#gathering

[clangenrising]

Month 14 - April Gathering

“I’m so excited!” Fogpaw squeaked, bouncing along beside Floodpaw and Slatepaw. 

“We know,” Floodpaw rolled his eyes with a groan, “You’ve said so like a million times.” Fogpaw frowned and suddenly didn’t feel like bouncing anymore. She hadn’t realized she was being annoying. 

“It’s alright,” Slatepaw said, “I’m excited too.” 

“It’s your first Gathering,” said Pantherhaze on Slatepaw’s other side. “It’s completely normal to be excited about it.” He glanced at Floodpaw who looked away. 

“Well, I am,” said Fogpaw. She looked up at the full moon and smiled. “Do you think StarClan will cover the moon?” 

“I hope not,” said Pantherhaze. “If they did it would mean they disapproved of the Gathering.”

“I just think it would be cool,” shrugged Fogpaw. She imagined a roll of thunder and a sudden stormy sky, a powerful sign of StarClan’s wrath. She hoped that, at least some day, she got to see it.

The RisingClan cats - her, Slatepaw, Floodpaw, Pantherhaze, Scorchplume, Goldenstar, Russetfrond, and Sagetooth - emerged from the trees into the clearing. Fogpaw made an awe-filled sound of wonder at the sight of the Cornerstones towering up ahead. A white she-cat and a ginger one were sitting on top, bathed in moonlight, their deputies conversing on the rubble beneath them. Goldenstar whispered something to Scorchplume and then went to join them. 

Floodpaw was moving to meet a group of cats who looked close to his age and Fogpaw decided to follow him. Slatepaw followed her, both of them trailing after Floodpaw like ducklets. 

“Have fun and be respectful!” Pantherhaze called after them.

“We will!” squeaked Slatepaw. 

“Hey!” A pale, spotted tabby looked up as Floodpaw approached. “Floodpaw, how’s it going?”

“Great,” purred Floodpaw, “We’ve got some big news tonight. I’m excited for you to hear it.” 

“Ooh, well now I’m invested,” he grinned. 

“You’ve got some kittens stuck to your fur,” said a white she-cat with a ginger striped tail. The ginger cat wearing moth wings next to her smiled in a way that struck Fogpaw as mysterious.

“Oh,” Floodpaw turned to look at them and grimaced a little. “Right, uh, this is Fogpaw and Slatepaw.”

“Hi!” Fogpaw grinned. Slatepaw pressed into her side nervously. 

Floodpaw continued, “Uh, guys, these are my friends.” The white cat huffed a mean laugh. “Boldmoth and Fishtrick are from EarthClan and Fernpaw is from SkyClan.” 

“It’s Fernspeckle now!” beamed the spotted tabby. 

“Aw, really?” frowned Floodpaw. “I mean, congrats, but I was sure I was gonna get my name before you!” 

“Having a leader as your mother has its perks,” Fernspeckle laughed. 

“An admission you graduated before you were ready,” Fishtrick hummed. 

“You’ll get your name soon,” Boldmoth said, looking at Floodpaw. 

“Thanks,” he blushed under her cool, golden gaze.  

“Your mom is the leader?” Fogpaw asked loudly. Floodpaw and his friends all winced. 

“Yeah,” said Fernspeckle, “Snowstar’s my mother.” 

“That’s so cool,” Fogpaw said seriously. “My mom’s dead.” Fernspeckle froze in surprise. Fishtrick raised a brow skeptically. Boldmoth frowned sympathetically.

“Hey, uh,” Floodpaw said quickly, “Look, there’s an apprentice your age, why don’t you guys go talk to him?” FallenClan had arrived and Fogpaw followed Floodpaw’s gaze to a pale ginger tom who looked just a little bit older than her and Slatepaw settling down beside a warrior with brown points. 

“Oh, okay,” she said, wilting a little. She couldn’t help but feel like Floodpaw didn’t want her around. Still, she was interested in making a new friend so she looked at Slatepaw and said, “Come on, let’s go say hi!” Slatepaw gave a worried noise through pursed lips and glanced over at Floodpaw’s friends before nodding. Fogpaw started to make her way through the crowd, Slatepaw pressed against her side.

