March Gathering

[Undertaker]

High Rank Announcement [#hrannouncement]

Drawing her tongue over her maw with a few swift licks, her eyes danced over to Kestrelstar and Twilightstar as the former leader of RiverClan was brought to the front. Most of that went over her head, as she didn't see much of a reason to pay attention to it. She would admit that it was so funny seeing him now, he had been rather cocky when he stood up here alongside her. Daring ShadowClan to try something against RiverClan, now look at him. His birth clan couldn't stand him and he was gifted with Bunnystar's mercy and taken into WindClan. However, from the latter comment, it didn't sound like even Twilightstar trusted him all that much. Dawnstar wondered how long such a miserable failure of a tom would last in WindClan. As both leaders finished up their announcements, nothing overly interesting to take note of, Dawnstar yawned as she stepped up to finish the gathering off.

"ShadowClan has been flourishing, no thanks to a worthless toad," Dawnstar growled, eyes drifting down to the empty place where Shadestorm should have been sitting. The last she heard from Elmshadow and Owlfeather was that they've seen him around camp, but that had been a bit ago and it was clear that he didn't take his ran seriously. At this rate, no one in ShadowClan should be shocked as she announced.

"Shadestorm's lack of contribution and clear absence now, has finalized his demotion as ShadowClan's deputy." It was something she should have announced a long time ago, but the gathering was good as any clan meeting. So long as everyone was made aware of the change did it matter when or where it was declared?

"ShadowClan's acquired some new apprentices, Frostpaw, Blossompaw, Oakpaw, and Martenpaw." She meowed, scratching at an itch behind her ear while glancing at Twilightstar's new deputy. It was a random thought, but how many deputies have that leader gone through? Not that Dawnstar could say much considering she killed two of Bunnystar's deputies, but she was pretty done with her retribution against WindClan. Her clan's killed enough of the bunnies to make up for the lives ShadowClan lost during that unjust removal from their territory. Her paws were a bit too busy to stir -up hardships with them right now anyway, so Dawnstar was rather ameliorated to hear the eldest leader see sense about Ashfeather's death. It could have been avoidable if the bunnies stayed out of ShadowClan's territory.

"To explain what's going on with ThunderClan, Aspenstar was killed by a coyote, and with her fall naturally, Dogbark should have stepped up. But from what I've come to understand he never did and soon vanished from ThunderClan altogether. Where he is or went, I haven't the faintest clue nor care. Whether it be due to the constant disappointment, the lack of order and structure, or just the overall mess that has become of ThunderClan. A ThunderClan warrior reached out to me asking for aid."

"Normally, I'd ignore such a plea, but due to the walking embarrassment ThunderClan has turned into, the number of leaders they keep losing, and just the fact that they've become a stain upon the forest and clans, I decided to lend a paw and step in as ThunderClan's temporary leader. Despite the fact that they desperately need a paw, they did fight me over it. There are two sides to every rock, I'm not here to plead my case, you can believe whatever you'd like about me and ShadowClan. All you need to know is that I'm currently leading ThunderClan, in my absence in ShadowClan, I've left a few of my warriors in charge and they've been taking care of ShadowClan admirable." The molly paused waiting to see if anyone had anything stupid to yowl about her and ShadowClan.

"To keep a long story short, I gave ThunderClan a chance to drive us out, they failed miserably, fought pitifully, and Lionpaw of ThunderClan died, a few of their kits, warriors, and apprentices were injured. Sundust and Rosepaw, ThunderClan's newest medicine cats, worked alongside Ebonyfang to patch everyone up. Pigeonpaw of ShadowClan lost a leg, but aside from that everyone seems to be healing slowly. I haven't heard any reports about anyone else dying." Dawnstar narrowed her eyes as she shot an unimpressed look in the direction of the ThunderClan cats. The dual leader didn't think RiverClan or WindClan would really raise a fuss about any of this, mostly because she was leaving them alone. They might disapprove, but it's not like Dawnstar asked their permission before doing anything she wanted.

