Just as the sun was setting Silentpaw finally emerged from the medicine cat's den. Gingerpaw had spent her afternoon chatting and playing mossball, but her eyes kept flickering between what she was doing and the den. How a cat could lie still for an entire daylight cycle was a mystery to her. But being a natural fidget it would be. She watched from the apprentices den as he yawned, only to sit down again and somehow still look tired.
Nervously she padded over to him. "Hey Silentpaw, welcome back from hibernation!" She grinned, opening with a joke to try and lighten the mood before she apologised. He looked back at her blankly but his mask cracked as a small smile broke out on his face. "Listen, I wanna say sorry about yesterday. I know it was important to you. Congrats on becoming a medicine cat, I'm happy for you" The black tom rolled his eyes and smiled. "What? Too soppy? Too grown up?" He raised his paw and swivelled it left and right, the 'so-so' gesture.
"Anyway, I'm sorry. I know you've just woken up but today has been wild. I had to fetch Nighstar with Shadedpaw, Meadowclan claimed they had news about Leopardheart" She noticed Silentpaw's face fall. She didn't like it when that happened, the look in his eyes alone made him look moons older. "You okay?" Vigorously he nodded his head and plastered a large smile on his face. "Okay then, Um. I'm really tired and I think I'm gonna go to sleep, I'll see you in the morning buddy" She leaned forward to touch noses with him. "Goodnight" She mewed and he responded with a slow blink back.
When she was tired her nest felt even more inviting than usual; downy feathers really were a lifesaver. Treepaw and Glowpaw were chatting hush-hush at the back of the den, since the pair had been introduced they'd been getting on like a forest on fire. Her brother Tigerpaw was lounging splayed out,snoring gently and completely oblivious to the fact he was encroaching on Shadedpaw's nest. The black tom was spilling over the edge, lying a lot closer to Gingerpaw than normal. He'd been trying to get her to chat to him but she was busy pretending to be asleep. Eventually a warm darkness overcame her as she slipped out of consciousness and into sleep.
She knew where she was. Gritty ash clung to the pads of her paws. Behind her the river flowed, but beyond that was a deep and swirling fog. No dunes, no Duneclan, no sound of the sun drown place in the distance. An eerie silence and fog were her only company. The stillness made the place feel soulless, like it's beating heart had long been removed. It was a carcass, scraped hollow of everything that had made it a home. The tree line (or what used to be the treeline) was a few foxsteps away. She wanted to dive into that fog and embrace what lay beyond it. With confidence she took a bold stride towards it. The ashfields seemed to scoot away from her like a she-cat avoiding unwanted advances from a tom. She frowned and took two more strides. The scenery moved away from her and she was no closer than before. With a hiss of annoyance she began to walk slowly, and slowly the ashfields moved away. She began to trot; a frown creased into her face.
She couldn't keep up, every step was another futile effort. Putting in all her energy she broke out into a sprint. It just kept moving, always a few steps ahead of her. Anger welled up inside her, why wasn't she allowed? Why couldn't she go there?
"Gingerpaw! Gingerpaw! Get UP" She woke with a start, gasping as a pair of heavy paws rammed into her ribcage. "Get up Get up Get UP" Her brother chanted as the frequency of the ribcage jabbing increased. She rolled over and grunted in complaint. "Fine, fine!" She mumbled. "Nighstar's called a clan meeting, they found Leopardheart!" That was enough to get her interest. She followed her brother out to gather with the rest of the clan beneath the high boulder. There was a gap in the crowd at the bottom of the boulder.
The crowd was uneasy. Cats were whispering, gasping, some like Ferretwing shook their heads mournfully with tears brimming in their eyes. Gingerpaw's mouth dropped open at the sight of Leopardheart's bloodied corpse, lying in the sand.
"Duneclan, today is a sad day. Leopardheart was found dead by this morning's patrol by the bridge" Low level mumbling and whispering began to break out. "Meadowclan have been having problems at the border with rouges, which has led me to believe Leopardheart was murdered by rouges" The crowd seemed to cry out and exclaim. Gingerpaw couldn't take her eyes off the dead queen's body, her eyes were open but no light lay behind them.
