Omg, Pearly updated in less than a week? The world is ending!

Recap: One night, Ratpaw meets with Russetpaw, a ThunderClan she-cat. It turns out Ratpaw had talked to her at the Gathering and asked her to meet with him. They talk for a bit, and Ratpaw learns that most of ThunderClan's cats don't like Bumbleclaw and don't think that he's capable of being a leader. He had been a kittypet, and Honeystar had let him stay in the Clan because they'd fallen in love. They soon separate, but promise that they'll meet with each other the next night. Ratpaw happily makes his way back to camp, but then stumbles upon Emberheart's dead body in the stream. He thinks that he drowned the same way Reedfur had. He plans to tell everyone of his discovery, but decides not to so that they wouldn't question why he was out in the woods by himself. He goes back to camp and sees Olivepaw, a worried expression on her face.

PS Jayfeather4ever, still can't PM you, but I'll just keep responding to your reviews here (: Thanks for reading, as always! You rock my socks. (;

Chapter 9

Poppies

[Snowpaw]

It was evening, and a particularly cold and snowy day. The wind was harsh, and it had been harder than normal to find food. The sun was just setting, but the clouds were so thick that it was already dark.

Cats were gathered in ShadowClan's camp, forming a semi-circle around one cat that lay still in the center. It was just like that one day, barely over a week ago.

Snowpaw blinked softly, her head lowered, her legs shaking because of the cold. She let out a breath that clouded the crisp air.

Laying in the snow, in front of the entire Clan, was a ginger she-cat. She was covered in scrapes and bruises, her fur matted, her mouth wide open. At least her pale green eyes had been closed.

Snowpaw frowned, wondering how something like this could happen. Again.

Minnowstar slowly stepped forward, her silver and gray fur snow-tipped and ruffling in the breeze. Her blue eyes were narrowed as she glanced around at the cats looking at her expectantly. Harestep, the deputy, sat a few foxlengths away, watching.

She flicked her long tail and called out, "Emberheart was found in the stream earlier today. Unfortunately, by the time we got to her, she had already passed on."

She paused for a moment, letting it sink in. Cats were lowering their heads, murmuring prayers under their breaths. Snowpaw bowed her head as well, but she knew just as well as the rest of them that Emberheart had never been close to anyone except for her own family. Her only son, Badgerkit, and her mate, who had been killed by ThunderClan. Now that she was dead, everyone was finally paying attention to her.

"When we first examined her, we thought that she had died the same way Reedfur had," Minnowstar continued with a lash of her tail. "By slipping into the stream, hitting her head and drowning. This may indeed be the case. However..." She straightened up, and cats looked at her with wonder and concern. "...We found that she has several scratches all over her body," she said slowly. "Scratches that look quite similar to claw marks. Furthermore, before the snow began to fall as heavily as it is now, there were several tracks of pawprints all around where Emberheart was found. One of them led to ThunderClan."

Everyone began murmuring to each other with alarm. Snowpaw pricked her ears, glancing at the other apprentices she was sitting with. Frostpaw had a worried frown on her face as they exchanged glances. Olivepaw didn't speak. The end of Ratpaw's tail was twitching.

"So you think that a ThunderClan cat killed her?" Furzetail called out worriedly. Snowpaw glanced at her mother; she was sitting with Icewhisker and Briarclaw.

Minnowstar began pacing back and forth. "We didn't pick up any recent ThunderClan scents," she said, ear flicking. "But judging from Emberheart's wounds, it doesn't seem like it was an accident. She had scratches even where her body hadn't hit the rocks. Furthermore, it seems very unlikely that two cats could die the same way, just a week apart."

There was an uneasy silence for a few moments before a voice called out what was on everyone's minds- "So you think that one of us killed her, then."

Heads turned towards the back of the crowd, where Willowfall was. She was standing, her long, almost white fur blending in with the snow. The expression in her blue eyes was hard to read. Snowpaw blinked.

Minnowstar stopped pacing and looked at her, whiskers twitching. "It's a possibility," she said slowly, her voice hard. She narrowed her eyes a bit. "But I will do everything in my power to discover what really happened to her."

"Willowfall," Harestep called, "perhaps you can communicate with StarClan. If you can talk to Emberheart, you can ask her how she died."

"That... isn't so easy to do," murmured the medicine cat. "StarClan only communicates with me when they want to. I can't simply call them whenever I want-"

"Then you can go to the Moonpool," Minnowstar said, eyes narrowed, her voice near a growl. Snowpaw wondered why it was. "Unless you want me to go."

The apprentice thought she could see Willowfall flinch, but it could have been her imagination.

"I'll go," the medicine cat mumbled, lowering her head. Minnowstar nodded.

"Good. Then you should leave within a few days. I want to get this matter settled as quickly as I can..." She glanced around the crowd; "...No matter what the answer may be."

It was completely silent as the leader made her way over to Emberheart. She looked at the dead cat for a moment before bowing her head, touching her nose to the ginger cat's ear. She pulled away and stepped back, letting each cat go up and mourn.

As cats went up one by one, Snowpaw glanced over at the other apprentices.

"Wow," she murmured. "D'you really think that someone from our own Clan could've killed her?"

Frostpaw was looking away. Ratpaw twitched his tail uncomfortably and looked at his sister, who was staring at her paws.