"Brightpaw, Cloudypaw, and Sharppaw were all promoted to apprentices of ThunderClan after some setbacks. Vixensnarl and Ivysnake, were made warriors of ShadowClan after proving they had the skill befitting a ShadowClan warrior." Cocking her head, the scarred she-cat ran over everything that's been going on with ThunderClan to see if there was anything else worth speaking about.

"I've no intentions of merging ShadowClan with ThunderClan if I can avoid it, ThunderClan and I share a mutual hatred of each other. I'll be returning back to my rightful clan once ThunderClan proves they're more than a clan of spineless kittypets who sit around complaining about all the bad dung that's happening to them yet doesn't do anything to fix it." Dawnstar didn't bother elaborating on what would happen if they kept lazing around and doing nothing about any of this.

"We're done here, we're heading back." Dawnstar roared, ending the gathering by leaping off the Seastones. She commanded and gathered both ThunderClan and ShadowClan with a smooth wave of her tail. Her eyes rested on that one tom who had brought the outsider to the Gathering. She already saw that Nectarflame had been on his tail, so wouldn't intervene. The fewer ThunderClan issues she involved herself in the better if they had a problem with Quickstrike that their issue. The fact that the idiot challenged Dawnstar's moody son to a battle was ignored, it was up to Badgerscar what to do about that. She didn't really care what her kits got up to so long as it didn't involve dying, going soft, or betraying her. Unless they needed her attention or disapproval to remind them of who's kin they were, Dawnstar left them to their own devices.
@Moonraven @marshall

[Karlos]

Originally Posted by QueenOtter

'And I'm Beetleraven,' he announced to Breezestrike. 'What do you want to talk about?'

|| Heather'Tail shrugged, laughing nervously.

"I'm not sure.."

She looked over to Breeze'Strike, gazing over them.

"How's River'Clan? Any news..? Kits, apprentice ceremonies.. anything of the sort?"

Heather'Tail prompted, trying to start up the conversation. ||

[endlessskies]

Originally Posted by ThatGayCat

|| Heather'Tail shrugged, laughing nervously.

"I'm not sure.."

She looked over to Breeze'Strike, gazing over them.

"How's River'Clan? Any news..? Kits, apprentice ceremonies.. anything of the sort?"

Heather'Tail prompted, trying to start up the conversation. ||

Breezestrike smiled. 'Well, I haven't gone to see the nursery in a while, so I don't know... What about you?'

[Karlos]

Originally Posted by QueenOtter

Breezestrike smiled. 'Well, I haven't gone to see the nursery in a while, so I don't know... What about you?'

|| Heather'Tail nodded,

" Same here, I think we may have some new kits? I've heard mews from the nursery, but I'm not completely sure.. "

She had an inquisitive look on her face, looking back over to Beetle'Raven.

" Are there new kits? "

Heather'Tail asked him, tilting her head to the side. ||

[endlessskies]

Originally Posted by ThatGayCat

|| Heather'Tail nodded,

" Same here, I think we may have some new kits? I've heard mews from the nursery, but I'm not completely sure.. "

She had an inquisitive look on her face, looking back over to Beetle'Raven.

" Are there new kits? "

Heather'Tail asked him, tilting her head to the side. ||

Beeteraven tilted his head. 'I haven't checked...'

[Karlos]

Originally Posted by QueenOtter

Beeteraven tilted his head. 'I haven't checked...'

|| Heather'Tail shrugged, looking back at the River'Clanner.

