[ti]Private[/ti]I Heard a Rumor...

[silverfang218]

It would have been near impossible to guess that the kind looking warrior had killed an innocent she-cat not all that long ago. Spottedheart had cleaned himself up and his expression held his characteristic soft smile. Now he is trotting into Tanglefur’s domain; the witless she-cat had been asking about Tangle and Spotted had to admit he was curious. What had Tanglefur seen in her? Anything? Or did Tangle just pity the poor creature and allow her to call him her friend? Now the white spotted cat just had to find out, and with his ear tips already starting to fade, the small warrior was finding that his caution no longer always outweighing his curiosity.

Even so, there is a bit of a spring in his step. That had been the most fun he’d had in a long, long time. Very few cats in the place of no stars would allow him to so easily get the upper hand, and there was likely not a single cat here that he could overpower. But Oakwish had provided some real entertainment, so he supposed he was grateful to her in his own way. He supposes he did her a favor really; innocence like that didn’t serve a cat well in the real world nor in the dark forest. Perhaps she is safe in StarClan now, able to make all the friends she wants. Not that Spottedheart really cares about any of that.

He tilts his head as he approaches Tangle’s log, looking for the scraggly old tom. “Is there anyone home? I smell you in there, Tanglefur.” Spotted’s enthusiasm after his latest kill is muted in his voice; best not to sound too happy when he shares the ‘rumor’ of the dead witless warrior.

[GnawingOnIce]

Tanglefur had dug out a hollow in the soil under his log a few days before. If there's even a day and night cycle down here.. he was curled up in it, the soil cool against his transparent fur. A voice made one of his ears flick, a familiar one. “Is there anyone home? I smell you in there, Tanglefur.” Spottedheart. He growled under his breath in annoyanced and wriggled around so that he was facing the entrance and poked his head out, "What do you want, Spottedheart?" He clambered out and stretched his legs before sitting down a distance away from the other tom, curling his tail around his paws.

[silverfang218]

“You sure don’t sound like you are in a good mood today, Tanglefur. I apologize, I didn’t mean to disturb you. I was merely following up on something I heard. Did you know an ‘Oakwish’? IvyClan she-cat. I heard she was your friend.” Spottedheart tilts his head to one side, a habit he has started picking up from the proximity of his apprentice. There is a bit of skepticism in his voice; he assumes that Tangle had taken pity on the dimwitted she-cat or that loneliness had gotten the better of poor Tangle. Both are acceptable reasons to befriend a witless cat, Spottedheart supposes, though he himself was more of a solitary cat.

[GnawingOnIce]

Tanglefur listened as he talked, at one point lifting up one of his forelegs to (attempt) to get black goo out of his fur. He stopped once he heard Oakwish's name, putting his paw down. "Uh, yes.. why?" He flicked one of his ears, a questioning, and maybe even a bit worried, expression coming across his face. How had Spottedheart heard about Oakwish? Tanglefur hadn't really heard from her ever since the first time she was down here. Which made him a bit sad, if he was honest.

[silverfang218]

Spotted blinks before continuing; Tangle’s reaction to this should be interesting. “In my experience, the black goo is near impossible to get out of your fur. Might as well not even try, Tanglefur. As for Oakwish… I don’t quite know how to say this. What I heard might not even be correct, so maybe it’s best to pay it no mind.” He takes a dramatic pause before going on, his speech speeding up as if wanting to quickly give Tangle the hard news. “Apparently she had been wandering around down here asking all the cats to be her friends. Apparently a cat took the opportunity and killed her. It’s just what I’ve heard, but apparently you were mentioned in it so I thought I’d seek you out and let you know.”

[GnawingOnIce]

Tanglefur flicked one of his ears again, growing slightly annoyed at Spottedheart's pause, the worried expression on his face growing. “Apparently she had been wandering around down here asking all the cats to be her friends. Apparently a cat took the opportunity and killed her. It’s just what I’ve heard, but apparently you were mentioned in it so I thought I’d seek you out and let you know.” What? No.. He looked at the ground in front of him, trying to process what emotion he wanted to express. Anger? Sadness? Perhaps both would do. He looked back up at Spottedheart, lowly growling, "Who killed her?" He narrowed his amber-glowing eyes, unsheathing his claws and digging them into the soil, staring Spottedheart dead in the eye. No pun intended.

[silverfang218]

“Don’t know. Didn’t dare ask. You know how cats are down here; wouldn’t want me listening to their conversations much less asking questions.” The lie was good; Spottedheart is a practiced liar and he finds out much of what’s happening by walking close but not too close to other Dark Forest cats. Never know what he might hear. Spotted meets Tangle’s gaze dead on (pun totally intended).

Of course… Tanglefur knows Spottedheart at least a little bit. His manipulative nature is known as is his ability to take full advantage of opportunities. It wouldn’t of been hard for Spotted to murder the trusting Oakwish, and he would have most certainly taken advantage of that golden opportunity should he stumble upon her. Which is exactly what had happened. Rest in pieces, poor sweet Oakwish.

[GnawingOnIce]

Tanglefur growled in frustration, lashing his tail back and forth and stood up, "Are you sure you don't know?" He questioned, his claws still digging into the dirt. Whoever had killed her, he definitely wouldn't be just swiping his claws across their face. Oakwish had cared about him, showed concern for his well-being, like Tansysong did. Starclan knows what he'd do without Tansysong. He certainly valued Tansy over Oakwish, but Oakwish didn't deserve to die at such a young age.

[silverfang218]

“Why would I hide that information from you? Particularly since you look about ready to rip my throat out just for saying something.” Spottedheart replies smoothly. Seems Tanglefur really did care about the she-cat. Huh. Either Tanglefur doesn’t do loneliness well or Tangle has a thing for stupid cats. No matter. “Don’t know who brought her here in the first place either. You said yourself that living cats shouldn’t be down here and I certainly don’t purposely pull cats down here.” Spotted ponders, not seeming very intimidated by Tanglefur despite the other warrior’s size advantage and obvious anger. Just… ponderous. Like he’s putting together a great puzzle.

[GnawingOnIce]

At Spottedheart's comment, Tanglefur huffs. "She just ended up here." He calmed his nerves a little, thinking. He sat back down, his neck fur still bristling, back to Spottedheart. He needed to see Oakwish. Tangle stood up, and headed off in the opposite direction of Spotted. Assuming she went to Starclan, he'd head to the Starclan and Dark Forest border. Which.. he didn't know where it was. But he'd get there, it couldn't be far from his log. Hoping Spotted wouldn't ask any questions or follow him (which he probably will do), he picked up his pace, trotting now.