Lightningwind
Thunderclan Warrior
Letting out a small sigh through his nostrils, the large light ginger tabby tom exited Gravelstar’s den. A million things were running through his mind, whenever it wasn’t Indigo.. Something was happening within Thunderclan. An apprentice by the name of Alderpaw had gone missing about a week ago, and a couple of days ago another two warriors by the names of Lilywing and Spiderpelt had mysteriously vanished from camp. Of course there had been search parties among the territories, but there hasn’t been anything popping up. Lightningwind had been tasked with a simple border patrol, but he had other plans in mind as well. Perhaps if there was some kind of signal that Alderpaw and the others had left Thunderclan on their own free-will, it would most likely have closure on everyone’s part and their families would have some sort of peace.
“Hazelface” Lightningwind called towards her, his dark blue eyes narrowed. He wasn’t overly fond of the gray molly, as she was the most egotistical and biggest pain in the ass but she always got the job done. But he knew that Hazelface also needed answers, the molly had been extremely worried and he noticed her slipping out of camp and would be gone for a couple of hours only to come back with a disappointed look on her face. It wasn’t until the molly approached her, Lightningwind was conflicted at first to even ask her to tag along as he wasn’t sure how emotionally stable she would be if they found something horrible. “We’re going on a border patrol” The light ginger tom said, before lowering his voice for the molly to hear “I’m planning on taking a detour to find Alderpaw around the Oak Tree” He said, mentioning one of the places that patrols haven’t really searched as much yet.
Turning away before he could hear her response, his dark blue eyes scanned the area “Stagfrost, patrol” He said, seeing the other feline nodding before Lightningwind looked over and saw Bunnypaw looking at the patrol forming, her expression was full of curiosity. Going towards her, the tom forced a small smile “Come on, we need some extra paws” Lightningwind said, his tone soft. He knew that they may have to be slightly slow in walking due to Bunnypaw’s heart condition, but he knew that she may not want the extra attention that she’s been getting.. To him, she was just like any other apprentice. Going towards the center of the clearing, he watched everyone gathering for the patrol. It wasn’t until he saw Figpaw joining that caused Lightningwind to arch an eyebrow but it hit him that Hazelface was joining the patrol.. Which meant that wherever she went, somehow Figpaw followed too.
Lightningwind wondered if that would had been him with Indigo.
“Alright, let’s head out” Lightningwind said quietly, his dark blue gaze looking at his large paws for a moment as he was thinking about Alderpaw and the others.. Are they okay? Letting out a soft sigh through his nostrils, the light ginger tabby turned around and started making his way towards the camp entrance. He took lead of the patrol, the tom wasn’t usually one for talking as he was the quiet child compared to his younger brother Shootingtail who was the preppy one. Letting out a small snort of amusement to himself, thinking about Shootingtail. His brother was currently all loved up in the honeymoon stage with Spidermask as they became mates recently. The tom felt someone padding up to him, he couldn’t really tell but he assumed they had some kind of question about the real motivation of this patrol.
Lightningwind Thunderclan Warrior His dark blue gaze was focused on the bodies in front of him, an unreadable expression on his face. This was clearly worse than he had thought previously. Lightningwind had assumed that perhaps it was just a rogue, but it appeared they were dealing with something much more brutal. The question is, who did it? It couldn’t be a warrior from a clan, no one was trained to cause this much damage.. Unless there was a spy within their ranks. No, it wasn’t possible.. No one from Thunderclan didn’t appear suspicious as of late. The large ginger tom was silent for a moment before looking at Hazelface “Let’s get them back to Thunderclan.” He simply said, knowing that his clan mates had wanted to know at least about their missing clanmates, for their families to have the proper conclusion. Lightningwind was looking at the mangled bodies for a moment before looking back at Bunnypaw “I need you to Peachblossom about what’s coming.” He said, watching the apprentice scrambling to the camp. Letting out a deep sigh, the ginger tom was extremely gentle with Lilywing’s body and handling it. Watching Stagfrost handling Spiderpelt’s body, all three felines had slowly made their way back to camp. A million thoughts had gone through Lightningwind’s mind, mostly.. How was Thunderclan going to handle a murderer on the loose? Should they warn the other clans? Shallowing hard, it wasn’t until the felines had made it back into their camp that they saw everyone gathering. Peachblossom was in the middle of it, her face was unreadable. Lowering himself until placing Lilywing’s body on the ground, he heard cries from family members and felt himself suffocating as a crowd gathered around him. Quickly, he backed off to let the others clean and observe the body.
