CHAPTER TWELVE

ROSEPAW | MOONPOOL

"You're late," Mistysong meowed with distaste when the ShadowClan medicine cats walked down the path, "and you brought a warrior with you." The rain had stopped, so her voice bounced off the still walls.

    "There's a reason for that, Mistysong." Tawnythorn replied stiffly. "Sunnycloud, stay at the top, please. This is a sacred pool."

    "I know that..." the ShadowClan warrior, Sunnycloud, muttered sullenly.

    I wonder what her deal is. Rosepaw frowned slightly. She set her gaze on Seedpaw, who usually chirped "Better late than never!" whenever she and Tawnythorn were later than expected. Seedpaw said nothing though (much to Rosepaw's disappointment).

    "Well..." Softfur, who arrived not too long ago, cleared her throat. "Let's begin, shall we?"

    "No." Tawnythorn meowed roughly. "I have news."

    Rosepaw turned to face Tawnythorn, invested.

    "A ShadowClan cat - Maplefern - has been ruthlessly murdered." Tawnythorn bared her teeth. "And that murderer may be in ThunderClan or SkyClan."

    The medicine cats gasped in horror.

    "Oh, I'm so sorry for your loss." Softfur sympathized. Rosepaw noticed that was the wrong move, shedding pity toward Tawnythorn. The tortoiseshell-and-cream medicine cat grimaced, not wanting to be pitied.

    "It is a tragic loss and it is certainly taking a toll on us." Tawnythorn shot a glare at Softfur. "ShadowClan will prevail however."

    Mistysong spoke up, eyes glinting with challenge. "Tawnythorn, that is another cat wiped from your Clan. We all know your Clan is dwindling in numbers compared to ThunderClan." A hint of pride and cockiness entered her otherwise accusatory tone when she spoke of ThunderClan.

    Tawnythorn bristled. "How dare you! My Clan is not lacking in numbers, rest assured. We... we have new apprentices and kits on the way."

    Mistysong shrugged, looking bored. "We can talk all night about your Clan, but we must begin to talk with StarClan. A murderer on the loose is something we really must talk about with StarClan."

    Tawnythorn bared her teeth, trudging over to the Moonpool.

    Finally! Rosepaw eagerly waited, head lowered, ready to take a lap of the water.

    The other medicine cats settled down and began to dip their nose or muzzle into the water, falling asleep quickly. Rosepaw mimicked Rowanmask, feeling a wave of drowsiness hit her. She yawned, burying her head between her legs before falling asleep.

    It didn't take long to wake up. She woke up, eyes blinking wildly to adjust to the blinding light.

    "Welcome, Rosepaw." A friendly voice made her twirl around.

    "Who are you?" That was the first thing that came to mind. She usually responded with "Hello." but this cat... there was something odd about her.

    "I am Drizzlefur. You may have heard of me from the last Gathering." The she-cat's amber eyes glittered sadly.

    Rosepaw nodded. "I did... but why are you visiting me? Go tell Mistysong who killed you."

    Drizzlefur made a laughing sound in her throat. "I can't."

    "Why not? Don't you know who killed you?"

    "I remember every detail beside the cat who killed me..." Drizzlefur trailed off, gaze transfixed to her starry ground.

    "Doesn't StarClan know?" Rosepaw was beginning to get a little frustrated. What was the point of looking up to StarClan if they were just as clueless as she was?

    Drizzlefur looked up at her, whiskers quivering. "We don't know. We have no leads."

    Rosepaw squinted at the lush grass at her paws. Now she was really starting to wonder how almighty StarClan claimed to be.

    Drizzlefur's stars shifted slowly in her pelt as a breeze picked up. "It seems our time is up."

    "Why did you speak to me in the first place?" Rosepaw asked when the wind picked up.

    Drizzlefur had opened her mouth and was speaking, but Rosepaw abruptly woke up, staring blankly at the still water of the Moonpool.

    Rowanmask came over, emotionless. "Did StarClan share with you?"

    "Yes... sort of?" Rosepaw meowed, chuckling uncertainly.

    "Sort of?" Mintleaf piped in. "Either they share with you or they don't."

    "It was more like we shared confusion." Rosepaw meowed bluntly.

    "Either way, I don't think we can turn to StarClan for help." Mistysong entered the conversation, tone grave. "They're just as stumped as we are."

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