Chapter Thirty One - Three's Company

After all that, Lionmane quickly rushed a weeping Beanpaw and a googly eyed, excited Lilypaw out towards the nest entrance. The ginger tom's face was absolutely thunderous as he exited Cardinal Nest, the other two she cats in tow, but Daisypaw stopped them and quickly pulled them into a huddle for one last hasty conversation.

"You mustn't say anything," the cream she cat muttered to Beanpaw and Lilypaw. "Not anything about the Detective Society or its part in this. Deadly secret, remember? You promised!"

"But-" Began Lilypaw.

"Lilypaw of PineClan! I have warned you before that I know Ancient Time tortures and I will use all of them on you if you so much as breathe a word about any of this. This is important!"

"Oh don't!" Cried Beanpaw, green eyes wide. "We won't! You know we won't!"

"I know you wouldn't," said Daisypaw, "but Lilypaw might. She talks."

"All right, all right." Snapped the white she cat. She gave her tail an irritated flick. "I won't. I promised." She muttered rather begrudgingly.

"I don't even want to think about it!" Said Beanpaw. "Poor Spiderstreak! Poor Mudpaw! Poor Servalleap! Murder is awful."

"Yes, thank you Beans." Said Daisypaw with a roll of her eyes. "So Lilypaw, you won't talk? If you don't - you can stay members of the Detective Society. Minor members, of course, but it's an honour, see?"

"I already told you I wouldn't tell," said Lilypaw with a haughty sweep of her tail. "But I want a badge."

"If there are ever badges," said Daisypaw grandly as Beanpaw's father shot an impatient glare at the huddle of cats from outside, "you may have one."

"Common girls, let's go." Called out Lionmane, a hint of growl apparent in his voice. "And get us out of this blimin' StarClan cursed place." He muttered under his breath.

Lilypaw and Beanpaw nodded before quickly whispering 'goodbye' and 'see you laters' and trotting after Lionmane towards the direction of camp, their pawsteps squelching on the rain dampened ground.

As Hazelpaw watched their white, black and ginger forms fade into the distance, the grey she cat suddenly felt very homesick once more, although she was still not sure for where - the Tribe in the mountains or simply the PineClan camp. What she did know was that she desperately wanted to follow them far away from Cardinal Nest.

Soon after, Jupinerbush also left after saying a cordial goodbye to his nephew, relief still shining in his blue eyes, and a rather curt goodbye to Rosethorn. Mintpelt also left with him to keep the older tom company and to get back to camp as soon as possible. She blinked warmly at the two young she cats, touching their noses in goodbye, before giving Beeflight a reassuring lick between her ears. The yellow tabby she cat gave a low purr as she nuzzled the medicine cat's shoulder in reply before waving her tail as Mintpelt and Jupinerbush departed.

Back inside, the Clan Guards were still there holding Mudpaw under severe guard in one of the dens. For some reason, Hazelpaw suddenly felt very shy and awkward around them and tried her best to keep out of their way; the two she cats spending the rest of the day up in their own den.

But just before dusk, Hazelpaw and Daisypaw were soon summoned to the warrior's Nest Lay den once again by Beeflight, whose pelt seemed to prick with excitement and amber eyes glowed with curiosity. When the two she cats and the young warrior arrived, there, already present, were Falconflight, Gorsestep and Whitefur, sitting up straight and serious in a rough semi-circle.

It is true. They do all know each other! Thought Hazelpaw now feeling rather nervous about why they had been asked to meet here.

Hazelpaw wasn't afraid of Whitefur anymore exactly, now that she knew who the white she cat really was and that she wasn't a murderer- but now she had no idea how to behave around her. Falconflight, though, was a slightly different story. He still made Hazelpaw nervous despite being in the clear too. He seemed so mysterious and important and official that the grey she cat really didn't like the idea of being noticed by him. Not to mention she still found the yellow tom impossible to read half the time. And then there was Gorsestep. He had seemed rather proud earlier when the two she cats had been explaining their findings, but Hazelpaw still wondered if he was upset about them hiding the fact that they had originally suspected Sparrowfeather.

Neither of the three warriors spoke up and Hazelpaw didn't know what to say. But Daisypaw, of course, had no such qualms.

"Hello," said the cream she cat, lifting her chin up importantly, "Beeflight told us you wanted to see us. I suppose we can spare the time. What did you want to say?"

Falconflight raised his brow and frowned, fixing the two she cats with an unreadable gaze - and then he smiled. "Daisypaw," he said, "you are incorrigible. Good of you to grant us your audience. Yes, we wanted to speak with you."

Hazelpaw thought her nervousness must have shown because Gorsestep quickly spoke up. "Don't worry you aren't in trouble," the dark tabby said, blinking his amber eyes reassuringly.

"Well of course we aren't," said Daisypaw with a haughty twitch of her whiskers, "we solved the murder for you again after all. I think we deserve badges."

"Indeed you did," agreed Gosestep with a nod, "and in your usual fine style I have no doubt that the plentiful evidence will hold up in Court of the Clans and get a sentence. However…."

