compromise | warriors

[.Foxtrot.]

╔═════════╗

║
║
║
║
║
║
║

Name: Maplecreek "May"
Past Names: Maple
Maplepaw
Gender: She-cat "♀"
Age: 28 moons
Clan: Flatclan
Rank: Deputy
Height: 33 cm
Coat Colour: Dilute caliby
mask and mantle
Eyes: Deep blue

║
║
║
║
║
║
║
╚═════════╝

♔

Location: Gathering Tags: Burntstar, Fogcloud, Lionstar & Petalpaw

Silently, Maplecreek padded just to the side and behind her leader. The lean dilute caliby she cat padded delicately over the rocky path, her muscles rippling with every step she took. Her delicate black and peach mottled nose twitching at the smell of the other clan cats as she walked closer and closer to the gathering. May was unusually anxious, the confident she cat she was, but the upcoming topic would not be an easy one. In fact, as she entered the gathering, Maplecreek believed she could cut the tension with a claw. Looking up at the full moon that beamed on all the cats below, it seemed calming but it's dancing rays had no effect on the silhouette of cats dotted around the site. Snapping back to reality, she notices Lionstar flick his tail and continued to follow close behind him. Quickly glimpsing behind her to spot a her ginger tabby apprentice, Petalpaw. She hoped the sassy apprentice would behave herself.

Her deep blue eyes scanned the area once again until they landed on two large silhouettes. She presumed they were the opposing leader and deputy, Burntstar and Fogcloud. As she approached closer she could make out the chocolate golden smoke molly and the blue golden smoke tom. All the Oakclan cats she had observed looked well fed, crunched up her nose up angrily. Flatclan had not been lucky with prey for quite a few moons. The amount of disappointment coming back empty pawed was ridiculous in her opinion. If the Flatclan cats didn't get the better area of the new territory then it would be like an insult to injury. Shaking her head slightly, she looked around once again for a familiar black Oakclan tom, her brother. Spotting Juniperwhisper, the molly thought to herself that she might get the chance later to catch up with her sibling. But their might not be that chance. Once again snapping back to reality, the she cat came to an abrupt stop.

Delicately, the smaller of the four, sat down curling her tail around her white paws. Her pupils turning to slits as she closely observed Burntstar and Fogcloud. As the leader's skipped over the pleasantries the she cat waited for the land topic to come up. Maplecreek didn't have to wait long as the conversation quickly turned to the matter at hand, the twoleg territory. May's delicate diluted black ears twitched towards Lionstar as the ginger tabby tom stated that the land be divided evenly and that Flatclan have the richer portion. That was incredibly fair in her mind, why should Oakclan have two richer territories? In fact, Flatclan needed this territory. Prey was already scarce and harder to catch. The molly waited apprehensively for Burntstar's reaction.

╔═════════╗

║
║
║
║
║
║
║

Name: Juniperwhisper "June"
Past Names: Juniper
Juniperpaw
Gender: Tom "♂"
Age: 28 moons
Clan: Flatclan
Rank: Warrior
Height: 36 cm
Coat Colour: Black
Eyes: Amber

║
║
║
║
║
║
║
╚═════════╝

♕

Location: Gathering Tags: Open

The black tom strode at the back of his clan. He held his head down and continued to stare at the ground, blurring out the others voices. The normally energetic tom was quite anxious about what could happen. With a deep breath the tom looked up at the sky. His amber eyes twinkling in the slivery light of the full moon. He gave a smile and sped up his pace to catch back up with his clan. They had stopped momentarily before entering the site of the gathering. Glancing around the tom noticed that Flatclan was nowhere to be seen. That wasn't too unusual behaviour of the other clan. Juniperwhisper decided to sit not quite central but hopefully close enough so he could hear what the leaders discussed. As he sat down he noticed that Flatclan had suddenly emerged, quiet as ever.

As the opposite clan came in, June noticed that they followed a ginger tabby tom - Lionstar. Juniperwhisper noticed a dilute caliby with a mask and mantle white markings walking next to the leader. The deputy and his sister. Maplecreek hadn't been his favourite sibling or sister. The tom had had two siblings/sisters; Berry and Maple but Berry had gone missing when they were only 7 moons and each gathering he hoped that she had joined Flatclan and he'd see her or even better joined Oakclan but no.

Shaking his silky black head and snapping back to reality he watched as the Flatclan leader and deputy approached his leader and deputy. Twitching his soft black ears towards the small group, hoping to pick up what they were talking about. Wait! The leader of Flatclan wants the richer part of the land. That was outrageous! The tom's pupils slowly became slits before dilating. The tom remember that his clan did have the better territory already and maybe it would be fair the other way. Well, he'd see what Burntstar would have to say. With that he looked around to see the reactions of others.

[spotthecow]

╔═══════════════════╗
ＦＯＧＣＬＯＵＤ
╚═══════════════════╝
ｄｅｐｕｔｙ ｏｆ ｏａｋｃｌａｎ ：： ｔｏｍ ：： ｔｈｉｒｔｙ－ｔｗｏ ｍｏｏｎｓ ：： ｔａｇｇｅｄ ｗ/ ｂｕｒｎｔｓｔａｒ， ｌｉｏｎｓｔａｒ， ｍａｐｌｅｃｒｅｅｋ
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬❧

xxxxxThe smoke grey and cream deputy walked alongside of his leader, his fluffy tail swaying to the ground, while his pointed ears flicked every once and a while. Fogcloud only cracked a few tiny smiles as the clan cats made small whispers and light jokes, his rather dashing, bright green eyes casting glances over the other oakclan cats. For if one were to fall behind, Fogcloud wanted to be certain that he were able to step aside from Burntstar to help.

