[ti]Open[/ti]The Faded Light

[ladyspectral]

The air was absent of the dimwitted warrior’s incessant snoring, it’s place filled with distant birdsong and the gentle rustling of leaves. All the warriors had risen from their moss nests in the warrior's den to begin tending to their duties, all except a certain white and tabby she cat with a knack for making 'friends' with everyone she ever met. She still lay in her nest, facing toward the wall of the den.

A few cats grumbled about it to each other as they groomed in the morning light, Oakwish was always known for sleeping in but never to this extreme. Somebody should wake her was the general consensus, but nobody had dared go into the den quite yet. She had suffered from a fit of nightmares the night before, mewling like a kit and thrashing and scattering moss from her nest with her frantic kicking.

Oakwish now lay still, side no longer moving as she breathed. Blood had pooled under her torn open throat, and her paws were coated in blood as if she had tried to desperately stop the bleeding that had sluggishly taken her life. Her blue eyes were open wide and staring ahead emptily, face twisted in her last expression of terror. Nowhere near the friendly smiles that normally graced the face of the overly trusting she cat. Only fear remained.

All remained quiet in the den as the unlucky cat to discover her fate was selected.

silverfang218

[silverfang218]

Barkfur hadn’t seen one of his clanmates so far today and he was itching to go hunting. With his sister’s latest scolding about him getting hurt fresh in his mind, he figures he might as well bring a friend with him. Not a friend really, but a clanmate and another set of paws. He hadn’t seen Oakwish today and he’d heard some of his clanmates say that she hadn’t gotten out of her nest this morning.

The moment he pokes his head in the den, his nose scrunches up with the scent of blood. A scent that didn’t belong in the warrior den of all places. His ears twitch as he cautiously approaches Oakwish’s nest… and everything is as he feared the moment the scent hit his nose. She was…. Barkfur turned and stepped out of the den before calling out. “Larkbeat! Larkbeat!” His voice is deep and hard to read, but there is no fear. Only severe unease and a bit of shock- how could a warrior be killed in their own nest?

[Dofferz!]

Her name being called was not what Larkbeat had been hoping to hear this morning. She was busy sorting herbs, and pulling thorns out of kitten paws wasn't on her list of favourite things to do in general.. let alone when she was up to her ears in work. "Beetlepaw. Do you mind?" Larkbeat would huff, hardly looking up from her work. After all, Barkfur didn't even sound like something absolutely terrible just happened. The smell of blood didn't reach the medicine cat den. How was she to know what she was simply sending her poor apprentice into? "These kits are attracted to thorns like bees to beehives" a wonderful metaphor. "You think you can handle it?'

[Cosima]

BEETLEPAW - -

The young apprentice was assisting her mentor when she heard Barkfur's call. He wasn't the nicest of cats, but she wasn't going to ignore his cry for help. He hadn't specified what was wrong, but Larkbeat assured her that it probably wasn't anything dire. "These kits are attracted to thorns like bees to beehives. You think you can handle it?" Her mentor mused.

"I'm sure I will try my best, Larkbeat." She purred, a smile on her muzzle. Beetlepaw rose and padded out of the den to where she had heard Barkfur's call. He stood outside of the warrior's den, appearing absolutely terrified. "What could be wrong?" She wondered, entering the den. She felt as if her studies had prepared to face any thorn or illness, except...

The moment she stepped in, the metallic scent of blood hit her nose. The friendly Oakwish lay in her nest, surrounded by a pool of red. Beetlepaw's heart dropped at the sight of the tabby warrior's body. She knew the she-cat very well and her joy had brought happiness to her's and many other cat's lives. Her bright, lively eyes were to never see the light of day again. She was now, indeed, dead. Beetlepaw fought the urge to run away and cry, but she knew she had to assess the situation. She stepped closer to the warrior and observed that her neck had been slashed open by a pair of cat-sized claws. "Murder," she murmured. "She... was murdered."

"L-Larkbeat, we really need your help!" Beetlepaw called in a solemn tone.

[Dofferz!]

Larkbeat flicked one of her ears in gratitude as Beetlepaw cheerfully took care of the situation at paw. And now, with it under control, she would simply go back to sorting, pulling a leaf marigold away and setting it into its own, growing pile. She mummered tthe names of each herb under her breath, only breaking off as soon as she heard her name being called once again. This time, however, it came from her apprentice and was more dire in tone.

"L-Larkbeat, we really need your help!"

A twinge of anxiety wormed its way into her belly, but the tortoiseshell pushed it away. 'Nothing more than a thorn. A really deep, really stubborn thorn.' And with that mindset, the feline rose to her feet and set her way in the direction of which both calls had come from: the warriors den. 'Strange location.' she admitted to herself. What was really going on here.