Making his way towards Peachblossom, his dark blue eyes were slightly narrowed. He had finally come up with a conclusion. Going towards her, the ginger tom stood next to her before letting out a soft sigh through his nostrils and shook his head before padding off “This wasn’t a dog or fox, but another feline.. This one seems bigger than any of us.” He simply said, before padding off. While everyone else would grieve, Lightningwind was on a mission.. To figure out what cat could brutally murder like this. For now, he would let Peachblossom handle the crisis while Lightningwind will do his own research.
𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕘𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕤𝕥 ✦ 𝕋𝕙𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣ℂ𝕝𝕒𝕟
It was heart-wrenching to watch the young, innocent Bunnypaw crouch beside her denmate and attempt to groom his cold fur. Stagfrost felt a little guilty that he had been so taken aback by the sight of Alderpaw's body, when the tiny she-cat didn't hesitate to spring to her friend's side. She clearly had a big heart, even if it was a weak one. Moved by the scene, Stagfrost steadied himself and swallowed down the nausea. Then Bunnypaw separated the fur on Alderpaw's neck. Claw marks in the shape of R, clear as day, still crimson red against the young tom's pelt. Bunnypaw's shaky voice pained him, and as Hazelface gently guided her aside, and Figpaw muttered quiet prayers while he tended the body, an ache began to grow in Stagfrost's heart. The initial shock of the terrible discovery had waned, replaced by grief and... fury. This wasn't just some random dog or badger attack. It was no accident. It was so deliberate, so methodical, down to carving an R right into Alderpaw's flesh. The killer wouldn't have done this if they didn't mean for the ThunderClan cats to see it. They wouldn't have so delicately posed the body to appear as if Alderpaw was sleeping like a cruel insult. "It was no warrior, Bunnypaw. No cat with a code could have hurt your friend like this." When Figpaw and Lightningwind agreed to take Alderpaw back to the camp, Stagfrost wasted no time gently wedging his shoulder beneath the small body. He helped the others hoist the weight of their Clanmate, and shifted the stiff corpse upon his back as well as he could manage. It didn't faze him at this point; the scent didn't hold a candle to the mixture of dismay and anger weighing down his heart. Lightningwind's hushed meow of warning grabbed Stagfrost's attention, and as his Clanmates' hackles rose, he felt his fluffy tail prickling with unease as well. Without a word, Stagfrost quickly helped Figpaw and Hazelface surround Bunnypaw in a defensive circle; well, as quickly as he could with Alderpaw draped across his shoulders; and got moving at a brisk pace. "Did you see something back there, Lightningwind?" Stagfrost asked quietly after a few minutes of hurried walking, only to go unanswered as the ginger tom's attention was pulled away by something else. He watched the older warrior make his way through the ferns that lined the bank of the stream, and Stagfrost's blood began to rush again, that same dreadful sensation in his paws he felt earlier when he heard Hazelface cry out. He didn't need to notice the cloud of flies or the greater stench this time. He knew. In his gut, he already knew what Lightningwind had found. Turning away, Stagfrost felt himself go cold and resumed the hike towards camp with the burden of both Alderpaw's remains and the knowledge that Lilywing was down there by that stream in the same condition. He couldn't bring himself to look. He couldn't see her like that. "I'll leave Alderpaw outside of the camp entrance, between the holly bushes, so that no cat has to see him or the others if they don't want to," he spoke in a numb, vacant voice. "And I'll send for some help to get the others."
