Half-way done.

Bilbz: I have to admit, the relationship between Sandfur and Yellowstar is pretty odd

Iahmow: Wow, you've re-read this four times? That means so much to me! Thank you!

Enjoy. You can be angry at me, it's fine.

It was a cool morning, where the sun had barely come up across the trees. Only a few streams of light poured through the woods, barely illuminating it. Birds only just started chirping. Even then, a cat was heaving themselves through the woods. They were dragging a two-leg contraption across the grass. It was heavy and was wearing down the cat, but they were determined to arrive at their destination. They decided to stop for a breath. It isn't far… Having reassured themselves, they continued their journey.

Nightstorm woke up with a jolt, realizing it was near sun-high already. The rest of his clanmates were already gone from the warrior's den, so he must've not been assigned anything by Snakefang. That was fine since it meant he would have extra sleep. He did notice Mintbreeze was awake, sitting by herself on the other side of the den. He felt like their conversation had not gone well last night, and he realized he could fix that. Everything had been so horrible with Mintbreeze and Sandfur, maybe he could come to an understanding. He prepared himself to speak. "Oh, Mintbreeze!"

Mintbreeze turned to Nightstorm, acting as if nothing was wrong. "You finally woke up?" she said sarcastically.

"Yeah…," replied Nightstorm, "look, about last night. I'm sorry if I was acting weird… I've been stressed lately. Sandfur hasn't helped, but I think it might be too far to say she's abandoning me. I'm sure when this is over things will be fine. Sometimes we're busier than usual, y'know?"

Mintbreeze thought for a moment, clearly considering this. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Sorry if I got a little angry last night as well. What are you doing today?"

Nightstorm realized he hadn't thought about his vision for a while. "I suppose I'll see Addertail see what he thinks about the vision, from the gathering."

"Good idea. I think Addertail is pretty smart when it comes to that stuff," replied Mintbreeze.

Nightstorm shifted his weight from one side to another. He wanted to know what Mintbreeze thought about it. "So about the vision… What did you think? Any theories?"

Mintbreeze chuckled. "Well, it's certainly cryptic, to say the least. Maybe it's an omen for the forest to be set on fire or something like that."

Nightstorm wished he would stay for more of her theories, but he knew Addertail was waiting for him. "Welp, I'll see ya later," he said.

Mintbreeze nodded and waved her tail. Nightstorm left the den and went to Addertail's den across the camp. The camp was mostly empty. It was probably because everyone was on some sort of patrol, which was also why nothing layed on the fresh-kill pile.

Nightstorm entered the den, but he noticed it was too quiet. He peered around, and Addertail was nowhere in sight. A sudden voice erupted from behind him, which nearly made him jump, "Addertail is out."

Nightstorm turned to Snakefang, who was ominously standing behind him. "What's he doing?" asked Nighstorm suspiciously.

"Collecting herbs," replied Snakefang creepily, "What do you need?"

Nightstorm remembered he shouldn't tell anyone else about the vision. "Uh… Nothing that important…"

"Well, then why are you here? Trying to steal catnip?" scoffed Snakefang.

"No… wait," Nightstorm wondered what Snakefang meant by that, "was someone stealing catnip?"
Snakefang seemed to realize what he said, backing up slightly, "Nevermind. Addertail will be back soon, just don't enter the den alone from now on."

Snakefang quickly walked out of sight, leaving Nightstorm to wonder what he had just witnessed.

Sandfur was lying in camp, trying to think of a way to continue the case. It seemed like there wasn't very much information left to look at, and Graywhisker was unexpectedly gone. He had apparently gone on a hunting patrol first thing in the morning, but he hadn't arrived back, which worried Sandfur a little bit. She saw Firepelt and Lighthaze across from camp, but something was different. They seemed much more casual and friendly, compared to how much Lighthaze was accusing him of being the killer just a few days ago. Sandfur wanted to know what was happening, so she called them. "Lighthaze?" she echoed.

Lighthaze turned, looking happier than ever. "Oh, what is it Sandfur?"

Sandfur motioned her head to Firepelt, trying to show she was confused. Lighthaze realized what Sandfur was doing. "Oh, ha!" she purred, "you know how we thought Firepelt was the killer? Well, he's actually really nice!"

