Gathering 2025 Event omach init ──✩°｡⋆⸜ The First Gathering

[stormcrow]

Stormcrow's eyes scan the clearing alongside Flowercloud's, though she knows not what to look for. As soon as Flowercloud points the villain out, however, her eyes lock on their target– talking to his leader, the coward. Did Juniperstar know? She had seemed so meek when she asked for their attendance, yet there she stood, no doubt preparing to defend her murderous clan member.

At her king's command, she follows on the heels of Flowercloud, weaving through the gathered cats with the skill of one used to jumping from tree to tree, weaving through branches.

"I'll cover his back," she hisses to Flowercloud, low enough not to be overheard by the scheming leader and her follower. "He won't get away again, I swear it."

She gives Flowercloud a nod, then veers right, coming up to the brown tom from behind, her ears flat to her head.

"I advise you not to try and run again," she growls to Owlbark. "Though, cowardly as you are, I suspect such advice is lost on you."

She shoots an icy glance towards Juniperstar, but says nothing, her eyes quickly fixing on Owlbark again, even as her king speaks. She will not let him out of her sight.

♡ STORMCROW. 54 moons
temporary mentor of teaselpaw,
daughter of snowveil
peaceful powerplay allowed
ooc - addressing @flowercloud then @OWLBARK

 

[juniperstar juniperstar]

juniper

for once, he slinks towards her like a scolded pup rather than a hungering wolf. Owlbark practically nips at her ear for her attention and his urgency sends a nervous shiver down her spine. what could he possibly need to speak to her about now of all times? when SkyClan parades through the crowd drenched in blood. her eyes narrow, skeptical and frustration already coiling tightly in her chest, "What did you do," is all the question she gets to hiss before Hawkstar's voice projects across the open clearing.

to call her a liar.

her jaw sets, teeth clenched tightly against the slander being so carelessly thrown her way. "I didn't lie about anything," the spotted tabby is more than content to adjust her position, sliding in front of Owlbark while the furious SkyClan leader advances towards the both of them shrieking of foul play. murder. she doesn't have the luxury to lecture her deputy for his foolishness, to inquire as to his guilt. but a reckless killer, she knew he wasn't. "Your grief is more than reasonable Hawkstar but this isn't. ThunderClan does not bare its claws at its neighbors for no reason other than to sharpen them. Clearly, there's been a mistake here."

her tail lashes, glancing to her periphery as she recognizes Stormcrow slinking around behind them. The mention of some sort of 'code' makes her lips peel back, "What are you even talking about? You parade through here as if you are commander of all five clans rather than a neighbor. Your clan is nothing more than wayward wanderers too- you were not born in this forest... and I won't be told what's right by a stranger." by someone who'd not witnessed what they'd fought and bled for... who had no context to her integrity. Pikestar knew better, Sablestar especially knew her better than that.

"I do not harbor murderers and blood thirsters," teal eyes glower in the direction of ShadowClan, who were far more deserving of this sordid reputation. "I won't deny you justice Hawkstar but only within reason. You're no more barbarians than we are..."

──✩°｡⋆⸜ ✮

• interacting with @Hawkstar and @OWLBARK

• juniperstar leader of thunderclan eight lives remain

  ignore me

 

[Dustystar Dustystar]

✪ Align my Heart, my Body, my Mind​

indentFear and confusion fill the air like a thick miasma. Dustystar has the mind to call out to her warriors - "Stay calm! Don't panic, keep yours heads on straight." - but as she shouts, her voice is swallowed by the cacophonous noise.

indentWild green eyes watch helplessly as Skyclan warriors begin to surround the small group of leaders. As Hawkstar levies her accusations towards Juniperstar, the blood drains from Dustystar's face. "Juniperstar..." The young leader turns to the accused, a look of betrayal on her face. "Is this true?" Had the peace they sought really been a rouse? Dustystar had begun to put trust in the molly, after her warrior attacked Gorsepaw. 'Was it all really a lie?'

