Heading to the Gathering

[Meany]

Shadowstar padded out of his den, Woebringer following him.
The small, black tom slid out into the fading sunlight, his mind pushing the thoughts of missing cats and enemy hoards to the very back of his mind.
Floods were what he was thinking of. Floods and the Gathering foresters saw fit to attend every full moon.
Shadowstar had sent his Powerfuls to most of the Gatherings. He knew for a fact that most of the leaders had never seen the esteemed leader himself at a Gathering, and as the floods would be occurring very soon, he figured he may as well make an appearance.

"Gather here," he mewed softly, his flinty blue eyes glowing eerily.

The soft phrase echoed around the sparsely filled clearing, making itself known even in the dens.

Bloodclaw, having come back from training the Servants, padded out of his den. He bowed to his King then straightened up.

Charmless and Luckless both coming in from practice, exchanged looks and ran up to stand behind Bloodclaw. They bowed briefly then stay crouched - without their heads bowed.

[Loki]

Trueskin, Crashingflight, Switchblade and Moanfang came through the entrance, Moanfang trailing behind. He hadn't managed to spill Switchblade's blood and the very thought angered him. To kill Switchblade would have been a boost to his popularity but he had been failed and humiliated for the attempt. He looked forward he hadn't really injured his combination either, overall it was an embarrassing battle, he was out witted and Switch was laughing.

Switchblade looked briskly around, Crashingflight and Trueskin by his side. He had earned their respect.
The only true injury he sustained was a cut that bled in a steady flow above his eye and his legs hummed with pain. He quickly joined the others with the two warriors by his side, bowing in deep respect. Moanfang attempted as far away as possible, his fur bristled.

Eyeless joined Bloodclaw, bowing carefully watching.

[Guest]

Woebringer looked around at the gathering cats, his mind ablaze with what he and Shadowstar had been discussing.
It pays to have spies, he thought smugly, though he face revealed none of what he was feeling.

Shadesun came in the back entrance and into the camp, his Choosing, Fire, following close behind.
The two fell into a bow then straightened out, wondering what their King would be saying to them.

Boneless slunk out of the Servant's den, a long cut on her face covered in a thin poultice. Earlier that day, she'd fallen into a bramble patch, though she would forever claim she fought a fox for the deep cut as no one could prove otherwise.
She stood next to her Master, Bloodclaw and bowed deep to her King. She remained crouching, but looked at him - but she was still bowing her head, unlike the other Servants.

Woebringer caught Shadesun's eye and nodded to him. The young warrior beamed with pride and nodded back, trying to remain stoic.

[Loki]

Moanfang shifted restlessly at the sight of Woebringer, Sinface's words of him made him shiver but worst of all is that he was afraid of the vile calico tom. Moanfang smiled inside, I seem to have made mistakes... joining new forces. I wonder what I'll get out of it?

OOC: a little spoiler there for you little darlings

[Runfast]

Sinface emerged from the Warrior's den, his black pelt gleaming in the fading light. He'd stopped thinking about his Choosing a few sun shifts back, and now he was focusing on his normal life.
What did the King have to say?

Grace slid out of the Servant's den, Loveless hobbling behind her.
Loveless glanced at his brother, Sinface. Suddenly, an overwhelming desire to tell his brother everything nearly overtook him.
Oh, brother! I wish I could tell you everything! I want to know, that when the day comes, you'll stand with us!
The disfigured Servant hung his head, feeling terrible.

Grace looked eagerly around for the tom she had feelings for. Was he there?
(OOC: Geez, I never thought I wouldn't want Grace and Soulvoider to be together... Anyone want to be her secret lover?... Meany, what about one of the Dark Toms?)

Dauntless followed the older cats out of the den. What was going on?... Had Shadowstar figured them out? The she-cat shivered. Everyone thought that the leaders had some form of mystical powers, and Shadowstar probably did!

[Loki]

OOC: hmmm... anyone fancy Eyeless?

IC: Moanfang looked up irritably, I wish Shadowstar would hurry up and tell us his thoughts...

Eyeless looked worriedly to Loveless, whispering, "What if they'v found us out?" She then paused
,Panic overwhelming her face, "What if they got smart to us and killed Joyless and_" She shivered
and looked away. (OOC: we'll say this was after her talk with Soulvoider) Her talk with Soulvoider
made her feel sure they didn't know, maybe he was scanning her mind? He's a powerful after all.
She fluffed up her pelt, in terror and shook like a mad badger. "I'm weak, I'm powerless," She muttered.

Crashingflight noticed Sinface' servant acting weird, it shook violently, "What on earth..."
Trueskin slipped a glance over and shrugged indecently.

