Gustclan
- xxxxPearstone had – by his own accounts (though Llosgi Llyn would certainly have objected had he heard he wasn’t being credited at all for his own work) – finally interviewed every cat in the clan about what might have happened. This included the newcomers. It wasn’t exactly impossible that they might have new insights on a topic or an individual that others might miss entirely.
xxxxAnd now, under the light of the moon, now every patrol was back, the clan all sat together.
xxxxThere had not been enough room for such a formation within the boundaries of camp, so, instead, they had found an open spot a little bit northwards of camp, and a little westwards too, where trees could no longer shelter en mass under the lee of the hills from the winds, and the foliage broke down into small shrubs and patches of grass. They were, of course, all seated in the grass.
xxxxHeronstar had stated that they had long since cleared out any predators that were likely to try entering camp, but Clarystorm was still antsy, and a few warriors had found it their duty to make sure he didn’t wonder off so far that if Pearstone were to accuse him guilty, he would be impossible to punish. A whole swarm of apprentices were stationed opposite – ostensibly Poppypaw, Minnowpaw, Xerxes, Gullpaw and Gannetpaw had been placed in such a way so as to be able to run quick errands for Barnfish and Aspenfoot, who were sitting nearby, should they quickly need it, but the presence of Adoniscloud there too, and their position with a good view of both where Clarystorm sat and the tree he often darted to betrayed the real reasoning. Heronstar and Chubtail had even positioned themselves such that they had line of sight to that group, able to give permission quickly to act should he do anything suspicious. On a similar line of reasoning, Swayingtrees was located directly to Heronstar’s left, with Bugleclaw nearby.
xxxxOne side of the ring had essentially become a massive swarm of kits, and several other apprentices had found their excuses to make their way to that side. The most predominant, was, of course, that that was where Wigeonclaw and Yew-whisker had decided to sit and providing them with sufficient care was a great excuse. It had, of course, worked marvellously for the others. Dashkit seemed to insist on trying to play with Cairngormpaw and Rivuletpaw, regardless of the sincerity of the present event, and their continual attempts to tell him to stop. Meanwhile, Carnationkit and Peonykit sat nestled together as friends, in front of their four proud parents, blissfully aware that they really were siblings. Xanthe, Dulsepaw, and Xiomara had joined together to admire the two of them, and their quiet coos really were quite irritating to the parents, all four of whom were actually trying to pay attention and didn’t appreciate their sleepy kits being disturbed.
xxxxThey had managed to cluster tightly enough to push out Vendacethroat, but he hardly minded, as he was better able to spend his attention on Cicelynose and their three little lumps of chaos; Chyak-kit, Kachookit, and Parakeetkit. Her brothers sat next, with Lobsterclaw keeping a careful eye on Zirconpaw beside that. Troutstripe had sat down first, and she and Lobsterclaw had ended up sitting very close together. Lionfish was beside Troutstripe, seeking the company of his childhood friend.
xxxxMoraine sat a little way in front of many of the others, though no one wished to stop her (not least because she was sitting in front of the meekest warriors in the clan, Pheasantcloud and Garganeywhisker, and they wouldn’t have protested even if they had seen it rightful), as the investigation was concerning the death of her own kit. Beside them, was Ulyssa, proudly sitting behind her only son.
xxxxOsierfang, Lobeliafur, and Teasel-leaf all sat close by to Dashkit, although this was more because of their duties to various others than to him. Witpaw, Ringflower, and Umbrapaw had found an excuse to sit behind Narwhal and Knotfish’s kits on their left, who sprawled out into the circle as they squirmed in their sleep. Japatellakit, Dragonetkit, Anemonekit, and Radishkit were all far too small to have bed times that allowed staying up late, but the clan understood that there was no physical way that they could have committed a murder that had happened before they were born so them being asleep was a non-issue. They were only even here because Narwhal had refused to miss knowing who was a danger to her darlings as soon as possible, while simultaneously refusing to leave them alone. Umbrapaw’s group had happily obliged to help transferring kits around. Tabbyfur – now sitting on their left side – had not, and she may have been happy to sit by them, but she was one of the few cats on that side not at least somewhat distracted by the kittens.
xxxxMoraine’s kits sat next, spanning the gap up to the leader, with Martinwhisker sitting behind as a form of support, should they need it.
xxxxOspreystorm had decided to sit a little way back from the circle, so that her sister, Noctulepath, and brother, Saffronstream, were directly in front of him. Saffronstream had opted to sit next to his childhood friend, Mosquitowhisker, who was sitting beside her father. Asgusheart sat next to her mate, and her often picked-upon son, Camberfoot, broached the gap back to Swayingtrees.
