them that was really a big part of who they'd become, held them back, trying to hold on to the fear. “I- I doubt i- it,” Midgepaw murmured, trying to sound cheerful, but only stuttering more. “Wh- what's your n- name?” they added, both out of curiosity and the desire to come off as less rude and frightened, only one of those things being somewhat true.

Snowpaw nodded. "Yeah, they definitely won't keep it," she agreed. The pretty white she-cat hesitated for a moment, then answered firmly, "Snowpaw. What's yours?" It was just a Gathering, after all! Why be guarded? She noticed their struggling not to stutter and laid her tail tip on their shoulder reassuringly. "I'm a nice cat!" she joked with a smile on her maw.

[doghouse]

Originally Posted by Stormfeather {Foxxi}

Snowpaw nodded. "Yeah, they definitely won't keep it," she agreed. The pretty white she-cat hesitated for a moment, then answered firmly, "Snowpaw. What's yours?" It was just a Gathering, after all! Why be guarded? She noticed their struggling not to stutter and laid her tail tip on their shoulder reassuringly. "I'm a nice cat!" she joked with a smile on her maw.

Midgepaw nodded in agreement, though they did have faith in their leader, who was usually rather good at controlling his temper, an odd trait in Midgepaw’s eyes, but nevertheless a good one to have. They cast a quick, somewhat uncertain glance at the white molly, flinching and stepping away as her tail touched their shoulders. “I- I can t- tell,” they said in as firm a tone as they can manage, feeling embarrassed. They always flinched when touched, they couldn't help it. It didn't matter who it was, but they would flinch anyways. “I don’t t- think you aren’t,” they added, this time stuttering less than before. “Midgepaw,” they added hastily, realizing that they’d forgotten to answer her question.

[RedHead]

Originally Posted by Constellation

“Oh, you're so mature, Crimsonblaze.” Sunrisedapple shook her head, emitting out a snort of laughter. Why did her brother have to be such an idiot? And, that was only putting it nicely. She figured he just wanted attention. She had saw their father greet his own mother, giving her a nuzzle and started talked to their aunt. At first, she was going to greet her other family members, but she feared that if she left Crimsonblaze to be alone, he would surely go insane.

“Oh, I'm sure Royal would love that.” She snickered. And, just as she did so, the trouble maker made his way towards them, his head held high. He had pushed past the other cats as if he were, in fact, royalty and that they all should bow down to them.

“Excuse me?” Royalflash narrowed his eyes, staring at his two siblings. The tom did hear his brother, and he was no pleased with the fact that Crimsonblaze had thought as such. Even though Royalflash was younger than Crimsonblaze by a couple moments, Royalflash always knew he was the leader. He didn't care about his rugged appearance. He was handsome in his own way, but Crimsonblaze was truly the pretty boy out the both of them. “First of all, I don't need you to protect me-”

“Oh, please!” Sunrisedapple chortled. “If he even stubs a paw, it's the end of the world for him! Might as well stick to the back, Crimson. Allow the trouble maker to protect you.” She purred at her younger brother. Sunrisedapple knew she would never act out in front of her parents, as they believed she was a polite, well-mannered young she cat, but with her brothers and friends? Sunrisedapple loved being outspoken. Royalflash had laughed along with her, his tail twitching. “She isn't wrong, pretty boy. Get in the back of the line and allow a real warrior to do the protecting.”

When the tom laid down, Royalflash rolled his eyes. In his head, he knew what Crimsonblaze was doing. Acting dramatic. “You're acting like a she cat. Dad won't be happy about that.” Sunrisedapple glanced at her brother for a quick moment, but turned her gaze back on Crimsonblaze, her whiskers quivering. “How old are you again? Sometimes I forget you're a warrior when you be acting like a kit!” She scolded him with a shake of her head. “Why am I even bothering with you toms?” But Royalflash was different. Instead of joking around with Crimsonblaze, the ginger tom took his chance to leap at his brother in a fun game of pouncing. But, he also knew how much Crimsonblaze was a “pretty boy” and possibly would over exaggerate that dust got into his pelt.

