[Deleted]

“Beetlepaw, wait for me!” Cicadapaw bounded after her brother unnecessarily, seeing as he wasn't exactly difficult to catch up to for any cat with four paws. She cast a final unhappy glance back at the group of apprentices that included that nasty tom and she-cat who seemed to determined to make this gathering a terrible experience for her brother. She shook herself as if their negativity was water clinging to her pelt as she fell into step beside Beetlepaw, “Forget them, okay? They must have shared a bad mouse today.” She let her fluffy pelt brush lightly against her brother's shorter coat, but was careful that there was no real contact to off-balance him, “We can still have fun tonight.”

She cast around briefly, looking for someone that would hopefully be nicer. If their next conversation partners took up the same attitude she'd never get Beetlepaw in a better mood about the gathering. She flicked her tail lightly against his as she noticed a younger she-cat sitting beside a mud brown tom, “Look over there. She looks kinda scared, huh? Maybe those nasty TreeClan apprentices go to her too. We should show her not every cat here is mean.” She sent a silent prayer to StarClan that this apprentice would be friendly and bounced over, barely containing herself enough to make sure he wasn't leaving Beetlepaw behind, tail waving in the air.

“Hello there! I'm Cicadapaw and this is my brother Beetlepaw,” she cast a quick, happy look at her brother and then back to Sleetpaw, “We're from StoneClan.” The she-cat's scent was a familiar one, “You're from LightningClan, right? Have you ever been to a gathering before? This is our first time. How long have you been an apprentice? Have you caught a rabbit yet? Is it very hard?”

Fawn Taxx

[Fawn]

BeetlepaW

Will you be my breath through the deep, deep water

"I don't want—" The protest died on his lips, a dark-eyed Beetlepaw forced to watch as his littermate bounded away to the warrior and apprentice pair. With a wince that had nothing to do with his leg, Beetlepaw growled under his breath and followed. He didn't want to talk to anyone else. What was the point? They weren't here to make friends - not really. Everyone was here to get along or pretend to get along, and then go back to ignoring each other until the next gathering.

Besides, the less cats he spoke to, the less he'd have to explain himself. The less chances he'd run into a couple of dungeaters like the TreeClan siblings.

Seeing the scared look on the LightningClan cat's face diluted some of his own sourness. If it weren't for the stocky mud-colored tom at her side, this she-cat looked as if she'd be hiding behind one of StarClan's Claws, not out here where she could be seen and spoken to.

Beetlepaw grunted a quick hello, watching as the LightningClan warrior rested a dark tail across the smaller cat's back. Encouraging her to speak up.

His pelt was prickled from the anxiety and frustration of his encounter with the TreeClan apprentices, and Beetlepaw made a conscious effort to keep himself to himself until he could reign in the toxic mixture of negative thoughts and feelings stuck inside his head. Don't think about them. Focus on Cicadapaw. She's asking about rabbits or something. Beetlepaw's sharp gaze flicked up from his paws, pretending to appear interested in the conversation even when his body still stung, chafed by the taunting he had endured.

"My name is Mudpelt," mewed the warrior, his voice deep and somber, but not unkind. "Yes, we are LightningClan. Greetings."

Beetlepaw's heart clenched as the brown warrior looked him over. Say something. I dare you. He was so sick and tired of being stared at. But Mudpelt didn't stare; he acknowledged Beetlepaw with a slow blink and put his focus back on Sleetpaw.

With a tight exhale, Beetlepaw's pelt began to lie flat again. Maybe this LightningClan warrior didn't care? Maybe he'd seen worse - though Beetlepaw found it hard to imagine what that would be - or maybe he hadn't, but Mudpelt was mature enough to not ask stupid questions?

Tired of being in his own head, and tired of standing, Beetlepaw reluctantly lowered his haunches down until he was sitting on the cool ground under his paws. "Nice to meet you," he said to them both, and tried to mean it.

He was still withholding judgment, but he remembered enough of his manners to not sit there like a grouchy bump on a log until the conversation bounced onto him.