xxxxOn Noctulepath’s other side, her left, sat Zinniapelt, awkwardly trying to seek attention from them. Boulderdash, Zinniapelt’s mother, sat close to the medicine cat, Harrierpelt, with Squirrelpaw, her adoptive daughter, and Dipperfish, her daughter by birth, both close beside her. To her daughters’ left sat the clan’s eldest cats, Barnfish and Aspenfoot.
xxxxDescribing their arrangement may have taken several paragraphs, but the cats quickly filtered into place, each finding their friends and closest relatives, with enough cats worried about Pearstone’s tendencies that they had sat together to be able to provide more solidarity in case of one of his apparently numerous false accusations in the middle of his reveals. In a few places this was more obvious; Droseratail between his younger – and only surviving – siblings, Bugleclaw and Argusheart together between two of their kits, the queens huddled around their kits. In others, less so; what on earth connected Harrierpelt and Boulderdash so closely?
xxxxLlosgi Llyn sat off-center in the ring, but his father stood, pacing. Llosgi Llyn saw no need to pace. They knew who they were accusing. There was nothing to pace about to get into their heads. And yet Pearstone paced.
xxxxIt was a little annoying.
xxxxPearstone only stopped once every cat was seated and settled, which took a little while with so many kits, and a longer while with so many cats admiring the kits. They received a healthy reel of admonishing glares from the cats less inclined to cuteness for cuteness’ sake.
xxxx“The whole clan knows what happened.” Pearstone started, which really begged two questions; why he was about to spend so long explaining, and whether Narwhal’s kits did yet. “Llosgi Llyn awoke in the night, found his brother, my son, missing, and went out to look for him. Following his brother’s scent, he emerged into the courtyard, only to be confronté-“ Pearstone shot a brief apologetic look at his son, only to be met with a steely gaze his son had recently developed; no emotion can hurt me now. “By both Goch and a strong scent of adult tom. Goch had his face clawed at-“ Pearstone’s voice was definitely catching on something in his throat. “-and his whiskers bitten down to morceaux, claw marks all over him.”
xxxxLlosgi Llyn’s eyes were fixed at the ring of cats, occasionally twitching and staring at someone new for a few moments. He knew who had done it, of course, and a keen observer might have seen where his eyes tended to wonder to most frequently, but his head still twitched to look elsewhere, to regard each cat he knew something secret of in turn.
xxxxPearstone muttered something under his breath, which only Llosgi Llyn caught; ”You’ll enjoy this.”
xxxxPearstone swivelled around, scanning each cat in turn, eyes fixed on each target, before his head found a single target and his eyes locked on theirs, unflinching.
xxxx“LOBSTERCLAW!” yelled Llosgi Llyn.
xxxxThere were plenty of gasps of surprise, but there had been enough cats in the clan when Saddlestream had died to earn a stream of heavy sighs too. They knew what was up, at least, on the first accusation.
xxxxBut, to the clan’s surprise, before any evidence against him could be reeled off, someone else spoke.
xxxx“He didn’t do it!”
xxxxAll eyes swivelled just a tiny distance, looking at the cat beside him instead. It was Troutstripe who had spoken.
xxxx“I know he didn’t. Lobsterclaw wouldn’t harm a kit!”
xxxxPearstone raised an eyebrow. There were a few groans from their longer-turn residents, but more gasps from the newer arrivals.
xxxx“The preuve suggests autrement, Troutstripe. You said yourself, he seemed to take a very long time to go to sleep; what if he was thinking about what he had done, non? What if it was a conscience coupable?”
xxxx“No! No, it couldn’t have been. Lobsterclaw never went in the nursery, he wouldn’t have been able to get to Goch, but, mostly, I… I…” Troutstripe’s voice fell quiet. She looked at Lobsterclaw, who had elected to stare at her rather than at Pearstone. She was almost whispering as she spoke, although her confidence was clearly still there, demonstrated by her still talking at all. “I couldn’t take my eyes off him. It makes me happy to see him, and he’s adorable when he sleeps, but I also want to know if anything’s wrong so I can help. He’s too cute to deserve...” She trailed off, and it was fairly obvious she could have said a lot more. Something significant really must have happened – and even the other side of the circle, well out of earshot must have known – for her to be acting so unusually quiet and withdrawn. Her voice rose just a tiny bit, enough that cats near her could all hear her well enough without a prior inkling of what she was going to say, but not so well that the opposite side of the ring could. In a sense, it was carefully calculated, as Lobsterclaw’s parents were out of hearing range. “I didn’t see him leave the warriors’ den at all.”
xxxxLobsterclaw’s jaw had dropped a little, eyes wide and looking directly at her, though Troutstripe’s were by now pointed at the tuft of grass directly in front of her feet.