"However," put in Falconflight smoothly, a knowing gleam in his blue eyes, "we need to have a word about certain other facts you discovered which have nothing to do with the murder."

"Such as Whitefur really being an undercover Clan Guard?" Asked Daisypaw, a hint of triumphant apparent in her voice. Hazelpaw thought the cream she cat seemed rather delighted to be able to annoy her uncle again without worrying that he may be a murderer.

"Yes, Daisypaw," said Falconflight as Whitefur shifted on her paws and coughed discreetly. "And what we must ask you now is that you do not pass on that knowledge to anyone else. It is important that Leafgaze - as is Whitefur's real name - is able to continue working on important missions such as this without being compromised."

"Of course we wouldn't," said Daisypaw with a roll of her eyes, "we're absolutely discreet, aren't we Hazelpaw?"

"We won't ever," said the grey she cat, earnestly nodding her head as hard as she could, "we promise."

"Good," said Gorsestep, and he smiled at the two she cats in a way that Hazelpaw knew he was truly glad. The grey she cat felt comforted.

Whitefur - Leafgaze - smiled at them too. Her green eyes seemed to glow and appear more vibrant than ever and she somehow seemed less like a dull, cleanpaw warrior mentor and more like a real cat; kind, clever and somewhat mysterious. For a heart beat Hazelpaw suddenly wondered if that could be her one day.

But of course that's a silly idea to have. Thought Hazelpaw with a sigh. Whitefur has to be able to fit in to do her job, and wherever I go I stand out as utterly different. All the same, I can't help imagining it.

"Leafgaze came to join PineClan on my orders, I persuaded Dovestar to let her join, and then I made sure that she was a part of the celebrations here," explained Falconflight. "From time to time we like to collaborate with the Clan Guard on specific missions, particularly the undercover Clan Guard."

Hazelpaw nodded in understanding. So Whitefur was working for Falconflight and that's how they knew each other. Perhaps this wasn't even the first time they had worked together.

"We have believed for there to be a traitor in the Clan for a while now, we just didn't know who exactly." Falconflight continued. He gave a nod in Whitefur's direction. "That's why Leafgaze was brought in in the first place. Then we figured out that it was indeed Spiderstreak, but we still needed a few other pieces of evidence to finish the case. Rosethorn had already told me that she would be inviting her 'friend' Spiderstreak along to the celebrations and I figured that this would be the perfect opportunity to get the needed evidence; and a good idea to have a Clan Guard on the scene as well."

The yellow tabby tom paused for a moment, his mouth turning upwards in a humourless, seemingly annoyed, smirk. "Unfortunately," he continued, "Spiderstreak realized what Leafgaze was up to on the morning of your celebration day. She and I were discussing bringing him in when the murder happened - and then we knew we had to keep our part in the case quiet. I suppose you thought it might mean I was guilty….."

Hazelpaw gulped uncomfortably, avoiding his gaze.

"Never seriously," said Daisypaw without batting an eye, "of course when we discovered Whitefur's leaf badge we understood everything."

Hazelpaw slowly nodded her agreement, once again impressed by her friend's collectedness.

Something else then suddenly occurred to Hazelpaw. Something related to an interaction on the day before they left for Cardinal Nest.

"Does Dovestar know?" Questioned Hazelpaw feeling a bit braver now to ask. She tilted her head to the side quizzically. "About all this I mean and...other ways you may pass the time."

Falconflight turned his gaze intently on Hazelpaw, a surprised but almost pleased gleam apparent in his blue eyes.

"No. At least, not that I'm aware of or have purposely told her." Answered the yellow tabby tom after a pause. "About both things that is. But of course Dovestar is quite the intelligent and clever she cat and I for one have also noticed that she may indeed know or certainly suspects that there is more going on. I do, however, plan on telling her everything once we get back home."

Falconflight twitched his whiskers thoughtfully. "It's not uncommon for clan leaders to know the true identities of certain clanmates and be aware of any happenings and developments in regard to that. However, it has unfortunately not been like that in PineClan for a while now due to a rather tenuous and not entirely trustworthy relationship between the last few leaders. Especially, ah, with the incident at the beginning of this season..."

The yellow tom paused to take a breath and Hazelpaw seemed to detect real emotion in his blue eyes for the first time - a sort of sadness, hurt and disappointment. But as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared as Falconflight gave his head a sharp shake.

The yellow tom cleared his throat. "Dovestar, though, is very different. She is most certainly not like her….her predecessor. I trust her. We all do, and that is why we've decided it is time for her to know the full story."

"A very good decision, Falconflight." Spoke up Whitefur, her bright green eyes almost slightly teasing. "I, for one, would have bet a full moon of fresh kill any sun-up that she would have figured it out on her own eventually."

"And then you would be back in the same position anyway," concluded Gorsestep with a nod and a smirk.

"Very true," said Falconflight, blue eyes gleaming. "Much like you two," continued the yellow tom as he turned back towards the two young detectives. "I must admit, you are both very clever she cats."

"Give it a few more seasons and they'll have you out of a job," said Whitefur with a smile. She gave a slight dip of the head to the two apprentices. "Apprentices and young detectives. It's been a pleasure to mentor you and be suspected by you. Criminals ought to beware."

