Chapter Twenty Three - Hidden Malice

"Oh, what is it?" Whispered Beanpaw, pressing worriedly against Lilypaw. "What's happened?"

"Don't talk, just run!" Urged Daisypaw.

Hazelpaw raced out of the Nest Lay den with her friends and Eaglepaw and straight into the long den. She noticed Jupinerbush materialise at the top of the stairs, like a rabbit popping out of its warren, and heard Sparrowfeather, already lumbering down the stairs, call, "Great StarClan! What is it? What's happened?"

Hazelpaw turned to see Mudpaw padding out of the shadows next to the apprentice's Nest Lay den looking absolutely terrified; amber eyes wide, fur bristling, paws shuffling and tail quivering. Hazelpaw expected she looked the same.

The grey she cat didn't like it. There was a weird still, silence under the tense atmosphere in the long den; as if there was something very wrong and dangerous was lurking - malice hidden in the shadows.

Then she noticed Falconflight crouched over something at the bottom of the stairs, Whitefur beside him. The white warrior looked very tense and her claws kept sheathing and unsheathing rapidly.

What would make her be like that?

And then Hazelpaw saw what they were looking at - the crumpled, cream coloured, lifeless body of a cat.

Rosethorn.

Hazelpaw gasped, feeling her heart skip a beat.

The cream she cat twitched.

"Aye StarClan, Rosethorn!" Gasped Jupinerbush, taking a step back in horror. Hazelpaw thought the brown tabby looked unusually disturbed about something. His ear kept twitching in a nervous manner, and he began to look to where Sparrowfeather was standing on the stairs, before dragging his gaze back down with a jolt.

"StarClan!" Said Sparrowfeather emptily. "Great StarClan, what happened?"

"Rosethorn has fallen down the stairs," explained Falconflight, quickly but composedly. "She's badly hurt - some cat needs to fetch Mintpelt quick! She's outside looking for herbs."

The yellow tom looked to Whitfur as he said this, but it was Eaglepaw who answered. "I'll get her!" Snapped the cream tom. "She's my mother."

Just then Beeflight came in, a couple of blackbirds in her jaws. At the sight of Rosethorn laying on the floor, she gasped, dropping her prey in the process. "What…?" She began weakly, amber eyes wide.

"Don't just stand there!" Snarled Eaglepaw, brushing past her rudely. "Come and help me find Mintpelt!"

Beeflight just nodded mutely, before following the cream tom outside.

Hazelpaw turned back to see Daisypaw surge forward towards her mother. Despite her calm composure so far, the grey she cat could tell by her wrinkled pink nose and flicking tail that she was gravely worried, but Falconflight stepped in front of her, blocking her view.

"No!" Said the yellow tom. "Don't look."

Daisypaw twitched her whiskers in annoyance. "Really! Am I allowed to do anything these celebrations?" She huffed.

"Daisypaw!" Said Falconflight fiercely.

"Oh, all right!" Said the cream she cat, a shrill note to her voice. "If you're going to be all warrior about it!"

Hazelpaw thought she could see a gleam of worry in her blue eyes. The grey she cat wrapped her tail around her friend and pressed close to her side comfortingly. She heard the urgent shouts of Eaglepaw outside, calling for Mintpelt, as Jupinerbush lumbered down the stairs, muttering under his breath. Hazelpaw felt her friend press back against her and could feel her shivering as though she had a fever.

Oh, Daisypaw.. Why doesn't Falconflight want her to get too close? Is it really that bad?

Falconflight was crouched back over Rosethorn, face creased in a concerned frown, while Whitefur stood next to him, speaking short, quiet words into his ear.

They are behaving very familiar with each other once again. Thought Hazelpaw. She thought of what Falconflight had said a few heartbeats ago - 'Rosethorn has fallen down the stairs.'

Hazelpaw felt a shiver run down her spine.

I don't believe that for a heartbeat. I think she was pushed.

Falconflight seems to be helping her now, but he did arrive on the scene awfully quickly - so did Whitefur. What was she supposedly doing while we were going up to our den? Had it been a ruse to get us away for a moment?

Then the grey she cat glanced up to the top of the stairs on the second floor. The late sun rays no longer provided light on that floor. It was dim, dark and shadowy - Just the place for an ambush.