"Excuse me, Barkfur." the medicine cat would meow, a little bit more nervousness in her tone than she had aimed. She did not hesitate as she slipped into the den--only afterwards. ... starclan." she breathed, paws rooted to the spot as the sharp, metallic scent of blood hit her nostrils. Who could do this? What could do this? How had no cat noticed? Surely no cat could of been murdered in their sleep, surrounded by clanmates without a single witness!

Larkbeat would signal with her tail for poor Beetlepaw to step aside for a heartbeat as she grew near, observing the same wounds that the new apprentice had already noted. The slice of claws to the throat was surely what ended the warrior. However, it was quickly noted that there were no other injuries beyond the torn throat, which wasn't surprising. No fight had gone down (obviously, for cats had been sleeping and were certain to notice a thing like that). Some cat was on a mission to kill.

"that's strange." she would speak silently, mostly to herself.
There was no scent of any cat on Oakwish besides those who resided inside of the warrior's den.
If there was a killer, it had to of been from Ivyclan itself.
The sudden realization made the fur along her back prickle, and the medicine cat cast wide open eyes back over her shoulder, halfway expecting the cat responsible for the crime to suddenly be standing behind her.
'Surely no Ivyclan cat would murder their own clanmate in the dead of night! In plain view of anybody not asleep!' The chance was too great! But here it had happened, for the thought of the Dark Forest never even crossed her mind.

There was nothing she could do now to bring the warrior back; she could heal, but she couldn't necromance. "Barkfur, tell Owlstar. Beetlepaw, we have work to do."

"Rosemary, mint, and lavender: we should have these.. correct?"

[silverfang218]

Barkfur rarely finds himself uneasy or nervous, but the clean murder of a clanmate in their own nest is certainly cause for unease. He moves out of the way as Beetlepaw comes to see what he’s hollering about, positioning himself near the entrance to the den to make sure the medicine cat apprentice isn’t disturbed. He’s not surprised at all when Beetlepaw seems to decide that the task is beyond her and calls for Larkbeat.

Bark nods his head towards Larkbeat as she passes him; he waits patiently as Lark takes in the situation. It wasn’t any great realization that Oakwish was dead and that there was nothing the medicine cats could do. Barkfur just figured the medicine cats would be the cats that he needed to call about a murder is all. Barkfur nods as he is commanded to go find the leader and he runs off to do so. He first checks Owlstar’s den, then various locations around camp if she’s not at her den. “Owlstar?”

((Lady we need you))

[Cosima]

BEETLEPAW - -

Who, in their right mind, would end Oakwish's life? She was not aware of any enemies of Oakwish. The older warrior was always kind to others and was endlessly devoted to her clan... could it have been an act of jealousy? There was a million conclusions as to why Oakwish was murdered, but nevertheless, Beetlepaw was concerned that they had no clue who the murderer could be. If there is still a murderer on the loose within Ivyclan, Owlstar must be informed.

"Barkfur, tell Owlstar. Beetlepaw, we have work to do. Rosemary, mint, and lavender: we should have these.. correct?"

It took her a moment to piece Larkbeat's words together before she could reply. "Yes," She replied in a quick tone, "Yes, I'll- I'll get them for you. After her b-body is moved, I'll start on cleaning up the warrior's den..." She decided it would be best to begin looking for herbs and such on her own so that if Larkbeat is unavailable, she won't need any help. The apprentice slipped into the medicine cat den and began looking through Larkbeat's herb storage. Rosemary, mint, and lavender. Three herbs known for their strong scents, strong enough to even mask the putrid scent of death. She collected a few of each of the leaves and brought them to her mentor. "We should wait for Owlstar before we move her. S-She'll tell us what to do in this situation..."

[M'Lady]

The leader was spending the calm morning in her den, resting after a bright and early dawn patrol. She rather liked going on dawn patrol, especially if it gave her a moments respite afterward. She lifted her head when Barkfur came in, however, confusion and a spark of annoyance in her yellow gaze, but she pushed it down when she saw his face. The leader stood up immediately, her movements graceful as she padded towards her warrior.

"What happened?" She asked him, a slight frown on her face. The whiff of blood from his coat gave her all the information she needed, however. She took a brief moment to discern it wasn't coming from him, and then quickly pushed past the warrior and out into the clearing. The warriors den seemed to be filled with commotion, so she quickly hurried towards it with a few leaps and bounds.

"Clear away," She told everyone, her voice steady despite the clear thick scent of blood that clouded the air. Her warning dissuaded most but the medicine cats, which were of course doing their best to save one of her warriors. She held back a gasp at the sight. Oakwish, a new, young warrior, with her throat slit in her nest. She leaned close to Larkbeat, unable to tear her pale gaze from the poor she-cat who had met such an untimely fate. "What's going on?" She asked her in a hushed tone, eyes flickering analytically over the scene. How could no one have noticed? A silent assassin? Some kind of fight? No, not in the middle of the night. They would've heard something, someone would have. Her eyes grew wide, and she turned to her medicine cat with a low growl in her tone. "You don't think...?" She couldn't even say it aloud. No one from Ivyclan would do this, would they?