Hopping off the gathering ask, are cross-clan relationships themselves not forbidden, if a second 'illegal' gathering is able to take place? How does honor-siring work if the father isn't of the same clan? Have there ever been incidents where a particularly law-loving leader turned around and started condemning everyone in gathering 2: electric boogaloo? Is this a "I saw X at the second gathering with Y!" "So what were YOU doing at the second gathering bestie???" situation, where majority of lawbreakers know who else is in kahoots but just constantly keep their mouth shut? Did Mapleshade stay at these gatherings and thats how she got caught? SORRY FOR ALL THE QUESTIONS IM VERY CURIOUS
The answer is; the Aftergathering wasn't so bold back at the Forest territories!
In fact that's why I specified that the one Shellfur went to was an average Lake gathering!
It has always been your right to wander and have friends in other Clans. Unlike canon where a warrior's life is strictly controlled, cats are rarely questioned for hanging out in places they're allowed to be. So long as you do your responsibilities, you're a CLAN cat. Not a kittypet with a twoleg.
But being caught so brazenly meeting with a mate in another Clan, that would be a huge problem. So the Aftergathering existed, but quietly. The cats gave each other privacy.
No one would EVER ask why you were staying. A lot of coded language. If you got cuddly in public, someone would gently tell you to be more discreet.
And of course there was no soup.
The Aftergathering is also not that old! It started forming about a generation after Darkstar's Commandment, when kit-stealing was banned, during the mid-Crusade Era.
It was a genetic necessity, and Clan animosity had a different flavor when Chelford raids were the Clan's main targets. Pinestar was born before there was an Aftergathering.
The Campaign Era wittled the Aftergathering significantly. If the cats hadn't responded by becoming much less conspicuous, there very much could have been a Salem-esque "what were YOU doing at the devil's sacrament" movement. In fact, if Fire Alone didn't happen when it did, it could have been something that a leader with the newly-minted Thistle Law would have done.
It only didn't because it didn't. The soil was ripe for it. History is full of near-misses.
After the TNP journey, cats have become careless about the Aftergathering. The destruction of the forest changed something about them, the divisions were never quite the same again. Paw Soup itself was a cuisine MADE by apprentices who worked together.
As long as you are loyal and fiery for the rest of the month, defending your Clan with your life, the Aftergathering is not made into an issue...
Well, besides during TBC, when the Impostor ruled the lake.