He soon came to a smooth stop and parted ways from his clan-mates, leaving him and Burntstar to sit and wait patiently for the flatclan cats. The tom curled his tail over his paws and sat up straight, broad muscles underneath his pelt shifting slightly. Fogcloud enjoyed meetings, but this particular one was very important for both of the clans. The flatclan scent came over the deputy, finding them to be very close by, then soon taking notice of lionstar and his deputy, maplestreak. He took notice her scrunched up nose, but did not react negatively, but instead nodded his grey head curtly to opposing deputy.

╔══════════════════════╗
ＰＲＩＶＥＴＰＡＷ
╚══════════════════════╝
ａｐｐｒｅｎｔｉｃｅ ｏｆ ｆｌａｔｃｌａｎ ：： ｓｈｅ－ｃａｔ ：： ｔｅｎ ｍｏｏｎｓ ：：ｔａｇｇｅｄ ｗ/; ｓｎｏｗｆｌｕｒｒｙ
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬❧

xxxxxPrivetpaw straggled slightly behind her mentor, Snowflurry, her yellow-green eyes sparking up with curiosity as to what was bound to happen. The young, black molly's tail twitched back and forth, scoffing the oakclan cats along with many others of the clan. Her face with ruffled with disgust at their scent, for it was so wet and just plain out disgusting in her eyes. Her paws struggled a little as she reached the rocky pathway, her useless leg dragging her down slightly. But, Privetpaw was determined to continue onward, and soon caught up to Snowflurry, her the good paws matching his steps. "I think we deserve more territory, don't you think so, snowflurry?" She meowed lowly, her head tipping to the side. Privetpaw knew the tom didn't like her much, but perhaps they would have one thing in common, the pure disgust of oakclan cats.

[.Arrow]

L A K E P A W
Flatclan - Apprentice - 10 moons - She-cat - Tags; Eveningpaw

Lakepaw trailed behind her mentor during the trek to Flatstones, the long grass of their territory tickling her underbelly. Apprehension for the events of tonight's Gathering hung heavily in her stomach, and the anticipation of drama and politics made her feel on edge. The gray tabby had never been great with words - always preferring to express herself with her claws - and so the two-faced words and hidden insults rubbed her fur the wrong way. This Gathering, more than the others, was sure to be irritating. Lakepaw couldn't imagine the territory dispute resulting in anything but a 50/50 split - neither clan would give up any more than they would have to. All of the formalities were unnecessary. Their group arrived to Flatstones to see that Oakclan had already arrived. The apprentice scanned the crowd almost instinctively for the largest threats, analyzing the body types of each cat. She was lithe and agile, but most of the cats from the other clan were stronger than her. As the clans merged into a cohesive whole, Lakepaw wandered away from her mentor. Almost immediately, an Oakclan apprentice approached her. Eveningpaw, she thought, remembering the she-cat from previous Gatherings. Eveningpaw was larger and stronger than her, but Lakepaw decided that she wouldn't be hard to defeat in a battle. Her mentor's words from earlier that day rung through her mind - nonsense about politeness and respect and 'don't start any fights, Lakepaw'. Lakepaw plastered a smile on her face that felt fake, but she knew it looked convincing. "Greetings, Eveningpaw," she meowed in response, and then considered her question. What is she trying to gain from knowing about our prey? You can't show weakness, so don't. "Very well, thank you. How about you?" Lakepaw decided that her response was sufficient.

[Tiny_Cat]

S N O W F L U R R Y
Tomcat | 25 Moons | FlatClan Warrior | Tags; Privetpaw,
Stormfoot, Adderfoot

Snowflurry let out an internal sigh and tried not to let his impatience get the best of him. He was not typically the kind of cat to hang back and let others take the lead. He was the type of cat who preferred to be right in the middle of things. Casting a discreet look over his shoulder, he reluctantly slowed his pace to match that of his apprentice. Privetpaw wasn't exactly what the tomcat had expected when Lionstar had asked him to take on his first apprentice. It wasn't that he had anything against the black she-cat. She was feisty, bold, and fearless. All of these traits were ones Snowflurry had always admired. However, she was born with a bum leg that hindered certain abilities that most cats possessed. It made her slower and, yes, weaker in his eyes. Of course, he knew why he had been given this specific apprentice. Moons ago, his own sister had had a similar issue and it had been Snowflurry who had taken time from his own training to work with her and discover ways she could battle and hunt without the leg getting in the way. Still, she only seemed to remind him of his sister's untimely death. He knew it wasn't fair to resent her for this reason alone but he couldn't help himself. Tail flicking impatiently, the tom dropped back completely until he padded alongside her, matching his stride to hers He didn't look at her, didn't speak to her, but he did stay beside her as they approached the Gathering Place. Already, he could smell the Oakclan cats. Unable to help himself, he quickened his pace and pulled slightly ahead but this time, it was Privetpaw who caught up. "I think we deserve more territory, don't you think so, Snowflurry?" The apprentice suddenly asked, breaking the silence. Snowflurry slid his pale blue eyes towards her and inclined his head slightly in agreement.