xxxxPearstone’s sceptical look hadn’t disappeared at all. “You say that, but how long were you observing? How do we know he didn’t go as soon as you stopped?”
xxxxTroutstripe’s eyes shifted guiltily just a short way to her left, looking up at Lobsterclaw’s forelegs, but no further.
xxxx“I was watching for a while, until he fell asleep. And he took a very long time to sleep. And he’s late to meet patrols sometimes because he slept late. He wouldn’t wake up in the middle of the night, and he’d certainly have been acting weirder afterwards had he.” It seemed obvious to many cats that perhaps she had recovered unusually fast from her adoptive parents’ deaths due to having found a new individual to grow close to.
xxxxLobsterclaw’s jaw was only dropping lower.
xxxxPearstone nodded a little, but Llosgi Llyn was the one smiling mischievously, regarding the two of them. There was a meaningful glance between the father and son. Clearly Llosgi Llyn had had a plan in mind; but if the smile was anything to go by, he had enjoyed that. Probably because he’d had something he’d known about two cats confirmed, and he knew now that it was probably going to actually be acted upon, rather than continuously buried again for the next moon.
xxxx“It seems Truitebande has given you an alibi, Homardgriffe. Maybe not the strongest, as no one can confirm she was awake, mais, we all know that she would find a raisonnement more convenable with her confiance were she lying. Truitebande is not the sort to tell a lie that would make her look weak. Non, Homardgriffe is innocent.”
xxxx“I love you.” Came a squeaky voice.
xxxxEyes moved back around, turning to someone else. And they were, to say the least, surprised to realise that that had been Lobsterclaw. Troutstripe didn’t seem to quite believe it herself, and seemed to have curled up to protect herself from some sort of physical manifestation of embarrassment. And it was more obvious a second later why his voice had squeaked, as a tear escaped one of his eyes. Lobsterclaw was too proud to let any of his tears escape unless he was overwhelmed with something.
xxxx“No, really, I love you. I never said, I thought if I had any chance with you, you were too confident to keep quiet about it. I thought there’d be no way I’d say after you.”
xxxx“I thought the same.”
xxxx“You’re very welcome. You’re obviously both wanting to be mates, congratulations, you only needed a murder to match make you together.” The comment came as a sort of stage whisper; clearly everyone was meant to hear.
xxxx“Llosgi Llyn.” Moraine hissed at her son. There were several sighs, not just from those that had seen a tribunal from Pearstone before.
xxxx“Well, are you going to get that over and done with now, or is getting the whole clan to be aware of it not enough to force your mutual crush out into the open?”
xxxxTroutstripe looked awkwardly at Lobsterclaw, and started muttering something; but she was interrupted by Lobsterclaw brushing one cheek along her side, his cheek touching hers for a moment, and his tail wrapping around hers.
xxxx“I know I’d love to be your mate, and I’d-“
xxxx“I’ll be your mate, Lobsterclaw.”
xxxx“I assume you do actually know who did it.” Chubtail said, on the opposite side of the circle, causing a multitude of cats to turn their attentions onto him, an action that would later be greatly appreciated by both Lobsterclaw and Troutstripe, as, for the first times in their lives, looking away from them was what was prized.
xxxx“Of course.”/“Duh.”
xxxx“And that you’re not going to go around everyone here and set up mates?” Llosgi Llyn’s eyes whipped around with a sort of weight to them, fixing directly on Pheasantcloud for just a moment. “Llosgi Llyn, I forbid you to accuse anyone else here just for the sakes of setting them up with their future mate.”
xxxxLlosgi Llyn huffed to himself, muttering something about how Saffronstream and Mosquitowhisker may as well just get on with whooshing out babies, but nodded.
xxxxHe wouldn’t have been allowed to sass a deputy had he not clearly still been severely affected by the loss of his best friend and brother.
xxxx“ADONISCLOUD!” came the shout from Llosgi Llyn. Pearstone shot him a look.
xxxxBut it was too late, eyes had all began flickering at the huge warrior.
xxxx“I wasn’t even in camp the day Goch died.” Adoniscloud said, completely calm. The entire clan knew he was telling the truth, especially as he came back a quarter-moon later, talking proudly about some clan called “Swiftclan”, and the chances of him coming back after so long and having not actually left the territory were virtually nil. With his huge bulk he had a hard time hiding anywhere at all, let alone for days on end.
xxxx“J'espère, that that maybe at least eleviated some soupçons.” Pearstone’s look at his son had only intensified. Llosgi Llyn didn’t even look guilty, but they both knew exactly what he’d done. They’d planned to do several accusations just to set up matches. Or rather, Llosgi Llyn had, and Pearstone had rolled his eyes and agreed, as it would at least confirm to him that he was developing a skill to be proud of, while also providing evidence that they really did know what they were doing and that they hadn’t suddenly gone insane at any point. Most of these, Pearstone hadn’t realised what Llosgi Llyn wanted until it had been fully explained, but Adoniscloud, he had.
