Leaving for the Gathering

[Battooth]

The large tabby EarthClan leader padded to the edge of the lake. He took a deep breath and looked at the cats behind him. He needed to be strong in the water, for their sake. They would panic if they knew their leader's secret fear of water.

"The lake is shallow for a while here," Maplestar meowed to his Clan. "You'll be able to wade a lot of the way, but there will be a stretch where you'll have to swim. Keep the cats who will need help near the middle where a warrior can reach them." It was standard procedure. This happened every time there was a Gathering. Maplestar realized that the pep talk was more for him to stall entering the water than anything else.

Battooth's tail flicked impatiently. "Come on then! Let's go!" he yowled. He had to know if Mistheart would be on the Island. She probably would be. It wasn't as if she wasn't a faithful and loyal warrior to SkyClan now, but the obsidian tom couldn't help but wonder whether they had truly accepted her or not. If they hadn't, she could come back to EarthClan. Well, Battooth had to believe that. "I'll lead the way if you'd like," he meowed to his leader.

Maplestar glared at Battooth. "Maybe you should put the Clan before your family ties," he growled the warning to the younger warrior. He watched as Battooth licked his chest, embarassed that he had said the part he had wanted to say in his head out loud. Maplestar turned to face the lake, flicking his tail to the group, then plunging into the water. A moment of pure terror trickled through the tabby as the water lapped at his sides, but he pushed through the water, pretending it was just grass. Grass that made his fur heavy, dragged him down and drowned him. Okay, maybe he shouldn't pretend it was grass then.

Battooth bounded after Maplestar, the second cat to enter the water. He knew that Hailwind should have probably gone second, followed by Ivorywing, but Battooth had gone an entire moon without seeing his sister. The other cats wouldn't mind... Hopefully.

[>>BLACKiE! ]}]

Ivorywing watched with a slight tint of amusement as Battooth raced after Maplestar into the water. On normal circumstances, Hailwind would've gone after Maplestar and then she herself would've gone, but she knew she could forgive him for this time. After all, his sister was in SkyClan, and he was probably extremely eager to see her.

Through her emerald green eyes, she saw Hailwind give Battooth an akward look before he darted off into the water, his powerful muscles working underneath his fur. Taking a deep breath, Ivorywing launched her petite frame into the water. No matter how many times she had done this before, the cool touch of the water splashing against her long-haired snow white pelt was always a cold sensation. After a while, though, she managed to get used to the temperature of the water and began kicking with her slender legs to propel herself. Sooner or later, she glimpsed the island.

Hailwind brought himself onto land, his black and white pelt shaggy and hanging from the weight of the water that had clung to him. Shaking a little of the moisture off of him, he awaited for the rest of the cats to descend from the side of the lake and into the water. Excitement danced through his eyes at the anticipation of being able to speak and trade stories. He was interested in another one of those sagas about Dreampaw and Inkpaw - two SkyClan apprentices.

Crystalrose stared at the water for a few moments, then stepped in. Immediately, the water soaked through her thick pelt, causing her to shiver slightly, but she kept going, her lithe frame moving quickly through the water, able to move her to the island in the middle of the lake quite easily.

((-MOVING TO THE ISLAND (GATHERING SPOT)-))

[Battooth]

Maplestar hauled himself out of the water just before Hailwind. Battooth had fallen behind a bit, possibly because of his small frame. He could run well, just not swim well. Maplestar bent his head and gave his pelt a fwe frantic licks, getting the water off of him, then stood, any tracee of fear shoved aside. It was time for the Gathering, and he had to seem strong.

((Moving both meh kittehs to the Gathering Island.))