November Gathering [HRs]

[Madelaine]

| @Dust; @BILL.; @RedHead; @Fuzzyfeline; @CasperCreates; |

Crowtail watched Frostflight, knowing what his name was. He had heard about him and didn't think he would ever want to make friends with him, but of course he was never really one to start fights. The black cat would be polite to him the best he could. The Shadowclan deputy looked at Icestar then back at the other Deputy. His eyes held no emotions what so ever.

"I'm rather new to this Frostflight, so thank you for helping me out.", he meowed. Crowtail's tongue went dry after thanking this cat. The tom sat down a great distance away from Frostflight. Not wanting to get to close to the Riverclan deputy. If they were anything they were going to be rivals, but for now he had no real grudge on the other cat. The former rogue looked at Lionstar, but kept his mouth shut before looking onto the next new leader which was Flintstar. Crowtail then laid his eyes on Brightstar to get a good look at her.

Crowtail looked away to stare down at his paws. He realized what he was doing and straitened himself up. He held his head up and kept his body straight with his tail neatly wrapped around his paws. The deputy looked up at the sky, seeing the moon full above every cat. Crowtail listened to all of the cats conversation, but there was no way he was going to make conversation with Frostflight unless he was going to start one with him.

[Fuzzy]

@CasperCreates @BILL. @RedHead

At the RiverClan's tom question Brightstar turned to him, brown eyes focusing on his golden frame. His pelt still reminded her of Blaingstar. Even though there was no way they had any relation but every cat that looked similar wasn't related.
Whiskers twitching Bright tried to decide how to respond. She could just tell him or have him wait until she made her announcement. Before she could decide the new cat spoke up causing Brightstar to look up at her. This was something she expected but not from more then one cat. "Yes, it appears that way." She answered the ShadowClan leader with a nod.
Now turning back to Lionstorm or star which ever she twitched an ear back, betraying her calm external appearance. "Blazingstar passed away." Bright explained trying to hold a calm face, as good as she could at least.
With Flint's comment Brightstar wanted to hiss. Saying that with a smile and everything. As if he cared nothing for Passionstar. "I don't know about you but I respected my formal leader and did not wish him ill." She huffed eyes slightly narrowed at the ThunderClan tom.

[BEAR.]

"Oh, Fallenstream? He's around." Lionstar squinted into the crowd below at the mass of squirming cats. "He's somewhere down there. It shouldn't be too hard to miss him, you look just like him." That was directed to Frostedflake, given they were two big black cats. "Oh, there he is! No-- wait, that's just a rock. Ah, I guess you'll just have to keep an eye out." The specifics could be saved for later when they made their announcements.

To Buttercupbreeze, he was more sympathetic. "That's unfortunate," Lionstar stated, his own ear twitching. So.. that was it. The cat who was apparently his father was dead, and with it any chances of.. well, Lionstar didn't know. He was dead. "I'm sure WindClan is in good paws. I'm assuming it's..." he made a vague gesture toward her with his tail, uncertain of her name. "...star now?"
@CasperCreates, @Fuzzyfeline, @RedHead

[pidgeon]

@BILL. @Fuzzyfeline @RedHead

Fallenstream? So that confirmed it, then. The old RiverClan leader had retired, leaving this twittering starling to lead. It was enough to make Icestar's blood boil. The other two clans she couldn't seem to care much about, as they'd never really posed much of a threat to herself. But with an obnoxious leader like that, ruling over the clan who ShadowClan had been at war with for generations? It did not bode well, and the large black cat couldn't suppress a slight growl in the back of her throat. She would have to try twice as hard to show him up, and to put RiverClan in its place. It only made her more inwardly furious that Lionstar seemed to be purposefully ignoring her. He knew the game they were playing.
"Well, I'd imagine we all have lots to report, given these times of change. I look forward to...catching up." She felt as if she had ants in her pelt, as she was just itching to howl into the clearing, to make her voice heard and her presence known. Once she announced all of ShadowClan's news, the other clans would come to respect the previously trodden-down clan, she was sure of it.

[BEAR.]