Dustystar - 27 moons - Windclan Leader

 

[Graybird]

I am not your kind and gentle husband

Graybird has been quietly smoldering the moment they arrived, his brother carelessly brushing against Juniperstar in what was essentially a bold declaration of what he did not deserve after all he had done, it was enough to ruin his night entirely. No effort was made to socialize, he kept his head down and his holly green gaze on the earth beneath his paws; the very ground where once war ripped across their home, he had claws and fought to defend her then and he would do so now when another foe dared threaten. SkyClan rolls in like a dark cloud, their leader is a pointed dart of a cat moving without pause toward her place among the others but it is her words that have him paying attention to the world around them once more, his earlier annoyance all but faded and replaced with stinging injustice.

He doesn't much care for Owlbark, he had been named aptly and it showed - barking where something softer would suffice, brash and a little too forward with their leader in a way that made his fur prickle angrily; Juniperstar deserved more respect than to be spoken to like a kitten caught misbehaving, frankly he was tired of feeling as if he could not help her more. But she didn't need him really did she? She had those closest to her heart already. It was not because he felt anything for the deputy, frankly he wouldn't be surprised if Owlbark had killed a cat, but Juniperstar had chosen him - surely there was more to it than simple slaughter, Graybird would defend her choices to the grave, it had nothing to do with Owlbark himself. The gray tom's hackles rose, spine bristling as he rose to stand near where the leaders sat and barred his teeth, "You've much nerve calling our leader a LIAR, Hawkstar!" Briefly he wonders what exactly had happened, there as a stiffness to Owlbark that made clear something had - an expression tight and hard to read that neither reeked of guilt nor rebuff of the accusation. Graybird's heart sings to punish the one-eyed molly daring to spit such venom, ThunderClan had always been the one making efforts, even if he himself despised ShadowClan perhaps more than any other soul in their forest did, this gathering of cats was of pure desire for peace, a naive and foolish hope he had wished to guard but was now threatening to crumble around them. Has StarClan not taken enough? Her friend, her kit, her own life, could they not spare even this extended olive branch the constant grief? 'Will you ever smile again as you once did, I would kill for it - even when it was once directed at another.

& I am not the love you knew before.

GRAYBIRD

— Warrior ThunderClan
— He/They
"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
— SH Gray Tabby with holly green eyes.
#82847e

 

[OWLBARK]

Owlbark did not even get the chance to tell Juniperstar his "crime". His maw was opened and ready to advise their next move when Hawkstar pointed in his direction, voice dripping in rage. He did not flinch or shrink. His spine only straightened and his green eyes found Hawkstar's one. She was impressive, he had to admit - battle scarred, confident, and demanding attention. Owlbark paid no attention to the hawks she sent circling around him with their eyes set on him and talons poised to attack.

What did you do?

Rosebelly, he learned was his name, had trespassed and took his claws to Owlbark. His mother had approached and instead of explaining himself to deaf ears, he had gone. He had never claimed he was wise or thoughtful, but he was able to survive. That's what he did. He survived. Owlbark's eyes remained locked on Hawkstar as he replied, "Only what I saw fit." He hoped Juniperstar trusted him. He hoped she put all the trust she had when she elected him to deputy moons ago. They stood there, side by side, and Owlbark pushed his pelt against his leader's. He was ready to kill again if necessary. The rare moment of his physical contact was hopefully proof enough to his leader. They listen to the SkyClan leader's tirade and he breaks his eyes from Hawkstar to look at his own leader standing in front of him.

She was someone he did not recognize in this moment. This was Juniperstar, leader of ThunderClan. Thornstar would be proud, he thought, and tilted his chin up in defiance at Hawkstar. If there was any doubt that Juniperstar would turn her back on him for his instinct, it is washed away like a flood. He suddenly felt that same rush of hope he had felt when Thornstar approached him all those moons ago and promised a home. A home with others who would accept him. ThunderClan was his home now, and Juniperstar his leader.

Owlbark stayed his place behind Juniperstar, and trusted her. "I am deserved a chance to speak against your claims, Hawkstar," he addressed. He began to speak loudly so all cats of the gathering could hear him now. "I'm Owlbark, deputy of ThunderClan. I was raised in these woods unlike the SkyClanners. I know what survival looks like. I know what it takes to survive. Survival is not allowing transgressions without punishment. Rosebelly chased prey onto ThunderClan territory and laid claws on me without provocation. I returned the attack, and Rosebelly succumbed to his wounds after crawling across the border. He was not the innocent you claim." His eyes found the she-cat that had wailed at the sight of his body after he crawled back to SkyClan territory. Owlbark could only guess the tall-tale she told SkyClan to have them react this way. "Instead of an excuse I gave the truth. And I will not apologize for doing what I had to.

