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No matter how many times Lynxpaw glanced at Marshleap's body, she could not seem to determine his murderer. She had examined him alongside Nightfrost for any tufts of fur or other wounds, though they fully understood that he was brutally murdered by a set of claws or fangs. The pair even glanced over the mouse's deceased form for any fur or signs of other cats in contact with it, yet there was no evidence to be found.

It was obvious that Cottonstar already lost hope in them, the leader demanding for Marshleap's body to be buried the other night after the ceremony. The leader was sticking with his verdict, not even bother to contact the medicine cat's and view their progress. Even if he had conversed with them, Nightfrost and Lynxpaw had little to offer but the fact that Hawkpaw delivered the mouse to Marshleap that night.

The body may have been taken from their den but it already left the area flooded with a putrid scent. Lynxpaw could only imagine how dreadful Daisytuft and Nightfrost's experience sleeping in the den last night had been. Now with their time limit approaching, the medicine cat's had to flare the foul scent through their nostrils and swallow their complaints, instead only scrunching up their muzzles in disgust.

Nightfrost managed to speak to several members of their clan after the ceremony yesterday, but no answers were gained. All of them spoke of how they were asleep at the time of Marshleap's passing or how they could not recall what patrol returned with the mouse. Lynxpaw could not blame them, for the fresh-kill pile was filled with dead mice and every patrol tended to return with at least two. Mice were an easy hunt to succeed with afterall.

Now with Hawkpaw's fate in their paws, the two medicine cats paced in circles within their den. Lynxpaw felt as if she was stumbling over sharp, vertical stones, her paw pads aching and stress rippling through her body. Her head throbbed as thoughts spiraled wildly in the depths of her mind, the molly struggling to comprehend the murder and arrive at a conclusion. Hope eased from between her claws and burnt to ashes that were carried off by the breeze. Lynxpaw was going to lose her brother, and it would all be her fault.

"You two have obviously seen better days," Daisytuft scoffed from the back of their den. The two medicine cats glanced to her, vexed by her statement but the elder only rolled her eyes at them. "I'm not trying to sound rude, for I know this situation can be a lot, but you two are stressing yourselves out too much. Just relax, breathe and settle down for a few."

Lynxpaw's fur bristled and anger flickered in her green gaze at the elder's words. "Relax? How inconsiderate can you be?" The apprentice hissed at the prone elder. "My brother will be exiled at sunset if I can't find out what truly happened to Marshleap. He didn't murder his mentor and every cat should believe that for it is the truth."

"I never said it wasn't," Daisytuft calmly responded, her eyes narrowed. "I know your brother would not harm a soul, but trust me, every cat needs someone to blame and he's the only option. Justice is like cobwebs to their wounds, and perhaps that's why Cottonstar is so desperate to reach a proper solution. You can't blame them, Lynxpaw, and you can't blame yourself either. You are trying your hardest but we all know there is nothing that can be done."

Lynxpaw's expression dropped at Daisytuft's words. As much as she wanted to snarl at the elder, the agonizing truth only dripped from the tip of her tongue. Lynxpaw and Nightfrost had nothing to work with and with no evidence to prove Hawkpaw's innocence, it was a hopeless situation. Cottonstar, Mossflower, and others were desperately seeking justice for Marshleap's death. Hawkpaw was going to be exiled no matter what Lynxpaw tried to do, and the truth stung her heart like an antagonized swarm of bees.

Nightfrost sighed and flashed the elder a faint smile. "Thank you, Daisytuft, but I-"

"She's right, Nightfrost," Lynxpaw interrupted, glancing over to meet the widened gaze of her mentor. "There is nothing we can do. We've tried our hardest but my brother... Hawkpaw is going to be exiled. We have no evidence, we have no other suspects, and worst of all, I know we've already lost our hope."

The black tom slipped over his words as if webs tied his tongue to the roof of his mouth. "Lynxpaw... y-you need to have more confidence in yourself!" Nightfrost stammered, shaking his head. "How many times have I told you that things only go poorly because you don't believe in yourself enough? We'll get through this but you need to have faith in yourself."

"It's not faith in myself that matters at this point," Lynxpaw retorted, turning to avoid her mentor's pleading gaze. "It's faith in fate itself, and the Star Realm has already decided Hawkpaw's fate. He will be exiled for something he never did, and there is nothing we can do about it no matter how much confidence I have in myself or no matter how hard we try."

She could feel the tension of the situation wrap around her throat like a long, constricted vine. Lynxpaw held her breath and begged for Nightfrost not to argue with her. As much as she wanted him to have faith and as much as she wanted her own faith in the situation, they had no leads and nowhere else to go. If they were to continue, they would just be searching for a berry in a snowstorm. It also did not help that sunset was approaching quick, leaving them with little time to investigate deeper into the murder if they could.

"You're not giving up, even if it seems like it," Daisytuft suddenly spoke up, the two medicine cat's glancing her way. "Fate is designed for a reason and fighting against it just makes it worse. Plus, I'm sure you will see your brother again, Lynxpaw. Cottonstar is on his last four lives and we all know Heroncall has a soft spot for your family. Hawkpaw will return and he will be okay during his exile, and that is what you need to have faith in at this point."

