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Post by thistle on Aug 21, 2023 17:04:04 GMT -5
Palegaze wove through the ferns crowding the hollow's slope, settling beside Eclipsesky and letting their fur brush, but not saying a word.
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Post by 🌙Moonpower🌙 on Aug 21, 2023 18:00:01 GMT -5
Beanpaw wrinkled his nose when he stepped into Fourtrees. As stunning as the area was, he didn't expect it to smell this rank. "Why is it so stinky here?"
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Post by thistle on Aug 21, 2023 18:46:39 GMT -5
Palegaze looked down at his apprentice. "That's ShadowClan's scent. They laid claim to FourTrees after the fire because of how terribly it scarred their territory."
He also cast his gaze around the hollow, the moonlight frosting every leaf and blade of grass in silver. "I'm sure we will find out at this Gathering if they'll be keeping it."
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Post by 🌙Moonpower🌙 on Aug 21, 2023 19:09:57 GMT -5
Beanpaw blinked in surprise. "Can a Clan really claim Fourtrees like that? I thought Fourtrees belonged to everyone."
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Post by thistle on Aug 21, 2023 19:21:43 GMT -5
"Well, yes..." Palegaze started, not sure how to explain exactly why ShadowClan had been allowed control of FourTrees, not wanting to dampen the mood of his first Gathering. "This was a special case, though. Very extreme circumstances."
He shook his head, remembering the long, long list of cats ShadowClan had lost. "Even though our loyalty should lie solely with our Clan, we all have a responsibility to maintain the existence of all five Clans together, under the same stars," he said, looking at Beanpaw with an uncharacteristically serious expression. "We may be different Clans, but we're all cats."
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Post by 🌙Moonpower🌙 on Aug 21, 2023 19:25:05 GMT -5
Cedarstar led ShadowClan into the clearing of Fourtrees. He flicked his ear twice when he realized Swiftstar and WindClan were already here. He lifted his head to walk taller and eyed the Great Rock with disdain. The memory of missing the jump at the last gathering burned at the front of his mind. I'm better now, thanks to Snowdance and Opalmist, Cedarstar lifted his chin, feeling the stretch of his scars, but not feeling any pain. Let the other Clan gawk at his burns. He knew he did the right thing for ShadowClan. Yet, he couldn't shake the bitter taste of the last gathering in his mouth. Here he was, still the newest leader of all the Clans and he was still under fire from his decisions. Northstar had been respected throughout the forest and here he was feeling like he made a mockery of everything. Cedarstar took a deep breath. He'd show the Clans that Northstar made the right decision picking him to be her successor...somehow.
Cedarstar bounded up the Great Rock, a perfect jump that thrummed satisfaction in his chest. He gave Swiftstar a nod of greeting before taking his seat. He kept his mouth shut because he wasn't sure what to say. He didn't exactly care how WindClan was fairing after ShadowClan had been struggling the past couple moons. So, he just looked out at the clearing to watch the two clans mingle.
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Post by 🌙Moonpower🌙 on Aug 21, 2023 19:29:23 GMT -5
"Well, yes..." Palegaze started, not sure how to explain exactly why ShadowClan had been allowed control of FourTrees, not wanting to dampen the mood of his first Gathering. "This was a special case, though. Very extreme circumstances." He shook his head, remembering the long, long list of cats ShadowClan had lost. "Even though our loyalty should lie solely with our Clan, we all have a responsibility to maintain the existence of all five Clans together, under the same stars," he said, looking at Beanpaw with an uncharacteristically serious expression. "We may be different Clans, but we're all cats." Beanpaw blinked thoughtfully as he listened to Palegaze. He didn't realize warriors were responsible for all the Clans together. He wasn't entirely sure what that meant. "I don't--" Beanpaw cut off when movement from the shadows caught his eye. He jumped and hid behind Palegaze, but he flushed with embarrassment when he realized what came out of the shadows were other cats. They smelled like Fourtrees did. "Is that..." Beanpaw peeked from behind Palegaze, green eyes widening to orbs at the Clan that emerged from the shadows. "Is that ShadowClan?" He spotted the black tom that led the stealthy felines. His jaw dropped. "What happened to that cat's fur? It's all patchy and--" he cut off and stared at Palegaze. "They look mean."
