Flame awoke to a low moan echoing throughout the camp. She got up, stretching her legs, and yawning. She then turned and shook her brother awake. Once Flash was up, the littermates walked into the camp to see what was going on. When Flame saw what the cause of the moaning was, she stopped short. In the middle of the clearing, a light grey she-cat with black ears was lying in a pool of blood. "Bird!" She yowled, racing over. Branch intercepted the kit, shoving her away.
"No. Stay away." He growled, lowering his face into hers.
"But….But…" She tried to see around him.
"NO! If you want to be helpful, you can take everyone in the Nursery and go into the forest." Branch snapped at her, his fur bristling.
Flash looked back toward the Nursery, and after a moment's hesitation, sped toward it. He came back shortly with Feather, Fox, Wolf, and Reed in tow. Flame glared at Branch before following the group from the Nursery into the forest.
"Stupid Branch. Couldn't even let me see my own clanmate." She growled softly, her tail lashing. They stayed a safe distance to the camp, so that they could run back in if needed. Flame sat down with a huff. "It's not fair!" She wailed. "Every other cat gets to see Bird, but no! Not the kits!"
Flash sat beside her. "Hey, c'mon. You don't want to see her gross body, do you?"
Flame glanced over. "I guess not…."
Wolf and Reed padded over. "What'cha talkin 'bout?" Wolf asked, sitting down.
"Bird. She's in the clearing, dead. Branch forced us to go out in the forest."
"Wow. Wonder what killed her." Reed meowed, her tail curled curiously.
"Whatever it was, it can't have been an easy fight for it. Bird was one of the best fighters!" Wolf meowed, looking over at her sister.
Fox and Daisy were laying down in the sun, relaxing, when the entrance to the camp rustled. The kits looked over, and hid in the bushes. Ocean padded out, glancing over at the queens before padding off to the forest.
"Oooo! I know! We should see where she's going!" Reed meowed quietly.
Flame perked up. "That is a great idea! Let's go!"
"We have to be quiet, or we'll get caught." Wolf whispered, leading the way.
The group padded silently after her, all four being careful to avoid things that might give away their position. Finally, Wolf held her tail up, a sign to stop. She angled her ears forward, and the others spread out beside her, listening.
"Everything went according to plan. Bird is dead." Ocean meowed.
"Good. And does anyone else know about this plan?" An unknown tom's voice responded.
"No sir. We are in complete secrecy." Ocean replied, a hint of pride in her voice.
Reed looked over, shock in her gaze.
"Excellent. Our next target is Leaf. She is a senior warrior of Flowerclan. I want her dead by half-moon. Report back to me then." The kits heard a rustling of bushes, and Flame saw the tom go away.
Ocean looked around, then headed back to camp.
"Half-moon is in two days!" Flash whisper-shouted. "We need to tell Falcon!"
"I agree, c'mon!" Flame replied, before taking off into the woods.
The kits race after her, speeding through the forest as fast as their little legs would let them. Finally, they skidded to a halt in the camp. Bird was having a vigil, with cats sitting around her. Creek, Berry, Fang, and Sand were closest, their eyes wet with tears. Creek and Berry were her brothers, Fang was her mother, and Sand was her kit. Flame looked around. She spotted Falcon sitting off to the side, watching the vigil. She scampered over to him. "Falcon! Falcon!"
The leader looked over. "Oh, hello Flame, Flash, Reed, and Wolf. Where are your m-"
"No time! Listen, we followed Ocean out to the forest, and heard her talking to a rouge. She killed Bird, Falcon. She killed Bird! And she's going to kill Leaf next!"
Falcon blinked, surprise in his eyes. Then his expression hardened. "Are you saying my deputy is a murderer?" He snarled. "I'll have you know, she's one of the few cats of whom I trust completely. She would never kill for no good reason! Now, go to the Nursery."
"But-"
"NOW!" He snapped, his neck fur bristling.
Flame lowered her head and tail in fright. "O-okay…"
She and the rest of the kits scuttled to the Nursery.
"Well that didn't go so well." Flash meowed as they went into the Nursery.
"Ergh! Why won't he listen to us?" Wolf growled, pacing.
"Maybe we should try again later…" Reed meowed, sitting down.
"We don't have the time! We need to act now!" Flame shot back.
"It's because we're kits, isn't it?"
"He's probably still a bit shaken up."
"Who knows what will happen while we wait?"
"Just because we're kits doesn't mean we're dumb!"
"Bird is his distant kin…."
"I'll take her down myself!"
"GUYS! SHUT UP!" Flash yowled suddenly.
The kits stopped arguing immediately.
"We should just step back, and let the others handle this. If Ocean is really a murderer, then at least Falcon had a warning. If Leaf dies, then he'll know something's up."
"But if we act now, she can be saved!" Flame protested. Reed and Wolf looked at one another and nodded, agreeing with Flame's statement.
"If we act now, we can get killed." Flash growled back, flattening his ears.
"Let's vote. All in favor of acting, raise your tail." Reed meowed.
Flame raised her tail high and proud.
"Alright. All in favor of staying low, raise your tail." Reed, Wolf, and Flash raised their tails.
"Well, it's settled." Wolf meowed, padding over to her nest.