"We don't know why Leopardheart left camp. We don't know why she left her kits, but we do know she was vulnerable and her life was taken unduly from her. Border patrols will be increasing to ensure clan safety. Burial and Vigil will be held tonight for friends and loved ones. Thank you" As their leader stepped down the crowd broke out into conversation, worried and fearful faces dotted throughout the crowd. Gingerpaw didn't have anything to say. Watching Greywing nuzzle his dead mate's face affectionately as he sobbed quietly was enough.
"Hey are you okay?" She felt the space next to her fill with warmth as Shadedpaw sat down next to her. He nudged her gently, prompting her to speak. "It's just...It's just really sad. She was probably ill" She told him, leaning her head on his shoulder. He seemed to tense up. "What do you mean ill?" Shadedpaw inquired. "Something seemed to be messing with her head, making her act funny. I'd count that as being ill" The tom nodded thoughtfully as he mulled over what she'd just said. "When you put it like that I think you're right" With a sigh he rested his head on top of hers.
"Am I interrupting?" The pair of them jumped apart to see Brambedip's sneering face. He genuinely seemed disgusted by the display of affection. Gingerpaw frowned, a cat had died leaving behind young kits and a distraught mate. Could he just let cats be sad about it? "I want you two to eat and meet me outside of camp. I'm teaching you to fish in the river. I don't want to see that kind of behaviour when we're out hunting"
Silentpaw grimaced when Cloudfang brought Leopardheart's body into the den. He lowered her off his shoulders and onto the cool sand. Greywing was staring in from the entrance. It was weird for Silentpaw, seeing this warrior who was generally excitable and like a kit in a tom's body, now look like an actual lost kit. "Thank you Greywing, I'll make her presentable don't you worry" Greywing didn't respond initially. "Can I ask for something?" The tom's voice was small and strained. Cloudfang blinked acknowledgingly. "Can you plant a daisy above her? The ones with big flowers. She liked them...She can nurture something that way. I know she really wanted to..deep down" His eyes seemed to water and Cloudfang approached him to gently butt heads.
"Of course, I'll find her a nice plant. You look exhausted Greywing, go and get some rest. Your pardoned from warrior duties, if anyone complains tell them it's medicine cat's orders" Greywing nodded, a distant look in his eyes. "Thanks" He whispered and left the den stiffly. Cloudfang signed and returned to Leopardheart's body.
"Lets get her cleaned up" Cloudfang padded over to the sandstone alcove and with a soft paw collected some live moss from a culture he'd been tending too. "Use this to clean up the blood around her mouth and nose. I'll deal with the scratches on the neck" Tentatively Silentpaw picked a piece of moss up and dabbed at the dried blood around the nose. It came off quite easily, the blood around her muzzle was a little harder. Cloudfang cleaned up her slashed neck with ease. He watched his mentor collect some more herbs and from the strong tangy scent he guessed it was mint.
"Mint. It covers the smell of death. Rub the body with it and place a couple of leaves in the mouth, make sure you close the jaw again though" Cloudfang lay them at his feet. "I need to go and collect some more, you can cover this part for me?" Silentpaw nodded blankly. Cloudfang left without another word. He was alone in a den with a dead body. Silentpaw didn't trust what Nighstar had said one bit. After what he'd heard he didn't believe the rouge story. He was left wondering which clan did the dirty work. The thought sent shivers down his spine, he was cleaning up a victim of murder. With her burial it was likely the truth would be buried with her.
Silentpaw massaged mint leaves into her flanks, grimacing at the stiffness of her body. Once her fur smelt sufficiently of mint he shuffled towards her head. With a paw he lifted her pale lips up and frowned. Like the rest of her body everything was behaving as if frozen. Her jaws were clamped together, white teeth interlocked like a zip. He hooked his claws into the top and bottom jaw, using all his strength to try and pry them apart and feeling a bit sick as he felt his claws dig into the sides of her mouth. It seperated a little. A thick cream coloured foam leaked from in between the teeth. Silentpaw backed away in horror as it dripped down her chin and onto the sand. He could see tiny flecks of red and unwillingly leaned closer to inspect it. Under closer inspection some of the flecks were blood. But some of them appeared to be shreds of undigested berries.
