April Gathering

[Moonraven]

[open]
What is this! What's that? There were cats he had never seen everywhere! A rather large, dark brown, bright orange-eyed apprentice bounced into the gathering. Weeingpaw turned three times in a circle, as if chasing his tail, trying to catch sight of everything and one here. The scents were so strange. There was this strong scent of water, which he discovered belonged to a huge body of water.

The cats not from his clan were weirdly small, kinda thin, and smelled like bunnies and flowers. He knew the scent, Papabite had taken him to their border, but in his excitement, the clan's name evaded him. Oh, thinking of his other dad, where were his siblings and mothers? A strong feeling of unease and vulnerability trickled down his spine as he whirled around in hopes of finding familiar faces.

He found Momster pretty quickly. She was on the big stones up ahead. There were cats up there with her. A small she-cat with tons of scars. She was one of the prettiest cats he's ever seen, she had no eye! After staring at the two cats, he decided Momster was still the most beautifulest. Below them, he found another pretty cat, only this one was black and white and big, like his clanmates. On the other side, there was an even smaller cat whom he decided to ignore after glancing at her pelt.

Another glance around the beach and he found no sign of his siblings, no Mamawhisker, nor Papabite either. No Bleedingpaw either. No friendly faces he could stick to a burr like. As much as he loved to join Momster, she had made it very clear that when she was on a high perch, not to bug her. Weepingpaw felt the sudden sting of tears in his eyes, but he gave his head a firm shake. It was fine, he was a big cat. He could be on his own for a little bit... maybe...

Soooooo. Water! Determined to distract himself, Weepingpaw wandered over to the waves, watching the water move back and forth for a few seconds. He quickly made a game of running into the water as it receded and running out of it as it came back. It was a fun game until a particularly large wave swept him off his paws and sent him tumbling back wet, cold, and salty on the beach. Tears fell from his eyes due to the ocean water. He was tempted to start wailing until his Momster got off her stupid rock and came and checked on him, but a pretty stone caught his attention, and the tears stopped. Intrigued, he grabbed the shell between his fangs and spat it out at the disgusting taste of sand in his maw.

Okay, the beach sucked! He hated it here; he wanted to go home. Still wanted the pretty stone, but uncertain on how to grab, as he still felt the gritty sand stuck on his tongue and in between his teeth, he sat protectively over his shell and hunted for one of his siblings, or better yet, Mamawhisker or Papabite. One of them should help him get his stone out of the ground.

[Rose]

Post Count: 34/100 | Purrk(s): Lyrebird’s Lullaby

Oh, she'd only just thought of needing something to make her stay at the Gathering, and the stars had delivered. Or, whatever it was up there had delivered. Or, more likely, this was just a coincidence. A flash of dark fur at the corner of her vision had the freckled apprentice pivoting on her heel, thinking at first that Gnawingpaw or one of the twins had shown up. But no, it was just a stranger. Strawberrypaw didn't know what to think about the momentary feeling of relief that filled her, followed swiftly by guilt. She didn't know where she stood with any of her siblings lately, and feelings were too... hard. It was nightmare-inducing.

Nearly having turned back around to go bug Crowtooth, the WindClan apprentice falters midturn at the sight of the... ShadowClanner (? She was more than certain they didn't swim like the River-dwellers.) fooling around with the ocean's waves. Well. That was stupid. He reminded her of her brothers, though. Maybe that was what had Strawberrypaw breaking from the crowd to inch her way over, hesitancy making her paws drag in the sand.

"What. Are you doing?" Oh. Had Strawberrypaw been able to feel more embarrassed, she would have cringed at the sound of her own voice and the lack of inflection. Alas, feeling shame was a mere suggestion to her, of which her brain shut down without another thought. Maybe she'd gain some social awareness after a while, but her voice shifts in an attempt to sound normal, morphing against her entire will. "Do you eat sand?" Again that odd feeling, similar to before, the one Strawberrypaw couldn't name. It was guilt, anyone else would realize, for using her leader's voice. But Twilightstar was the... what was the word? Best? That couldn't be true. Snowybreeze and Gnawingpaw and Frostpaw and Jaggedpaw and Seedpaw were the best. Twilightstar was... something. Maybe she could be... equal. That was good enough for now.