Sandfur tilted her head. What are you doing? Sandfur motioned Lighthaze to come towards her. Lighthaze followed, and Sandfur leaned into her ear to whisper something. "You do realize Firepelt just had a secret-mate, Lakeheart?"

Lighthaze widened her eyes. "No, no. Come on Sandfur… Look, I'll figure it out, okay?"

Sandfur sighed and gave her sister a purposeful gaze of "This might not be a good idea."
"I'll be fine…" murmured Lighthaze, "you shouldn't be constantly trying to control me!"

Lighthaze stormed off and joined Firepelt again, as they left the camp together. Their tails were intertwined. Sandfur shook her head, trying to figure out what just happened. "What the-" Sandfur was interrupted when she felt a gaze come upon her.

She noticed Snakefang watching her from afar eerily. Snakefang instantly looked away when he realized Sandfur saw him. Nightstorm walked away from him. He looked a little uncomfortable and headed toward Sandfur's location. She was still a little irritated from last night but was willing to listen to what he had to say. Nightstorm opened his jaw to speak, "Snakefang told me something strange," he said.

"What was it?"

"Addertail uh…" Nightstorm hesitated for a moment, seemingly contemplating what he was about to say, then continued, "has had some catnip stolen from him recently… doesn't that sound familiar?"
Sandfur pieced together the fact that the scene of the murder was covered with catnip's scent. "Yeah, that is weird. That means most likely… the murderer is in FireClan!"

"Okay, don't go speculating yet," warned Nightstorm, "You should try to interview Addertail about it soon."

Sandfur realized something. "That makes Addertail a suspect, though."

Nightstorm looked to be bewildered by this idea. "Why would he be a suspect?" he questioned.

"Well, if he had the catnip, he could have supplied it," explained Sandfur, "That's it though, so I doubt it. My main suspect is probably Firepelt. The main thing I have to think about is motive, right? Motive is key to figuring this out. Firepelt has a perfect motive, he felt ashamed about it, and lured Lakeheart when he went to meet her that night. He clearly doesn't care for her anymore, since he's now mooning over Lighthaze."

"Really…? He was engaging with Lighthaze?" asked Nightstorm suspiciously.

"Yeah! Imagine he was the killer, and now he's going after Lighthaze." Sandfur stared at Nightstorm, realizing something, "Wait… he is the killer, isn't he? That all adds up… Except for some minor details, like the bear fur, but he could have easily stolen the catnip. Well, the bear still doesn't add up, so it's not solvable yet. But I think he might be."

"Okay… Does that mean it's uh… Over?" asked Nightstorm curiously.

"No, it will once I ask Addertail and figure out what the bear had to do with it. I hope it doesn't take another week... Actually, I don't think it's necessary to ask Addertail…"
Nightstorm clearly looked a little disappointed when she had said it might take another week, but he seemed to want to know about something else. "Why not ask Addertail?"

"It's just…"
"You don't trust him?"

"Yes… I mean, he's a good medicine cat, but he holds some weird beliefs."

Nightstorm's gaze became darker. "Like what?" he asked.

Sandfur started to feel a little bit of coldness from Nightstorm. "Uh… Well for one, StarClan…"

Nightstorm blinked. "So what was my vision about then?"

Sandfur hesitated, confused at this, and then realized what Nightstorm had been told. "Did Addertail tell you your seizure was a vision? From StarClan? I knew we shouldn't trust that old cat…"

"It makes sense!" defended Nightstorm, "What else explains it? I never get seizures!"

"There are many weird things that happen, but claiming it was supernatural is in its own right… Never mind," Sandfur realized that arguing with Nightstorm would just make things worse, "You can believe that it was a vision, sure, but don't let that change you, because for all you know it was just a seizure and you had a vivid nightmare. But if Addertail makes you feel better, maybe you can keep seeing him…"

Nightstorm sighed. "So you don't care if I see him?"

Sandfur hesitated for a moment. "Yeah… It's fine I guess. If it works for you. Just don't become some extremist StarClan cat like some of the cats in the Clans!" she joked.
Nightstorm chuckled at this. "I guess I won't. I still think it might be StarClan sending a vision, but who knows… Maybe you're right."

