Feb.07.Gathering

[sorrelpaw]

Topazpaw glanced over at Flughtfoot and Elmheart, feeling her pale ginger fur rising in excitement at seeing the WindClan and RiverClab medicine cats. She waved her tail in support of her new leader, letting out a small yowl of approval. She thought Astercoat would be a strong leader; perhaps a little more logical then Silentstar, too, she thought primly.

[siberiantiger]

Iceheart gave a yowl of approvement after Astercoat's speech. We are strong again! he rejoiced silently. We are ShadowClan! A huge smile spread across his face; something that didn't happen often to Iceheart. He flexed his claws in and out, and gave another yowl of approvement.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sunstorm heard yowls coming from the island. She sat on the Twoleg fence, and strained her ears. I wonder what's going on? she asked herself. But she didn't move. She simply gazed out into the darkness.

[untilthis.echo]

Shadowpaw's yellow eyes widened in awe and admiration at Astercoat's proud speech. He leaped to his paws and danced a few steps, long legs clumsily sweeping back and forth in smoky movements. When cats turned to him in both curiosity and amusement, the tom felt his fur turn hot and quickly plopped back down. His yellow eyes trained hard on his paws as the cats around him meowed with amusement, chuckling at his embarrassment. Shadowpaw only stared hard at his paws, fur hot and excited.

~~~

Molten eyes gazed over at Astercoat in pleasant surprise. Echostar's paws kneaded the bark of the tree slightly, claws scratching against the rough bark. So this was Shadowclan's new leader ey? He smirked slightly, eyes sparkling with some of his old playful spirit that had died down ever since...

He shook his head. He couldn't let his thoughts stray to that now at a Gathering. There were more important things to think about. As he sat back down and waited in the shadows of the branches for his turn to speak, the spark in his eyes faded, and he only stared solemnly up ahead.

[dream.]

Dreamstar dipped her head formally to the new leader of ShadowClan.
"ThunderClan is happy to hear that your Clan grows strong again, after all the tragedies that you have faced." She tried her best to smile, but doubts weighed on her fur like heavy raindrops. Not wanting to meet his eyes, Dreamstar whispered in a voice that carried no farther that the cats` on the Oak, "W-Would you like to speak next, Echostar?" She swallowed painfully. That name, it meant so much. She couldn`t stand to hear it, yet it was music to her ears.
[ ...echo... ]

[sorrelpaw]

Topazpaw frowned at Dreamstar's hesitation. What was wrong with her? She peered at Echostar, wondering if the WindClan leader would notice. Surely she did not doubt his strength? WindClan's strength? The ginger kitten shrugged, trying to scan the unreadable expression in Dreamstar's eyes.

[l.ast of the [wild]s]

Spikeshard gazed up at Astercoat in mild surprise. So he was going to be the new ShadowClan Leader? Well that explained the tom's presence being up there and it certaintly made things better for ShadowClan. The RiverClan warrior swished his tail tip and noted how interesting the situation was becoming.

Then his sapphire irises fell upon Dreamstar. A confused glint appeared in his eyes when he took note of her hesistation in speaking to Echostar. Just what in StarClan's name was going on between those two?

[untilthis.echo]

Molten eyes faltered once, blinked twice, and glanced about three times. A single ebony painted paw stepped lightly on the bark, its ash white opposite doing the same. Autumn toned paws clicked long claws against the bark as the bengal shifted in the shadows. Moonlight did not touch the tom's pelt, as the shadows were far too deep. Dark shade melded the creature's fur so that he looked almost black, like a creature of the night. His voice was deeply so, "Of course Dreamstar."

His voice was soft but traces of something dark seeped into his tone. Turning to the cats, he padded out of the shadows to speak. His molten orbs glowed unearthly as he mewed, "Windclan has fought off the famine that had been picking off our cats. Though most of our warriors suffered from it, resulting in many a mentorless apprentices, we are recovering quickly. Our cats grow strong and will grow stronger still. The famine has done nothing to faze us that we cannot overcome!" he yowled, call deep and strong.

There was only a gleam of something else in his eyes. Something intangible, as if something had been washed away from the bengal's eyes.

[siberiantiger]

Spottedstump took in Echostar's words as she sat in the crowd of cats. She looked over at some WindClan cats sitting not far off. Though they looked a bit thin, they definately looked a lot better than they had lately. But then again, WindClan cats always were leaner than most cats... The tortoiseshell she-cat thought she had seen a strange look in Echostar's eyes after he had spoken. And before, Dreamstar had acted very odd... What was going on here?

[dream.]

Dreamstar fought off the urge to press her muzzle into the handsome tom`s flank. She tore her eyes away from his face, and searched out the one leader that had not yet spoken.
"Cloudystar, are you ready to speak now?"
Dreamstar backed up a little bit, hooking her claws firmly into the thick branch on which she sat.

[the day the world went away]

Starting violently when the ThunderClan leader called her name and jerking out of her haunted reverie, the RiverClan leader unsheathed her claws and scratched them at the branch she was perched on, unexpected anxiety fluttering up to constrict her airway.

