The Truth is Out There

[KingHarry]

After not even attending the last gathering and missing the dramatic events of it, Mothstar had decided to make an effort to be first to the latest one. He and his clan had set out early to ensure that they achieved this aim - the hairy leader looking far better than he had recently as he led the group on their expedition. There had been no deaths recently, and the true nature of his health was still a secret from his clan - both factors greatly helping to boost his mood and general prideful appearance. 

As he had hoped, MothClan arrived before its rivals. The cats - warriors, apprentices, and elders alike - spread out, each moving to occupy their favourite spots before other cats could sit there, and to start up conversations with their friends. As he watched this, the leader idly considered that the gathering must be different for them than it was for the other clans. Unlike IvyClan and MistClan, many MothClan warriors had family elsewhere in the forest. For them, the gathering was the only time they could see their parents, children, and former friends - providing those cats did not see them as traitors.

He spent some time among his clan, adding the odd comment into conversations and brushing his tail against warriors, before the great cat finally leapt up onto the monster carcass that the leaders used as their platform. The other clans would surely be arriving soon, and Mothstar suspected that they would have a lot to discuss.

[M'Lady]

They arrived soon after Mothclan did, and Owlstar just witnessed the leader leap onto the monster carcasses. She glanced back at her clan briefly, before she moved through the ranks of her enemy's without a word, as cats parted to give her easier access to the top. Old friends, old family, their scents clouded her senses. She ignored them, best as she could. She could be happy they found new lives in Mothclan, but she couldn't quell the anger that simmered underneath the surface. She never could.
With utmost grace as always, she jumped to the top of the carriages to be beside the other leader, her pelt glowing silver in the moonlight.

"Mothstar," she dipped her head only slightly in greeting, her words laced with the usual pride and exhaustion they always carried. "You're looking better, I'm glad." Well, glad she didn't have to spend another gathering with the pompous Brackenfall up here rather than Mothstar. Acting like a leader when he was barely a deputy, honestly. She cast her golden gaze out to the clan, shining with fire despite the cool monotones of her pelt.
"Can you feel it too?" She spoke softly, ears pinning back against her head. "There's something brewing. You can feel the tension in the air." She's been feeling this way for awhile, an impending feeling of doom. It could be her state of mind, honestly. Owlstar wasn't doing so great in the mental department, not with the leaving of Shadowgaze, Wildwing... and Rainfur.
Even if you tell me to leave, I won't.
Ever since it happened, she'd been replaying that day, that first day. Had she done something to drive him away? To drive all of them away? It was hard to believe, she only had Smoky, Pebble, and Cinder left. Out of everyone. She couldn't bear to lose them too.
The only thing vaguely helping her mood was the fact that Smoky had kits, even though she wanted to throttle the mother, the kits seemed mostly alright. Well, apart for Bluekit's unfortunate blindness. If she could just get her claws into Waspfang once...
She sighed softly, gaze flickering back to the hairy leader.
"I might also be in a mood. I apologize." She hummed quietly, wishing that she had dirt under her paws instead of this shiny stuff, then she'd have something to dig her claws into.
"How are your warriors? Have you had any trouble with the rogues? We haven't since the last Gathering, I'm hoping they've backed off for now, I would hate to wipe them out. Too much bloodshed for no reason. They don't want our prey, they aren't fighting for their lives, they're provoking us for the sake of fighting. Ridiculous, don't you think?"

[Mama]

A few pawsteps behind Owlstar, a tomcat the size of an average warrior was following behind, with a exotic golden and black pelt. His eyes were sharp and naturally narrowed, his pelt rippling with muscles at each step. The new cat looked like a younger warrior, but if he was, how come he was never at the gatherings?

Goldenpaw kept his head low and filed into the front, his giant paws crunching under the dirt and his figure demanding attention and authority. He glanced around for a spot to sit, finally looking up and around at the other cats.

[Miss Tactical]

Ravenbright followed closely behind her leader and soon fell into the clearing. She spotted the large apprentice from a mile away due to his size and ran towards the tom, skidding her heals into the dirt to stop her from piling into the tom. "IT"S YOUR FIRST GATHERING THEY ARE SOOOOOOO EXCITING!"She yelled with excitement. Her fur was raised slightly as you could tell she didn't want to sit still. She looked around wondering if her friends from other clans would show up. "I need to go find Otterpaw! Toodles!" She ran into the gathering mingling with other cats, Ravenbrights loud boisterous personality was hard to hide, so she was more than certain all the cats knew that IvyClan had now arrived.