Can't stay in the shallows, please tell me I won't wash away

Taxx @zen || 12 Moons || StoneClan || 349 Words

[Taxx]

If you love me, don't let go

Sleetpaw would have much rather stayed home, curled up in her nest by now while others- cats who actually wanted to go- headed off to the Gathering. But she'd been called to go, as every apprentice was, and so here she sat, at Mudpelt's side, hunched over and just waiting for the moment they could go back to the security of their camp. She had no intention of straying, either, not like Sparkpaw. Even Tigerpaw, up there with the other medicine cats and close to the deputies, was being braver than she was at the moment.

She didn't care; nobody said she had to interact with anyone. Leaning into Mudpelt's thick fur, Sleetpaw bushed her fur to keep herself a bit warmer and fought to stifle a yawn. She peeked up at the leaders, but they didn't seem ready to begin yet.

The bright voice made her jump and she spun to stare at the young she-cat padding toward her, tail up and expression friendly. Not from her Clan- not that it mattered, really- and Sleetpaw's eyes dropped back to the ground almost immediately, ears folding back under the rush of questions. It was meant in a friendly way, she knew, but it didn't make it any easier to know that she was being watched, and Mudpelt's silent urging to answer made her all the more nervous, paws working as she struggled to work up the courage to respond.

"Sleetpaw," she managed in a voice just above a whisper, at least glad that Mudpelt had answered one of the questions. "Nice to meet you. Um- no, I haven't... caught anything yet. I'm not very good at hunting." Her gaze flashed up at the she-cat again, and then flicked to the tom before darting away, not even noticing the missing foot. Tail starting to twitch in anxiety, she continued making short glances to them, up at her uncle, and then away to scan the clearing, avoiding holding anyone's eyes too long.

Because I'm a little unsteady

Sleetpaw

LightningClan Apprentice

Fawn @zen ● Made by Fawn

[Deleted]

“Hi Mudpelt! Nice to meet you!” Cicadapaw's tail waved behind her excitedly as the brown tom introduced himself and confirmed that the two were in fact from LightningClan. She'd seen LightningClan cats across the border, of course, even passed patrols, but she'd never exactly been able to stop and chat before. Sometimes the patrol leaders might mention one thing or another to each other, especially after the fox attack, mostly just about how they hadn't found any sign of foxes since, but besides that....

She glanced over at Beetlepaw as he settled into a seated position, but she was far too excited to sit down. At least this meeting seemed to be going far better than the last. Cicadapaw wondered if all TreeClan cats were that mean. Stories always seemed to make them out as decent cats. In fact, of all the other Clans in the valley, TreeClan seemed the most trustworthy after all the stories of treachery the elders told about NightClan, LightningClan, and RainClan. She couldn't remember a single story that made TreeClan out in a poor light. They'd even helped StoneClan fight to get their home back after StormClan had chased them into the mountains.

She was broken from her thoughts by Sleetpaw's soft voice, which she nearly didn't even catch she was speaking so quietly. “Aww, that's okay! You must be kinda new, huh? I bet you'll catch a rabbit soon. Maybe I'll see you at the next gathering and you can tell me all about it then. It took me forever to catch anything. I'm not very good at hunting either.” She grinned, however, which was rather contradictory to the fact that she was admitting she wasn't good at something, but it clearly didn't bother her, “It's hard for me to stay so still and quiet long enough. But I'm getting better at it. So I'm sure you will too.”

Her pale gaze flicked to Mudpelt briefly, curious, “Is Mudpelt your mentor? My mentor is Smokestorm.” She raised her chin a little, proud to admit she was the deputy's apprentice, and flicked her tail in the direction of the group of deputies at the base of the big boulder where the leaders addressed the Clans. Then she realized she might have come off as boasting, which wasn't really her intention. “Not that that means I'm better than anyone,” she hurried to add, giggling after a moment, “Obviously, or I'd be a better hunter.”

Fawn Taxx

[Fawn]

BeetlepaW

Will you be my breath through the deep, deep water

Cicadapaw effortlessly carried the conversation, seeming to find no awkwardness or uncertainty despite her conversation partners being one anxious kitten, a stoic older warrior, and a grouchy littermate. Again, Beetlepaw marveled at her ability to socialize with just about anyone; unfortunately, he had taken after Skunkspots when it came to confidence and social interaction. Too much attention made him defensive, anxious - though not as bad as Sleetpaw, who looked like she wanted to hide in the older tom's fur.

