Chapter 7

The next morning, Smokeblaze woke up early, and with goodbyes sending him on his way, he arrived at the tree-bridge. Oneshadow and Yellowclaw were already there, waving to him with their tails as he padded to their side. They were in fact early, and the others merely on time and not late.

"Are we ready to go?" Yellowclaw asked once all of them were there. Of course, the pale ginger she-cat meant it as a rhetorical question, no doubt, for all of them got onto their paws and started walking towards DawnClan territory. "Now it comes to my mind - who will be our leader?" Littlewing asked, keeping pace with the oldest cat, Yellowclaw. "I don't know. Maybe we should vote." Yellowclaw suggested, leading the bunch over the unused Thunderpath.

"Then I vote for Smokeblaze." Littlewing meowed decisively. Smokeblaze was shocked. He hardly knew any of these cats, and now they were voting for him as their leader? "I vote for Yellowclaw." Boulderfoot spoke up for the second time since they'd met. He was rather quiet and the other cats let him be. "Me too." Riverpetal agreed.

Yellowclaw tipped her head to one side. "Smokeblaze." She said in the end. The gray tom was beginning to feel rather confused. Why was he better as the leader than a cat moons older than him? Oneshadow scuffed her paws on the ground. "Smokeblaze." She agreed, her only ear twitching slightly.

"Then Smokeblaze it is." Yellowclaw's face broke into a smile. "Well done, young one." She turned back towards the front and before they knew it, the DawnClan territory was right in front of them. "Ahh, home." Oneshadow sniffed the air happily. Littlewing nudged her hard. "We're not here to reminisce about home. We're here to find the killer." She reminded her new friend sternly.

Right. Smokeblaze took a deep breath. "Let's split up. Littlewing, Boulderfoot and I will go towards the open territory nearer to the lake. Yellowclaw, Oneshadow and Riverpetal can go towards the other side."

Nodding, the other group of cats departed while Smokeblaze's group walked towards the lake, their noses to the ground. "Can't smell anything yet." Littlewing groaned, lifting her head. "Come on. I'm sure there's some trace of the killer." Smokeblaze nudged his friend, urging her to keep on scenting.

A while later, Smokeblaze and his companions went back to their original spot empty-pawed. "Did you find anything?" Yellowclaw asked when she returned with her group. "No." Smokeblaze mewed curtly. "I have an idea." Riverpetal volunteered.

"Go on." Smokeblaze looked at the SageClan cat. "No. Did you?" Littlewing answered before Smokeblaze could even start to comprehend what Yellowclaw had said.

"Well, if we know which cat was killed last, we can search in their territory. Because the killer probably will be in the spot where he killed last"No." Yellowclaw sighed, plopping down onto the grass. "It's going to take us ages to search all the territories." She meowed defeatedly. "Wait! I have an idea!" Riverpetal blurted, then stared at her paws shyly.

"Then say it." Smokeblaze sat down too, preparing to listen to what the SageClan cat had to say.

"Well, I was thinking, if we find out who was killed last, then we can go to their Clan's territory and search there. It makes sense - I mean, the killer's scent would be freshest in that Clan's territory, right?" Riverpetal looked from cat to cat carefully.

A pause drew itself over the cats as they thought about Riverpetal's proposal for a moment. "I think it's okay." Smokeblaze meowed in the end, his tail straight up in a sign of excitement. "Me too." Boulderfoot spoke. None of the cats had even remembered he was there, so they did stare at him for a heartbeat before continuing the discussion.

"Riverpetal, when was your Clan's cat killed?" Smokeblaze asked first. Riverpetal thought about it, then replied. "Half a moon ago." Littlewing spoke next, "My sister died half a moon ago, too." She ducked her head while Smokeblaze continued to ask.

"A quarter moon ago."

"A week ago."

"A few days short of Littlewing's sister."

"What about you, Smokeblaze?"

Smokeblaze blinked at Littlewing's words. "My- my sister, she died… about three days ago." Oneshadow's head snapped up to look Smokeblaze straight in the eye. "Then let's search in DuskClan territory."

A/N:

Hello guys! Sorry for not updating in FOREVER (for the first time in forever…) Yep. Here's a longer-than-normal chapter to satisfy your story-eating appetites!

See ya soon!

Kay