[Hellion]

FALCONLEAP
Giving a nod to the other deputies that had joined her below the elders, she flicked her tail to excuse herself before making a bee-line for the RainClan warrior, pausing before running up to him and covering him in warm loving nuzzles, they were not safe to express such emotions, not with so many watchful eyes.

"Hello, How are you?" She asked him kindly, looking down, her body language expressing she longed to be nuzzled beside him not as a she-cat from StoneClan but as his mate without a care in the world. Falconleap remained a good respectful distance from him, her heart longing to be closer to him.

SPIDERPAW
He kept his eyes forward at the leader but his ear twitched and rotated at the sound of Rookfrost's voice. He nodded without another word but his attention was easily shown, he was interested in what the medicine cat to say.

[Insidious]

Foxpaw //

Getting invited to the clan gathering was an honour on its own, but receiving such an honour while still being an apprentice... it was nearly unthinkable for the tabby furred she-cat as she trotted confidently at the Treeclan group's behind with her fellow apprentices: Mountainpaw, Noblepaw and Sparrowpaw. Arriving in the gathering, her curious instincts immediately overruled any other senses held in the mystery-oriented feline. Her fox-like movements immediately kicked in, the drive to remain unnoticed and instead, observe keenly from afar beginning to force her limbs to buckle beneath her weight into a seated position at the edge of the clearing. Her gray-green irises flickered across each individual feline facial structure, attempting to discover on her own which cats belonged to which clan. And, after a few moments, she shrunk backward as if she was a ghost on the sidelines. If spoken upon, she'd show a respectful amount of interest with the pricking of her orange tipped ears. After all, the gathering was a place for mutual conversation held between the clan cats. She could hold her tactless tongue for a night.

Frozenrain //

The pretty, gray-and-white she-cat strolled eloquently with Stoneclan toward the gathering. Her movements were airy and precise, the power in her sturdy shoulders available to be noticed by any lurking eyes as she arrived upon the scene of the gathering. She settled herself in the clearing’s heart, for she had never had much of an issue with being in the center of all communication swapping. In fact, a part of her hoped to be spoken upon by someone of a different clan. It was mainly her interest in the fellow clan's general lives that sparked this desire, however, it'd be just as easy to learn this herself by offering an attentive ear to each individual clan leader as it came upon them to speak. Briefly, the she-cat glanced over her shoulders in search of her apprentice, Badgerpaw. She located the tangly-furred tom after a moment's search, offering a warm gaze in his direction followed by the downward tilt of her head in a nodding motion. As her head began to return to its frontal position, her baby blue irises briefly flickered passed Eagletalon. Halting abruptly, she smiled pleasantly in the golden warrior's direction before returning her gaze to the Stoneclan leader taking her place atop the rock.

Razorfang //

With the title of Rainclan Deputy held atop the black furred tom's head like a banner, he found himself striding with utmost confidence at the tail of Sandstar. Occasionally, he twisted his head to glance over muscular shoulders, calculating irises of gray-green pigmentation performing a calculating scan of each individual Rainclan cat to assure both safety, and efficiency as the reached the gathering. With the arrival, Razorfang followed Sandstar in the direction of the great rock. However, his trip stopped at the great rock's foot whereas Sandstar's continued until the moment he ascended atop the structure. The black furred tom was about to settle, however, his mind almost immediately decided upon a different trail of thought. Pivoting, the tom glided through the crowd until the moment he was looming behind his apprentice like a dark shadow. Although, this time, the lurking was without the ordinary spark of lecture or hostility. Nudging Russetpaw with a large, obsidian paw, the tom settled at Russetpaw's flank before his gaze raked over those nearby with their usual, ferocious glaze. It was likely an interesting sight to behold: the cheerful bundle of reddish brown fur that was Russetpaw, loomed over by the haunting, obsidian storm cloud of a large, cold-hearted Deputy.