"We're hunting in the shallows today, it's easier to spot fish and certain cats won't drown" Brambledip was about ankle deep in the water, a small shoal of fish swimming dangerously close to him. The mid-day sun beamed down on the two apprentices as they sat on the bank and observed. Gingerpaw's eyes strayed from the demonstration repeatedly. On the other bank the ashfields seemed to be teasing her. So close yet so far. There was a splash as Brambledip shot a deft paw out, catching a small minnow on his claws. "Now as you were watching so attentively Gingerpaw, why don't you show Shadedpaw how its done?" He had a nasty fake smile on his face.
Leopardheart's body was ready for burial in the evening. Apart from the cuts across her throat she could have been mistaken for a cat that was in a deep deep sleep. Silentpaw highly doubted that she was killed by the slash to her throat. He guessed berries were a quicker way to kill a cat, they could be concealed and death was guaranteed within minutes. A slashed throat wasn't going to be a surprise. It could have been done by a medicine cat. The thought of Cloudfang poisoning a clan member was dark, But Meadowclan had Leopardheart with them. Badgersting or Floodpaw would have had to have done it, which wasn't comforting for him either.
"Hey" Gingerpaw appeared in the den with a fish in her mouth. It was small and mangled, and she was dripping water onto the floor. She took a glance at Leopardheart's body as it sat in the nest and she immediately looked uncomfortable. "Can we talk? Somewhere private? And not in here, she's kinda creeping me out?" Silentpaw was nervous at the request but agreed with a nod. He walked past her and she took his lead. He turned the corner leading up to the bank to the private sunning spot above the den. Turning a few times, he placed himself down in the sand. Gingerpaw took a seat opposite. She dropped the fish at his feet. "You can have it, I only caught one but I'm not hungry" Respectfully he dipped his head in thanks and bit the mangled minnow in half.
"I had a dream last night about a place called the ashfields. I'm not sure if you've been there but it's a stretch of burnt down forest. We're not allowed to go there" Silentpaw raised an eyebrow, unsure of where this was going. "I kept running towards it but I just couldn't get to it. I was thinking…" A brief pause as she looked left and right, before leaning in towards him. "I was thinking we go there tonight" Silentpaw's eyes bulged and he looked at her like she was mad. She was mad, why would you want to do that? "I know I know! I thought about it and if we leave this way and just walk towards the river no one will know otherwise" Silentpaw sat up, shaking his head vigorously and glowered at her. "Why not? Our chances of getting caught are slimmer if we leave this way"
Silentpaw couldn't believe her. It was risky on a regular night, let alone on the night of a vigil. No way was he doing that. He asked Lilytail what she thought but she remained silent. He was worried, he hadn't heard her voice for a day now. He shook his head. Gingerpaw scowled at him. "Fine. I'll go by myself, or I'll ask Shadedpaw. If you change your mind, meet me here at Moonhigh exactly. If you're not here by that time I'm off. Enjoy your fish" In a huff his friend left him.
Review Responses:
Sunflower42101: Floodpaw is a little bit of a muppet, his deduction skills are not advanced lol
Succulentsofa: It's not even the full picture yet, we've got a few reveals coming yet ;)
WarriorsFanfiction111111111111: Thank you! The original Emberpaw's kin had an Oc submit and Willowheart and Brambledip came from that. Shadedpaw was also from that submit. I think I must have deleted the original OC submit because I can't find it
I have to say I really enjoyed writing that chapter, thank you for reading and reviewing! This chapter took a little longer to get out because I spent a day planning chapters ahead, plus an idea for another story has popped into my head and I'm trying to stave it off until Emberpaw's kin is finished.
Question of the chapter: What really happened to Leopardheart? And can Silentpaw trust Cloudfang?