Hey y'all! Next installment of the former humans is here!
Hollyflame: Now Bearpaw will tell Dawn about you too! Run!
Spyrofan: Yeah, I think she might be the devil… Look! I updated! On with the show!
"Well Darkmoon? Any guesses as to who'd want you gone?" Frostpaw asked, getting straight to the point as usual. Lionpaw's mentor's eyes seemed to darken.
"Yes," was the warrior's short reply.
"Care to enlighten us?" Skypaw meowed. "… Just don't go around accusing cats of the crime. My guess may be incorrect." The four apprentices leaned forward, whiskers twitching with excitement and suspense. "I think that it may have been…"
"Yes? Who is it?" Lionpaw inquired eagerly. "You wouldn't know her." "Oh! Is she from another Clan?" Skypaw asked with curiosity. This comment sent the former humans into a flurry of ideas.
"Oh! Oh! Maybe it was Ravenstar!" Rubypaw accused. "What? Why Ravenstar?" Frostpaw asked dubiously. "I dunno… she just seemed like the kind of per-cat! Cat! To do something like this." She finished. Frostpaw snickered at the red she-cat's blunder. Caught up in the spirit of mystery, (which came after many an hour playing Clue), their guesses became more and more absurd. "I know! I know!" Lionpaw eagerly mewed. "It's Thistlestar!" "Thistlestar's dead, stupid," came Skypaw's sharp reply. Darkmoon, who had wandered off during their stupid guessing game, returned just in time to prevent an argument on whether Thistlestar was in fact, dead.
"If you're quite finished, I believe I have a way to solve my predicament," the cerulean-eyed tom said, immediately capturing their attention. "I will need your help for my plan to succeed," he meowed quietly. Beckoning with his tail, the apprentices joined him in a huddle. Ha, it's sort of like a football huddle! Skypaw laughed to herself. "Skypaw? You listening?" Lionpaw checked. "Set, hut!" she blurted out. "What?" Darkmoon looked at her with surprise. "Oh… u-uh that's just something that we used to say as kittypets," she said hastily. "Oh. Alright then."
"Alright, so we have to prove that it wasn't me who killed them." "Yes, Darkmoon," Frostpaw said, rolling his eyes. "We've been over this." "Ah, but this is where your youth makes you look stupid Frostpaw," Darkmoon meowed sagely as the other cats snickered. "Obviously, we need to further investigate the scenes of the crimes. Perhaps we can find paw prints or a piece of fur that is differently colored." "But… what if the cat who murdered them had black fur like you?" Rubypaw asked timidly. Darkmoon looked at her, deadly calm.
"Well then… we will have to plant false evidence." "What!" Lionpaw screeched, horrified that his esteemed mentor would suggest something so sneaky. "Calm down, Lionpaw." To everyone's surprise, it was Skypaw who was the voice of reason for once. "Hypocrite," Frostpaw hissed under his breath. Showing restraint rather than blowing up at him, which would have proved him right, she simply narrowed her sky blue eyes at him. "Well, it's what we would have to do. We know that Darkmoon's innocent, but the other cats may not believe us. In order to prove that we are correct… we may need to turn to less… proper methods." Frostpaw narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, nodding. "It's settled then?" Rubypaw asked. "We're going to where Blackivy was murdered."
Well, that was easier said than done. The four apprentices couldn't exactly waltz into camp with a convict as their companion. This situation was going to require some stealth. Leaving Darkmoon in the clearing, the former humans trotted the short distance from the clearing to where the black she-cat had been killed. Lionpaw and Rubypaw stayed hidden in the ferns, keeping watch for any patrolling Thunder Clan cats. Plus, their pelts stood out too much against the foliage. Not to say that Skypaw and Frostpaw exactly blended in but- oh, you know what I mean.