"Thank you," said Daisypaw with her own grand dip of the head. "So they ought."

Whitefur then looked right at Hazelpaw with a soft smile and a cheeky wink, her green eyes glittering with humour. The grey she cat grinned shyly back at the white furred undercover Clan Guard and decided right then and there that she really did like Whitefur - or rather Leafgaze - very much indeed.

The two apprentices then withdrew from the warrior's Nest Lay den and climbed back up the stairs - passing right by Spiderstreak's den. It looked vastly different now. Hazelpaw noticed that the entrance was no longer blocked with a twoleg object and that the dust and dirtiness had been cleaned. A hazy golden light streamed through the clearstone covered holes, making the whole nest feel lighter. The green vine climbing the side of the entrance was no longer there and the body was gone.

The Case of The Poisoning of Spiderstreak seemed to be finally reaching the end at last.

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And there you go! I hope that explains everything about Whitefur's part in the story and trying to help with catching Spiderstreak as well asher connection to Falconflight and to some extent Gorsestep. Hello, everyone and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! So speaking of, what do you think of Whitefur - er - Leafgaze now? Well, with the case well and truly wrapped up we are pretty much at the end folks. But tune in next Friday for one more chapter to finish things off and tie up some loose ends.

-Fastbreeze37 (Seven)

PS: I'm now at 2,940 views and over 75 reviews! Thank you guys so much! :.)

Reviews:

Hissing Mist - Thank you and I hope Mudpaw's pic didn't unnerve you too much ;.) Ha, ha! Lol that kinda pretty much sums up Falconflight's game plan in the last chap (except for the Gorsestep bit) of trying to not look like a total mousbrain and like he had everything under control/knew everything the whole time. *sighs* Oh Foxheart. Meanwhile, Falconfoxheart isn't exactly related to the clan guard directly (I haven't actually gone out and said it but he's basically a kitty spy – albeit, perhaps a slightly questionable one..) though according to this chap, he does work with the clan guard from time to time. So Gorsestep isn't his boss, it's some other poor chap who has to deal with him ;.) Thank you so much! I hope you enjoyed today's as well :.)

Beetlefur – Thank you! It's really important to me to have a well-planned solution to my mysteries, so really glad you liked it! Yes, Mudpaw, despite his bad decisions, has really had it tough and he does seem to have his fair share of supporters who think Spiderstreak is the ultimate bad guy. And to top it off, the tragedy of the split of the Hazelpaw and Mudpaw ship! They really were cute together and extremely hard for Hazel (even though she knew she couldn't choose anything else) to dob him in…but she's a brave girl and will fight through it all. As for Rosethorn…who knows? She just thrives on attention, drama and OTTness all the time and in that order! And apparently hasn't realised just how unpopular that makes her…..

FrostedShadowx – Review 1: Yes you did! And if I remember correctly, you were one of the reviewers to comment on my response about Mudpaw to Hissing Mist which, well, did certainly hint that he wasn't as innocent as he looked. And you knew something was up with his rogue born backstory and all. You may not have got all the reasons for Mudpaw's motive right, but you were very close. Anyway glad you're happy that one of your theories was right! And also glad (and slightly relieved) that you still enjoyed the fic and thought Mudpaw was an unexpected culprit even though you suspected him for a bit. As for the Sparrow – Rose drama, nothing about their relationship status is concrete yet but it will certainly all be tied up in the next chapter which also happens to be the epilogue ;.) Review 2: I understand where you are coming from but one character who would certainly disagree would be Daisypaw. Mostly because it was her parents which ended up being victims in a way to Mudpaw's doing, regardless of whether it is thought to be fair what he did to Spiderstreak. As for punishment, that will also be explained next chap but will definitely not be as bad as Ashstar's, but Mudpaw will certainly be held away from PineClan for a time at least. And yeah nothing has been resolved in terms of Sparrow and Rose except that rose is still acting quite horrible but all will be explained next chap. The biggest thing for Hazel is not just how her crush committing murder doesn't sit well with her but how it affected her best friend so much so…..sorry but the HazelxMud ship is pretty much at an end...for now at least, unless I decide to bring Mudpaw back in a future book if I write more and things happen to mend, but it would take a lot. Though sadly, yes, Mudpaw genuinely did like Hazelpaw. And yes I really enjoyed hearing your theories and your Mudpaw one was well and truly spot on even before spiderstreak was officially murdered lol ;.) Great job!

thephantomreader – Yay, I'm glad my notes were helpful! Yes Mudpaw certainly has very much fallen, and that is some interesting insight into his thoughts of the last chap. He most likely is starting to realise that revenge was certainly not worth losing both Hazelpaw – a new close friend he could really relate with and Eaglepw, his best friend. So, you think he's getting what he deserves, while still feeling sorry for his circumstances. And yes spare a thought for Servalleap as well. And poor Gorsey seemed a bit upset over his first case he couldn't solve. He'll be alright. And maybe even Falcon is a little upset. :.O Everyone seems to think that sparrow is better off without drama queen rose, but what about poor daisy? We'll have to see what goes down in the epilogue….