Snowpaw blinked. "Guys?"

"I dunno," Frostpaw said quietly. "I guess it's possible. But Emberheart was never really close to anyone. I don't know why anyone would want her dead."

"Maybe the one who killed her wasn't the one who wanted her dead," Olivepaw said suddenly, still looking down. The other apprentices looked at her.

"What do you mean, Olivepaw?" Ratpaw mewed, frowning. "Why else-"

"Maybe Emberheart wanted her killer dead."

The apprentices were silent for a moment, glancing at each other uncertainly.

"Olivepaw," Ratpaw murmured softly, "you're talking as if you know what happened."

"It's just a possibility," the she-cat mewed under her breath. She lifted her head but looked out into the distance. "Maybe Emberheart got in a fight with someone and was killed in self-defense."

"But why would Emberheart get into a fight?" Snowpaw pressed. "What did she have against anyone?"

Ratpaw's eyes seemed to light up, and he suddenly glanced at his sister. She looked at him, eyes glowing; they seemed to be talking to each other without words.

"What is it?" urged Snowpaw, looking back and forth between them.

Olivepaw shook her head. "It's nothing. I'm going to go mourn for Emberheart, and then I'm going to visit Cedarpaw."

"I'll come, too," Ratpaw murmured.

"Me, too," Frostpaw mewed. "We should all go to visit him. How's he doing, Olivepaw?"

"Better," she said quietly. "Willowfall thinks he'll wake up soon." With a flick of the tail, she turned and approached Emberheart, her head bent low.

Snowpaw glanced at the others and followed after her until she reached the dead she-cat. Up close, she looked so different. It was hard to believe she was actually dead. She looked at the scratches that Minnowstar had talked about and understood her theory.

When Olivepaw had moved away, Snowpaw leaned over, touching her nose to the tip of the cat's ear. A part of her wondered how many more deaths there would be this Leafbare. She hoped this would be the last, but for some reason, she wasn't convinced.

When all of the apprentices had finished, they silently made their way towards Willowfall's den. Everyone was being eerily quiet- even Frostpaw.

When they had slipped through the branches and into the den, Snowpaw jumped a bit when she saw that Cedarpaw was lying in his nest, staring straight at them, his head lifted slightly. Olivepaw's eyes widened and she rushed over to him, lowering herself so she was at his level.

"Cedarpaw," she breathed, shaking her head in disbelief. "You're awake!"

"How are you feeling?" Ratpaw mewed, walking up beside his sister. "You've been unconscious for two days."

"Yeah," Frostpaw chimed, "what happened? When we were on that patrol, you just collapsed on the way back to camp."

Cedarpaw blinked softly, amber eyes sparkling. He looked at Olivepaw, who was staring back at him, mouth open slightly.

"I'm so glad you're alright," she murmured. "I was worried about you, Cedarpaw. But... what exactly happened to you?" She lowered her gaze. "Before you passed out, you had this look of... terror on your face. What happened to you...?"

The light brown tabby tom's eyes suddenly darkened, his whiskers twitching. He looked away.

"Cedarpaw, you can tell us," murmured Ratpaw. "We're all friends. Whatever it is, we can help you..."

But the tom just shook his head slightly, looking down. Snowpaw thought that she could see him shaking, just slightly. Her fur prickled with unease. Cedarpaw had never been one to talk much, but ever since his father died, he hadn't said one word. She wanted to help, but she knew that she couldn't. He wouldn't even talk to Olivepaw, his best friend.

"What's going on in here?" a voice suddenly sounded, causing the apprentices to jump. Turning, they saw that Willowfall had come in, tail lashing. Before any of them could explain, her eyes fell on Cedarpaw, and she blinked in surprise. "Cedarpaw, you're awake!" she mewed, immediately retreating to the back of the den where she began to prepare some herbs. She glanced at the apprentices. "We need space. Everyone, please wait outside." Snowpaw exchanged glances with the others, and they turned to leave.

But first, Willowfall glanced over her shoulder. "Olivepaw?"

The she-cat flinched a bit, glancing at the medicine cat with slight hesitation. "Yes...?"

The gray she-cat looked at her for a moment before murmuring, "...You can stay."

. . .

Snowpaw was dreaming.

She was standing in a forest, one that she'd never been in before. The trees seemed to stretch up to the sky, which was only a bright, white light. The ground was covered in grass and red poppies, and the trees were in full bloom. A soft breeze warmed and ruffled her fur, and chipmunks were chasing each other, jumping from branch to branch. A flock of crows screeched and flew overheard, a trail of black feathers falling to the ground behind them.

Snowpaw blinked and looked around, wondering where she was. She'd never been anywhere like this before, not even in her dreams.

A surprisingly familiar scent came over her, and a moment later, she heard a pleasant voice purr, "Hello, Snowpaw."

She turned around, eyes widening when she saw, several taillengths away from her, a ginger she-cat, pelt glowing brilliantly, poppies at her feet. She was looking at the apprentice, smiling kindly as she sat down and wrapped her tail around her paws.

Snowpaw stared at her in surprise before meowing, "Emberheart...? Is that you?"

Emberheart smiled to herself.

Yeaaaah shortish chapter, oops. Sorry.

Please review! :) You'll get... an Emberheart plushie?

TNT,

Pearlsley