Behind her, she heard Floodpaw say, “Yikes, sorry about that, guys.” She sighed a little. 

“Fogpaw, why did you say that?” Slatepaw asked quietly. 

“Huh?” she asked, looking over. “Say what?” 

“You know,” Slatepaw chewed her lip worriedly. “About mama.” 

“Oh,” Fogpaw shrugged. She had already forgotten about that. “Cause it’s true?” 

“Right,” Slatepaw said softly. Fogpaw frowned, confused. Shaking her head, she decided to ignore it and focus on meeting this new apprentice. 

As they drew close, she raised her tail and said, “Hi there! I’m Fogpaw and this is my sister Slatepaw! What’s your name?” The apprentice looked over at her apprehensively. 

Beside him, his mentor smiled and said, “I’m Duskstep and this is Lionpaw. We’re from FallenClan.” He nudged Lionpaw’s leg gently.

“It’s nice to meet you,” said Lionpaw, barely audible but in a listless way, not like Slatepaw’s nervous whispering. It was like he didn’t have the energy to speak any louder. Fogpaw immediately decided that he seemed extremely boring. She glanced back over to where Floodpaw was joking with his friends and wished she could just go back and hang out with them. 

“It’s nice to meet you too,” smiled Slatepaw as they sat down. “Do you know Poppybird?”

“Yes,” purred Duskstep, “she’s our Clan’s mediator.” 

“She was friends with our mama,” Slatepaw said. “She comes and visits us sometimes.” 

“That’s nice,” said Duskstep. 

“She mentioned you,” said Slatepaw, looking at Lionpaw. He sat up a little straighter and blinked at her. Fogpaw yawned. 

“She did?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Slatepaw said. “We asked her about the kits in FallenClan and she talked about you.” Fogpaw groaned and stood to go find someone else to sit with. She wasn’t going to stay here and listen to boring small talk all gathering. 

“W- Fogpaw, where are you going?” asked Slatepaw. 

“I dunno,” Fogpaw shrugged, “to find Scorchplume or something.” 

“Oh, okay…” Slatepaw frowned. Fogpaw wasn’t sure why she was upset but it annoyed her. Huffling she turned and stomped away. 

The meeting was packed. Fogpaw hadn’t seen this many cats since they had gathered in camp for the big battle. The noise of it made her hackles prickle unconsciously. She reared onto her hind legs to try and spot her mentor’s bright ginger pelt. It was difficult with the height of the other cats. She padded a bit to the side to try and find a better vantage point, then someone right next to her spoke, throwing her off guard.

“Oh! Look at that!” said a she-cat nearby. Fogpaw looked on instinct and realized the grey tabby was looking right at her. 

“Uh…” She glanced around to make sure there wasn’t something else the cat could be looking at. 

“I know that pelt,” continued the cat. “You look just like the old tom Snowstar was fighting in the snowstorm battle!”

“Really?” asked the brown tabby next to her. This one narrowed her eyes at Fogpaw, making her want to squirm. “One of the rogues?” 

“Yes, exactly,” said the first cat. “Hello there, kit, what’s your name?” Fogpaw swallowed. At least they were talking to her now instead of about her. 

“Fogpaw,” she said. “Who are you?”

“I’m Greyvoice,” said the first cat with a smile, “and this is Perchingcall. Please, why don’t you come sit with us?” 

“Um, okay,” said Fogpaw. The idea that two grown ups wanted her to sit with them was exciting. Smiling, she settled down near them. 

Greyvoice scooted closer to her and said, “This is your first gathering, isn’t it?” 

“Yeah,” nodded Fogpaw. “I got apprenticed last week!”

“That’s so exciting,” purred Greyvoice, attentive and warm. Perchingcall smiled too but it didn’t feel right to Fogpaw. “You’re, um, Smokyrose’s kit, right?” 

“Yeah,” Fogpaw nodded again. 

“Such a shame about her, by the way,” Greyvoice frowned briefly. “I hope you’re doing alright.” 

“I’m fine,” said Fogpaw. Her tail tip twitched a bit - she hated when cats pitied her - but Greyvoice moved on quickly so she let it go.

“I’m so curious though,” said Greyvoice, “I mean, I’ve only heard rumors, so I have to ask: Is it true your father is the rogues’ deputy?” 

