





There were a lot of cats here. Badgerstripe hadn't seen this many cats in one place before in... well, probably more than a year. Maybe that was why his paws were shaking and the eager chatter of strangers made his heart pound. He slunk around the edges of the Gathering, too curious to turn tail and run home, but too afraid to approach anyone for conversation. It was going to be a long night.
"Shadowgaze!" Shadow's Dance repeated, delighted to be speaking with this stranger. "I'm Shadow's Dance. Our names are quite similar! You can just call me Shadow, or Dance, if you'd prefer." They noticed Shadowgaze standing just a bit away, and decided to settle down into a sitting position, a subtle way to become less intimidating. "I'm a knight of the Golden Kingdom. Very nice to meet you, Shadowgaze. May I ask where you're from?"
"it's nice to meet you too." he sat down beside him. he was still slightly embarrassed about bumping into someone, but thistletuft seemed nice. "seaclan? do you live by the ocean?" he didn't think he'd ever been to the ocean before, but sandpounce had described it to him once and he thought it sounded nice. maybe one day he would be able to sea it.
"woodfeather!" she nodded. "i'm from duckclan. uh..." she quickly ran out of things to say. panicked, she added, "i really like your name."
sandpounce sat down, still smiling. the tom seemed to be nice. "i haven't heard of opal's circus before! is it nice there?"
Rookstar’s face warmed at Sunlight’s response, his enthusiasm refusing to slip away. “He most definitely is. He resembles me a lot, which is kind of sad considering just how handsome his other father is, but it’s a welcome chance since all of my kits with Chasmstar looked like her,” he chuckled, trying to hide the flick of his ear when he mentioned his former mate. “How are things in the Court?” he meowed, his voice softer and more controlled. The excitement of the news of the birth of his son had passed, and so he wanted to push his little outburst as far from their thoughts as possible. His eyes drifted to the sky as he wondered if his kits in StarClan were watching him. Were they okay with this? Were Loutrepaw, Bouepaw, and Ourspaw okay with their half-brother? Worry prickled through his pelt, but he tried to shake it away and offer Sunlight the biggest smile he could muster.
Chasmstar's entire body vibrated as she surged into the Gathering. She had eyes for only one pelt, and she sifted through the mass of cats until she spotted the eyes that made her blood boil. She wouldn't let him get the better of her this time, no she wouldn't. She stalked across the ground until she reached the tom, twisting around to run her thick tail underneath his chin in a greeting. "Hello, darling," she purred, her voice silky smooth yet dripping with all the venom she could muster. "I sure hope this past moon has brought as much misery upon your shoulders as it possibly could," she chirped brightly, as if she hadn't just blatantly insulted and wished harm on another cat. Her eyes were turned up in a wicked smile, and she winked at the tom before sweeping herself in a circle and sitting with her tail wrapped tightly around her paws. With one final action to complete her strange hello, she reached up with a paw and lightly tapped the tom's nose with a kit-like grin.
Wolfwhiskers's pelt itched with excitement as he padded past Rookstar with as much dignity as he could muster. The long, tiring days of being the Fou took their toll, but he looked forward to the Gatherings with a passion. They were, after all, the place with the highest chance that he could see Emberspark at. He didn't understand why this molly had so essentially swept him off his paws in just a few meetings, but she had become a face he saw in his dreams. He wove through the cats with only one purpose in mind, paying no attention to the joyful family reunions or the excited meetings of mates that lived in separate Clans. He shouldered one such pair aside, muttering an apology, before he spotted Emberspark next to two other cats. Doubt clouded his judgement, making him falter and wonder if he should even approach her. Pushing the thoughts aside, he surged towards her with a small smile. "Emberspark! How strange to see you here," he joked, silently cursing himself for the sarcasm. He wasn't usually like this! He was supposed to be calm, composed, and quiet. He was supposed to be the grumpy Fou, but Emberspark undid all of that.
Papillonshimmer shivered as she trekked towards the Gathering, cursing herself at having forgotten just how long of a journey it was. She was cold, miserably so, and she wished to be in her warm nest back at the camp. She could have been toasty between her sleeping clanmates if she hadn't offered to go to the Gathering. She could have had a warm meal when the sundown hunting patrol returned if she hadn't said yes to Rookstar's offer. She could have—
Her thoughts were stopped as the familiar sight of Apisbumble made a purr rise in her throat. She doubled her speed as she crossed the Gathering, making sure to approach Apisbumble in her full line of vision. She didn't dare startle her sister, especially since she believed it to be cruel to startle some cat as a joke. "Apisbumble!" she chirped, reaching her nose out in a greeting. She wanted to rub her forehead under her chin; she wanted to sniff every inch of Apisbumble to ensure the molly was not injured in any shape, form, or fashion. Yet, she restrained herself to a simple touch of the nose.