" Well, kits or no kits, how is your clan? We're thriving. "

She made sure to keep up the appearance of her clan, whether they were thriving or not; Well, they Were, but she still wanted to make her clan look good! ||

[pxxylo]

Rainclaw

He/Him | @WinterMara
[DISCLAIMER: My opinions and Rainclaw’s opinions differ in many ways, I love all of the leaders on this site for their unique traits, however Rainclaw does not. I am not Rainclaw, these are his harsh thoughts, not mine. ]

The orange tabby had
been sitting silently, a small smirk resting upon his
maw as chaos unfurled like a bloody red flower at
this very gathering. It’s entertaining to watch
Dawnloser, Kestrelidiot, and Twilightfool bicker
about their pathetic kit fights and such. Meanwhile,
Thunderclan’s little group of whining kittypets has been
lacking a leader, deputy, and medicine cat! Not surprising
at all. However, looks like they finally got one from what
Dawnloser is saying. He shifted, holding in bursting laughs
as yells and yowls forced themselves into the drowning chatter
of the crowd that bothered to show up to the lovely show that is
this gathering.

As he continued to listen, he heard a familiar voice rise
above the crowd, a loud yowl that made his amber gaze
dart over in a hurry, only to spot the brown and white
apprentice he’d always known as his only daughter,
Softpaw. What joy! I haven’t seen the little rascal
in moons on top of moons, I’m sure she’ll be joyed to
see her old man after all this time. An evil smirk
played on the tabby tom’s facials as he jumped up,
right after Softpaw had finished yelling at the surrounding
cats to quit running their mouths. He stepped forward,
emerging from the crowd to tower above Softpaw, a small
chuckle slipping from his maw. “Long time no see, daughter.”

[WinterMara]

| Softpaw of Thunderclan |

As her breathing only got worse, and worse, she heard a voice. . .one she didn't want to hear. Softpaw's eyes barely edged over to Rainclaw, who decided that, yes, at a gathering, he'd call her HIS DAUGHTER. There was so many issues with that, one, who knows who could've heard it, TWO, she did not view him as a father, even if he. . .technically was. She tried to move away but her legs felt stuck, she tried to scream at him to go away, but her mouth just trembled. The apprentice had no idea what to do in the situation, everything felt dizzy, she just felt nauseous as a whole, and her breathing was near non-existent, she felt completely helpless in this awkward. . .no, nightmare of a moment.

| @door~ @tulle

[taillow]

Cindersky
As the two apprentices conversed, Cindersky brought her gaze up to meet that of the warriors who sat across from her. They did not seem one for talking, but at least the apprentice had introduced herself. "It is lovely to meet you, Spottedpaw," she greeted with a formal dip of her head. Irritation rolled off of Cloudypaw in waves, but gathering etiquette was something they could discuss back at camp. Tensions were not high as they had been with RiverClan, and ThunderClan was in no state to fight - the less heated words exchanged between any of their members, the better.

As the two continued to converse, Cindersky lifted an ear as the leaders began to speak. It seemed that the former leader of RiverClan had returned, seeking shelter in WindClan. That was certainly news, and with a little tap of her paw towards Cloudypaw she encouraged her to turn around and listen.

StarClan. While she took everything with a grain of salt, it angered her to hear how a leader had simply abandoned his Clan. Left them without regard to their future, especially so fresh from leaf-bare. It reminded her of the lack of leadership ThunderClan had during leaf-bare; while Aspenstar had not physically abandoned them, she had in every other aspect that mattered, as had Dogbark.

As usual, there were plenty of new apprentices and warriors in RiverClan, something that stirred a bit of jealousy within Cindersky. Soon, ThunderClan would be that way if she had any say in it. Training was ramping up, and the silver senior she-cat had a plan that was slowly unfolding under the guise of "training patrols". Soon, they would be announcing new warriors at the Gathering, and a cat other than that vile toad of a leader would be sitting in the place the ThunderClan leader normally sat.

Cindersky blinked as Twilightstar responded to the verdict of Sootflare staying in WindClan. While she could see quite clearly the answer was a tentative yes, it seemed the WindClan leader herself almost did not trust Sootflare - which was smart. A leader had to look out for their own Clan first, and Twilightstar was doing just that. Apart from that, there did not seem to be much news other than a new deputy - she did not recognize the name, though - and another death... dealing with ShadowClan. Because of course.