"Oh! Y-yes, Dreamstar. Yes," the dark silver cat mumbled in a high-pitched voice, then cleared her throat and adjusted her strikingly achromatic silver eyes out to the cats assembled, her sterling orbs unintentionally cold.

After a pause, she flicked her dark-ringed tail and stepped into the moonlight shafting down, letting the clean, crisp light seep into her dark pelt and illuminate the different achromatic shades. With a simple flick of her dark-crowned ears, the RiverClan leader began to speak.

"RiverClan is doing fine. We are pleased to hear how WindClan thrives, and how ShadowClan has a new leader. Good luck to you, Astercoat," she added, dipping her head to the warrior. After a brief moment of hesitation, she concluded her small speech. "That is all."

With a soft sigh, the dark cat stepped back into the welcoming shadows, her keen silver eyes not missing the anxious looks that shadowed both Dreamstar's and Echostar's faces, making them look both old and young at the same time.

[l.ast of the [wild]s]

Spikeshard felt his heart swell with pride as he saw his leader speak among the rest of the Clans. Even though Cloudystar had stuttered awkwardly, the RiverClan warrior felt as proud as ever to be part of his Clan. His sapphire eyes practically beamed as he gazed up at the dark leader above, staring into her achormatic eyes. You did well Cloudystar! I'm sure of it! The silver bengal thought with the utmost certainity.

However, both the pride and certainty vanished like dust in the wind when Spikeshard saw Cloudystar glancing somewhere else. His light brow furrowing, Spikeshard swiveled his head to gaze in the direction his leader glanced at. The tom's deep sapphire eyes landed on Echostar and Dreamstar. An even deeper confusion settled within the RiverClan warrior's mind. Both the ThunderClan and WindClan leaders looked stressed and anxious. Spikeshard frowned as he took notice of the hanging tension. "What is going on here?" The bengal muttered in bewilderment.

His mind itched to know the reason why two of the other leaders were nervous. He had never seen either of them like this during the previous Gatherings.

[grayfur]

Grayfur looked over at his leader fearfully. Is that all he asked himself. I don't know you. He dipped his head sadly. She hadn't even mentioned their new medicine cat. Or that he was the new deputy. he sluunk sadly after his leader. It was not right to love a leader, especially if she was a female. it would never happen, but Grayfur didn't want to think that way. Sighing heavily, he sat down, angry for who he was.

-----------------

Distant in the shadows, a pair of emerald eyes watched gleefully. The cat chickled to himself. "What a bunch of baffons!" he laughed quietly. He turned around to see a cream-colored cat looking at him hatefully. "Just get it over with," the other cat spat. "You've done enough in killing my brother." He looked away. "And hurting my sister." The older cat chuckled. "No one's gonna catch us," he snarled. "Once I rain on their parade, we'll take over together." he smiled at the cream cat. "Thirteen," he muttered, "thirteen."
"Thirteen more minutes you mean?" The cream cat asked disgusted.

[untilthis.echo]

Auric irises gazed at Dreamstar, startling when Cloudysar's voice surfaced and broke the feline's thoughts. Turning quickly to the achromatic she-cat, Echosta focused his attention on her. His ears flicked at her faltering stutter in her speech, and at how short it was. Was Riverclan really having next to no problems in their land? Or was their leader just hiding the quandaries of their situation, like how she hid her own insecurities. It was strange really, so mysterious and...

secretive.

Why must we all be so enigmatic? he thought as his eyes strayed away from the Riverclan leader and settled on the gazes of the Clan cats below the Oak. They all looked so untroubled, so free from the dark aberrations in the leaders' hearts. So deceptively relaxed. It was all an illusion though, brought by the carefully weaved and perfectly manipulated words of the felines above. It almost made him smirk with malicious intent, yet that would be breaking the facade.

They all look peaceful, free from these worries. But they know nothing of my secrets. Of our secrets. he mused, turning to gaze at the other leaders. He peered back at the Clan cats and straightened in the shadows, speaking, "So now that we have expressed our news, are we free to go? Or is there objection for a plight longer?"

He aimed the last words at Dreamstar, wondering if there was anything else needed to be done.

[tide]

Nightmare turned towards the tabby next to him.
"See that Scourge? Dreamstar and Echostar are hiding something."
The large tabby turned towards him.
"Oh? How will this help me?"
He spat. Nightmare narrowed his eyes.
"If Dreamstar loves Echostar, then what happens when we break them up?"
Scourge looked away. Nightmare was making sense, but Dreamstar and Echostar couldn't have anything for each other, could they? Scourge turned back to Nightmare.
"One week. Thats all I'm giving you."
Scourge looked back at Echostar and narrowed his eyes, Why did he always direct his words towards Dreamstar. He got up, and hissed towards Nightmare,
"I'm going to follow Echostar. See you later."
With that he slunk off in the direction of Echostar, making sure he stuck to the shadows.

[dream.]

Dreamstar shook her delicate silver head , resisting the urge to press her muzzle into Echostar`s . "No , that should be all ." She stared into the depths of his eyes , sending an unspoken message through her gaze .
I love you .
Could he read her expression ? Hopefully . Without another word , Dreamstar leapt clumsilly off her branch , paws thudding the ground as she landed hard .