[Deleted]

Once the order had been decided, Fallingstar stepped forward and waited for the clearing to fall silent. The murmuring and meowing of cats disappeared quickly, and the tall golden she-cat cast a single glance up at the sky to observe the moon. Though not erratically reliant on the will of StarClan, the she-cat wanted to make sure that the sky was clear; at that moment, the moon was large and in perfect view. That, for one thing, was a good sign.

When the she-cat spoke, her voice emerged flat, solid, and powerful; she held authority in words so that all would remain silent as she spoke. "StoneClan survives, as it always has," Fallingstar meowed. "Crowfang, in his age, has passed on, and Blackeagle has taken on the duties of a full medicine cat and taken his own apprentice, Ivypaw." With that brief announcement, the StoneClan leader ended her turn and her green eyes landed on the next cat to speak. She didn't see it necessary to say more than was needed, but she was curious as to what would be going on in the other Clans.

She didn't discuss Blazestar or the LightningClan's push on the StoneClan border, mostly because with Falconleap's help, the Clan had been able to hold their ground, and for that there was no margin to complain. Even after she was done speaking, Fallingstar stood at full height, not even bothering to take half a step back so that another leader could get a better view. After all, such a gesture would be controversial, and the leader was doing everything she could to reveal no weakness.

[Fawn]

[atrb=border,0,true] 33 Moons - Tom - TreeClan

[style=border-top: solid 4px #000000; Width: 430px; font-family: verdana; font-size: 11px; text-align: justify;] It was a shame his first gathering as TreeClan's leader had to start off so negatively; the golden tom waited in silence for Fallingstar to stay her part and then step back so it would be time to hear from the Clan who dwelt within the trees. When the scrawny tabby she-cat did not make a courteous step back, however, Lionstar flicked an ear in her direction, not being petty enough to knock her aside or even off the rock on his way to approach the center. Gazing around at all the cats below (and perhaps the ones looking down on them from above), the Clan's figurehead could notice several distinguishable faces from amongst the rabble, silently wondering what was going on in their heads at this moment. Not wanting to dwell on just how many eyes were actually upon him, Lionstar cleared his throat, feeling his heart start to burn with righteous indignation as he tried not to make NightClan's treachery the first thing out of his mouth. "TreeClan as well is surviving this harsh leafbare. We are joined tonight, by our new warrior, Nobleheart." Locating him within the crowd, Lionstar gave the faintest of smiles to the gray and white tom; even with a scarred face, Nobleheart had much to be proud of. He didn't expect the tom to shun the sudden attention. Drawing all eyes back to him, Lionstar raised his voice above the cool night breeze that rustled everything pelt and tail within the crowd, the snow-covered branches swaying creakily behind them. "TreeClan have always been durable, survival-oriented cats in times of both war and peace; though I have promised to be fair and to uphold the warrior code with my lives," The handsome golden tom's eyes flicked to their corners, calling attention to the small black and white she-cat to his left. "However. I will not tolerate those who do not practice fairness and choose to break the code rather than follow it." A golden ticked plume swayed in a none-too-subtle sign of anger, though the rest of him appeared still as he gave his report and made his accusations known. "For at least a moon, my warriors have been finding bones and scraps of fur with NightClan's scent on it, as well as their stench well into our borders."

[/color]

It was not his intention to get himself riled up, he would let the words he spoke be a warning to NightClan, not a chance for a full on battle to be waged at the place where peace was meant to reign until StarClan deemed otherwise. Determinedly keeping his claws sheathed, Lionstar drew in a low breath, his chest rising as he continued, ignoring the hissing coming from the Clan that dwelt in the shadows. "I say this now to Ravenstar and those who serve under her. NightClan has no right to trespass into TreeClan territory, and no right to our prey when there is so little of it to go around. After tonight, any NightClan cat crossing our borders - save for a Medicine Cat and their apprentice - will be dealt with severely."