It was at that point that they all gave up. Their heads hung and Lynxpaw felt completely defeated, knowing she would not be able to see her brother for moons. There was still so many possibilities that were generated in her mind but she accepted Daisytuft's view on the situation, no matter how much it hurt.

"Sunset is approaching. There's not even enough time to tell him," Lynxpaw murmured, her tail dropping to touch the surface below her. "He's going to hate me but there's nothing we can do."

Nightfrost's tail drifted over the apprentice's shoulder attempting to comfort her. Daisytuft rose from where she lay and trekked over to their side, touching her muzzle to Lynxpaw's cheek. "I'm sorry dear, you don't deserve this and neither does Hawkpaw," the elder murmured to her.

"Cottonstar should be calling for the meeting any moment now. I bet he's eager to establish this exile," Nightfrost grumbled, the words rolling off his tongue as if he was spitting out acid.

Lynxpaw sighed and pulled away from the two, slowly making her way towards the exit of the medicine cat den. She knew that the moment she stepped outside the den she would be accepting Hawkpaw's fate and allowing her innocent brother to be exiled without putting up a fight. Her heart was pulverized at the thought and her shoulders felt heavy, but she still stepped outside the den as if she was walking across clouds.

Nightfrost and Daisytuft emerged at her side instantly, their pelts brushing against hers. The mollies gaze wandered towards Tall Stone where Cottonstar stood, his head held high and his cloudy gaze scanning over the three. Lynxpaw swallowed back a challenging growl and watched from the corner of her gaze as Nightfrost offered Cottonstar an informing, slow nod.

"May all cats gather before Tall Stone for a Clan meeting!" Cottonstar called from his position atop Tall Stone.

Lynxpaw kept to Nightfrost's side, the two trekking towards the front of the gathering crowd. Daisytuft tipped her head to the two before she parted ways, the medicine cats sharing a quick glance shortly after. Cottonstar would call upon them at the beginning of the meeting and ask for what information they gathered, and it hurt Lynxpaw to know that they had nothing to offer.

The apprentice turned to watch as Hawkpaw slipped out of the elder's den, his eyelids weighed down by obvious exhaustion and stress. Leafdance and Flareheart emerged at his side, the two warriors remaining close to the concerned apprentice. Fawnleap bounded over to them in a heartbeat, dragging her tongue over Hawkpaw's ears and mumbling a few words to her son. As they joined the crowd, Lynxpaw felt guilt crawl across her skin like spiders and a web of anxiety formed in her throat.

This was Hawkpaw's final day in RidgeClan; exiled for a murder he had no part in.

"To start off with, I'd like to thank all of you for holding through on this awful situation," Cottonstar began, his eyes narrowed as his gaze examined the crowd. "It's been heartbreaking to lose an amazing warrior of ours. His life was short, but meaningful in every way. Marshleap was an astounding mate, warrior, mentor, brother, and even a soon-to-be father. May we move on and celebrate his life!"

Lynxpaw's ears twitching as the crowd yowled in agreement to Cottonstar's words, but something about his words threw her off. Brother? Marshleap never had any siblings, Lynxpaw thought, perplexed by the leader. Cottonstar should know that by now. Him and Marshleap knew one another since they were kits.

Cottonstar silenced the crowd with a flick of his tail. The white tom waited for the echoes of their yowls to shatter and then his gaze latched onto Nightfrost and Lynxpaw. "Now, it's time for what we are truly here for," the leader started in a low, icy voice. "Nightfrost? Lynxpaw? Have you two discovered anything that can cancel Hawkpaw's exile?"

The two froze under his gaze. Lynxpaw heartbeat blared in her eardrums and anxiety bit at her nerves. She could feel all eyes staring at her, the fur on her back rising in alarm. The molly knew that one pair of eyes locked onto her form was Hawkpaw's, the tom desperate for a hopeful response from them. After a few moments of contemplation, she turned to meet Hawkpaw's gaze, a frown planted across her face and a thousand memories littered in regret mirrored through her eyes.

She could spot her brother's expression drop. His ears fell and his eyes were left like a leaf in a rainstorm. Their locked gaze could tell a million stories, but only one of them was true.

"No, we have not," Nightfrost finally breathed out in response, his gaze then falling back towards the cavern floor.

Lynxpaw could not bare to observe Hawkpaw's agonized essence when the news was vocalized. The apprentice fixed her gaze back on Cottonstar, the leader staring down at her and Nightfrost as if they were mice cowering before him. Pride flickered in his gaze, almost as if the leader was satisfied with the finalized decision in his paws. Lynxpaw's throat stung as bile rose, nervousness and regret driving it out of her stomach. She swallowed it and held her gaze upon Cottonstar, waiting for the dreadful news to be spoken.

"In that case, there is no other cat to blame for the murder of Marshleap but Hawkpaw," Cottonstar informed, his foggy gaze scanning over to the heartbroken apprentice. "Due to our agreement, Hawkpaw will now be exiled from RidgeClan. He is no longer allowed to step paw on our territory without fatal consequences. By sunhigh tomorrow, every trace of him must be gone from RidgeClan territory. Hawkpaw, I now-"

"No!"

