Authors note: Sorry it's been so long since the last chapter. I have been busy with work and depression so my inspiration to write has been hard to find. I hope you enjoy this chapter of Legacy of Shadows!

Chapter 11

"What was that Rockfur? You're sorry you ever doubted Firestar's kin?" I hissed, glaring at the gray tom's twisted muzzle as white foam fizzled out of his nose. Anger still nipped at the tips of my ears but suddenly a cold breeze whipped through the forest and made me shiver. The tree tops swayed back and forth and leaves played on the currents as they fell to the ground. I looked up at the sky, my heart lurched at the thought that Starclan had seen what I had done.

It was still cloudy with the moons bright glow still visible. I looked at Rockfur again and took mental notes of how I was feeling. Rockfur was a clanmate…that I had just murdered, I should feel something, right? Fear, sadness, regret anything! I stood and paced around his cooling body, his dark gray pelt practically black without the moons full shine. He was frail and gray around the edges of his ears, muzzles and paws. No use to the clan anymore so this was practically a mercy, leaf bare was upon them now and they didn't need another whining mouth to feed.

I closed my eyes and sniffed the rippling fur along his back, the breeze still alive, was absorbing his scent and scattering it throughout the shaded clearing we were in. He smelled like our clan and the honey suckle bush the elders den was located. I was comforted by it but when I opened my eyes and saw the face of the annoying, yapping, disrespectful piece of crow food I hissed and turned away. I felt nothing for him or for what I had just done. What did it matter anyway? He would have joined Starclan by the end of the season.

Maybe I'll ask Sandpaw or Oakstep if I could go with them to the Moonpool next time they make a trip and see if I could explain why I did this. Surely Starclan would understand, I was just an apprentice after all, I should be allowed to make a mistake. Though this wasn't a mistake, I knew what I was doing and couldn't let Rockfur continue to slander my kin's name. Thunderclan needed to stay strong as the prey became scarce. I took a deep breath and let the cold breeze take away the heat of my frustration. I needed to figure out what to do now.

"What would Firestar do?" I asked aloud, not expecting an answer and not receiving one. I flexed my claws and dug them into the ground, hard and dry. Digging him a grave was out of the question; a patrol would find him anyway. I paced around, avoiding Rockfurs splayed paws as I nosed around the bushes for a stick. Finding a thick one I took it back to the half-eaten mouse, the juices of the death berries smelled sweet and inviting. Not wanting to risk contact of any kind I stuck the end of the stick into the mouse's stomach and lifted it easily, I flung it a few tail lengths towards the death berry bush.

I intended for whoever found Rockfur to assume he ate a mouse that had died eating death berries and was too old and dumb to make the connection before filling his belly. A simple plan and one not far from the truth. It made me chuckle quietly to myself. I had often heard the other elders joke about how Rockfur was not known for his smarts. This could work and know cat would be the wiser.

I buried the stick under some fallen leaves by the death berry bush and took another look around the area. My scent was here but judging by the breezes insistence, it would be gone by morning. Besides, I was here with Sandpaw earlier and could explain my scent easily. Feeling satisfied I turned away and sunk easily into the shadows of the forest. The night was getting colder with every paw step and I soon began to see my breath making tiny puffs in front of my nose.

It was oddly quite tonight as I stepped over the dried leaves without much conscience of nearby prey or a patrol, I had nothing to hide and did nothing wrong as far as I was concerned and since Starclan didn't smite me where I sat, they must have agreed as well. In fact, Starclan has always lit the paths of Firestar's kin more than most, I had nothing to worry about.

A loud chorus of cows erupted in the branches above me and I alomost jumped out of my fur. At least five of the annoying birds flew around in the sky like well, a cat had disturbed their rest and I stared between their flapping black wings expecting to see a clan mate but there was nothing there. "Stupid birds." I hissed, and padded on. The song the crows sang followed me all the way to camp and by the time I was greeted by the night guard, Breezefur and Snakeswipe I was scowling at the head ache it gave me.