The golden tom's eyes narrowed, golden slits peering out across the assembly of felines. To his Clan he allowed himself to come off as benevolent, patient, understanding - everything attributed to a virtuous leader - but to those outside of his Clan, particularly to those he did not view favorably at that moment, did not need to view him so positively. In fact, he would prefer it if they would think twice about crossing him or his Clan from this point on. As deputy he had been a mediator of sorts, able to back up Distantstar as well as be the voice of reason when it came to speaking with the other deputies. However, this time things were different. He was the leader of TreeClan; his power was resolute, and while he may not have the authority over the rest of the forest, StarClan had granted him judge, jury and executioner, and it would be unwise to be on Lionstar's bad side.

---

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Notes: xD none-too-subtle, is he?
Word Count: 731
Pictures: All Rights Reserved to Lisa Beattie.[/div][/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[Deleted]

Redwind didn't utter a word, instead quietly observing as the TreeClan Leader spoke. These were serious accusations he was making against NightClan, and if they were true, they could lead to war between TreeClan and NightClan. The yellow-ginger tabby didn’t dare comment, she didn’t want to involve LightningClan, especially when they were suffering from prey shortages, just as NightClan must be if they were stealing prey.
I must report this back to Blazestar, she reminded herself silently. They shared a border with TreeClan so this supposed ‘prey stealing’ could affect their daily clan life.
Though not from either NightClan or TreeClan, she couldn’t help hoping that this wouldn’t lead to war or battles. The loss of a single life was tragic enough, let alone many.
If NightClan were stealing prey, there had to be a reason. Every clan was suffering in this leaf-bare and battles and border trouble would just add to the difficulties of clan life.
Had she been a leader, she probably would’ve said something like "Ravenstar, surely there is a reason for this, supposing Lionstar’s claims are true?" but Redwind felt it wasn’t her place, and besides, she didn’t want to stir up more trouble.

[Fate Admin]

Ravenstar listened with disinterest to Fallingstar’s boring drawling about whatever in StoneClan. The only reason she listened at all was to catch any hint of weakness that could be used to NightClan’s advantage, but there wasn’t much to be heard from the short-spoken she-cat before she’d finished and Lionstar and stepped forward. Instead of focusing on the other leader, she looked out over the cats below, observing their reactions to the accusations she knew would soon come from Lionstar’s mouth.

He began as most leaders did, assuring everyone TreeClan was doing well, or well enough, for every cat knew that no Clan was actually doing WELL this leaf-bare. There was apparently a new warrior in his Clan. Nobleheart. Ugh. So very TreeClan. Her pale gaze rested on NightClan’s own newest warrior, Clawstorm. Now there was a proper warrior name, a name to fear and respect. Nobleheart might as well be a kittypet’s name.

Then he moved on to report how TreeClan patrols had been scenting NightClan, finding prey remains far into their own territory. Ravenstar only bristled slightly at that, for her warriors would not be eating their prey and leaving bones strewn about in enemy territory; they would bring back as much as they could to feed the elders and queens and kits. Any waste this leaf-bare was highly punishable in Ravenstar’s mind.

She hoped Lionstar, or his warriors anyway, were exaggerating about the remains they found or she would find out who was leaving them and see to it that it was stopped. A few feathers or tufts of fur they’d found, perhaps, but there was no reason they should be finding bones. Her tail lashed once at the thought that her warriors might be eating before bringing prey back for the Clan, and leaving their prey remains strewn about like rogues. No, clearly there was some exaggeration here. Her warriors would not do such a thing.

She nearly laughed as he announced that any NightClan cat caught trespassing would be dealt with severely. NightClan did not fear TreeClan. “I would expect nothing less, Lionstar. The Warrior Code itself says to challenge any trespassing cats.” Her tail flicked dismissively, and she was still surveying the cats below rather than looking at the rival leader, watching her own cats hiss and spit, bristle and snarl at the accusations that were all too true. She had no intention of denying them either, no intention to lie. But she would speak on it in her own time.

