Waspeye sat in silence, staring at nothing and lost completely in his own head. He was faintly aware of the grief-stricken wails that resounded throughout the camp walls, though the roaring in his ears drowned the sounds out almost completely. The stench of blood still hung in the air, though it was beginning to fade now. It didn't help the sick feeling in his stomach go down any more than it was, of course, but he would still be grateful once it was gone. The forest outside of camp was worse, and Waspeye was sure that the scent would linger out there for most of the day still.
A part of Waspeye was shocked they hadn't smelled it from the island, much less until they had almost walked past it. He supposed that was just a good example of how which way the wind blows can mask things, but he didn't understand how something like this could be masked by a breeze regardless of its strength. It almost defied everything that Waspeye knew about how things worked. There was almost nothing about what had happened that made sense, no matter how long he thought about it or tried to rationalize everything. There was no way in his mind that a fox could kill three warriors, no matter how desperate or how hungry it was.
Deertail, Dewpelt, and Spottedfur lay in the center of camp, their pelts still matted thick with blood despite the attempts to clean what remained of them. Maplepaw hadn't left Deerpelt's side since they had brought her back to camp. The young apprentice had blamed herself, since she had stayed behind due to an upset stomach making her feel unwell and Deertail had remained with her just in case. There had been reassurances, of course, that it wasn't her fault, that there was no way anyone could have predicted this, but Waspeye had seen that none of it had really helped. He felt bad for the she-cat. Would he have had a similar reaction if this had happened to him when he was still an apprentice to Lakesplash?
Waspeye almost couldn't believe that any of it was real. Not just that three of his clanmates were gone, just like that, but that they hadn't even realized who the cats were at first. They were barely recognizable now, after all the attempts to clean them. The idea that a fox could do something like this to even one clan cat was like it came straight out of a nightmare, let alone three of them at once. It had to have been two mated foxes. It was the only way that any of this made sense. It didn't matter that the few tracks they had managed to find indicated only one fox had been involved, there was no way Waspeye could ever believe that a single fox could take down three full grown warriors without being severely injured itself. Even if it had ambushed them, they should have managed to injure it enough to make it back off or at least leave some sort of blood trail, even a small one.
Waspeye was shaken out of his thoughts as Brownfur sat down beside him. His friend was staring distraughtly at the three bodies in the middle of camp, as if he couldn't even believe it himself. Waspeye opened his mouth to say something, to try and console his friend, only to close it a few heartbeats later. What could he possibly say in this situation? Three of their clanmates had been killed in ways that boggled almost everyone's imagination. The mere idea that something like this could happen was enough to stun most cats into silence. Maplepaw and two or three other cats were the only ones to say anything since the bodies had been found. Nobody had slept yet, and the sun was starting to peak above the trees.
Waspeye was suddenly acutely aware of the blood that stuck to his back from where he had helped to carry Deertail. A shudder ran up his back and his jaws quivered before he turned and started to desperately lick at his pelt to get rid of the feeling. Brownfur turned and looked at him, surprised, but Waspeye ignored him. The sharp tang seemed to sting his tongue, but he forced himself to ignore it. He had to get himself clean, he had to get rid of this feeling that crept over him, he had to get himself clean before he-
Waspeye whipped his head up and around as he felt something touch his cheek. Brownfur quickly pulled back to avoid accidentally bumping their heads together. Waspeye stared at him, confused by what the dust-colored tom could want. Brownfur returned his gaze with his own filled with warmth, compassion, and worry. Before Waspeye could ask the tom what he wanted his friend had moved closer, leaning over towards the large tri-colored tom. Waspeye felt himself freeze, heart pounding in his ears and breath catching in his throat. He didn't even realize what was happening until he felt Brownfur licking along the blood-stained fur on his back. He blinked in surprise and looked down at his friend, then slowly relaxed. This felt nice, and he wasn't going to say no to help.
Waspeye slowly drifted back into his head as Brownfur washed his pelt, doing his best to stay away from thinking about the bodies lying in the center of camp. That, of course, didn't work, and he soon found himself imagining how scared they must have been in the moment. How much pain they must have been in. Had it been quick? Had they fought until they couldn't stand anymore, and the fox or foxes had moved in to finish them off? Waspeye banished the thoughts quickly, not wanting to think about it, and instead focused on the feeling of Brownfur washing him. A comfortable warmth spready through him despite the cold air, Waspeye fighting the urge to purr in contentment.