The deputy turned to look at the cats gathered who were not a part of SkyClan. Especially those who looked at him horrified, as if he had morphed into the rabid dog they all believed him to be. "Have you forgotten the forest before the clans? The hunger and defenselessness? Ah, SkyClan would not. They were not here to live as we did. Forgive me for protecting what I fought for from some newcomers who claim innocence for a cat who no longer breaths. If I am wrong, StarClan themselves can take me. I have no fear or doubt. I defended my home like a warrior. Why else are we called that if not to use the claws we were given?" The rage that Hawkstar held was infectious. His voice rose in pitch and his claws dug into the ground beneath him.

"What code, Hawkstar? What code do you hold dear that allows for unprovoked attacks to go untouched? I've never heard of the code you say dictates warriors, but I wouldn't follow anything SkyClan does if it means that I'm not allowed to protect what I have fought for," Owlbark said. His eyes moved to Juniperstar to gauge her reaction. If she decreed, he would use the claws he was given. For her, anything. "If I had treated your warrior with the soft paws you train your warriors to find, then I would have been the one dead. I would hope SkyClan would react the same as I had if ThunderClan acted the way Rosebelly did." The tom, feeling a wave of exhaustion roll over himself, bowed his head to Hawkstar. That would be the only courtesy she received from him tonight.

i turned 'round and there you go *ੈ✩‧₊˚

• ooc: phew!
  
• 

  ☾ OWLBARK
  ☾ THUNDERCLAN DEPUTY
  ☾ 51 moons, ages every 1st of the month
  ☾ open to peaceful interactions
  ☾ "SPEECH"
  ☾ penned by muddly

• toyhouse
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[PEONYPAW]

trigger warning Descriptions of an anxiety attack

Fear strikes a cord in him, cold and restless. There is something about the enormity of the situation that makes it impossible for Peonypaw to shake off—he is used to drowning his feelings, keeping them deep under the surface, only ever experiencing them in full when there are no watchful eyes on him. There are too many eyes here though. His next breath catches in his throat. The awkward scene of Dustystar introducing him to the other leaders instead of him is fully gone now; abandoned, forgotten. Hawkstar takes the stage, quite literally, and her eyes that bleed fury comes near Peonypaw.

Logically, he understands that she is not looking for him. It is wholly unfortunate for him to be where is now, because Hawkstar and her cats begin closing in on them- Owlbark, specifically. Peonypaw is too close.

Too close to the fire.

He has seen this exact moment go down in his brain and behind the curtains of his eyelids before. The moment when WindClan finally realizes that Peonypaw had set that terrible fire, had let it stain his blood with the innocent lives that had been taken that night. The SkyClan warriors that slither forward like snakes suddenly take on the faces of his Clanmates.

Each and every one of them stare at him accusingly.

Peonypaw doesn't realize that he has started backing up. His body is low to the ground, fur standing on edge out of terror instead of an attempt at making himself threatening, shuffling backwards from the leaders and deputies and medicine cats. His heart hammers a rhythm so fast that his chest aches already. When his flank touches someone, Peonypaw's blood turns cold.

"No-"

This is the part where he gets what he deserves.

When his head whips around, quick enough to make him dizzy, Peonypaw freezes in order to let his brain process what's going on. The dual-colored face of Merrystalk betrays no ill-intent or hostility. Slowly, the real scene returns to him, blurring at the edges.

"Oh, it's just you,"

Peonypaw breathes, though it's not a sigh of relief. He fully expects Merrystalk to scoff at him for not looking where he was going.

"Sorry..."