She stood and raised her long, fluffy tail for silence among her own Clan at least, before turning to look at this… Sandstrike, or whatever his name might be, “I believe it is your turn to speak. I am sure we are all interested to hear RainClan’s news.” There was a hint of sarcasm to her voice, but her eyes betrayed her own interest. She was curious as to what had been happening in RainClan, and why Deadstar and Amberblaze were not here to represent their Clan, and why patrols had stopped for some time along their border with RainClan. She would return to Lionstar’s accusations when it was her turn to speak, when SHE chose to address them.

[Phoenix]

[atrb=width,450,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true]

[atrb=height,221,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=background,http://i49.tinypic.com/15c48m.jpg] When the she-cat stepped forward, he focused his attention on the words that were to follow. StoneClan bordered them, and it was important that he be pick up any other clues that might hint toward any aggression of some sort toward them; those would show up in her words and the tone of her voice. However, Fallingstar was concise and brief, her words chosen with precision and spoken with the strength befitting of a leader. Nothing seemed threatening, though the shortness of her statement made it hard to judge. Apart from Crowfang's passing - he did not find himself particularly depressed by that bit of information, as he had known the medicine cat only by reputation - StoneClan seemed to have had a rather uneventful past moon. Lucky them. However, he could not help but notice that the fur hung off of the frames of her cats just as much as it did the cats of every other clan. For all the strength that the tall she-cat had tried to project, it seemed as though StoneClan suffered from the same loss of prey as they all did. But that was expected during leaf-bare, particularly one as harsh as this one. As soon as StoneClan's leader finished, TreeClan's representative stepped forward, his golden mane practically giving off the aura of power and capability. Politely, he listened as Lionstar began, though he did not expect to find himself particularly worried about anything he had to report. TreeClan did not border RainClan, and though the threat of an attack from any clan was something to take seriously, their two clans had been rather neutral lately. In any case, the announcement of a new warrior was irrelevant to him; the name Nobleheart meant nothing to him unless he had to face him in battle. If the new warrior had a particularly notable fighting ability or something of the sort that endangered his cats, then RainClan's leader would show more interest. But until that happened, he dismissed the information as unnecessary and a waste of breath. However, Lionstar's words addressed to Ravenstar were not so easily dismissed. Golden ears flicked and yellow eyes shifted from Lionstar to Ravenstar, who was notably smaller in stature though no less intimidating. NightClan was stealing prey from TreeClan? That was interesting. He had heard no complaints from his warriors about their neightbor stealing from their turf. He made a mental note to double check with Razorfang about that and to increase patrols along that particular border; Ravenstar did not need to be getting any ideas, particularly since it sounded as though TreeClan would enforce their border more than before. Understandably, Lionstar seemed to be getting rather worked up about the whole matter, though the tom was able to maintain control and end with a dramatic threat. As the agitated tom finished, he prepared to step forward, raising his chin slightly. Ravenstar cut in front of him, apparently feeling the need to address Lionstar's warning. Her tone was dismissive and she did not deign to even look at the TreeClan leader before turning to address him. Though he had expected no less, he could not help the spark of indignation that flickered through him at the equally disrespectful tone with which she spoke to him. Dipping his head ever so slightly, he stepped foward and composed himself. What kind of leader was he if he could not stand in front of the clans and speak with as much grace as he usually did? The important part was to leave a lasting impression of strength, and as RainClan's leader, it was it job to do just that. "Leaf-bare began with a large flood," He summarized, voice even and steady, betraying nothing. "We thank LightningClan for providing us with shelter until we could return to our own territory. Unfortunately, the flood stole the lives of both Deadstar and Amberblaze, who were determined to get everyone to safety, and they will be missed." Banishing the grief that threatened to choke him up, Sandstar continued, "Resiliant as always, RainClan has recovered from this disaster and will survive this leaf-bare like every other. I have become leader in Deadstar's place, and Razorfang is our deputy." Yellow eyes found the now familiar tom amongst the crowd of cats below him. The satisfaction with his choice increased by the day as Razorfang only became more experienced in dealing with clan matters. It was a skill he had had to pick up rather quickly. "Swanfeather has taken on a new apprentice, Flickerpaw. That is all." He tried to keep his words short and concise as well, though he had more to report than Fallingstar. Stepping back, he gave LightningClan the stage, eyes shifting to the she-cat who appeared far more nervous than confident.

