Dawning Snow: Book 1 by _Cloversplash_

Chapter 11

My mother's long, gray fur littered the entrance to the warriors' den, accompanied by spots of blood. My mind flashed back to another gray body, lying lifeless at the paws of a WindClan warrior...

I shook out my pelt and glanced at Creekfall. He was still fuming.

"I can't believe Eclipsestar was so quick to believe that a RiverClan cat was responsible for this!" he snarled. "Just wait. I'm going to prove that it was WindClan, and then Eclipsestar will be sorry he ever doubted us!" I paused and narrowed my eyes.

"Woah woah woah, slow down! We don't even know if it was WindClan. Eclipsestar did have a point-there's no scent of them anywhere." I lashed my tail. But if it was WindClan.. Loonriddle already killed Clawbelly in battle. If one of his clanmates deliberatly snuck into our camp just to murder my mother, that's too far.

I imagined myself sinking my claws into the flesh of one of their warriors. Then I paused. You're a medicine cat now, I reminded myself. You don't get to participate in battles. I sighed. I was going to miss that.

"WindClan could have disguised their scent! Besides, no cat from our Clan would kill their own Clanmate. ThunderClan and ShadowClan are our friends at the moment. Dogs and badgers and foxes aren't smart enough to hide their scent if they came here- and besides, they would have eaten her. And like Rosemarylight said, her wounds were the size of a cat's claws," Creekfall explained.

I tilted my head, ears flattening. "What about a rogue? Just because they're not in a Clan doesn't make them stupid," I pointed out. "If anything, rogues are smarter than Clan cats. They can survive on their own their whole lives, without a Clan to take care of them if they're sick or nursing kits." Creekfall sighed, his fur suddenly lying flat in defeat.

"You're right, Cloverpaw. I'm sorry. Let's go to sleep and try to find out who did it in the morning." He turned, tail resting briefly on my shoulder, before bounding into the den.

I watched as he curled up with her tail on his nose before I padded to my own den.

Laying down in my own nest beside Honeyblossom, I looked up at Silverpelt. I hope you made it safely to StarClan, Leafwhisker. May you find good hunting, swift running, and shelter when you sleep.

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"Let all cats old enough to swim gather for a clan meeting!" Eclipsestar's yowl made me jerk awake, shattering the nice dream I was having. I had been hunting and caught a huge trout that I had shared with Creekfall.

Grumbling and blinking sleep from my eyes, I rose to my paws and padded out of the den, joining Creekfall as he stumbled out of his own den.

Eclipestar waited a few more moments until every cat was settled, then continued. "Last night, Leafwhisker was killed."

Hawkpaw and Leopardpaw exchanged an angry look.

"No strange scents were found at the scene of the crime-WindClan, ThunderClan, and ShadowClan have not trespassed!" the leader called.

Honeyblossom gazed at the gray and white tom, her eyes clouded with confusion. "They could have hidden their scent," she offered. Eclipsestar didn't even glance at her.

"Like I said, there were no strange, out of place scents found. No predator stench, either. Leafwhisker was found with long scratches in the shape of a cat's claws. I hate that I have to do this, but it is for the good of RiverClan...." Eclipsestar trailed off, staring at his paws with conflicted guilt and determination.

I scowled at him. He's such a fake! I thought, but at the same time I felt growing suspicion stirring inside of me. What is he planning...?

After another long moment, Eclipsestar let out a loud sigh. "Every cat who was not at the Gathering last night please step forward."