The First Gathering

[Seafeather]

The moon was high, no clouds in the sky. Good. StarClan won't get angry tonight. Seastar signaled the rest of the clan with her tail to flood the Great Hollow. Running down the steep hill the clan wooshed past the others to get into their circles to visit. Seastar sniffed for the other cats. IvyClan! Seastar ran up under the Great Sycamore to sit and wait for the remaining clans.

[.M.i.d.n.i.g.h.t.i.e.]

Silentstar

[/b]

Silver moonlight washed over the Great Sycamore and the Great Hollow. The stars glittered as well, each one a warrior ancestor watching the clan cats as they gathered for the full moon. There was a truce among all of them, but no one could guarantee it would hold.
One dull orange tom sat already on the Great Sycamore, his cold blue eyes watching the tortoiseshell she-cat jump up next to him. Her scent wreathed over him.
“Disgusting!” the tom thought. “Why do other clans always stink so bad?” He kept his face emotionless, and addressed the clan leader.
“Welcome, Seastar,” Silenstar meowed, dipping his head. Secretly, the clan leader was nervous. He was recently made leader, and this would be his first time representing his clan.
“I am sorry to report that Shatteredstar has passed away,” Silentstar reported. “May she hunt in Starclan in peace.” It was no surprise that the clan leader had died so recently. She had a bloody past, always leading the clan on raids.

Woodstripes

[/b]

One she-cat watched the two leaders talk above her. Woodstripes narrowed her purple eyes. She had come out to the Gathering tonight, only to watch two cats talk! “How boring!” she thought to herself. The breeze blew around her, and she caught more clan scents. A dark tom entered, watching the scene with aqua eyes. Ravenslash.

Ravenslash

[/b]

The dark tom watched all around him with sharp aqua eyes. The breeze picked up once more, and he narrowed his eyes. “CloudClan!” he thought. He could see a silver-she cat come over the hill. It was Silverbreeze of CloudClan. “Her leader must not be far behind,” he thought.

[Kat]

JadeStar

Jadestar narrowed her eyes at the two leaders.
Shatteredstar must have died, otherwise Silentswipe would not be talking to Seastar. They were very visible in the bright moonlight, no clouds threatened the clans tonight. IvyClan and FrostClan were already well settled in, and Jadestar led her clan forward. She was glad for this time of peace, wondering how she could feel impatient for drama when she was a young warrior.
Once more, Jadestar felt older than time itself. She remembered when Shatteredstar was made an apprentice. She went to join the two leaders, walking swiftly in the warm green-leaf night.

[Raccoonstar]

Raccoonstar:


I entered the gathering place, embarrassed that I was late but desperately trying not to show it. I sat upon the Great Sycamore and explained my lateness with a cool voice, with no hint of shakiness. "I'm sorry that my Clan is late, but we had a small outbreak of stomach sickness, and we needed to be cured before we went to the gathering. Do not fear. We are all well now, thatnks to Skyleaf," I said to the quietly muttering cats. "Prey is running well, and the twolegs were suprisingly low in number for this greenleaf. All is well in SnakeClan." I finished with a bow and a quick leap off of the Great Sycamore. The gathering was over. All Clans were rivals yet again.

[Seafeather]

Skyleaf

The clan had entered the Great Hollow, and Raccoonstar started the Gathering. "I'm sorry that my Clan is late," He stated, "but we had a small outbreak of stomach sickness, and we needed to be cured before we went to the gathering. Do not fear. We are all well now, thanks to Skyleaf," I ducked my head under the meows of approval from the medicine cats I sat by. "What'd you use?" One of them asked. "I used the honey and water idea from Smokeleaf." I nodded toward the cat who was focused on the Great Sycamore, Seastar was next.

Seastar

"I'm sorry for you. I hope you have a long reign." She replied to Silentstar. "But do know that we won't go easy on a new leader." she sneared.

Seastar walked to the end of her branch, gave her chest fur a quick lick before she started to talk. "Prey is running well in FrostClan. No illnesses have occured this moon, thank StarClan. We have a new warrior to address, Spottedwing." She nodded to the splotched she-cat sitting by Silverbreeze, followed by cries of "Spottedwing!" Seastar nodded to the clans then turned tail to the base of her branch.

[.M.i.d.n.i.g.h.t.i.e.]