[Deleted]

It was her turn to speak.
Redwind took a deep breath and stepped forward. All eyes were on her, she could feel them burning into her pelt. Clearing her throat, she nodded kindly to Sandstar, "I am glad to hear that RainClan are recovering well."
Steadying herself a little, she began to speak, "As you may well have noticed, I am not Emberstar, nor am I Blazestar," she started, making sure to carry herself proudly, "Many of you must be aware of Emberstar’s death. She was a brave and noble leader and LightningClan mourn her death, but we must move on."
Her amber gaze swept over the gathered cats and she felt a sudden rush of confidence, "Blazestar of course received his nine lives and leader’s name, but he is unfortunately unable to make tonight’s gathering due to illness, So as his deputy, I have had to lead LightningClan to the gathering," she quickly added, "It’s nothing serious and I can assure you he will be recovered by the next gathering."
Though she said this, Redwind couldn’t quite reassure herself. She had no idea how serious the LightningClan Leader’s condition was and as far as she knew, he wasn’t recovering at all.
Taking a deep breath, she fluffed up her paler chest fur; determined to make herself look a strong as possible, "LightningClan still remain strong," she meowed, her voice loud and clear in the stillness of the night, "LightningClan have three new apprentices, Icepaw, Frostpaw, and of course, our new medicine cat apprentice, Snowpaw."
Redwind nodded her head to each young cat in turn, amber eyes glowing with pride at her clan. Yes, it was leaf-bare, but LightningClan had proven once again that they could survive.
Dipping her head to the other leaders, she took a step back, "That is all."

[Fate Admin]

Ravenstar’s ears turned attentively toward the new RainClan leader as he explained about the flooding. Apparently it had been so bad that they had had to leave their territory. Her tail twitched. They could have used RainClan’s absence to their advantage after all. But Boneshadow had cautioned against it and of course Smokefur was on his side. They had not been starving then, however, so Ravenstar supposed it all worked out. To hear that both the previous leader and deputy had drowned in the flood sent a short flash of sympathy through her as she imagined how her own Clan would fare if she and Boneshadow were to suddenly disappear. But then her mind went back to work, lamenting that they had not used the chaos RainClan must have been in to gain something from the other Clan… a bit of territory perhaps.

Sandstar went on to thank LightningClan for sheltering them after the flood and her ear twitched. A possible alliance… or at least RainClan would owe LightningClan a favor in the near future…. This would be something to watch. The prophecy Smokefur had shared with her ran through her mind then. The part that really stuck was the part about five falling to four. Clearly it meant the Clans. One would be chased out, it was meant to be so. Her gaze traveled to the StoneClan leader. They had been chased out before, a very long time ago… perhaps StarClan realized they’d made a mistake bringing them back. How much easier it would be for everyone this leaf-bare if there were only FOUR Clans in the Valley.

She listened as Sandstar named his new deputy as well, Razorfang. Her ears twitched at the foreign sounding name. She thought back, it was hard to forget such a name. She was fairly certain he was not Clanborn. Her fur ruffled a bit at the thought. Clearly Sandstar didn’t have the brains of a mouse. He announced a new medicine cat apprentice as well and Ravenstar briefly wondered when Smokefur might take one of her own. She was young and should have plenty of moons ahead of her, but it was always good to be prepared. With that it seemed he was finished and Redwind spoke. LightningClan’s leader was ill? She itched to consult with Boneshadow about that juicy piece of news. Redwind might be trying to play it off like it was nothing serious, but a leader who had just received nine lives did not stay home from a Gathering and leave the other Clans guessing at weakness unless it WAS serious.