The sudden exclamation startled the crowd, their gaze darting towards the source of the challenging voice. It was Heroncall, the deputy standing beside Tall Stone and glancing up to her leader. Cottonstar's tail lashed vigorously behind him and Lynxpaw watched anxiously as he turned to glare down at his deputy, perplexed and infuriated with her interruption.

"This is not fair and you know it, Cottonstar," Heroncall spoke up, her words echoing through the cavern. "How do we know for sure even Hawkpaw did it? Because he delivered the prey to Marshleap? Any cat could have planted that deathberry at any time, and it was not placed there just to target Marshleap; it was to kill any cat in its presence. I trust Hawkpaw and I know you do too, Cottonstar, so why exile him when he even doesn't have thorough evidence that leads to him being the murderer!"

Cottonstar's slitted gaze remained plastered to his deputy, his tone stone cold. "What am I supposed to do, Heroncall? As leader I am supposed to deliver justice and a peaceful atmosphere to my clan. When one of our own is murdered, how can we move on without reaching a verdict? Without having some cat to blame?"

"All of us have patience, and we have morals as well," Heroncall countered, her eyes narrowing. "We can't just blame a cat with little to no evidence!"

"Our medicine cats found no one else suspicious! No evidence pointing towards any other suspects!" Cottonstar spat back, his enraged presence haunting the crowd.

Lynxpaw shuddered at the argument happening before her. Usually, Heroncall and Cottonstar agreed with one another and always got along. The two shared an inseparable, amiable bond, but the situation dancing wildly in their paws imbalanced their relationship. Cottonstar was never the hotheaded, argumentative one of the pair though when it came to defending his point, but Lynxpaw found herself unable to blame to leader. He was just as close with Marshleap as he was with Heroncall.

"Whoever we're dealing with is clever. They know how to get away with this and this is what they want! They want to wreak havoc upon our clan and terrorize us," Heroncall retorted calmly, her eyes scanning over the crowd before they adjusted back to Cottonstar. "You're allowing this to happen, Cottonstar. I'm sorry but-"

"Don't you dare challenge your leader's authority," Cottonstar growled, interrupting the deputy.

His eyes were dim and foggy, flickering with a flame fueled by irritation and rage. The white tom's pelt was bristled and his back slightly arched, his muscles rippling under his fur. Never had Lynxpaw observed Cottonstar behave so oddly, the leader illuminating a controlling, malicious aura. Briefly, the apprentice saw herself mirrored by the mad tom, but she was confused as to why she did.

Heroncall's tail lashed behind her, the she-cat lifting her head up taller and her muzzle twitching. Her gaze met Cottonstar's as if she challenged his authority, and the crowd held still, tension flitting through the air. No cat even dared to turn to one another and murmur a few words, instead they all watched as their leader and deputy glared towards one another and argued.

"We can't turn on one another for no reason, Cottonstar," Heroncall stated, ignoring his demanding statement from before.

There was something that flashed in the cloudy, dark scenery of Cottonstar's eyes. It was impossible for Lynxpaw to analyze but the leader glared down at Heroncall, the air between them cold and tense. Cottonstar then slowly shook his head to and fro to disagree with Heroncall's statement, his next words slipping off his tongue so easily and setting off a starving, thriving flame inside of Lynxpaw's mind.

"It's called vengeance, Heroncall."

Memories of the petrifying vision from the other day crafted an avalanche of intrusive thoughts in Lynxpaw's brain. Her gaze scanned up Tall Stone and nervousness stabbed at her nerves, her breathing shaky and ragged. She remembered the blood soaking beneath her paws, dripping down to the rocky, familiar surface of RidgeClan's cavern beneath her. The words spoken in the midst of the terrifying dream echoed in her head and her ears rang, practically flooding with her own blood as her heart drummed in her chest.

A blizzard casted over her body, biting at her skin and icicles latching onto her fur crafted of apprehension and guilt. Her gaze landed on Cottonstar's paws that now held a sharp, unsheathed set of claws. Lynxpaw watched as they so carelessly awakened from the leader's paws, the first time she had witnessed her leader draw his claws since he accompanied a hunting patrol. They were molded of nightmares and speculations Lynxpaw's mind struggled to comprehend, but it was too late for her to ponder on the situation before her.

His lit, monstrous gaze latched onto Heroncall, like a hawk fixed on its prey. One tail flick, one blink, and one eerie, bloodhungry grin, and Lynxpaw understood that this tom was not Cottonstar.

It was what the Star Realm warned her about. Her vision foretold this moment and even Galeflower's past warning had predicted the terrors she now faced. Lynxpaw felt her paws ache and her shoulders drop as guilt and apprehension crashed over her, suffocating her and holding her back from yowling out a warning.

His foggy gaze locked onto Heroncall and his claws flexed. The crowd could only watch through wide eyes as his form dived from Tall Stone, a petrified Heroncall frozen in shock.

Blood instantly stained the cavern floor Lynxpaw once called home, and all of reality crumbled in her paws.