Silentstar

[/b]
Silenstar bared his teeth at Seastar for a moment, then settled for sinking his claws into the branch. "She doesn't intimidate me!" he growled in his thoughts. When it was his turn for the clan announcements, he strode to the end of the Sycamore branch.
"As you might have noticed, Shatteredstar is not with us," Silenstar started. "She has lost her last life, and I stand before you now as Silentstar." Woodstripes called out,"Silentstar!" soon followed by other warrior. His blue eyes shone with pride at all the cheers made for him.
"Prey is running well in Ivyclan, there seems to be a surplus of squirrels," Silentstar continued after the cheers died down. "We are as strong as ever. There is nothing that ails our clan." Silenstar dipped his head, concluding his report.

Brokensnow

[/b]

Brokensnow had made his way up to the front, where Spottedwing sat, and nudged her, meowing,"Great job! I was made a warrior only just the gathering before. You'll love being a warrior!" The friendly warrior smiled, and sat down.

Silverbreeze

[/b]

"Could you please keep it down?" Silverbreeze asked. "The leaders are still speaking. I know you're excited, but there will be some time to chat afterwards." She gave him a smile, showing she wasn't trying to be snotty, just trying to keep him out of trouble.

Woodstripes

[/b]

Woodstripes watched Spottedwing with narrowed purple eyes.
"Heh, she' alright, but not as pretty as me!" She thought to herself, claws unsheathing. She watched the she-cats converse with the toms silently.

Ravenslash

[/b]

Ravenslash had cheered for his clanmate the loudest, which was a change for the usually quiet tom. A new warrior in the clan was a great thing to show off, so he had cheered the name with extra enthusiasm. He then sat down, quiet once again, keeping guard over the other cats.

[Kat]

Jadestar

[/b]

Jadestar watched as young Silentstar sat back down with the other leaders. She wondered about his future as a clan leader. Jadestar took her time as she got up, walking towards the end of the branch without hurry. No one said a thing.
"CloudClan is flourishing." she said elaborately. "The prey is running well and we have avoided sickness this green-leaf. We are as strong as ever." she walked back, and took her place.

Cedarwing

Cedarwing watched Silentstar closely as Jadestar made her announcements.
He didn't trust the new leader at all. He had known Silentstar as a deputy, and didn't like him then. He knew this day would come, but it had come too soon. Cedarwing feared for his clan's safety. He would immediately step up battle training and double patrols with the IvyClan border.

[Seafeather]

Skyleaf

Skyleaf watched the conversation quickly end between Seastar and Silentstar under the shadow of the Great Sycamore with the other medicine cats. "There's going to be tension between these two clans," Skyleaf thought.

Seastar

Seastar jumped from her branch and trotted straight for Cedarwing. "I want you too keep a close eye on all IvyClan borders. Stay within 3 fox lengths of the border, understood? We don't need any trouble with a new leader." Seastar flicked her tail and headed toward home, her clan following quickly after.

[Raccoonstar]

Raccoonstar

Raccoonstar watched as FrostClan left. Annoyed slightly that SnakeClan had not been first to leave, as the late entrance made SnakeClan seem weak. Raccoonstar eyed Silentstar. He had known Silentstar when he was a deputy, and he had liked him then, and he still liked him now. Strong, proud, and willing to take a challenge. This was the Silentstar he knew, and he also knew that with this new leader would come big changes. "Be wary," Raccoonstar said to his warriors, "I saw Seastar eyeing Silentstar like that. If there is a war between FrostClan and IvyClan, be ready to fight. We border both Clans, and if they get involved, we will probably also get involved." Then, with a flick of Raccoonstar's tail, he signaled his Clan to leave, but with his long talk he made the Clan last to leave, which annoyed Raccoonstar.

Nightleaf

Nightleaf saw the leaders eyeing eachother, some looking proud, and some looking cautious. She knew that this new leader, Silentstar, would cause only trouble toward the four Clans, and that nothing would be the same again. Jadestar signaled the camp to leave, and so they left, leaving SnakeClan behind, who was conversing with his Clanmates.