H A Z E L F A C E
As the members of the patrol began to gather, she could see the crestfallen and perturbed looks on their faces. It was clear that they were each disturbed by the loss of a young life that was taken so violently. Stagfrost looked like he might lose his lunch if he had to look at the scene for much longer, whereas, despite her warning, Bunnypaw lurched forward and dove to her denmate’s side. Hazelface winced, she hoped that she could have spared the young molly from such a sight.
However, when the apprentice began grooming Alderpaw’s pelt, the warrior moved forward to stop her. “Bunnypaw, you might compromise the evide-” but she cut off at her discovery, a jagged R carved into the tom’s side. Her jaw clenched as she suppressed the rage that bubbled up inside of her at the sight. Who would do something like this? Disgust churned in her belly, and at Bunnypaw’s terrified inquiry, she couldn’t find it in herself to reply. No warrior would, but Bunnypaw was still too young for this kind of truth. Hazelface placed her tail gently on the apprentice’s shoulders. “Come. Let Figpaw do his job.”
As the healer to-be came to do his inspection, she guided Bunnypaw up so that he could look over the body properly but she didn’t leave her side as they waited for his response. The gray warrior’s heart panged for him when she noticed the watery film to his eyes as he turned to face Lightningwind. As they discussed bringing Alderpaw back to camp, the ginger tom paused, and as he did, she felt the fur on her hackles rise with unease. As he muttered leaving with urgency, her fears only rose. Was the killer watching them?
They moved in formation, huddling Bunnypaw to the center to protect the young feline if necessary. Hazelface stayed by Lightningwind’s side, wishing to be there for her apprentice’s final moments. They made their way back to the camp in silence. They were tense. They were mourning. And they weren’t looking forward to confronting their Clan with the news.
Shortly before they neared camp, Lightningwind stopped them and when he did, dread once again surfaced for her. Hazelface picked up on the scent of death once more but it was stronger this time and it wasn’t coming from Alderpaw. She grimaced, her paws shaking as the warrior went to find the source and her heart fell as he confirmed the worst. Hazelface hung her head, a mixture of sadness for her clanmates’ lost lives and hatred for the cat who took them swimming in her consciousness.
Lightningwind
Thunderclan Warrior
His eyebrows furrowed for a moment, noticing that Hazelface had caught a whiff of something. It wasn’t until the smell of death entered his nostrils that made the light ginger tom stop suddenly, feeling frozen in place. No, it couldn’t be.. Lightningwind clenched his jaw for a moment, looking always slightly as Hazelface moved towards the source of the smell. It wasn’t until the gray molly confirmed his thoughts, his blue gaze looking towards the direction of the others as they went to join her. Following them slowly, he saw Alderpaw’s body. The young warrior remained emotionless at first, Lightningwind’s facial expression was blank as he was staring at the decomposing body of the young apprentice. ‘Fuck’ Lightningwind thought to himself, biting the inside of his cheek as he had to take in every feature of the deceased apprentice.. It broke his heart to see the sight in front of him.
It looked like a rapid animal had attacked him, deep gashes within his entire body. One ear was ripped off, while the other one was hanging from either the killer or the decomposing. Alderpaw was almost unrecognizable, only his face was the only thing kept in place. The tom’s neck was almost decapitated, it seems like whoever murdered him couldn’t finish the job in time.. But what stopped him? Lightningwind broke out of his thoughts when noticing Bunnypaw approaching the body, noticing how the small molly was speaking and tending to her deceased friend. If he knew they would find Alderpaw’s body in this condition, he wouldn’t have brought her.. But Lightningwind knew that the younger molly was stronger than most felines would realize, they just had to stop underestimating her. Blinking a couple of times, it wasn’t until Figpaw came up to him that caused him to snap out of his thoughts and turned towards the orential tom.
