Chapter Nineteen - Collision and Missing Clue
The next sun-up, the Clan Guard really did arrive. When Hazelpaw filed into the camp clearing along with her den mates for a clan meeting, the grey she cat noticed a heavy set, dark brown tabby tom with a scar across his left eye near the camp entrance. He was looking sternly at everyone who passed by.
Hazelpaw also spotted another guard hanging around near the nursery at the back of camp. This was a very lean, light brown and awkward looking tom with amber eyes and long, thin tail. It flicked back and worth nervously as he held a conversation with Falconflight and Stonepelt.
"Dreamy" Whispered Lilypaw as they passed him.
Liliacpaw snorted. "You're desperate." She hissed scornfully.
"Quiet apprentices." Said Mothfur on her way past.
Hazelpaw couldn't help flinching when she saw her. She looked worse than ever. The dappled brown she cat's nose was a bright red colour, her fur very dishevelled, and she was walking with an unbalanced gait.
As Mothfur staggered away Hazelpaw, sighed in relief.
I'm still terrified that the murderer knows we're on to them and is secretly waiting for the right time to catch us unawares, and add us to their list of victims.
This morning's clan meeting was quite odd. Ashstar seemed determined to carry on as if everything was normal, even though there was an empty space by Pine Rock where a deputy - Whistlesong or Mousestripe - should have been. Apprentices and warriors kept turning to stare at the gap, with Ashstar glaring at them scathingly whenever she caught their eye.
She did mention the Clan Guard though, it would have been hard not to.
"I want you to extend to them your courtesy," said Ashstar. "While they are performing their investigations. The sooner we can clear up this regrettable business, the better."
"Clan dismissed." Ashstar finished before she gracefully leapt off Pine Rock and strode toward the heavy set Guard by the camp entrance along with Thunderboom and Riverrush.
"Meet me at the Apprentice's Grass Lay place at sun-high break." Daisypaw hissed in Hazelpaw's ear. "I think it's time we had a chat with skinny Guard."
….
Sure enough, as soon as the yowl for sun-high break sounded, the two detectives rushed to the apprentices grass lay place. Just outside was the lean Clan Guard, staring slightly cross eyed at the camp clearing before yawning and sitting back to scratch his ear in a very undignified manner.
I really have no idea what Lilypaw sees in him.
Daisypaw, however, seemed absolutely charmed. After giving Hazelpaw a mischievous wink with a glittering blue eye, she rushed up to the Guard with a very Lilypaw-like squeal of glee.
"Oh!" The cream she cat exclaimed. "I've always wanted to meet a Clan Guard."
Before the Guard had time to realise what was happening, Daisypaw had her face right close to his and was gazing up at him raptly.
"Ah, greetings young PineClan warrior." He began awkwardly, taking a step back. "What can I do for you?"
Daisypaw widened her blue eyes at him.
"I think Clan Guards are so fascinating," said the cream she cat. "All the work you do is amazing! Are you a detective?"
"Um, yes I am, young warrior." He replied with an awkward twitch of his tail; his pelt seemed to prickle with embarrassment.
"Oh!" Gasped Daisypaw. "It must be the most wonderful thing in the world. You must be awfully clever!"
"Oh no." Stuttered the Guard. "Oh no no no not me."
"Oh but you are! It's all round the Clan that you were the first one to figure out it wasn't a suicide!"
"Is it really?" The skinny Guard squeaked before puffing his chest out with pride. "Well I suppose - see - yes alright. Well first it seemed to be your average too many poppy seeds kind of a deal, but then I began to notice something interesting. He had actually been found in the dirt place tunnel next to a few poppy seeds in a collapsed sort position. It almost looked like he had been heading in the direction of the camp exit when he collapsed. Not to mention that there were a few cuts on his lip, bruises around his neck and a cuff mark around his ear as if he had been in a struggle. It didn't add up. I said so to the leader and then we had the med-cats check him over who found something else. In his claws, was a piece of fur."
"Oh!" Squealed Daisypaw on cue. "How frightfully exciting!"
The Guard purred. "Of course," he said, "you mustn't tell anyone I've just told you. It's strictly confidential."
"Of course," said Daisypaw. "Strictly, but - strictly confidential again - what did the piece of fur look like?"
Hazelpaw winced inwardly. The cream she cat had asked a little too quickly, and it suddenly sounded strange.
"Well it was gre-" The Guard stopped abruptly. "Wa-wait," he said stammering, "what did you want to know that for? You're just going to go round telling all your friends, aren't you?"
"No!"
"You'd better not!" Said the Guard sounding terrified. "This is privileged information. Oh I shouldn't have told you so much about it! Promise you won't tell anyone else I did?" Looking at Daisypaw with big, pleading eyes. "The leader would have my up for it."
"Of course I won't!" Said Daisypaw, trying to be as reassuring as possible. "I think you're very lucky being in the middle of all that. Did you know-"
But at that moment, a senior, official looking black tom padded out of the warriors grass lay area.
"Shrewtail!" The Guard snapped sharply, his face crumpled in annoyance. "Get back to work and stop chatting to the young warriors."
He may be the leader the skinny Guard was talking about. Thought Hazelpaw.
The black tom gave Daisypaw a scathing glare with his dark green eyes which Daisypaw returned with an unmoving stare of her own.
"S..so...sorry Blackstone sir." Stuttered Shrewtail. "Right away sir."
"Goodbye detective!" Daisypaw said to the brown tom before giving Blackstone one last glare.
"Come Hazelpaw, we must be going now." The cream she cat said before nudging her towards the med-cat tunnel.
