The Gathering (December 5th)

[|| allie]

badgernose.

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Badgernose scooted over a bit as the tom settled next to her. She hoped she didn't offend him; she just needed more space. The grass underneath her was cold again. The she-cat frowned, but figured it'd get warm again soon enough, and ignored it. "Ok then, Shrikewhisker it is," she mewed, tail waving. She was excited to know her new friend's name. "I'm Badgernose, but you seem to have already known that. I'm the medicine cat of StreamClan. You probably knew that as well." Her whiskers twitched in amusement.

She chuckled. "Well I'm flattered you think that about my pelt; I like it too, but it's always in my way just when it shouldn't be." And like it had heard her, another gust of wind flew past. Badgernose smoothed her fur out for the tenth time that night, and purred, "Like that."

She then noticed that he had avoided her question about StarClan. Maybe he just hadn't heard her, or chose to ignore it. She decided not to dwell on it, and instead tried to think of a conversation-starter. She racked her brain, but couldn't think of a single interesting thing to talk about. Badgernose sure hoped Shrikewhisker could think of something.

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[Whiskers]

Shrikewhisker was more than happy that Badgernose had continued their conversation, how ever silly and random it was. But hey, Shrikewhisker didn't claim to be a master of conversation; he was just the perfect little icebreaker. He never let his awkwardness or nervousness show. He just plastered on that goofy smile and tried to charm the opposite cat into talking with him. And if they were especially interesting, then sometimes Shrikewhisker would actually let his shield drop and he'd "be himself." Whatever that meant-- he rarely did it as his conversations were mostly just shallow.

But hey, Badgernose had potential. She was definitely intriguing and she was pretty and she was a Streamclan cat. And their rivers weren't too shallow at all. So Shrikewhisker dived in. Metaphorically, of course.

"Oh, you wouldn't know you? You're practically famous, being a medicine cat," Shrikewhisker said with a little wink. "Next to you, I'm just another warrior, eh? But medicine cat! I can hardly imagine. It seems like a hard job to me."

Shrikewhisker smiled inwardly. He would get her talking about her job, something she most likely loved. There was a risk that Starclan would come up...but...well...he'd deal with that. Maybe he could squirm his way out of it, or, if Badgernose didn't react to negatively toward his non-belief (or rather... lack of opinion at all) then he might be able to talk about it a little. As long as these waters didn't get too deep. Yes, he wanted to have a meaningful conversation, but he needed to wade in and get used to the water before he went to the deep end.

Okay, you need to officially drop this water metaphor, Shirkewhisker chuckled to himself and then turned his attention back to the she-cat next to him.

"What's it like, Badgernose?"

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[Cloud of Diamonds]

Palepaw

OOC: Apologies for the shortness.

She stopped for a second as a familiar voice reached her ears. Who was it...Swanpaw! Of course, the only other MeadowClan apprentice here tonight. Duh. She'd said so herself.

The spotted apprentice realized her Clanmate was behind her, and she twisted slightly so he could hear her amidst all the bustle going on.

"I'm good. Oh, my friend? Cedarpaw of FogClan. I gotta go."

She felt slightly bad for being kind of rude to her Clanmate, but she could apologize later. Besides, Cedarpaw one of her best friends was calling to her and it sounded like he'd met another one of his friends already. Well, any friend of Cedarpaw's was a friend of hers. They'd had such fun on the Journey. He was excitable and sometimes spoke a bit too quickly, but you could depend on him. And hey, who didn't want a friend that was surprising sometimes?

Palepaw wove her way through the throng, making her way to the little brown tabby and his dark-pelted friend who from his scent was StreamClan. Wonderful! They could have a fun discussion, and not have to be all formal and boring like she'd been with Sootpaw.

Ah, it is to goof off.

Finally managing to sit next to the two toms, she spoke in a friendly voice.

"Hi, Cedarpaw! Good to see ya. And you too, Shadepaw!"

Thank StarClan she had fulfilled her Gathering ambitions. Now she could be herself and have fun.

