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Every full moon the cats of the clans arrive here for the Gathering. The leaders sit atop the stone, while the deputies and medicine cats sit directly below. Here is where announcements and updates on clan life are given. The Gatherings are governed by a truce, so be kind and respectful to your neighbors of the valley.

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Beetlestar rushed into the field, excitement tingling in his muscles. He was still getting used to leading Gatherings, and looked forward to it every moon. The trip to the Lavender Field wasn't long from camp, so the run had done little to deplete his energy.

"C'mon, you slowpokes!" he called back to his clanmates trailing behind. He was technically supposed to be leading them, but they knew the way, so dashing ahead was fine, right? Beetlestar made his way to stand by the rock, not wanting to jump up on it until everyone else was present and settled.
Dawnwing grumbled as she hastily followed behind him, keeping an eye on the cats behind her as she did so.

"Make sure nobody falls behind," she murmured to Peachpelt, who was striding alongside her. Peachpelt fell back to keep an eye on the other cats. She bounded up to the rock and sat next to Beetlestar.
Copperglow was eager for the Gathering, and towards the front of the group trailing behind the leader and the deputy to prove it. At Beetlestar’s teasing shout, his ears perked up and he sprinted ahead, not bothering to warn the clanmates he had been talking with that he was about to dash off. He zipped past Dawnwing and Peachpelt. As he approached the rock, he turned his head to see how far behind his companions lagged, but mistakenly lost his footing on the uneven terrain and faceplanted.

Scrambling to get back onto all fours, Copperglow sheepishly looked around to make sure no one important had witnessed the debacle as he made his way to an appropriate spot.
Laurelleaf trotted far behind the rest of his clan, ghosting along the misty earth with silent pawsteps. As many times as the medicine cat had walked this path, the scene remained surreal, ethereal. It was quiet, despite the noise from his clan. Still. Almost like the valley was stuck in time.

The medicine cat padded slowly, his gaze distant and far away as he made his way to the base of the gathering stone. Rude, some may think- as Laurelleaf wove delicately through the crowd, passing in between a group of talking cats, or cutting one off, and not offering a word of apologies.

Laurelleaf settled himself down into a dip at the base of the rock, tucking his tail tightly around his paws.

Meetings were a pain.
Peachpelt saw that the rest of the clan made it safely to the field. She sat near the front as Dawnwing took her place on the lower part of the cool, damp rock. She closed her eyes as the cats of the clans settled down and talked amongst their clanmates and friends alike. She could make the noise of crickets and cicadas out beyond the murmuring and she basked in the bright moonlight

Dawnwing surveyed the clans and took a deep breath. She hoped that Beetlestar wouldn't make too much of a mockery out of the Gathering. The tension was palpable in the air, beading up like the moisture around them, making the mist feel more humid to her than cool and soothing. Her thick fur swayed in the slight breeze and made her feel even more uneasy.
Beetlestar noticed Copperglow's slip and tried really, really hard not to laugh. However, being himself, he couldn't hold it in. Letting out a loud chuckle he padded over to the warrior and gave him a big smile. "The hills are slippery at night! I almost lost a tooth the same way." The leader gave a wink before turning to find his deputy.

Spotting Dawnwing quickly he moved over with an apologetic look. "Thanks for making sure the cats all got here alright." He sat down next to her and tried his best to behave for a moment. He wasn't good at it. He shifted his weight and twitched his tail. While he enjoyed Gatherings themselves, he got nervous for the actual event to begin.
Drizzlestar, easygoing as ever, took his time getting everyone to the Lavender Fields that night. He was sure he would be a bit late, but that sort of thing never really mattered to him. After all, they were still going to show up. He led the clan carefully through their territory to reach the Gathering.

As they approached the Field, he really did appear to be taking this as some kind of leisurely stroll. He stopped near the edge of the gathering area, letting everyone go ahead of him, and took a few moments to really enjoy the scenery before he did anything important.

