Herbs 38

What?

Thornclaw didn't even realize he backed away from her until his back bumped into the wall behind him. He shook his head. No. No! It couldn't be―Daisy? A killer? I didn't hear that, she didn't just say that. You're lying!

But he could not act like a kit and deny what he heard. Thornclaw stared with wide eyes at the now shaking she-cat before him. She looked so frail, the wind shifting towards their small den for the snow to fall on her creamy pelt.

Snow...

The dream! The cat in shadows chatting with Icecloud, attacking while her back was turned to deliver the death wound. Thornclaw stared at Daisy as the clouds blocked the sun, turning her coat a darker shade. Immediately another memory flashed through his mind like a bolt of lightning: the dark-coated cat with blue eyes stalking him in the snow in search of prey.

Thornclaw felt his head swirl. "Why?" He shook his head desperately, the cobwebs of despair flooding over him. Even now, he found it completely hard to believe the she-cat before him, the very cat who abhorred violence of any kind, would commit such an act he'd never seen another Thunderclan cat do before to their own Clan mate. "How could you have done this?"

Daisy looked down. "I was... practicing how to fight with Ferncloud. And-convinced her to teach me how to inflict the...wound... on her neck." Daisy paused and swallowed. She looked as though she had something stuck in her throat, preventing her from speaking any further.

She's been practicing? Thornclaw felt his head whirl. The whole time she had chances to learn how to hunt and fight for her clan, Daisy only learned how to fight so she could kill?"What did you hope to gain from this?" he demanded, staring her in the eyes.

"Tell me!" he nearly shouted in anger, when Daisy didn't answer. His vision swirled as Thornclaw advanced on her, claws unsheathed. She just stood there terrified, but Thornclaw hardly noticed. His mind was riddled with revenge and fury. He could almost imagine himself tearing into her flesh. He could even smell the blood staining his nostrils

But he faltered, stepping hard on the declawed paw. He hissed, painfully pulling up his paw.

Daisy cowered under his anger. "I'm sorry. I know what I did was wrong. But I just wanted to be with y...―I'm sorry!" Daisy stuttered again before running out of the small den into the snow outside. Thornclaw didn't bother trying to stop her; he wouldn't have gone far just limping. He just stared at the snow outside without really seeing it. In no time Daisy's creamy fur was lost to the sea of white.

But still Thornclaw stared., the soft clumps of snow forming on his still body as the wind shifted.

Despite the many thoughts buzzing confusingly through his head, only one thought penetrated Thornclaw's mind, but the tom tried to shove it away. He stubbornly tried to ignore it by blinking rapidly. But like a piece of prey it dangled tantalizingly in front of his nostrils. He dreaded the thought even as it snaked its way to his conscious.

How could he convince the Clan that a nonviolent and spoiled cat like Daisy committed murder?

((_endpage_))

When Thornclaw arrived in Thunderclan, it was to find the place nearly deserted. Only few cats were out. Their pelts glowing eerily in the moonlight. And neither of them payed much attention to the golden tom as he limped past them to the Nursery.

Without knocking his popped his head inside. The upper branches softly trailed behind his neck. Poppyfrost was sleeping with Molekit and Cherrykit off to one side of the corner. On the other, further from the entrance and cold wind, was who Thornclaw was looking for.

Ferncloud was with all three of Daisy's kits. They were sleeping next to her, snuggled close to her belly for warmth. The gray speckled she-cat did not hear Thornclaw come in. Her eyes were trained on Pricklekit. Even from this distance under the moon's light, Thornclaw could see that he wasn't doing well at all.

The kit appeared to be having a nightmare. He mewed distressingly in his sleep, flailing his tiny paws weakly. Ferncloud covered him with licks, murmuring into his ear. Thornclaw took a step in the nursery. And stepped on a branch.

The she-cat's head whipped around sharply. Her eyes blinked in surprise. "Thornclaw?" She looked over his shoulder. "Where's Daisy?"

Thornclaw stared at Pricklekit. "Is he okay?" he asked softly.

"I don't know," she admitted, looking back down at the kit. "I think Jayfeather needs to do another check up. Can you get Daisy here? He's been calling her ever since she left." She flicked her tail to Pricklekit. "Maybe she could help make him more comfortable. And I'd like you to get Jayfeather too while you're at it."

She's not back yet? Thornclaw didn't see what would be keeping the she-cat so long. "... I'll get Jayfaether." He turned away from the surprised look on her face as he exited the den. He brushed past the entrance to the medicine cats den, quietly limping past Firestar's nest to the back of the den. He had developed a bad cold swimming in freezing water.

It was much darker here. He could hardly see anything in front of him except shifting shapes from his eyes.

"Jayfeather?"

"What?"

The gray tabby was in his nest. Beside was Briarlight's nest. The she-cat's steady rise and fall of her flank telling Thornclaw that she was asleep. Thornclaw switched his gaze to Jayfeather's outline as he arched his back in a stretch. It must be late.