Crimsonblaze flicked his ears in annoyance as his brother sauntered up. He cast him mocking glare from where he lay on the ground. Which he realized wasn't the best idea. It would get his freshly groomed pelt dirty. And he couldn't have that. "You're right. You don't need protecting. Because I'm not going to give it to you." The ginger and white tom cat lifted his head high, as high as he could from his seat on the ground at least.

As his half-sister chimed in again, Crimsonblaze flicked his tail once more. "I can't help it if I have delicate bones. That was mom and dad's fault." This starement was highly inaccurate. Both Honeythistle and Strawberrythorn had quite the stocky build, and Crimsonblaze had the same. But of course the tom would rather look at his reflection than perform any warrior duties. "And for your information Sunrise, I am a real warrior. A strong make member of my family. But you..." Crimsonblaze snorted. He held his family's beliefs that she-cats were only supposed to stay in the nursery. With his exception of being able to flirt with them. He needed she-cats who didn't have mates and kits, otherwise, who would he flirt with without getting trampled on by the mate of a she-cat? It had happened to him once before. And Crimsonblaze would rather not remember that memory. His true moment of weakness. But who was he to know that she had a mate?

Crimsonblaze rolled his eyes. His siblings could be so agrivvating! The tom certainly did not enjoy being scolded by them for his behavior. "Pfffft if I'm acting like a she-cat than you're acting like a mouse." He chortled, then started to laugh at the thought of Sunrisedapple being a mouse. As she was talking to him, Crimsonblsze let his eyes wander to his brother, who seemed to be tensing up. Now, the two knew each other quite well, and Crimsonblaze knew what this meant. As Royalflash threw himself forwards, Crimsonblaze rolled to the side, sitting up as he watched his ginger-pelted brother sail past him. Now, Crimsonblaze was quite skilled, and if he actually cared about training, then he could be one of the best fighters around, but the Tim did not care about that kind of thing. "And another one goes to Crimsonblaze." He purred, curling his tail nearly around him as he stared at his brother with amusement.

[monfang]

Originally Posted by Nighty

[oml why do I never hear anything XD but pathos left? I didn't know that lol but yea we can presume him dead u less Path gave Sage away to someone]

Cliffheart smiled gratefully as she seemed ti comply with him on where to sit. He didn't want to argue with her, though he never really had. But he knew since they were both trying to care for the other, then they ran a higher chance of butting ways. He then looked over at his leg. He waited a moment, seeing how bad it was still throbbing. "It's been better. But it's been worse. It's about like it was last time I made the trek here." He explained. "But how are your sores? I can see you have them. You don't fool me." He purred, nuzzling her softly. Then he pulled away, looking at the cats swarming around the,l they al, seemed tense tonight, or at least a lot of them did. "It's alri- oh my Star, shhhhh. Don't cry." He used his paw to pull her head into his chest, where he rested his chin on her head. "It's alright." He told her, knowing he could say much else. Their kits had been through so much already and they were only about four or five moons old. All of them had been left motherless for a while, while Scorchedoetal stayed in critical condition with Ebinyfrost. Beachkit had nearly been kidnapped and stolen by the Syndicate, and now Sagekit and left. Yea, left. That's all, because he didn't want to acceot the true meaning of it.

{ yeah they left, and nope, not that I found }

She ignored his question on her sore body. She couldn't hold back the tears, the pain. She lost her son, and nearly lost another. It broke her heart. She rested her head on his chest, sniffling. She felt comforted slightly by Cliffheart's touch, his soft, caring voice. She couldn't help but to believe that she was responsible for her son's death, since she had to stay in the Medicine Cat's Den for so long. But Cliffheart was always trying to keep her bright, like she did to him so long ago. She rubbed her head under his chin lovingly. "What would I do without you?" She asked, her soft yellow eyes gazing up at him. They sort of twinkled, the moon reflecting off her tear-glazed eyes. She gave his muzzle a ginger lick before she layed her head back on his chest, eyes down on the ground. She was usually the one to make others feel better, and now he did it to her. She couldn't help but to give a small smile.

