[oh.the.excitement] -- {the.gathering}

[>>BLACKiE! ]}]

"I DON'T CARE, I DON'T CARE, I DON'T CARE AT ALL, LILYPAW! JUST LET ME BE! Just because I don't absolutely /adore/ you doesn't mean that I can't love Dreampaw in peace!" Inkpaw shouted out loud, startling Hailwind and even Ivorywing who normally took such outbursts that cats had rather well. "I don't /have/ to love you so I'm not going to! I don't have to worship you every single waking moment! I'd like to love Dreampaw, thank you very much and I don't care what you think about it!" he continued, his ears flattening straight against his head, his fur bristling with fury.

Although he had gotten angry a few moments before, this anger was nothing like the one before. It was like white blazing fury that had been stored in a bottle and had finally been uncorked for now. His tail lashed out furiously against the ground, sinking in and making an imprint that was at least a few inches deep.

"Inkpaw... Calm down..." Ivorywing murmured softly, rushing towards him and beginning to rasp her tongue over his left ear, attempting to comfort him. It usually worked for most cats, for the continuation of licks from a gentle tongue was usually soothing, but it didn't work its charm on Inkpaw.

"No! I can't! She-" Inkpaw spat out, glaring at Lilypaw. "Likes me but I love Dreampaw! And now she keeps on being self-centered and saying that she thinks that Dreampaw doesn't like me!" he cried out. In his blind frustration, he leaped into the lake and kicked furiously, wanting to get away from all of them. He wanted to go back to Camp and just curl up beside Dreampaw.

Hailwind rushed forward to dart into the water to bring Inkpaw back, but was stopped by Ivorywing. "Don't go. He needs time alone," she murmured softly, watching the retreating black colored figure that swam away with fierce kicks.

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[Agii♫]

The shouting was unbearable.
She could not concentrate.

With a deeply irritated growl, the female leader pivoted her lean head towards the apprentice, whom had been glaring at her with whatever chance he got. She indeed was in no mood or need to return it, for that would be childish. Thus, with a flash of her ivory fangs, Northstar whipped back around, facing the large bulky figure of Maplestar. Bright moss eyes skirted him over briefly before she continued.

"I have been noticing strange activity within the foreigners of my Clan," she said soberly. "It is nothing more than unease, really, and I'm sensing it is just uncomfort in a new life with a new Clan." Indeed, the silver leader hoped that her words were true enough. "Is that new warrior, Eagledance, treating you well?"


The excitement, oh, the excitement! It was just too much for him to handle! With an eager blink, the awkward apprentice hobbled away from the banks, feeling the cool watergrasses of the island against his paws. Long tail lashing out in anticipation, Twistedpaw turned towards a great commotion, cocking his head at the sight of a tom apprentice shouting at a she-cat apprentice before dashing into the waters. This was quite confusing and disorienting.

Greatly intrigued, the blue-gray tom staggered towards the opposite side of the island. The blackened waters rippled deeply as his forepaws hit, his odd left paw unable to feel the cool rush of it because of the lack of nerves within his foot. Overly large ears pricked, he smiled curiously. "Hey! Hey!" he called after the swimming apprentice. "Where--Where are y-you going?"

[>>BLACKiE! ]}]

Inkpaw's thoughts were all ambiguous as he swam away furiously from the island, anger still shooting through him and causing him to propel forwards quickly as he swam. He even ran straight into a rock once, but simply changed his course without bothering to try to soothe the pain that he felt. More than anything, he wanted to just finally be mates with Dreampaw - he wouldn't even care if he had to join the ranks of StarClan. He just wanted to breath in her sweet scent and have her pretty silver tabby pelt brush against his.

Most cats didn't think about leaving their Clan, but to Inkpaw's disgust at himself, the thought actually crossed his mind. Shaking his head while swimming to clear his head of such thoughts, he continued swimming through the darkened water blindly. How could he leave Dreampaw if he left? There was the possibility of leaving together, but Dreampaw would never abandon his Clan. He too knew that he would miss the company of the other SkyClan cats, even if they did irritate him sometimes.

He heard Twistedpaw's cries, but ignored them, not wanting to turn around. After a while, when he felt as if all his limbs were numb, he hauled himself onto land, not even sure where he was at all. Ordinarily, he would've felt fear if he had launched himself onto an unknown land, but now, he just sat there, his hazlenut eyes glinting in the moonlight as he tried to sort out his anger.

((-INKPAW TO THE MEADOW (NEUTRAL TERRITORY)-))

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[Battooth]

Maplestar dipped his head politely to Northstar. "He is treating us very well," the tabby tom meowed. "He has been very helpful and has been making friends with some of our... more enthusiastic warriors." He glanced at Battooth as the obsidian tom groomed the water out of his coat. "What about your warriors? Are they well? Are you well?" His mind flickered back to the she-cat Mistheart, who had lived in EarthClan, but he turned his attention back to Northstar. The gray she-cat was just a vague memory by now, although he did remember her following him around when he was a new warrior.

