Chapter Twenty Six - Undercover and Uncovered

The next morning, Hazelpaw woke up to a paw prodding her side sharply. "Wake up Hazelpaw!" Hissed Daisypaw in her ear. "WAKE UP!"

"Ow, I am awake." Groaned the grey she cat in reply before her jaws parted into a wide yawn.

"Hazelpaw! A miracle from StarClan has occurred! Whitefur is out of the warriors den and out of Cardinal Nest helping Beeflight with hunting! The other warriors are out too. This is our chance!"

Hazelpaw blinked, before catching on to what Daisypaw was talking about. "We can finally search her nest!" She exclaimed, standing up so fast she almost fell over.

"Exactly!" said Daisypaw. "But we must work quickly. Lilypaw, I want you standing guard by the nest entrance and alerting us to any unwanted company. Beanpaw, you will be just outside the warrior's den in case Lilypaw raises the alarm, and Hazelpaw, you come in with me."

"But I want-" Began Lilypaw.

"No buts!" Cried Daisypaw. "I am the Dectective Society leader, and in this case you must respect my authority because I know what I am talking about and I solved a murder case at the beginning of this season. With Hazelpaw. All right, are we ready?"

Lilypaw and Beanpaw nodded - although Lilypaw's nod was slightly reluctant - and the four she cats hurried down stairs. Lilypaw darted straight to the nest entrance while Beanpaw stood nervously by the warrior's den.

"Ready deputy?" Asked Daisypaw. The grey she cat nodded. "Ready." The two detectives darted into the den.

Once inside, instead of heading for the large, messy nest, Daisypaw leapt eagerly towards a smaller neatly woven next near the side of the den below another clearstone hole. "Looky here Hazelpaw!" Cried Daisypaw as she began frantically pawing through the moss.

"Careful," cautioned Hazelpaw, "If you mess it up too much we won't be able to put it back - she mustn't know we've been here!"

"Huh," grunted Daisypaw dismissively, "there's no time for that. Help me find the feather."

The two she cats pawed through the nest sending moss flying everywhere, until Hazelpaw abruptly froze, a flash of yellow colour catching her eye amongst the green. She blinked before gently pulling it out with her paw.

"What's that?" The grey she cat whispered, at the same time Daisypaw hissed. "Great StarClan!"

Hazelpaw peered at the yellow object which turned out to be a five point leaf. "It's a leaf," the grey she cat stated. "A maple leaf."

I didn't think maple trees grew in PineClan territory though.

"Not just any leaf! Hazelpaw, you won't believe this," said Daisypaw, turning to her friend. Her blue eyes were wide open in disbelief, but Hazelpaw couldn't understand why. "I know from Falconflight that maple leaves serve a special purpose to clan cats. They are used as badges - a sort of proof - which show that you're a Clan Guard."

"What? Wait! ….Oh-" Was all Hazelpaw could say as she stared at her friend, processing what this meant.

"I know, right." Said Daisypaw. "But here's something else as well. Maple leaves are used, the five points represent the clans and the Clan Guard, but different coloured leaves mean different things. A green maple leaf means you're an ordinary Guard like Gorsestep, but a yellow one means you're undercover, so this means…..."

"Unbelievable." Breathed Hazelpaw. A heartbeat of shocked silence followed.

"So Whitefur. Sh- She...she's really a Guard!" Gasped the grey she cat at last, brown eyes wide with wonder and amazement. "This is the secret she's been hiding! She's an undercover Clan Guard!"

"Yes!" Exclaimed Daisypaw. The two she cats gaped at each other. "Do you think she was here for anything to do with the rogues? Or maybe there was already suspicions about Spiderstreak's involvement?" Theorised Hazelpaw.

"Perhaps," said Daisypaw, "but if that was the case they have been fearfully lax, he's obviously been a traitorous informant for a bit. Oh, but just imagine Hazelpaw! We've been being mentored by a Clan Guard - an undercover one! No wonder she was teaching us too well!"

Just then, Hazelpaw had a sudden realisation which made her wriggle uncomfortably at the bottom of her stomach. "But Daiypaw," she began, "if Whitefur's really a Clan Guard, then she can't be the murderer. Even if she was undercover with something to do with Spiderstreak, she wouldn't be allowed to kill him, would she?"

