QuillClan //The curse of Stars and No Stars.

Greif

"FrostedSnout?!"

"Great starclan! Where are you?!"

Her voice seemed drowned out by the sounds of birds singing and the rustling of the bushes as the wind blew through them. She hadn't gone far from the clearing that held a dead cat, and she shivered at the thought. Who had killed them? Or what? She shook her head.

"FrostedSnout!" She tried again, signing at her useless attempts. He clearly was upset, what had happened to him to get him this upset? She noticed him as he stormed out of the camp, he seemed upset then too.

"FrostedSnout!" She yelled, lashing her tail. She guessed she would have to drag back his friends body to camp alone, the scent of death overwhelmed her as she grabbed the corpse by the scruff, slowly dragging it through the forest. As she neared the camp the thought for a moment, what will the clan think? I don't even know anything about this cat, let alone what their connection to FrostedSnout is.

She shook herself again, cold drifts of wind blowing her fur the wrong way. She made her way into the camp, several eyes watching her with suspicion in their gazes. "QuillStar! I need you!" She hollered, dropping the body with a loud thump.

QuillStar didn't come. "QuillStar! Come here please!" She tried again, her ears twitching. After a moment, the leader stepped out of the leaders den, glancing around until she saw her. She narrowed her eyes at the body under her paws.

"What is this?" She asked, trotting up to SwanFeather with her ears pinned.

She began to explain all that she knew, about how she had spotted FrostedSnout in the forest, in a small clearing, crouched down by a cat, murmuring in her ear as she feline died. How her deputy had stormed off into the forest...

"FrostedSnout should return soon, although we will bury this body outside camp." She lifted her head to look past her towards the camp entrance. The small tunnel which led into the camp. As if she were disappointed not to see FrostedSnout sitting there waiting, or walking into the camp.

"I'll get the elders to bury them." She offered, noticing QuillStars troubled look.

"Thank you." She nodded before turning around and walking up to BeeStep, SwanFeather's orange and white sister.

She looked down to the body, the felines eyes glazed over as they stared up blankly at her. She shook her head, trotting over to the elders den where her mother, StormFoot and a few other elders.

"Hello," she greeted them with a dip of her head. "A rogue has died, QuillStar wants to know if you would be willing to bury them, despite not being in our clan." They looked at one another before nodding, slowly walking I it the den where the led them to the body.

"Here." She pointed to the corpse, now wreaking of death more than ever.

"Thank you." She said as the elders made their way out of the camp, flies surrounded the body as the elders shook them off.

She sighed, her mother hadn't even said a word to her, as usual. She never told anyone about her issues with her mother, let alone not even knowing her father. Her mother was a ginger so she assumed her father was a white cat, like her. But she had never met him.

"SwanFeather, can you lead the patrol to find FrostedSnout?" She heard QuillStar ask from behind her, she whisked around with a slight nod.

"Sure." She noticed the warriors on the patrol, BeeStep, HorseThroat, RoseClaw, and OpalShine. She flicked her tail for them to follow her out out of the camp.

She felt the wind whisper in her ear as she made her way out of the tunnel leaving the camp. She looked around, spotting red marks of blood from when she had dragged back the dead cat from the clearing. She followed them through the forest, loosing the trail a few times. After a while she would find it again, the scent of death hard not to find again, even if it was faint.

"Be quiet from here, we don't want FrostedSnout running off again." She murmured to the warriors, flicking her tail for them to continue following quietly behind her as they tricked though the forest into the small clearing.

She knew FrostedSnout hadn't gone far from here, he wouldn't have left the territory either. But where was he?

She scented a very faint trail and decided to follow it, she noticed scuffs in the and grass torn up as she followed the trail, noting that the deputy would be quite upset. Following the scent trail more she noticed it was growing stronger, FrostedSnout was getting closer by the paw step.

After about an hour of trenching through QuillClans territory, she spotted a streak of grey fur on a bush, caught in the brambles, under it, was FrostedSnout. He was asleep, many thorns stabbing him through his thick fur. Some drawing blood from scratches.

She bit her tongue, wondering if she should wake the warrior or leave them be. We have to get him back somehow. She crouched down and nudged the Tom gently, instantly his eyes opened with a fearful gaze, his eyes red from tears, she guessed.

"Oh, it's just you." He said, laying his head back down again as if he didn't care that they were here.

"You have to come back to camp FrostedSnout." She heard BeeStep speak up, lashing her tail slightly to the side. "Being out here alone and grieving isn't healthy." She pointed out gently yet showing a point. She blinked thanks to her sister and she nodded back.

"Just go away." He growled and turned to face the other way. She saw RoseClaw narrow her eyes at the deputy and bare her teeth, catching SwanFeathers gaze she turned around and muttered something under her breath. SwanFeather couldn't hear what she had said.

"Your coming back with us, FrostedSnout, either by force or you go willingly. You can't stay out here any longer, the clan needs you." SwanFeather said sternly.

"Whatever." He thankfully got up out of the bush with ease, leaving a few scraps of fur behind. They flanked him back through the forest, following the trail they had found on the way here. FrostedSnout couldn't grieve for the lost cat forever, Could he?

She noticed a hostile glance from FrostedSnout to RoseClaw. She got a horrible feeling that crawled up her spine like icy claws. What did RoseClaw do to him?