---

The dark black tom followed behind his leader, he was slightly agitated more so than he normally was. The black tom was almost always grumpy. Eveningblaze looked around, no the apprentices and warriors weren't here either, they had been told that the moon high patrol never returned last night, and of course no one would think two warriors and three apprentices were suspicious normally...but since when did you see Hailpaw, Stormpaw and Aspenpaw together doing anything...that alone was a red flag. The dawn patrol lost their scent around the tracks and returned of course with news not so good. He looked up to his leader, whiskers twitching slightly sure he had a lot of kits, but....two of them were now missing....two who would make very promising warriors one day... he sat alone, tail wrapped around his paws praying to StarClan that they come home safely...where ever it is they went.

[Meow]

- Frostpaw -

Frostpaw was a bit in awe as she followed her fellow MistClanners towards the monster carcasses, her eyes filled with curiosity as they drew closer. There were cats everywhere, more than she'd ever seen in one place- and, high above, sitting on those carcasses, she could see the silhouettes of two cats already perched before the crowd. Frostpaw knew that those must be the leaders of the other clans, though she couldn't make out their features in the darkness. She could tell that one, however, was rather large and hairy, while the other was small, dark, and fluffy- Mothstar, the harsh, blunt leader of MothClan, and Owlstar, the cool-headed leader of IvyClan. From down here, though, Frostpaw didn't see their greatness. Bearstar was far more impressive.

As Frostpaw sat at the front of the crowd, she began to observe as cats started spreading out and mingling. The stench of the other clans insulted her nose, causing the she-cat to lift a paw to her scrunched snout. What a strange place... still, she couldn't help being a bit excited to witness her very first gathering. The other apprentices were always talking about how great the gathering was, and she wanted to see what all the noise was about.

[karambito]

Pouncefox

Ever since the last gathering, the dark brown tom's claws had been itching for more fighting. At every sound he was ready to attack, hoping it would be one of the rogues ready to get their fur ripped to shreds. Following in close to Mothstar, he sat in his usual spot close to the front of the monster carcasses. His eyes were watchful as he scanned the scene, his adrenaline pumping, his ears and eyes on full alert. Despite just fathering 3 kits, Pouncefox had joined the gathering. It seemed that he was avoiding them for some reason, he didn't even mention them to anyone.

---

Alderfall

The slender tom had been selected to join the gathering for the first time in a while. He could feel butterflies ripple inside his chest with each step as him and his clan entered the gathering. Even though he was attempting very hard to hide his anxiety and nervousness, anyone could probably tell easily but just standing beside him. It was rank on his sleek fur. Alderfall wondered if Archfeather was here, the tom he couldn't stop thinking about. What if they ran into each other? The warrior had tried to ignore the thoughts of him, but it was nearly impossible. He was so handsome, sweet, strong, he had silky fur and smelled nice.... Shaking his head, Alderfal huffed. "Stay focused" he muttered to himself as he found a spot beside some tall ferns.

---

Quailfur

The Mistclan warrior stayed near the back of the gathering, taking the time to groom her fur as she waited for it to start. Despite not being fazed by much, she felt a little on edge due to the last gatherings events.

---

Prickleberry

The new Mistclan warrior bounced alongside his clan mates, excited for his first gathering as a warrior. The smushed face black tom breathed in the air, seemingly the only one not on edge or nervous. Greeting a few clan mates, the warrior then approached Frostpaw, a new apprentice in his clan. Grinning, he plopped down rather ungracefully beside her, flicking his ears at a fly or mosquito. "How's your first gathering so far? Isn't it cool!?" Prickleberry mewled with excitement, chuckling. "I remember my first gathering, I was SO scared!" He shuffled his paws as he looked up towards the leaders. "But you don't have to it's really neat I mean last gathering some rogues attacked and stuff, well I wasn't here, but I heard it was scary but I think it's okay now" He rambled, not really understanding or knowing how to converse properly.

---

Fennelskip

Trailing after Ivyclan's warriors, the longhaired tom breathed in the night air, glad to be out of camp. Hopefully it wouldn't rain tonight. Stretching his legs as he entered the clearing, the tom searched around for anyone he knew.

---

Eaglepaw

Despite this being his first gathering, Eaglepaw felt a little glum because his two missing siblings were unable to join him tonight. Following his clan quietly, it wouldn't be hard to change up his mood. The tabby tom looked around in awe as they entered the clearing, it was huge! Noticing the dead monsters, his fur bristled up like pine needles and he froze in his tracks. 