Grousestar hadn't yet arrived, and Lionstar's ears twitched with impatience. "Well, let's get started, shall we?"

Raising his voice, Lionstar's voice boomed throughout the clearing. "RiverClan has been faring incredibly well. Fallenstar resigned after being grievously wounded on an expedition, and I have taken charge of RiverClan in his stead as Lionstar. Grousestar-- although he may not be present, remains as the leader, though he has graciously allowed me to maintain the Clan as I see fit. For the convenience of the Clan, I have decided to keep Frostflight as the sole deputy.

"We are proud to announce an expansion to our territory: Lionsgrove. Thank you, ShadowClan," he flashed a cheeky grin in Icestar's direction, "for so kindly stepping aside as we moved the border. It seems the change in markers has not bode well for all cats as a border skirmish did take place, but I can assure you that the aggressor of that skirmish has been taken care of. Foxsong has been demoted to an apprentice under the name Skunkpaw, and is confined to behavioral training to rehabilitate her for Clan life.

"In other news, RiverClan has a few of new apprentices: Bearpaw, Bugpaw, Tigerpaw. I have also reassigned mentors to the following apprentices: Pigpaw, Gaypaw, Saltpaw, Saltpaw the Second, Beachpaw, Freezepaw, Eveningpaw, Sandpaw, Rabbitpaw, Eaglepaw, Frostpaw, and Rodentpaw.

"Some of our Clan-mates have undergone some name changes. For those that knew Loathepaw and ..Zennaiyaspark, they are now Sandpaw and Meadowskip, respectively.

"RiverClan is also celebrating the newest addition to our warriors: welcome, Fawnsqueak!" Lionstar puffed up, gaze briefly searching the crowd for his friend before he gave up. Too many cats.

"And on a final note, RiverClan is mourning the lost of one of our warriors: Cocoaheart. A badger attacked her and Gingerthroat, but she bravely fought it off at the cost of her own life. I would suggest staying alert in case the badger remains in the area. It'd be a shame if one of you had a similar report by the next Gathering.

"Our borders remain strong, and we are not afraid to defend them as necessary. That is all RiverClan has to report."

Done with his announcement, Lionstar stepped back, unable to hide the smug expression of stealing the spotlight first. He could have reported on taking SkyClan's territory, but he opted not to-- unless ThunderClan attempted to expand that way, no one would know.

@CasperCreates, @RedHead, @Fuzzyfeline, @Dust, @Bliss Girl

[pidgeon]

@BILL. @RedHead, @Fuzzyfeline, @Dust, @Bliss Girl

Icestar sat in stony silence as she waited impatiently for Lionstar to finish. Of course that hairball would want to take the spotlight and go first. No matter--she would speak second, whether the other two liked it or not. When the golden tabby spoke of the territory he had stolen from her, her lip curled back in a malicious snarl. How dare he?

"Thank you, Lionstar," the black cat spoke in an icy cold tone, while her face portrayed every bit of hatred she carried for that loathsome individual.
"For those who do not know me, I am Icestar. In light of recent events, ShadowClan is doing very well, all things considered." She went on to discuss their recovery from hardship. "It is true that we were without leadership for some time, but StarClan has chosen me to lead my clan to greatness, along with my deputy, Crowtail. I have great plans for ShadowClan and I am confident that we will rise to the strongest point in our clan's history. The forest is recovering from the fire in time for the approaching leaf-bare, and prey has re-surged enough for us to prepare for the harsh oncoming season. We did have a brief issue with a scrappy, disorganized band of rogues, but we drove them off with very little impact. The same as what we will do if any trespassers try to infringe on our land."

"ShadowClan also welcomes a new apprentice this moon: Tinypaw. And the cat who you may know as Flowerpaw has decided that the name no longer suits her. She is now known as Midnightpaw." She paused once more to allow the cats in the clearing to chant out the apprentice's names. Now for the fun part of the meeting. The accusations. She wanted to make sure that the other clans knew that she knew about their transgressions, and would not be tolerating them.