Stormclaw

(this is after Prowlie's post)


The gray tom found he liked the FogClan warrior. He seemed compassionate and friendly enough. He nodded and spoke briefly, "Nice to meet you, too."

But then were was something quite odd...as the heavily built FogClanner appeared to smile at his Clanmate, just for a moment he had the strangest sensation....jealousy? But why? Why would he be jealous merely because a cat from another Clan had smiled at Foxflower? It made no sense. Well, at least the feeling was gone now.

He returned his focus to the conversation as the muscular tom continued to speak.

The weather...yes, the strange lack of rainfall or snow that had persisted thus far in leaf-bare. Birchtail's kits...he vaguely remembered them being announced from some other Gathering moons ago. But they were apprentices now, apparently. The MeadowClan warrior wondered if they were here. Probably not; they were surely young for apprentices. However, he seemed to recall that they were not Clanborn, and it gave him a sense of pride that Dappledflower's kits were. The first kits born in his Clan.

"Yes." He mewed in agreement to Hailstorm's statement that the kits of each Clan had loving families and would not come to harm.

But then his leaf colored eyes narrowed as did his gray brow...what did the FogClanner mean, exactly? Was he referring to the Clan leaders? Yes, he certainly seemed to be...gesturing towards where they were sitting, it appeared. Something interesting...a fight? But surely not this night...no cat would dare...Stormclaw's head cocked slightly, puzzling over the gray cat's words.

"Perhaps. Maybe they are discussing the strange weather." He offered.

Redtail

(this is after Crow's post)

It was...overwhelming. Simply a massive wave of emotions and thoughts and memories sweeping over him, making him feel like he was little more than a container for these powerful things.

As he slunk back toward the edge of the clearing, he was dimly aware that Snarl was still speaking behind him. He hung his head in shame and anger, hardly caring if any cat noticed. Well, he did, but that was not as big of a problem as what he was wrestling with in his mind now.

It was like he could almost..feel, really feel...Snarl's emotions. It was a like a little bit of himself was left back there inside his brother, broadcasting. Though he hated to invade other cats' privacy, he could not help but imagine what the brown tabby was thinking.

He was mad, probably...and feeling awkward, like Redtail was, and a bit joyful and feeling pain and...

That's enough, he told himself firmly. You've enough feelings to deal with without want for more.

And as the rest of his brother's speech carried to him, he felt...humiliated. Why did Snarl have to evoke such things in him?He should be the one apologizing. He should be the one going after Snarl.

But he could not. Somehow, the ginger tabby felt like he had to work everything out first before he acted. He felt like...why should he go after him? They were absolutely surrounded by cats; he would die of embarrassment if someone overheard them. Yes. And...he just wanted to get over the shock of it all first. Yeah. How dare Snarl come after him! Didn't he realize Redtail need to think? Something bad would probably happen if he didn't; they'd fight again, most likely, or something...

And what he'd cherished for all those moons would slip away from him right after he'd found it.

He heard his old name. Warily, he looked behind him. Oh, rats. Quickly he darted behind a group of cats to hide.

OOC: It fails. e-e

[Crowzerplorodon]

Tigertail

Hold on. This wasn't supposed to happen. No, finding his brother again was supposed to be an amazing thing full of rainbows and butterflies and happy thoughts. Not upsetting Hiss to the point where he would just walk away. Then again, Tigertail never, ever thought he would find his brother in the middle of a gathering and learn that Hiss had joined another clan. That itself was probably the worse part, just shy of knowing that he had upset the orange tabby. An ache had begun in his stomach, crawling up his spine like a freaking parasite.

“Wait justa sec'!” What was he doing? He should leave Hiss to his own thoughts, let the tom have some time to just sit and think about things. This was a delicate situation for both of them! Separate clans, separate loyalties – but they were kin. Kin who, obviously, did not know how to act around each other when they had been kept away from each other for too long. Hiss had said some stupid things, he had said some stupid things. But hell, Hiss didn't actually need to walk away and leave him frantically looking around for that achingly familiar orange pelt. Tigertail took off into the crowd, following the diluted scent of his brother, desperately trying to find the tom and stop him just so they could talk and get some things out. “I didn't mean it!”