“Yeah.. You’re right” Lightningwind said, however he stopped when Bunnypaw noticed the R carved into Alderpaw’s neck. Moving towards the body, the large tom was careful and inspected it carefully. It was a large R carved within the tom’s neck, Lightningwind hissed slightly as he noticed how deep the wound was. The scent of death entered his nostrils, he wanted to gag but refrained so. This wasn’t the conclusion that he wanted for Alderpaw, he deserved better. Stepping back sliglhy, he knew that he needed to think of a proper way to bring the apprentice’s body while making sure to pay respects to the deceased feline. It wasn’t until the tom felt an unsettling feeling in his stomach, his ears peeking up for a moment. Lightningwind’s blue gaze was scanning the area for a moment, it seemed like everyone was observing him but the light ginger tom knew something was wrong
Someone was watching them.
“We need to get out of here” Lightningwind muttered quietly to the others, watching as the others began to gently pick up the deceased feline. Lightningwind was looking around, he would had assumed that perhaps a massive dog from the two legs had perhaps caught Alderpaw in a series of unfortunate events.. But the R that Bunnypaw had spotted said otherwise, it was another feline who did this. Who did this? Why did they kill an innocent cat like Alderpaw? Where were the other missing cats that disappeared? There were too many unanswered questions, Lightningwind wished that he had the proper answer to give everyone upon arriving to camp.. But he didn’t even know how to approach Gravelstar or Peachblossom on this situation. Letting out a small sigh through his nostrils, the large tom was watching carefully the area while the others were taking the body away. Lightningwind wasn’t sure who was watching, if it was a cat from another clan or maybe an outsider.. All he knew was that there was someone who could create such damage to a cat, and the outsider was still around.
It wasn’t until he let Hazelface, Figpaw and Stagfrost take the lead. He noticed that Bunnypaw was staring ahead, clearly upset about the situation. Clearing his throat slighly, Lightningwind looked down at the snare molly “I’m sorry about Alderpaw, I know how important your friendship was with him” He said quietly, knowing that Hazelface and Bunnypaw were taking it the hardest. Lightningwind knew that words couldn’t comfort those two in these troubling times, but knew that action had to be taken “I promise, we’ll find answers for you and his family” He promised, before watching the others. It wasn’t until the familiar scent of death returned into his nostrils and caught the sight of flies buzzing a certain area. Lightningwind let out a soft breath, and shook his head. “Hold on” He said, before making towards the area. It was a couple of feet away from the stream, nearby camp.
“Don’t let it be them” Lightningwind muttered quietly, feeling someone coming up behind him. It wasn’t until his facial expression had fallen of the sight in front of him.
He found the other missing cats.
Figpaw had been pacing outside his den, a usual occurrence for the tom who often seemed to be so deep in thought these days. There were members of the clan missing, for reasons seemingly unknown. Figpaw had nervously prepared some portions of traveling herbs for the search parties, and with the help of some kits, he was able to keep his warriors healthy and energized. But as the search parties came back empty, the older apprentice couldn’t help but wonder if there was more he could do to help.
It had been a week and it almost felt hopeless. Under the orders to keep the clan calm, he used a lot of his free time ensuring the other clan members that “No, nothing is wrong,” and “No, we are not under attack”.
Deep down, he wondered if it was the truth.
The deep meow of Lightningwind brought his attention to the center of camp where a border patrol was beginning to form. He watched as Bunnypaw and Hazelface joined the crowd, an anxious feeling causing his short coat to stand on end.
Peachblossom wouldn’t be able to handle it if her daughter went missing too.. and Hazelface.. well.. it couldn’t hurt to tag along could it? Maybe he’d find spot some herbs while he was at it. “Hey, wait up!” He called to the patrol, his long legs catching up to the group of felines in just a few strides. “Mind if I tag along? We’re low on our stock
He followed the group through the forest, sticking to the back of the group as having all of his clan members in his sight provided a slight comfort. When they neared the Oak Forest however, he began to lose sight of the others.