“Um,” Fogpaw screwed her mouth to the side as she thought. “I think so. His name’s Ghost. He’s the reason our mom is dead.” Or something like that. No one would tell her for certain what had happened. She had been forced to glean a few details from overheard conversations. 

Greyvoice and Perchingcall at least didn’t get those weird, surprised expressions on their faces like Floodpaw's friends had. Perchingcall frowned like she wanted to tear Ghost’s pelt and Greyvoice let out a soft little noise of sympathy.

“That’s terrible,” said Greyvoice. “What do you mean, he’s the reason why? I only heard that she had died, I didn’t hear what happened.” 

“And you won’t,” said Scorchplume, appearing suddenly behind Fogpaw. Her sharp blue eyes were narrowed at Greyvoice as she said, “Fogpaw get up. You’re going to come sit with me.” 

“But-” Fogpaw bristled in protest, “But I was just making friends!” 

“We don’t make friends with other Clans,” Scorchplume scowled, still not looking at her. “A warrior should know better.” Her words felt pointed at Greyvoice, just as sharp as her eyes. Fogpaw frowned and got to her feet. 

“Fine,” she grumbled. Maybe her spell had been wrong and Scorchplume wasn’t a good mentor. 

Greyvoice preened her chest a bit and said, “Well I’m fine considering us friends, Fogpaw. Maybe I’ll see you some other time.” 

Scorchplume growled a warning. “Stay away from my apprentice, Greyvoice.” The warrior in question huffed irritably but made no further comments. Scorchplume nudged Fogpaw towards the back of the crowd, saying, “That way.” 

“I’m going!” Fogpaw griped, stomping off. When they were nearing the back of the crowd, she added, “What was that for? I thought Russetfrond was the one who’s all ‘don’t talk to anybody ever!’” She bobbled her head and deepened her voice as she imitated him. 

Scorchplume flicked her tail and wrapped it around Fogpaw to urge her to sit. “Oh, I don’t care about talking to other Clans,” she said, and Fogpaw’s mouth fell open in confusion.

“Then, what-”

“Greyvoice was taking advantage of you,” said Scorchplume simply. “She doesn’t actually want to be your friend, she just wants to know the gossip about your father.” 

“Wait, really?” Fogpaw’s ears slid back against her head. She hadn’t been able to tell at all. Her stomach turned into a heavy, nauseous lump.

“Mhm,” said Scorchplume, glancing sideways at her. “I’m not going to let someone like that take advantage of my apprentice.” Her voice caught in her throat on the word, a growl that made Fogpaw feel like Scorchplume would fight a lion for her.

“But, then, why did you lie?” asked Fogpaw. 

Scorchplume glanced around as if making sure no one could hear before she said softly, “It’s better if I let her think I haven’t noticed what she actually wants. That way, she underestimates me. That way, I have the advantage next time we meet.” Fogpaw’s eyes were as wide and round as the moon. “So I got you out without tipping her off. I hope I wasn’t too harsh.”

“No, that’s amazing!” Fogpaw breathed. “It’s like magic! You have to teach me!” 

Scorchplume’s eyes flickered over her again, a tiny smile poking at the corners of her mouth. “It would be my pleasure,” she said. Fogpaw grinned, kneading the dirt with her paws. The spell had definitely worked. 

“Where do we start?” she asked. 

“Well-��

Snowstar’s voice boomed over the crowd. “Alright! I think it’s about time we got started!” The assembled cats hushed each other and fell quiet. 

“The first step,” Scorchplume spoke quickly and quietly, like she was giving Fogpaw an urgent secret, “is to figure out what cats want. Once you master that, you can start using it to your advantage.”

“Got it,” Fogpaw whispered back. 

“As a bit of good news to start off with,” Snowstar continued, “SkyClan welcomes a new warrior, the first of the kits to have survived Red Gut! Fernspeckle has shown himself to be a cat with a quick tongue and a quicker wit and we are beyond proud to have him among our ranks!” 

“She’s Fernspeckle’s mom,” Fogpaw whispered to Scorchplume.

Scorchplume raised a brow in interest. “Good to know.” 

When the crowd finished chanting Fernspeckle’s name, Snowstar said, “As well, Newleaf has been kind to us. Prey is flowing well and we are happy to continue sharing with our less fortunate neighbors if need be.” 