The talk turned to mentors, and Beetlepaw's ears twitched, his teeth clamped together in stubborn refusal to even name the cat who mentored him. Waspwing was just a warrior. Just someone involved in his own life, who probably didn't want to waste time training a three-footed apprentice with a disposition of spoiled prey. Beetlepaw harumphed under his breath, twisting in his seated position to smooth down a non-existant patch of unruly fur, rasping his tongue over the dark charcoal spots on his silvery-black base coat.

Hawkstar could have given him Sorrelclaw as a mentor. He still remembered the way she, Smokestorm, Sootpaw and Fallenleaf had jumped in to save him. Their ferocity and their fearlessness still awed him in a way few others could. The rest all seemed so bland, by comparison. But those she-cats? They were true warriors. While the conversation continued, Beetlepaw wondered if his parents would have reacted as fiercely, if they had been the ones to save him? It was hard to imagine his mother - who'd been a shaking mess in the medicine cat's den - showing any kind of ferocity. Beetlepaw winced.

He was being unfair.

His parents were warriors. Hawkstar didn't hand out warrior names just because he felt sorry for them or didn't think they deserved it. Valiantstride and Skunkspots were just as noble, just as courageous - even if he hadn't witnessed it.

"I am her uncle." Said Mudpelt, breaking Beetlepaw's musings. "You must be learning much. Beetlepaw, correct? Who is your mentor?"

Beetlepaw flattened his ears, begrudgingly speaking up. "Waspwing."

"Ah." Said Mudpelt, and frustratingly enough, said no more on the subject. Beetlepaw's tail lashed; what did it matter what other Clans thought of Waspwing, anyway? And yet Beetlepaw wanted to know...

"Are you here by yourselves?" The brown LightningClan tom asked the sibling pair.

It took the apprentice a moment to understand what he meant. Obviously they were here with their Clan.
"Our father, Valiantstride, is here too." Beetlepaw glanced around, looking for the familiar wild, splotchy pelt among the crowd.

Mudpelt nodded, pleased. "Perhaps he'll join us. I don't know your father well, but I know him to be a decent warrior."

Can't stay in the shallows, please tell me I won't wash away

@zen Taxx || 12 Moons || StoneClan || 440 Words

Hellion (Valiantstride mention!) williams (Sorrelclaw mention!) @calico (Waspwing mention!)

[Taxx]

If you love me, don't let go

Cicadapaw was chattering on; Sleetpaw’s ears tipped toward her, even as her gaze remained fixed on the ground, her shoulder leaning against Mudpelt’s solid frame. She thought it was okay that Sleetpaw hadn’t caught anything yet? Some of her own Clan said that too, and told her she would learn if she kept at it, but she wasn’t so sure herself about that.

The StoneClan apprentice was loud- but she was also friendly, and Sleetpaw flashed a glance at her and Beetlepaw. Was Mudpelt her mentor? No, even though she wished he was. But he was busy with Shadepaw, and she had Larkflower- who was a perfectly fine mentor, sweet and patient, much to Sleetpaw’s relief. Her eyes rounded at the thought of this bubbly apprentice being paired with Smokestorm; she’d heard all about the deputy from Lynxpaw and she couldn’t imagine her being anything less but a stern, forceful teacher, which made Cicadapaw’s cheerful nature all the more surprising.

And when the diluted calico chose that moment to look over, even though she was talking with TreeClan’s deputy, Sleetpaw was quick to avert her own gaze, fur abruptly prickling on her tail, claws plucking at the grass. Maybe she was nicer to cats of her own Clan? And Lynxpaw was enough to ruffle even the most easy-going cat. "My mentor is Larkflower," she replied, flashing another glance up at Cicadapaw and Beetlepaw- and this time, she noticed, and her eyes went wide for just a moment, startled at the missing limb; she wasn't about to mention it, simply managing to meet the StoneClan apprentice's eyes for a moment, awed at his ability to carry on even without a foot, before dropping it back to the ground. "She... she didn't come." But Mudpelt had, and she was incredibly thankful for the company of her uncle.

Because I'm a little unsteady

Sleetpaw

LightningClan Apprentice

Fawn @zen ● Made by Fawn