"Of course we do. Oakclan is just being selfish." He meowed confidently, one ear twitching. Beckoning his apprentice to follow close behind him, he descended the slope into the meeting area. Cats of both clans mingled amicably, talking softly with one another as if they weren't enemies 99% of the time. It was, in his opinion, ridiculous to even pretend they were friends. Sitting, he lifted his head and surveyed the cats around him with a critical eye. He wasn't really expecting any cat to approach him, so he was mildly surprised when a new voice spoke up behind him. "How's hunting?" The voice asked, sounding hopeful and a bit nervous. Snowflurry, unfortunately, recognized the voice and with a reluctant sigh he slowly turned to face the speaker. Snowflurry had met Stormfoot on several occasions. Mostly at gatherings, but once or twice he had run into him at the border between their territories as well. Stormfoot was a... pleasant tomcat. He never seemed particularly hostile towards Snowflurry or his Clanmates, even outside of gatherings. Personally, Snowflurry found him to be a clumsy and rather unintelligent tomcat who just barely managed not to get himself killed somehow. For the benefit of his clan leader, he forced a smile but it was dry at best.

"Prey is running well. How have you been, Stormfoot? I trust all is well in Oakclan?" He meowed, doing his best to sound amicable. After all, there were worse cats who could have approached him.

F E A T H E R P A W
She-Cat | 10 Moons | Oakclan Med Cat App | Tags; Wrenpaw,
Sycamorefur, Lightleaf

Featherpaw shivered slightly as a cool breeze ruffled her short fur. It was late, the moon was high, and FlatClan had yet to show up. The silver and white tabby she-cat sat near the head of the clearing with her mentor, Sycamorefur. Ever since being apprenticed, Featherpaw had had the pleasure of attending every gathering held. This was largely due to her position. As the Medicine Cat's Apprentice, she was expected to attend. Not that she minded, of course. Although, to be completely fair, she might enjoy it better if she could sit with the Warrior Apprentices. Her sister, Sootpaw, always seemed as if she was having a lot more fun with the other Apprentices. Glancing across the clearing now, she saw her sister make a beeline for one of their Clanmates, Eveningpaw She was considering joining them until the gathering started, when FlatClan suddenly arrived without much warning. Lightleaf, the FlatClan Medicine Cat, was easy enough to spot. The white in her fur stood out like a beacon in the night. The she-cat made a beeline for Featherpaw and her mentor, coming to a halt a respectful distance away. "It's been so long! Are you both well?" She said, practically purring the greeting. Featherpaw couldn't help but grin and she stepped forward to touch noses affectionately with the older she-cat. She had always enjoyed Lightleaf's company.

"We have been well, thanks! I trust you can say the same?" She meowed with a friendly purr. Spotting movement behind her friend, she smiled. Wrenpaw, Lightleaf's apprentice, was quite the interesting tomcat. Only a moon younger than Featherpaw, he had been hand chosen by Starclan to be the next Medicine Cat. She had been trying to befriend him for the past three moons but so far, he was proving to be a difficult tomcat. She could barely fathom how any cat wouldn't want their job; she loved helping those in need. "Hi, Wrenpaw! How are you tonight? I was just going to join some of the other apprentices; do you want to come with?"

S O O T P A W
She-Cat | 10 Moons | Oakclan Apprentice | Tags; Eveningpaw,
Lakepaw

The small, dark gray tabby dropped into a crouch. The sights and sounds of the cats around her faded as she locked her prey in her sights. The fluffy gray tabby in question stood off to the side, speaking to another apprentice she didn't recognize. This apprentice was smaller, lithe and slender, with shorter gray tabby fur. Undoubtedly a FlatClan Apprentice. Sootpaw hunkered down, muscles tensing, eyes narrowing as she crept along the shadowy edges of the clearing. Closer and closer she moved towards her quarry. When she was within pouncing distance, Sootpaw paused. Her mouth parted, tasting the air. She was downwind, undetectable by scent. Her body was low, belly fur just brushing the dead leaves that littered the ground. Several cats were eyeballing her; out of curiosity, amusement, or a mixture of both, she wasn't entirely sure. Taking a deep breath, the she-cat pushed off on her back legs in a powerful leap and landed directly behind Eveningpaw, letting out her most ferocious howl in hopes of startling her clanmate. Several cats whipped their heads in their direction, while Sootpaw rolled over chortling in amusement. She looked up and offered her friend a lopsided grin. "Did I Scare ya, Eveningpaw? Huh? Did I, Did I? You were totally scared! Admit it."

P E T A L P A W
She-Cat | 8 Moons | FlatClan Apprentice | Tags; Lionstar,
Burntstar, Fogcloud, Maplecreek

Behave Yourself, Petalpaw. That's what Lionstar had said before he took the lead and led the Gathering Patrol out of camp towards Flatstones. Petalpaw padded along at her mentor's heels, mentally rumbling at her uncle's lack of faith in her. Certainly she wasn't nearly as bad as the tomcat made her out to be. Sure, she had had some issues in the past when it came to authority figures but that was only to be expected. She was young, she was rebellious. It was in her very nature. She couldn't help it. Tail twitching, Petalpaw glanced around at their patrol. A low buzz of tension seemed to rise from the cats around her. They all wanted to know how the new territory would be decided. She would be lying if she said she, too, wasn't at least a little curious. Naturally, she felt that FlatClan should et the bulk of the territory. Like her Clanmates, she knew how hard it could be to catch prey on their land. Out in the open, stealth was impossible. Cats had to rely on speed and stamina to catch enough to feed the clan. Luckily, she wouldn't have long to wait. They had arrived. The ginger she-cat decided to stick close to Maplecreek and followed her down into Flatstones to join Lionstar, the Oakclan Leader Burntstar, and the Oakclan Deputy Fogcloud. She stood back a few pawsteps, hoping to be discreet. If Lionstar noticed her eavesdropping she would get in big trouble. Petalpaw listened raptly as the two leaders greeted each other and Burntstar brought up the new territory. Lionstar was quick to respond, and while the ginger apprentice missed the first half of what he said, there was no mistaking his proposal. "I propose that the land is divided evenly, but the richer portion goes to us." He meowed diplomatically. Before she could stop herself, Petalpaw found herself speaking up from where she sat.

