by eagle, » Mon Sep 07, 2020 3:51 am
HIGHGARDEN
tawnyrose: queen, molly, she/her. tags: open
merlinsong: herbalist, tom, he/him. tags: sandripple
indentover the seasons and many countless moons, merlinsong had been to his fair share of gatherings. he joined the highgarden assembly out of sheer duty, alone, and for the fact that softglow had always asked him to. however, as times changed and softglow was no longer king, merlinsong found that he still enjoyed the feeling of being lost in the crowd. he liked chatting to cats from so far away and meeting new faces that he never would have crossed otherwise. so, as he was headed off to find where the other healers tended to congregate, merlinsong wasn't all surprised when a voice called out to him, and he turned to the smaller cat with a friendly smile. "it's very nice to meet you, sandripple," merlinsong said. "i don't remember ever meeting you before. i'm merlinsong, highgarden's herbalist. which, i've learned time and time again, is the same thing as a medicine cat. maybe tawnyrose didn't want to use the same rank names as everyone else." his pale green eyes flickered in the direction of the other medicine cats before his easy smile returned to sandripple. "since we're both headed the same way, why don't we stroll along together? i'd love to hear more about seaclan."
solsticepaw: herbalist's thorn, molly, she/her. tags: open
otterfur: knight, tom, he/him. tags: fadedsun
indentotterfur watched from the edge of the clearing as the highgarden patrol broke away from one another, with the others seeking out their friends and family members from other clans. for a moment, anticipation and hope threatened to lock his paws to the ground, but otterfur managed to regain his composure and allow his longing to see a certain medicine cat to settle into a low simmer. all the same, he couldn't help himself but follow merlinsong's lead in the direction of the other healers. and there was a wave of warmth that spiraled from his chest the moment otterfur spotted fadedsun, and otterfur called out to him: "hey stranger, what are the odds you'd be here?" he asked teasingly. he dared to bound over to the other tom, and he leaned forward to touch his nose to fadedsun's in greeting. a voice at the back of otterfur's head told him to be careful as to not seem too eager, but there was no staunching the way he felt indescribably giddy each time his path crossed with fadedsun's, making him feel like he was back in his youth once again. "i was hoping to find you. merlinsong said that he wasn't sure, since surely vagaryclan cats have better things to do than gossip with me all day but... what does he know, anyway? i don't think he's ever even talked to a vagaryclan cat."
mapleshadow: rose, molly, she/her. tags: brindlebirch
indentfrom the moment mapleshadow was given the signal to disperse from her clanmates, mapleshadow didn't even hesitate to watch for the rest of highgarden before padding off in the familiar direction where she had the chance to meet with brindlebirch at the last gathering. of course, there was the lingering worry that her friend had been caught up in something else and hadn't been able to make the gathering, but mapleshadow knew that there was only one way to find out. sure enough, mapleshadow was more than pleased to find brindlebirch's familiar form resting in the shade of the trees, and she didn't hesitate to go over to greet her. "hey, bindlebirch, it's so good to see you again. it's been too long," mapleshadow said happily. "one of these days we'll have to meet on the border. it's not nearly so far of a walk. i swear that starclan likes to put the gathering clearing further and further from highgarden every single moon. at this rate, i'm going to walk my paws off to be here."
dippernose: knight, tom, he/him. tags: leopardheart
indentdippernose couldn't help but grin despite himself, feeling more than giddy while in leopardheart's presence. "it's easy to flatter someone as lovely as you, my dear." when leopardheart agreed to join him, dippernose squared his shoulders and grinned, more than happy to have the company of an old friend. "it has been a while, hasn't it? so, allow me to be selfish and to take up your time. the other deputies can kit-sit themselves, i'm sure. we can hope that the gathering doesn't fall apart without your endless wisdom, o rootclan deputy." there was a teasing light in the knight's eyes, and he felt light on his toes as they began to walk the length of the clearing, passing a number of new faces as they went.