Switchblade looked at the small fair faced she-cat, Somethings posest her! He thought, but wasn't that Joyless' friend. He looked down to his paws. I refuse for such a warrior to be killed by Moanfang and Cold... He uttered a groan of discontent, Such an intelligent small tom, He would have been an elite warrior. Somehow he was sure Joyless was looking after him. She made an oath far back a moon after cold being given to Switchblade as a choosing. He recalled the scene:

Joy sat staring off, she was thinking again. Somewhat her fur was not shiny and she was
quite skinny, this was a moon after Tawnyclan had captured her. She sighed and He smiled,
She was above him and he knew it. This made him crave her more but His choosing clouded his
mind.
"Have you met him?" He mewed gently brushing up against her.
"Who would that be?" She responded fluently.
"My Choosing, Cold," He replied a little gloomily.
"the one who hardly speaks?" Joyless mewed, "how is he?"
"He's quite," Switchblade replied eagerly, "But he's strong and willing."
Joyless smiled and looked up, "I wonder if he's on our side?"
Swithcblade mewed, "If something happened, Look after him and make him strong."
"Is that an order?" She replied indignantly.
"Don't be like that!" He replied, stung,"Its an oath and I want you to swear by it."
Joyless laughed cooly at the little tom, He bristled it was only her who could sway him.
"Swear by it or..."
"I swear," Joyless mewed gently, sweetly, "Don't be angry, you make me feel bad."
"Then don't brush my fur the wrong way!" Joy smiled with no complaint and purred,
"As you wish."

Switchblade stiffened up, He felt ill and lonely, he looked to the left. Moanfang smiled coldly at him.
He had planned for this.

[Longstorm]

Cunningheart slid into the camp, listening for her leader. She'd been out hunting, of all things, her mind off of the missing cats.
She'd left her prey back in the forest, buried for her to get it later.

Tigerfrost came out of the warrior's den. He bowed quickly and straightened out, ears forward. Maybe they were going to the Gathering! Tigerfrost had gone a couple of times, but he always enjoyed checking out the competition.

[Meany]

Shadowstar looked at all of his loyal subjects and finally mewed,
“We are attending the Forester’s Gathering once more.”

The cats of Abyssclan looked at each other in shock. Had they misheard him? Was he saying that he was taking them to the Gathering?

[Longstorm]

“Sir,” mewed Cunningheart, nodding respectfully, “Will you be leading the patrol?” The large she-cat knew she was speaking for everyone when she asked that question.

Paleclaw watched his leader, a curious look in his eyes.

Colorless watched, yearning to attend the Gathering with her leader. Being seen in his patrol would mean recognition from all the pathetic Clans, and the other Servants would be jealous!

[Meany]

Shadowstar fixed his eerie gaze on Cunningheart then nodded curtly.
“Yes.” He looked to the rest and mewed, “With me, I shall take the following: Snarlgag, Razorclaw, Viletounge,” the named toms beamed with pride, “Cunningheart, Tigerfrost, Shadesun, and Deadwhisker.” Shadowstar looked at Woebringer and whispered to him, 
“Watch the Servants. Something is amiss.”

OOC: No one heard that.

The three 'dark toms' celebrated for a moment, grinning maliciously and shoving each other in a friendly way. Of course, they quickly straightened out, pretending to not be ruffled by the fact they'd reacted so kit-like to the news of them going to the Gathering with Shadowstar! It was wonderful and unheard of! It was perfect!
Snarlgag whispered,
"This will be fantastic."
For once, Viletongue had nothing to say - even Razorclaw simply flexed his menacing claws in a happy way.

[Guest]

To what Shadowstar had whispered to him, Woebringer nodded gravely, his eyes hardening as he looked at the scraggly Servants. Yes... Something strange had been going on, now that the calico tom thought about it.

Shadesun felt a surge of happiness, but it was quickly snuffed when he remembered that his surrogate father would not be going with him. Shadesun sighed, glancing down at his Choosing.
"It would seem that you will not be attending, Fire," he mewed quietly, in a stern sort of way.

Fire nodded, hiding his disappointment well. He dipped his head and turned away, looking for the other Choosings.

Shadesun watched after him, not saying any words of comfort - that wasn't the Abyssclannian way. Besides, there were always other Gatherings.