"That's mousebrained. FlatClan deserves that territory. We should et all of the territory. Oakclan cats clearly have enough to eat." She meowed, casting a critical gaze over the larger Oakclan cats.

[lisica,]

── Sʏᴄᴀᴍᴏʀᴇғᴜʀ! ──
-clan; oakclan - location; gathering - mood; tense, friendly tags/mentions; lightleaf, featherpaw, wrenpaw/burntstar

it was already dark by the time oakclan had set out to the gathering - which was to be expected, the ancient rule of having said gatherings held at full moon has lived on, it seems. one doubt that sycamorefur of oakclan kept coming back to was, will the truce last? as a medicine cat she personally found that one of, if not the most important laws of the warrior code. it was on rare occasion that a physical fight should break out between the two clans, rarer still that medicine cats got involved. it was very possible though and had happened before, and if the calico had to bet on a night for it to happen she'd pick tonight.

in sycamorefur's eyes, either way the new territory will be a good thing. if oakclan won the argument - huzzah! new hunting grounds for their warriors. if flatclan won that would simply mean they have more space to hunt, further from the borders. she probably would have suggested this to burntstar, but she was well aware not every cat was as laid back as her. not necessarily her leader - she was considered a friend by sycamorefur - but just the clans in general, especially on gathering night. tensions were high and many, almost all cats were competitive for this new land and the molly knew from experience that competitiveness can make you do and say stupid cocky things.

as she was thinking this through, she was aware of a familiar friend approach both sycamorefur and her dear apprentice featherpaw. "lightleaf!" she purred, filling the small gap between them with one quick stride. lightleaf was another cat that the oakclan cat considered close. her patience was something sycamorefur admired, she was quite the opposite, as was her bond with her clanmates. she was a good friend to sycamorefur when she was an apprentice herself and she appreciated that. she mewed a quick, "i'm good, thank you, eager to get this gathering over and done with," before pausing to let either of the apprentices talk.

── Sᴀɢᴇᴘᴀᴡ! ──
-clan; oakclan - location; gathering - mood; wary tags/mentions; adderfoot, stormfoot, snowflurry, privetpaw/[tags,] petalpaw, sootpaw

gatherings have never been sagepaw's favourite thing.

of course, there was always excitement whenever she was lucky enough to be chosen to go, but other times she was content staying at camp. she finds comfort in knowing where everything is in familiar territory, opposed to a place where she'd been only a few times with far too many strangers for her liking. it wasn't she was antisocial, just introverted. she really found it hard to make conversation to apprentices of flatclan who only really liked to brag about that shrew they caught or the way they climbed that super high tree - which, sagepaw thought, was always highly unlikely considering flatclan's territory is fairly… flat.

iridescent green orbs scanned the clearing; trying to make up their mind on who to approach. petalpaw? nah, she always seemed a bit too bold for timid sagepaw. sootpaw? good choice, but she was already talking to the other apprentices and she didn't fancy butting in. adderfoot? sagepaw had to search for her for a few heartbeats before finally spotting her pelt of deep brown in amongst quite a few others. immediately she recognized stormfoot and privetpaw, but couldn't seem to remember the other tom's name. what was it? flurrystorm? flurrysnow? snowstorm? she's seen him before, she's sure, but has never really spoke to him at all. but privetpaw is a cat she's sure she's not too keen on. a few interactions between the pair was enough for sagepaw to know how loud she often could be, so she tries to avoid the flatclan apprentice as much as possible. stormfoot on the other hand was a lovely cat to the apprentice, again they rarely had the need to communicate but he seemed nice enough for sagepaw. and so, after thinking all this through, she decided they seemed an okay bunch to busy herself with.

"adderfoot, stormfoot, hello," she purred quietly, unsure of how formal she should be talking. she then looked up at the others, and mewed just as softly, "good evening, i hope you don't mind me tagging along. i hope all is well in flatclan?"

[V.Vulpes]

[ᴇʟᴇᴠᴇɴ ᴍᴏᴏɴs] [sʜᴇ-ᴄᴀᴛ] [ᴀᴘᴘʀᴇɴᴛɪᴄᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴏᴀᴋᴄʟᴀɴ] [ Tᴀɢɢᴇᴅ: ʟᴀᴋᴇᴘᴀᴡ, sᴏᴏᴛᴘᴀᴡ]xxxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxxxx[ᴇᴠᴇɴɪɴɢᴘᴀᴡ]

(★)

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
XXXXX“Oakclan is doing wonderfully,” Eveningpaw answered as she sat with a grand motion. Her fluffy tail curled around her paws and a welcoming smile on her maw. This smile was as fake as Lakepaw’s but she didn’t want to come off as rude. “I just-” Eveningpaw was planning on finishing this sentence but as she was, a howl came from right behind her, causing her fur to go on end. She twirled around to see Sootpaw rolling in laughter. “That was very rude Sootpaw!” Eveningpaw yelped and playfully swiped at her friend. She then shook out her pelt, rolled her eyes, and, with an amused tone, joked, “but rather good stalking mouse-brain, you’re usually as loud as a monster!”
XXXXXEveningpaw turned back towards Lakepaw, making room for Sootpaw to join beside her. “Sootpaw, this is Lakepaw,” she flicked her tail tip towards the Flatclan apprentice, “I was just about to say that I wanted to make acquaintances with the Flatclan apprentices, I thought it would be nice.” They would, after all, be rivals their whole lives and this was an excuse to know her enemy. She would try not to grow too close to any of them but small friendships wouldn’t hurt.

