July 20 Gathering

[lightningwind]

Owlsong watched as many of the cats talked with each other. Owlsong sighed. She din't have any friends.... But then again, she was new to the clan. Not a lot of cats knew her that well.... Owlsong swished her fluffy tail side to side. She hit a couple of angry cats, so she stopped. The last thing Owlsong wanted was to get into a fight with deathclan warriors. Owlsong just sat there in the middle of the crowd and desprately waited for the gathering to start. That wiuld finally make all the arguing stop.

[.:.S.:.t.:.o.:.r.:.m.:.]

"DeathClan can chew on their own tails for all I care," Stormheart replied, watching as Joypaw searched for the SoulClan apprentice. When she came back, she calmly told her, "Couldn't find her? It's okay, she was probably just really nervous." She hissed at Nightpaw and Silentfeather, tail lashing. Why were all DeathClan cats pieces of fox-dung?

Nightpaw grinned hugely as the SoulClan apprentice left, angered and obviously very insulted. She nodded toward Silentfeather's remark. "Yes, she is a coward. A very, very big one at that. Now Joypaw, I thought you said that we couldn't provoke you guys? She seemed to be very bothered by our comments, right, Silentfeather?" Nightpaw spoke very calmly, though sarcasm and venom flowed through her words.

[J/o/y!]

Joypaw lashed her tail. "She had to go off, didn't she? I'm going to hope she comes back. She needn't have these cats provoke her." Despite her lashing tail, her voice was icily calm, reflecting in her eyes as well. Speaking softly out of range of the DeathClan cats, "For all I care, they could've never showed up in the first place." Joypaw twitched her ear.

"Oh you think Creampaw's a coward? I find it strange you DeathClan cats target weak and vulnerable cats. Why not big, strong warriors? Oh, that's right, because I think you are the cowards. And you don't. Creampaw's just sick of all this shit you're dishing out. I can deal with it; I'm used to it, same with every other cat. But Creampaw's not." Anger surged through her and glowed in her eyes and showed in her voice.

[.:.S.:.t.:.o.:.r.:.m.:.]

"Same here," Stormheart whispered back to Joypaw, watching as the argument between Nightpaw and Joypaw commenced. It was almost amusing, watching the two fight. Stormheart sighed, watching as they continued their argument, which had begun to draw the eyes and ears of many cats. "Joypaw, I'd tone it down a little," she warned her, her voice far too low for Nightpaw to hear. "People are starting to stare."

Nightpaw simply shrugged off Joypaw's insults. "If we're such cowards, and we're so weak, how did we manage to kill Flamestar, Fallenleaf, and Faithsong, hmm? We're so weak that all we can do is kill you guys off, right? Wrong. It's because of the fact that we can kill any one of you guys off whenever we want to. That's what makes us strong. Sure, we're cold-blooded murderers, but we survive. You guys don't. And besides, I think that being called a cold-blooded muderer is a compliment, not an insult. And besides, if you think about it, when we kill a kit, it's almost like killing a warrior. We're stopping the kit from becoming a warrior, aren't we? You guys are pathetic, really. You have nothing better to do then to insult us, meanwhile you watch as your numbers decrease." Nightpaw's eyes glinted with amusement; she was sure that this would send Joypaw over the top. She hoped so, at least. Smirking, she decided she'd push Joypaw a little further. "And you know what really burns all of you guys up inside? The fact that everything I'm saying is completely true: we are strong, you are weak. We survive, you die." Nightpaw casually wrapped her thin black tail around herself, watching as her words sunk into Joypaw. I wonder what she'll say. This ought to be good, she thought with satisfaction, her eyes blazing with amusement.

[J/o/y!]

To Joypaw's own surprise, she remained icily calm. Taking a deep breath, she allowed Nightpaw's words to sink in. Trying to decide what to do, she angled her ears toward Two-Rocks. I know. I'll try to close this arguement now. "Well, I have absouletely no idea whatsoever what drives you to kill other cats, but honestly at this point I couldn't care less. I think my ambition is to help make SoulClan strong, which right now isn't working. But I will continue to stick to that, regardless of what any cat says. Including you, Nightpaw. For all I care, DeathClan can go just mind their own buisness. I'm focusing on my own Clan, thank you very much."

Please, StarClan, let that close this arguement once and for all. Joypaw's silent prayer echoed in her mind. The moonlight seemed to shine brighter, answering her prayer gratefully. Joypaw's ginger fur was touched to silver, and her sea blue eyes gleamed in the night.

[.:.S.:.t.:.o.:.r.:.m.:.]