"Ferncloud wants you to check on Pricklekit again."

"Tell her to just make him more comfortable." He turned over in his nest. Thornclaw jabbed him again, this time with an unsheathed claw.

"Please..."

A blue eye glared back up at the tom. Jayfeather grumbled something inaudible. Without a word he left the den at a trot. Thornclaw stared after him. He suddenly realized how lonely it felt in the medicine cats den.

((_endpage_))

"Right, where do you think we should try hunting?" Birchfall meowed.

Thornclaw fluffed out his pelt against the cold. "Doesn't matter. So long as we just get moving."

Currently it was morning. Last night, after Thornclaw learned of the terrible secret and requested for Jayfeather to see Pricklekit, he had gone to back to thte warriors den, half-numb, half-blank. There he fell asleep, hoping it was all just a dream. When he woke up in the morning, Thornclaw just saw a hunting patrol consist of Birchfall, Whitewing and Hazeltail about to leave. He asked to join them, more in an attempt to stretch his legs and stop the jumble of thoughts that met his sleepy mind when he awoke than anything else.

Whitewing, leading the patrol, agreed. And so now here Thornclaw stood, hopping from paw to paw like a rabbit beside his freezing Clan mates as they debated where they should start hunting first.

Whitewing sniffed under a bush. "I think we shoul split into pairs." She gave her mate a leveled stare. A message exchanged between hem "What do you say?"

Birchfall's eyes twinkled, touching pelts with his mate. "I think so too." He looked over Thornclaw and Hazeltail. "You two don't mind, do you?"

"Actually," Thornclaw began.

"Sure," Hazeltail replied.

Thornclaw huffed as the couple walked away, tails twined. They better pay attention to their hunting and not each other. Save the affection in Clan, not during a job. Hazeltail tapped him on the shoulder to get her attention.

"Shall we try the Sky Oak?" she suggested.

Thornclaw frowned. Hazeltail didn't act as shy or flirty around him as often as she had been before. She seemed to show more control of herself around him much more than usual. Yet Cinderheart, if anything, was more possessive than ever. He remembered the pair of blue eyes that glared from within the warriors as he left with the morning hunting patrol. Why the sudden change?

Thornclaw padded with the gray and white she-cat to the Sky Oak, ears wavering back and forth for even the slightest sounds of tiny paws on leaves, or the flap of a wing in the chilly air. Hazeltail abruptly raised her tail, eyes on something under a tree. Thornclaw followed her gaze. A small tail was sticking out of a leaf like a tiny snake. A mouse's tail.

The she-cat crouched, padding forward bit by bit; her paws hardly scuffling the frosty snow. And like a shadow leaped in for the kill. By the time the mouse even understood death was just around the corner, it was already dead in her jaws. Thornclaw nodded. "Impressive catch."

"Thanks." Hazeltail meowed indifferently. She dropped her catch and buried it with snow. "So, shall we keep going?"

They didn't catch much for the rest of the hunt. Just another small mouse and squirrel. But under these harsh conditions, it was better than what Thornclaw had anticipated. And he was glad of something to keep him busy. More than once he felt his mind trickle down and way, as if to tell him something. But before a clear message could form he'd feel fine again. It was odd.

And and Hazeltail met up with Birchfall and Whitewing, each carrying a shrew and blackbird, and made their way back to camp. They were greeted with some approval as they arrived in camp for their small catch. Dustpelt was busy digging out a small mouse from the hole the fresh-kill was buried. The hunting patrol dropped their catch in the dug out hole before he refilled it again, before going their separate ways.

Thornclaw half-expected Hazeltail to follow him like some gawking apprentice. But he received some surprise when she merely nodded his way before leaving to share tongues with Rosepetal instead. He was too busy watching them and trying to figure out what just happened when he felt someone had tap him on the shoulder.

He jumped. "Don't scare me like that!" Thornclaw bristled, meeting Brambleclaw's eyes.

The deputy ignored Thornclaw's outburst. "Thornclaw, you have some explaining to do." His voice harbored suspicion, as if he looking at an enemy Clan cat. But Thornclaw couldn't understand why.

"About what?"

Thornclaw almost felt as if his head's been banged with a rock when Brambleclaw answered, "Daisy's missing. And we've been told you were the last one to be with her since last night."

Thornclaw instinctively looked over his shoulder. Ferncloud had her head out of the nursery, peering at him with narrowed eyes. That explained where Brambleclaw got the idea to question him. He almost felt something knot his stomach as he turned back to Brambleclaw. "Why are you telling me this?"

"We want to know what you were doing with Daisy outside Camp," Brambleclaw answered stiffly.

"We?"

Berrynose padded around Brambleclaw's wide figure, eyes hardened. Of course one of the children of Daisy would be here too. Thornclaw felt his heart drop. All of a sudden, the chilly wind felt much colder. Did that mean what happened last night was not a dream? That it was all real?