Eventually Brownfur pulled back, Waspeye not noticing until a few heartbeats later. He opened his eyes and looked over to his friend, the tom offering a small, reassuring smile. Waspeye hesitated slightly, then returned it. He glanced back towards the bodies of their fallen clanmates, silent a moment before looking back to Brownfur. His friend dipped his head, silently understanding, and the two toms turned and began walking towards the path to Highledge. They ascended, stopping outside of Jaystar and Brackenfur's den, then Waspeye slowly stepped into view of the hole in the wall. Jaystar raised her head and looked at him, Brownfur stepping into view a heartbeat later. Brackenfur sat beside his mate, watching them in silence.
"We just came to say that we volunteer ourselves to help bury our clanmates," Waspeye said. Jaystar let out a soft sigh, as if she had hoped the deaths had been some sort of bad dream, then nodded.
"I'll say something," Brackenfur meowed just as Jaystar began to stand. "Rest, please. You need it right now."
"I am still leader," the she-cat said with a huff. "This is my duty. If I can't even offer some comforting words to my clan, then why should I keep the title?"
"Jaystar, you are due any day now," Brackenfur meowed sternly. "Your clanmates will understand. And if they don't, I'll tell them I made you rest."
"As if you could make me do anything," the she-cat said, though there was a small, teasing smile on the corners of her muzzle. Brackenfur hummed.
"I can be rather convincing," her mate replied with a small grin. Jaystar hummed softly, conceding, then looked to Waspeye and Brownfur.
"Thank you for volunteering," she meowed. "Brackenfur and I must discuss what we intend to do about Maplepaw. Go and rest some, we will give our clanmates a little more time to grieve before we move to bury them."
The two younger toms bowed their heads respectfully, making their way back down from Highledge and padding towards the warrior's den. Waspeye stopped to eye the fresh-kill pile, silent as he stared at the various prey animals. His stomach growled quietly, but after a moment he turned away and resumed walking to the den. Brownfur hummed in understanding, understanding the lack of appetite perfectly. The thought of eating anything made him sick right now.
Waspeye lay down in his nest and curled up as tightly as he could manage, feeling Brownfur press against him. The den was empty aside from them, but neither minded. If anything, they found it welcome.
Waspeye was just starting to drift off to sleep when the den entrance rustled, the two toms raising their heads at the same time to see Alder halfway inside the den entrance. He dipped his head in greeting. To Waspeye's shock, he saw a barely suppressed rage behind the older tom's eyes.
Alder, as if knowing Waspeye had noticed, turned his head away and padded to his nest. Waspeye frowned, wondering if he should ask about it. After a few heartbeats he took a breath, but Alder beat him to it.
"Are you okay?" the older tom asked, looking over at them. The anger had disappeared, replaced with worry.
"We will be," Brownfur replied. "What about you? I don't know how close you were to any of them, but…"
"Not very," Alder replied with a shake of his head. "Still, though, I…I can't imagine how they must have felt. How any of you must feel. I've never seen anything like this before. I almost can't believe it's real."
"Yeah," Waspeye replied quietly, nodding his head in understanding. "I never knew foxes could do something like this."
"Is this your first time losing clanmates?" Alder asked curiously, pity in his voice.
Brownfur shook his head. "Waspeye found Ravenpelt, Jaystar's father, in the elder's den the night of our first Gathering back when we were 'paws," he explained. "But this is the first time someone around the lake has died in battle since long before we were born."
"That long, huh?" Alder asked, sounding surprised. "All the stories say the clans fought all the time."
"We used to," Waspeye meowed. "Maybe not all the time, but still. I guess we just…figured it out, at some point. I'm not sure any cat alive knows for sure when the last real battle was between two or more clans."
"That's very impressive," Alder said with a surprising amount of genuine admiration in his eyes. "Where I'm from, we don't have that kind of peace. We don't get into any fights often, since we're one of the few groups around, but sometimes it isn't something that can be avoided. Prey isn't scarce, but that doesn't mean much when everyone around you is out for themselves and would let you starve to have less competition."
Brownfur hummed softly. "And you want to go back to that?" he questioned, not understanding what about it appealed to the older tom.
Alder chuckled. "I miss my family," he said with a smile. "I do like it here, and I do care for Waspeye and Cloverfoot, but it's like I said before. This isn't my home. Maybe it could have been, if things had gone differently, but that isn't what happened."
Waspeye was silent for a long moment, unsure if he should say what he was thinking. Eventually he decided to risk it. "Do you wish it had?" he asked, Alder tilting his head in surprise.
The older tom took a few heartbeats to think his answer over. "I suppose so," he meowed eventually, slowly nodding his head. "I would have liked to have been in your life, even if Cloverfoot and I didn't stay together anyway."
Waspeye nodded, quiet a moment as he looked straight ahead rather than directly at Alder, then hummed. "I would have liked that, too," he said, and he saw Alder blink out of the corner of his eye. The older tom smiled warmly, then lay his head down and got comfortable. Brownfur and Waspeye silently did the same, and sleep claimed all three toms shortly thereafter.