----

Nettlepaw, who got distracted when she saw a neat flower, realized she had fallen behind. A moment of panic later and she was desperately sprinting to catch up a few feet. Unsure where to go once she actually reached her destination, she looked around, flustered, and ultimately decided to go sit somewhere behind Laurelleaf. That was probably her safest bet.
Beetlestar had been distracting himself by batting at a piece of lavender when the other clan arrived. He glanced in their direction and visibly stiffened, tearing his gaze away to look at anything else. He went back to batting at the flower, but did so with a distant expression on his face and no joy in his movements.

-

Honeytuft wandered in with her clanmates, happy to be at the Gathering this time. It had been a while since she had been invited, due to nothing but coincidence. She looked forward to mingling with the other cats during the time of peace. Her mood was brought down slightly when she noticed the tense atmosphere at her clan's arrival.
Copperglow floated through a range of emotions in a few seconds, from wow, Beetlestar is talking to me to uh oh, Beetlestar saw that and ultimately settling on a happy but slightly embarrassed mixture of the two. He pawed at the soft grass, trying to think of ways to redeem himself later on, until he noticed the other clan approaching.

Copperglow was excited for the opportunity to mingle with the other cats, though a voice at the back of his mind told him there were more important things about the Gathering. His hopeful mood was slightly dampened when he sensed the tense atmosphere. Usually more oblivious to tonal shifts, he knew that if even he could feel it, things had to be pretty rough. This was going to feel long.



Minnowstone had been anxious all day that Drizzlestar would make the clan late to the Gathering; after all, it wouldn’t be the first time. With tensions already so high, she knew it wouldn’t help matters, but she was too shy to make her opinion known, especially when it contradicted the leader’s.

As the field began to fill with cats, she drifted over towards Honeytuft, in need of a familiar face to calm her nerves.
Drizzlestar watched over all the other cats as they intermingled. How boring, he thought, yawning. It was yet another Gathering where the clans became a bit unsettled upon meeting each other. Well, this isn't my problem. He stretched once more and made his way down to greet the others. Perhaps his presence made things worse, but he paid no mind whatsoever and planted himself below the rock on the side where the others of his clan were. With a certain fondness, he continued crowdwatching, but avoided catching the eyes of any GaleClan members to keep things easy for him.
Mosspebble made her way to the high stone, pardoning herself as she passed through the crowded valley. Something felt different about tonight. Maybe it was because of their Clan arriving late, but she didn't pay it much mind. She had been feeling slightly off the last few days, but didn't think it was anything relating to recent events.

Peering through the swarm of gathering cats, her gaze drifted upon Laurelleaf; GaleClan's medicine cat. As Mosspebble found herself a seat below the stone, she gave a curt nod to the Tom before curling her tail around her paws. "Nice to see you this evening!" She chirped at him.
Honeytuft noticed Minnowstone moving closer and gave her a friendly smile. "Hello!" she greeted brightly. She wondered if she was the only one that felt the odd atmosphere, so she asked, "Is it just me, or is the air tonight rather... tense? Have I missed anything that would explain it?" Her gaze drifted over the other cats, noticing how they all seemed to have a slight tightness in their postures.
Fishtooth bounded in to the clearing, feeling pent up from such a long, boring stroll. His eyes darted around the mingling mass of pelts to settle on someone familiar, or at least someone interesting. He spotted Copperglow. The two had been striking up conversations pretty regularly at Gatherings and when their border patrols synced up. He's another cat with a spark in his step, and Fishtooth likes that. Fishtooth is also completely and hopelessly oblivious to the tension in the air and doesn't realize that other cats might interpret mingling with the other clan as strange.

"What's crackin' my man?" Fishtooth says as he trots up, a smile on his face.

---

Dawnwing swishes her tail impatiently and shoots a stern look at Beetlestar.