Berrynose glared. "Where's my mother?"

"How should I know?" Thornclaw replied. His mouth felt dry. Graystripe was beside the fresh-kill pile, frozen. Jayfeather had his head out of the nursery and Hazeltail, who was sharing tongues with Rosepetal by the Warriors Den, was now also listening to the conversation. "I thought she came back to camp last night."

"You were the only cat to come back." Brambleclaw pointed his nose at the Warriors Den. "Cloudtail and Blossomfall both confirmed they saw you return, but not Daisy."

"What are you implying?" Thornclaw demanded angrily. Were the really going to sit here and accuse him of something he didn't even do? In front of the whole Clan? It's not his fault Daisy disappeared because she killed Icecloud!

A heavy ache suddenly opened up inside him. Realization stung. That's right. Daisy killed Icecloud. He looked once again at the nursery, ignoring Brambleclaw as he continued to speak. Ferncloud did know she wanted to talk to them. Did that mean she also knew what the she-cat did?

No. As much as Thornclaw felt suspicious about everyone, he was certain Ferncloud had no idea this was what Daisy was going to tell him. But then, why did she look as if she knew what Daisy was going to tell Thornclaw?

Daisy. He felt his mind poison whenever the venomous creamy she-cat cropped in his mind. Even now, he couldn't consider her as a nursery queen anymore. Slowly a quiet lethargy overtook the tom. Who would care about a traitorous, murderous-

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Brambleclaw cuffed him over the ears.

Thornclaw snarled. It didn't matter. He'll force them to believe his claims about Daisy if he had to. There was no way he was going to let ThunderClan accuse him of doing something to a killer! "Watch it! If you must know, Daisy probably left on her own!"

"What?" Surprise shone briefly in Berrynose's eyes. Before they dimmed to steady suspicion. "Why would she do that?"

"Because Daisy-" Thornclaw felt his throat close up. Icekit and Smokekit were peering out of the nursery, staring as the warriors argued in the middle of the clearing. Ferncloud, however, was unaware of their doing. Her attention was fixed on them too. And when Thornclaw had mentioned the word "Daisy" their small ears immediately pricked to him, eagerly waiting to hear what he'd say.

"... I don't know," Thornclaw turned back to level a stare with Brambleclaw. "You'll have to ask her when she gets back."

Brambleclaw looked inquisitively from Thornclaw to the nursery. The golden tom flicked his ears to the nursery, mouthing "later" as he turned and left before he was burdened with more useless accusations and questions.

StarClan, give me strength, he sighed tiredly. He was met with a cold wind and shaky paws.

A bit to say this. But, someone's going to die in this story, one will never be seen again.

Now, nost people think Daisy shouldn't have been able to kill Icecloud. That was my fault for not adding a few clues in the early chapters. But here's a bit of an explanation that has bee surrounding this story, and which would not really be answered at all from within:

How Daisy was able to kill Icecloud: The she-cat had planned for this from the start. She had asked Ferncloud to teach her how to fight, insisting it was to protect the nursery. And, after a time, even got Ferncloud to teach her how to inflict the death wound to the neck. Remember, in Thornclaw's dream. Icecloud was completely at ease, her defenses low. Daisy had sneaked in from behind, well prepared for what she would do. Though, it's because I forgot ONE thing to add in the story. Daisy had received some scratches from Icecloud as she fought back to try to push the she-cat off her as she was dying.

Those scars were supposed to have been noticed by Thornclaw. But I kept forgetting to add them after every chapter.

Because Icecloud had already received a vicious wound, Icecloud was too weak to do much of anything.

After that, Daisy dragged her body further away from camp, and rubbed herself with Jasmine to get the scent of Icecloud and the blood off her. Also rubbing the herbs on the ground as she came back to camp so no one would suspect it was her.

That small scene in which Daisy tells Jayfeather she had rubbed Jasmine on Thornclaw's unconscious body to make the nursery "smell" better (while actually covering her scent off the tom's pelt as she force-mated him) is also a clue that she was able to hide a scent very easily without foxdung or rolling around in leaves.

She just had to walk in the medicine cats den and pick up some Jasmine. And, like some fans had guessed since the early birth of this story, Daisy was most influenced by Temptations Essence than any other cat expressed in the story. It spurred her on to do, plan, and think things she would never have even thought to do had she not been seduced by the scent.

People will still probably stop reading the story. From some of the comments I read, they said if it was Daisy that killed Icecloud on her own, they'll just stop I'm sorry to hear that, but... can't please everyone.

I had actually noticed few readers that stopped reading this story when I introduced Brokentail as well. But I wrote this message to let you guys know I'm not bummed if you leave. Just wanted to let you readers know that I'm glad you enjoyed the story this far ^^"

And, congrats if you got this far reading the message!