[graves]

Originally Posted by Clover

Quickly, her mood changed, as she realized Daypaw's own struggles nearly outweighed her own. They had no physical mentor, probably disapproving parents, and a never-ending flood of patients. And, just by guessing, she assumed crippling nightmares; she'd had them after losing Arcticpaw, and Cricketpaw. Her eyebrows furrowed with concern; could Daypaw keep going like this, overworked, underloved, and used as nothing more than a slave. Their words stung Geckoleaf; their den wasn't even a place of refuge. Gently, slowly, she began to groom their fur, licking clean the mats and picking out pieces of leaves. The fur on their head was smoothed quickly, and she began working on the neck, until that, too, was pristine and golden. The fiery molly then stopped, sighing, nuzzling the ticklish fur of their cheek, before pulling away a little bit. "Oh, sunlight, it's not your fault; the only one at fault is the killer. Cricketpaw loved... loves you like a sibling; she wants to see you succeed. So moping around... I don't think either of us is doing a favor sitting her crying over her. And, Day, if you need help, my den is always open." Geckoleaf paused for a moment, let out another sigh. "In an emergency, have packets of herbs prepared in dock leaves for general battle wounds. In mine, I have cobwebs, as binding, along with ferns to clean them, goldenrod and gumweed for healing, marigold as a disinfectant, and poppy seeds to relieve pain. Clean it first with the ferns, then chew goldenrod, gumweed, and marigold into a paste. Apply it liberally; don't be afraid to pack it. Bind the wound with cobwebs, and hold the cobwebs down with catchburr. Make sure to only give them as many poppy seeds as they are tail-lengths long; adjust per patient, for body-weight and age." The words were automatic and soft; she hoped that they'd be some small help for the apprentice. She couldn't suggest much more unless they asked.

Normally Daypaw would have snapped at another cat for grooming them. But they simply were to tired to, tensing up for a moment but then relaxing under her care. They closed their eyes and gave a soft nod at her words. It was hard for Daypaw to love, they had never had crushes, never really felt a strong connection to their own birth mother. But they loved Cricketpaw. "I dont want to mope around about it, but all I see when I close my eyes is her," Cricketpaw dying, Cricketpaws, screams, Cricketpaw going to Starclan all echoed in a faint memory of the enbys mind. Their ears perked at Geckoleafs advice with herbs though. It was a small gesture, but it was the most amount of training Daypaw had ever received. "Thank you," for once, Daypaw actually smiled. A genuine one. Despite their grump exterior it meant a lot. They looked towards the ground in thought,"I could never replace Cricketpaw-no one could. But.." they hesitated,"I still need a mentor." They hoped Geckoleaf wouldnt be offended by the offer, seeing as she had lost her last apprentice so recently. But they felt safe in Geckoleafs presence, something they hadnt felt in awhile.

[Zero]

Originally Posted by Socks

Sageheart felr kind of silly for the question. Of course he had a good memory, and of course things looked different. She has just always wondered as too many scents made her head spin and at this point she spoke without much thought at all. She was still amazed by his talents, not every cat can memorize so much and it's rare a cat has a connection with starclan like that. "Is it fun, being a Medicine Cat? Surely it must be a stressful job seeing as at times so many cats rely on you and your saving lives and all that." After speaking, she looked up at the sky for a moment, thinking of how Surgestorm must receive messages from their ancestors and wondering what it's like to do stuff like that.

Surgestorm actually shrugged in response to her question. "It really does depend. I love being a medicine cat, don't get me wrong. But the job has two extremes, either super fun and amazing... or super terrifying and stressful." He smiled and laughed a bit. "I originally wanted to be a warrior, but StarClan had different plans for me." He meowed, casting a look up to the clear sky full of stars. The tom returned his gaze to the warrior after a moment. "Is it fun being a warrior?" He asked, actually not really knowing. The medicine cat hadn't ever known life as a warrior. The closest thing was his one moon training as a warrior apprentice, but that definitely couldn't be the same as being an actual full warrior of WindClan. "Clans depend upon their warriors to protect and feed them, so it seems like it'd be just as stressful as being a medicine cat!"

