An Unfortunate Situation {Open, Brindlestar or Swiftstep needed}

(occ: a follow-up to this - https://warriorclancats.forumotion.com/t34502-no-more-spark-c-closed)

Laurelsong, her jaws aching, carried Sparkpaw's soaking-wet and battered body through the camp entrance, his fur catching burrs and dust despite her best efforts to keep him from touching the ground.  A tight ball of apprehension lay heavy in her stomach; her apprentice had died under her watch, what if Brindlestar never trusted her with another apprentice after this?  What if she was punished even more harshly?  She forced herself to push away those thoughts as she let the ginger apprentice's limp form slump to the ground, water trickling off of his pelt to soak the ground.  "Brindlestar!"

Fully engrossed in a rather tedious discussion, Brindlestar hardly paid any mind to the awkwardly lumbering lump that passed by on the far edges of her peripheral vision.

Only at Laurelsong's wild cry did her attention fully wane from the fruitless discussion, the usual rush of fight or flight adrenaline exploding into her system. Even in her haste to abandon the conversation and assess whatever inevitable damage was being dropped upon her doorstep, a small part of her was rather frightened. Never before had she faced a crisis without Ashstar to assist her, so what if she couldn't do it? Trying desperately to swallow down the lump that now held her throat so tightly she nearly couldn't inhale a proper breath, her pawsteps were swift and slightly uneven as she hurried towards Laurelsong and the limp form carefully grasped between her teeth. A despairing chill clawed its way down her spine as she recognized the sodden and battered creature held by the young she-cat; it wasn't just some unfortunate piece of prey, it was a cat. However, the mounting dread that coiled within her gut only intensified as she happened to catch a glimpse of the young cat's face.

It was Sparkpaw, Laurelsong's apprentice- former apprentice.

Nausea plagued her stiff form with painful cramps, cramps that ached unmercifully as she drew closer to the bedraggled pair. The damp scent of fresh water had effectively erased any budding scents of decay, but all it took was one mere look at Sparkpaw to bring the forsaken scent crashing down upon her once more. Teeth grating tightly against themselves in a futile attempt to ward off the oncoming storm of sickness. Ashstar give me strength. Even though a great portion of her pleading to look anywhere but at the soaking pair, she forced her gaze to remain unflinchingly upon Laurelsong.

"What is the meaning of this?" Brindlestar finally growled, gaze briefly dropping to Sparkpaw's battered form before returning to her kin.

Laurelsong braced her shoulders with a grimace, her face carefully neutral...yet not exactly unremorseful.  She made sure a certain sorrowful glimmer remained in her chartreuse eyes as Brindlestar approached her from across the clearing, not wanting to arouse any suspicion from the intelligent new leader.  This had purely been an accident, one which she had witnessed, and was sorry she couldn't stop.

She dipped her head respectfully, despite the pale brown she-cat's harsh words.  Meeting her gaze without hesitation, she began to explain, her voice ringing low with convincing regret...and a tinge of guilt.  "Sparkpaw and I were hunting in the fields near the Gorge.  In our searching for rabbit burrows, we came quite close to the border...and for some reason Sparkpaw had decided to walk right up to the edge.  He must have been following a scent...  I called for him to step back and get some distance from the cliff but...I think my calling out only startled him.  He...he slipped and fell.  I tried my best, but I couldn't catch him in time."  

Bending down, she pressed her nose against the tom's sodden ginger tabby fur in a supposed act of deep grieving.  "I had to cross RiverClan's border to retrieve his body, I ran fast enough that I probably didn't leave much of a scent, but...we know RiverClan.  They would take any excuse to try and take what isn't rightfully theirs..."  Gazing up at Brindlestar, a true knot of anxiety began to form in her belly as she meowed humbly; "I...I know that this was my fault Brindlestar...if only I had been a better mentor, he would've known better than to walk so close to the edge..."  In a very rare act for the arrogant warrior, she dipped her head low, and spoke with nobility.  "If it is your wish to punish me...I will accept whatever you deem worthy."  Her mind screamed against showing such weakness, but she knew this was an important thing to do to keep her innocence.  Throw yourself to the mercy of a cat's pity and good will, and you just might soften their heart.  Anything to receive the lowest possible dishonor...and avoid the clan finding out the truth.