Some cat must have pushed her from the top - hidden in the darkness. Exactly the same place Jupinerbush and Sparrowfeather had come out. The brown tom looks suspicious again!

Hazelpaw felt another wave of hopelessness wash over her. The grey she cat believed Daisypaw - I do! I really do! She told herself sternly, ignoring the niggling feeling at the back of her mind - but she knew the Clan Guard wouldn't.

The only thing which made Hazelpaw feel the smallest bit glad was that, at last, one of Daisypaw's family had been ruled out as a suspect. Eaglepaw had been with the she cats in the warrior's Nest Lay den the moment of the scream. There was no way, even with the most intricate of plans, that he could have been the one to push her.

At least we now know that Eaglepaw is not the murderer.

…

Just as Mintpelt had bustled into the long den, Beeflight and Eaglepaw just behind her, all four apprentices were hustled up to their den and told strict orders to stay there until told. Hazelpaw could tell that no one knew quite what to do with themselves.

Beanpaw was curled up in her nest sobbing. "Your poor mother! Will she be alright? Will she?!" Hazelpaw wondered if the incident had made the black she cat think of her own mother's condition.

"I don't know!" Daisypaw snapped ferociously back. The cream she cat was pacing near the entrance of the den, stopping every few heart beats to listen hopefully with pricked ears. "Can't you be quiet for a bit? I want to think."

"I'm sure she will be." Spoke up Lilypaw, trying to be helpful. The white she cat still seemed slightly dazed about the whole thing. "I remember Violetstrike telling me about a BrightClan apprentice's aunt who fell out of a tree - hitting every branch on the way down - and she lived!" Lilypaw gabled on. "She did break all the bones in her legs though, and she couldn't be a warrior afterwards but-"

"Lilypaw." Hissed Hazelpaw. "Be quiet!"

The white she cat closed her mouth with a scowl. "Rude." She muttered under her breath, before turning away.

There was silence for a heartbeat, and then Beanpaw spoke up again. "Do you think the Clan Guard will really be here tomorrow?" She asked.

"Hah!" Said Daisypaw. "What can they do? I hope they never come at all. They'll only ruin everything."

Hazelpaw knew she was thinking about Sparrowfeather.

"But if the Clan Guard doesn't come," continued Beanpaw, twitching her tail nervously, "how will we stop the murderer? I know you say the Clan Guard can't help, but won't they protect us? Two warriors have gotten hurt now!"

"Daisypaw," began Hazelpaw gently as she padded up to her friend and touched her nose to her shoulder. "She is right. We want the Clan Guard to come, don't we? It's deputy Gorsestep; remember in PineClan? He's clever. He'll know it isn't your father!"

"Will he?" Asked Daisypaw, dubiously. The cream she cat sat down on her haunches and leant against her friend. "He may be a nice cleanpaw, but he's still a cleanpaw. He has to stick to the rules."

"But if he catches the real murderer-" Began Lilypaw.

"He might not!" Snapped Daisypaw; then she let out a sigh. "We'll be perfectly alright as long as we stick together - and maybe block the entrance with one of the twoleg objects before we sleep tonight. The murderer can't kill all four of us."

As usual, Daisypaw's reassurance wasn't actually reassuring at all. Lilypaw stared at the cream she cat for a heartbeat, ears angling back to her head. Beanpaw let out a wail and buried her head in her nest. Hazelpaw quite agreed with her.

If the murderer was going to strike again, we would surely be next. How can we think for a moment we are safe in Cardinal Nest. Even if we ran away, we would most likely be caught and brought back - within easy reach of the murderer.

Suddenly another thought - utterly awful and horrible - struck Hazelpaw.

If we don't catch the murderer and they come back with us to PineClan, who's to say they won't strike again - at camp. Could the rest of our clanmates be in danger too?!

The grey she cat thought again of Gorsestep, and willed him to hurry up.

For all that Daisypaw doesn't trust the Guard, he has saved us before - and now I think it's time for him to do so again.

Hazelpaw sighed, pressing closer to Daisypaw. A wave of homesickness came over the grey she cat.

What I really want to do is run away from Cardinal nest and never come back. I miss my home in the mountains where everything is smooth and cool and safe. I even badly miss the warmth and familiarity of PineClan itself, despite what happened at the beginning of this season; the hustle and bustle of camp, the excited buzz of training. I'm not sure which place I long for more.

