Chapter 23: The Case of Tigerclaw

After Cinderpaw's accident, Fireheart knew he needed more evidence of Tigerclaw's murder. After Whitestorm's training session, Fireheart finally felt he might have time to fulfil his investigation.

"Greystripe."

"Yes?"

"I think now is the time to validate Ravenpaw's claim."

"Oh yeah. I kinda forgot about that since we've done so much since then. We drove out Brokenstar, saved Windclan, got apprentices,…"

"You mean I got apprentices. I'm still mad that you never took the time to train Brackenpaw."

"I know. I'll try to make some time. Can you still help train him?"

"You expect me not to? You'd have no idea where he was at without me. I'm sticking with him until he is a warrior. Hopefully by then you'll have made it up to him."

Greystripe looked embarrassed.

"Anyway. What I want you to do is get confirmation on how Oakheart died. If Oakheart really died by rockfall, then Tigerclaw's story begins to fall apart. Confirm if Redtail was still alive when all Riverclan retreated. Then Tigerclaw is the only suspect. I might start digging into Tigerclaw's past. If I can prove he has a history of code breaking to benefit himself, his motive becomes much easier to claim."

"How would you prove that?"

"If my intuition is right, Tigerclaw leaving camp before the rogue attack wasn't a coincidence. If any cat would know Tigerclaw's past, it would be Bluestar and Darkstripe. I've already got hints that he was mistreated as an apprentice from him. I think he just needs the push to realize he was mistreated."

"I never thought… How was he mistreated if you don't mind me asking?"

"Apparently Tigerclaw had a habit of claws out training and increased it when Darkstripe became interested in becoming a medicine cat."

"Really? Darkstripe, a medicine cat?"

"He told me it would have never worked out, but it did give Tigerclaw an excuse to be more violent. Darkstripe could heal himself, so there was even less risk of getting caught."

"That's messed up."

"What's worse is that Darkstripe developed some kind of bond from that. He takes Tigerclaw's word as law. He thinks its trust, but I don't think any cat would trust some cat that did that to them. I think it is some kind of trauma. Maybe we can ask the medicine cats if that is a thing."

"Yeesh. I always thought Darkstripe was kind of a jerk. He'd say mean things to get a rise out of me. Do you think he learned that from Tigerclaw?"

"I don't know. Maybe. I think his personality has been twisted. He can be so cruel, but if you've seen him with kits, you'd see he can be gentle. He tells them stories. Admittedly the queens tend to dislike them since they are about a rogue. I'm not sure he fully knows right from wrong."

"Isn't that instinct?"

"If you were told from kithood that the sky was red, would you know it was blue?"

Greystripe froze. The information was taking a while to process for the admittingly dull cat. Then his eyes lit up again.

"Does that mean I've been hating him for no reason?"

"No. It just means Darkstripe has a reason as well. He's still mean. I think he doesn't know any better."

"Oh. I think Lionheart taught me that once. Every cat is a combination of what they are born with and what they are taught… I just had a thought. Do you think Lionheart's death was Tigerclaw's fault?"

"We know that was Shadowclan, but Tigerclaw could have had a paw in it. Shadowclan did attack while Bluestar was away with her strongest fighter which is suspicious."

"So, you think he tipped off Shadowclan?"

"I don't know, but it is worth investigating as well. Maybe if we find enough evidence, we'll be able to get him exiled."

"So, Riverclan: Oakheart's death, Thunderclan: past code breakings and Darkstripe, and Shadowclan: informant."

"Sounds about right. We've got two former Shadowclan cats who could give some good information."

"How would you get anything from Brokenstar?"

"Based on how I've seen Darkstripe acting, I bet a mouse that he's already done it for us."

"You really trust Darkstripe after all you've said?"

"He does weird and twisted things, but generally he is trying to act for the greater good. From what I've heard, he tends to come up with those horrible nicknames to convince us to prove him wrong. A mean act can mean well."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it when he calls me Greykit."

"You do not, but it sure lights a fire under you."

While the duo were beginning there investigation, Darkstripe was playing with a white kit. It was his only reprieve from the growing echo that hounded him constantly. Cloudkit appreciated his company as well. As much as other cats looked at him as an outsider, Darkstripe always approached him with warmth. He taught him games and told stories. Even at his young age, Cloudkit could also see he was helping the warrior. Most couldn't see it, but Darkstripe was always somewhat tense when not interacting with the kit. It flared whenever Tigerclaw was visible in camp or Yellowfang had Brokenstar out of her den. Cloudtail loved breaking this tension for who he secretly thought of as a father.

Darkstripe was currently teaching Cloudkit a new game. It involved a bunch of random rocks, twigs, moss, and feathers. Darkstripe would have the kit sort the items by how hard they were to find and how many of one were needed to equate to the value of another. In essence, Darkstripe was beginning to train Cloudkit in the ways of a dealer. The kit was smart. In fact he was a prodigy when it came to evaluating something's worth. Darkstripe would soon move on to teaching the kit haggling, the art of trying to get more out of a value. It made him proud to have such a skilled protégé. Even when the kit got bored or tried to convince him something was different, he's see the kits mother and remember his time teaching her. Darkstripe and Cloudkit were beginning to become a common sight in the camp.