It was midday, and the sunlight that came through the missing pieces of the cabin roof bathed everything it touched in a golden glow. Desertstar glanced around in search for her friend, and eventually she found him at the edge of camp chatting beside his recent apprentice. “Cometchaser,” she called to him, walking over to the pair, “May I speak with you for a moment?” she asked, her golden eyes momentarily flicking to her daughter. She wanted to speak to Orion privately. After everything Desertrain had gone through, she didn’t want to make the fainthearted she-cat any more anxious than she already was. Turning away, she guided him back to her den, and once they were out of earshot, she sat down and said, “There’s been another incident. A couple of our warriors, Dayfall and Cactusbloom, found a body while on a hunting patrol.” Her eyes then met Cometchaser’s, her expression uneasy as she gave him a troubled look. “There was an ‘r’ carved into the skin.”
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Desertstar walked alongside her daughter with her tail draped over the grey bengals’ back protectively. Standing tall, her golden eyes scanned the surrounding area as they walked, pupils flicking left-to-right as she kept an eye out for any potential danger. She felt horrible as it was that her daughter had to see something like this so soon after going through something traumatic, so if Cactusbloom was coming with them, she’d at least make sure that nothing else happened to her. Listening to the exchange between Cometchaser and the young warriors, she felt her daughter’s nose gently touch her cheek. She frowned, angry at herself, but then her gaze softened when she looked down at Cactusbloom. “I appreciate your concern for me, dear, but even if you feel like you’re fine, this isn’t something I ever wanted you to experience,” she replied in a gentle, motherly tone before rasping her tongue between her daughter’s ears.
Making their way toward the body, she slowly stepped forward and examined the scene with Cometchaser, her movements wary but confident. Her golden eyes narrowed thoughtfully as she studied the blood splatter and overall damage. Then, when Cometchaser beckoned her closer to speak more privately, she nodded and walked over to him, still keeping an eye on Dayfall and Cactusbloom even as she stepped away. “That doesn’t sound good,” she sighed, her troubled eyes briefly meeting with his before taking another quick glance around. She knew that Cometchaser would notice how nervous she was about having her daughter here by how often she looked around, but in a situation such as this, it was better to be safe than sorry.
Cometchaser
While his mind was running a million thoughts per second, the massive Maine Coon remained calm on the outside. In all honesty, he wasn’t prepared for this. Looking up at Dayfall and Cactusbloom, the son of Hailgaze remained silent and was looking into the distance while Desertstar’s daughter was looking down at her paws, her tail tightened around her slender frame. They were warriors, but in Cometchaser’s head, they were still too young to experience such a horrific thing. As the group of four were making their way out of camp, Orion saw at the corner of his eye that Cactusbloom was pressed against her mother. It almost warmed his heart to see that Cactusbloom and Desertstar’ bond was still unbreakable as ever. Knowing the mother and daughter duo had been close since Cactusbloom was a kit, he knew that the gray Bengal would be alright with her and Eveningstorm taking care of her.
Cactusbloom was pressed against her mom, her light green eyes remained on the floor. The small Bengal was horrified upon seeing the sight in front of her, and Dayfall had attempted to keep her from viewing it too much.. But unfortunately, she was the one who discovered the body. Dayfall was behind them all, looking around the area to make sure no one was watching them. Orion swore that the two toned ginger tom was looking more towards the direction of the Thunderclan border, which peaked Orion’s interest of why Dayfall was more focused on that route for a moment. It was silent between the group, extremely tense. It wasn’t until the four felines Hm finally arrived at the clearing in which the body had laid. The black Maine Coon was silent for a moment, looking at the sight in front of him.
Within the clearing, there was blood everywhere. It was almost painted in curves and swirls. It was very different from the usual Ripper sightings. While dark green eyes were narrowed, Orion followed the patterns with ease. It wasn’t until he looked back towards Cactusbloom and Dayfall “You two found the body in this position?” He questioned which caused Cactusbloom to nod slowly while Dayfall not
The inside of his cheek “It felt like we were being watched.. Just couldn’t tell from where.” The ginger tom replied towards the former loner. Cactusbloom who was sitting next to her mother had spoken in a soft voice “It has a mark compared to the first one that was discovered.” The gray Bengal observed, turning to her mother and seeing her reaction. Cactusbloom knew that Desertstar hated having her daughter in this position, the smaller Bengal leaned until her nose
pressed against her mother’s cheek “I’m fine Mama, I promise.” Cactusbloom whispered, one of her paws on her mother’s. Their love was unbreakable.
Observing the area, Orion began moving towards the body. A sense of dread had filled him, it felt like a similar time when he discovered Twilightstrike’s body when he was younger. The echos of his mother’s screaming and crying had filled his ears, remembering the horrific scene of himself and his family making it to the scene of an alleyway after Aurora, Cobra and Mercy had fended off the Ripper with a couple of other felines. It was a dark and stormy night. Looking at the decomposing body in front of him, it was a silver molly that had disappeared over a week ago. Signs of torture were clear. While dark green eyes were scanning the body, it wasn’t until there was something that caused his eyebrows to furrow for a moment, looking back towards Desertstar “I need to speak to you.. Alone, I just discovered something... Unusual” Orion said, watching Cactubloom and Dayfall step towards the entrance of the clearing, around so the other two could see them and answer any questions if it was needed.
