Murder! (Open, Ashstar needed)

Nectarleap carried Briarpaw's scruff between his jaws, still upset by the lack of blood. Not that he would rather carry a bloody corpse, but because it was proof that her killer was a cat. His usually bright amber eyes gazed stoically at Wolfpaw, who was helping to carry the deceased apprentice. There had been no witnesses to her murder, and hardly any lingering scent of who it might be. They were virtually clueless. It wasn't until they arrived at camp that he realized one possibility. Eyes suddenly wide and horrified, he finished the distance, putting the dead body down in the center of camp. His heart was suddenly beating hard against the inside of his chest as he looked around fearfully. What if the killer was... a clanmate? It seemed to horrible to comprehend, but it could be true. It would explain the lack of strange scent. But no, all his clanmates were honorable cats. None of them would ever kill a fellow WindClanner. "Ashstar! Briarpaw has been murdered!"

"No. No. Who would dare!" Dewtuft jolted erect, his broken hind-limb jarring from how quickly he bolted up at Nectarleap's words. This was a nightmare come true, they hadn't even fought RiverClan yet and their clanmates were dropping off like flies. Who'd done this? RiverClan? ShadowClan? SkyClan? ThunderClan? Which one of the four dared to harm an apprentice?

Fernfeather stared in disbelief at the limp, lifeless body of the apprentice. While she didn't know Briarpaw personally, it was still horrible that she had been killed, as Nectarleap announced. Her ears folded back in fear. Who would dare kill such a young cat before she even earned her warrior name?

Well... at least Briarpaw would never have to suffer life's woes and miseries. Now she could rest peacefully in a safer place.

Swiftstep ran out of the warrior's den at the sound of Nectarleap's urgent voice. He saw Briarpaw's dead corpse and let out a gasp. Who might have done such a thing?! He was a little frightened that his clan-mates may be in danger.

Wolfpaw gingerly let down Briarpaw's body. He looked down at it. He had done this. He couldn't show it, or they'd surely exile him for good. "I never should have left her alone..." His voice was soft, merely more than a whisper.

"Briarpaw!?"  Laurelsong jumped up from where she had been sitting beside the fresh-kill pile at the sight of her apprentice - dead - hanging from her best friend's jaws.  Shock widening her chartreuse eyes, she skidded to a halt in front of Nectarleap, and tentatively sniffed the young she-cat's body.  All she could smell was...WindClan?  "Necterleap....who, what did this?!"  Her eyes tinged with fury, she met the tri-color tom's gaze, trying to demand an answer to something he didn't know.

Silentstrike ran out from where the warriors slept at the sound of his brother's voice, thick fur barring out any cold that might have gotten to him. Murdered? An apprentice had been murdered? If Nectarleap had been with Briarpaw when it had happened, shouldn't he know who had done it? Or maybe Wolfpaw did? At the moment the senior warrior was still upset with Wolfpaw, but Nectarleap was most likely already traumatized enough, and Laurelsong had already gotten to him anyway. He didn't even want to speak to the apprentice, but alas, he did anyway. "Wolfpaw, how did this happen? Who was it?" As it had seemed to had been a lot lately, Silentstrike's voice was serious and husky, and every cat in camp could have heard him. His large frame towered over the young apprentice, shadowing down on his smaller one.

Dovepaw's head emerged from the apprentices' den after hearing the shout. A cat had been murdered? That wasn't good. She quickly scampered over to the group of gathering WindClan cats with wide yellow eyes. Had a fox done it? A badger? Another Clan? Ooh, if another Clan had done this, then Dovepaw would've loved to sink her claws into the cat that was responsible. She skidded to a halt, but she shot Wolfpaw a glance that was suspicious and angry. While she hadn't been there, and she had no clue who had murdered Briarpaw, she was still rather upset with Wolfpaw about the incident that had happened a while ago, and she was ready to put the blame on him despite the fact that she had no proof.

Wolfpaw's sad blue eyes looked up at Silentstrike. "No, I don't. I was chasing a rabbit,
and then Nectarleap called and I came back to find her dead."

"I don't know who killed her. It was obviously a cat, and there's no strange scent. It couldn't have been Wolfpaw or Softpaw, I was hunting with them when it happened. Can someone get Ashstar?" Nectarleap explained to all the cats who were asking questions, hoping that one of them could get Ashstar. He had added the part about Wolfpaw's innocence after Dovepaw's accusatory glare, knowing that the apprentice couldn't be a blame. Too caught up in the drama of it all, he didn't notice that the younger tom's story had changed. He just wanted to talk to the leader as soon as possible.

"I'll go get her." Silentstrike huffed, frustrated that no one seemed to know what was going on. He briskly walked over to her den, shoulders slouched. "A-Ashstar, Nectarleap needs you." He walked back over to where his brother stood, giving him a weak smile.

OOC: WHOA WHOA WHOA THERE FOLKS

Due to time paradoxes- the murder topic started before the Dovepaw incident but ended after- this topic is temporarily shut down until Jade Wings and I work something out. It can't have been after Wolf attacked Dove because he was confined to camp, but it can't be before that because in real time it already happened. Therefore, this whole thing is very confusing. When we figure out how to solve this I'll edit this post with Ashstar coming. Until then, please do not post in this topic. Thank you.