Bumping into @Merrystalk

 

[Magnoliapeak]

𓆝 . ° ✦

Even for a stickler for discipline and the rules, this is a bit much. SkyClan parades themselves in, smelling of soured blood and crying about a dead warrior and some code. To which Magnoliapeak feels her nose crinkle in a near-laugh. A... code? Did this SkyClan leader expect to come and lay down rules for them all to follow? And even funnier, expect cats like ShadowClan to obey? A group of RiverClan apprentices start screaming about how Hawkstar and SkyClan are going to kill them all, and the chaos is nearly enough for her to miss the group of SkyClanners surrounding Owlbark. Hawkstar goes on about Juniperstar being a liar and how they have made a mockery of peacetime, but Magnoliapeak finds herself focused on getting to the brown tabby instead of listening to the prattling.

As she reaches him, two of the SkyClan cats try to corner him. "Step back," Magnoliapeak demands of Stormcrow, shoving herself between the deputy and SkyClan sun guard "He didn't even try to step away from you." She is surprised to find the Serpentberry flanking her in her defense of Owlbark, but welcomes it nonetheless. This is not unlike the way they had both nearly strung up Stilldream in the middle of camp after costing Juniperstar one of her lives. And when they come between Owlbark and the SkyClan cats, they are not unlike a two-headed cobra. Behind them, Juniperstar stands up to Hawkstar, and the warrior feels pride for her aunt surging within her chest. The meek and mild Juniperstar has been dashed, and the cat Thornstar chose as his deputy stands with them as ThunderClan leader. As intended.

Though her comment on murderers has her glancing at a stoic Owlbark out of the corner of her eye, as if he might react somehow. But none comes. Owlbark is rigid and confident like the trees that mark ThunderClan's territory. He defends himself valiantly, leaving nearly no room for argument, though Magnoliapeak is sure- as any prideful cat is capable of- they would find some way to butt against him. She glances at Flowercloud, then to Stormcrow, and then back to Hawkstar, waiting to see if the SkyClan leader would have any concessions to make. "You'd think for a bunch of hypocrites demanding pomp and circumstance surrounding some fake law they'd at least not show up stinking of rot," she scoffs lowly to Serpentberry. Magnoliapeak is fairly certain Hawkstar will not be willing to back down.

/ with her hatebestie @serpentberry , physically defending @OWLBARK this is technically mobile so sorry if it exploded

"SPEECH HERE"

✧ ° . ✶ . ° ✧

ooc Information

• ooc: —
• 

  MAGNOLIA — SHE/HER ･ 21 MOONS ･ WARRIOR & THUNDERCLAN ･ PENNED BY CARAT!

  dilute tortoiseshell with amber eyes. here too.

 

[Littlepaw]

I was given the choice as a child...
To deny who I'm destined to be...

​

---

LITTLEPAW, They/Them / 6 moons / Starclan - Apprentice
Black self / Cinnamon ticked tabby chimera with a pronounced right fang
Child of JUNIPERSTAR and SABLESTAR, Sibling to MAGPIEPAW, DREAMPAW and ASTERPAW
Creative, Observant, Restless and Kind little soul brimming with potential...
Tagging [@]

---

This was... Strange. Strange yet enticing, as if several long awaited pieces were to be placed into an ancient puzzle. The congregation of cats in the living realm stirred something, something incomprehensibly old alongside a sense of completeness... Well, almost. One piece was still missing and nobody knew why, and the living cats were less aware of it.

Within the glittering infinity of Starclan, Little...paw found themselves drawn through the expanse as if they had found the scent of something interesting— but this 'scent' was not tracked by their nose, no. It was tracked by their heart, for it was no scent at all. Rather, it was a familiar warmth. Long in the distance, to the horizon of their perception, a collective of lights came closer and closer together.

So many cats all in one place. More than any one clan— it was all of them. Within this collection of living lights a few stood out to Littlepaw. Family. Once more they were closer to each other, and like one time long ago they were also in a special location as well. It called to Littlepaw, but they did not need to be called— this is what they had always been waiting for. Their soul felt more and more freedom as they rushed across the afterlife towards this phenomenon with a wide grin. "Okay, lets go— Here I come!"