Daisypaw blinked. "But-"

"Daisypaw, Hazelpaw!" Came a frantic whisper from Beanpaw. "Whitefur's coming!"

Quick as lightning, Daisypaw tossed the maple leaf back in the nest and piled all the shredded moss back on top. The cream she cat seized Hazelpaw with her tail, and together the two she cats scuttled out of the den and behind the stairs.

Waiting for them was Beanpaw bouncing up and down with fear of being caught and Lilypaw pacing nervously in circles. The white she cat let out a breath of relief when she spotted her denmates. "Thank StarClan! I thought you were never coming out." She hissed.

Just then, Whitefur herself padded past the she cats towards the warriors den, but stopped abruptly upon noticing them. "Her vivid green eyes narrowed as she looked around at the apprentices - at Beanpaw, trembling and green eyes wide, at Lilypaw, looking down at her paws, ears turning pink, and at Hazelpaw and Daisypaw who were desperately trying not to look in the direction of the warrior's den.

"What are you all doing here?" She asked at last. "Hurry to the prey store den for morning meal at once. Beanpaw, I think your father will still be able to collect you today." And with one last sweeping glance, the white warrior (no, undercover Clan Guard! Thought Hazelpaw) padded into the den.

"Come on!" Cried Daisypaw, before she began galloping down the long den like a running rabbit.

"What did you find?" Gasped Lilypaw to Hazelpaw as they chased after her. "What happened?"

"Whitefur is secretly a Clan Guard! Working undercover for some reason. We found a maple leaf badge in her nest!" Answered Hazelpaw. "That's what proves it!"

"Wh-what?!" Spluttered Lilypaw, blue eyes widening in astonishment, before giving her tail an excited flick. "Great StarClan! I would never have guessed that."

A frown then formed on the white furred apprentice's face as she seemed to finally process what it meant for the investigation. "But...if Whitefur is a Clan Guard - there are only two suspects left!" Said Lilypaw.

Hazelpaw's heart sank. "I know."

Falconflight….or Daisypaw's father.

And yes ladies and gentleman it is now revealed that Whitefur is in fact an undercover Clan Guard! Hello everyone, I hope you enjoyed this chap. And I wonder how this changes your perceptions on Whitefur? Do you like her more, dislike her more? Or just still kinda neutral. I wonder if this reveal was very surprising or maybe not so much because I know some reviewers have gotten quite close to guessing something along these lines. And now, it seems we're down to two….dum, dum, daaaaa. So, tune in next Friday to see Daisypaw's next possibly crazy plan and maybe the arrival of some well awaited visitors…..

Reviews:

Hissing Mist – Well no matter that certainly is a nice looking cat you described anyway and would certainly fit if Eaglepaw took more after Sparrowfeather and Jupinerbush, but alas I've made him look more like Rosethorn and Daisypaw with the creamy tones and blue eyes. Though of course you can still imagine him however you like :.) I'm not sure if the cat pic I used is an abyssinian cat or not but they are certainly a pretty breed. Whoops Hazel was positive the murderer had come to finish her off for good before Mudpaw revealed himself…..talk about awkward. Well I suppose the mystery is what clan Mudpaw's father was from and whether Mudpaw knows which one he was from. (And whether any of the other warriors/apprentice's know he's actually half clan not just a former rogue if that's even important.) Though he was just literally found inside PineClan territory and they took him in. As for why Servalleap didn't try to get lil muddykit into his clan straight away…who knows? Maybe more will be revealed later if needed. Ahh, Mr. Muddypaws is just working up the courage to propose to future Mrs. Hazel Muddypaws. This last chapter with ambient moonlight was just a dress rehearsal lol ;.) And yup I suppose Hazel does have a good reason to be expecting this to not turn out so nice. Especially now…

thephantomreader – Yes our sweet boi isn't very happy at the moment :,.( But at least he has Hazel to comfort him :.) The little mystery of which clan is mudpaw's father from which may or may not be solved and may or may not be important. Whitefur being Mudpaw's long lost mother was an interesting theory, and I suppose even after this reveal it could still be true….as for her guilt in this whole affair, Hazel and Daisy have ruled her out. Only time will tell if they did so prematurely, but her being an Undercover Clan Guard does certainly help her case. As for your last idea, that was good too but now probably wouldn't fit so well after this chap…unless of course it may been someone else mudpaw possibly saw doing something sus…