The mention of eating has her fangs itching, stomach suddenly feeling entirely empty, blue eyes reflexively glancing towards Crowtooth. Somehow, her mentor's company made her less hungry. Strawberrypaw had yet to put two and two together, that her bad biting habit was more than just a bad habit. But no, now wasn't the time for eating. No one else was hungry. She would be fine, certainly. Her second gathering would go perfectly, even if she hadn't meant to attend.

[ @Moonraven - Weepingpaw ]

[SuspiciousMindz]

[Scorpionpaw]
ShadowClan Apprentice
​48/100
No Purrks

Scorpionpaw hadn't been to the last gathering, so this was her second one. It was still exciting, although she noted that only one clan smell caught her attention. That was... WindClan! Yes, that was right. They smelled like rabbits and half of them looked like skeletons. Didn't they know what food was? Why were they so thin looking?!?

The already large she-cat let out a yawn, as she settled into the side of the group. She was ready for bed. She'd been knocking out her training recently and it was wearing on her. That was okay! She'd be the first of their siblings to get their names! She was determined about that!

A movement caught the corner of her vision and Scorp's gaze turned sharply towards the shore. She'd tilt her head a little, staring into the darkness until her eyes adjusted to see a familiar dark tabby wiggling about the sand. Her whiskers twitched and she got to her paws quickly, bounding towards her brother with a grin, moonlight gleaming off her teeth. Her adult canines had finally come in, and at their age, most of her siblings should've too.

"Weeps! What you doing?" She'd chirp, casting a glance over her shoulder at the gathering cats and their Mama on the rock. Her attention moved back to the brother and his treasure. "What'd you find?!" She'd inquire, padding up to the object and sniffing it. Thankfully the sand was damp here, so it only stuck to her nose instead of going into it. She still had to wipe it off with her paw, wrinkling her nose at the texture. "Weird stuff, the Rivercats like this though."

Her rper realized there was a reply just before this one so... Scorp would be spooked by the sudden appearance of another apprentice. "Who are you?" she recouped herself following the startle, her tail raising in a friendly manner. It appeared they'd been here and already asked Weeps the same questions as she did.

@Moonraven - Weepingpaw | @Rose - Strawberrypaw

[versailles]

EGRETPAW
she/her | 8 moons | dark brown and lilac tabby with dappling, cream markings and blue eyes
[ sticky pads ]

woohoo!! another gathering, another gathering, ANOTHER GATHERING!!, egretpaw chants in her head gleefully as she follows her clanmates to the beach.

gatherings were always fun. well, from her limited experience of them. gatherings meant meeting new cats!! talking to new people!! the first time she'd come to one, it'd been a bit daunting because there were so many .. but she had met some really nice cats. however, this time, so far there was only her clan, and another clan that came after them. her nose scrunches at the scent, trying to recognize it. it's familiar, she realizes, as she tracks the dispersing clans leader-- a big, brown molly with a lot of scars, just like miss twillystar.

then it registers. oh, this is shadowclan. she doesn't know much about the clan at all besides what mister bats had told her: vicious, brutal. she shouldn't make friends with them. she shouldn't trust them. with a frown, her eyes leave their leader and flit about the growing crowd of cats. she sees a few of her clanmates already talking, either amongst themselves or with shadowclanners. wait..aren't they supposed to not talk to shadowclanners!! that's what mister bats said!, she thinks, eyes widening.

then again, it is a gathering, which she's heard is a truce. nobody can fight, but.. grrnrhm. she knows she should listen to mister bats, because he's old, so he obviously knows a lot. still, she can't help but feel guilty. surely not everyone in shadowclan is a big bad meanie, although some of them sure looked.. a little scary.. just a little.

[ open!! ]

[Tallstar]

Flytail
48 Moons
He/Him
Shadowclan
Flytail sighed as he padded along with his clanmates his brother had already surprisingly seemed to be chatting with a Windclan apprentice? Surely there was a reason for that he couldn’t help but notice the wide eyed stare of another little Windclaner. He decided to put on the nicest face he could no harm in chatting with an apprentice maybe get some information out of her about the twolegs that seemed to be plaguing them “Excuse me miss but I couldn’t help but notice your face looks like you just smelled rotten crowfood ..quite rude if you ask me I know we don’t smell like roses however..” he had amusement in his expression “Everything okay with Windclan couldn’t help but notice how tired you all look”

@versailles

[Dreamheart]

SILENTMUTTER
Shadowclan Warrior ~ 30 moons ~ He/Him

Silentmutter padded in silently with the rest of his clan, and quickly found a rather isolated spot to sit. He never really felt like socializing, and that hadn't changed today. Plus, cats were so loud, stars. The massive tom sat there instead, blue and green gaze burning though other cats' pelts and he gazed around.