[silverfang218]

Liongaze is quite surprised when MothClan arrives to the Gathering location with no other clans in sight. That’s quite the rarity, usually IvyClan is at least here before them. Not that it makes much difference to the ginger warrior. Lion stays near the outside of the Gathering area, casting the occasional glance into the darkening surroundings just to make sure there’s no rogues lurking nearby. As Mothstar lingers among his clan, Liongaze avoids him out of principle. He has found life to be much easier when he doesn’t have to interact with the old grump.
_______________________________

Nightfur, with Firepaw and Mosspaw by her side, holds her head high as MistClan enters the Gathering. This would be the first Gathering for her second litter and for her grandchildren. After all the misfortune that befell her first mate and her litter with him, she never thought she’d see the day when she had a grown son, a loving mate, a full litter of apprentices, and a litter of grandchildren. While she could easily remember her misgivings about being a parent of young kittens again, StarClan had given the dark queen a break after the fire that had claimed most of the small family she’d made for herself. Tonight is a night of triumph for the former queen, and she holds her head high with a bright smile on her face. Firepaw has a look of pride on his face, and his movements are swift and sure; he’s proud to be a MistClan apprentice, and there’s no fear or nervousness showing at all. Mosspaw, on the other paw, is twitching with anxiety. The three of them move to sit near Frostpaw and... a stranger warrior it seems, though Moss crouches and buries his nose in Firepaw’s fur rather than actually sitting there like a normal cat. Firepaw doesn’t seem to mind; he lets out a reassuring purr to his nephew while listening carefully to Prickleberry's haphazard description of the last Gathering.
_______________________________

Silverfang and Sootheart bring up the rear of the MistClan group. Unlike all Gatherings previously, Soot makes no move to leave Silver’s side once they mingle with the cats from the other clans. Instead, he follows her to where she normally sits with the other medicine cats; he hopes they won’t mind one more cat coming to sit with them. He met his old friend Shadowgaze at one of MistClan’s borders and Shadow had explained both the new situation and how to find Shadow in the future. Soot no longer has reason to look for his friend at the Gathering. Both Silver and Soot nod in unison to the other medicine cats as Silverfang takes her place among them. Soot speaks up, his deep voice quiet as he gives Larkbeat and Cedarleap an apologetic smile. “I’d like to sit with you all, if that’s alright?”

[Meow]

- Frostpaw -

Frostpaw's gaze had wandered over to a cluster of MothClan cats as they chatted among themselves. Just then, her eyes locked with a cat sitting amongst them, whose bright red fur was almost blinding to her. Just as her lips pulled back to bare her teeth at the strange tom, a quiet growl rumbling in her throat, Prickleberry plopped down right in her line of sight, and the she-cat jolted in surprise as he began his rambling. Frostpaw took in a deep breath of irritation as he talked about how great gatherings were- it seemed like it wasn't just apprentices who couldn't shut up about them. Of course she would have to sit next to one of her more mousebrained clan mates. "We just got here, Prickleberry. I haven't even gotten to experience it yet," Frostpaw retorted, her tail twitching as she leaned over to look over Prickleberry's shoulder. The apprentice felt her breath catch in her throat as she caught the stranger's eyes again, and she ducked to hid behind Prickleberry, her fur standing on end. Something about the way he was looking at her... she didn't like it. Firepaw's presence at her side only barely comforted her as she turned her head away from Prickleberry, gluing her gaze to the leaders above. She was only barely listening to the warrior's rambling as she crouched down, hoping to conceal herself completely from the weird MothClan tom. "There are too many cats here. I'm almost starting to think I'd rather have stayed home," Frostpaw murmured, pulling her tail around herself.

---

- Pigeonpaw -

Pigeonpaw had only been to one other gathering before, but he'd decided that he didn't like them very much. Non-MothClan cats always tried to talk to him, probably because he was Brackenfall's son and cooler than everyone else, but he was above the other clans. They smelled bad, they were ugly, and they didn't like talking about the thrill of battle like he did. This time, Pigeonpaw had decided that he would stay with his own clan mates to avoid the IvyClan and MistClan filth that might try to approach him. Tonight, he would only talk to cats who were worthy of him. Pigeonpaw placed himself next to a group of fellow MothClan apprentices, joining in a light-hearted chat about the training they'd been doing recently, adding in something about how lame his own mentor was... until he saw her.

Pigeonpaw felt the fur on the back of his neck bristle as he glanced over to MistClan.