"If I may, Lionstar, as you may remember, that stretch of territory that you have ever so humbly named after yourself, was surrendered under the control of a certain indifferent leader. I assure you, I am very different from Windystar. Enjoy that land while you can, because it will not belong to you for much longer. I fully intend to fix all of the horrid mistakes that my predecessor made." She paused to take a breath, her piercing orange gaze raking across the clearing, daring anyone to oppose her.
"It relieves me to hear of Skunkpaw's punishment. That sort of behavior should not be tolerated by any leader, and I'm glad to see that you do, in fact, know how to put your warriors in line.
As well as Skunkpaw's mouse-brained attack on my patrol, I caught two RiverClan apprentices stalking over our border recently. There seems to be no shortage of treachery in RiverClan, and I hope that with your leadership, Lionstar, that your warriors will now be taught what borders are and learn to respect other clan's boundaries.
I have doubled the amount of patrols to the RiverClan border in lieu of such events. Any scents of yours found to be over the line that has been set will be met with appropriate action. If this behavior continues, we will proceed with force."

She decided not to tell the clans about the mandatory daily battle training sessions that she had been assigning. She wanted to sound threatening, but not threatening enough for some other clan to make the first move. She also decided to say nothing about the fact that Agaveheart was nowhere to be found. She did not want anyone to know that they were without a medicine cat. She would appoint a new one as soon as possible, and only then would she announce the old she-cat's passing.
She then turned to Brightstar.
"As for you," she spoke, her words dripping with venom, although not as much as when she was speaking to Lionstar. "My warriors caught a WindClan apprentice hunting in our territory a few sunrises ago. We sent them along, but be sure that it does not happen again. Next time we may not be so patient." Her expression remained a stoic snarl for the majority of her time speaking. She was confident that she had made herself very clear.

"In conclusion, with myself as the new leader of ShadowClan, things are going to change around here. We will no longer be so tolerant and passive over such serious offenses. Let this be a warning, to all of you!" She ended with a hiss and a lash of her tail, her eyes blazing with fury as she howled into the clearing. Afterwards she forced her fur to lie flat on her shoulders and stepped backwards, allowing the next leader to speak.

[BEAR.]

"Oh?" Lionstar's voice was amused. "Those two were over the border now, were they? Are you sure you're not just confusing them with yourself when you decided to trespass to 'escort' them back to camp?" Skunkpaw's misbehavior was obvious, but it was stupid to try to accuse the fat one's siblings of worse.

@Casper

[pidgeon]

@BILL.


"Unlike your warriors, I know where my own boundaries are. I simply escorted the kits back to your camp to ensure their safety. It's not their fault that their superiors failed to educate them on the dangers of going out alone at night," Icestar sneered, confidently spouting her response. Lionstar could try all he wanted to make her look like the one in the wrong, but it wouldn't work. She knew what she was doing.

[BEAR.]

"Let's be real here, Frostytoes. You escorted them back because you wanted to scare them and gloat about your new leadership, and frankly-- no one here is impressed. You can preach all you want about ShadowClan being great again but as it stands, all you've done so far is act tough and get in a fight with an idiot and an apprentice. With a reminder for everyone that Snowflake here was the only cat on her patrol to get in a fight at the border. Her Clan-mates stared as she fought with a warrior and an apprentice, two ranks far below her own."

It was distasteful for a leader to fight a position below deputy, and it especially didn't look good when one of the cats was an apprentice. "That doesn't sound very in control to me. What's an oversized porcupine like yourself doing fighting apprentices?"
@Casper

[pidgeon]

"Defame me all you want, Lionstar," Icestar growled, her hatred increasing as the other leader spun his own version of the tale. "My warriors know what really happened. Your warrior launched an attack while my patrol was fully on our side of the border. Would you rather I just roll over and allow them to disrespect my clan? I think not. And I didn't lay a single paw on that apprentice--only on that sad excuse for a warrior." She scoffed, rolling her eyes. What did he expect from her?


"As for the kits, you should be thanking me. If I hadn't escorted them back, you'd never have known they'd snuck out. Or worse, you would have found out, but only after finding them in some badger den somewhere."