Echostorm

This was the first gathering he had attended in quite some time, mostly because he hated the travel. He didn't have many opinions of Tideclan, positive or negative. While most of Skyclan held the dislike he couldn't really bring himself to care. They didn't pose a real threat, who was he to judge someone for their beliefs. His home was Skyclan, he knew that and it wasn't going to change. Stepping into the area he found a nice spot and lowered himself to the ground, groaning a little as his hips thanked him for the break. Being as big as he was came with its own issues and his bones made sure to remind him of this fallback every time he needed to travel -- not to mention his recent encounter with the adders left him a little weaker than he'd like. Echostorm watched as the cats began to mingle, taking a look at the ones who preferred to stay with their own and the ones who quickly found their friends or even family that were among the other clan. Despite the tension in the air, all the odd goings-on happening and the strange creatures appearing, the night had a calmness to it.

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Egretsong

The pointed molly sighed softly as the Clan reached the Abandoned Bridge. It would be another night of needless tension... In all honestly, the only reason Egretsong ever came to these Gatherings was to gain information, slim though it may be at times. Tonight seemed to be particularly important, given whatever conversation had occurred between the two leaders a few days before, and she was feeling as if the night was going terribly slowly, like a dying stream. (She would ask Foxlight about the feeling later. He never attended Gatherings.)

The molly made her way around the edge of the clearing, humming quietly, and soon came across a SkyClan cat settled alone. He was rather large and, despite herself, the molly felt her pelt warm; she had always admired large-statured cats, though she never pursued those feelings. "Excuse me," she said politely, "may I sit with you?"

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Fawnpaw

Watching Sorrelbear leave after the others Fawnpaw felt a little nervous. So many cats! He didn’t want to bug his mentor more than training or patrols and decided to let the tom be. Scanning around he saw his clanmate Echostorm start to relax and also noticed a TideClan member approaching. Okay just walk over and talk! You promised to make a friend! And if something goes wrong, pretty sure Echostorm can hit me in the face so it’s all good! He slowly started to walk over, taking in all the new pelts and smells. It was a little overwhelming for the first time on his own with no one close to cling to. After hearing a she-cat from TideClan speak he meekly added in ”Uh hi! Can I sit with you guys?” Keeping his tail and ears low, trying to look innocent and not someone who has a ton of energy

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Echostorm

A voice cut into the silence and the tom raised his head to see who had approached him. A Tideclan cat he had yet to meet. It was curious, most tend to avoid him, he flicked his tail and nodded, welcoming the molly when she asked to join him, "If ya'd like, you're welcome to" it was only a short moment later that another voice filtered through, the larger tom looked down at an apprentice from his own clan. Fawnpaw if he remembered right, Starclan he was terrible with names but he looked at the younger fondly, his gaze softening before giving a slight smile. "Of course ya can" his eyes flicked out over the crowd again. he guessed it was too much to hope for that Sparkpaw would come around but he and his apprentice had much to talk about before things were better between the two of them, turning his attention back to Fawnpaw and his other companion Echostorm suddenly realized he didn't know. Clearing his throat lightly he faced the molly, "Ah, apologies miss, I'm Echostorm, this is Fawnpaw, it's nice to meet ya."

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Fawnpaw

Fawnpaw fidgeted with his paws while he sat down, staying close to Echostorm. He looked at the she-cat, wondering about how they would react to an apprentice coming to sit but also looked away to not seem too intrusive. Instead, he looked around for more cats he knew. At the sound of his name he turned and nodded his head aggressively with a smile, having his stub tail sway and wag quickly. He didn’t have much to say other than another ”hello!”

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Egretsong

Oh, the apprentice was cute. He seemed very distracted but was keeping to his manners. Egretsong smiled faintly; she wondered how long it would take for the Fawnpaw to give in to the excitement most apprentices seemed to have. "Egretsong," she said with a nod. She sat a respectful distance from the two, but close enough to hear and be heard. "It is a pleasure." She paused for a moment, wondering whether it would be considered rude for her to fall silent after intruding, but also wondering if they would prefer silence. In the end, she said nothing, waiting for their cue.