Battooth watched the young apprentice he had seen before, the one every cat was talking about- Inkpaw. A prickle of fear ran through him as Inkpaw and another she-cat from SKyClan- Lilypaw, Battooth thought- got into a fight, then as Inkpaw threw himself into the lake. Fighting at a Gathering was bad enough, but a fight between two Clanmembers? He glanced at the moon worriedly, then back down again, leaping back in surprise as he saw three cats standing in front of him.

"What's on your mind mouse-brain?" the gray she-cat in front of Battooth meowed. She leaped at him and bowled the skinny tom over, both of them laughing. "How are you?" Mistheart exclaimed as she pinned her smaller brother to the ground. "Any apprentice? Crush? Mate? Anything I should know about?"

Battooth laughed at Mistheart's questions. "The answer to those questions in order are, good, no, no, no, and you're more of a mouse-brain than I am." He squirmed out from beneath the slightly larger cat. "Next time you might want to be a little more subtle with your family love." His eyes shone brightly and he touched his nose to his sister's cheek. "You're looking great," he meowed, pride shining along with the happiness. Mistheart looked nothing like when she had left EarthClan. She had been skinny and gaunt then. Now she was looking rather plump for a Clan cat. His eyes strayed past his sister. "Hello Flamefoot," he meowed to the ginger warrior. The she-cat nodded vaguely in his direction, her eyes on Inkpaw as he swam away, obviously thinking what Battooth himself had been thinking moments before. "Who's your friend Mistheart?" Battooth asked his sister when he caught sight of Onespot.

"This is Onespot," Mistheart meowed to her brother. "He's Flamefoot's brother, and he's... well, he hasn't been there for me, but he's been nice enough." She flicked the ginger-headed tom on the nose and he snorted. Battooth's eyes narrowed as he caught a bit of contempt in the warrior's tone. "He's just a grump," the gray warrior meowed. "Never purrs once, 'less Flamefoot's around." In a lower voice she meowed, "He lost his apprentice a while ago and it still hurts him some."

Battooth eyed the large warrior in front of him for a moment longer. He didn't want to trust Onespot for some reason. He noticed how Onespot didn't seem to like his sister, and he didn't want the large warrior to do or say anything that would hurt Mistheart. Onespot interrupted his thoughts by saying, "I've heard a lot about you, Battooth. I'm assuming Battooth from Mistheart's greeting." Onespot gave Mistheart a look then glanced back at Battooth. The black warrior nodded politely to the larger tom.

[[:; [h] e a r t ::♥]]

Lilypaw dashed after Inkpaw; a stupid thing to do. "Inkpaw, wait. I...I'm sorry. I really am. I didn't mean to upset you. I...I was being selfish. I didn't want you to love Dreampaw; i wanted you to love me. I know you hate me, but I still love you. I love everything about you... your spirit, determination, and your passion. " Lilypaw felt she was speaking like she was a warrior rather than a mere apprentice. " I really love you Inkpaw, and I'm really really sorry." Lilypaw added, stopping, and hoping he would somehow forgive him. " Don't leave the clan, please Inkpaw. I would miss--" Lilypaw cut off, thinking she would upset him. " I mean, you might miss Dreampaw too much" Lilypaw corrected herself sadly.

[>>BLACKiE! ]}]

Once again, Hailwind attempted to breach Ivorywing's barriers. He tried to leap out into the water in pursuit of the apprentice, but Ivorywing continued to halt him. "Don't go," she meowed in a quiet but firm voice. Although she usually spoke in a soft voice, you could easily hear how serious she was by how tense her voice was. She turned her brilliant bright green gaze on the deputy, almost challenging him to defy her word and go after the apprentice who was now out of sight.

"He'll come back sooner or later," she assured the deputy with a nod as she gazed out calmly into the placid waters. "There's nothing in there that'll get him. He'll either end up in neutral territory or in SkyClan territory at the direction he's going in. Nothing to worry about. In the end, he'll find his way back."

"And if he doesn't?" Hailwind meowed challengingly, sending a look of determination to Ivorywing. He felt rather dejected as Ivorywing shook her head; it felt as if he were a kit and he had done something bad to be told 'no' by the medicine cat. His chocolate brown eyes were filled with longing to bring back the apprentice cat, but he knew that he couldn't defy the word of his medicine cat, even if they /had/ grown up together.