indentas leopardheart began to speak, recalling the most recent events in rootclan, dippernose settled happily into the tones of her voice and the rhythm of their pawsteps. at the mention of kits, dippernose purred and shot a sideways glance in the direction of the gathered clump of leaders, as if to spot palestar. "you'll have to send him my congratulations, that's amazing!" dippernose gushed happily. "and i'm sure he's appreciated all of your help. looking at some of the litters in highgarden these days, four kits can be a real pawful. in all of the best ways, of course, but i'm sure it's a lot to balance along with being a leader. and i'm sure you're a great leader."
indentdippernose blinked when leopardheart became bashful, and he shook his head quickly. "not at all! i want to catch up, and i'm the one who asked," dippernose teased with another purr. "highgarden has been well, thanks for asking. we've also had our fair share of kits recently, one of the thorns that i trained even had a litter of his own. and i know that he's going to be in over his head from fatherhood," dippernose laughed. "thankfully no one is expecting me to be queen anytime soon. i think tawnyrose is a much better leader than i could ever be, so i'm grateful for that."
katara: rose, molly, she/her. tags: cedarbranch
indent"hollandmarch!" katara shouted over the chatter of other clan cats when the short tom dashed off through the crowd. she knew that he was looking for a certain cat from vagaryclan, even though they couldn't be certain that cedarbranch would even be attending the gathering. still, hollandmarch's excitement was infectious, as the thought of seeing her dear friend brought a smile to katara's maw. she also knew that the young knight was excited to attend his first gathering, even better since he had received his full name and was given the rank of a knight. from the moment tawnyrose granted him his name, hollandmarch hadn't stopped talking about how excited he was to tell cedarbranch all about his assessment and ceremony. "hollandmarch, slow down!" katara called, but it was no use.
indent"c'mon mom," hollandmarch called over his shoulder. "keep up! i know he's around here somewhere!" it was in the same moment that katara recognized several familiar faces from around the vagaryclan border and hope flared in her chest. after searching for a little bit longer, katara finally spotted his familiar pelt and she spun around to try and find hollandmarch, though she had lost sight of the short knight.
indent"cedarbranch! over here!" katara called as she padded over to meet her friend. when she had finally caught her friend's attention, katara grinned and pressed her cheek warmly against the warrior's. "it's good to see you. i'm glad you're here. actually, i have a bit of a surprise for you, and -" before katara could finish her sentence, however, a shout rose from behind cedarbranch and a strange warrior hissed indignantly as a shorter tom pushed them aside.
indent"dad!" hollandmarch shouted. he launched himself towards cedarbranch, bumping his head in the tom's flank. "we found you!"
hollandmarch: knight, tom, he/him. tags: cedarbranch
- see katara -
QUICKCLAN
cyanstar: leader, tom, he/him. tags: open
splashfall: temp. deputy, tom, he/him. tags: canyoncry
indentas soon as the quickclan cats arrived at the gathering, splashfall couldn't help but notice a familiar scent that carried on the wind and gave him pause. it had been some time since the last chance he had to meet canyoncry, and he knew that she was nearing the time when she would be kitting, but he felt an itch at his paws that urged him down into the clearing. even still, despite the longing and feeling in his gut, splashfall couldn't help but be surprised when he spotted his mate, and he let out a happy shout. "canyoncry!" the quickclan deputy called to her. he raced forward, bounding between the cats that lingered nearby. all he wanted in that moment was to be close to his beloved mate, and he purred loudly when he looked at her. "i didn't know you'd be here. is everything alright? are you feeling okay?" he asked, unable to help himself but look her up and down, fussing until he could be certain that she was safe and healthy.