[mirrors.]

→ ＲＩＶＥＲＴＡＩＬ ← .....● flatclan...● tom...● men.; lilynose, rosewhisker, lionstar, burntstar...● tags; open
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

......Fast, barely restrained footfalls marked the path of the eager gray tabby, apprehension and excitement mingling in his stomach. Rivertail usually strove to maintain a dignified manner, as the young warrior wanted to retain the respect of his clanmates, but he couldn't help but walk along a little faster than usual. A kit-like energy crackled down his spine; this was it. This had to be the the gathering at which the debate of what to do with the extra land would be settled; he had gladly and freely expressed his opinions on the matter on numerous occasions, hoping to gain a more determined push to get all of the land for FlatClan. They needed it, after all; what was OakClan going to use it for? Napping space? A place from which they could watch the prey that thrived within their lush territory, unconcerned about the hunt on their full stomachs? A bitter stab of pain that mimicked hunger- or maybe it was hunger -twisted his stomach, triggering a hot flash of fury. What selfish creatures the overfed OakClan cats were to even think of taking the land that might allow FlatClan to actually eat for once.

......Cool it, he scolded himself as they rounded into the gathering space, OakClan stench slamming full-force into his nostrils. The opposite clan was milling left and right, some already rushing forward to greet members of FlatClan as if they'd been friends all their lives. It wasn't as if Rivertail had ever been uncivil toward OakClan- though he was very outspoken and may have stepped on a few toes here and there on the irresistible temptation to debate heavy matters with cats he didn't talk to every day -but he certainly wasn't going to be buddy-buddy with them. Would he make polite conversation? Sure, if the opportunity presented itself. However, Rivertail figured he ought not to seek out conversation with anyone who wasn't strictly one of his clanmates, as his raging thoughts proved that if he was even a little provoked, he would most-likely fly off on a tangent that would only cause more tension.

......Impatient for the gathering to commence and the pre-meeting babble to die down, Rivertail planted himself near a couple of his fellow warriors. He was tempted to strike up a conversation with the two- Lilynose and Rosewhisker -but they weren't really talking, so he settled for closely watching Lionstar's progression toward OakClan's leader and deputy. Would they do it? Would they manage to convince Burntstar that FlatClan deserved the new stretch of land? His political mind thought no- OakClan was far too self-serving to even spare a thought toward the stomachs of FlatClan, and besides, it wasn't like Lionstar would ever fully admit that they were on the brink of starving -but a little pocket of kit-like hope kept him on edge, shuffling his paws and flicking his tail in anticipation.

→ ＭＡＬＬＯＷＦＵＲ ← .....● oakclan...● she-cat...● men.; fogcloud...● tags; open
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

......As per her nature, Mallowfur drifted quietly alongside her clan, padding along slightly to the side of the mass of excitedly chattering cats. Many of her clanmates were hyped up over the prospect of new territory; they were all well-aware of the impending decisions to be made at this most important gathering. Even she felt a little swoop of curiosity at the thought of new, unexplored land; while she was certainly content within OakClan's existing territory, it was impossible to resist the thought of fresh ground beneath her paws. However, it didn't strike such a chord within her that she felt the need to talk about it; if she was being honest, the whole thing seemed like it was a much bigger deal than it should have been. Wouldn't it be the most logical to divide the land evenly, each clan keeping the land closest to their territory? Then, everyone would get something.

......Mallowfur's soft green eyes wandered to Fogcloud, one of her closer friends, wondering what he thought on the subject. The opinions of the majority of her clanmates were obvious, as they were discussing them, but the smoke gray deputy seemed to have opted to remain quiet for the journey as well. She might have approached him, too, but uncertainty swept the urge away as they arrived at the gathering place and he padded dutifully away alongside Burntstar. Mallowfur saw his striking green eyes graze the clan, but she decided that it might be too awkward if she were to try to talk to him while he had important matters to go over with the other authority figures.

......She glanced over at her other clanmates, but the already social air of the gathering made her feel a little small; she wouldn't want to impose her presence on anyone. Besides, there were far more interesting cats than her to talk to; FlatClan had just arrived, after all. After a few moments of watching exchanges between her clan and theirs and trying to work up the courage to maybe talk to someone, though, Mallowfur ended up sitting slightly separate from everyone else, curling her tabby tail neatly over her snowy paws. She couldn't really blend in; while the moon made darker-pelted cats silhouettes in the night, it glowed softly on her mostly white fur. Maybe she'd just wait for the gathering to begin.

→ ＷＲＥＮＰＡＷ ← .....● flatclan...● tom...● men.; lightleaf, foxclaw, sycamorefur...● tags; featherpaw
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

......It was with a great deal of bitterness that Wrenpaw padded alongside his mentor away from camp, his pale green eyes narrowed on the path in front of him. He and Lightleaf were travelling alongside Foxclaw, Lightleaf's sister, but he didn't put forth much effort to follow their conversation; it was just a lot of light-hearted nothingness. He could tell that his mentor was probably treading lightly with her hot-headed sister anyways, and he really wasn't interested in making any attempt to preserve the peace. Even if he was, though, the reddish-brown tabby was too absorbed in his own mind to think of anything to say.

......Gatherings were just another reminder that Wrenpaw was never going to be a warrior. He didn't get to be chosen to attend them; instead, his attendance was practically mandatory, even though there wasn't any official rule that he knew of that said so. Medicine cat apprentice. What deluded old tuft of fur in StarClan had decided that he was the right cat for the job? Wrenpaw swiped a vicious paw at a pebble in his path, sending it skittering a foxlength or two ahead of him. Oh, right, he thought, shooting a special glare at the small, unassuming rock as he passed it. I'm just too weak to be a warrior.

