ShadowClan Clearing

[Moxie Foxy]

Originally Posted by Cherry~

As Ruepaw continued to press Ebonysky for more details, Shadowfur thought. His patrol hadn’t found or reported any sign of a dead body. Even though Vulturefang and Foxpaw were both annoying furballs, he trusted them. Well, he trusted Vulturefang more, if he had to be honest. Foxpaw had a demeanor that made the Enforcer a little hesitant. Regardless, Foxpaw was an untrained apprentice. There was no way this was Foxpaw’s doing.

As if reading his thoughts, Larkpaw came over and commented on how his patrol hadn’t reported a dead body. He nodded in agreement. “We didn’t. So, the body must’ve either been deliberately put there, or this cat died after we left.” He poked the body with a paw. It wasn’t as stiff as a body that had been dead for days should be. “I agree that we need to wait for further explanation from the other cats involved. Ebonysky, please take the body and place it in the clearing.” Turning his eyes toward Deadclaw, he added, “We will not be burying this body until we’ve questioned Heatherrain and Beeflight and corroborated their statements with an examination of the body, as necessary.” His tone was commanding; Shadowfur did not want to be debated with about this matter.

( @Kat @neptune @Jingle Bell Dragon @Miss Christmas Spirit @Undertaker Tagging Taker so he can have Dawn get involved if he wants )

Deadclaw wrinkled her nose "Very well... where are those idiots anyway?" she mumbled more to herself

[poppy]

brackenfire
open to all involved - @Jingle Bell Dragon

Brackenfire was annoyed. Someone had died, and it was obvious that there was foul play. So for now, the Enforcer gave Deadclaw (who had so kindly presented her unsolicited opinion) a blazing look, one that clearly said that her input was not helpful. they needed to find out certain thing about the death before burying the body. "And how are we supposed to know if revenge needs to be taken if we bury the body before knowing everything we can about her death? Use your head, but in the meantime, close your mouth." She wasn't in the mood for moronic input.

Turning to look at Shadowfur and Larkpaw, her fellow Enforcers, she waved her tail. "I can speak to Heatherrain, when she returns." It was an offer.... but not really something that could be easily denied. She was trying to take charge a little, here, and insert herself in this investigation. She sincerely hoped that Shadowfur wouldn't get offended or take it the wrong way. She didn't have time for that.

[occultation]

Shadowfur’s attention was momentarily grabbed as Brackenfire approached. The (currently) disgraced Enforcer scolded Deadclaw before offering to speak to Heatherrain. In a different circumstance, Shadowfur might suggest that all available Enforcers take part in the questioning, but he understood that she was trying to earn her rank and respect back. The least he could do was give her an opportunity. If she screwed it up, then that was on her.

He nodded. “That’s fine with me, Brackenfire. I would like to be around to listen, but I’m fine with you handling the questioning of Heatherrain.” He wanted to ensure that multiple cats were present for the questioning, so that nothing was left unheard. Any cat could miss something or mishear something. In this situation, they needed to have all of their facts straight.

( @jupiter )

[Moxie Foxy]

Deadclaw ignored Branchfire completely,

[SSakii]

EbonySky

ShadowClan
She/Her

~ @Jingle Bell Dragon - @Cherry~ - @jupiter - @Kat - @neptune ~

She looked a little panicked but that was mostly because of the corpse of a cat she grew up with…

———

HeatherRain

ShadowClan
She/Her

After a couple minutes, HeatherRain and BeeFlight arrived into camp. BeeFlight was carrying a tuft of black fur. “BeeFlight found the fur of a RiverClan warrior!” She announced. Although EbonySky had black fur, the fur BeeFlight was holding was a completely different color. It also smelt like RiverClan.
“I’m sure you all have a lot of questions, and I’m ready to answer whenever!”