"Shadepaw, you're out awfully late." Snakeswipe nodded in a light greeting, "Yes well, I was enjoying a quick stroll. I wanted to clear my head before the wind made it as cold as a fox's heart." I joked, shaking my fur. Breezefur looked past me and into the bushes I came through, "You didn't happen to see Rockfur did you? He went out as well and hasn't come back yet."

I shook my head, "I couldn't hear anything over those obnoxious crows." The two toms chuckled, "Odd that crows should be so spirited tonight, usually they only get like that after sun high." Snakeswipe yawned, showing aging yellow teeth. "My mother told me as a kit that crows would only get in a frenzy when some cat died, they sing to each other to signal an easy meal." Breezefur said, his pale eyes growing with unease. "Maybe we should go check it out?" he asked.

"Don't be mouse brained, that's just a nursery tale. Birds are dumber than mice, they probably heard a acorn fall and figured the world was ending." Snakeswipe snorted, licking his tawny colored tail. I shrugged and meowed a quick good night and made my way quickly through the gorse tunnel. The camp clearing was empty as soothing snores came from the dens, I exhaled and moved briskly to the apprentices den, eager to get out of the cold and get to sleep. Snowpaw was sprawled out on his back, taking up two nests while Silverpaw was curled up neatly in his. Curling into mine I tucked my tail in over my nose and let my dreams fill my head.

Usually my dreams are filled with hunting rare prey or unrealistically pleasant meadows where I could sleep all day and not be scolded for missing training or elder duties but tonight it was different. Tonight, I strolled down a dim, muddy path that was surrounded by trees with bare limbs and a rotting scent. I scrunched my nose when I saw the mud coating my paws, I hated mud in between my paw pads. "Hello?" I called out to the darkness but there was no response, only the echo of my voice and the eerie slithering of unseen beings in the shadows.

"This sure is a creepy place, why in Starclan am I here?" I spoke aloud, using my own thoughts to ease the nervous chill I was getting. I kept walking hoping to find some cat or anything to explain what this place was but the same scenery appeared at every paw step and the mud became deeper and deeper until it engulfed my paws completely. "This is getting ridiculous" I hissed.

"If this is some sort of joke then I am not laughing and I want to go home!" I yelled at the shadows, still with no response. Shaking my head, I decided to see if I could change the dream myself. Thinking hard I pictured the sunlit fields and prey rich hunting spots. I let the scents of prey come to my nose and imagined the sun warming my fur and when I opened my eyes again I was there, the soft green grass tickling my whiskers.

"Ha, stupid dream forest." I laughed and began to vigorously scrub the mud from my paws, but it wouldn't come off. In the sun, I could see now that the mud was mixed with blood and even though there was no moisture anywhere there was a wetness in it that kept it clinging to my fur.

"It will come off eventually." I shrugged and rolled around in the grass to get the chill from that dark forest off my coat. I stayed in that meadow for what felt like a moon before Snowpaws prodding woke me from the dream.

"Come on lazy daisy, Thistletuft is looking for you." The pale gray tabby snickered and moved away so the sun rays could shine into my eyes. "Arg, tell him I will be right there." I yawned, sad that the warmth of my dream meadow was replaced with the chilly leaf bare morning. "Sure, just be quick." Snowpaw said as he dashed out of our den. I stretched and shook the lingering moss from my fur, I lifted a white tipped paw and purred as I clean, white fur smiled back at me. That wretched mud was gone.

Thistletuft's spikey dark pelt stood out in the bright morning sun and as I approached he flicked his ears in irritation, "Thanks for joining me this morning Shadepaw. I trust you slept well?" I opened my mouth to respond but he quickly added, "While you were sleeping the day away, Rockfur's body was found by the dawn patrol."

I let my eyes widen in surprise, "Oh no! what happened?" Thistletuft shrugged, "That's what we need to find out. Silentstar wants us to investigate the area and see if he had been attacked by another clan."

"Shouldn't that be Oakstep and Sandpaw's jobs?" I said, adding as much aloofness to my voice as possible. "If Silentstar wanted them to do it then why would he come to us?" Thistletuft snapped and I flinched. "Right, well where do we start?"