xxxxBecause, if Garganeywhisker and Pheasantcloud were going to be set up together, and they both clearly loved kits, it made sense to set them up with a father who clearly loved having masses of kits.
xxxxLlosgi Llyn had clearly panicked and said the first name in their list of whom to accuse who wasn’t actually to set up a relationship, only to shout a name that had required that.
xxxxBut Llosgi Llyn didn’t even look phased. He obviously had been, if he’d done something that stupid, but he didn’t look it. Pearstone was in equal measures impressed and exasperated.
xxxx“BARNFISH!” Llosgi Llyn called, trying to draw attention as fast as he could away from his mistake. Pearstone understood what he was doing too;
xxxx“I told you last time to stay awake!”
xxxxIf the yell hadn’t been enough to rouse the elder back to consciousness, then suddenly having a whole clan’s – and a large clan’s – eyes suddenly pointing at him seemed to do it. Barnfish jolted upright, looking around the clearing.
xxxx“Chyak-kit did it! That little rascal! You should have known it was him.”
xxxxThere were a few mutterings, before Pearstone sighed loudly. Llosgi Llyn had rolled his eyes so dramatically that the motion was almost audible, and Chyak-kit had looked at the floor, seeming to find something other than being accused when it obviously couldn’t be him the most awkward part of what had just happened.
xxxx“And obviously false accusations are part of why you shouldn’t be falling asleep.” Llosgi Llyn said.
xxxxCicelynose – Chyak-kit’s own mother - snickered, amused, earning glares she couldn’t see from her children. Aspenfoot was already muttering something into her mate’s ear, and Barnfish seemed rather less startled after that. All she had said was how many cats had been accused. Barnfish knew from last time that the last few accusations – for it was obvious that Pearstone had decided to retain the method he had used before – were probably drawing close now. They might well even already be here.
xxxx“BUGLECLAW!” Llosgi Llyn bellowed. He was clearly loving that, and it was obvious to many that he’d specifically asked his father if he could. In a way, it was a bit more effective than having Pearstone do it himself.
xxxxThe black warrior looked horrified at being accused, but his daughter, sitting next to him, narrowed her eyes, focused entirely on him.
xxxx“Of course it had to be you, dad.” Mosquitowhisker said, in a tone that seemed to ask and why is no one trying to restrain him? But she didn’t move herself; no one moved. The only warriors who might have stood a chance in a one on one fight with Bugleclaw were Adoniscloud and Lobsterclaw, both of whom would have to travel a reasonable distance to get to him, and Bugleclaw was flanked by his mate and his other son, Camberfoot. It seemed reasonable that they’d fight together, and no one really had the heart to hurt Camberfoot, or, bar Mosquitowhisker, to go straight into a fight immediately when they hadn’t yet heard the evidence. “I knew it.”
xxxxArgusheart shook her head at Mosquitowhisker, but her daughter’s eyes weren’t moving.
xxxx“You killed a kit, didn’t you? And if you were going to kill, of course you’d kill like that.”
xxxx“It’s preposterous, Mosquitowhisker. I didn’t.”
xxxxPearstone cleared his throat, drawing focus back to him, except for Llosgi Llyn’s, where he was looking off to one side of the circle, far to one side of where Bugleclaw was.
xxxx“Oui. Buglegriffe. The queens, they were so sure not to allow a tom into the nursery, knowing how toms – especially big, strong toms – can get. Certainement, should you get in, you would have been abondamment able to do that damage to a kit. The kit would not have stood a chance. And…”
xxxx“The killer blinded Goch.” Llosgi Llyn said.
xxxx“Oui.” Pearstone seemed to smile for a moment. “No adult tom would have needed to blind a kit to beat them.”
xxxx“I know who did it.” Came a voice from the other side of the circle, huge doe-eyes fixed on her father. “It’s obv-“
xxxx“Eryr, it’s not obvious for every dolt.”
xxxx“Llosgi Llyn.. I will take you back into the nursery to be a kit again if you continue to be so rude.” Llosgi Llyn didn’t give his mother an apologetic look, the bear minimum, he just twitched one ear, acting like nothing had been said. But perhaps… Llosgi Llyn exchanged a look with his father, one that they held for a moment, silently discussing something with just facial movements and little gestures. They’d picked up enough from Shellcloud and Nettleflower before they had died that they could supplement the information that facial expressions just couldn’t, and the angle between them, essentially in a straight line in front of the leader, meant that the others who had learned – essentially all the younger apprentices – couldn’t get a good enough view to identify what was being said between them.