[Moxie Foxy]

Originally Posted by Miss Christmas Spirit

EbonySky

ShadowClan
She/Her

~ @Jingle Bell Dragon - @Cherry~ - @jupiter - @Kat - @neptune ~

She looked a little panicked but that was mostly because of the corpse of a cat she grew up with…

———

HeatherRain

ShadowClan
She/Her

After a couple minutes, HeatherRain and BeeFlight arrived into camp. BeeFlight was carrying a tuft of black fur. “BeeFlight found the fur of a RiverClan warrior!” She announced. Although EbonySky had black fur, the fur BeeFlight was holding was a completely different color. It also smelt like RiverClan.
“I’m sure you all have a lot of questions, and I’m ready to answer whenever!”

"how about you start with what happened to you idiots?!" Deadclaw snarled

[Undertaker]

@Cherry~ @jupiter @Kat @NinjaBloss
She leaves, she returns, dead cats... WHY! The hulking leader's sigh twisted into an agitated growl as she climbed down the cliffside and into the clearing. Her tattered ears twitch as the Enforcers are all quick to jump on the whole 'who done it'. If she weren't so aggravated, she'd be impressed with how they all worked together and seemingly fed off each other. As Brackenfire joined in, Dawnstar recalled that she needed to hear who she'd be fighting for her rank, later. The powerful feline took a seat off to the side, listening as the Enforcers barked at each other and other cats, she thought quietly to herself.

"Flamepaw, and now Smallleap. If I add in the warrior that idiot recklessly killed, that's three ShadowClan cats in a moon." It wasn't uncommon for ShadowClan cats or Clan cats in general to missing or die. It was part of life. However, unless there was some uprising, or battle going on. Dawnstar couldn't recall a time when so many perfectly healthy morons died off so close together.

"And again by RiverClan's border." Granted, this did give Dawnstar an actual reason to go pick a fight with the guppies. Though there was a problem here, she'd be a mousebrain if she decided to overlook it. "Meadowpaw as well, so four actually." That's far too many cats to lose with nothing overly threatening or challenging in front of ShadowClan. Either something was picking off ShadowClan's cats, but a predator was unlikely since Meadowpaw's remains were buried, and Flamepaw was apparently drowned, Smallleap killed by whoknowwhat.

Dawnstar honestly did not want to get involved with it, quite frankly, she was happy leaving it to Enforcers to deal with. It seemed that they thought the same considering that no one had bothered coming to fetch her or inform her of Smallleap's death yet. She really just wanted to go to her den, however, the problem with being a leader is that all information on her clan should be reported to her first and foremost. It was Dawnstar's decision to decide if said information should be shared with the clan or not. Three of the deaths of the four she hadn't bothered with sharing with the clan just yet so alas she was among the few who could come to some conclusion on why these cats were dying off so fast.

Err... what? The leader was drawn out of her head as Shadowfur seemed to think that it was a good idea to leave a dead carcass in the middle of the clearing... and no one was saying anything about that. Yeah, no, Dawnstar didn't like having dead bodies sitting in her camp for too long. They start to smell if the right herbs weren't placed on them and don't even get her started on the whole act of mourning, bury first mourn later.

"If you want a body examined you bring it to the medicine cats. Either go fetch Elmshadow or Ivysnake or take the body to them, do not leave corpses in my camp. Once the examination is done, Smallleap can get buried with the rest of our dead, anyone who feels like mourning can mourn at our burial grounds." Dawnstar hissed loudly enough to draw attention to herself if it already hadn't been drawn the second she arrived.

"Heatherrain recently killed one of our warriors, Jaytalon(npc) in my den without my approval for having relationships with some ThunderClan squirrel. I've already warned her from taking measures without my approval. Flamepaw was found not long ago drowned by RiverClan's borders by Oliveglow, and Meadowpaw's remains were found buried in our territory not long after her demotion. Now, Smallleap was found near RiverClan's border dead. That's too many deaths in too small a time frame. Enforcers, now you know everything I know, so cooperate with each other, connect the dots, and figure out if I need to start lining our borders with guppy pelts or if there's a traitor in our midst and bring them to me." Dawnstar curled her lips, baring her fangs as she spoke to Shadowfur, Vixensnarl, Larkpaw, and Brackenfire. She didn't see Sorrelflare or Cougarivy, but considering Dawnstar demanded teamwork, she assumed one of the present enforcers would inform the other two.