His eyes fell on a snow-white angel, with fur that seemed to glow like a star in the moon's pale light. Pigeonpaw felt the air being knocked out of his lungs as the beautiful creature sat herself before him, her expression as gentle, as fragile, as a butterfly's wings. Even when her beautiful, sparkling eyes met his, Pigeonpaw couldn't look away. He thought he saw a smile forming on her face... before a bumbling warrior plopped himself down right next to her, cutting off Pigeonpaw's view.

"Pigeonpaw, is something wrong?" One of the apprentices broke Pigeonpaw out of his trance, and he glanced to his concerned clan mate.

"Of course not. I was just observing the other clans," Pigeonpaw answered back, shooting them one of his confident smiles. The other apprentices glanced among themselves, before shrugging at his response and continuing on with their conversation.

But he couldn't stay focused. Instead, his gaze drifted towards the MistClan beauty once more, catching her eyes again as he did so. His ears perked up in surprise as she ducked behind her larger clan mate, seemingly... hiding from him? Was she shy? How... how adorable. Pigeonpaw's pelt heated up at his sudden desire to meet her. If only... she wasn't from MistClan. The tom shook his head, trying to bring himself back to reason as he turned back to his fellow apprentices with furrowed brows.

[Cosima]

BEETLEPAW - -

The ebony healer's apprentice made her way to yet another gathering alongside her mentor, Larkbeat, and her clan-mates. The evening air was refreshing. With her long, dark fur, she easily became stressed by the warm Green-leaf heat, but as the days came to a close, she found sweet comfort. As they approached the dead monsters, it came to her attention that, unlike the previous gathering, Mothclan had arrived first. "Look, Mothstar is here this moon." She whispered to Larkbeat. At the previous gathering, many cats were surprised to see that the Mothclan leader did not attend at all. The furry leader was a sight for sore eyes.

She greeted her fellow medicine cats, Silverfang, Cedarleap, and their apprentices, before noticing a new face among-st them. “I’d like to sit with you all, if that’s alright?” He purred. "I can't speak much for the others, but I don't mind if you join us." She feebly murmured, her voice barely legible.

[mewmehh]

|| Bellfeather ||

The sleek form of a slender blue she-cat moved with swank in her step in the gathering place that mingled with the scents of Mothclan and Ivyclan like. As she took note of the aromas, her dazzling aquamarine eyes dances from one spot to the next in the hopes of perhaps catching a glance of one of her former clanmates. Mistclan's not here yet? What a shame. Shrugging it away, Bellfeather sought out a grassy spot adorn with a few pale flowers that didn't seem too crowd. It was a bit touch to where a few Ivyclan cats were sitting, but the relaxed warrior didn't care.

Bellfeather settled peacefully into her chosen spot and draped one petite foreleg over the other as she hummed pleasantly to herself. Because her good friend and former apprentice Frogsong was stuck as night guard for their camp, the silky silvery blue she-cat was left all to her lonesome without the fluffy ginger tom attached at her hip the entire time. She felt a little bad that he had to miss this moon's Gathering, but she was also equally excited to get to interact with some other cats for a change. Maybe she would meet someone new and form a fast friendship? Would that be nice?

Casting her glossy gaze to one side, her long and tangled locks of fur dangled at her cheek as she took in the sight of the various pelt colors that lounged around the twoleg monsters' graveyard.

|| Milkpaw || 

Milkpaw gave a small puff of a exhaustion as the pale she-cat relaxed into her spot against a tuft of high-reaching clover stalks. The smell was gentle enough to ease her mind as she waited the start of the Gathering. Last moon, the Gather had been cut short by a rogue attack, leaving everyone stressed and wired. But tonight... Hopefully tonight will be different. This would likely be her last Gathering as an apprentice; it wouldn't be long before she received her warrior name, she was sure. Part of her didn't want to admit it, but the young she-cat really wanted to experience what it was like to be a normal apprentice. How the other apprentices of her clan and the others experienced the Gathering- they weren't so worried with fitting in that they could be excited! They could run around and make new friends in different clans! Not that she didn't have friends in other clans- she had at least one- but it was completely different. Her meeting Rainpaw had been by pure chance, and by less appropriate means. Now that she had thought about it, it had been almost a moon since she had last seen her Mistclan friend.

As the realization too place, the pale tabby noticed that Bearstar and her clan had yet to arrive. That was odd, usually since Mothstar was the last to arrive with his clan. Milkpaw's pelt twitched a little in apprehension, wondering what could have caused the delay, but she managed to reluctantly will herself away from worry. They were her clanmates. Instead, her berry-blue gaze travel in a scanning motion across the clearing, taking in the faces of all the other attendants. Even without the third clan, it already seemed like such a large group had gathered.