Hazelpaw hurried to keep up with her as Daisypaw strode determinedly along.
"Where are we going?" Asked Hazelpaw.
"To the clue stash," Daisypaw replied as they slipped through the med-cat tunnel. "I just want to have another look at the fur we found on the flower. I think we missed something."
They reached the hole where the clues were kept in a leaf wrap. Daisypaw lent in to grab it in her jaws, before spinning around and heading quickly in the direction away from camp.
"Come on Hazelpaw, to the Hollow Log." Daisypaw mumbled before turning a corner.
Hazelpaw was hurrying to catch up when she heard a shriek, a thump, a chorus of horrified gaps and Daisypaw's voice, high pitched in panic.
"Oh - Ashstar! I'm so terribly sorry. He..here, let me help."
Hazelpaw dashed round the corner and became face to face with a disaster zone. Daisypaw, in her haste, had collided straight into the immaculate form of Ashstar.
Hazelpaw gaped in horror, brown eyes wide.
The leader must have been out hunting, because sparrow and mouse carcasses were scattered everywhere along with the contents of the clue leaf wrap.
Ashstar's expression was horrible to see, along with her dishevelled fur; she looked absolutely furious. A few apprentices and some warriors had gathered round to look but Ashstar yowled. "Every cat, move along!" And they all fled in terror.
Hazelpaw began to help Daisypaw pick up the scattered prey. Meanwhile the cream she cat kept stammering out apologises. "I'm so sorry Ashstar, really sorry. Please believe me." Her tail drooped and her ears were angled back to her head. Hazelpaw had never seen her friend so embarrassed - or down right terrified.
Hazelpaw picked up a mouse only to drop it in surprise when Ashstar snarled, "Don't touch that Hazelpaw! And out of the way both of you before you cause any more damage."
Hazelpaw recoiled in shock. Ashstar must be really angry because the grey she cat had never heard her snarl at an apprentice before like that.
Daisypaw, trembling, presented the leader with the prey she'd picked up, before stepping back to collect the items from the leaf wrap; all the while stammering out apologises.
The dark grey tabby she cat was in no mood to listen.
"Daisypaw enough." Snapped Ashstar, her deep blue eyes, icy cold and tail twitching furiously.
"I expect PineClan warriors to accept the blame for their mistakes with the same grace and dignity that they show in the rest of their lives. What I don't expect to see is the apprentices in my clan tearing about the territory like rogues and missing training. Quite frankly, I am disappointed in you. You may go."
"Yes Ashstar," said Daisypaw weekly, before giving a rather lopsided dip of her head due to having the leaf wrap in her jaws.
The two she cats then scurried off feeling like the smallest of mice, pelts burning with shame.
"I thought I was in for it," whispered Daisypaw to Hazelpaw. "Elder tick duty for the rest of my life. Oh foxdung! We are very late for acrobatics."
The two she cats looked around once more to make sure Ashstar wasn't watching them (she wasn't - she had lowered her head to pick something else up) and then they ran for it.
After conditioning though, Hazelpaw could tell something was very wrong when she spotted Daisypaw frantically pawing through the leaf wrap where she'd hidden it under a bush. Her blue eyes were wide and her face creased with worry.
"What's wrong?" Hazelpaw whispered as she padded up to the cream she cat.
"Hazelpaw!" She hissed, her fur began to bristle along her spine in panic. "Oh Hazelpaw, I can't find the flower."
Hazelpaw's stomach lurched.
"What?! Are you sure?" She hissed back.
"Of course I'm sure! Look!" She replied gesturing to the leaf wrap.
The purple violet flower was not there.
Hazelpaw's mind flashed back to her last look at Ashstar.
She was bending over and looking intently at something on the ground before picking it up in her jaws. A flash of purple.
The grey she cat gasped before looking at Daisypaw. She could tell the cream she cat was having exactly the same thoughts.
"What shall we do?" Daisypaw gasped. "Ashstar will put it away. We'll never see it again because she'll think we were trying to wear it even though it's forbidden!"
The cream she cat needed the ground angrily with unsheathed claws. "How will we confront our suspects without the flower? Oh Hazelpaw! Our beautiful case is ruined."
"Well if we need it, then we'll just have to go and get it."
Daisypaw glanced at Hazelpaw surprised; indeed the slate grey she cat was surprised at what she'd said herself.
"We can go to Ashstar's den after training," she nonetheless continued, "and you can tell her it's a gift for Rosethorn after she lost her old one. It's worth a try anyway, after all, Ashstar likes you."
Daisypaw snorted. "She did until I almost bowled her over a bit ago, but still, an excellent idea Hazelpaw. Whatever has got into you?"
"I want to solve this case." Explained the grey she cat, lifting her chin up, brown eyes blazing with determination. "I want the cat who killed Whistlesong and Mousestripe to be punished and our clan to be safe again. You said so yourself how important it was.
Daisypaw raised her brow, blue eyes teasing.
"Yes, but - Hazelpaw of PineClan - encouraging me to lie! I never thought I'd see the day. You're right, though."
The cream she cat stood up beside her best friend and fellow detective.
"We need that flower," she began, her blue eyes now filled with the same determination as Hazelpaw's. "So we're going to get it back!"
Hear, hear! You heard em, let's go get that flower back! I hope you enjoyed this chapter everyone, and it turns out your eyes do not deceive you, lol. There is in fact another chapter as well because starting from this week, I'll be only updating ONCE every MON/SUN because…the next chapters get quite long with a couple of cliff hangers thrown in for good measure. (And I'm gunna be mean and make you guys wait longer to see what happens next…soz :.) Anyway, thanks for reading!
-Fastbreeze37