To Skypaw's horror, they had left the body where it lay. But… the Clan cats bury their dead. Wait…there's drag marks in the dirt, like some cat tried to hide the body…Hmm… maybe they hid the body so the kits wouldn't be scared. That is suspicious though. As she quietly slithered closer to the body, she silently marveled at just how quiet she was now. Icemelt had taught her well; she was turning into one of the best hunters in the Clan. Her nose wrinkled in revulsion as the stench of decaying flesh hit her nostrils. Bile rose in her throat as she gazed down at the dead cat in front of her, staring at the gouge marks torn in the cat's flesh. She glanced over at Frostpaw, who was already methodically searching the body. He saw her disgust, and made a face that seemed to say that he didn't like it any more than she did. Well, best to get it over with. Now let's see, Darkmoon said that Blackivy had a black pelt and bright green eyes… Hey what's that? Skypaw had noticed a tawny hair stuck to Blackivy's eyelid. As she leaned for a closer look, she noticed that Blackivy's eyes weren't fully closed. Full of pity for the fellow warrior, she was about to close the black she-cat's eyes… but something stopped her. A nagging little voice saying that something was wrong with this picture. But what could it be? I know! The eyes... Darkmoon said they were a vivid green. She gently opened the cat's eyes fully, shivering in disgust. Bracing herself, she looked at the cat's eyes. They were yellow. Not green. This cat was not Blackivy.
She gasped, and backed away. The others looked at her, questioning expressions on their faces. She motioned at this cat's face. Frostpaw looked at the cat's face for a split second before whirling to face her, panic in his eyes. She knew that he had the same thought as her: If this cat isn't Blackivy… then who is it? And where is the real Blackivy? She dashed across the clearing, beckoning Rubypaw and Lionpaw to follow her. The other cats pounded after her until she finally halted next to a massive pine tree. "Okay, what just happened?" Rubypaw demanded, glaring at Skypaw and Frostpaw. "… That wasn't Blackivy," Frostpaw finally choked out, still in a fit of hysteria. "Darkmoon said that Blackivy had unmistakable green eyes, right?" Skypaw asked. The red she-cat and gold tom nodded in puzzled agreement. "Well… that cat had bright yellow eyes… like the moon." Lionpaw and Rubypaw, now comprehending the others' panic, were quite alarmed. To say the least.
The cats were so frazzled that before they remembered Darkmoon, it was too late to safely travel through the forest without attracting the notice of a patrol. They settled down for another night in the forest, albeit much more scared than last time.
Skypaw awoke to a strange prickling sensation on the back of her neck. She gazed up at the sky, noting that it was still pitch black. I should just go back to sleep. But what was it that woke me up? She glanced around the immediate area, seeing nothing. Just as she was settling down again, she heard a twig snap. Her ears twitched in alarm. Maybe it was just a mouse… No. She could feel it. There was another cat here, who obviously didn't want their presence known. Another sudden idea came to her. Maybe it's Darkmoon! Perhaps he came looking for us! By now, she was basically telling herself lies so she wouldn't break down into a hysterical mess. Then she sensed something that couldn't be explained away. Paw steps. Unmistakably those of a cat. Looking at her companions, she saw that Rubypaw and Frostpaw were just as alert as she, with panic clearly showing on their faces. Only Lionpaw still slept peacefully, completely unaware of his friends' fear. "No sudden movements," she silently mouthed to Rubypaw and Frostpaw. They blinked to show that they got her message loud and clear.
She tensed as she realized that there was more than one hostile cat… maybe three. Practically paralyzed with fear, she waited until she could feel one the cat's breath, and a paw ruffling her fur. A sudden fury gripped her. They think they can just walk in and kill or maim us with no consequences! Well, I'll prove them wrong. Courage flooded through her body. Nothing like some sarcasm and rightful indignation to make you brave, right?
She yowled "NOW!" and leaped onto her opponent, a lithe golden she-cat. As she engaged her in battle, she realized something as odd leaves fell from her fur. The cats had not been about to murder them in their sleep. No, they were too clever for that. They knew that we would wake up and breathe more heavily… They drugged us. W e ha v wa y… Her thoughts crumbled into oblivion as she fell from where she stood, right into the enemies' waiting paws.