[ti]Open[/ti]Winds of Change

[gingersnapsdacat]

Under any other circumstances, Heronflight would have stayed in her den, warm and dry with her kittens. She could have pretended to care about the latest rock Sparrowkit was looking at, watch Dawnkit try to assert dominance over the entire nursery, or listen to Pheasantkit chatter own about his obsession with their leader. But instead, her mate was the one spending time with their kittens, and she was here, trying not to get soaked, also trying to think of what she was supossed to do.
Heronflight quickly took her place beside the other deputies, not sure whether she should be excited or terrified. She thought that RookStar’s idea seemed to be working well, but she also knew that there were many who would disagree. Even within her own clan, she was painfully aware of the fact that some cats doubted, or even resented, what RookStar had done in making multiple cats deputy. As for what the other clans would think, she could not even try to imagine it.
She did not need to wait long, however, as within moments of her sitting down, she caught sight of the other clans approaching. She instinctively drew herself up, trying to look like she belonged among the seated deputies. If she could convince herself, then maybe she could stand a chance of convincing the other clans. BearStar and Sabletail, although confused, at least seemed to be willing to hear what had happened. But then there was Eveningblaze.
As the scarred tomcat leaped up beside the other deputies, Heronflight tried to move back in the hopes of allowing him space to walk. She could tell from the look in his eye that he was not at all happy about the number of deputies he could see.
“Good-” she opened her mouth to greet the annoyed deputy, but quickly stopped, hearing him speak. As he nudged each one of them aside, the young deputy nearly toppled over, having to awkwardly sidestep to avoid faceplanting.
Was that really neccessary? She thought, staring after the black tomcat.
But soon she had other issues to deal with, as Batstrike muscled his way into the group. This time, she was unable to stop herself from tripping, crashing her nose into the dirt.


Meanwhile, Daisypetals was dealing with just as mixed a batch of emotions. This was the first ever gathering he had attended without Frostfall, and that...he did not know how he felt. He had thought that Frostfall was going to be around for moons to come, and possibly even outlive him. He never would have guessed that one day he would wake up and she would just be gone. It seemed like there was so much she had left to tell him, and now she couldn’t.
Perhaps she had noticed BearStar’s eyes, and just had not gotten a chance to tell her apprentice how to heal them. But now the leader’s sight just seemed to be getting worse, and Daisypetals had no idea what he was meant to do.

[Ava]

In all honesty, Screechstar was terrified. He had no idea what he was doing, where he was going, or even if this plan of joining the clans would even work. After all, they had sorta killed many of their own and vice versa. In fact, Screechstar himself had killed one of them. He wouldn't be surprised if those clan cats were hostile around them, but he hoped his smooth words would convince them at least to not threaten them. His overall goal was just to keep peace between all four clans, not to make them love him instantly. He knew it wasn't that easy.

Screechstar made it clear he was the leader, standing tall and proud in front of the group, following the paths that Feathercrest had told him would lead to the gathering's clearing. He peeked out from behind some bushes and took a deep breath before walking out into the group of many cats- three clan's worth, in fact- trembling with fear and adrenaline before he spoke, trying to sound as confident as he could muster.

"We... we come in peace. Though our last time seeing each other had been hostile and resulted in an outburst of fighting, we would like to suggest a treaty. We, the Tribe of Ancient Roots, are transforming into a clan. RootClan, to be exact. Our home was destroyed and StarClan led us here to become a clan like IvyClan, MistClan, and MothClan. We hope you allow us to make our home here, for we have no other option. This is the only way we can continue to thrive as a group, otherwise we will have no place for us to stay. I'm sorry for interrupting your gathering, but this was urgent, as you can see. We need all three clans to understand that we are not rivals but rather one of your own now, and we hope that you all, one day, will accept us."

Screechstar's heart was thumping loudly in his chest by the time he finished, and he worried for a moment that everyone would know how nervous he was. But then he glanced back for a moment towards his clan, noticing Feathercrest in particular, and smiled weakly. That was all he needed to keep going as he dipped his head and turned back to the clearing of cats. He couldn't find anything else to say to follow up, so all he could do was hope and pray that they would at least let them stay in the clan territory. Hoping truly was all they could do anymore.

[Mama]

Lilydawn was fairing fine. She made sure to try and groom down her pelt, at least look presentable, as she made her way to the gathering with the others. She had a new bruise on her shoulder that was nagging her while she padded along, but the medicine cat forced herself to ignore it. She could deal with it later, and the last thing she needed was to damage it further by poking at it or accidentally nipping it.