xxxxAnd then Llosgi Llyn nodded. He wasn’t going to call the name this time. For his father had already started talking.
xxxx“There are plusiers things that showed it might not be an adult tom. The first, of course, was the blinding. Why would an adult tom need to blind a kit to kill them? A démontrer power – would not killing do that? No, it suggests our killer thought themselves to not be able to win the fight should they not do that.”
xxxxThere were poorly repressed gasps across much of the circle, although a few cats – Heronstar and Chubtail, and several of the younger clan members – didn’t react at all.
xxxx“Claryorage said he saw movement in the senior warriors’ den. Oui, c’est Claryorage, mais, he does not always say these things. Often enough, certainement, to leave an impression, but not always. It is notable.
xxxx“And plusiers warriors – all adult toms – struggled to sleep. I think it was Droseratail who suggested it, that maybe his bedding had been disturbed.
xxxx“The queens normallemen share their duties, allowing their kits to share any warmth they wish, and so tracking the queens, when they do not know whom is beside them, we cannot rule out how they moved at any time. But the queens were too active to allow very long for any warrior to sneak in.
xxxx“And then, of course, the-“
xxxx“The whiskers.” Eryr said. “All of us know. Kits bite off whiskers to show dominance.”
xxxxThe glances around the ring suggested that Eryr’s middle statement hadn’t been quite accurate. Not everyone had known, or else, not everyone had remembered. Barnfish and Aspenfoot certainly looked surprised (Barnfish looked more drowsy than anything, though), along with Bugleclaw, Argusheart, Clarystorm… Older cats who hadn’t dealt with kits closely in several moons.
xxxx“Oui. Oui.” Pearstone nodded. “And a petit incident that Moraine told me about, passed on from Perruchekit in turn, of how scents can be… shared?” Parakeetkit nodded at what Pearstone said, although she also giggled, looking at her brother, Kachookit.
xxxx“The pieces fit, non? Our killer, before the kill has been made, sneaks to the warriors’ den, and steals a tiny fragment of the bedding of each male warrior, and rubs the scent on the body, and then hides the scraps. Their movement through the elder warriors’ den réveille Claryorage – he, from what I have seen, sleeps very lightly. One trip first to one warriors’ den, one trip later to the other. They did not think they did an adequate job hiding their scent beforehand.
xxxx“The removed bedding kept the warriors’ awake, and a quick step and opportunisme allowed them to remove pieces as each warrior went about their business. It was this movement that Claryorage was aware of.”
xxxxIt seemed bizarre to the clan to be taking any of Clarystorm’s hypervigilant comments seriously, but apparently that was what this case had brought Pearstone to. Or maybe it was just that he had always taken them seriously, and this was merely the first demonstration of that. And, to any cat who knew him, that quickly became the theory that seemed most likely.
xxxx“Our killer délibérément made the scent like adult tom. He puait so badly, because they were desperately hiding their own scent. And he smelt so like an adult tom in general, rather than one individuel, because he had traces of every tom’s scent on him. This is why there were so many accusations against all the toms. When each was accused before training, it was not without preuve; you did indeed all smell the scent of the one you accused on him.
xxxx“Which immédiatement rules out any adult tom. Nobody would be so stupid as to délibérément increase their chances of being found out and accused.” There were a few incredulous looks at him, namely from Aspenfoot, Gullpaw, Gannetpaw, Troutstripe, and Argusheart, rather than any of the toms who had seemingly been accused.
xxxx“They believed that framing an adult tom would be their best bet at staying unaccused. Oui.
xxxx“It is clear they were neither an adult, nor a tom. As confirmed, of course, by the bitten whiskers, and the need to gain an advantage.
xxxx“Our killer did not believe they – no, she – would be able to beat Goch in a fight were he not placed at a désavantage. The first warning Goch had of his death was claws brought down towards his eyes, and a blackness he would never leave.”
xxxxA close observer at this point would have noticed how Llosgi Llyn tensed up at his father’s last words. He was evidently not so unaffected by his brother’s death as he had lead much of the clan to believe.
xxxx“Our killer was a kit. An apprenti, trained in fighting, would not have felt so désespéré to find an avantage against an untrained kit. Non. They were – at the time, at least – a female kit. Of which there were five.”
xxxx“And none of you even thought to accuse them.” Llosgi Llyn said. Heronstar was shifting uncomfortably, already knowing she was going to have an awkward decision to make ahead of her.
xxxx“Phalènepaw, Tymestl, Eryr, Œilletkit, and Perruchekit.” Pearstone glanced meaningfully between each of the five; Rivuletpaw, Carnationkit and Parakeetkit all flinching under his gaze.