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Post by thistle on Aug 21, 2023 19:38:16 GMT -5
WindClan
Palegaze suppressed a laugh at Beanpaw's fright. Cute.
"Yes, that is ShadowClan," he confirmed. "Cedarstar is their leader. His fur looks different because of the burns he sustained in the fire."
He smiled warmly at his young apprentice. "Now, Beanpaw, you can't judge a cat by their pelt!" he chuckled. "Some ShadowClan cats are mean, yes; and so are cats from all four Clans. ShadowClan is very proud, so sometimes they come off as brash and cold. It looks like they've brought some apprentices along, would you like to go meet them? You can also stay by me if you'd prefer."
ShadowClan
Fuzzypaw slithered down the slope into the hollow alongside her Clanmates, blue eyes shining as she took in the FourTrees. The last Gathering she'd attended, she'd been glued to Thistlestalk's side all night. This time, she was determined to meet cats from other Clans!
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Post by 🌙Moonpower🌙 on Aug 21, 2023 19:50:30 GMT -5
WindClan
"Go meet them?" Beanpaw flattened his ears and looked through the crowd of ShadowClan cats to find the smaller apprentices. Maybe it was best if he stayed with Palegaze? But, he was curious. The nursery stories always made ShadowClan out to be bad guys. Was that really true? Beanpaw looked up at Cedarstar, unable to not stare at the tom's burns. That was from the fire? Beanpaw had heard stories, but he didn't remember the fire, he was too little (or not born yet, I don't remember). Beanpaw shuffled his paws. "I don't know."
ShadowClan
Palepaw and his sister, Whorlpaw, slipped out of the shadows after their clanmates. "WindClan is the only one here?" Palepaw tilted his head. "I was hoping to be first, to be honest."
Whorlpaw shrugged. "At least it isn't ThunderClan. Maybe some of the WindClan cats will have good stories. What do you think, Fuzzypaw?"
Rowanpaw hung back, preferring to stay with clanmates than mingle.
Longpaw walked at the back of the ShadowClan crowd.
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Post by thistle on Aug 21, 2023 19:54:48 GMT -5
WindClan
"I think you could have fun," Palegaze gently urged, wanting Beanpaw to experience the Gathering to the fullest, but understanding his hesitance. "I won't make you go, though."
ShadowClan
"Yeah, let's go see them! I didn't talk to any other Clans at the last Gathering, so I really want to!" Fuzzypaw answered enthusiastically, practically bouncing on her toes with excitement.
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Post by 🌙Moonpower🌙 on Aug 21, 2023 20:02:25 GMT -5
WindClan
Beanpaw took a deep breath. "Ok...I'll...I give it a go." He smiled at Palegaze and stood up. His fur fluffed out in betrayal of his nerves, but he held his head high when he walked toward the scary ShadowClan cats.
ShadowClan
Whorlpaw chuckled. "I think Palepaw and I talked to too many cats last gathering." She glanced at her brother. "We almost got into a fight with a couple ThunderClan apprentices."
Palepaw huffed. "They would've deserved it." He took a deep breath. "I think I'm going to stay with ShadowClan cats this gathering. You two have fun mingling."
Whorlpaw smiled after her brother when he padded back to his mentor. She looked at Fuzzypaw. "Let's go see if we can find WindClan apprentices to talk to. I'd like to make friends in the other Clans. Everyone always hates us for being ShadowClan. I want to prove their stories wrong."
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Post by thistle on Aug 21, 2023 20:07:32 GMT -5
WindClan
"Good luck!" Palegaze meowed, watching as two ShadowClan apprentices broke off from their Clan to make their way to the space between the two. The two she-cats looked friendly enough, so Palegaze turned his attention back to his surroundings, nodding in greeting to ShadowClan warriors as they settled in the clearing.
