Acornpaw blinked open her eyes to see the empty apprentices den, the bright sunlight shining through the entrance. The young cat glanced into camp, noticing the many warriors chatting among themselves. The morning patrols must have just returned, Acornpaw guessed.

Then, a sharp pain of sorrow hit her. She remembered the events of the Gathering last night. Emberpaw's body was still fresh in her mind.

Acornpaw continued to watch the cheerful cats, who seemed unaffected by the death of their clanmate. Do they feel nothing for her? Acornpaw let out a low growl, turning her head away from the camp.

Minutes passed, although it felt like hours for the apprentice. She hadn't moved, hadn't talked to anyone. Well, it wasn't like she particularly wanted to, anyways.

"Acornpaw?"

Acornpaw glanced over her shoulder to see Cloudpaw looking at her with a sorrowful expression, as if she felt her pain. "What is it?" Acornpaw asked in a soft tone.

Cloudpaw let out a sigh. "Nothing, I just wanted to keep you company." She lay down next to her friend, their bodies touching each others for warmth. They sat in silence for a short period until Cloudpaw spoke up. "Are you feeling any better?"

Acornpaw shrugged. "Not really. It's kind of been the same, I guess," She mewed.

"Should I get you some prey?"

She shook her head. "I'm not hungry."

There was more silence, then Cloudpaw talked again. "I wonder who murdered Emberpaw. What kind of soul would even consider killing her?" She hissed.

"I don't know," Acornpaw replied. Another wave of sadness drowned her, this time even worse. She never realized how much she loved Emberpaw until now. Everything seemed more bland, as if the world had turned grey. Then, the feelings of loneliness were replaced with an anger, burning deep under her pelt. "Maybe we could find out who did it," She suggested.

Cloudpaw turned her head to look at the other apprentice. "Really?"

Acornpaw nodded. "Whoever did it deserves to feel the same pain she felt. I say we get revenge," A growl rumbled deep in her throat. It felt so wrong to say this, but she knew it was the right thing.

The white and grey apprentice looked uneasy about Acornpaw's plan. She opened her mouth to oppose, then shut it. "Okay. But maybe we shouldn't kill the murderer, just because that would be against the warrior code and whatnot. Deal?"

"Deal." Acornpaw stood up with enthusiasm. She felt a passion inside her that said she had to solve Emberpaw's murder.

The two apprentices stepped out into the camp, sitting down just outside the apprentice's den. Cloudpaw turned to Acornpaw. "Do you have any ideas about who did it?" She questioned.

Acornpaw tried to remember everything that happened the day Emberpaw was killed. "Perhaps Tigerpaw? He and Emberpaw were battle-training and she accidentally scratched him, which upset him quite a bit," She told her.

The other apprentice nodded. "They do argue a lot, too," She added.

Acornpaw thought for a moment about any other cats that disliked Emberpaw. "At the Gathering, we talked with some CedarClan apprentices. Emberpaw said something that offended one of the apprentices, Badgerpaw I think his name was."

"Yeah, maybe," Cloudpaw mewed. "Well, if we want to figure out who did it, we should look for clues."

Acornpaw agreed. "We could go to The Great Oak and look for some," She offered.

Cloudpaw nodded, and the two apprentices padded out into the forest. Acornpaw was filled with excitement. She had to solve her sister's murder, no matter what.