“What does Snowstar want?” Scorchplume whispered to Fogpaw. 

“Um… I don’t know.” Fogpaw shrugged. How was she supposed to be able to tell from that?

“She wants to be seen as strong and generous,” answered Scorchplume. “See the way she’s offering to help us like it makes her special? Sometimes what a cat wants is to look a certain way to other people. Remember that.” Fogpaw hummed as she nodded. This was harder than she had expected. 

“It’s most appreciated,” Orangestar said, voice wobbling tiredly. 

“Yes,” Goldenstar agreed, much firmer, “but RisingClan would like to be self-sufficient again as soon as possible. It is in that vein that I would like to propose another alliance, like the one we made for the battle of the snowstorm.” 

“Has there been another prophecy?” Snowstar asked. 

“No,” Goldenstar said, “but we have a plan.” She stood and raised her tail confidently and none of the other leaders tried to interrupt her so she continued. “It has recently come to my attention that Razor, the leader of the rogues, is interested in a one on one meeting with me. This meeting will almost certainly be a trap in which he intends to kill me, who he believes to be the Clans’ only leader. We will give him this meeting but we will spring a trap of our own instead!” 

RisingClan’s warriors and a few other Clan cats cheered in response. Scorchplume stayed silent so Fogpaw did the same. 

“And you need our help to do so,” said Flightstar as if he’d caught her trying to sneak it past him. 

“Yes,” said Goldenstar. “RisingClan alone won’t be able to stand against Razor but together we will most definitely be able to overpower him and put an end to this war.” 

“Then SkyClan will be there,” said Snowstar. “We would see this conflict put to rest for the good of every Clan.” 

“FallenClan as well,” said Flightstar with a twitch of his ear. “Where there’s a fight to be fought you will find the warriors of the deep woods.” A few FallenClan cats crowed proudly. 

“What does Flightstar want?” Scorchplume whispered again. 

“Um… is it to look a certain way?” asked Fogpaw.

“Mhm.” 

“Um… He wants to look brave?” 

“Good,” purred Scorchplume. “He wants to look brave and strong and to tell everyone that they couldn’t beat him if they tried.” 

“Huh,” Fogpaw squinted up at him. That made sense, she thought. 

“What about EarthClan?” Goldenstar asked, looking at Orangestar. “We were hoping to use the edge of your forest for the meeting spot, to help hide our warriors and provide a terrain advantage.” 

Orangestar shifted and nodded. “Yes. EarthClan will stand by you. StarClan willing, this is the final battle of this war.” 

“StarClan willing,” nodded Snowstar. 

“Excellent,” Goldenstar said. “I will reach out to you to pick the location of the ambush. After that, I’ll send for a meeting with the leaders and things will be put into motion.” She shifted her posture to something a little more open and said, “In other news, we have two new apprentices with us today, Fogpaw and Slatepaw.” 

Fogpaw jumped to her feet and stood up tall so everyone could see her. A few cats tossed glances her way. She noticed Greyvoice among them. Scorchplume’s tail swished over her back, urging her to sit, and she did. The meeting moved on. The other Clans had very little news to share and soon after, RisingClan was heading home. 

“Thanks for teaching me,” Fogpaw said as she padded with Scorchplume to join the others.

“It’s my job isn’t it?” asked her mentor.

“Yeah, but I don’t think this is part of normal warrior stuff. I knew you were special.” 

Scorchplume huffed a laugh. “Good,” she purred, “and don’t forget it.”

[maureen2musings]

...under the Elder trees

shaazjung

[jimhenson-themuppetmaster]

Jim Henson with The Muppets of 1970. This photo was sent out as a Henson Company Holiday Postcard in 1970.

[wronghands1]

[foragerskitchen]

When it comes to gathering wild food, I recommend starting slow. Choose one thing you're interested in, one thing that may be growing nearby that you've generally taken for granted-maybe it's nettles or acorns, or maybe you live near a prolific bay laurel tree dropping peppernuts every fall. Once you begin to notice and access the natural rhythms of this food you've chosen, learn everything about it-its growth cycles, what kind of soil it likes, how much water it needs, and so on. Then search for stories that feature your ingredient and Native artists and teachers in your area. Learn all the names of your ingredient in Indigenous languages. Discover how local Native people tend this ingredient, if they use fire or seed mounds or dip nets or specialized tools. Is this ingredient part of other foodways in other parts of the world? How are the preparations different or the same? Are there Native elders in your community that could benefit from your labor first? Once you have done all that and you have these well-earned ingredients, then it's time to use this book.