xxxx“No. There w…” Said Chyak-kit, sounding like he had something to add, and then, seeming to realise this was a stupid moment to add it, he stopped. But not so quickly as to avoid the deeply curious looks he got from each of his siblings.
xxxx“Perruchekit and Œilletkit were both far too young at the time. A 1 moon old, or a 2 moon old, fighting against a much older kit? They would not have stood a chance.”
xxxxA four-part sigh of relief came from behind Carnationkit, from her own parents; Sparrowfoot and Langoustinefang, the tom who had fathered her; Firepath, and Firepath’s mate; Merlindash. Cicelynose, fantastic mother that she was, sighed in a different tone.
xxxx“Now we can’t boast how mighty our kits are.” She said, pointing her ear in Vendacethroat’s direction. For once, he had sensed that something - the murder of a kit right under their noses - was probably not the best thing to joke about, although, that was probably more because of the worry of being accused wearing off, rather than because of any non-existent maturity.
xxxx“Non. It was Phalènepaw, Eryr, or Tymestl.”
xxxx“By Phalenepaw, do you mean my sister?” Cairngormpaw asked. “I don’t know what that means. She was alive then, yes, we all were, but I don’t believe that she could have! I was… I was always the one who bit her whiskers.”
xxxxRivuletpaw giggled slightly. Cairngormpaw was lying, but he was lying to protect his sister, and that was sweet. “Neither of us would do it. Neither of us even thought to. We didn’t need a hierarchy, with only two of us.”
xxxxTheir mother, Lobeliafur, nodded. “I never saw Rivuletpaw do that. I never saw either of them do that. And I should jolly well know, Rivuletpaw in… inhe… inherited enough loudness from me that were she bitten, she’d tell me, and had she bitten, she’d have been screaming happily about it for days, and laughing every time she saw the other’s face. You’d all have known. And as some of you didn’t remember that kittens will bite off each others’ whiskers, I think that really does stand in her favour. No way would she have been on either end and not have all of you be aware of it.”
xxxxEyes now slowly swivelled to the two remaining suspects, who had been sitting beside each other this whole time. And over a brief few moments, more of them came to rest on Eryr. She had, after all, said she knew who had done it. And… well, Llosgi Llyn had to be the smartest of that litter, right? Or why else would he be the only one who had wanted to help investigate? Eryr had to have done it in order to know.
xxxxMoraine sighed, aiming to relieve a little attention from her daughters, if only for a moment. “I said so many times that they’d manage to do something between them.” No one could deny that. She had. And several cats were now muttering among themselves, wondering how they hadn’t taken that as an ill-omen. Harrierpelt and Teasel-leaf both received a few stink-eyes from cats who thought that they should have known better, or must have been able to interpret signs from Starclan better had they actually tried.
xxxx“I know what you’re all thinking.” Eryr said. “You’re thinking I could only know if I’d done it. You’re thinking that if I were smart, I’d have investigated. Well, yes, I did. But maybe I didn’t really see a need to be such a drama-seeker as Llosgi Llyn. And you’re thinking ‘that’s a very clever scheme, only a very clever cat could have done something like that’, but you’re missing something; we’re Pearstone’s kits. Any of us would have the brains to do it.”
xxxxLlosgi Llyn nodded. Of course he wouldn’t deny that they all had the necessary brains.
xxxx“And Starclan knows we’d all have the willpower to do it if we thought it was necessary.” Fioled said. “If one cat dying could save a clan, then any of us would do it.” Fioled was painfully matter of fact in his tone. “But there was no reason to kill him.”
xxxxMôr shook his head. “There was one reason.” His eyes glanced across, seeing Dashkit with Rivuletpaw and Cairngormpaw, and then flicking across the circle to look at Zinniapelt, separated from her sisters, and then flicking over to Xerxes, who sat so far apart from Xiomara and Xanthe.
xxxx“What if our killer were jealous?” He asked. “What if she saw two of her siblings always playing together, and never knew how to join in, and always felt isolated. What if she was trying to find any way she could to fit in among them, and then, realising that she couldn’t do it by any sensible means…”
xxxxRivuletpaw shot a look over at Eryr. Eryr was most definitely not a lonely child, and she was definitely not the sort to kill for jealousy, even if that killing could directly help her. As Fioled had said, she might be prepared to kill were it necessary, but she would want to know it really was necessary, rather than just an easier option compared to making genuine friends. And that left…
xxxx“Well, there’s nothing you can do, is there?” Tymestl asked. “The code says there’s nothing you can do.”