Lilypaw was just talking to her fellow apprentices when Lauresong walked into camp with a dead body in her jaws wait is that Sparkpaw? Well was Sparkpaw? What happened? Why was his body so wet? She saw that Brindlestar had the same questions because he walked over to Lauresong. Curious as she was Lilypaw sneaked closer to over hear the conversation that Lauresong and Brindlestar had. She heard that Sparkpaw felt into the gorse that is odd Sparkpaw wasn't the kind of cat that would do such reckless things as coming close to the gorse, what even more odd was was that Lauresong dipped her head low, she never saw Lauresong doing such a thing! Not even once!. She wanted to ask Lauresong some questions herself but decided to stay low for now.

Rivulets of water still lazily made their way down Sparkpaw's limp form, bleeding into the starving grasses that made up the soft carpet beneath their paws.

Brindlestar's biting gaze still remained solely fixated upon Laurelsong, features creasing in a barely perceptible frown. The spectacle of grief displayed by the newly-disgraced she-cat was certainly convincing to most, but something certainly felt off. Although, whether it was the fact that Laurelsong was actually exhibiting an emotion other than her usual crassness, or the slightly off putting details of the account, she couldn't exactly put a claw on it. Something wriggled within the darkest confines of her mind, bringing forth an itch that she couldn't scratch. Was she just unfairly paranoid or was there a certain truth to whatever realization that her mind was trying to piece together? Gaze waning to the awkwardly sprawled form of the ginger tom, the acrid taste of frustration stained her throat. If only the dead could speak freely.

"This isn't your first apprentice, Laurelsong. You of all cats should know how dangerous it can be to simply go near the Gorge, let alone hunt alongside it." There was a faintly tangible note of accusation evident in Brindlestar's words, which only sharpened as she stole another glance at the dead apprentice before her paws. Even the starling display of submission did little to quell the spark of anger that was kindling within her chest. A spark that only fanned into a flame when she recalled Laurelsong's reaction to Swiftstep becoming Deputy. Can I even trust you? "This isn't some minor mistake- you didn't accidentally stray over a border or start a needless skirmish, an apprentice died on your watch amidst a situation that could've been easily avoided. How can I trust you as a Warrior of this Clan when you can't even properly handle the task of supervising our young Clanmates?" Head shaking in a brief display of disgust, Brindlestar could no longer stand to gaze at the corpse that had suffered the same fate as her eldest son.

"You shall no longer attend to the training of any apprentices and your current apprentices will be placed under the care of temporary mentors. From this point on to the day that I recall this order, you shall not step a single pawstep outside of this camp without my knowing so and a senior Warrior to accompany you. I don't want to see a single whisker out of line, Laurelsong, or I won't be so forgiving if you are unfortunate enough to get caught up in another situation such as this." Brindlestar finally relented, voice frigid, "I hope to see you at Sparkpaw's vigil." The final words were stern and clipped, clearly serving as a brief warning.

Even though Laurelsong had expected to be rebuked for her actions, she hadn't quite expected it would be so severe.  Flinching visibly as Brindlestar delivered her punishment, the ticked she-cat raised her head slightly, her chartreuse eyes much wider than normal.  Confined to camp, needing supervision...her apprentices taken away...until further notice?!  That's fox-dung!  How did she know...does she know?  How could she, I've always been able to act innocent! For a moment, a wave of confining panic felt like it would overtake her; she remembered vividly the days when she had been an apprentice, not able to leave as she pleased, watched by everyone as if she was some incapable kit.  Now, it was happening again...but even worse!  She burned under her pelt, embarrassment, and dishonor pricking her skin like fleas.  With a flash of barely concealed anger in her eyes, her gaze flickered indecisively between her leader and the ground, before she bowed her head again and mumbled; "Yes, Brindlestar...it will never happen again."  Backing away, she glanced down at Sparkpaw's body for a moment, once again at Brindlestar, before padding away in the direction of the warrior's den, her fangs grinding with frustration.  Oh great, you've screwed up now!  Mistpaw and Cherrypaw will probably have gone soft by the time I get them back...I'm going to be the laughingstock of the clan!  StarClan...how am I going to get out of this?