ShadowClan
"Sure!" Fuzzypaw nodded, padding alongside Whorlpaw toward the opposite Clan when she spotted a young brown tom approaching them. "Hey, he looks young. He must be a brand new apprentice!" she mewed. She bounced up to him, giving a quick dip of her head. "Hi! I'm Fuzzypaw!" she said brightly.
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Post by Frozen on Aug 21, 2023 20:19:04 GMT -5
WindClan
Slushfur bounded after Swiftstar and sat down with the other WindClan warriors. Looking at the Great Rock, she remembered when Blacktail would sit next to the other deputies. She dipped her head to the arriving ShadowClan cats.
Silverpaw kept close to the other WindClan cats, but he eyed a nearby group of ShadowClan apprentices curiously.
ShadowClan
Shortcloud and Cinderspeck arrived behind Cedarstar. Cinderspeck, wanting to keep his promise to Hazelblaze and tell her all about the gathering, lingered near the WindClan cats.
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Post by 🌙Moonpower🌙 on Aug 21, 2023 20:19:47 GMT -5
Beanpaw froze in his tracks when the older ShadowClan apprentices came up to him. The fluffy one came up so quickly, he wasn't expecting. "Uh...Fuzzypaw," he repeated her name. It took a second for him to register it. Fuzzy...paw. That wasn't a scary ShadowClan name. "H-Hi."
"I'm Whorlpaw." Whorlpaw padded up with a smile. "This is your first gathering, right?"
Beanpaw nodded.
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Post by 🌙Moonpower🌙 on Aug 21, 2023 20:22:36 GMT -5
(Hey Frozen! I got a bunch of ShadowClan cats if you want to rp with them. I only brought Beanpaw from WindClan.)
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Post by thistle on Aug 21, 2023 20:23:38 GMT -5
"Oh, how exciting!" Fuzzypaw meowed cheerily, oblivious to Beanpaw's surprise at her friendly nature. "I've been to one Gathering so far, but I kinda stuck by my mentor the whole time so I didn't actually get to talk to anybody, so it's sorta like my first too, in a way!" she chattered on.
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Post by Moonblazer on Aug 21, 2023 20:34:27 GMT -5
Opalmist padded shakily into the clearing, looking distracted.
The rest of my Shadowclan cats arrived.
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Post by 🌙Moonpower🌙 on Aug 21, 2023 20:34:57 GMT -5
Whorlpaw twitched her whiskers in amusement at Fuzzypaw's excited chattering. "Fuzzypaw," She giggled. "At least let him tell us his name."
Beanpaw blinked at the two she-cats. He glanced back toward his Clan. These two were no where near the stories he heard of dark, territory hungry, villainous ShadowClan cats.
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Post by thistle on Aug 21, 2023 20:37:23 GMT -5
"Oh, right! Uh, sorry," Fuzzypaw chuckled sheepishly, ducking her head. "What's your name?"
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Post by 🌙Moonpower🌙 on Aug 21, 2023 20:39:22 GMT -5
Beanpaw looked back at the girl and flicked his tail, his fur fluffed out. "Uh...I'm...I'm Beanpaw."
Whorlpaw giggled. "It's nice to meet you Beanpaw."
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Post by thistle on Aug 21, 2023 20:42:37 GMT -5
"Beanpaw, that's a good name," Fuzzypaw nodded approvingly. "Sorry if I startled you! I just get a little excited, sometimes. Oops!"
She tilted her head curiously. "Who's your mentor, Beanpaw?"
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Post by 🌙Moonpower🌙 on Aug 21, 2023 20:52:19 GMT -5
Beanpaw glanced at the two she-cats then pointed with his tail back at his Clan. "Palegaze. Right over there." He flicked his ear and looked Whorlpaw and Fuzzypaw up and down. "You're not what I was expecting."