Chími Nu'am: Native California Foodways For The Contemporary Kitchen, written by Sara Calvosa Olson

[thereisomethingaboutlilac]

𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 🌾𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠

https://www.pinterest.com.

https://pin.it/6dTk3E3IH

[chansondereste]

[yourlittlettoy]

MINI GATHERING - FIRST SLEEPOVER RUMBLE!

Hi everyone! Look I’m using my blog like a traditional blog LMAO 😝🤪

I’m a little late with this recap post but I recently hosted the (apparently) first ever sleepover-type gathering for my local Canadian community this past Canada Day long weekend! IT WAS A BLAST!!!

I’m so happy with how it turned out. I was kinda nervous at first, it started out as a fun idea that hatched in a little groupchat, which got larger and larger as the planning continued. I had never hosted anything like a gathering before! Especially not at this scale!

However, the attendees quickly quelled my worries, as everyone was not only extremely pleasant but so helpful and generous and just all in all I couldn’t be luckier to have made the friends I did in this community! (Can’t wait to make more 😉) thank you truly to everyone that pitched in and helped out and brought stuff and just for being awesome all around!

We played board games, took turns signing up for play slots in the “play room” pictured above (courtesy of @clayticklish ‘s portable dungeon lmao, and thank you @toadallytickles for taking the pics), had a bbq with an ice cream party for dessert, had yummy beverages, and played video games too! It was truly a pleasure getting to meet and talk with so many amazing people 🥰. There were also lots of first time sessions, which warmed my whole heart to see that whole process unfold and see people I adore having a long awaited blast?

Anyway, long story short, I had the time of my life. Nothing beats curating a good time for a group of people that I love, my lil service heart is so so fulfilled, especially after reading everyone’s feedback about having fun after it was over. Made my day 10x over. Can’t wait to do it again! Thanks again everyone for being the most perfect first time crowd ever!

That’s all from me :) thank u for reading!!

[theresattrpgforthat]

I'm a TTRPG designer, and also a big fan of the video game Terraria. I'm stuck on fun ways to handle material gathering and crafting. Send me some inspiration! Thanks!

THEME: Gathering and Crafting

Hello friend! Putting this one together was very fun. I hope you enjoy it!

Stoneburner, by Fari RPGs.

Stoneburner is a sci-fantasy solo-friendly demon-hunting community-building tabletop role-playing game.Inspired by the new school revolution movement, players take on the role of a group of dwarves who must assume control of a demon haunted mine, along with its accompanying settlement, which they inherited after the death of their distant relative.The game focuses on the dwarves' journey as they navigate the challenges of their new responsibilities, rebuild a new thriving community, and clear the mine of its fire spitting monsters.

A techno-fantasy game of exploration and survival. You’ll be delving into a mine to extract resources and attempting to maintain and protect your community not just from magical beasts, but also greedy and plotting rivals. The system is built on Breathless, which is pretty rules-lite on the face but has a lot of possibility to expand, borrowing quite a bit from the NSR but giving the GM specific cues where they have a license to complicate the story. You’ll find a lot of familiar pieces here, with character classes, special abilities, and loot tables. Stoneburner isn’t fully ready to be published quite yet, but in the meantime you can check out the free preview!

Hostile (Rules and Setting), by Zozer Games.

Welcome to the gritty, retro-future universe of HOSTILE. Based on the Cepheus Engine, these rules add in realistic combat rules as well as setting-specific rules from some of the eighteen HOSTILE supplements. When combined with its companion book, the HOSTILE Setting, you will have a complete, stand-alone, retro-future sci-fi game. HOSTILE is a gritty, near future roleplaying setting that is inspired by movies like Outland, Bladerunner and Alien. It is a universe of mining installations, harsh moons, industrial facilities, hostile planets and brutal, utilitarian spacecraft.