Ivorywing glanced up rather testily at the sky, afraid that StarClan would send a cloud to shroud the expanse of moonlight that glimmered and never wavered. She breathed a sigh of relief when there were no dark clouds in sight. Exhaling once more out of relief, she caught her breath when she thought of something. Did StarClan /want/ that to happen? Was Inkpaw just not meant for Lilypaw? Would it truly be that in the long run, Dreampaw would finally fall for Inkpaw?

Confusion swirled about in her thoughts, but she remained serene and calm on the outside. She glanced in the direction of the new arrivals, greeting them with a flick of her tail or a twitch of her ears. Looking at Hailwind, she saw that he also did the same.

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[[:; [h] e a r t ::♥]]

ooc::
Yes, this is the last time Lilypaw will stalk Inkpaw.
Bic::
Lilypaw followed Inkpaw back to shore. "Fine, Inkpaw, if you didn't like me, you could have said it nicely. I bet Dreampaw will love you when we get home and you can tell everyone how annoying I am and selfish, and everyone will hate me and I will never become a warrior. I hope you're happy with Dreamoaw." Lilypaw went over to Ivorywing, her paws kneading the ground with anger, that Inkpaw only cared about Dreampaw, that he was the selfish one, not caring for his Clan or anyone else.

'Lilypaw, you're the selfish one. you just want him to like you. Maybe if you just lay off him, he won't be so mad.' She thoiught to herself as she approached Ivorywing with a troubled look on her face.

[Agii♫]

Nodding her slim head soberly, she blinked placidly, both ears forwards in a sign of calm and ease. "I've heard quite a lot about him," she added to the large leader's words about the foreigner. "He seems very interesting; 'exotic', is what I've heard." Rolling her lean shoulder blades backwards, the silver she-cat turned her brilliant mossy eyes to Maplestar as he asked her about her Clan and herself. "My warriors are just fine, thank you. It's my apprentices I am worried about,"--Northstar shot a cold stare towards Inkpaw--"mostly. I suppose it's mostly because of the lack of mentor's I have. However I've noticed quite a few more apprentices ready to be mentored. Inkpaw, I'm very willing to hold back, however."

Northstar released a long sigh, eyelids folding over her anguished gaze. Ears pivoting backwards, the leader avoided the question of herself, however remained sober and showed no sign of recognition of it, as if a wall of ignoring shielded the answer. Swiftly she turned her head to the splashing of water. Immediately her liquid-silver coat began to bristle with malice, jaw flexing. Angered, the leader calmed herself quickly, her coat beginning to settle back into place as she let it pass. The ignorance and arrogance of an apprentice would not go unnoticed, however stay delayed until she had the time to put him into place.

Swallowing, she flicked her long tail in slight irritation. However at simultaneously, a loud, slurred voice caught her sharp ears. Cold eyes skirted to the a small tom, and as she eyed him curiously, locked her gaze upon his left forepaw, which was twisted and bent at a wrong angle. "Is that Twistedpaw?" she asked gently.



Maybe he had not heard him?
The obsidian feline had disappeared, and as the un-soothing feeling of rejection crept into him, the blue-gray apprentice grimaced at the ripples of water that trailed after the EarthClan cat.

Not bothering to release a sigh, Twistedpaw blinked sadly. He had wanted to help--find some way to calm and give advice to the other tom. His plans were ruined, and as he thought this over, found that he would be of almost no help at all. He had no advice to give! How foolish of him.

Turning away, the blue-coated feline limped towards where it seemed as if most of the cats had gathered, just beneath the large rock where the leaders were accustomed to standing. Stealing a glance behind it, Twistedpaw immediately caught sight of his leader, Maplestar. Flashing a wide, sad, smile, he flicked his tail upwards, undulating it greatfully in a welcoming manner. Dropping his deep sapphire gaze from the powerful tom, he tilted his head and glanced over the other leader, whom he had never seen before. Rolling his curious eyes over her sleek, lean muscles and shimmering silver coat, dappled with light tan around the base of her long slim legs, Twistedpaw noted that she was rather attractive.

He giggled bashfully, thinking of what Maplestar and the other leader's kits would look like.

[Battooth]

Maplestar nodded. "Yes, that is Twistedpaw," he meowed. "I'm taking him as my apprentice, so we can figure out a way around that paw." He looked at the cats grouped on the island, the scents of both Clans drifting into his nostrils. He watched as Twistedpaw left the two SkyClan cats alone, and meowed, "Your apprentices will learn. All cats must learn the hows and whys of a Clan. Even I had to." He kept his face clear but let his flicking tail show that he was only joking. "You don't have an apprentice, do you?" he asked curiously. "If you don't I would suggest maybe taking Inkpaw. You might be able to knock some sense into him. But I'm not trying to tell you how to run your Clan, just trying to give friendly advice." The one thing Maplestar hated about Gatherings was the fact that each cat had to watch what they said and did. It made the warriors even more exhausted than they should've been the next morning.