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Echostorm

The tom nodded his head, Egretsong, he mused the name over in his mind before falling into the comfortable silence. Content to just relax and it seemed the molly was the same. He watched Fawnpaw shuffling and flicked the apprentice with his tail, it was obvious that the younger was trying his best to keep to his best behavior but Echostorm didn't mind the energy that most apprentices had, he found it endearing. "Is Tideclan nice?" he mused aloud, directing the question towards Egretsong, he held back asking about his sister, not knowing how the molly would react about being questioned over one of her clansmates.

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Egretsong

Egretsong's ears perked at the question. “TideClan is lovely," she said. Anyone who knew her would know that she was excited, but the most she emoted was a gleam and a small smile. "Washing the saltwater from your fur can be a bother, but the sea breeze smells refreshing in a way that breezes in the forest could never attain. The sand of the shore is soft under paw, dipping and spreading between your toes, rippled from waves. The flora and fauna are very different from those of the forest and we seem to discover more by the day, and the shells come in such lovely colors..." Realising that she had been talking so long and so freely made her pause, her pelt warming again. "SkyClan was beautiful and interesting as well," she finished, "but the TideClan territory still has much left to offer."

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Echostorm

"That's good to hear," it definitely seemed like a place Mothburst would love and he hoped she was happy there, it made him a little at ease about her leaving, knowing and seeing someone speak honestly about it. He was about to continue when a hush fell over the gathering and his eyes widened at the sight. Russetstar and Rainstar stood together before them, and if that wasn't enough to confuse you the events after certainly were. The stranger that appeared had Echostorm's fur on end and he quickly rose to his paws, moving to stand almost over Fawnpaw he stood in front of the two protectively, if something happened he'd do his best to protect Egretsong as well.

Then the vision. What in the name of Starclan was going on? From their spot, they were far enough away from where the lightning struck but Echostorm could feel the energy in the air. Looking down at the apprentice, "Alright, it's time to go." He turned to Egretsong, dipping his head, "be safe." was all he said before ushering Fawnpaw with him, glancing back to be sure the molly had reached her clansmates without any incident.

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Fawnpaw

Fawnpaw heard the she-cat’s name and liked it with a small smile. He liked to hear about TideClan, he wondered all about it although he never thought he would leave SkyClan. He had everyone he loved there, he wouldn’t leave! He opened his mouth to say something to the TideClan warrior but the gathering fell silent. He was ready to hear normal things like new apprentices, warriors, things other cats talked about when they got home. But things were not what he expected. Lightning, a figure, an image, what did it mean? He was too frightened to understand and instinctively got closer to Echostorm. He tried to find comfort in the warrior's warm fur but couldn’t shake the feeling of fear. So loud! After it ended he felt Echostorm usher him back towards home. All he could muster to Egretsong was a ”bye..!” he cried out for his mom but couldn’t pick her out from the crowd. With that and the big pushes from Echostorm, Fawnpaw just decided to follow back home quickly and wait by the entrance at camp where it would be safer

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Egretsong

The sight of Rainstar and Russetstar actually getting along was somewhat amusing. Egretsong watched with a small smile as they announced apprentices. A flash of lightning and all good feelings were gone. Egretsong's fur was on end, as if the static from the lightning had coursed through her. And then a strange figure appeared out of nowhere. She ducked into a protective crouch, joining Echostorm in guarding Fawnpaw. She would have time to panic about strange, unnatural things later in camp. As the stranger spoke, Egretsong leaned forward with her ears pricked. The words were vague enough to possibly be misunderstood or misinterpreted, but to the molly, it only confirmed her suspicions: The large creatures were behind the previous leaders' deaths. She relaxed only slightly as the stranger vanished, looking instead toward the retreating SkyClan cats. Her heart ached at the fear in Fawnpaw's stance and voice. "Stay safe," she called, "both of you." She hoped that she would see them again.