Of course he did. Under the shame he felt from worrying and hurting Hiss, Tigertail was still mad at his brother, a fact that pained him. StarClan – how could he be so selfish? He should have known that Hiss had some damn good reasons for not coming after him, he should have known that falling into the river normally means death. It was reasonable that Hiss hadn't tried to find him. Then again, Tigertail was far from a reasonable cat. “Hiss!” Oh no, he wasn't going to let his brother go now. Screw it if Hiss wanted some alone time, Tigertail didn't care. He was going to talk to his brother, and he was going to do it now.

ooc;
k. it's a little better.[/size]

[prowler.]

Minnow. hail..

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Minnowpaw tilted her head lightly to the side as the others commented on how the snow made it more difficult to hunt. She frowned lightly, having never known her parents nor had any mother figure throughout her young kithood, she had never really been told much of the snow and she'd never thought of asking Stormflower. Maybe if it did snow, Stormflower could even show her how to hunt in it, just so she could see what the others spoke about. Her thoughts distracted, she hummed for a moment, flicking her tail before snapping her eyes back on the others and rejoining the conversation, just as Rabbitstep was commenting somewhat indignantly about snow and she picked up on the word kits. He must be the father of the new MeadowClan litter! She thought with excitement. Would it be wrong if she was to ask him about them? Prying on their family privacy maybe? She stopped her excited thoughts and cut herself short - he'd talk about them if he wanted to.

Meanwhile Cougarpaw was talking and Minnowpaw turned her attention to him, noting as he politely gave his clanmate a curt compliment before requesting her - and the tom from MeadowClan, of course - name. She remembered Ashstorm had said that Cougarpaw was not her apprentice, so he must be Cougarpaw. As she turned to reply she halted, suddenly aware as her own solid gray eyes met his vibrant blue hues. Hmm she thought fleetingly - they did look quite striking against his pale pelt. She blinked abruptly to herself, what was that? Another blink and she reassured herself that all she'd been doing was mentally noting his appearance, a fact, nothing more, nothing less. Sure something nagged at her, you keep thinkin' that.

Suddenly aware how distracted she'd become that she was just gawping, she snapped her mouth shut, then hastily got around to replying, 'Minnowpaw!' Woah. Smooth. 'Err, I mean, my name's Minnowpaw, of StreamClan. Nice to meet you, Cougarpaw.' She said, with a smile - that was two new people she'd met today, her eyes turned slightly to the MeadowClan tom present, intrigued and expectant, before commenting on Cougarpaw's continued words. 'Yeah, me neither - all I've heard is it's white and wet.' She crinkled her nose at the last word, ergh. Wet. For a StreamClanner, Minnowpaw bizarrely wasn't amazingly fond of getting wet and cold yick, what was good about being cold?

----

hailstorm smiled warmly as stormclaw upon hearing him padded over and joined the pair. nice to meet you, stormclaw, he said, his own deep voice rumbling heartily in a warm mannerism, hailstorm, of fogclan. he said, his words unarticulated but to the point, as he flicked his tail toward himself, indicating that yes, he did mean himself when he said the name. he gave foxflower a reassuring smile, letting her know subtly that her distractedness earlier had been fine. he nodded lightly as she voiced concern regarding dappledflower's kits health, indeed, for their sake, i hope the weather does not worsen. i would say the same for birchtail's, but they have become apprentices in what seems like no time, though i still worry sometimes.

hailstorm stopped himself there, to say more after falconpaw and cinderpaw's wellbeing would be placing himself too highly in their lives, when really he had only fleeting encounters with the kits - including when he was due to lead patrol and they'd wanted in. he smiled lightly at the memory though, unable to keep a lighter glint out of his eye, 'not to matter, both in question have loving families and clans behind them and i'm sure will not be allowed suffer.' as of yet, hailstorm realized that none of the leaders had shown any sign of beginning the gathering and hailstorm glanced toward the skies - as expected, it had inched a across a slight bit, if they didn't hurry up there'd be no time for the announcements.