[Agii♫]

The leader nodded. "That is very kind of you," she purred gently, watching as the apprentice staggered into the crowd of gathering cats. "Maybe you are right, Maplestar. Onespot needs more time to get over Owlpaw; I should not be thinking of rushing him quickly." She had thought for a long while, and was greatful that the large tom had more experience at leadership. Northstar felt that she should not put herself down for this; she was a relatively new leader compared to Maplestar, and it would be paranormal not to make foolish mistakes. She prayed to StarClan that her mistakes would not jeopardize the Clan. Swallowing, she flicked her long silky tail across her lean paws. "It is time to begin the Gathering."

[>>BLACKiE! ]}]

Ivorywing looked at Lilypaw who was approaching her, a look of understanding instantly passing through her green gaze. Her eyes were slightly touched with concern although they remained as placid and calm as the waters surrounding the island, although the waters sometimes were rippled lightly by the occasional breeze that passed through quickly.

"I understand," she murmured to the she-cat apprentice, her voice soft and indeed, understanding. Although she was a medicine cat and had never truly loved at the expanse with the apprentices, she knew what it was like. Often times, cats came to speak to her when they were nervous about speaking to a cat that they favored.

Her tail twitched back and forth, still gazing up anxiously at the moon as she awaited Lilypaw to reach her. Why wasn't a cloud blocking the moon if StarClan was displeased at the fact that Inkpaw had quarreled with a Clan member? She tilted her head to the side, thinking. She wouldn't welcome having a cloud cover the moon for the fact of the chaos that it would cause within the two Clans, but was StarClan actually choosing the path that said Lilypaw and Inkpaw weren't meant to be? Or was it simply natural that all cats fought a little sometimes and exchanged harsh words?

[[:; [h] e a r t ::♥]]

"No, you don't. You wouldn't know, you're a medicine cat. What would you know?" Lilypaw amswered sharply as if reading Ivorywings mind, she added, "And don't even say that because StarClan arent mad that me and Inkpaw can't be together!"

Lilypaw thought her words were a bit too sharp, but she didn't care. And apparently no one else did, because Ivorywing was no support, and Inkpaw didn't like her, and only cared about Dreampaw. She sat with her head slightly tipped down, her ears going back in her anger.

[>>BLACKiE! ]}]

"What would I know, hmm?" Ivorywing responded, her voice sharpening slightly. Although she didn't take Lilypaw's words to heart, she was still rather hurt at the fact that Lilypaw believed that a medicine cat couldn't give advice. "Did it occur to you that I've faced dozens of these decisions? They were all brought to me by other cats. If I were you, I'd like having a sympathetic face amongst all the ones that aren't." she meowed to the apprentice she-cat. "But, if you want me to leave you alone, I can easily go and speak to another cat." she added, shooting a sideways glance towards Hailwind who currently wasn't paying attention to her and the apprentice cat.

Moving up closer to Lilypaw in a few easy lithe and graceful steps, Ivorywing settled down next to the apprentice she-cat. She rasped her rough pink tongue over the she-cat apprentice's ear for a few moments, attempting to soothe the cat in her rage.

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[[:; [h] e a r t ::♥]]

Lilypaw didn't realize that Ivorywing really cared, and her ears only pinned against her head. "Sure, go talk to some other cat, since you seem so keen to." Lilypaw muttered, feeling like a kit.

Lilypaw walked over to the egde of the Island, thinking about Inkpaw. His spirit, his determination, his passion were enought to make her fall completely in love with him, and she could almost feel his intense hazelnut eyes, then remembered how mad he was at her, and winced at his words. She never thought such a usually cheery cat could get so mad. 'Inkpaw' she thought. 'Why was I so stupid? Why couldn't I have beed more like Dreampaw instead of making you so mad.'

[>>BLACKiE! ]}]

With an inward sigh, Ivorywing ambled away, feeling that if she stayed any longer, the she-cat apprentice was bound to lash out at her again. Padding over to Hailwind, she spoke to him as if none of it had happened, although Hailwind still looked worried about Inkpaw. "Don't worry about it," she meowed to him, trying to assure him and to rid him of the anxiety he faced. "Inkpaw's a smart cat. He'll find his way back to SkyClan Camp eventually, if he hasn't already." she told him, rasping her tongue over his ear to soothe his worries.

Azalealeaf blinked, watching the scene unfolding in front of her through her blue eyes. She was excited to be at the Gathering, although she wasn't too thrilled when Inkpaw had stormed off into the water. If it had been another cat, she would've immediately charged into the water and have brought the cat back, but Inkpaw was a different sort. He was smart enough to not get entirely and hopelessly lost. Padding up to Lilypaw, who was sitting and looking out at the dark stretch of water surrounding the island, she murmured quietly, "Are you all right?"

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