Nightpaw growled once at Joypaw; how could a cat like her stay calm? Sighing, she gave up on trying to annoy Joypaw. There would be too much wasted effort in trying to antagonize her, and there would be little to no results. "What drives me to kill other cats is that's how I was raised," Nightpaw replied, though there was no more sense of an argument in her voice. Just statement and fact. "I also want my Clan to be strong, and I want what's best for them. I want to be able to help the cats in my Clan, and I feel that being a Medicine Cat is the best way of doing so." She paused to read Joypaw's expression, before continuing. "What? You don't think that all DeathClan cats are un-loyal to DeathClan, do you? Some are even more loyal then your warriors." Her gaze rested on Stormheart for a moment, who hissed once at her. "I don't feel there is any need to continue this argument. This is, afterall, a Gathering, is it not? There will be plenty of more times to fight. Let's stick to the truce tonight." Nightpaw growled once internally at herself. She wanted nothing more then to sink her claws into Joypaw's fur, but she had to listen to her own words if she wanted Joypaw to do the same. "So, how are you?" She bit back saying anything more, saying anything that could provoke another argument, however much she wanted to fight.[/color]

[J/o/y!]

Joypaw nodded slowly at Nightpaw's words, happy that she gave up their arguement, and decided not to start another one when she mentioned Stormheart. "I hope Deathsong will mentor you to be a great medicine cat," she meowed, her words having an element of truth. It was kind of obivious Nightpaw wanted to fight, but Joypaw remained calm and cool, and licked a paw self-conciously. "I agree. We should stick to the truce, no matter how much we don't want to." Joypaw smiled genuinely at Nightpaw. "I'm doing pretty well. And you? How do you like medicine cat training?" Joypaw tried to keep the conversation light and on track, though irritation and impatience burned in her belly.

[.:.S.:.t.:.o.:.r.:.m.:.]

Nightpaw saw how hard it was for Joypaw to sit still and talk to her without trying to kill her, and she smiled internally at that, though she didn't decide to say anything further to provoke her. "Thanks," Nightpaw replied, shocked at the truth in Joypaw's words. She didn't let it show, like most of her emotions. "Yes, we should. This is almost... Nice, in it's own way, not fighting and worrying about who's going to take a slash at your throat next. But, then again, an adrenaline rush is always nice," she added. "I haven't actually started my Medicine Cat training. Deathsong's had her paws full with healing cats, so she hasn't had the time, though I'm going to start soon... I hope so, at least."

Stormheart looked up at the Two-Rocks. Why hasn't the Gathering started already? She wondered impatiently. Nightpaw gave Stormheart a small smirk at her obviously shown impatience, and Stormheart responded with a growl. "Maybe I should go look for Creampaw..." she wondered aloud.

[J/o/y!]

Joypaw groaned inwardly. Must I always show my emotions? "I'm probably showing my emotions again, aren't I?" She was sure her friendliness would shock Nightpaw. "Well, I'm just going to say I'm quite impatient for the Gathering to start. It's going to be interesting, that's for sure." She nodded in agreement at Nightpaw's words. "Yeah, it does have an element of niceness in it. But fighting can be exciting, as long as you know when to fight. Ah, I see," she added. "I'm sure Deathsong will appreciate your help. Soon she'll have the time, I'm sure."

Joypaw could see Stormheart's impatience in every ripple of her fur. She rested her tail tip on her shoulder for a heartbeat and mewed, "We're all impatient here. What's keeping Darkstar?" The ginger she-cat stood up and shook her pelt. "I'll come with you, if you like," she offered, remembering the time she and Goldenshard went ot retrieve Stormheart from her loner life. Shaking off the memory, she flexed her claws as if she couldn't keep still.

[.:.S.:.t.:.o.:.r.:.m.:.]

"Yeah, you are. And thanks, I hope that she does find the time," Nightpaw replied, shocked by Joypaw's friendliness. She was even more shocked, and dissapointed, at her own. How can I talk to them so easily? she wondered, disgusted at herself. SoulCats were enemies, not friends. When Joypaw suggested that she go with Stormheart to find the little cowardly SoulClan apprentice, she smirked. If they went to look for the apprentice she wouldn't have to keep talking to them. "Yeah, you guys should go before a fox finds her," she said with mock-concern. Of course she didn't really care if a fox found the apprentice, she'd actually cheer the fox on to kill her.

"Yeah, let's go," Stormheart said, turning to walk in the opposite direction. Before she did she caught a devious glint in Nightpaw's eyes, and decided to ignore her, though what she said un-settled her, and she wanted to make sure that Creampaw was alright. When she got to the edge of the clearing she stopped, and looked back to Joypaw. "You coming?" she asked her.

