Saving Sable

Chapter Fifteen

•◇•
"Do I Despise These Perfect Lies?"
•◇•

Brindlebee's screams continued.

And continued.

"Oh StarClan.." Breathed Minkfoot, at Dawnclaw's ear.
"Who would do such a thing?"

Dawnclaw turned to her sister; she smelled of blackberries.
"I don't know. This is disgusting."
She trembled. She noted that Minkfoot, her untouchable littermate, was quivering too.

The sound of voices were deafening, some screams joined the cacophony, a few even fled from camp in disgust.

She overheard Snakestar speaking urgently to Yellowtail, the deputy, and Swiftear.

"Swiftear, we need to give her poppy seeds, the lemming-brain won't shut up!" Snakestar roared, clearly cracking under pressure.

"We need to get information out of her, though!" Yellowtail hissed, his fur bristled.

"No. She needs rest. This has been a terrible ordeal for Brindlebee, both she and her mate." Swiftear said firmly. Yellowtail merely lashed his tail, while Snakestar moved to speak to the Clan.

Dawnclaw turned away.

•◇•

The day soon lapsed into night, and the wind was biting, carrying with it the scent of dead leaves. Leafbare was approaching quickly.

Dawnclaw's kits were safely away from all the drama in the nursery. The warriors had spent the day cleaning up the blood, with countless trips from camp to the river; from the river to camp. They'd had to wait for the blood to dry before anything could be done. Then they had washed it away with moss soaked in water.

Dawnclaw had made sure that her kits didn't see the body, but they knew there had been a murder. And Maplekit had snuck out of the nursery to have a look.

Morbid kit. Still, that's the least of my problems.

Brindlebee had yet to make an appearance, but a few things had been established. First of all, the murderer was thorough. The kit didn't carry the scent of any cat, but merely the scent of rosemary. Another thing was, they were definitely a cat. And from SpruceClan. No animal could have sliced such fine wounds. Not to mention that they came back for the eyes.

The third thing was, there had been no one about in camp when it occurred. Everyone was either asleep in their den's, or hunting.

The fact that a kit-murderer walked among them was a thought almost too heavy to bare. Dawnclaw found herself in a state of abhorrence and anxiety.

•◇•

She was currently sitting outside camp with Pinetuft, who hadn't returned to camp since sunhigh, when he saw the body.

He was curled up next to her; his claws dug into the earth.

"I just can't believe it." He said, for what must've been the sixth time.

"I know. I know." Dawnclaw hushed him, like what she might do with their kits. Tawnymask was watching over them, Dawnclaw was not leaving them alone.

"It's such a horrible thing. She was so young! I just can't fathom it. It's horrific! A sin worse than Goshawkfur himself." He mumbled.

Dawnclaw's fur instantly bristled, she hissed. "Don't say his name!"

Goshawkfur was a cat feared more than anything by all three of the Clans. He was a cat so vile, so despicable.. He had attempted to "make cat's pure again" by selective breeding, killing off those without fur of ginger, bicolour, tortoiseshell, tabby, or black. He had murdered many cats before he was killed, by none other than Applethroat. An agender cat with morality so strong they were guided by the rivers, by the trees and by the sky. The clouds allowed them to hide, the gold sunsets shone in their eyes. They blazed with all the glory of the sun, and. StarClan, touched their paws, blessed them with humility, with speed, and with fury worthy of fire.

The two fought, and Applethroat was Goshawkfur's downfall. They counteracted pride with modesty; hate with morality.

And that night, the stars began to weep. A warrior so brave, so strong, had turned down a path so tainted. They had failed him.

And as the sky shone with dawn, carrying away the blood, Applethroat began to sing. Even now, this is a strange and rare phenomenon, as cats do not sing. He sang a trembling aubade, serenading the Fallen Warrior.

Even now, Goshawkfur's name is forbidden, cursed, if you will. He was referred to as the Fallen Warrior, or the Unspeakable.

"Sorry. I didn't think. It just slipped out." He replied, his tone meek.

Before she could reply, Dawnclaw heard the sounds of voices coming from camp. Without a word she stood, tapping Pinetuft with her tail as a signal to follow.

She galloped into camp, with Pinetuft hot on her heels.

"I was right there! Right there and this murderer took her. Right there!" Brindlebee lamented, her grief throbbing in her tone, vibrating Dawnclaw's skull.

"Brindlebee has only one enemy, and that enemy is Dawnclaw!" Stormthroat said dramatically.

As heads turned, Dawnclaw instantly snapped back.

"Oh please. If I murdered everyone I didn't like, you would've been dead moons ago, you filthy maggot. Brindlebee is not my enemy. She caused a lot of trouble, and I'm not going to forgive her, but we are not enemies. I wish no harm upon her - I mean, nothing serious anyway. I would never hurt a kit, never!"

"Try telling that to Sablekit." Cherrystream hissed, with a look of jealousy.

"Stop, now! We have just passed around accusations. We will all sit down, and debate and discuss the situation in an organised manner." Snakestar thundered.

As Dawnclaw sat, she noted Aquiver sitting next to her.

"Aquiver. It wasn't you, was it? I mean, you threatened to kill me, and you seem to have enough skill to pull that off. Plus, I don't know the customs of your place. I -"
Dawnclaw whispered.

"No, Dawnclaw! I may not like kits, but I'm no murderer. I didn't mean it, when I threatened you. I just.. I felt sick.. It was a reaction to weakness. I've already told you that. No, Dawnclaw. I'm sorry, but the murderer was one of your own."

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A/N:

It's going to get exciting ;)

Who do you think is the murderer?