Sandfur realized that Nightstorm didn't actually believe this was a vision, he just didn't like that Sandfur didn't trust Addertail. "Addertail is fine…" she lied.

Nightstorm smiled. He seemed to think of something else unexpectedly. "So, how long would you say the investigation will take to finish?"

I wish he would just accept it… "I don't know… sometime," replied Sandfur blankly.

Sandfur still felt bad for Nightstorm, but he was pushing it a little. "Oh… okay…" replied Nightstorm, making himself obviously disappointed.

Sandfur sighed, and was about to say something else, but she heard a voice call her from the leader's den. She looked and saw Snakefang motioning with his tail to come over. Sandfur reluctantly went over, with Nightstorm being left alone behind her. Snakefang moved out of the way to let Sandfur enter. She saw Yellowstar and Graywhisker sitting, waiting for her. Graywhisker looked to be distraught, with a sad expression across his face and his claws digging into the ground. Sandfur tilted her head. "What is this?" she asked, not even hiding her blatant confusion.

Yellowstar sighed. "The investigation…"

Sandfur jumped on that opportunity, presuming that was what they wanted to know about. "I think it might be Firepelt. I have a lot of reasoning, I just have to talk to Addertail-"

"No." blatantly replied Yellowstar.

Sandfur froze. "What?"

"No. Graywhisker solved it," Yellowstar said as she motioned her head to Graywhisker.

He wouldn't even look Sandfur in the eyes. Sandfur stood in utter shock. Yellowstar continued. "He went down there with a patrol, on my orders. Graywhisker determined the cause of death. Accident."

Sandfur could only stare at Graywhisker, though he never met her gaze back. "Lakeheart fell in the pit trying to meet Firepelt, and she had catnip with her. She had taken it from Addertail." explained Yellowstar, "She hit her head, as you said. She was freezing to death. So, she tried to scratch herself to feel warmth, and then froze to death."

How could that be possible? "W-what about the bear," said Sandfur, slurring the words.

"Yes," replied Yellowstar, "a bear came by. But they're gone now. That's how she got the wounds. That's it."

Sandfur gulped before continuing. "The adder?"

"A cat went hunting," replied Yellowstar simply.

Sandfur felt a stream of rage build inside her, she clawed at the ground, shaking with nervousness. No… That's not possible! It can't be! Yellowstar's gaze became sad, similar to Graywhisker's, but Sandfur didn't care about them. "I-I'm truly sorry Sandfur…" spoke Yellowstar, "But this is for the best."

"No… No!" cried Sandfur, "That's not right! You're just going to let the killer run loose? Who's next? Lighthaze? ME?"

Yellowstar built up a sudden fury in her eyes. "DO NOT QUESTION ME! You are never to touch this investigation again, and if I find out you have tried to do anything with this, there will be dire consequences for you! Do not humiliate yourself more than you already have!"

Sandfur only stood with a blank stare. She left the den shortly after. She felt no emotion inside her like she was an empty husk. She couldn't think properly. Everything was gone… She heard a voice from across the camp. "What was that?" asked Nightstorm, running up to her side.

Nightstorm seemed to pick up that something was wrong. "Are you okay? What's going on?"

Sandfur stopped her tracks, letting out a heavy breath. She slowly turned her head to Nightstorm. "It's over."

Nightstorm shook his head in confusion. "What is?"

Sandfur looked away from Nightstorm, she couldn't stand to look at him, she was so shocked. "The investigation. It was an accident."

Sandfur could tell Nightstorm was trying to hide that he was happy about this. He noticed she was upset, so he probably didn't want to make her angrier. "Doesn't that mean you don't have to work on it anymore?" he asked quietly.

"Yes."

"But… But isn't that a… A good thing?" asked Nightstorm, "There's no killer?"

Sandfur turned to face Nightstorm, looking him right in the eyes. "Really? You think it's good that I failed to solve it?"

"But," replied Nightstorm, "You deserved your position as an investigator, right? You got close to the truth… But… That's… Fine, if you don't finish it."