autumnflower: medicine cat, molly, she/her. tags: toucanfur
indentperhaps if autumnflower had been able to see, she might have been a bit more wary when it came to gatherings. if there was one thing that quickclan's size was good for, however, it meant that she was good at navigating through crowds with ease, paying no mind to the way she shoulder bumped against flanks. conversations rolled around her, but she paid it all little mind until she reached the spot where the medicine cats were gathered together. she sniffed thoughtfully, momentarily overwhelmed by the sharp stench of herbs, but she regained her senses and padded towards a spot that was less densely populated by the other medicine cats. "excuse me," autumnflower said to the molly she sensed sitting off to the side. "i'm not sure if you'd rather be alone or not. but if its the latter, would you mind if i joined you?" she asked. "i had to listen to my former-mentor and our other medicine cat talk my ears off about herbs all morning, and if i have to listen to anymore medicine cats discussing the proper way to make a proper poultice, i think i'll lose my mind." even as autumnflower spoke, her whiskers twitched in amusement at her own words.
plumblossom: warrior, tom, he/him. tags: ryeheart, oakpaw
indentwhen it came to ryeheart, plumblossom was hardly able to control his own excitement. he loved spending time with an old friend, one that he had met when he was just an apprentice. it meant a lot that they had each come so far and had apprentices of their own. and there was no stemming plumblossom's surprised laugh when ryeheart admitted that oakpaw wasn't her own apprentice. "dear ryeheart, do you mean to say that you let your apprentice get away?" plumblossom asked, shaking his head teasingly. "surely even you must know to keep a tight leash on your apprentice. i know siskinpaw likes to see how fast i'll run to try to keep her in line. one of these days i swear that she'll be faster than cyanstar himself, with all the agility practice she's been putting it," he teased his apprentice, who merely flashed a wide smile.
indenthis laughter continued when oakpaw spoke up, and he bumped his shoulder companionably against ryeheart's. "of course we'll walk with you," he said, and siskinpaw nodded her agreement, though she shot oakpaw a knowing glance. however, plumblossom was too busy laughing at ryeheart's words to notice the look. "oh, you're so on. i already know that i'm the best mentor on the moorland. and if i lived in a pine forest, then i'd be the best there too."
indentwhen the apprentices and mentors split apart as they walked, plumblossom grinned at ryeheart. "can you believe it?" he asked. "i still remember when we were their age. though... i don't remember being quite as small as they are. back then i felt so grown up, you know?" he hummed thoughtfully to himself. "it feels like so long ago, but also like so little has changed. if that makes any sense."
siskinpaw: apprentice, molly, she/her. tags: ryeheart, oakpaw
indentwhen ryeheart suggested that siskinpaw and oakpaw get to know each other so that she and plumblosom could talk, siskinpaw nodded her agreement and waited just until the warriors were wrapped up in their own conversation before turned to oakpaw. "you know, i had a feeling that plumblossom had a reason for asking cyanstar to go to the gathering, but i hadn't expected that it was because of this," she said, not unkindly, with a grin. "i mean, he's never even really mentioned cats from any other clans but... i guess it hasn't come up much either." she shrugged then, considering it for a moment before blinking at oakpaw.
indent"so, pineclan, huh? let me guess... there are no trees in your territory? no trees whatsoever?" her tone was light and teasing and she grinned at oakpaw, open and carefree. "i think you must live on a river... hm... or in the river, maybe? have you ever even seen a tree before?"
dawnflash: warrior, tom, he/him. tags: open for riverdancer
indentdawnflash hadn't been expecting the chance to go to the gathering, as cyanstar tended to only bring those who asked to attend to see family members from other clans. however, he had been approached by flintspark, who asked if dawnflash might be willing to take finpaw, as the dark warrior had already been asked to go to groveclan for a brief time and finpaw had asked repeatedly to go. dawnflash hadn't been able to deny his friend, which led to dawnflash trailing after finpaw, who peered eagerly around the entire clearing from cat to cat, as if any brown tabby might turn out to be one of his siblings or mother. not that dawnflash minded. it was a good chance to get out and stretch his legs, if nothing else, even if hazelclan wasn't able to attend the gathering.
finpaw: apprentice, tom, he/him. tags: open for riverdancer
- see dawnflash -