xxxxThis was already enough to prompt several cats to draw in close around her; Tabitha, Ringflower, Umbrapaw, Witpaw, Martinwhisker… Easily enough cats to take on a brand new apprentice. It was as good as a confession. But Tymestl’s tone was smooth, and had a sort of warmth about it that made it hard to resist listening to, and even without that, it would have been fascinating to hear the points she made…
xxxx“It does. “No warrior can neglect a kit in pain or danger.” Were you to exile me, without me knowing how to hunt, you would be neglecting me, and putting me in danger. The code does not allow that. Further, at no point does the code say you can’t kill. It says an honourable warrior does not need to. Does that not rather imply that everyone else does? If it is specifically the warriors who do not need to kill – and the honourable ones even, among those - then surely that means that everyone else does? And there are exceptions even to that. An honourable warrior needs to kill if it is necessary for self-defence, or if any cat is outside the code. It even specifies that a cat doesn’t need to kill to win a battle; do they not need to kill to start a battle? Surely the code would just say that cats should not kill if that were meant? Would it not be right to pass on a simpler version if the simpler version were correct?
xxxx“No, the only reason that edict would be so complicated would be because Starclan agrees, and had simplified as far as they could while making their will clear. We who are not warriors are commanded by the code to kill. And we are commanded to start all our battles by killing, to kill every time we are at all threatened, and to kill every time one is outside the code.
xxxx“I’m not outside the code at all. I’m following what it commands. And even if I weren’t – I was a kit at the time I acted. Were you to harm me, you would set a precident to harm kits, which is against the code. If you said that I was responsible for the actions I made as a kit and had to face the punishment now I’m an apprentice, what would you do should you find a kit guilty? Are they rewarded for being found quickly, despite having acted so badly? You find yourself in very awkward ground very qui-“
xxxx“ENOUGH!” Heronstar roared, with a fierceness that left the clan reeling, not expecting such fire from their leader. “I have heard enough from you, Monster. You were a kit, and you were right in that, we can’t set a precedent of exiling you to starve. But we can punish you otherwise-“
xxxx“Not within the code. The code specifies that you must kill if anyone is outside the code. Are you saying I’m not, or that you don’t care about what the code says?”
xxxx“I’m saying that a murderer should be made to regret their actions, and you show none.”
xxxxHeronstar’s eyes flicked to Lobeliafur. “You are no longer her mentor. But you will assist me.
xxxx“Tymestl will never be allowed alone; she must always be watched by at least three others. She is too dangerous, if she genuinely believes what she says.” Though it might be more sensible for humans to isolate her so as not to talk, cats simply did not have the dexterity needed to create jail cells or any such means to force her to be contained. Their only option was to keep enough eyes fixed on her that there was no means for anything suspicious to escape notice, and to rotate frequently enough that no one cat could absorb too much from her. Enough eyes fixed on her meant that they could also keep watch on each other, to check that they weren’t being influenced either. “She must never be allowed on a border patrol, lest she persuade anyone else, or she set a bad example of the rest of us. If she ever has kits, they will be taken away from her, so she can’t pass her twisted thoughts onto anyone else. She will never be able to have an apprentice, she will always have apprentice duties, and she may never be sought for advice for anyone. She will never learn any skills that would help her kill again, nor to help her get away with killing; no fighting, no deputy-skills, no running, no swimming, no agility, no climbing. Nothing that would help her kill.” The clan gaped. A few cats had heard whisperings about Heronstar’s anger, and about not upsetting your leader. But they hadn’t imagined that there was such scope for punishment before even exile. And they all knew it wasn’t just the murder. They knew it was how she might have already corrupted anyone else in the clan with what she’d said. And many warriors could see the sense in what she’d said already. They could see how the code did say what she said it did.
xxxxHeronstar straightened herself up. “The word of the clan leader is the warrior code. Is that not correct? Then let it be known that those are the conditions of you being allowed to live.”
xxxxThere was a deathly silence for a few moments.
xxxxOr there would have been, had Tymestl not been giggling.
xxxx“I kill you if keep laughing.” Narwhal said. And she was big and bulky enough that no one questioned whether she either would, or would be able to. Nor did they question whether that would have any implications for her kits. There was her mate, and they knew very well how good a father Knotfish was.
xxxxTymestl stopped laughing.
xxxxSlowly, the clan arranged who would take her back to camp, how they would keep an eye on her. And finally, just a few cats remained.
xxxx“Dad?” Llosgi Llyn asked, as every other cat had filtered back to camp. Pearstone’s attention turned slowly towards his son. “I can’t help but thinking we’re still missing something.”