taking their time, he commented, to his companions, indicating over to the leaders with his head, maybe waiting to see if anything interesting arises without them saying anything. he made the comment with a smirk, not entirely serious, but it was a flat joke, it was clear hailstorm did not see much humour within the conflict and tension rising between his own clan and pineclan. his brow furrowed lightly as he thought of his position, he would not act himself until he was given one side or the other - but in the end, he knew where his eventual position in the matter really was. this made his heart heavy, but he forced himself to raise it a bit and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

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[Crowzerplorodon]

Cloudstar

It was cold, cats were irritated, and this gathering had gone on too long now. Tensions would flare even more if this kept on. Cloudstar looked between the three other leaders, catching each of their eye in turn, trying to relay the fact that he was going to end this gathering now. After all, these cats had friends to get back to, and resting to do before they started their day tomorrow. Holding them here any longer would just cause problems, which the StreamClan leader did not want. Hoping that the leaders had gotten his message, Cloudstar turned to the rock, studying the footholds closely, picking the best path for scaling the rock.

In a flash he leaped, paws fitting easily into the places he had found. Before one could blink he was on the top of the rock, circling the platform it formed and waiting for the other leaders to join him up there. He didn't want to sit. From what his paw pads told him, the rock was much to cold to sit just now. And it would probably take the heat from the other three leaders to warm up the cold stone before it was ready for them to sit on and address all the other clans.

Looking out at the cats gathered, Cloudstar was pleased to see that they had mingled better than he assumed they would. Easily he could pick out his own warriors and apprentices – he was more than pleased to note that Minnowpaw was talking to not one, but two PineClan cats. That type of unity wasn't something he often saw among his warriors. A MeadowClan cat was there too, but, not surprisingly, no FogClan cats had decided to speak with the group. Ah well, no matter. If FogClan were going to be judgmental and rude to the other clans, he would not let it bother him.

Tigertail

"Hiss!" Oh, he was frantic now. All the cats seem to be crowding around each other, preventing Tigertail from slipping through as easily as he probably could. After all, just because he was chasing his brother didn't mean he could just be rude and barge through other cats... Or did it? Were there rules that dictated when it was or wasn't appropriate to run into another feline? Well, it didn't matter now. All that mattered was finding Hiss, apologizing, and finding some way to work everything out before the gathering ended. Because StarClan be damned if Tigertail was just going to let the orange pelted warrior go now. No way.

Tigertail caught sight of Stormclaw as he ran through the cat. And for just a split second, the tabby warrior wondered what would happen if he did stop chasing Hiss and join up with Stormclaw and the other cats around his friend. Really... StarClan wouldn't mind? He had already decided that Hiss wanted some alone time... For just a moment, his paws faltered, but then he began running again, green eyes looking for the orange tom. He wouldn't give up now. Who knew when they would next meet? Would it be at the next gathering? Or would they miss each other, and wait for the next one? Tigertail doubted he could even wait one moon before seeing Hiss again, let alone however many more until they were both invited.

"Hiss!" Idly, he wondered if anyone had noticed the little chase going on now. The warrior almost called out his brother's name again, when a flash of white moved in the corner of his eyes. Reluctantly, the tabby stopped, turning to watched the leaders in the center of the clearing. They... they were starting? He needed more time! He hadn't found Hiss yet, and there was no way he could keep looking while the leaders spoke. "Hiss..." He growled, hoping somehow the orange tom would hear him and show himself.

Foxflower

"You're very right, Hailstorm," Foxflower said with a smile, watching the FogClan warrior fondly. "The kits will be backed up by their clans, all will be fine. And this Leaf-Bare will pass soon, and New-Leaf will make things easier. I suppose it's a blessing of sorts we've yet to have snow, though the lack of moisture is affecting the air and river negatively." On her last visit to the river, Foxflower had a hard time finding a patch that wasn't covered by ice. It had been very quiet by there, and the bi-colored she-cat didn't like it. Plus, the air was dry and staticy, and made her fur stand up on end, even when she was in a pleasant mood.