......It wasn't long before the scent of OakClan began to wreath his keen nose, enlightening him to the fact that it was going to be an absolutely packed gathering. There weren't many- if any -FlatClan warriors left behind for the super duper special meeting, and it didn't look as OakClan had spared anyone from the 'excitement' of the gathering either. As always, the clans mixed almost instantly, cats from both clans eager to get the latest scoop on the other's drama even with all of the recent tension. Uninterested in interacting with anyone on his own, Wrenpaw just continued following Lightleaf, barely paying attention to where they were going until his mentor's chipper voice cut across his thoughts. "It's been so long! Are you both well?"

......Wrenpaw's head snapped up to see Sycamorefur and Featherpaw, instantly turning wary as the whole lot of them started their overly cheerful greetings. Why was it that the entire medicine cat crew had to be a bunch of bubbly she-cats? It always overwhelmed him when they turning their sickening sweetness on him. While they were all distracted with each other, he attempted to edge around behind Lightleaf and try to escape them, but unfortunately, that only caught Featherpaw's eye. To his utter bemusement, no matter how much he tried to deter her, the stubborn she-cat either just wouldn't take a hint or she deliberately chose to annoy him at every gathering. "Hi, Wrenpaw! How are you tonight? I was just going to join some of the other apprentices; do you want to come with?"

......The worst part was that he couldn't even bring himself to not like her. Featherpaw was a good cat; she was the kind of cat he was supposed to be, he supposed, if he wasn't all broken inside. He envied her open kindness and willingness to talk to even a lowly fleabag like him. "Peachy," he muttered dryly, turning his baleful pale green eyes on the other medicine cat apprentice. When she invited him along, he glanced over at the other groups of apprentices, laughing and playing and chatting with the unfettered carelessness that he hadn't been blessed with, and his nose wrinkled slightly. When had he ever wanted to go gallivanting about with a bunch of hyperactive, hopeful warrior apprentices? However, he looked from Lightleaf to Featherpaw and back to the other apprentices and he let out a long, burdened sigh. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to talk to some other cats his age; StarClan knew Lightleaf had only politely hinted about a million times before that he should really try to make some friends. She'd done so much to try to help him that he knew he should probably do something to appease her too. Plus, once he got over himself, Wrenpaw had to admit that Featherpaw was way nicer to him than he deserved. "Yeah, sure. I guess," he meowed without much enthusiasm, but he took a step closer to her and nodded to indicate that she should lead the way.

[Shippe]

𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑

tom
60 moons
warrior- flatclan
location: gathering
tags: Foxclaw

xxx

PIneflower had always held great pride in his clan. He had been raised to have extreme loyalty to his clan,
a loyalty that had only increased over time. As the oldest warrior in the clan, he been there for all the cla
ns big moments. In some cases, he's one of the only ones who remembers certain events. While the clan ha
s seen some hugely positive events in his life time, Pineflower knows firsthand the struggle Flatclan has ha
d. When the clans learned of the unclaimed territory, Pineflower had immediately seen that the territory
should go to Flatclan. Though dividing up the land was logical, in Pineflower's view that didn't mean it was
the best option; equal doesn't necessarily mean fair.

As he walked alongside his clan to the meeting, his sense of dread grew. Pineflower had always been fairly
close with his leader, given that they practically grew up together, and so the warrior was able to glean th
e general impression that this meeting wouldn't go the way Pineflower thought was best. Normally, the sen
ior warrior enjoyed gatherings, appreciating the chance to catch up with acquaintances from other clans.
Today, however, he would have rather been anywhere else. When Foxclaw addressed him, Pineflower found
he had the same attitude. The warrior gave a sardonic chuckle in response to Foxclaw's words. "What could
distract you from hearing the decision that will lower our clan's prospects this leaf-bare? I, for one, can't w
ait" he responded bitterly.

At Lionstar's words, Pineflower hummed in agreement. He could at least respect that Lionstar was being dip
lomatic, even if the warrior believed that the solution wouldn't really work.

-

Throughout the whole process of dealing with the unclaimed land, Kestrelfeather had felt fairly impartial.
The clan's had been fine until the unclaimed land was discovered, so why did it have to change anything?
Still, she was curious about how the events would unfold, and viewed it as a way to exercise her leadersh
ip potential. Therefore, she masked her apathetic attitude and put her efforts into being diplomatic.

As Oakclan entered the gathering, Kestrelfeather was aware of Eveningpaw sticking by her side. The warr
ior nudged her apprentice lightly with her tail in an effort to ease any tension in the young cat. Shortly  
ter, Brightheart approached and Eveningpaw left to greet other apprentices. Kestrelfeather chuckled sligh
tly in response to Brightheart's words, but still replied lightly: "Both leaders are just trying to prevent fight
ing." As an afterthought, she added jokingly "even if the solution is a little mousebrained"

xxx

𝐊𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑

she-cat
30 moons
warrior- oakclan
location: gathering
tags: Brightheart

[crash the mode]

too close!