MORNINGPAW
Shadowclan Apprentice ~ 7 moons ~ He/Him
Agatha Kitty

Morningpaw padded in behind this massive as cream and tabby warrior. Ugh, he was gigantic. Thank goodness he had left; Morning could see now. The dark mottled tabby looked around curiously, amber eyes bright and sharp. He saw every little movement, every shift of a pelt, every mouth moving with each spoken word. The apprentice sat down, somewhat apart from other cats, black and dark brown tail twitching.

SHATTEREDPAW
Shadowclan Apprentice ~ 9 moons ~ She/They

Shatteredpaw gazed around from where she sat, pure white pelt curly and patchy, but perfectly groomed. Her very muscles screamed elegance, and the way she sat made it clear she was an angel... or was she? Inside, today, it seemed she was angry. Her hazel eyes, a cold, piercing blue right now, looked around with a terrifying intensity, and her twitching tail was the only sign she was feeling murderous. Honestly, if she could rip Windclan -or even a piece of annoying prey- apart right now, she would.. The she-cat wanted to kill something, to feel blood running through her claws, along her tongue, taste metallic liquid and feel the adrenaline spiking from the kill... Shatteredpaw flexed her sharp claws. She wanted to rip someone's guts out.

all open lol

[versailles]

EGRETPAW
she/her | 8 moons | dark brown and lilac tabby with dappling, cream markings and blue eyes
[ sticky pads ]

egretpaw blinks as a cat approaches her, eyes further widening once she notices that the tom isn't a clanmates and, in fact, a shadowclanner. maybe it was because of the things mister bats had told her, but she feels a little scared. but then she just feels mean once he speaks up. rude!! she was being rude? gah!! she quickly shakes her head. "oh, no, no no, mister stripes!!" mister stripes fits, she believes - he had stripes. she's half tempted to ask him not to eat her.

but then he asks about windclan, and despite batglare's warning lingering in the back of her mind, she figures that her earlier assumption was right. not all of them were evil!! well, this guy didn't seem to be evil, at least. "oh, well, windclan is doing amazin'!!" she chirps. "miss twillystar even told us how we can get some—" she paused, abruptly cutting herself off before she spilled anything else. oops, she almost mentioned the sheep. and the twolegs barn. would miss twillystar want her to tell other clans about that..?

"lots of food!! big food!! like a pheasant! now that it's newleaf!" she says, quickly speaking up once more, nodding insistently. "have you ever had a pheasant? it's the yummiest thing ever!" she internally cheers for herself. smooth save, eges, smooth save! "how's..your clan..?" she asks, a note of hesitance in her voice. if they were the most ruthless and cruel clan, maybe they spent their free time eating babies. babies like her and gracks and crowy. guh.

[ @Tallstar ]

[Moonraven]

Sitting over his stone, much like a mama bird over her eggs, Weepingpaw attempted to clean the sand from his pelt and mouth. It was proving to be an impossible task. Every swipe of his tongue got more sand in his mouth, and the crunchy feeling was gross. It didn't even taste good. Weepingpaw was all for shoving everything and anything his maw, but not if it tasted bad like sand.

If a voice hadn't interrupted his unsuccessful grooming attempts, the sand would have been in his eyes, and a fit would have been thrown. Weepingpaw lowered the paw he had been about to swipe over his face and wrinkled his nose. The first thing he noticed about the new cat was her scent, she smelled like flowers and bunnies. Listen, the clan's name was on the tip of his tongue, he just needed a reminder.

The next thing, after her smell, was her looks. She was quite ugly, not a scar in sight. Or maybe he wasn't looking hard enough. He leaned in a few whisker lengths closer, hunting for any pretty marks on the she-cat, but then recalled his stone. Ah, what if she were after it!