The MeadowClanner frowned, watching the leaders. "Yes, they are rather late... I wonder what they're thinking? It's cold out and cats surely want to go and get warm - them included! Maybe what they have to say is extremely important? Or maybe they're discussing something among themselves... And forgot the time?" That happened to her a lot, she would often just forget what she was doing and lose track of the time. Before she knew it, the sun had set and she hadn't even eaten yet! It was rather a bothersome trait, sometimes. But other times it had its advantages. "The weather, yes, Stormclaw. The weather is of importance."

She spoke idly, as if she wasn't focused. Which, of course, she wasn't. Foxflower was busy focusing on the starkly white pelts of Cloudstar and Owlstar, as well as Gingerstar's fire colored fur. She didn't know these leaders, but, if one could judge by fur color, they must be good ones. "Oh look!" She said sweetly. "I think they're starting, see?"

[Cloud of Diamonds]

Cedarstar

They had been merely sitting at the bottom of the rock for a while now, and he was getting impatient. However, the only sign of this emotion was his ever more faster-moving tail. The rest of his composure remained as it always did in Gatherings: cool. It was difficult, though.

These cats, obviously their leadership abilities don't amount to starting something important on time, he thought crossly. You would never catch the brown tabby doing that.

But, while he was busy brooding, Cloudstar beat him to it. Silently cursing, Cedarstar leaped up moments after. Well...he had been distracted by their ineptitude. His careful aura confidence never changed even as he was second up. It was better than last, after all.

The thick-furred leader cast his gaze over the Gathering cats, trying to pick out those from his own Clan.

There was Rabbitstep...he seemed to be with a StreamClanner and some PineClanners. None of which he recognized. But over there...was Palepaw! Chatting with two other apprentices, he saw. He guessed the dark one was a StreamClanner and the other little one was a FogClanner.

Swanpaw, too...was somewhat near his fellow apprentice, though looking a little put-out. Perhaps he'd had an argument.

And Foxflower and Stormclaw, together! Sitting with a cat he recognized, Hailstorm of FogClan.

Somehow the sight of them churned familiar jealousy inside him...he knew they weren't mates, but they appeared to be good friends. It wasn't their fault- they merely reminded of him of what he so hoped would one day be his...a family, kits...one whom he could love like Russetpelt did Littlewhisker, or as Rabbitstep did Dappledflower...

It's useless to worry about it, he growled inwardly at himself. StarClan will grant you a mate when you deserve one. He felt calmed by the thought. Yes, he would recognize who his mate was when it was time for him to know. StarClan, watching all, would see and surely send a sign for him when he sought it most.

Redtail

OOC: He and Stormclaw and Ashstorm and Palepaw will all be done later. As usual. But they'll be on this post, each post saying which ones it specifically comes after in terms on conversation/leaders starting the Gathering. Heh heh, I influence my own posts. x3 /shotdead

[Whiskers]

Ah, so Cloudstar was finally going to start this thing. Gingerstar nodded her approval, ready to get her tail out of there and head back to her den. Much warmer, much safer, more familiar. She had been staring at too many unfamiliar mugs for for too long. There was only so much the leader could stand, since she wasn't one to hang around and talk. Plus, she didn't enjoy watching cats avoid her warriors. It was rude.

It had been happening a lot lately. Especially on the Fogclan side. Last few gatherings, the air had been especially cold between the two clans, and it wasn't the weather. Owlstar acted normal...but Gingerstar was not blind to how the warriors interacted. She was almost worried-- almost-- that she would have to handle a border skirmish soon. Tensions could only get so high before the fur started flying, and Gingerstar preferred to have her clan scratch-free.

Tonight was no different. Streamclan, Meadowclan, they weaved in and out and chatted up Pineclan like normal. Fogclan was mostly keeping to themselves, or avoiding Pineclan at all. There were a few that attempted conversation and that gave Gingerstar some hope, but not enough.

Let them be boneheads then, she thought with a glance down at a few Fogclan cats. If they want to judge, they aren't even worth a sideways glance.