Nightpaw smiled at the now edgy SoulClan warrior. Maybe a DeathClan cat will find her first, she thought, a sadastic grin covering her face. She waited till the two SoulCats left, and then headed in the opposite direction. She would make a loop around them, and would get to Creampaw first, hopefully. No one would have to know that she did it, or that anything happened to Creampaw until Stormheart and Joypaw found her dead body. And by that time Nightpaw would already be back by Two-Rocks, acting as if she didn't know anything. It was a perfect plan. The only tricky part would be actually killing the apprentice, though it wouldn't be too hard, she assumed. It was just the small window of opportunity she would have to do it. Nightpaw bounded through the forest, quickly over-taking the slow walking Stormheart and Joypaw. She kept running, making sure she didn't lose Creampaw's scent. After a few minutes she found the apprentice alone, with no sign of Stormheart or Joypaw anywhere. Perfect. "Hello, Creampaw," she said, walking toward her, green eyes bright.

[J/o/y!]

Joypaw nodded, grinning with satisfication knowing she'd shocked Nightpaw into being friendly with her. "Coming, Stormheart," she called, and bounded up to the silver warrior. After following Creampaw's scent for a while, Joypaw stopped dead, and sniffed the air cautiously, swearing to herself she scented DeathClan. Wrinkling her nose, she concentrated harder, still frozen to the spot. She recognized the smell vaguely, and thought, Nightpaw! The devious little apprentice. She flexed her claws angrily, and mewed, "I swear I smell Nightpaw. Come on!" She took off, her legs eating up the ground, her tail lashing in fury. What is she up to? Gradually the scent became stronger, both Nightpaw's and Creampaw's.

[.:.S.:.t.:.o.:.r.:.m.:.]

"Nightpaw? But we left her at the Gathering, didn't we? That sneaky little devil," she snarled, and bounded ahead, staying just behind Joypaw. Stormheart sniffed the air, recognizing both Nightpaw's scent mixed with Creampaw's fear-scent. I swear, I'll kill her if she even looks at Creampaw the wrong way, she thought maliciously. After a few minutes she and Joypaw caught up to Nightpaw and Creampaw, teeth bared. She noticed quickly that Nightpaw's claws were sheathed, and she didn't seem to be attacking Creampaw, though her eyes gave away that she wanted to.

Stunned, Nightpaw turned to Stormheart and Joypaw. There goes my chance, she thought with a sigh. Maybe I can lie my way out of this. "Look, I wasn't going to hurt Creampaw. She was just scared that I showed up without anyone else, that's all. Everything's fine," she lied, though her voice sounded one hundred percent truthful, and her eyes showed nothing but sincerity. Nightpaw was a very good liar; her parents had made sure of that. She sat down calmly, but still kept a little bit of shock on her face, as would anyone who was telling the truth. I hope they believe me. It's a good thing that they came when they did, before I tore her to shreds, she thought. "I know this looks bad," she continued, her voice still sounding truthful. "But I knew you guys wouldn't let me come with you to get her if I had asked. I wasn't going to do anything bad, I swear." Nightpaw couldn't help but grin on the inside as the two SoulCats registered what she said. She turned to look back at Creampaw, sincerity thick in her voice as she apologized, fakely of course, for scaring her.

[spottedpaw]

(Okay, I'm sorry, but I'm being quite lazy right now, so I really didn't read through everything except for Golden's post. XD If Spottedsun is supposed to do something, please let me know! Lol)

Dogfang pretended to force himself to keep his paws on the ground. He sheathed and unsheathed his long, pointed claws for some glorious effect. He wondered if Whisperstar was watching him. If she is, she must be extremely mouse-brained to actually believe this mouse-dung. he thought, curling his tail so he wouldn't chuckle darkly.

He stared back at Shattergaze, his eyes blazing again like piercing fire. "I'm nearly healed. Your DeathClan cats barely gave me a scratch. No, our prey looks like it has been scared off . . . maybe it was from your unfortunate, stinky scent that's still flying through my territory." He narrowed his eyes, a smile hiding right behind the straight line of his smirk.

"Ah . . . Whitefire. We'll see how she fairs against any one of Whisperstar's warriors." His words were hard and long, slipping between his cold, sharp teeth. "We'll just have to see when the Gathering starts, eh? Wouldn't want DeathClan knowing any uncertain knowlegde . . . "

[Golden /~/ Shatter]

(Nice XD I kinda skipped a lot too so)

Shattergaze's eyes stayed a steady state of icy coldness. Those stupid SoulCats are eating this up...they don't suspect a thing, the fools. It's pathetic really. She dug her claws into the ground to prevent a curling smile from entering her face.