[fαllεη •]

• • •    smokeleaf

In the corner of the clearing, one cat stayed behind, mulling over the events of the Gathering. There was already tension growing between two clans, a fact that even the dimmest apprentice must have noticed. 'Foolish Seastar,' she thought with a grimace. 'Don't you dare try to get us into another war with those thieving rats.' She rubbed a paw over her blind eye, remembering with a grim smile what she'd done to make lvyClan pay for crossing into her territory. Her bones weren't getting younger, but she still had the memories of beating those trespassers black and blue. Half her sight was probably a small price to pay for that...

Still. She roused herself from the comforting day-dream and took a breath of the delicious green-leaf air. Skyleaf seemed to credit her with honey and water for stomach-ache. Juniper berries would have done better, as any medicine cat worth their suffix would know, but as long as the honey had done the trick, it didn't matter. Raccoonstar didn't seem to be suffering at any rate... But Ashstripe hadn't been at the Gathering. She quelled the worry that bubbled up in her chest. 'He'll be fine. The 'coon-cat said so, did she not?' Her brother would live. But she'd make sure to check that her herb piles were still full: she would be ready to protect her Clan against any attack, whether from lvyClan warriors or an unseen contagion.

The greying medicine cat didn't really want to leave the Hollow just yet; the night was still cool and clear, and she'd be damned if she wasn't going to enjoy herself. While the other FrostClan cats trailed out at Seastar's heels, Smokeleaf remained behind, enjoying the view of the moon that she seldom had the chance to see clearly under the clan's permanent canopy. As SnakeClan passed, she offered a respectful nod to Jadestar, who was still perched on the Sycamore. The two she-cats had age in common, and that was enough grounds for Smokeleaf's respect, at least until the leader did something stupid. The stars glittered and gleamed like nothing on this earth. 'And best that it stays this way,' she thought, trying to catch a glimpse of her mother in that velvety blackness. 'StarClan only knows what would happen if they fell to earth.'

[Kat]

Jadestar

[/b]

Jadestar watched the other clans leave with a grimace.
At least with Shatteredstar, her clan was left in peace. The crazy she-cat wanted nothing to do with CloudClan's breezy plains and rolling hills. Silentstar, on the other hand, well, she didn't trust him.
She looked over at Smokeleaf, FrostClan medicine cat. The old cat used to be a good friend of hers, when they were young apprentices. They had grown apart as their responsibilities grew. She thought of getting up from her perch to go and talk to the medicine cat, but stayed a moment more, to look at the great stars above her.
Jadestar jumped of the Sycamore with amazing agility and grace, which surprised even her. She carefully walked over to where Smokeleaf sat, gazing at the stars.

Cedarwing

[/b]

Cedarwing looked behind him as Seastar led FrostClan home. Smokeleaf had stayed behind, as well as Jadestar. He watched Jadestar approach Smokeleaf in a friendly way. For a moment, Cedarwing thought of calling to the medicine cat, but thought better of it. Smokeleaf would only snap at him, and StarClan knows she can take care of herself.

[.M.i.d.n.i.g.h.t.i.e.]

Silentstar

[/b]

Silenstar had stayed behind, watching all the clan leaders leave. They feared him. Good. He bared his teeth at the memory of what Seastar had said. He let out a small growl, then leapt down. Frostclan would need to learn respect soon, along with the other clans. But not tonight, or sometime soon, they needed to wait in suspense for a while. He leapt down from the Great Sycamore, and signaled to his warriors that they were headed back. As they made their way back, he made particularly sure to trot along the Frostclan borders as he made his way back to camp.
Starlight started to fade by the time they got back. He sighed, and went back to his den. the other warriors filed back into the warrior's den, tired from the longer then necessary trek back. silenstar smiled, settling down.

Silverbreeze

[/b]
As they made their way back to camp, Silverbreeze meowed to Jadestar,"What is your impression of the new leader? I believe he could be the best leader ivyclan has seen, but he is from IvyClan." she kept her other thoughts to herself, to ponder later.

Ravenslash

[/b]

Ravenslash ran up head, and caught up with the deputy.
"I was wondering if I could take the first night watch" Ravenslash meowed to Cedarwing. "I'm sure the clan would appreciate it, and I would feel better if it was me watching."

[Seafeather]

--------------------------------------Seastar-------------------------------

"I would feel better too if it was you watching Ravenslash. Go ahead, take first watch, then have Cedarwing." Seastar trotted to the two conversing cats as she said this. She didn't trust Silentstar at all. Didn't like him when he was deputy, didn't like him now. But his choice for deputy was good. Foxheart, well-trained, loyal, and a proven warrior.