Sandfur blinked. "I announced that it was a murder to everyone. It was murder! But Graywhisker betrayed me and now Yellowstar thinks it's an accident! I only got this case because I'm her daughter, and no one believed in me, especially then. Now, I made an entire case and interrupted gatherings because I knew it was a murder. Everyone will laugh, everyone will hate me! I'll be humiliated! I'm just the privileged leader's daughter like my sister Lighthaze! And… And all you do is sit here and pester me! You've never even tried to accomplish anything meaningful with your life except complain and complain and complain! You act as if losing your family is some kind of excuse for giving up on everything and playing some kind of victim against the world. Well, guess what? When my own father died, when I was a new warrior, I also felt horrible, but I didn't wallow in my own gloom every day like you always do! I tried to actually do something better, and earn something, and you just sat here and complained! You have helped me in no way except constantly asking me to not achieve my goals, and now it's all gone! You don't care for anyone else's feelings, just yourself! Everything's gone… My life is ruined… Just… go away, Nightstorm."

Sandfur breathed heavily, gritting her teeth while her eyes were inflamed with rage. Nightstorm was whimpering on the ground, a terrified look in his eyes. Sandfur turned away, enraged. "Sandfur!" a voice called out.

Sandfur looked to Firepelt, who was standing near the camp entrance with panicked breaths. The first thing Sandfur noticed was that Lighthaze was nowhere in sight. Firepelt took a deep breath, then opened his jaw to speak. "It's… Lighthaze… She disappeared… I can explain later, but there's a trail!"

Sandfur took a moment to process the information. She heard Snakefang call out "I'll organize a search party in a moment…"

"What? You just let her disappear? What happened?" asked Sandfur, fury in her voice.

Firepelt appeared frightened of Sandfur's sudden rage. "I got scared, okay? I-I heard her scream from afar!"

Sandfur instinctively ran out of the camp and followed the trail she scented on the ground. It was recent, and strong, so she could run as she scented it. She heard a call from Graywhisker behind her, but she ignored it. She ran as fast as she could, the trees whizzing past. The trail led closer to the edge of the south side of the territory, around a mountain range. She stopped and noticed a small clump of fur on the ground. It belonged to Lighthaze. Sandfur was fearful for her sister's safety, and continued sprinting through the forest. She had been sprinting for a long time, alone, and hadn't felt tired yet. She jumped up the first small hill leading up the mountain. The rocks were jagged and hurt her paws, but she ignored it and continued. Maybe, the killer was waiting for a patrol to come, so they could kill Lighthaze. If Sandfur rushed there, she could catch them in the act, and prove everybody right. No, no. She needed to find Lighthaze, that was all that mattered.

The trail became even stronger, meaning that Lighthaze must have been close. Sandfur was keeping careful as she crossed the mountainous range, the trail lingering closer to the edge. She was starting to climb up higher and higher to follow the trail, yet she was determined. A piece of cliffside wrapped around the edge of the mountain, that was quite steep. Sandfur cautiously crossed it, and when she reached the other side, noticed a bright gray fox-trap sitting on the ground. It ominously layed there, as Sandfur realized it was closed around Lighthaze's fur.

She wasn't sure exactly how fox-traps worked, but she wouldn't take any risks. The fox-trap took up nearly all of the ground, so she would have to jump over it. She knew she had to, even if she didn't like the set up. She braced herself, and strongly leaped straight over the fox-trap, landing on the dirt ground with a heavy impact. When she took a step forward, the dirt became loose. Sandfur let out a small yelp as she felt the ground disappear from beneath her. She tried to grasp with her claws onto the edge of it, but her claws raked through the dirt like it was nothing, and she was swept up in the dirt as she plummeted down the cliff. Her leg hit a rock that jutted out of the cliff as she continued falling down, occasional rocks barely breaking her fall. She stumbled down, her head hitting a rough stone surface. Somehow, she was still alive.

The fox trap fell with a loud clunk next to her. Am I dying? I can't move… I can't move! Her vision became blurry, but she made out the search party, including Nightstorm, watching her from the top of the cliff. They were shocked. She felt like she couldn't breathe, and could only look at them. Suddenly one of them gasped, and Sandfur felt a warm liquid pool out of her head. PLEASE NO! NO PLEASE NO! She started to become dizzier and tried to keep her eyes from closing as hard as she could. The last thoughts she had were of Yellowstar, her mother, Fernclaw, her father, Lighthaze, her sister, and Nightstorm, her friend, that she had so mistreated. Then, darkness dragged her down, until nothing remained.