Her tail swept over the ground behind her as she kept a choppy lead near the front, by her apprentice and the five deputies Rookstar needed, for who knows what reason. Remarkably, they weren't late, and actually the first ones there. Maybe things were turning around for a bit? She couldn't help but feel a little hopeful, as if Starclan answered her prayers to try and give her a solution to the madness brewing in their leader's head. If things got worse.. who knows what he might make a new rule of.

The feline sat down in her spot, gazing towards the other medicine cats and noticing Daisypetals all alone. She gave a questioning, but friendly blink, before deciding to simply not pry and let him live it out. She was either sick, which she doubted... or.. dead. Perhaps she ran off, like her own mentor had. But, he needed time on his own, if so.

She settled down to relax as she waited for things to start, hearing the deputies bickering over their placement (good grief, they argued like kits!), and her eyes flittered shut as a peaceful expression swept over the usually grumpy feline's face. That was, until she heard yelling.

They were here. Rootclan had risen. Lilydawn knew of it, and her eyes shot open while her face hardened and tensed back up. Her attention froze on the brown tom leading the pack of odd appearing felines, all sorts of sizes and with weird faces. She didn't like them one bit.. but she didn't need to risk making Starclan any more mad. All she needed to do was make sure that none of the other higher ranks, specifically Rookstar, didn't panic.

-----

Halfpaw was nervous. Well, nervous was a bit of an understatement. Imagine having to visit cats that thought you were dead, that grieved for you, and you had been with a new family all along. But he needed to show an example for Rootclan, that they were strong, fierce, not to be messed with. The split colored tom padded near the front without a hint of softness in his chocolate eyes, instead they were filled with a serious and dangerous glow. Each pawstep was carried with strength and pride, and the tom's deathly neck scars visible in the moonlight. He wasn't scared. Or, at least, that's what he told himself, as he glanced towards the crowd of cats. Some familiar faces.. others not.

But, he was looking for someone important. Someone by the name of Murkpaw.

[Miss Tactical]

Eveningblaze watched with great pleasure as the deputies one by one walked back to their respective spots, that was until Dustytuft spoke out. With an irritated curl of his lip, and already irritated his fur was wet he looked at the she-cat. ”So all Of IvyClan likes to break the rules laid out by StarClan? Duely noted, looks like there will be an internal war when the mad bird goes to StarClan.” He mewed firmly. His tail tip lashed back and forth before a rustling near the bushes with narrowed eyes he peered through the pattering rain and saw the tribe. Instinctively a growl formed in his throat when the tom began to speak. With an irritated flick of his ear the black battle scarred tom looked at him. His coy smirk suddenly a look of seriousness. ”What in StarClan’s name is this?” He listened to Screechstar ramble on about peace, the aggressive black tom rolled his eyes.

”No…no I do not think peace will work for me, tonight you get a free pass because that is StarClans law.” He mewed looking at the tom. How dare StarClan invite them to this place. The ones who killed many and even his leader, the founder of the clan he called home. The fur on his back began to rise and his claws instinctively unsheathed. This time they weren’t attacking at least it didn’t seem that way. He peered at the group and gave a snort, so this is where Feathercrest and Snakeleap ran off too. Even if it had been StarClan’s wishes…. Why join the clan that killed so many.

”I’m not sure where your little clan has settled in at, but you better Stay away from MothClans borders because they will not hesitate to attack those who killed Mothstar.” He emphasized the word on Mothstar, some of the new warriors here today hadn’t been born when the battle took place, it seemed like such a long time ago it was only a nursery tale these days, but as a few murmurs could be heard from MothClan, Eveningblaze held his head high. ”That’s a promise…not a threat.” He added. With that he shifted himself taking up as much space on the monster as he could. There would be no way he would let a heathen up here as a leader, even if he wasn’t technically one himself.