When I looked up info about this game, HOSTILE was described as not an ALIEN RPG, but rather an RPG that you could plug Alien into. It’s a space horror setting, but what kind of space horror is up to you. The Rulebook has rules on trade, salvaging, and other pieces of resource management, while the setting book contains construction rules for your own mega-ton spaceship. There’s also plenty of colonies, survival rules, campaign advice and encounter tables. If this is interesting to you, I’d recommend checking out the Double Shift Bundle, which offers both the Rulebook and the Setting Book for 20% off.

Forbidden Lands, by Free League Publishing.

Forbidden Lands is a new take on classic fantasy roleplaying. In this open-world survival roleplaying game, you’re not heroes sent on missions dictated by others - instead, you are raiders and rogues bent on making your own mark on a cursed world. You will discover lost tombs, fight terrible monsters, wander the wild lands and, if you live long enough, build your own stronghold to defend.

As raiders and rogues, in Forbidden Lands you will need to scavenge to survive. Built on Free League’s Year Zero Engine, this game uses an abstract resource called consumables which your characters will have to find regularly, because food goes bad and you can only carry so many things. The game focuses on the dangers of the road, although not all dangers are terrifying - you’re not fighting orcs all the time - sometimes you’re just battling mosquitoes and cold weather. There’s also rules about building, maintaining, and defending a stronghold, which sounds kind of similar to building and defending your house in Terraria. There’s a lot to keep track of in Forbidden Lands, and as long as you don’t mind playing characters with a somewhat loose moral compass, this game might be for you!

A Fistful of Darkness, by monkeyEcho.

A Fistful of Darkness is a Weird West Fantasy hack of Blades in the Dark with heavy emphasis on the fantasy part. It’s not intended to be an accurate history lesson or a simulation of past times. It is designed to be a cinematic game which lets you play all those Weird West tropes towards the end of the world.

Imagine a world with the magic and mystery of the frontier: wide open plains of the Old Wild West in all its beauty and madness, where violence and sacrifice dominate every single day. Now add the Hellstone rush, underground mayhem in mines and brand new sciences & machines. Don’t forget immigration, injustice, vigilante justice, outlaws, gunslingers, slick talkers and setting suns. This all in the face of an impending doom: Demons and the four riders bringing the end of the world as you know it. How do you make it to the top of this powder keg, which side will you take in the impending war and how much will your soul suffer? Let’s play to find out!

Forged in the Dark games abstract your resources a bit, but the Hellstone of A Fistful of Darkness is so important to the setting that you’ll find yourselves doing whatever you can to get your hands on it. It’s a crafting material, it’s currency, and it’s the bringer of mutations and curses, what with it being a demonic material and all. Because you’ll be running a group playbook alongside your own characters, you’ll be working together to improve your tools, allies, abilities and home base, especially if you choose the Scavengers Posse. If you like action and suspense as much as you like inventory and communal goals, then this game is for you.

LOOT, by Gila RPGs.

Do you love loot? Then you're in the right place.

Go on quests, find loot, do it all over again. Your character is entirely defined by the loot they wear and carry. Loot is generated and passed out at the end of each quest with a dynamic loot pool system.

This is an application of the LUMEN system that eschews dice. Players have a number of uses for each of their approaches, which can be spent to overcome obstacles. Complications arise when you have to cobble together a solution using a different approach, or when you avoid marking an approach at all. This is a game still in a free playtest, so the designer is happy to hear feedback if you decide to give it a whirl!

[kojiarakiartworks]

June 2012 KTM Kathmandu Nepal Bhaktapur

© KOJI ARAKI Art Works

Daily life and every small thing is the gate to the universe ：）

[toyastales]

Turning an old greenhouse into a lush and comfortable indoor/outdoor gathering space is a creative idea.

[oldfarmhouse]

𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲'𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫

https://pin.it/1WSpOdYAf

[jimhenson-themuppetmaster]

[wronghands1]

[trav-l]

Fairy inkcap

Did you know that the fairy inkcap is edible? However, it’s pretty insubstantial in both flavour and sustenance.