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Post by Icefire15 on Aug 21, 2023 20:52:21 GMT -5
Snowdance padded alongside Opalmist, glancing over at her apprentice every so often. It had been several days now since the medicine cat meeting, and she still couldn’t shake the image of a different cat standing in Opalmist’s place. Snowdance shook the thought away and looked back at her apprentice, “Are you alright, Opalmist?” She asked her, giving her a worried look.
Vixenflame followed after her clanmates, flicking her ear as she surveyed the WindClan patrol, seeing if she could find any familiar faces among them. “Too bad we weren’t the first ones here.” She told Coalhaze quietly, looking over at him.
Whispersong settled at the edge of the clearing, preferring to watch and listen over mingling.
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Post by Frozen on Aug 21, 2023 20:58:35 GMT -5
(Sounds good! Anyone can join in)
Silverpaw scanned the crowd and saw Beanpaw talking to a ShadowClan apprentice. He didn’t recognize her, but he didn’t exactly want to talk to any new apprentices. He looked around to see anyone near his age was nearby.
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Post by thistle on Aug 21, 2023 20:59:50 GMT -5
Fuzzypaw leaned around Beanpaw, spotting an odd white cat with red eyes sitting in the throng of WindClan warriors. Her attention returned to Beanpaw at his comment. "Huh? What do you mean?"
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Post by 🌙Moonpower🌙 on Aug 21, 2023 21:06:55 GMT -5
Rowanpaw padded over to Silverpaw, not knowing the other apprentice. "So, you're WindClan, right?"
Beanpaw shrugged. "Well, I always heard ShadowClan was mean. You guys take territory and your leader--"
"I'd be careful what you say about Cedarstar." Whorlpaw raised her eyebrow at Beanpaw. "He's my father."
Beanpaw held his mouth open. He was talking to a leader's kit?! "Uh...I was--I was gonna say he...Uh...is...brave?"
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Post by Moonblazer on Aug 21, 2023 21:15:53 GMT -5
Snowdance padded alongside Opalmist, glancing over at her apprentice every so often. It had been several days now since the medicine cat meeting, and she still couldn’t shake the image of a different cat standing in Opalmist’s place. Snowdance shook the thought away and looked back at her apprentice, “Are you alright, Opalmist?” She asked her, giving her a worried look.Vixenflame followed after her clanmates, flicking her ear as she surveyed the WindClan patrol, seeing if she could find any familiar faces among them. “Too bad we weren’t the first ones here.” She told Coalhaze quietly, looking over at him.Whispersong settled at the edge of the clearing, preferring to watch and listen over mingling. SHADOW: “I… am alright. Just…” Opalmist murmured, before she smiled at Snowdance, pushing down her growing nerves. “I’m just shaken, from Bumbleskip, is all. I will be alright.” She rasped. She cleared her throat, looking idly for the other Medicine Cats. Rustlepaw quietly listened to the other apprentices, her blind blue eyes like clouds. She turned in the direction of the voices and scents, but never looking directly at anyone. —— WIND: Antbite was quickly social, chattering up with some Shadowclan warriors. He grinned brightly, and Weaselstride watched from afar, almost envying Antbite’s ease in conversation.
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Post by Frozen on Aug 21, 2023 21:17:19 GMT -5
Silverpaw nearly jumped as Rowanpaw approached. Where did he come from? Oh, right - the shadows. “I am. My name’s Silverpaw. What’s yours?” he asked.
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Post by thistle on Aug 21, 2023 21:17:26 GMT -5
Fuzzypaw's ears flattened. "What? That's not true at all!" she said indignantly. She was really excited to meet Beanpaw, but now she wasn't so sure. Were all the other Clans so rude?
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Post by 🌙Moonpower🌙 on Aug 21, 2023 21:27:07 GMT -5
Rowanpaw blinked at Silverpaw. He wasn't even trying to be stealthy. "I'm Rowanpaw." He sat down and looked around the clearing. "I expected more Clans to be here already."
Beanpaw winced. "Well...That's what I heard, but...you two are nice."
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