Dawnstar didn't wait for any comments or questions and instead rose and retreated to her den. She already had a decedent idea of who was behind the string of deaths, but she'd leave the Enforcers to actually work out if Dawnstar was correct or not. She was very tempted to just kill said cat as an experiment of sorts and see if the deaths stop, even if they didn't, it's not like she'd have any regrets. Dawnstar shot a glare at Heatherrain, but says nothing disappearing into her den.

[occultation]

Finally, Heatherrain arrived back at camp. With her was Beeflight, carrying a tuft of fur. According to Heatherrain, the fur was of a RiverClan cat. Before any Enforcer could say anything, Deadclaw spoke up and asked what had happened. A valid question.

Before anyone else could say anything, Dawnstar arrived at the scene. She started barking about how they weren’t permitted to leave Smalleap’s body in the clearing. Shadowfur kept any of the annoyance he felt from showing. What was the big deal about leaving the body in the clearing while they waited for Heatherrain and Beeflight? Further, did Dawnstar think they were incapable of investigating the body itself? If they needed to know how a cat died, that was when they’d go to Ivysnake and Elmshadow. But, it seemed clear that a cat was responsible.

Whatever. Dawnstar was Clan leader, so Shadowfur wouldn’t argue. They had more pressing matters than where Smalleap ended up. Particularly, the news that Heatherrain was responsible for murdering one of ShadowClan’s own already. The Enforcer’s ears pricked at that. Interesting. That didn’t make her immediately guilty of anything, but it did make her a cat of interest.

As Dawnstar stalked away, Shadowfur swung his gaze back toward Heatherrain. When a Clanmate wanted to murder another and hide it, the easiest trick to fool their Clanmates was to pretend they died in a border skirmish. Every cat worth a damn knew that. But, it was possible they were telling the truth.

Seeing as Cougarivy wasn’t around to take charge of the Enforcers, Shadowfur decided to try to offer some direction. It was up to them if they wanted to listen or not.

“Ebonysky,” he started. “Per Dawnstar’s request, take Smalleap to the medicine den instead of the middle of the clearing. Have Elmshadow or Ivysnake examine the body for any clues we may have missed. When we’re done speaking with Heatherrain and Beeflight, we’ll bury the body.”

Turning his attention to the Enforcers, he said, “Brackenfire, now would be an excellent time to question Heatherrain. I’ll join you. We’ll take her to a secluded part of the camp, so there are no eavesdroppers or interruptions. Vixensnarl and Larkpaw, I would question Beeflight if you are willing. Take them to a space far from Heatherrain.” Thinking for a moment, the Enforcer then shifted his gaze to Deadclaw. “Deadclaw, go find Sorrelflare and Cougarivy if you can. Have them come back to camp immediately, wherever they are.”

( @Kat @jupiter @NinjaBloss @Jingle Bell Dragon @Miss Christmas Spirit Dragon- you can just make a post in the ShadowClan Territory thread of Deadclaw looking for Sorrelflare and Cougarivy, and tag oleander and Ravensong )

[Pitou]

**Cougarivy**

@jupiter @perseus. @Cherry~ @NinjaBloss @Kat

The scent of blood was the only thing that could liven her mood even more than it had already been soaring. She breathed in deeply then sighed through her broad smile. Her blue eyes stopped on the gathering of cats in the middle of the clearing and her head cocked curiously. She padded forward, quickly picking out Dawnstar's massive height over the various other heads. She slipped in easily and looked down at the hapless body of Smallleap. The warrior had always struck her as a little pathetic but she'd really hoped the scent of blood was anything but the blood of a Shadowclanner, being a Shadowclanner meant her excitement over it would be unwarranted, so she tamped down her giddiness and listened to, what she assumed must be, the tail end of Dawnstar's orders. When the leader brought up Heatherrain's name, the enforcer commander glanced back at the newly arrived she-cat though her focus never left what Dawnstar was describing. She found it intriguing how Dawnstar started it all. So many deaths so close together and Dawnstar felt it pertinent to start with Heatherrain's killing of Jaytalon. The others' cause of death were a mystery but Dawnstar starting with Heatherrain made the small she-cat think the massive tabby knew, or at least suspected, more than she was letting on. Cougarivy smiled, a small giggle playing in her throat.