Rippling through the rifts and gaps between both sides of existence, Littlepaw momentarily faded in and out all over the place as they circled the gathering of cats. For a moment, their form happened to stay in the living realm directly facing several cats a little longer- enough to speak a single syllable; Rattlepaw "Okay-", Meadowpaw "Wait,", Stoatpaw "Hey-" and finally Magpiepaw, where Littlepaw didn't flicker out. They had made it! "Yes!! Haha!" Littlepaw spun around in mid air before they spotted their brother. "Magpie, heya!" Littlepaw chirped excitedly as they floated down to him. "I found you again~!" Unlike their brother, Littlepaw was thrilled to be among a living crowd, even if.. Maybe about six of them could see them. Whatever, it didn't matter! "What's happening here? Some kind of gathering?" They asked, looking between Duskpool and Froststorm, ignoring that the latter was also a spirit due to their excitement in arriving. "Who're the old fellas?" And why did one of them smell funny..?

---

Instead, I prepared for the trials...
But the trials were not ready for

ME

​

 

[Hawkstar]

LEADER OF SKYCLAN

.

Hawkstar is fuming. Her pink maw spills from the corners of her opened lips, enflamed red from the blood that had rushed to her face.

"Should I have brought the body of my apprentice to toss the entrails to you as proof? Are you so starved for flesh that you would require a corpse to satisfy your mockery of our lives?"

Wayward warriors not born of the forest… it would be an insult if Juniperstar's blatant disregard for the code was not injury enough.

"For a hundred generations or more, SkyClan survived in our isolation because of the code that all of our ancestors agreed upon. We kept the memory of the old clans alive by adhering to StarClan's laws, and finally did we return to our ancestral homelands only to find … what? I bring you an infraction of the highest order and you disregard it like you would the ramblings of a kit -"

The voice of the murderer cuts through her righteous scrawl, waving away her fury with a metaphorical paw still dripping with Rosebelly's blood. Even cleaned, even manicured, Hawkstar could still imagine it on him. He makes some pithy claim to Juniperstar's deputyship - even more of an indictment of the betrayal that the ThunderClan leader so easily permitted within her ranks. Hawkstar is ready to jump down from her perch, ready to leave to prepare a proper war party, when he continues:

Have you forgotten the forest before the clans? I've never heard of the code you say dictates warriors.

And Hawkstar stops. And stares. This cat dared to call himself deputy. Juniperstar dared to call herself a leader. These cats dared to call themselves warriors.

And they didn't know a lick of the warrior code.

Defend your clan, even with your life. The facts of the situation slowly dawned on her, spinning rapidly in and out of her mind like a bird in a death throe. Rosebelly, you fool. Oh, you sweet, unknowing fool. Do not hunt or trespass on another clan's territory. Did they even recite these ancient words of the code during their training? Did he even know what danger he put himself into crossing over to catch a mouse or a squirrel or a wayward shrew?

And yet … how much did it truly matter if none of these cats held true to the code anyway?

She knows that SkyClan's eyes have turned on her now, wide, speechless. She can feel the confusion settle on her skin: Hawkstar, who have you brought us to? they must roar inside their heads. They must, because it is the only thought she can muster that is not of utter rage.

"Fine."

The word falls from her lips like a stone.

"For a hundred generations, SkyClanners had been told stories of the ancient clans. ThunderClan, RiverClan, WindClan, ShadowClan. Our ancestors. The survivors of the great calamity that befell the forest all those years ago. But now I see. I see that we have been lied to through ignorance. I have been done in by pretenders, by cats who dress up in the ranks of leader and deputy without even knowing why. You may speak of StarClan, you may have prophets with visions of a civilization long dead, but you all know nothing of the honor that has kept my clan alive when the old ones died out.

So fine. I will instead speak to the rules of your lawless colonies: 'survival is not allowing transgressions without punishment.' Please excuse my attempts at reason within the diction that StarClan blessed me with upon my ascension to leader. Please excuse my softness."

Hawkstar spits the word forth, and she hopes that Coffeestar can see her. She hopes that Applecloud does too, to know that first she did try sweetness and piety before all else.

"Juniperstar, in absence of the code of my ancestors, the law passed down from a thousand leaders directly to me, I demand justice on the terms your deputy has set. A life for a life. His for my deputy's son. Is that reasonable enough for you."

It is not a question.

pointed torbie

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64 moons

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she / they

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