- – 8776
Commands wrote:[ Cairngormkit is apprenticed to Vendacethroat and becomes Cairngormpaw ]
[ Rivuletkit is apprenticed to Dipperfish and becomes Rivuletpaw ]
[ Cinquefoilkit is apprenticed to Martinwhisker and becomes Cinquefoilpaw ]
[ Fioled is apprenticed to Squirrelclaw ]
[ Llosgi Llyn is apprenticed to Pearstone ]
[ Tymestl is apprenticed to Lobeliafur ]
[ Eryr is apprenticed to Ospreystorm ]
[ Môr is apprenticed to Mosquitowhisker ]
[ Ciarngormpaw, Rivuletpaw, Cinquefoilpaw, Fioled, Llosgi Llyn, Tymestl, Eryr, and Môr learn the Stealth skill with their respective mentors; Vendacethroat, Dipperfish, Martinwhisker, Squirrelclaw, Pearstone, Lobeliafur, Ospreystorm, and Mosquitowhisker ]
[ Witpaw, Xanthe, Xerxes, and Xiomara learn the Hunting skill with their respective mentors; Saffronstream, Camberfoot, Pheasantcloud, and Ulyssa ]
[ Minnowpaw, Umbrapaw, and Poppypaw learn the Oration skill with their respective mentors; Adoniscloud, Tabitha, and Garganeywhisker ]
[ Gullpaw and Gannetpaw learn Swimming with Gannetpaw’s mentor, Noctulepath. Lobsterclaw is detained during training time due to suspicions charged against him, and Osierfang temporarily takes his place in training ]
[ Dulsepaw and Zirconpaw learn the Climbing skill with their respective mentors; Lionfish, and Sparrowfoot ]
[ Lobsterclaw and Troutstripe become mates ]
No kits yet
[ Tymestl is reapprenticed to Heronstar* ]
[ Poppypaw has grown into a Jack of all trades[/size], master of none, but better that, than master of one; should she pass her assessment, she will- “hey no, Heronstar, that’s a boring name, and my prefix is already really common, I want something interesting! Would you want to live all your life with the most generic name available?” – become Poppycoat ]
[ Minnowpaw has grown into an unpredictable and stoic warrior; should he pass his assessment, he will become Minnowstorm ]
[ Umbrapaw has grown into a stealthy yet assertive warrior, and, matching xer prefix, should xe pass xer warrior assessment, xe will become Umbrastep ]
[ Harrierpelt and Teasel-leaf go herb-hunting ]
[ Droseratail, Ploverstripe, and Knotfish go on patrol ]
[ Boulderdash, Argusheart, and Bugleclaw go hunting ]
[ Moraine, Lobsterclaw, Ringflower, Zinniapelt, Troutstripe, and Swayingtrees go hunting ]
[ Firepath, Merlindash, and Langoustinefang stay in camp to mind their kits; Peonykit and Carnationkit ]
[ Cicelynose stays in camp to mind her kits; Chyak-kit, Kachookit, and Parakeetkit ]
[ Narwhal stays in camp to mind her kits; Japatellakit, Dragonetkit, Anemonekit, and Radishkit ]
[ Heronstar, Chubtail, Barnfish, Clarystorm, Aspenfoot, Wigeonclaw, Dashkit, and Yew-whisker stay in camp ]
[ Gustclan consumes 3 frogs, 3 mice, and 3 small fish; 12 portions ]
*Tymestl is not allowed to participate in many aspects of training and will never be allowed alone or on a border patrol or at a gathering, effectively making her a prisoner. But just because she’s not allowed doesn’t mean she won’t try, or that no one would feel sorry for her. Additionally, due to Heronstar’s age, in order to train effectively, Lobeliafur must still be present.
Katrione wrote:[size=90] [ Cairngormkit, Rivuletkit, Cinquefoilkit, Fioled, Llosgi Llyn, Tymestl, Eryr and Môr are now apprentices: Cairngormpaw, Rivuletpaw and Cinquefoilpaw! ]
[ Cairngormpaw, Rivuletpaw, Cinquefoilpaw, Fioled, Llosgi Llyn, Tymestl, Eryr and Môr learned the Stealth skill ]
[ Witpaw, Xanthe, Xerxes and Xiomara learned the Hunt skill ]
[ Minnowpaw, Umbrapaw and Poppypaw leaned the Orate skill ]
[ Gullpaw and Gannetpaw learned the Swim skill ]
[ Dulsepaw and Zirconpaw learned the Climb skill ]
[ Poppypaw, Minnowpaw and Umbrapaw all struggled but managed to pass their final assessment ]
[ Poppypaw, Minnowpaw and Umbrapaw are now warriors: Poppycoat, Minnowstorm and Umbrastep! ]
[ Harrierpelt and Teaselleaf gathered catchweed, chamomile and chervil ]
[ Droseratail's patrol found Amo, Elsker and Amuri! ]
[ Boulderdash's patrol didn't seem to have much luck today and only caught one measly frog ]
[ Moraine's patrol luckily has more luck than Boulderdash's did and caught three small fish ]