Crécerelleflight told himself over and over again that he wasn't searching for Morasspounce, but each time he chanted inwardly he could feel the doubt in his mind. He let out one long breath before letting his thin shield collapse, his eyes immediately roaming the crowd in search of her beautifully green pelt. He had once believed himself incapable of being happy after Soleilspots's passing, but Morasspounce had changed all that. He soared through the crowd, sniffing and eyeing every possible pelt until he exploded onto the other side. He panted as he recomposed himself, his heart falling as he realized he hadn't seen her. Maybe she just hadn't wanted to come this time around, he told himself. He chanted that she wasn't avoiding him as he sat down, but his hopes still sat delicately on
his paws. As he let his eyes fall, a flash of green caught his eye. "Morasspounce?" he called, springing to his paws.
Moosestar stared at herself in the puddle, quickly grooming her ruffled fur as she scoffed. She wasn't about to attend the Gathering looking like she just rolled out of her nest, that was for sure. Yet, that was the truth of what had happened. She had spent much of the past moon in her nest with Aukkit, Dallkit, and Verglaskit. After the accident which resulted in her losing a life and two of her kits being severely injured, she would take no chances. Fierce motherly protective instincts flooded through her, temporarily distracting her. She spun, narrowly missing another cat with her tail. "I'm sorry," she meowed, noticing the cat was in the leaders area. "I'm Moosestar," she meowed quickly, introducing herself so as not to be rude.
Oystersnap dipped his head to Atlasrain respectfully before he sat down. “I traveled a long ways,” he meowed, his croaking voice finally smoothing into a soft bass. “And what about you? Did you have to come very far?” he meowed, shuffling his paws against the ground as he hoped he wasn’t being too forward. This was to be one of his last Gatherings, and he wanted to enjoy himself. He knew that once he retired from being Hertuger he would need to stay at camp with the rest of the older cats. Yet, he found himself not wanting to. He resolved to pester Moosestar to allow him to return to Gatherings even after he retired. The long journey may be too much sometimes, but he would be willing to make it other times.
.Bogbelly, deciding to take initiative for the first time, spoke first. “We live on a cliffside as well, though we live where it is cold and snowy year-round. The cave system we live in is right on the ocean, but it is frozen over for most of the year. It’s great fun to go sliding on the ice once a senior cat has tested the weight capabilities when it’s too close to the thaw,” he meowed, and Bellmelody offered a vigorous nod. In the dark months and the day-night months the ice was always thick enough. Close to the middle of the bright months, when the ice would crack and float away only to return before the end of the day-night months, it usually wasn’t as safe to go ice sliding. “I’ve never seen my territory without some form of frost or snow on the ground,” she meowed, exaggerating just how their territory was
Silverstar padded through the crowd with a smile on her maw. Her third Gathering as the leader. She could do this, preferably without making a fool of herself like the first two times. "Hello," she greeted some other molly near the leaders' area. "I'm Silverstar of CascadeClan. Who are you?"
He still thought his leader was hopeless. Aldernight was here to make not friends, but allies. Silverstar knew nothing of diplomacy; that job went solely to him.
Banjaxpaw | Torrent | male | 10 moons | Tags: open!
Banjaxpaw wasn't upset when his mentor disappeared this time. They both had their own views on the purpose of Gatherings, and Aldernight had his own duties with his rank.
Arilwrath | Torpedo Champion | male | 35 moons | Tags: Badgerstripe [SpruceClan]Arilwrath stalked into the crowd with his head held high. He briefly wondered how long it would take before someone dared to approach him, but as time passed, he decided that he should be the one to initiate the conversation. The torpedo walked up to another tom. Unlike him, however, the other feline didn't seem to be enjoying the night. "Do you not want to here?" Arilwrath challenged. "If so, why did you come?"
Muntjacpaw | Torrent | male | 8 moons | Tags: Deadpaw [CloverClan]
The torrent bounced after his efflux, eyes scanning the crowd warily. It was his first Gathering; he'd heard of the size of the attendance before, but actually seeing so many cats at once was a different story.
Since everyone seemed to be speaking to otherclanners, Muntjacpaw approached the first cat he saw. "Hi..." he greeted uncertainly. "Um, I'm Muntjac! -paw... Who are you?"
Langsat | Aura of Ripples | female | 51 moons | Tags: open to medicine cats!
The older feline watched carefully as her apprentice engaged someone in conversation. How did he do it so easily?
Ignitionpaw | Seeker | male | 12 moons | Tags: open to medicine cat apprentices!
The tomcat ran into the crowd, a smirk playing on his lips. "Who wants to chat?" he challenged no one in particular.
Rhizomecinder | Cyclone | male | 51 moons | Tags: Miragewater [DuckClan]The spate flicked his tail, gladly accepting the offered seat. "A pleasure to meet you, Miragewater. I'm Rhizomecinder of CascadeClan." He inquired somewhat teasingly, "Are there a lot ducks around your clan's territory?"
Pilferpaw | Torrent | male | 9 moons | Tags: open!
Pilferpaw ran ahead of Rhizomecinder, jaw dropping at the sight and scents. "Woah... I didn't know the stars had so many followers!"

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