. ❝ after the fall, we'll shake it off
.xxxxxxxxxx... show me the way ❞

╔════════════╗

║
║
║

BURNTSTAR
oakclan leader
where gathering
with lionstar, fogcloud
maplecreek

║
║
║
╚════════════╝

indentLionstar, for his part, seemed open to the idea of dividing the territory. Burntstar was quietly relieved, though only to herself. She knew that just acceptance of an idea was easier to manage than acceptance of a reality, and she knew that whatever they chose her clan would be dissatisfied. It was true that Flatclan had the more difficult territory, presently, but she wouldn't say her clan was undeserving of more land. As much as she didn't want to see their rivals fall under duress, she was still aware that things had always been tense between them and that at the end of this gathering they would be rivals once more. The question was under what degree of hostility they would leave it.

indentWhen Lionstar suggested Flatclan be granted the richer half of the unclaimed territory her whiskers gave an involuntary twitch-- barely perceptible, but there was no doubt the other leader would notice. Burntstar again refrained from looking out over the crowd, from seeking out her cats and trying to justify anything other than what Lionstar had suggested. It made sense: they needed the territory to keep their clan fed and their herbs stocked through leaf-bare and longer. Still she couldn't help but want to take the richer portion for Oakclan. She treasured her clan above all things, and wanted to provide for them as well as she could in what time she had left. Lionstar wasn't about to admit weakness, certainly not for the whole gathering to hear, but she knew that leaf-fall was already starting to take a toll on the Flatclan warriors. Still, the 'richer' portion of the unclaimed land was on the Oakclan side of the river, and her cats wouldn't take well to Flatclan skulking around their borders. She was silent for a long moment before her whiskers twitched again, this time decisively and for all to see.

indent"The portion of territory you've described lies on the Oakclan side of the river. I hope you don't expect me to be okay with your warriors crossing into our territory on their way? The same would be true of our warriors crossing to their new hunting grounds." She couldn't possibly give up such a sizable chunk of rich land which could sustain her own clan when leaf-bare came. Even if she had no need to placate her clan, she was too fiercely dedicated to protecting her own to give the idea more consideration than that. Was it unreasonable...?

indentAs unwilling to give Lionstar the requested land as she was, Burntstar recognized that her decision could have catastrophic ramifications on Flatclan's supplies. They were enemies, but she couldn't have the deaths of Flatclan innocents on her conscience. "The half of the land closest to Flatclan's present border will belong to Flatclan, the other half to Oakclan. Should your warriors need it, Lionstar, I will grant your hunting patrols supervised passage through Oakclan's new acquisition." That... she knew that neither clan would be happy, but this compromise was necessary for the survival of Lionstar's clan and for the compliance of her own. It wasn't ideal. Things rarely were. "Fogcloud and I will organize these supervising patrols personally. Your warriors will be respected while within our borders."

. ❝ my head told my heart 'let love grow,'
.... but my heart told my head 'this time, no' ❞

╔════════════╗

║
║
║

STORMFOOT
oakclan warrior
where gathering
with adderfoot, snowflurry

║
║
║
╚════════════╝

indentWhere originally Stormfoot was concerned that Snowflurry might return his greeting with hostility or ignore him altogether, he was pleasantly surprised when the Flatclan warrior responded just as amicably. The pointed warrior's posture relaxed considerably now that he understood himself to be among friends-- even temporary, gathering-only friends --and his tail swept slowly across the face of the Flatstones. Stormflurry's question was standard, and here Stormfoot recognized that it was his own greeting that was unusual. The wording was wrong. Older Oakclan warriors might have scolded him for his impropriety, but under threat of appearing rude Snowflurry hadn't mentioned his flub. He was in a much better mood, suddenly. Rejuvinated, he answered, "The prey runs well, Snowflurry." His uneven grin was in part because he kept himself on-script when he answered, in part because he thought the conversation was going rather well so far. "Oakclan might have seen better moons, but we're fed and our clan is growing all the time! I'm glad to hear you're well, as well."

indentThe toms had little time to talk before the gathering negotiations began, and while Stormfoot was poor with paying attention he understood that this was a very important gathering. He sat with his tail curled tight around his paws, back rod-straight and his eyes on the leaders where they sat some paces away near the river. His eyes wandered over the faces in the crowd, his ears picking up most if not all of the words shared between Burntstar and Lionstar, but his investment in the conversation was clearly small. It was only when Burntstar mentioned Flatclan warriors being allowed to hunt in the new Oakclan territory that he really became absorbed in the discussion. Chatter was rising around him but his eyes were now locked on Oakclan's leader. He'd always known her to be fair, though he didn't know her well, but this seemed ridiculous even to Stormfoot. Ears trained on Lionstar Stormfoot let his eyes roam again over the gaggle of cats he sat in, watching their faces for the same discontent. He couldn't have been the only party offended by the news.

. ❝ the reaper crossed the hay field
....xx as set the blood-red sun ❞

╔════════════╗

║
║
║

FOXCLAW
flatclan warrior
where gathering
with pineflower

║
║
║
╚════════════╝

indentPineflower's words were too true, though she hated to admit it. She was far too invested in the outcome of this gathering to be distracted by anything-- even her sister's inane chatter hadn't done the job. With a discontented grumble Foxclaw's ears flattened to her head. The cats around her began to quiet as the leaders took their places and began the negotiations. Her claws may or may not have extended and retracted several times during the opening statements. Now she leveled a glare on the Oakclan leader, watching Burntstar's unmoving, uncaring face while Lionstar plead their case for the better land. He wasn't being in any way unreasonable-- in fact, he was asking for less than his clan deserved! Any cat with eyes could see how poorly Flatclan's land had been treating them for moons now, and to sit apart from them and suggest they deserved any less than one corner of prey-rich land was absurd and cruel. Foxclaw seemed to radiate energy as she tried to keep her body still and her mouth closed. Burntstar was opening her mouth, she was speaking, she was--

indentShe was rejecting Lionstar's proposal! That foxhearted brute-- Foxclaw could have screamed! Rather than cause a larger scene she hissed quietly into the fur of her chest, "That isn't fair! She'd kill us to give her fat warriors more land!" With Lightleaf a crowd of cats away Foxclaw settled for knocking her head against Pineflower's side instead, agitated, trying not to gnash her teeth. "And to add insult to injury, 'supervised hunting patrols' on Oakclan land! Lionstar can't accept this! He can't!"