He followed Bunnypaw, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious and praying that this patrol would be just as boring as the others. Hazelface’s cry changed that instantly.
The smell of death was something Figpaw had grown to recognize, a decaying body lay somewhere down. He approached with the apprentice by his side, wincing as Hazelface told Bunnypaw she couldn’t join them. He waited for her to walk away, waving off Stagfrost’s call with a flick of his ear.
“Bunnypaw, you can go, but only you can decide if you can handle it or not. If you get too stressed, walk away. Smell the air, decide if you are ready.”
He left her at that, pushing ahead of the crowd to get a good look at the body. He adverted his eyes from Alderpaw, the sight of his den-mate almost too unbearable. ‘Oh Alderpaw,’ he thought in his head, shaking it in dismay.
Bunnypaw rushed ahead of him, pressing her body into the corpse. “Bunnypaw-“ he tried to call her back but it was no use. He approached the young tom’s stiff frame, reaching out with his paw to close Alderpaw’s eyes for the final time. “May StarClan light your path,” he whispered, only just loud enough for Bunnypaw to hear.
The tom looked down at the apprentice by his side, mouth agape in horror and the sadness of her question. He sniffed, eyes misty as he turned to the rest of the party with the most solemn face he could offer. “We need to return him to camp, give him a warrior’s funeral.” He told Lightningwind.
B u n n y p a w 𓆩 ♡ 𓆪
Lightningwind had come sweeping out of the leader's den, an agitated expression written across his face. It was no secret the entire clan had felt the pressure of Alderpaw's disappearance, and now two other warriors had mysteriously vanished, justifying the warrior's stressed nature as he gathered cats for a patrol. Her tail tip twitched lightly as his eyes made contact with hers, cheeks heating as he invited her to join them. I must look sad... she realized briefly, hoping his invitation wasn't one of pity. Taking cautious steps behind him, Bunnypaw greeted the growing patrol with a soft murmur. The tension stretched between them like a thick twine, and the unbroken silence only seemed to strengthen the bind more.
The pale-furred tom's voice shook Bunnypaw from her thoughts, and the tiny calico braced herself for the long trek as they took off into the forest. Stretching her claws and toes to keep up, the petite molly paced her breathing as best as she could, managing to keep in step with the elder warriors. They hadn't traveled too far when Lightningwind veered off path, taking them in a direction she didn't know quite that well. With an unspoken code, the patrol fanned out and began their search for the missing, surprising Bunnypaw. As she parted her maw to inhale, Stagfrost's tone alerted her in his direction, eyes round and curious as she gazed up at him, nodding in affirmation. The stench had hit her nose the same moment as her companions, and the gruesome look the trio of warriors exchanged made the apprentice's stomach queasy. She wasted no time slinking to Stagfrost's side, following the patrol toward Hazelface's call. Despite the crew's effort to protect the young molly, Bunnypaw slipped past them to see the awful scene, limbs rigid at the dried blood pool around her denmate's throat. "Alderpaw!" she cried, scrambling past the warriors in an emotional fit to get to her friend. They hadn't been particularly close, but their nests had been nearby and they had always been kind one another.
Tears spilt down her face as she pressed her pink nose into his cold fur, wishing he could feel the warm sun above them. Almost instinctually Bunnypaw began grooming up the dried blood from his pelt, yellow eyes narrowed in concentration, yet the pattern of the scratch felt odd beneath her tongue. It was deep and jagged, yet it wasn't parallel like claw marks or a clean tear from teeth. Confused, the calico molly pulled away and parted his fur with her claws, revealing a large "R" embedded in Alderpaw's muscle. "F-Figpaw? Hazelface?" came her trembling, terrified mew, yellow eyes searing into her denmates wounded skin. "W-what kind of w-warrior does this?"
𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕘𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕤𝕥 ✦ 𝕋𝕙𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣ℂ𝕝𝕒𝕟
It had been days since the disappearances of three ThunderClan cats began to raise hackles and questions among the Clan. An air of unease lay thick as snow upon the camp, despite the warm new-leaf sun beaming above. It seemed all the cheeriness had gone from the world, and the normally noisy and bustling home of the Clan cats was somber and quiet. This in part was due to the constant search parties that left the camp quite empty. Warriors had been scouring the territory for signs- a track to follow, a scent trail, even a tuft of fur- and so far, they'd all returned empty-pawed. Even the normally upbeat and energetic Stagfrost felt ill at ease.
When word first began to spread about Alderpaw, Stagfrost didn't think too much of it. He figured the apprentice had probably wandered off on an adventure (as Stagfrost himself was prone to do at that age) while Hazelface wasn't watching, despite the molly being far from negligent, and that he'd likely return before nightfall. And when nightfall came, and Alderpaw did not, he too began to worry. Another couple of days had passed, cats had searched, and suddenly Lilywing and Spiderpelt turned up missing as well. This really shook the Clan; Stagfrost in particular was quite close with Lilywing during their apprenticeships and knew her to be a responsible and cautious cat. She had stopped him from recklessly jumping into trouble on numerous occasions, even after she earned her warrior name and left the den before him. Spiderpelt he never knew particularly well, but knew he was a generally well-liked cat too.
The thick-furred tabby buried his claws in the soft earth outside the warriors den, feeling the grass tear between his toes and clenching his teeth against the anxiety growing in his chest. He had tried to force himself to rest before inevitably joining another search team, but sleep came fragmented and with difficulty. It didn't matter. The gnawing worry in his gut was plenty enough to drive Stagfrost onward. It wasn't long before Lightningwind called him for patrol, and he quickly heeded the warrior's summon. Unsurprisingly, Hazelface was already part of the group forming around the ginger tom. It was obvious to any cat how worried she was about her apprentice, and rightly so. Bunnypaw joining, however, did surprise Stagfrost. He briefly wondered to himself if it was a good idea to bring a young apprentice along, not knowing what they might find out there, but he didn't question Lightningwind. An extra nose couldn't hurt, after all. Stagfrost noted Figpaw's appearance at Hazelface's side and nodded, mostly to himself. It was a solid team. Though Lightningwind only said they were off to patrol, Stagfrost figured they'd end up searching for the missing cats as everyone had been.
The patrol departed with Lightningwind heading the group, and no one spoke for a while. Stagfrost's weary, deep green eyes flicked ceaselessly from side to side as they made their way through the forest. He peered between the oaks, into the shadows beneath the bramble and over the swaths of fresh green undergrowth straining to glimpse any sign of Lilywing and the others. Hardly a sound was made by the patrol trudging along the trail save for soft pawsteps and anxious breaths. As the cats traveled deeper into the woods and the group broke apart to search, Stagfrost made sure to keep Bunnypaw within his sight. One apprentice had already vanished, and they couldn't be too careful protecting the most vulnerable of ThunderClan's members. "Bunnypaw, make sure you don't wander off alone," he cautioned. He spoke softly, as he didn't want to scare her, even though he was sure any cat could sense the tension regardless. Stagfrost made his way quietly through the brush, nose to the wind, when he froze as he caught the faintest whiff of something... very wrong. He couldn't even open his jaws to call out to the others before he heard Hazelface's shout.