She shifted impatiently as Redwind announced three new apprentices, another medicine cat apprentice, before she stood and stepped forward even as Redwind was ending her little report. ”NightClan grows stronger with two new apprentice, Harepaw and Shadepaw,” her pale gaze found the siblings briefly, “And a new warrior, Clawstorm!” She gave a slight nod to the young she-cat. After a moment of allowing the named cats their moment, she spoke again, “Every leader puts on a strong front before the other Clans. We tell half truths in order to make our Clans seems stronger than we are. We all know this as we listen to each other, trying to judge if we speak more truth than lie. The fact is no Clan is doing well. We are all starving!” She lashed her tail for emphasis and waited another moment before continuing, “I can only imagine how much easier it must have been for our ancestors… those who lived as FOUR Clans….” Her gaze shifted to the StoneClan leader very briefly as she turned to look at her fellow leaders, “Surely your medicine cats have shared the prophecy with you all?” She looked doubtfully at Redwind, however, “It speaks of Five falling to four….” She turned back to the cats below, stating rather mater of factly, as if StarClan had told her this just this morning, “Clearly StarClan regrets bringing the fifth Clan back among us.”

She flicked her tail as if it no longer mattered, moving on quickly before her words could quite sink in and cause outrage so she would no longer be able to be heard. She turned to Lionstar, “I will not deny your accusations, Lionstar. I am not ashamed of my actions, nor those of my Clanmates. The reality of it is that we need more territory in order to feed ourselves this leaf-bare, and I’m sure every other Clan would agree! We will continue to hunt where we will. The Warrior Code also says that the word of the Clan Leader IS the Warrior Code, and so my warriors are following it perfectly. And we will fight if you insist. I will not allow my Clanmates to starve, no matter what I have to do.” She met the TreeClan leader’s gaze evenly for a long moment before turning away, flicking her tail behind her at the other leaders, and leaping down from the Great Rock. She was ready for this to be over, she had had quite enough mingling with the other Clans to last her well into the next moon, thank you very much. She waved her tail for her Clan to gather and follow her away without a backwards glance.

[Deleted]

Redwind
The LightningClan deputy wasn't quite sure how to react to Ravenstar's words. What the NightClan she-cat said certainly made sense; life would be much easier with only four clans. We could expand into StoneClan's territory she realised, Which means more prey.
Perhaps it wasn't such a bad idea? Redwind couldn't quite imagine life without StoneClan, but she knew it would be much easier. I'll have to inform Blazestar on this matter.
Not speaking, as being only deputy she had no right to make any decisions or even speak her opinion. Instead she just dipped her head to Ravenstar, watching through narrowed amber eyes as she led her clan away. End of the gathering I guess?

Honeygaze
Driving out StoneClan? the golden tabby she-cat couldn't believe what she was hearing; there had always been five clans, they couldn't just drive the fifth clan away. There had to be another way!
Five will fall to four... As much as the pretty RainClan warrior hated the idea, she had to admit, the NightClan leader had a point.
She searched the cats around her for their reactions to Ravenstar's suggestion. Nudging a light tan tabby LightningClan tom who sat beside her, she meowed quietly, "We can't just drive out StoneClan, there have always been five clans," she hadn't formally met the LightningClan tom before, she recognised him as Rootstride.

Sandstrike
The sandy-furred warrior couldn’t believe that Ravenstar had suggested driving StoneClan away. It’s NightClan that’s causing the trouble by stealing prey! he thought angrily, flexing his claws.
He glanced sideways at Lionsong, wondering if she felt the same, but didn’t speak a word. Best keep it quiet, he decided. When the black-and-white leader announced the two new apprentices and a new warrior, Lionstrike kept his jaws firmly shut. I’ll not cheer for them.