Gingerstar noticed then, that althought Cloudstar had made the motions of starting the Gathering, he had paused. Like a kit, Gingerstar noted with a snort. Here the cats were finally quiet and attentive and what was he waiting for? She pushed her way in front. She waited for no silly tom cat.

"If you aren't going to say anything, move over," she spoke to both Cedarstar and Cloudstar, a teasing smirk on her face. Her tail lashed back and forth as her eyes settled on the cats before her. It was time for the annual update.

"Good evening," she meowed loudly and pleasantly to the clans. "Everyone been enjoying themselves? I don't blame you if you haven't, I've been freezing my tail off up here. Doesn't help that I have to sit with Cedarstar, eh?" She glanced back at her old clanmate-- the days of Forestclan flickered in her mind for a brief second-- and she let him know it was just a joke. She felt the need to lighten the air and, yes, she was in a strange mood tonight. She almost wanted to excuse them all and go home.

"So because of this unbearable cold, I'll make it brief. The drought has gotten more serious. Water is scarce on Pineclan grounds, but we're fighting on like real warriors and I'm sure we'll grit our teeth and make it through this harsh leaf-bare." Gingerstar said.

"Also, during the last moon, one of my warriors reported a foolish Fogclan apprentice hunting on our land," she continued, looking at Owlstar. "And though I'm sure the scratches on his ears are reminder enough, I'd still like to ask you, Owlstar, to keep your cats where they belong."

Gingerstar forced herself to dip her head to each of the leaders, her own token of respect. Her turn was over, thank goodness, and so she hoped the others would wrap it up quickly. She was ready to go home.

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[Kelly]

Finally, one of the leaders had taken the initiative to start the meeting. If they hadn't, Owlstar was just going to do it herself. And she always disliked starting meetings, she never knew exactly what to say. When others went before her it was easier to formulate some words in her head, or add on to what she had planned based on what they were saying. Like, for instance, if one of them mentioned kits, it would be easy to add a quick congratulations to her speech. Though, kits in this weather would be just insane.

Green eyes followed Cloudstar as the white tom cat leaped up on the rock, waiting for the other three. Hm, polite. Something she'd always admired the leader for. Too bad Gingerstar couldn't be as patient, she growled softly, watching the other she-cat follow Cedarstar and get right to speaking. At least Owlstar would have had the thought to let another leader go first, or even ask if someone wanted to go. Or maybe not, seeing how it was cold out here and just getting colder as the moon rose higher in the sky. The clans did need to get home, and fast, or else they would all freeze to the grass and have to wait for the sun to thaw them out. That wouldn't be a pleasant way to wake up.

She jumped, not caring that Gingerstar had started speaking already. It meant less time on the cold rock. With a curt nod at Cloudstar and Cedarstar, the leader sat between them, taking their warmth for herself. She expected Gingerstart to bring up the thing with Falconpaw, the whole clan was talking about it anyway. The black and white cat just nodded, stepping up next to the PineClan leader when she finished, a soft grin on her face. “Of course, Gingerstar, I'll tell my apprentices that PineClan warriors feel threatened by their presence.” Owlstar couldn't tell if she was joking or not, though she probably was. It was too cold to be snappy with people.

“FogClan is faring well against the cold, we are a strong clan,” she said, addressing the assembled cats with a confident gaze. “One of our queens, Birchtail, has taken in a lone kitten, Palekit. She too is doing fine.” Her tail twitched softly. “And as the days go by, Leaf-Bare gets closer to ending. I'm sure we all look forward to that. Cedarstar?”

[/justify]

“Praise where praise is due, Ashstorm,” he said softly, before lapsing into silence and listening to the other cats speak among each other. Kits in MeadowClan? That was fantastic news! It seemed the clans really were finally settling, if kits were being produced. Swallowpelt had given birth to her own lovely litter recently, and now a MeadowClan queen. How wonderful, Cougpaw hoped he would get to meet the young cats soon, as kits were a blessing. Though, they'd have to be apprentices to attend the gathering. Ah well, the light colored tom could busy himself with Swallowpelt's children. They were getting older now, and acting more like young apprentices than kits from the nursery!