[mewmehh]

The arrival of Rootclan and Screechstar’s announcement from beyond the bushes had the Gathering sitting in silence until the argumentative tone of Eveningblaze took over, and among the others cats, uneasy mumbling rose up. Onionplume and Foxeyes stiffened in their seats, eyes turned steely as they glared down the tribe cats. Both knew the gravity of the situation- Onionplume had been informed heavily by Milberry of the old battle’s importance and Foxgaze himself had fought in the battle as an apprentice. A shiver ran down his spine as he recognized a few faces and pelts, and part of his could have sworn he glimpsed Currantpaw’s face among them. Despite the threat of it all, the tom cat’s teeth glinted a pale grin

Chervilpaw and Applepaw eyed the newcomers from where they had been bickering near the entrance. The wobbly tabby raised her hackles, almost stumbling as she moved and the white and red spotted cat swiftly bid her new rival farewell as she zipped over closer to where the deputies sat, edging as close as she could to her father. Applepaw felt her blood turn to ice at the star-struck look upon Sabletail’s face as he watched on, and the young she-cat did her best to spot where her father’s attention had been grasped.
.
At either side of Screechstar, barring the medicine cat and deputy that flanked the leader, was Pinkpetal and Icewisp- both cats well-recognized by those on the opposite side. The impossibly large she-cat’s icy gaze was level and calm, albeit hooded and dark as if she didn’t wish to meet the clan cats’ gaze. She remembered all too well the battle which took place here and that she would not be welcomed back. But it was Screechstar’s will, and she was not about to argue with that.

And Pinkpetal, her pelt was bristled with unease and excitement alike. Her first time back in her homelands had her bouncing around like the apprentice she had been when she first left, and now her first Gathering since then had her tummy all jumped up with nerves. Her gaze had been locked onto Sabletail as soon as the group had pushed forward into the clearing and the two had been locked in a stare until Eveningblaze robbed the Mistclan deputy of his daughter’s attention. Snapping her bright green gaze to the leaders, Pinkpetal screwed up her face in confusion. What happened to Brackenfall? Wasn’t he supposed to be leader after Mothstar? So much seemed to have changed; Owlstar was gone, as much Mothstar- she knew of that much- but at least Bearstar was still around. She quickly and politely flashed the brown she-cat a sheepish smile, but was unsure if the leader could even see her face from so far away. Part of Pinkpetal almost wished she couldn’t. She didn’t want to be scorned by her former clanmates.

[GnawingOnIce]

Meteorfall and Cloverwing sat near to each other. Cloverwing never really preferred straying from her mother’s side, but had been doing it more often lately. She felt pity for her mother; Cloverwing and Silverspot were her remaining kits from a litter of four. She didn’t know what went on inside her mother’s head now that it had been several seasons ever since her siblings had disappeared, but she doubted it was sunshine and fields with blooming flowers. Cloverwing’s eyes strayed to Flufftail more often than she’d admit. Ashleaf didn’t sit far from them.

Toffee, Dogear, and Robinheart all sat together, as usual. However, Dogear hung nearer Falconstrike and Honeywing was further off, near Silverspot.

Timberheart and Maplespring stayed near their respective families.

Cedarleap didn’t make it.

Murkdusk strode into the clearing, head and tail held high. He had grown ever since becoming a warrior; this was his first gathering as a warrior, in fact. He was taller, his legs, longer and more muscular than they had been previously, his eyes sharp and keen. The fur on his tail flowed like the river, swaying with his gait. He was no apprentice anymore. His expression was stern and no-nonsense.

The split-faced tom stayed near his sister, Hawthornhowl, further back in the clearing but somewhat in the center. He never liked mingling with the other Clans, he had wanted to stay behind to be with his kits and Petaldawn but went anyway. His odd eyes strayed to the moon. Clouds drifted over some parts of it but it still shone through. He went back to observing the crowd, ignoring the bickering of a couple of cats about the sudden surplus of deputies in IvyClan. For all he cared, that entire Clan could fall into an endless pit and never return.

He stayed like that for a while, sitting and staying quiet, when a scent drifted to his nose. Murkdusk’s ears swiveled toward it, his eyes widening with a sudden alertness. Cats emerged from the edge of the clearing, with long faces and large, pointed ears, and a overall larger stature than the Clan cats.

The cat who led them had dark, sleek fur and as soon as his maw opened he pleaded for peace. The clearing fell silent. He pinned his ears back, points of his mouth and muzzle twitching upward into a disgusted grimace. While their apparent leader was talking, he took a quick glance over the rest of their now Clan; RootClan. They all had different patterns on their fur, some just solid in color, and the majority had very short fur and the same look to their appearance. He spotted a few with spots, a few with stripes, a strange one with the fur of their body split perfectly in half with two different browns-

He did a double take. Looking at the cat again, his eyes widened just as they had begun to return to no longer being alert, and his ears might as well have been permanently sticking straight up into the air. Murkdusk shook his head and squeezed his eyes closed for a couple of moments, surely he was imagining it?