"Cedarwing, I would like to see you in my den after you get your pick fromt he fresh-kill pile. We have to talk options."


----------------------------------Skyleaf---------------------------------

Skyleaf stayed behind with Smokeleaf and Jadestar. She liked these two cats, having known them as a kit.

"It's a pity we didn't get to talk more. Good thing the next half-moon is only half a moon away huh?" She murmured to Smokeleaf. She took in a deep breath and felt something twinge in her gut. Something was wrong with one of these cats! She took in a bigger breath, it was coming from Jadestar. She was sick, "I hope she tells her medicine cat when she gets back to her territory." she thought. She sat down next to Smokeleaf and groomed her pelt. It had been a while since she had a decent sleep, and a decent grooming. Something kept troubling her, but she didn't know what.

[fαllεη •]

The scent of a CloudClanner's approach would have been Smokeleaf's immediate signal of danger. As it was, it was only the near-silent sound of pawsteps shuffling over earth that could alert her to Jadestar's prescience. And the only thing that kept said leader's head from being torn off.

The medicine cat was in no hurry to remove her gaze from the stars and onto the leader's face; her vision would better be served up there. StarClan looked down on them all: it was only fair to give them a glance or two in exchange. Jadestar... She gave a wry chuckle. Being from different Clans hadn't stopped the two developing a fair friendship. Smokeleaf had been training to be a warrior then, and was a far more fiery she-cat than she was now. She'd never considered the friendship as anything other than someone to gossip with at Gatherings: now she was older, and if not wiser, then certainly smarter. Friendships between Clans were, for some ridiculous reason, frowned upon in almost every Clan. Being a medicine cat, she had no reason not to befriend every cat under the sun, if they could stand her, and the usual 'you may meet them in combat someday' was a moot point.

She was about to lower her gaze and discuss the 'good old days' -with an emphasis on the 'old'- when Skyleaf's voice broke the silence. "It's a pity we didn't get to talk more. Good thing the next half-moon is only half a moon away huh?" The grey she-cat grunted in response, not deigning to lower her head. It was at times like these that she wished that, just maybe, she'd stuck with her original calling. 'But StarClan wouldn't hear a word of that, would they?' she thought with a dry smile. 'They've got their claws into every medicine cat on this green earth, and they're not about to let go now.' Ah, but perhaps the time had come to speak.

"Jadest[/size]a[/color]r[/color][color=623636.[/color][/size]"[/color]
The name was more a statement than a greeting, and the she-cat's low, rich tones seemed to ring with faint traces of her own amusement. Truth be told, she didn't -couldn't, maybe- feel her usual snappish self with someone to defer to on her right. Far more comfortable than having the young she-cat on her blind side.
It wasn't that Smokeleaf didn't trust the young she-cat --she did, with her life if necessary. It was just that the elder medicine cat had no reason to respect her. She only hoped that this one wouldn't go rabbiting about the dead and how we should defend them with our lives or other such rubbish. Smokeleaf respected skill with herbs more than she did an affinity with StarClan. Anyone could be born with StarClan's noses in everything they did: it took time, skill, and patience to be a truly good medicine cat. And Smokeleaf had been trained well.
"I would ask how the prey is for your Clan, but I think it runs better now that Silentstar is snapping at its heels," the grey she-cat mewed, tactfully ignoring Skyleaf's grooming session that had begun under her good eye and was continuing at the back of her turned head. Hah, that was another thing that had changed since she'd had a chance to talk to Jadestar: Jadestar had become leader. Smokeleaf had lost her vision in the right eye. What a world. [/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

[Kat]

Jadestar

[/b]

Jadestar was slightly amused with Smokeleaf's statement.
Skyleaf, the SnakeClan medicine cat, was next to Smokeleaf. Jadestar dipped her head to both in greeting.
Smokeleaf was certainly right about Silentstar. While Jadestar was not looking for a fight, like she might have been in her younger days, she was tempted to tell Silentstar that if he even thought of messing with CloudClan he would feel her claws. Raccoonstar had not shown any hostility towards the new IvyClan leader, which Jadestar considered a mistake.
"That is true. However, CloudClan can hold its own against him."