"His body is in Oakstep's den, let's check that out first and they will fill us in on what they already know." He growled, already heading towards the cave at the edge of camp that made up the medicine cats den. I followed and tried to hide nervousness. I was confident in my plan to explain my scent that was bound to have been discovered on Rockfurs body but I could have missed something. It was lucky that Thistletuft and I were chosen to figure out Rockfur's death so I made my shoulders relax as my mentor called into Oakstep's den. "Come in Shadepaw, Thistletuft. Rockfur is just over here." The large oak colored tom said from inside and gestured us in whit his tick tail.

Herb scent filled my nose with a sharpness that made me sneeze, "Sorry about that, Sandpaw broke open a mouse bile store and the smell is everywhere." Oakstep sighed, "Mousebrained apprentice." Thistletuft snorted and I suppressed a chuckle. Rockfur's dark gray form lay stiff in a corner of the den and I moved in to sniff his fur.

My scent was so faint that I began to think I imagined it and the stink of the mouse bile prevented any real identification. "I don't smell any clan besides ours" I said and Thistletuft nodded in agreement. "There aren't any wounds or signs of a fight so I don't think another clan or cat was responsible." Oakstep put in pointing to Rockfur's clean claws.

"Where was he found?" Thistletuft said, prodding Rockfur's jaw with a sheathed paw. "By the rotting oak log at the center of our territory. Clovershade's patrol found him this morning covered in frost." Oakstep said, his voice muffled by a bundle of herbs he was sorting. "Did they mention if there was anything odd?" I asked, "Besides a dead body?" Thistletuft added, shooting me a mocking look with his pale blue eyes.

"They didn't really say. Cloverhsade was more concerned with Bluesky who was quite shaken. I imagine finding her father's body was a bit much for her."

"And so soon after Stormwind's passing." Thistletuft added and I frowned, remembering the stories of the white toms untimely death after a battle with Skyclan over stolen prey, a season ago. "Yes, well Rockfur was old and Starclan knows when it's a warrior's time. I don't know why Silentstar wants it investigated." Oakstep shrugged and I nodded in agreement but Thistletuft waved his tail at me to follow him as he made his way to the camp entrance. Loyal to his leaders orders he said, "Lets go see the place where the body was found."

We passed Waspcloud, Mousenose and Flamestripe on their way to hunt, "Weird about Rockfur right? We haven't had an elder just die in the middle of the night in moons. I hope its not an omen from Starclan." Flamestripe said and I gasped, "What could it mean?" we all began to come with ideas when Thistletuft and I broke away from them as we made our way over the cold ground to the scene. "Do you think it's a sign?"

Thistletuft shook his head, "Doubt it. Starclan wouldn't leave a sign as morbid as a dead clanmate without saying something to Silentstar or Oakstep first."

"Does Starclan know if something happened to Rockfur?" I asked curiously.

"Of course, they are always watching us."

"Really? they know what all of us are doing? Every single clan?"

"Our ancestors always watch over us and will give guidance in times of great need. Though it's our responsibility to make our own choices."

Surprised that he wasn't snapping at me for stupid questions I probed on, "Has Starclan ever told us when a cat has been killed by another clan? Or by one of their own clanmates?"

Thistletuft looked at me for a moment, his pale eyes giving away nothing. I swallowed thinking I had gone too far when he said, "No, Starclan doesn't intervene with daily affairs." I thought back to the stories of Tigerstar and his murderous rampage that didn't prevent him from getting his nine lives from Starclan. I wanted to doubt Thistletufts words and anxiety pooled in my stomach at the thought that my ancestors had seen what I had done.

I stayed silent as we entered the small clearing where Rockfur was found. Thistletuft told me to check the surroundings while he sniffed around where the body lay throughout the night. I sniffed around the bushes where I found the stick and checked the roots of a large tree when Thistletuft said, "I see a dead mouse over here, and its half-eaten."

I looked over to see him pawing at the mouse I had used to stuff death berries in. "Did Rockfur eat a bad mouse?" I asked, padding over. "You don't usually die from a bad mouse and nothing about this one seems bad." I sniffed the mouse and pointed to the death berry bush.