"Whenever you're ready to start, leader," she whispers.
Beetlestar looked slowly away from the lavender with his paw still in the air to half-heartedly swing at it. He gave Dawnwing a brief look of dread before catching himself and standing to his feet. He gave himself a quick shake and put on a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Right! Business time." He jumped up onto the stone and waited for the other leader to join him. His tail waved anxiously behind him as he stood as far to the side on the rock as he could.
Minnowstone followed Honeytuft’s gaze and pondered her inquiry. “It isn’t just you.” She looked at the ground. “Maybe GaleClan is fed up that we’re late, but I can’t see why that would affect everyone so deeply. Hopefully we’re about to learn more?” She noticed Fishtooth trotting over to an unfamiliar GaleClan cat without a care in the world and almost let herself smile. She nodded towards him. “At least some things never change.”



Copperglow was jarred from his uncharacteristic brooding by Fishtooth’s greeting. “Good to see you,” he said with a grin. He pawed at the ground next to him, offering Fishtooth a place to sit for the Gathering. He knew others might find it odd, but if he had to be the one to break the ice, he’d accept the role. The sound of Beetlestar’s voice got his attention.
Drizzlestar jolted up a bit when he realized it was time to begin. He took a deep breath and leaped up onto the large rock. He made a point of circling around a couple times to get comfortable before finally sitting down, neatly wrapping his tail around himself. "Ready whenever you are," he made a soft comment to Beetlestar without facing him. He was getting a bit anxious, but sighed and tried not to let it affect his laidback expression.
Honeytuft nodded. "It's not like GaleClan has said anything about us being late before," she said before noticing the leaders start to take their positions atop the rock. She sat down and delicately curled her tail around her paws. Noticing the way the leaders stood she added, "I just hope nothing takes a turn for the worse."

-

Beetlestar wished he could get the feeling of nervousness and gloom out of his bones. He sat, trying discreetly to stand on the end of his tail to keep it still. He looked out at the crowd of cats and grounded himself by focusing on his clanmates. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat before speaking.

"Newleaf has been kind to us so far," he began, his voice slightly louder than was necessary. "Prey have been awakening from their hibernations on time, and our herb supply has recently been replenished. The, uh," he paused and shifted his wait anxiously, "black and white creatures, past the Southern Wall, have been getting closer to the border."

"The loner, Leon, has told us not to worry about it, though," Beetlestar continued. His gaze darted to and fro and his tail wiggled under his paw. "I-I think that's it for GaleClan! Unless anyone has anything else to say, then it's, um, H-HazeClan's turn. Yeah."
Drizzlestar kept his head down while Beetlestar spoke, patiently waiting for him to finish speaking. It seemed like he wasn't really listening, though, since the very tip of his tail gently flicked up and down while he waited. There was a period of silence after he had finished for Drizzlestar to realize it was his turn.

"Oh, yes," he said, "thank you, Beetlestar." He looked around at everyone below. "Yes, newleaf has been good for HazeClan as well. The weather is finally appropriate to hunt for fish." He paused. He had an unusual look on his face as he glanced between various cats, ones of his own clan and otherwise.

"... Nothing of interest has happened. Between the last Gathering and this one, I mean. Everything's all fine." His tail flicked a few times more, this time with more vigor. It was clear in his voice he was tense. "That's all, I guess. Anything else?" He phrased it as an open question to everyone who watched him, despite it being directed towards those who sat on and near the rock with him.
There wasn't much time for anyone to speak up even if they had wanted to, for Beetlestar stood quickly and shouted, "Well, Gathering adjourned! I'll see you all in a moon." The leader jumped down from the rock as if it had burst into flames and attempted to nonchalantly dart over to the safety of his own clanmates.

Beetlestar spotted Copperglow first and trotted over to him, his tail still waving noticeably behind him. He let out a stiff sigh and willed his shoulders to relax slightly. "That went better than last time, right? I managed to not fall off the rock. I think that counts as a success."

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