Idly, he wondered if FogClan or StreamClan had cats as well. He knew that FogClan had two young apprentice that were kits at one point, but, from what he heard, they hadn't been born into FogClan. Falconkit, er, Falconpaw and his sister Cinderpaw, he noted, suddenly wondering if any of them were here at the gathering. Then he frowned. Even if they were, they wouldn't approach, as they were FogClan cats. The woes of clan separation and tension. As he shook himself back to reality, Cougarpaw momentarily caught the StreamClan apprentice's gaze. The she-cat had... very gray eyes, he realized, eyes wide. Could eyes even be that gray?

Well, obviously they could, as he was staring at a cat with eyes that gray right now. Not drawing attention to himself, Cougarpaw shook his head gently, turning back to focus on everyone else in the group. “It's nice to meet you, Minnowpaw.” She, apparently, knew his name. Ashstorm probably was the cause of that, not that was a problem. “Regardless of if it's wet or not, I'd still very much like to see it...” The apprentice trailed off, turning his head to watch the leaders as they talked among themselves.

The first to move was Cloudstar, though he said nothing as he waited atop the rock. How polite, Cougarpaw mused. Cedarstar quickly followed, and also didn't say anything. Gingerstar and Owlstar came last, but Gingerstar spoke right away, saying something to the other leaders Cougarpaw didn't quite catch. Knowing his leader, it was probably something not so nice. He smiled softly as the ginger she-cat spoke, amused by her words, but wishing she could have been a little nicer about everything. It wasn't terribly polite.

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[Cloud of Diamonds]

Cedarstar

He could not help but lift his lip slightly in faint disgust. Gingerstar was acting like an apprentice.

How could one keep a straight face when one of their companions was being ridiculous?

Though he was often somewhat haughty and slightly rude to the other leaders, he'd tried to be better this Gathering. The PineClan leader should take things more seriously. Then again, Gatherings probably carried less importance for them than they did for the other Clans.

He stayed put, letting Gingerstar stand where she would.

Huh...so some foolish young cat had broken the warrior code. What a surprise.

He gave the black-and-white a leader a neutrally friendly and slightly sympathetic look, favoring her and her politeness over the orange leader's mannerisms.

Turning to face the mass of cats, he spoke in his deep and loud meow,

"Thank you, Owlstar. I have little news to share which I'm sure is good. Dappledflower's litter of three has been born and they are healthy. The badger that was chased out before has not returned, but we are watching carefully for more signs of it. That is all."

He then turned his head to the snow-colored tom beside him, rumbling, "And you, Cloudstar?"

Redtail

Oh, geez. Still? Still he was being pursued?

Though he seemed to have lost him...had it just been his imagination that'd made him think he'd heard his old name once more?

Should he, after all? Should he just risk it, let down his guard for once, just forget that anything unpleasant had happened, let the memories roll off his shoulders and just sink into rare joy?

No. As lovely and sweet and cuddly as that sounded, no.

Why? It was a Gathering. That was the whole point. And letting down his guard meant letting down his shields, his protection against madness. For after brief happiness here could only come parting. And then what? Even more pain knowing who he loved lived apart from him? Having his pain of longing be refreshed?

And he would just die if some she-cat giggled seeing their reunion.

The leaders...they must be getting on the rock! Judging by the risen level of muttering and excitement around him.

Panic threatened engulfed to engulf the StreamClan tom. What if he was forced to stand still and Snarl found him?

His old name...again. Definitely Snarl. Close by. How close?

Peering out from the side of some FogClanner, he saw his brother, growling his name.

What should he do?

And what came next was an act of pure panic, the summing up of so many emotions kept at bay, the desperate longing inside him, and above all his refusal to show his feelings here and now and say he needed some time to sort things out.

In a harsh whisper, he mewed, "I'm Redtail, not Hiss! I'm not the same!"

And as he finished speaking, Gingerstar began to talk.

-unfinished-