"Guard stone, Weeping is." The apprentice told her with a wary stare. Was she going to steal his stone? "Mine. Found first, I did. No share, Weeping won't." He quickly followed up in case that was why she was here. This cat was three seconds away from getting bitten. His teeth had gotten bigger, so he learned how to bite harder. Oh, but wait, Momster said no fighting.... did that mean he couldn't bite her? His internal debate on whether to bite or not was paused in favor of the next question... in a strange voice.

"Whaaaa! Talking trick!" The young apprentice shot to his paw, careful of his stone, and grinned. "Teach Weeping, yes?" He questioned eagerly, only to remember that he had been asked a question a second later. "Eat no, sand bad. No try. Prey eat, good. Know prey eat?" He hadn't seen anything to eat around here, but talking bout eating made him want something in his mouth. He wasn't hungry, he just liked to eat. He was tempted to shove the funny stone in his mouth, sand be damned, to take the edge off this need to chew on something. But a new distraction came in the form of a sibling.

"Scorpi!" He purred loudly as his sister showed up at his side. "Stone watch, I am." He told her proudly after she caught sight of his stone. His pride turned into confusion at the mention of Rivercats. Did she just call him a fish! Insulted, the tom stomped his paws on the ground and frowned. "No fishcat, Weeping not." If he bit his sister, did that count as fighting? As tempting as it was to try catching Scorpionpaw's tail between his fangs, the Trickcat was called into question.

That's right, he completely forgot to ask her name. Weepingpaw decided he liked her purely because of her talking trick, which she would teach him. "Weeping's Trickcat is she." He told his sister while looking at the bunnycat.
@SuspiciousMindz [Scorpionpaw] @Rose [Strawberrypaw]

[Tallstar]

Flytail
48 Moons
He/Him
Shadowclan
Flytail blinked slowly at the wide-eyed apprentice, ears twitching forward with quiet amusement. She looked like she’d seen a fox—or worse. Him. He wasn’t that scary, was he? Then came “Mister Stripes.” His whiskers twitched. “Well, that’s new,” he said, voice low and dry. “Not sure if you’re trying to be polite or just nervous. Either way, it’s… creative.” He tilted his head just enough that the pale stripes along his jaw caught the light. “Guess I’ll take it.” He sat down, not close, but close enough to see every twitch of her whiskers and the way she stumbled over her own words. She looked like she was torn between running and asking more questions. That, more than anything, kept him there. When she started talking about WindClan, bright and eager, his expression stayed mostly unreadable—but the flick of his ear said he was listening. He caught the stutter in her sentence, the sudden backpedal.Interesting. But he didn’t pry. ShadowClan cats didn’t have to ask to learn something; they just waited for others to say too much. “Pheasant,” he repeated with a snort. “Must be nice. We get frogs, mostly. Some birds, if they’re unlucky or stupid. And no, you’re not missing much. Frogs aren’t bad, just… wet.” He paused. “Caught a bat once. Nasty thing. All wing and teeth.” At her hesitant question, his gaze flicked back to her. Narrowed a little. Not with suspicion—just something sharp and thoughtful. “We’re managing,” he said. “The thaw’s been kind. Prey’s moving, marsh isn’t swallowing patrols whole, and no one’s caught greencough in a few sunrises. I’ll take it.” He leaned forward just slightly, his eyes unreadable, a little amused “You always chat this much with strange toms from the swamp, or am I just lucky enough to be today’s exception?”

@versailles

[kittycatburmise]

Doeflame

She was more excited for this gathering than she had been for the last couple of moons. Yes, it was still cold, but it was growing warmer with each passing moon. Soon she wouldn't have to fluff her fur up to protect herself from the chilly air. Although that would probably take a few moons; her thin pelt didn't provide good insulation, and it was always colder at night than it was during the day. It'd be nice if they held gatherings when the sun was out, but she doubted that would ever happen. The event was too rooted in tradition for it to change in such a large way.

The clan reached the beach, and Doeflame grinned as she saw that WindClan was already there. Great. She might not have to suffer in the cold (well, cold was relative; compared to greenleaf this was freezing), but she still didn't much like waiting. Besides, she'd rather talk to a cat from another clan than one from her own, who she could have a chat with any day.

Doeflame's eyes landed on an orange-brown she-cat, who was sitting alone. Perfect. She made her way over to her and sat down, giving the other cat a friendly smile. "Hi, I'm Doeflame. What's your name?" Hopefully she was the chatty sort, or at least not hostile.

@Idiotic.Bean101 - Scorpionsight