His heart dropped and without a second thought he took off racing towards Hazelface's voice. He knew by her tone it wasn't good news. His blood turned cold but he did his best to steel his nerves against the growing stench as he got closer. With a glimpse back to make sure Bunnypaw was coming too, Stagfrost broke through the row of foliage around the oak tree where Hazelface stood. His eyes met hers in silence just a moment before they met the gruesome scene before her. The scent of death and decay nearly choked him. A moment of shock paralyzed the young tabby warrior, spiking all of his long wily fur up before he moved himself between Bunnypaw and the body. He certainly didn't want her to see it; he didn't even want to see it himself. He knew all of the anguish and terror he felt at the sight of Alderpaw's corpse paled in comparison to the pain Hazelface must be feeling. He couldn't possibly find words for her, but he brushed her flank with his tail sympathetically. It was an incomprehensible act of evil. Did Lilywing and Spiderpelt meet the same fate? Did they find who did this? Or did the killer find them? Fearful thoughts spun in Stagfrost's mind. He felt dizzy, and he wasn't sure if it was the sickening fear or the smell.
H A Z E L F A C E
The murmurs of stress and anxiety among the Clan was palpable lately. Cats had begun to go missing and hadn’t returned. It started with her apprentice, Alderpaw. At first, Hazelface had thought that perhaps the young tom had gotten lost and would find his way back soon, but as days passed, she found herself getting worried for him. Murmurs that Alderpaw had deserted ThunderClan began to form as rumors and the short-tempered warrior found herself snapping at every cat that dared to utter such grievous lies. She might have been hard on him, expected a lot from him, but he would never turn his back on them. She believed in him, despite what some may have thought of her.
Her tail ticked back and forth with evident agitation, only to stop once she was addressed by Lightningwind. She turned in his direction and when he mentioned a patrol in search of Alderpaw, her expression hardened in determination. He had turned away from her before she could speak, but despite what might have been expected from her, Hazelface didn’t provide a stinging counter. Instead, she obediently followed. She stayed quiet as members of the patrol formed and came together. Shortly, Figpaw was at her side and the warrior gave him an appreciative glance. He had become a figure of reliance for her- something she never would have fathomed at the beginning of their relationship.
When they set off, she felt an unusual sense of unease, like there was almost a guarantee they would find something unsightly today. Hazelface wasn’t one for superstitions or things of the like, but the territory seemed oddly quiet today. The sounds of the earth moving, prey, wind, undergrowth, all appeared to stop. Almost like the only thing they could hear was their own footsteps and heartbeats.
As their patrol wandered into the oak forest and they spread out to cover more area, the scent of something atrocious hit her. It was unlike anything she had ever smelled before- it nearly knocked her right off her paws and made bile rise to the back of her throat. Her breath hitched in her throat and the grey molly bit down on her lips. Hazelface had scented fresh-kill, even carrion, but this was something even more grotesque; prey killed for the intention of becoming a meal had a particular scent to it, one that this lacked. It made her paws run cold to the point where her legs felt unstable because she knew it couldn’t be anything good that she was about to stumble upon.
She braced herself as much as she could and made her way toward the source of the stench. Each step felt like it took seasons, the sound of her heartbeat pounding in her ears as a reminder of how terrified she was to see what she was about to see. Despite what she logically told herself in the back of her head, what she prepared herself to find, Hazelface would never have been ready to witness what she did.
Beneath the hollow of a tree was the body of a young cat, laid on his side, almost as if he were taking a nap in the sun. Which might have been believable, if not for the abhorrent scent of death that clung to him. As she edged closer, she could see a gash across the cat’s throat- so deep that it looked as though his killer had attempted to sever his head. When Hazelface peered past the wound and saw the cat’s face, her worst fears were confirmed to be true at the face of Alderpaw being revealed to her. Momentarily, she shut her eyes. The warrior took a breath, steadying herself. Her claws clenched the dirt and her teeth gritted together. I’m sorry.
“Over here!” She called, alerting her patrol that she had found the apprentice, who had been missing for several days now. As they gathered around and neared her, Hazelface interrupted Bunnypaw. “Not you,” she said softly, using her fluffy tail to shield the young molly’s eyes from the mutilated scene ahead of her. From being close with both Peachblossom and Figpaw, she was aware of the apprentice’s heart condition and the risk of stress triggering an episode for her. ThunderClan had already lost a young life today, Hazelface wouldn’t allow the potential for another.