Finally Dawnstar began her announcements, which involved a brief explanation of why ThunderClan was leaderless. Cindersky felt her fur bristle, but she managed to keep her composure calm and unruffled. Now was not the time. Hopefully the other Clans would see right through the diplomatic cat Dawnstar was being right now to who she truly was.

There had been some bickering about a ThunderClan warrior, but Cindersky had been too far away to make any of it out. One glance over towards it informed her that Nectarflame was handling it - and if any cat did not need backup, it was the golden bengal. So Cindersky left the warrior to it and stood as Dawnstar called to bring ThunderClan and ShadowClan home.

But not before her eyes caught sight of a scent unfolding nearby. "Cloudypaw, go ahead and follow ThunderClan home, I will be right behind you," she asked her apprentice, hoping for once that the young she-cat would simply listen and not talk back. With a farewell dip of her head to the RiverClan cats they had been chatting with, Cindersky picked her way around the mass of cats towards where Softpaw seemed to be having a sort of a difficult time in the face of a RiverClan tom.

A sudden surge of protectiveness shot over her and she quickened her pace, though kept any hostility out of her eyes. Her sharp ears caught the tail-end of what Rainclaw spoke - daughter - and while she felt shock ripple through her now was not the time to linger on it. "Softpaw, come now, ThunderClan is heading home," she murmured, drawing her tail soft across her back. Her eyes stayed locked onto Rainclaw, and while they were void of hostility, they were sharp and subtle in their hint for Rainclaw to remove himself. "I believe RiverClan will be leaving soon. You may want to follow your Clanmates home," she added with a nod, standing close to Softpaw.

[ @door~ @WinterMara @poppy. ]

[Ian]

Originally Posted by SuspiciousMindz

Pineclaw rolled his eyes as the leaders spoke and at Vixensnarl's comment. "We'll be seeing the ancients rising from the dead next," the tabby spoke with sarcasm, keeping his voice slightly hushed as to not bring attention to them as the leaders continued. "Twilightstar is a fool, but we'll see if Sootstar will run away again. They're a disgrace for even returning," he growled lowly.

Although, the conversation about Sootflare was interesting, it was short lived as the discussion dropped almost as soon as it started. The leaders' were done talking about it, but he and Vixensnarl could discuss more later if they wanted.

"Well good for WindClan for keeping it together, they make sure they don't lack in the leader and deputy department," he spoke, a small praise in his tone now. They were doing better than ThunderClan by a long shot.

"It's Dawnstar's turn," the tabby tom spoke, somewhat excited to hear about everything in ThunderClan.

--Vixensnarl (ShC)--
The warrior let out a soft huff of amusement at Pineclaw's sarcastic comment. At this point she wouldn't be surprised if Bonestar suddenly reappeared in ShadowClan. "A fool she is, but at least it will make for some interesting drama," the molly agreed, before perking her ears in interest as Dawnstar began her announcements.

Her tail twitched slightly at the praise in the tom's voice for WindClan, but she could see where he was coming from. That train of thought was cut off when Dawnstar demoted Shadestorm, the beginnings of a sneer forming on her muzzle. "No surprise there, it felt like he's hardly done anything since he was promoted. He couldn't even get patrols to report on time."

Vixensnarl tuned out most of what Dawnstar said after that as she already knew everything the leader spoke of, although she did straighten in pride at the mention of her warrior name. How the other Clans would take it didn't matter to her, she was finally a warrior of ShadowClan and that was all that mattered!

As soon as Dawnstar was finished with her announcements the leader called ThunderClan and ShadowClan to leave and the tabby couldn't help the flash of disappointment she felt. It would have been nice to stay and chat with Pineclaw longer, perhaps see what made the tom tick and if he was worthy of becoming an ally, but she was not about to disobey the ShadowClan leader.

"Well, I suppose we must part ways shortly. Hopefully I will be back in ShadowClan before the next Gathering, ThunderClan has grown quite dull." With those last words Vixensnarl stood and flicked her tail at Pineclaw in a goodbye gesture before making her way over to where the ThunderClan cats and the ShadowClan cats that had been on the patrols with Dawnstar were gathering.