Sitting just outside the warriors' den, Cinderfire observed the camp. She still grieved for her fallen mentor, but had pushed herself to look forward. The sky was painted with hues of blue and orange to signify the setting sun. Her tail tapped against the ground mindlessly.
"Cinderfire." She turned her blue gaze to see Sandstorm approaching her.
"Were you with Fireheart before he died?" the sandy she-cat asked."
"Yeah, of course." Cinderfire didn't think anything of it until Sandstorm pressed her.
The older she-cat's ears twitched and her tail flicked back and forth. "Did you happen to see any other cat come in to see him?"
"Graystripe did," meowed Cinderfire. "He asked for some time with Fireheart alone, so I left."
"And then he died," Sandstorm muttered.
Cinderfire cocked her head to the side. "What?"
"Yellowfang announced that Fireheart had died right after you left and Graystripe walked in," she explained.
Her head was lowered, digging deep into her mind of what this could mean. What is Sandstorm getting at? After several long moments of silence, it clicked. Eyes wide, Cinderfire sared in disbelief at Sandstorm. "Graystripe killed Fireheart?"
"I don't want to believe it either," Sandstorm mewed. "But I think it's a very likely possibility."
Mind racing, millions of thoughts and questions all jumbled together in her mouth and she couldn't get it out individually. "What makes you- But- How did-"
Sandstorm swept her tail across the smokey she-cat's mouth. "One question at a time," she suggested. "Let's go talk about this somewhere more private, hmm?"
Cinderfire followed Sandstorm out of the camp. Sandstorm lead her to the Great Oak where they sat beneath its leaves. Cinderfire waited for Sandstorm to speak for a while until it felt as though ants were crawling beneath her pelt.
"How do you know?" she blurted.
Sandstorm shifted her forepaws, kneeding the dirt. "Well . . ." she started. "I was out of camp to grieve alone and Graystripe approached me. He started talking about how it's better off with Fireheart dead, and how Cloudpaw had seen him to do it." She took a breath, Cinderfire remaining silent. "He told me I needed to lie to Bluestar and tell her that Cloudpaw was just hallucinating. He'd mentioned something about dogs, but I can't remember what it was exactly.
"So I lied to him and said I would do it. When I got back to camp, I went to Yellowfang's den to search out scents in the nest Fireheart was laid in. I really don't want to believe it, but I found deathberries underneath the nest. Graystripe's scent was faint, but it was definitely there with them."
"Oh, StarClan," Cinderfire breathed. "We have to tell Bluestar the truth then!"
"Not so fast," meowed Sandstorm. "I already asked Cloudpaw to tell her what he saw and that I was speaking with you, just in case you had seen anything."
Sandstorm stood up and padded back to camp. Yet Cinderfire stayed where she was for a while longer. "I have to tell Bluestar" she mumbled to herself.
Standing up, she started trotting back to camp, trying to look nonchalant but also purposeful. A weight on her shoulders, however, sent her crashing to the ground. There was hot breathing in her ear, followed by a sinister chuckle.
"Not so fast," a voice meowed.
In a split second, she recognized the voice. Who is that? Before a thought could be formed, a sharp pain pierced through the back of her neck. Darkness overtook her vision, and her mind clouded.
Graystripe-
I apologize for the wait, I've finally been able to weasle my way out of some writer's block. This is definitely not my best work, but I'm happy to at least have something to publish.
As for Nutmeg, she does not have a definitive mental disorder, but she was abused in her childhood. So she believed that was normal and the only way to show that she loved her kits.