[bonefall]

How do gatherings look like in your rewrite? I always found it a bit silly that the cats only really talked to members of other clans briefly while waiting for the leaders to start, and then after the speeches everyone leaves immediately. Guess it makes for better drama that way but......i just want these cats to befriend more people outside their own clan

I think they do it to keep scenes focused on the information they wanna impart, but, come on. Let the cats live a little.

In my rewrite, here's how an average Lake Gathering goes! Forest Gatherings were a bit different.

Shellfur arrives with ThunderClan, just after sunset, when the full moon is faint in the sky. Today, they are the first to arrive. Usually WindClan is first, so Shellfur is antsy and worried that maybe Fernstripe won't show up.

So he decides to help Sorreltail and the kitchen crew set up, just to keep his paws busy. They uncover the pot from its fern hiding place and start gathering bowls of lakewater to fill it. Finchpaw is excited to have her last gathering as an apprentice and so is helping enthusiastically, which is tradition.

Flamepaw on the other hand is bellyaching as always. Just before Shellfur snaps at him to remind him this isn't mandatory, WindClan streams in. Now there's plenty of apprentices and kitchen patrollers to help, so Shellfur slips away before he says something mean.

He's been trying to be nicer these days, else Spotfur won't let him see his nespring.

Old friends are brushing up, sharing smalltalk, talking about the weather and how the kits are doing. See, the gathering isn't OFFICIAL until the leaders announce it when all four are present, so Shellfur is trying soooo hard to not immediately split off to hang out with Fernstripe.

That's because Clan leaders want all their warriors on display when each Clan arrives. Some kind of political display. Shellfur can be patient, though, because soon he won't have to hold back his affection for Fernstripe.

SkyClan is next today. They tend to enter in a very disorganized way, the most eager warriors arriving before Leafstar herself. They have a much looser hierarchy than the Forest Four clans.

ShadowClan is usually last, but today they're fourth. Heartstar LOVES her dramatic entrances, so she bursts into the clearing with a running start, bounds up the tree, and orders her warriors forth with a yowl. They charge in a straight line, some of them doing little tricks as they enter. Show-offs.

And last is... RiverClan. No one says, but everyone knows, that this will be Mistystar's last. They typically swim towards the island, allowing the moonlight to shine on their pelts like liquid starlight. But today they have taken the bridge, and the warriors walk gracefully behind their aging leader.

When the leaders call for the Gathering to begin, you must listen to the speeches before breaking off. Shellfur believes this is because it would look bad if no one cheered for their own Clan's announcements.

Once this is done, the Gathering begins in earnest.

Shellfur and Fernstripe listen to a story from Elder Mosspelt of RiverClan, of how she helped Mistystar escape TigerClan so long ago.

Later, Shellfur watches with ardor as Fernstripe is beaten by Rootspring at a game played with little stones and a grid scratched in the dust. It's the first time Rootspring has smiled in a while, but he doesn't know how good Fernstripe really is at Scratchstone. She let him win.

He needs to impress her, so he whispers to Sorreltail to set aside a crayfish from the Paw Soup for her. Sorrel gives him a wink and a coo. Fernstripe loves trying new things... Shellfur does not, but for her, he will have soup with a mud bug.

Time passes. The moon is hanging low. Any leader can call for their Clan to leave whenever they please, but any cat can say the magic words.

"I'll catch up with you later."

That's what he says when ThunderClan leaves the clearing. A few stay behind. Duststripe is one of them, Dewnose is another.

When the leaders are all gone, there's a second Gathering. This is when cats discuss other things, harmless, but codebreaking nonetheless. Honor-siring, goods-trading, sharing forbidden foods like kittypet kibble.

They usually make a second version of Paw Soup together. Someone called it Foot Soup and it stuck. Whatever was left over, plus some extra spices, this one usually has fish and kibble. It's a lot stronger than regular Paw Soup so Shellfur didn't think he'd like it, but he was surprised when he did.

And most importantly, he gets to be with Fernstripe. REALLY be with her, brushing, snuggling, getting actual relationship advice. It's like a safe haven.

But he's truly over the moon today, because tomorrow, he will wake up next to her and they will go home together. This is their last night at the Aftergathering, from now on, they won't be regulars anymore.

Before the moon is gone, so is everyone else. Gone back to their own Clans, where divisions are deeper than chasms. Fernstripe asks him if he's ready. He says yes, of course.