Meanwhile, Daisypaw was still talking rapidly, faster and faster like a rushing river. The noise of her voice buzzed in Hazelpaw's ear, and the grey she cat struggled to make out what she was actually saying. "...down our suspects and ask for their alibis. Make sure to pay attention to not only what they say, but also how they say it. Oh, and their body language too! One slight flick of their tail could be all the difference-"

Just then, Daisypaw's stream of words was interrupted by a horrible groaning yowl. It started low before becoming higher and higher pitched, sending shivers down Hazelpaw's pine.

"Urgh, what is that?" Cried Lilypaw at the same time Beanpaw wailed, "Oh no! Is she dead?!"

Daisypaw jerked away from Hazelpaw, muscles tense, ears pricked and blue eyes wide.

"What is it Daisypaw?" Hazelpaw asked worriedly. She felt her heart skip a beat, expecting the worst.

Daisypaw took a deep breath, sitting calmly on her haunches. "That," she said composedly, "is Rosethorn. It's the noise she makes when she thinks she's dreadfully hurt. Usually after she's stepped on a twig or something. And if she's making it right now, it means she's going to be alright."

Relief glimmered in the she cat's blue eyes. "She's not going to die after all - not that I ever thought she would, of course. And if you'd all excuse me for a moment, I must just…"

And then the cream she got up, walked carefully over to the side of the den, and was very neatly sick out the whole.

Hello everyone and hope you enjoyed this chapter! Oh dear. Seems to be Rosethorn is now the murderer's next target…if it was the murderer that is. Good thing she survived? I think I'm hearing disappointed groans…oh well at least she's alright for Daisypaw's sake. She really does still care greatly for her mother even if she claims to hate her after all she's done. Tune in next Friday to see how the detectives deal with this new development and what everyone has to say for themselves.

-Fastbreeze37

PS: This week's pic is a map of Cardinal Nest! Thought it might come handy this week. Hope it helps give everyone a better idea of where everything is in relation to each other :.)

Reviews:

Hissing Mist – Well Acornfur is a StormClan cat and was the only cat on the guard who could reach the nest by swimming. It is currently unknown whether Gorsestep can swim at all but…he is amazingly awesome so maybe he can, we'll see. And um I don't know…I did have plans to expand the Clan Guard cats' backstories and it was probably part of the plot there if I ever get to it. At the meantime it is either his annoyance at Rosethorn fan-girling Gorsestep all the time. He might be a bit miffed that she thinks it's only him who does important work for the guard or some other personal rivalry. Or maybe he was just over Rosethorn's whining. (Aren't we all?) At the moment though it's nothing major or all that important. Meanwhile…haha…okay…wow..that was...Now I can't get an image of Falconflight doing something like that out of my mind! While prancing around and saying that in a high pitched snobbish froo, froo voice and like, making a complete and utter, total fool of himself (Jupinerbush's sad slow clap lol! Nice theory that you think he's involved). And yeah, cat comedy gold anyone? For those who don't like the Falcon anyway ;.) Yes even a blind mouse could tell he was your least favourite character lol! Anyway, yeah he was kinda annoying when he restated Eagle's words. I don't think he meant anything by it to Eagle per see, but…it certainly is sus how much he is deterring the Clan Guard coming and again he is acting like he's the high and mighty warrior who knows 'what's best.' No one seemed particularly happy about the clan guard coming lol, but I'm glad it's helped you narrow down the suspects and hopefully more events in future chapters will help you determine whether your Mudpaw theory is right or not. Yeah Daisy and Eagle really do get on each's nerves sometimes but glad you like funny squeaky nickname. And yes…very sorry to disappoint that it wasn't mr liar-liar-fur-on-fire who was in trouble. Maybe next time but no promises. But relief it wasn't a likeable character! Glad you like Haze's look ;.) And why I keep PMs closed? Eh it's mostly the whole talking to peeps who you don't really know anything about through the internet sorta thing. I wouldn't feel completely comfortable with that. And the second is I probs wouldn't have the time to keep up with online chats anyway hence why I haven't joined any forums and whatnot as well as bc of above. Nothing personal though! Glad you enjoyed and see you next week :.)