. ❝ feel the wind in your hair
.... xxxxfeel the rush way up here ❞

╔════════════╗

║
║
║

LIGHTLEAF
flatclan medicine cat
where gathering
with wrenpaw, sycamorefur,
featherpaw

║
║
║
╚════════════╝

indentLightleaf touched noses with Featherpaw and accepted her good will with a hearty purr. Sycamorefur had an absolute darling of an apprentice-- not to say that Wrenpaw wasn't precious to her, but she'd expected to train somebody a little less... averse to a medicine cat's entire way of life. He was special, he needed time and she was happy to give it. Still, she couldn't help but wonder how close they could all become if he would accept that he was chosen by StarClan (and what an honor!) and accept her lessons, the friendships their positions offered them. Lightleaf and Sycamorefur shared a similar greeting before Oakclan's medicine cat brought the conversation to business. A worried look came across her face and she replied, "I know what you mean. The territory dispute is all anyone's been thinking about tonight, and I can't say I'm indifferent to the outcome." Without more prey, Flatclan cats would become fatigued and come to rely on supplementary herbs to perform their duties. Even without that drain on her supply, Lightleaf feared they wouldn't have enough herbs stocked to handle what leaf-bare might bring. "Oh, now I'm thinking about it. It's going to be a long night."

indentShe was aware that Wrenpaw was no longer at her side-- he and Featherpaw had vanished to enjoy the company of the other apprentices in attendance --but his absence was almost exacerbating her anxiety. Surely there wouldn't be a fight on the night of the full moon, but she would keep an eye on him on the off-chance.

indentThe leaders had begun their discussion while she was lost in her thoughts, and Lightleaf returned to the present with her tail high in the air and her nose twitching. Sycamorefur, at least, was a comforting presence at her side. Lightleaf shot a glance in Foxclaw's direction to find her sister almost bristling in the throng of warriors. The way Burntstar was speaking, things weren't looking good for Flatclan.

[spotthecow]

╔═══════════════════╗
ＦＯＧＣＬＯＵＤ
╚═══════════════════╝
ｄｅｐｕｔｙ ｏｆ ｏａｋｃｌａｎ ：： ｔｏｍ ：： ｔｈｉｒｔｙ－ｔｗｏ ｍｏｏｎｓ ：： ｔａｇｇｅｄ ｗ/ ｂｕｒｎｔｓｔａｒ， ｌｉｏｎｓｔａｒ， ｍａｐｌｅｃｒｅｅｋ
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬❧

xxxxxThe long legged tom captivating green eyes drifted around at the gathering cats, taking a well-thought out effort to at least remember all of their names although he knew that he probably wouldn't talk to them anytime soon. Fogcloud was always a 'think before you speak', kind of cat and especially being deputy, he had to be for Oakclan. The smoke grey tom's eyes narrowed slightly when the young Flatclan Apprentice, Petalpaw, had come right up to them and speak, holding a quite the lack of respect in his eyes. If she would've been in Oakclan, Fogcloud would've told her to calmly go back to her seat and allow the leaders to speak, but he wasn't to break his calm silence unless it was needed.

Fogcloud's eyes continued to watch the clan cat chatter about, although he found himself looking to Mallowfur. She was a lovely white and silver she-cat, one whom he had considered a great friend with a particularly soft voice and beautiful eyes. He gave her a little wave of his fluffy smoke-grey tail, but knew that he couldn't leave his position until the gathering was over.

He then watched the gathering intensely, taking mental notes in his mind, one that he was not fond of. The Flatclan cats wanted Oakclan's land? Burntstar wouldn't stand for such a mouse-brain thing! Fogcloud thought to himself, allowing his tail to lash irritably once as his green eyes drifted from Lionstar, to his own leader. When she announced his name and took no pity from the Flatclan cats, saying that the weaker source of land and closest to Flatclan would be the other clans border, the tom couldn't help, but to agree with a nod of his head and a stern voice. "Certainly, Burntstar, and there should not be any trouble either, if your clan shall be needing to hunt on our side."

╔══════════════════════╗
ＰＲＩＶＥＴＰＡＷ
╚══════════════════════╝
ａｐｐｒｅｎｔｉｃｅ ｏｆ ｆｌａｔｃｌａｎ ：： ｓｈｅ－ｃａｔ ：： ｔｅｎ ｍｏｏｎｓ ：：ｔａｇｇｅｄ ｗ/; ｓｎｏｗｆｌｕｒｒｙ ｓｔｏｒｍｆｏｏｔ， ｓａｇｅｐａｗ
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬❧

xxxxxThe black molly let out a tiny growl when snowflurry told her to stay close to him. Why should I have to stay close? All the other Apprentices are speaking with each other, she huffed with annoyance in her thoughts, but continued alongside of her snow white mentor. Privetpaw's nose wrinkled slightly as Stormfoot had come over to speak to the older tom. Oh, how she despised the Oakclan's strange scent and just Oakclan in general was not her favorite, so she stayed quiet for a brief second.

Her yellow-green eyes drifted to Sagepaw as the Oakclan Apprentice spoke to the small group. "Perfect," Privetpaw meowed bluntly and looked away arrogantly. There was absolutely no way that the she-cat was going to show fake kindness to cats which she didn't care for much. (sorry, it's so short >.<)