At Cometchaser’s words, Desertstar’s face grew worried as the golden leader’s weary mind tried to process just what he meant, her stomach fluttering nervously when she saw how unnerved he’d become, and even more so after he cut a glance in the direction of his family. It was the subtlest of looks, really, but combined with the fear in his gaze, she knew then just how serious this was. Desertstar cleared her throat. “I see,” she chewed the bottom of her lip, now thinking about her daughter, Cactusbloom, and wondering if the killer had seen her and Dayfall. Did that mean they were targets now? She really hoped not. Deciding to worry about that later, though, she continued, “When they told me about the mark I had a feeling it wasn’t good so I came to you to see what we were getting into before going to see the body myself. Dayfall and Cactusbloom will have to take us there,” she explained to him, trying to keep the overwhelming urge to forbid her daughter from ever leaving camp again at bay. Looking outside her den, she sighed. “I told Hailgaze to keep everyone in camp until I can explain what’s going on. We should go while the sun is still high in the sky,” she stood up, motioning for him to follow her before setting off. The leader pushed her way through the busy camp, eventually spotting both Dayfall and her daughter sitting in a darkened corner of the tattered cabin. Then, when their eyes expectantly met with hers, she quietly signaled for them with her tail.
Cometchaser
Windclan Warrior
The massive black Maine Coon had his feathery tail wrapped around his tail, his daughters Novakit and Moonkit were snuggled into his tail. While Goldenrose was tidying up the nursery and Meteorkit had stayed to help, Orion thought to take Novakit and Moonkit outside for fresh air. Fatherhood had definitely left an impact on him, as it was truly the best thing that happened to him besides becoming mates with Goldenrose. His dark green gaze was focused on his two daughters who were chatting while he was speaking to Desertrain. He knew his former apprentice was suffering the aftermath of Sandadder’s rebellion, mainly the pain that the tom had put her through.. All Cometchaser could do was offer an ear for his former apprentice to listen to, and he knew it must had meant a lot for Desertrain to be involved with the kits as he considered Desertrain as family. Stars, even Novakit loved Desertrain like an older sister.
It wasn’t until his ears perked up at the sound of someone approaching the group, causing him to turn to look over at the direction of Desertstar. He nodded “Desertstar.” Orion greeted, a small smile on his face. Ever since arriving at Windclan, he had formed a friendship with the Windclan leader. Arching an eyebrow towards the golden Bengal, he nodded before looking towards his two daughters “I need to speak with Desertstar for a moment, may you see if Mama needs help?” He said, watching his daughters pout for a moment before giving a smile and leaning down to give a gentle kiss on his daughters’ heads before watching them beam. A couple of moments later, the golden molly and the gray molly started bounding towards the direction of the nursery. Orion smiled at his former apprentice, biding her a farewell before following after Desertstar.
“Seems like anytime you and I speak privately, it’s the matter of life and death.” Orion observed, remembering the moments of him meeting with Desertstar before going on the journey, and protecting her body when she had lost a life during the fight with Sandadder. Following Desertstar into the leader’s den, a frown appeared on his face when he sat down. Listening carefully to his best friend’s words, he bit the inside of his cheek for a moment. Remembering the moments where himself and the Windclan leader had privately sat down and she asked him questions about his life, he chose to be honest with her. Of course he kept extremely private things for Goldenrose’s ears only, but his friendship with Hailgaze and Desertstar had allowed him to be more open with others about his life.
Silence was within the den for a moment, Orion was playing with the dirt on the ground for a moment. For once, he was silent. The images of The Ripper had flashed through his mind, mainly the pain and torture that he caused within his family. Looking back towards the den for a moment, his thought went towards his mate and kits. Protecting Goldenrose and their daughters would be his main priority, he couldn’t save his brother but he could ensure his family was safe. Feeling his heart drop a bit, he could imagine the feeling that Cactusbloom had felt, she had been through a lot as well. His feathery tail flicked back and forth off a moment, lost in thought before his dark green gaze looked up at the Bengal leader. “Where’s the body? I need to see it” Orion simply said, beckoning his head towards the entrance of the leader’s den.
“If it’s who I think it is.. We’re in trouble.” Orion said, taking the lead as the two left the den. Feeling a migraine forming, the massive Maine Coon had let out a sigh through his nostrils and shook his head slightly. Not expecting the ghosts of his past coming back to haunt him, he wasn’t sure if he would rather deal with his murderous father or The Ripper more. Looking towards Desertstar, he looked around a bit “We will need to be careful when we hit the location of the body, He likes to watch.. How do you think he gets a lot of kills from?” Orion muttered, as it explained all the body counts within the territories. The Ripper used the bodies as bait for others.