The thought of starting a war with Riverclan over the string of deaths was tempting but the message was clear, Dawnstar wanted the truth. She stepped forward as Dawnstar removed herself from the clearing, leaving the mystery at the paws of her enforcers. "What fun's a mystery if there isn't some death involved?" she giggled but flicked her tail towards Heatherrain. Obviously Dawnstar had her suspicions and the she-cat was interestingly involved in this one as well, whether by coincidence or design so she wasn't going to let that go unnoticed. "I'm sure we'll get more before this is finished too!" Looking at Shadowfur and Brackenfire, the small enforcer meowed, "You two deal with the three that found the body. Figure out what they know. If anybody can find Sorrelflare, have them take Smallleap to Elmshadow and Ivysnake to see if either of them know anything." Part of her wanted to take the body to Elmshadow herself, just another excuse to spend more time with him and the two of them could work out what had happened to the warrior, but the other part of her knew she had to stay out here and make sure everything else was getting figured out. She sighed, responsibilities and all that nonsense. "Vixensnarl and Larkpaw, maybe go check wherever the body was found." She didn't know much about what had preceded Dawnstar's lecture other than what she could pick up on from the sight but she figured one of the freshly returned cats knew where to direct the enforcers to to check things out. If it was a predator then it shouldn't be difficult to figure out, and wouldn't that just put a damper on all of the excitement she was anticipating if it was Riverclan, or something even more sinister. She giggled but turned back to the cats in front of her.

Cougarivy moved herself around behind Heatherrain and Beeflight, sitting down languidly. She didn't not trust Shadowfur and Brackenfire to keep the three present and questioned and she had no reason to believe Heatherrain or Beeflight would try to run but, just in case, she could always hope. "When we've gotten what we need we'll meet in..." she let the last word drag for a moment as she thought. They'd have to meet somewhere private. Dawnstar's den seemed like an obvious first choice but the massive leader more or less made it clear she didn't want to be bothered with the issue. The clearing was too likely to be overheard. Out in the territory made some sense but then she'd be giving up her excuse to be closer to Elmshadow, although the risk of aggravating the tom so soon into the rekindling of their relationship felt like a risk she didn't really want to take. She'd have to make sure Sorrelflare got Elmshadow and Ivysnake's thoughts on the matter for when they all met up. "Meet up here then we'll go out to figure this all out."

[occultation]

Just moments after Shadowfur attempted to introduce some direction into this chaos, Cougarivy finally decided to grace everyone with her presence. The Commander issued her own instructions, which in Shadowfur’s opinion weren’t as efficient as his. Whiskers twitching at the level of irrationality rippling through some of the members of ShadowClan, today, he once again only nodded.

He decided to start with Beeflight, seeing as they had the tuft of fur that was supposedly from RiverClan. Brackenfire, as she requested, could handle Heatherrain. The Enforcer pushed down his feeling that having only one cat per cat being questioned wasn’t wise, but whatever. Rank and file and all that.

“Brackenfire,” he said, keeping his tone light. “Go and get Heatherrain questioned, I’ll take Beeflight.” He focused his green eyes on Ebonysky. “Ebonysky, you are confined to camp until it is your turn to be questioned.” With that, he beckoned Beeflight to follow him with a flick of his tail.

The tom padded over to a quiet spot near the dirtplace, his nose wrinkling at the smell.

( @jupiter @Miss Christmas Spirit I believe you roleplay Beeflight? )