"Barely gave you a scratch, did they? I'm sure," she said sarcastically. Of course he barely got a scratch...that was what we arranged. "Well you may have gotten off "lucky" but your other cats weren't so lucky. How many SoulCats did we kill? Oh, that's right, we killed four." Shattergaze put it bluntly and coldly. "And our "bad" scent? Really...more likely your prey is as afraid of DeathClan as you are." Shattergaze gave Dogfang the same smirk, a smile hiding right behind it.

Shattergaze laughed. "She will fair just fine against any SoulCat, just like she has in the past. She's killed your Clan before." Looking up at the moon, Shattergaze knew that the Gathering was going to start soon. "And yes, I guess we will have to wait, won't we?"

[Creampaw~Silentfeather]

Creampaw yawns and looks at the fighting. "huh... never peace?" She meowed unhappy. She kicked a stone, then she looked at the clouds. "clouds..." she whispered. Creampaw looked at Shattergaze. "Hello..." She meowed. Maybe she wont be so mean. I hate mean cats!! I want to make friends!! " She closed her eyes.

" This is werid...." Meowed Silentfeather. He looked at Creampaw and smiled. He wanted to see Shattergaze go over there and tear Creampaw to pieces!! "huh... I can't wait.." He growled.

[spottedpaw]

Dogfang glanced around Shattergaze's white face, looking for a real sneer. Had this been the first moment that he was losing his trust in her? No, he thought to himself quickly. Dogfang, get a hold of yourself.

"Those four died with honor and dignity," he spat as a reply, his teeth seething. He didn't even mention the death of his mate, because the tormenting pain inside of him was too much to speak.

"We aren't afraid. If we were, you would have been able to steal all of our lives, including Whisperstar's. If we were afraid, you wouldn't have lost Scarheart to an apprentice and a previous loner."

"But that doens't mean we can't kill her." Dogfang growled, his eyes flashing with fake hatred. "Yes, yes we will."

[Wind:.*.:Stone]

(Dose any one feel nice and kind enough to sum this loooong thread up for lazy ol' meh? I'll love you for ever if you do ^_^)

[Evanna]

Flamepaw - Crazy and go-lucky

Flamepaw glared daggers at the DeathClan cats, her dark ginger fur bristling with rage and hate. They had been perfectly fine until they had come running into the clearing, acting as if they owned the whole Two Rocks territory. It was StarClan's territory, and only StarClan. And until they joined the ranks of StarClan, which she was sure NONE would, then they had no right to come waltzing in as if they were the strongest and best in the whole damn forest.

She bit her tongue, as to not say something mean or cruel at anyone. She would not dare insult an older warrior, such as Shattergaze or Whitefire or Deathsong, anyone of that kind. She had not trained enough yet, she was sure of she or Nightpaw got into a scrabble, she could maybe land a few blows herself but cats like Shattergaze or Darkstar, simply had to flick her away and she would more or likely be crippled for life. She had better be careful. She knew some of the consuquences cats went through whenever they messed with DeathClan - and the results were not good. Not good at all.

Her green gaze traveled from Nightpaw and the rest of the cats to Two Rocks. One day she would stand up there, proud and strong, right beside the leader of DeathClan. She would look their leader straight in the eyes, and demand they leave or else. She had not quite decided on what the 'what else' would be, but oh. It would be great. Her ears were pricked forward to their highest height. She would grow, each day. And train harder than any apprentice ever had trained before.

I'll be the best ever.

[/b] She thought, a dreamy looking coming over her gaze. She was now gazing at the moon, and her mind was blocking out everyone's talking, all she heard was a few distinctive murmurs. All those stupid DeathClan cats will think twice before messing with her or her Clan again, once she was a warrior. She would show them, she would. She vowed to herself. And she would also put revenge up for the cats they had killed - kits as well.

What kind of cat could be so heartless as to kill an innocent kit? They had their whole lives ahead of them, then a DeathClan cat just came and simply swiped their paws over their heads, and their lives gone. The least they could have done was take the kits to camp, better than killing them..just thinking about it, made Flamepaw want so badly as to sink her claws into a DeathClan cat's fur. She growled lowly, very low. She didn't want to start a fight. DeathClan were so deceiving, if they heard her growl, they would probably claim she was starting a fight or threatening them.

And that was not how she wanted her first gathering to go, especially.