No. There, near the front of the gathered RootClan cats, was Halfpaw. Well and breathing and alive. He caught the scars slashed deep across his neck, where Murkdusk’s claws had dug in deep and killed him. He watched the life fade from his eyes and felt his body go limp under his claws!

Murkdusk was furious. Furious and full of underlying confusion, the fire in his eyes was apparent and he felt his heart coursing adrenaline into his veins, he felt his claws unsheathe and sink into the soil beneath, felt his tail tip begin to twitch back and forth.

Then, he remembered the crowd of cats around him. If he really really wanted to, he could go up there and kill Halfpaw again. But he was smarter than that. He wasn’t a fool, so he forced himself to calm down. He sheathed his claws and curled his tail into his body, and calmed his heart and the fire in his eyes. Murkdusk would wait to see what exactly Halfpaw had to say first, if he had anything to say at all.

Tags;; Mama, gathered cats
Notes;; n/a

[Dragon]

Maplepaw padded along at the tail end of the group of Mistclan cats. He had a huge smile on his face because not one cat had guessed that he was the reason Lilycloud wasn't with them anymore. That and this was his very first gathering. Upon reaching the moons Maw he froze in shock. Why were there so many deputies up front? He was told there was only three deputies all together but there were so many up there. He shrugged figuring he would hear about it soon enough. Maplepaw wondered off in search of another apprentice to chat with. He wanted to see what it was like in other clans.

A new smell began to reach him but it was familiar at the same time. All three clans had shown up but there was the sound of a large group approaching. A single cat stepped forward and spoke up twolegs destroying their home and traveling here at the will of Starclan which made him want to laugh. He raised his voice in a yowl. "YOU MUST BE MISTAKEN. STARCLAN WOULD NEVER LEAD MURDERER'S TO OUR CLAN. GO BACK WHERE YOU CAME FROM OR WHATS LEFT OF IT."

---

Kestrelgleam wandered slowly with her head held high and pride. She was a warrior now, the last time she had been to the gathering she had only been an apprentice. She couldn't wait to hear the cheering of all the clans as they called out her new warrior name. They wouldn't notice her deformed leg only that she had given her all to her clan. But things took a sour turn when Brackenstar spotted Ivystar with not one but five deputy's and began to order their other deputies to scatter and act like normal warriors. Afterwards she continued down and found a place near the front so she could hear the conversations better when the sound of another group approaching. "What's going on," she mewed softly. Mistclan and Ivyclan were already there. A moment later a large group of cats appeared. She didn't recognize them but listened quickly as they spoke.

[Fireflake]

-Mantisclaw-

”Looks like your dad’s gonna have another cow. I wonder what’s going on in Rookstar’s head to pick so many cats to sit up there with him.”

Mantisclaw looked at Darkstorm, swishing her tail as she turned around to face him.
"Probably not much," she giggled, then shook her head. "I'm gonna talk to some IvyClan cats and see if any of them will tell me."
Mantisclaw was just trying to shimmy past Darkstorm, flicking her tail to invite him to come with her, when she heard an unfamiliar but quite serious-sounding voice. The she-cat straightened up.

For Mantisclaw, they were moving words. She had been too young to be at the Gathering for the blood moon battle, and could hardly remember the day after when the clan held vigil for their first leader and the rest that had been killed. His father's words jolted her and she sat back for a moment to consider if she agreed. Had StarClan really brought them here? And would they be a threat to MothClan?

-Pebbleshade-

Pebbleshade's ears flattened immediately. His eyes widened and he recoiled. He couldn't shut his ears, and he seemed incapable of shutting his eyes, so he was forced to sit and watch in stunned silence as one of the tribe cats blabbed about coming in peace. The MothClan deputy was the first to reply. Pebbleshade opened his mouth to add his first thought, but Maplepaw beat him to the punch. Pebbleshade nodded along with the younger tom and noticed from the corner of his eye that Murkdusk's fur was also bristling.

It was good to know, at least, that he wasn't alone in feeling that this RootClan had no place among the real clans. The tightness gripping him loosened and allowed words through. "Maplepaw's right," Pebbleshade hissed. "StarClan would never lead you here."
A hard scowl settled into his face. When he spoke again his voice was low, bordering on a growl. "You should have known better than to bring your tribe to our Gathering place again, trying to tell us lies."