Boneless glanced at her Master. They would not be attending? Well, of course, it made perfect sense; Menders were not seen as important, especially not their Servants, either. But how Bitter (that damned sour Choosing) would take it was only a matter of reflection...
Flashback.... (OOC: Take-over approved by LS)
Bitter stumbled into the Mender's den, his eyes smoldering and his fur bristled, blood under his claws as well as all over his pelt.
Boneless padded up to the angry tom, dipped her head like any "good" Servant, and mewed,
"May I assist?"
Bitter turned on her, his claws only grazing the tip of her nose. The she-cat barely flinched.
Bitter spat and shoved past her, pawing into the herbs that had been laid out.
"Damned Warrior Choosings," he snarled more to himself than anything. "They think they own everything, know everything! I'll show them... I'll show them all..." He pulled together the correct combination of herbs, chewed them into a poultice, and set to getting the blood out of his fur. He continued to snarl and mumble things to himself -
"Can't take a joke, can I? Just a joke, was it? Hunh, we'll see... I showed them..."
Boneless looked over at the over-emotional tom. It was a joke?
End Flashback...

The other Choosings had learned that it was not a good idea to fool around with the Mender's Choosing. His hot temper and muscle to back it up had proven he was not one to take jokes - or insults (even comments that weren't meant as such) - lightly.
The joke itself had been something along the lines of 'Why are Menders so dull," or something like that.
Boneless didn't know the answer. All she did know was that the joke had yet to be repeated since.
... Where is Bitter, anyways, she wondered.

[Loki]

Switchblade looked at his leader in shock and then shrugged off this odd decision. After a while Switchblade thought for a moment, maybe their up to something. He flicked his tail in annoyance and wached over at the servants, his mind in a whirl of thoughts.

Moanfang felt unsettled. Why was Shadowstar going? He sat up and thought about how he was going to entertain himself. Maybe he'd pick a pretty servant, prove Cunningheart wrong. He shrugged a cold half smile popping onto his face.

Eyeless, now calm, fluffed up her pelt in terror. What were they planning?

[Longstorm]

Tigerfrost licked the fur near his ruff, trying to hide a pleased grin.
Maybe that Tigerflame, Tigerfire, Tigerpuff, whatever his name was, and see how he was doing. Tigerfrost’s grin turned into a smirk.
Ah, that Tiger. Long ago (it seemed), Tigerfrost had been named after the Forester, back when the Forester was still an apprentice. Tigerfrost still remembered when Cunningheart had first showed him the joys of taking a dead enemy’s teeth, the teeth he now wore proudly over his back claws.
It would be a good night for sure. He stretched a bit, and waited to see if Shadowstar would say anything else.

Cunningheart sighed. Another Gathering.
It seemed she had been to at least a thousand in her lifetime, one after the other. Like being chosen, the mood at the Gathering was always the same as well. Every time she went the other filthy Clan cats either coward away from her, glaring from a safe distance, or wouldn’t leave her alone, taunting like they were any better than her. Which was bad enough since she wasn’t allowed to kill - or maim - any of them due to the pathetic code they’d set up Above knows when.
This wasn’t going to go well.

Bitter looked out of the Mender's den. What was going on? He slunk into the clearing and sidled up to Paleclaw.
He hissed,
"What's going on?" His amber eyes were sparking.

Paleclaw looked at the brown tabby and mewed,
"Gathering. We're staying behind." Paleclaw glanced at the Warrior's den. A draft had been coming through lately...

Bitter looked up at the Warrior, put off.
"...Why is Shadowstar here announcing it?"

"He's leading the Gathering party."

Bitter stiffened, digging his claws into the dirt. Why couldn't he go? He was the Mender's Choosing, that's why.
"Filthy," he hissed, referring to how bad his luck was. He spun around and slid back into the Mender's Den.

[Loki]

Moanfang began to clean the long fur on his chest. He was bored- as usual.
He'd wait till they'd all gone, then he'd sneak out into the night. He smiled
coldly and used a back paw to remove an uncomfortable itch on his right ear.

Eyeless looked at... 'bitter' was it? He looked annoyed, she couldn't blame him.
She shrugged to herself, probably because a menders choosing was bellow a mender
which was just a bit above the rank of a servant. Which side was Bitter on?
She looked to her paws.

[Meany]

Charmless noticed the look Woebringer gave her and the others.
The she-cat shivered, wondering what the look may or may not mean. Did he know? Were they going to be punished? Would they be tort-
Charmless began to quietly have the cat version of an anxiety attack, terror gripping her by the very tips of her pads.

Luckless looked at her friend, leaning against her for a moment but leaning back when the pale she-cat jerked away the moment Luckless touched her. Luckless blinked, her blue eyes filled with worry.

Shadowstar broke the moment by mewing,
“We leave in a matter of breath-holdings (OOC: Minutes). Prepare yourselves.” He glided off into his den, his thin, black tail vanishing into the mysterious den.