The sun was just starting to lower in the sky when Waspeye arrived back at camp with the rest of the burial patrol. He looked around slowly, then approached the fresh-kill pile and grabbed a vole. Brownfur joined him, letting out a tired groan and grabbing a mouse for himself. Waspeye noticed Alder grab a squirrel, then walked away to eat. The older tom took a moment to fully decide where he would eat before padding to a spot next to the warrior's den and sat down. He yawned and shook his head, then started to eat. Cloverfoot sat down close to the nursery where Jaystar had moved to while the patrol had gone out, and Waspeye noticed Ivytail sit close to her. He hummed curiously, though quickly decided to ignore it. They were old friends, and she had comforted him when Snakepelt had died. It only made sense he would do the same for her during the death of a clanmate, let alone three. Not to mention he probably wanted to keep an eye on Jaystar, too.
The burial had been quiet, the only sounds the scratching of paws against hard, frozen dirt and that same dirt clacking together once they had buried their clanmates. Everyone had been too exhausted to grieve anymore, at least out loud. There had been whispers of a patrol to hunt down the fox or foxes and chase them off, though they had gone nowhere. Nobody wanted to risk more loss right now. Alder was the only cat who seemed prepared to fight, but most cats welcomed it. They were angry, too, and it helped to have somebody else venting that anger, to know that even a loner like Alder wanted to avenge the slain warriors.
Waspeye shook his head, focusing on eating the vole in front of him. He wanted that too, but it wouldn't help anyone to get himself or Alder hurt or even killed too. He was certain that Brackenfur or Jaystar would call a meeting to discuss the problem soon. They wouldn't let this go unaddressed for long. Not with how dangerous it was to ignore. If three warriors could be killed by a pair of foxes, then a normal patrol could too.
Brackenfur had informed Maplepaw that he and Jaystar would have a decision for her apprenticeship by the next morning. The young she-cat had simply nodded, then gone to the apprentice's den to sleep. Waspeye's heart ached for her. He still couldn't imagine the loss she must have felt. Maplepaw and Deertail had been so close, and now she had to start over with a new mentor. Waspeye wondered who they would choose. It would have to be someone kind and compassionate, who could resonate with the loss Maplepaw was feeling without letting her drown in it. He frowned as he tried to think of who would be a good fit for the young she-cat. Before this, she had been energetic and bouncy. So they would also need to be able to keep up with her if she stayed that way once her grief had subsided a little.
Lakesplash would be a good fit, he decided, but he was unsure if the older tom would want another apprentice. He had left Riverclan and all his friends and family in it. If that wasn't a cat who would be able to help Maplepaw deal with her grief, he didn't know who could.
Thinking about Maplepaw's new mentor brought Waspeye's thoughts right back to Deertail and the other fallen warriors. A part of Waspeye wondered why the three she-cats had been out in the forest so late, but he tried to ignore it. Maybe they needed to make dirt at the same time, maybe they had decided to take a late-night hunting patrol, or maybe they had just taken a walk. None of the cats who had been in camp had even known they were gone until the Gathering patrol had returned with their bodies. That meant the battle had been quiet. If they hadn't had time to make enough noise to get attention, that meant they must have been ambushed.
'But how could a fox, even a pair, manage to ambush three skilled warriors like them?' Waspeye wondered to himself. 'Surely they would have smelled the scents, or heard them, or something.'
A slow chill ran up Waspeye's spine as a thought occurred to him. What if it hadn't been foxes at all? What if it had been a group of cats who had somehow used fox-scent to cover their tracks? But who could possibly have the motivation to do something like that?
Waspeye shook the thoughts away. Of course it had been foxes. That was the only thing that made any sense. There were no cats around the lake capable of such evil.
Unless they weren't from the lake at all.
Hello, everyone, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I'm leaving this note here to say that I am taking a break from writing for a short time, at least for this story. I've realized that I've just kind of been...writing. Part of this is due to a lack of any real interest in what I'm writing about, which stems from an overall lack of engagement with the story on the part of the readers. Maybe this would have happened even if I'd gotten constant engagement every chapter, with dozens of reviews, I don't know. I just know that this has played a part in my declining interest and quality standard. So I'm taking a break from the story until I can figure the rest of it all out. I haven't been keeping up and it's resulted in me rushing through chapters even when I need to take a break. I'm sorry to leave you all on a cliffhanger like this, but just know that I do intend on coming back to and finishing this story eventually. I just need to find the joy of it again. In the meantime I will still be working on writing out the chapters. I might even go back over some of the old ones and redo them to be better written and less rushed. I will also be writing other things as well, though they will likely be personal projects that I aim to publish. Until next time, I love you all, and this is me...signing off.