[LupTacco]

-= [ Foxfall ] M(28) :: IvyClan Deputy(1/5) :: Bisexual(Single) =-

Crumbling under the harsh one-and-a-half-eyed gaze of the MothClan deputy, Foxfall ducked his head at Eveningblaze and turned to leave- until a fourth cat leapt onto the monsters. Uh, what? Who is that- they're- R-RootClan? So that was what was up with the odd scent markers towards MistClan's border with his own. Huh. Dumbfounded by what was going on, he froze in spot, his gaze flicking from his brother Rookstar for guidance, Screechstar with great confusion, and Eveningblaze with nervous wariness. I'm technically deputy, I should- I should stay, right? But, Eveningblaze has a point, and- and there's so much else breaking the rules tonight. Is he going to tell RootClan to leave, too? Wait, would he..? The young tom's mind raced with stream of consciousness thoughts as he tried and was somewhat failing to keep down a rising sense of panic.

-= [ Orchidfeather ] F(18) :: MistClan Warrior :: Homosexual(Single) =-

Puffing air out of her mouth with a rude noise, the ginger she-cat lingered with indignation at the back of her clan. "Five, eh? Has he forgotten how to count?" she hissed, glaring with disapproval at the five IvyClan deputies before swinging her head around at the sudden intrusion of- a new clan!? "What!?" Orchidfeather spat at the tall yet slim and bony cats pouring into the Moon's Maw. Oh, she'd been hardly an apprentice then, but she grew up on those stories. On their sudden turn against their guests and wrongful accusations, on their slaying of the controversial but respected figure Mothstar. "They can't just come here- they can't just take part of MistClan's territory and stink it all up with their gross hides," her voice lowered to a threatening growl, glowering at every single RootClan cat that dared to look in her direction. She nodded roughly as Maplepaw and Pebbleshade spoke up, unsheathing her claws, "They're right. And we'll chase you out again just like last time if we have to."

-= [Bearstar] F(60) :: MistClan Leader :: Bisexual(Widowed) =-

Her fur pricked up as Screechstar joined her and the other leaders, but she heard him out and her fury mellowed some. However, her coppery gaze turned molten as she turned to address her clan with a severe look. "MistClan Warriors! You will hold your tongues before I hold them for you. Maplepaw, you are due to be a warrior next moon- do not jeopardize your warrior name a second time. Pebbleshade and Orchidfeather, you should know better- sit down and be quiet, both of you. If any cat of my clan speaks out inappropriately again this evening, they will be returning to their apprentice training for a moon until they remember how a warrior acts." Nodding with finality, she turned a terse but apologetic look to Screechstar and spoke at a lower level just for the leaders to hear, "We are understandably wary of your showing up, but not really surprised- at least, I am not. My warriors have scented you for some time. Keep to yourselves and we will not have issue- but they do have valid concerns. Set one paw over our markers, and our claws will match yours once again."

Raising her voice once more, she turned back to the clans, addressing them all this time, "Cats of the forest- this is not an ideal situation, but we too have traveled in search of a new home before. IvyClan and MistClan left the mountain after disaster tore it apart, but both of them survived. Mothmaw split our loyalties in the creation of his own clan- and yet all three of us have survived. You heard him- the Tribe of Ancient Roots is no more. They wish to join our ways and our customs- let them try. I'm sure we will all be watching quite-" She looked over the cats of RootClan with a half-lidded gaze, "-carefully."

tags;; Screechstar(Ava), Maplepaw(Dragon), Pebbleshade(Fireflake), + all gathered cats but esp. mistclan and rootclan, lol maybe Eveningblaze too since Fox is kind of blue-screen-of-death'ing right now

[Fireflake]

Pebbleshade jumped at Bearstar's sharp voice. He forced his ears to prick and listened closely, but mostly avoided eye contact. He wanted to fight those cats. He also wanted to cry. And he didn't know which he wanted more. After a moment, Bearstar lowered her voice to speak only to the tribe cat, and Pebbleshade was left alone with his decision.

The tom dipped his head and lashed his tail once before he curled it around his paws. This hid his claws as he sank them into the ground. Spitting at the cats that haunted his nightmares was one thing, but he didn't dare defy his own leader. Especially not with the threat of humiliation hanging over his head, in front of all of the clans and the tribe. His flighty glare continued to flick between the tribe's leader and the rest of them even as Bearstar spoke again.