[Clover]

Originally Posted by woly

Normally Daypaw would have snapped at another cat for grooming them. But they simply were to tired to, tensing up for a moment but then relaxing under her care. They closed their eyes and gave a soft nod at her words. It was hard for Daypaw to love, they had never had crushes, never really felt a strong connection to their own birth mother. But they loved Cricketpaw. "I dont want to mope around about it, but all I see when I close my eyes is her," Cricketpaw dying, Cricketpaws, screams, Cricketpaw going to Starclan all echoed in a faint memory of the enbys mind. Their ears perked at Geckoleafs advice with herbs though. It was a small gesture, but it was the most amount of training Daypaw had ever received. "Thank you," for once, Daypaw actually smiled. A genuine one. Despite their grump exterior it meant a lot. They looked towards the ground in thought,"I could never replace Cricketpaw-no one could. But.." they hesitated,"I still need a mentor." They hoped Geckoleaf wouldnt be offended by the offer, seeing as she had lost her last apprentice so recently. But they felt safe in Geckoleafs presence, something they hadnt felt in awhile.

At the offer she stiffened; her muscles contracted involuntarily, her spine straightening, body going rigid; be a mentor? Again? Another third time, to a cat who should've already received training but hadn't? Her vision fuzzed again, and she swallowed harshly, the familiar overwhelming darkness of her mind beginning to close in. But instead of completely overwhelming her, she found it stayed at bay, leaving her cowering in a tiny mental clearing, where she was suffocated, given barely just enough room to think, but just enough. Geckoleaf's first thought was what would cricket want? Her old apprentice would want her to take Daypaw in, without asking any questions. And so, she decided to, without thinking, say it. "And I need an apprentice. Daypaw, if you would have me, I'd mentor you," she murmured quietly, lowly in response, smiling slightly at the thought of having help.

[fresh]

Originally Posted by Bad Wolf

Midgepaw nodded in agreement, though they did have faith in their leader, who was usually rather good at controlling his temper, an odd trait in Midgepaw’s eyes, but nevertheless a good one to have. They cast a quick, somewhat uncertain glance at the white molly, flinching and stepping away as her tail touched their shoulders. “I- I can t- tell,” they said in as firm a tone as they can manage, feeling embarrassed. They always flinched when touched, they couldn't help it. It didn't matter who it was, but they would flinch anyways. “I don’t t- think you aren’t,” they added, this time stuttering less than before. “Midgepaw,” they added hastily, realizing that they’d forgotten to answer her question.

Snowpaw frowned slightly as her tail was shaken off their shoulders, but shook it off. She smiled instead, when they complimented her. "Hey there, Midgepaw!" Normally she would ask a question after her and a cat had been introduced, but didn't really know where this conversation was going.

[ShiningFern]

Originally Posted by Nighty

Peachpaw, naive and dumb as she could be, looked to the skies, thinking more along the lines of 'You mousebrain it's not raining' but she then fully processed what he had said and then gave a coherent nod. "Yeah, I imagine that trees can be some what like the moors when it rains. Very slick and dangerous. Lots of the ground turns to mud and trust me it's not fun unless you're playing in it." She told him, the hesitantly added on. "Cause I know how that feels." She grinned a bit, figuring she couldn't leave him hanging on a story, so instead of waiting for a reply she continued. "It was at the beginning of new leaf and me and my sister were in the camp playing. It had rained like, all night long so there was lots of mud, and then he just played in it, had fights with it, and even when sliding in it. Best day we ever had together." She giggled again, recalling the day.

"Yeah, once someone broke their leg trying to climb after a squirrel in the rain. Daypaw was mad at them for a long time." He mewed, laughing, "Playing in the mud is really fun. My brother and I did it a lot when we were kits. I am sure the elders thought we were part riverclan because of it." Ashpaw looked at Peachpaw, grinning. Her story sounded pretty cool, but he was glad she knew wet trees were dangerous. His yellow eyes glowed as he looked at the pretty shecat. "I actually have a question...What is it like when it snows in Windclan? The trees cover most of our territory, so we don't get too much on the ground besides in camp."

[Deerlie]

A small apprentice crouched down and jumped onto a twig. She missed and rolled on her back. {Open!}