[Longstorm]

Colorless scowled. Why wasn’t she going to the Gathering? This wasn’t fair! She should be able to go with! The pale she-cat shook her head, turning back to the Servant’s den -

“Colorless,” Cunningheart mewed coldly. “Gather the prey I have buried in the forest.”

Colorless turned around, masking her angered expression with a slight frown.
“Yes, Warrior,” and she regrettably dipped her head.

Paleclaw sneered, dismayed at the fact that he wouldn’t be going with. But, somebody needs to watch the border, he supposed to himself. He brushed aside thoughts of the Gathering and turned to the warriors he knew would not be attending.
"Switchblade, Sinface, Moanfang - what's say we take the night patrol, yeah?"

Tigerfrost padded up to Cunningheart's side.
"The Gathering," he mewed, keeping a purr from his voice. (OOC: Felt like I should say, TF reminds me of a teen guy who goes after moms, lol) "Isn't it great? The Gathering with Shadowstar!"

Cunningheart looked at her former Choosing, the flint leaving her eyes.
"Perhaps," she mewed, "But I doubt the other Clans will display a favorable reaction..." She thought about it and smiled slowly, a malicious look if you've ever seen one. "Yes... This will be interesting. Come along, Tigerfrost. We're leaving soon."

The two walked together to the exit, waiting patiently and talking about battle moves and enemies.

Hopeless looked up at Shadowstar when her name hadn't been called. Had she not been faithful? Did she not deserve the honor?
Knowing it was her place to, she strode past all the big, tough warriors, the ones who wouldn't dare lay a claw on her, and marched into her King's den.

[Loki]

Moanfang drew his lips back in protest at the thought of traveling with that two-clawed rat said to be a warrior.
He resisted and nodded to Paleclaw. Damn him! Moanfang though angrily, can he read minds?
He rolled his shoulder muscles back and relaxed a little, still tired from climbing up that massive tree.

Switchblade stretched, a little disapointment on his face. He nodded, "I'll come."

[Runfast]

Sinface's gaze flickered around the camp, his eyes resting on Paleclaw. He nodded shortly and mewed,
"Fine."

Loveless looked over at his brother, padded up to him and whispered,
"The Servants will hunt." Inside, Loveless was scared stiff - would Sinface see right through his lie?

Sinface looked at his brother carefully. Lately, things seemed... Off with him. But even as he studied his brown-furred brother, he couldn't see anything in the latter's expression that gave away what he was really thinking.
Like a true Abyssclannian.
A sad look flickered across his face - when had his brother become like the rest? When had the innocent optimism faded?
Finally, he mewed,
"Go ahead. We need more fresh-kill anyways." He watched as Loveless turned away to speak to the other Servants, then turned back to Paleclaw.

Loveless murmured to Dauntless,
"It's on."

The she-cat looked at Loveless and nodded solemnly. She padded off and out of the camp, heading one direction so she could reach the meeting place without being followed.

Loveless looked at his brother's turned back. He had to tell him. Not right now, duh, but soon. He had to.

[Loki]

A half smile of amusement appeared on Switchblade's face. He knew what the servants were up to but he couldn't bring himself to want to help in training them, something told him to just make sure things didn't go wrong. The oddly patched tom nodded to himself and mewed, "Shall we patrol, starting on the Tawnyclan border?"

Moanfang hissed, "We should start on the other side and come back the Tawnyclan way!"
Switchblade looked like he had disregarded Moanfang, but replied: "Whatever."

Eyeless sat miserably by one of the servants.

[Meany]

Charmless noticed the look Woebringer gave her and the others.
The she-cat shivered, wondering what the look may or may not mean. Did he know? Were they going to be punished? Would they be tort-
Charmless began to quietly have the cat version of an anxiety attack, terror gripping her by the very tips of her pads.

Luckless looked at her friend, leaning against her for a moment but leaning back when the pale she-cat jerked away the moment Luckless touched her. Luckless blinked, her blue eyes filled with worry.

Shadowstar came out of his den, tail flicking in annoyance.
"We leave for the Gathering," he declared. He stalked over to the three dark toms and whispered something to them.
The three toms were practically preening at this point, and they took point in front of him. The four walked off, the rest of the Gathering patrol following.

[Guest]

Woebringer’s eyes narrowed as he watched the exchange between the two she-rats.
What were they so worried about? His King was never wrong - something was indeed going on with the Servants.
And Woebringer was going to find out what it was.

Fire watched his Mentor go, a deep longing to attend the Gathering with his King ever-present. The reddish orange tom sighed.
Maybe there'd be a next time, or something.

Boneless watched Shadowstar and the rest leave, then drifted back to the Mender's den - she had to tell Bloodclaw it was time to go.

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