"Do you think that it ate some of those?" Thistletuft followed my gaze and looked thoughtful, "Perhaps. I do smell traces of the berries on the mouse. That must be what happened."

Thistletuft looked around another time and shrugged, "There are no scents of any other clan and no blood. Let's tell Silentstar the old fuzzbrain ate a poisoned mouse by accident." I nodded and let out a long breath as Thistletuft headed back to camp, "Im going to find the hunting party and try to catch a squirrel for Bluesky." I called to him and though he didn't acknowledge my words he didn't tell me to follow him so I sniffed the air for prey scents.

"Is that what really happened?" Silverpaw said from behind me, making me jump. "Silverpaw, I almost jumped out of my fur!" I hissed lightly but there was no mirth in my den mates eyes.

"Of course, that's how he died featherhead, how else would he have?" I said, licking my ruffled chest, Silverpaw stepped closer to me, his voice low. "What did you do when we led Rockfur to you?"

I looked up at him and steeled myself for what I was about to say to my friend, "I should be asking you, I waited almost all night for you two to bring him to the Sky Oak like I asked and he never showed!"

The accusing stare he had turned to confusion, "You told us the Oak log, not the Sky Oak. We led him here just like you asked." I rolled my eyes, "No I said the Sky Oak! I wanted to jump out from the lowest branch and scare him before asking him to stop saying mean things about Firestar to the clan. I couldn't do that here?"

Silverpaw looked uncertain and stammered, "But, Snowpaw smelled you here before we left and-"

"I came here earlier with Sandpaw to help him collect herbs." I interrupted, I touched his dark striped pelt with my tail, "I am sorry Rockfur died. No cat would have known that mouse had eaten deathberries. It was just a sad accident."

Silverpaw nodded slowly and a licked his cheek reassuringly. "Come on, let find some prey for the elders and ask them to tell us a story. I bet that will cheer us all up." Silverpaw relxed but said, "I can't, I need to meet Cloudfoot and Owlfeather by the abandoned two leg den, Im getting assessed today!"

I meowed with joy, "Oh that's great! Do you want me to come with you?" he smiled, shaking his head. "I don't think that's allowed, I wouldn't want to get distracted." He finished with a wink and I looked down bashfully.

"Well, good luck then. Not that you need it." I purred nuzzling his neck. He bounded off and I watched his striped tail disappear through the bushed. Instantly I grew tense, "Mouse dung, I didn't know he was watching us." I looked around nervously, hoping there weren't any others nearby. I forgot to think about what Snowpaw and Silverpaw would say when they found out Rockfur had died. Snowpaw didn't seem any different this morning but maybe he just hadn't heard the news yet.

Anxiety bit at my shoulders again and I shook myself. Silverpaw will pass on what I said, besides Rockfur did die from a poisoned mouse. I hurried away from the clearing, no longer comfortable with this part of the territory.

I spent the rest of the afternoon hunting and was able to catch find a shrew and a chaffinch before I headed back to camp. The camps mood seemed sad as cats milled around Rockfur to share tongues with him one last time. Bluesky and Needlepelt where his daughters and held their heads low in grief. Whitehawk, Snakeswipe Branchfoot, Nightshiver and Silentstar stood close and I noticed several others nearby that were waiting their turn. I was surprised by how many cared about the stuffy old badger.

I snorted and brought my catch to the fresh kill pile. Silentstar saw me and quickly padded over, "Thistletuft told me about the mouse. I was thinking of having that death berry bush removed too keep this from happening again. I want you both to get a few cats together and take it down. I need to do the warrior naming ceremony for my sons and the one to send Rockfur's spirit to Starclan but I want the bush removed by moonhigh tomorrow" I stood straighter, excited that my leader had a mission just for me.

"Yes, Silentstar. That is a great idea." He nodded and went back to continue his goodbyes. I looked around for Thistletuft but didn't scent him among the clustering cats. I was excited for Snowpaw and Silverpaws warrior names and purred softly at the knowledge that I could put Rockfur's death behind me. I needed to concentrate on getting my warrior name and now that Rockfur's hateful talk was out of the clan, there was nothing stopping me from continuing my ancestor's great legacy.