"She will fair just fine against any SoulCat, just like she has in the past. She's killed your Clan before." Shattergaze had been saying.

Flamepaw looked up quickly at the warriors standing not even a couple fox lengths away. Trying to contain her anger at Shattergaze's certainty, she padded back over to where Spottedsun and Goldenshard were.

The dark ginger apprentice growled at Shattergaze, standing right in front of her. "I bet when Goldenshard is done training me, I could beat her in a battle fair and square!" Her voice was scathing at her content voice. As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Flamepaw gasped and quickly backed away till she was standing - or more like hiding - right beside Sandheart and Goldenshard.

Inwardly, Flamepaw mentally hit herself in the head with her one white paw. Oh no, oh no, oh, no, oh no! I hope I did not just start a war! Did I really just do that? Oh, StarClan. I am officially dead and going to join your ranks. I just went off on the deputy of DeathClan![/b][/blockquote][/blockquote][/color][/size]
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Word Count?: 758
Muse Level?: Wow, that's pretty good if I do say so myself lol
Notes?: XD I skimmed the thread..I got lazy. Sorry if I repeated anything you guys said already, I hate when I am so lazy, I go down to the level of skimming 'coz I don't wanna read the whole thread. I read most of it, but eh. Gosh, you guys post so fast! XD
Thread Statues?: Just Clan cats

[♥S.C.O.U.T.♥]

Whitefire had heard everything Shattergaze and Dogfang had said. She'd listened in closely, while annoying Joypaw, to what they said, smiling at some, and also scowling.

"Ah . . . Whitefire. We'll see how she fairs against any one of Whisperstar's warriors." Whitefire bared her teeth for a second, before recovering. She knew it was fake, DeathClan was told of the plan involving Dogfang long ago, but it still made her mad. She shook her head. It was nothing.

Shattergaze had laughed and said: "She will fair just fine against any SoulCat, just like she has in the past. She's killed your Clan before."

That made Whitefire smile ever so slightly. It was the truth, Whitefire would fair against any SoulClan cat. She shrugged. Just as she was about to lean in closer to hear what they spoke of better, Flamepaw rested her eyes on every DeathClan cat, her eyes cold with furious rage. Whitefire sneered. Stupid apprentice. She got even stupider when she strutted up to Shattergaze and said strongly:
The dark ginger apprentice growled at Shattergaze, standing right in front of her. "I bet when Goldenshard is done training me, I could beat her in a battle fair and square!" Whitefire snarled, and unsheathed her claws. Flamepaw seemed to know she'd made a mistake, and hid behind Sandheart and Goldenshard, rather scared.

Sandheart glared at Flamepaw. "Do not ever do that again!" She hissed. That was so stupid! Sighing, she turned towards Shattergaze, waiting for her response.

The moon still shun brightly.[/color]

___________
Word Count: 282
Notes: Whoo, Whitefire is mad O:<
Muse: ...
Thread Status: Clan Cats.

[J/o/y!]

Joypaw trotted back to the Gathering clearing, thoughts concerning Creampaw, Silentfeather, and Nightpaw clouding her mind. She moved quickly but in a dream-like manner, as if the woods could go on forever.

If Creampaw gets offended so easily, how will she survive? How can Silentfeather think so lowly of his sister? Was Nightpaw lying or not? How can Creampaw be so sensitive? I mean, come on, she left so easily. She'll have to learn to put up with DeathClan. Joypaw slightly chuckled to herself. She was acting as if she was Creampaw's mentor. But the creamy young cat would have a lot of trouble if she let DeathClan get to her so quickly. The heartless cats could be tricked- after all, Joypaw herself had managed to shock Nightpaw into being friendly with her. The light ginger apprentice cracked a tiny smile, thinking of how one day, she was scratching Nightpaw's throat, and the next, she was casually asking her questions about her apprenticeship. Joypaw closed her eyes a moment, and when she opened them she found she was nose-to-bark with an ash, and flinched hard enough to reel back and nearly cannon into another tree. Her head began to spin, as if the whole forest was spinning out of control. Shaking it off, she continued on by Stormheart's side.

The Gathering still hadn't started when she got there, and the pale ginger apprentice was starting to get annoyed. Why hasn't the Gathering started already? The tip of her long tail twitched irratbly. She got there in time to witness Flamepaw's irration, and she padded to the dark ginger apprentice and rested her tail on her shoulder. "DeathClan burns me up too. I know how you feel. It's hard not to lunge at them here and now."

--------
Word Count: 296
Muse: Horrible
Notes: Whoo, Joypaw nearly ran into a tree XD *Clumsy*
Status: Clan cats ONLY