Forever Young(OPEN)

Crowpaw was sick to her stomach. The body was broken and bloody. Ashpaw's belly was completely torn out and nowhere to be seen, but it looked like a cat had done this. She'd heard the yells from pretty far away but didn't make it until he was dead. But as she had gotten closer she'd almost heard the sound of a cat eating, and there wasn't any prey scent. Only a rogue with the faint smell of fish. She did actually get sick near the murder scene. There was so much blood... so much. Whoever did this was insane. "Skyclan! Ashpaw is dead!" She didn't dare say her suspicions yet. To Tinystar, Mintwhisker, or Misty(suffix)? Yes. But no other cat deserved to know.

OOC: Crowpaw brought his body back to camp, right?

Accompanied by the other members of her hunting patrol, Tigerleaf was on her way back to camp when she stumbled across the blood. A thick trail of it laid across the undergrowth. Bright, sickening crimson, obviously freshly spilt. The young she-cat recoiled instinctively, horror sparking within her golden eyes. The unfortunately familiar scent of copper assaulted her nostrils. "W-what..?" She stammered, ears drawing back. The path led right through the entrance to SkyClan's camp.

The patrol had all but forgotten about their prey as they burst into the clearing. In the very center of camp lay a body. A cat - or at least, it had been. The belly of the cat had been horribly ripped open, and a mere glimpse was enough to create waves of nausea. Countless other wounds riddled the soaked red pelt, but none were as bad. Blood was still seeping slowly out of the gaping wounds, pooling on the ground.

Recognition did not occur immediately. Tigerleaf supressed the urge to vomit. A horrid fascination drove her to continue looking at the corpse. Part of her desperately wanted to know who the dead cat was, the other part of her desperately wanted to remain ignorant. For that reason, even as the realization gradually dawned on her, she tried to deny reality. It was a dream, nothing but a dream. Just a terrible nightmare that she would wake up from any moment. StarClan must be fooling around with her. Then the name slipped from her lips. "Ashpaw." It took a moment for her voice to register in her ears. "Ashpaw!" The striped warrior's shaking paws carried her forward. Before she knew it, she was only a tail-length away from the body. She wished she could be mistaken, but there was no way she was. Dull green eyes that had once looked so beautiful stared blankly back at her. What expression lingered on his frozen visage? Was it fear, regret, or anger…? She touched her nose to his gray-and-white pelt. The bloodscent was enough to choke her, but she did not pull away. It still barely held on to his scent. The warmth had rapidly faded from his body. Now only the last lingering traces were left. Tears welled up in her eyes, spilling out unto her cheeks.

Tigerleaf backed away from Ashpaw's body, her gaze swinging from side to side. Crowpaw was there; her dark pelt coated with blood as well. She had so occupied with Ashpaw that the other apprentice had escaped her notice until now. "What happened?" Tigerleaf asked hoarsely. She needed to know. Was it a predator? A dog, like what had killed Poplarstar and Rippedstar? Or… had it been a cat? Her claws slipped out of their sheaths, digging into the soil. Foxhunter, Duskflower, Palepaw, and Ashpaw. Why was she always left alone in the end? Ripplepaw was pretty much the only one she had left. Why? Why? Why? A horrible emptiness tore at her heart.

Crowpaw looked back at Ashpaw's remains, then at Tigerleaf. "I heard him yell... but... I didn't get there in time. Thick rogue scent - which seemed almost like Riverclan's- was where I found him. "

The thick scent of blood alerted Mistyrain, her ears pricking immediately. She rushed from her position near the fresh-kill pile to Crowpaw's side, joining Tigerleaf, who already seemed to be questioning the apprentice. "Crowpaw!" she cried, only needing a brief glance to know that Ashpaw was dead. "Do you know who did this?" she asked. "What... what happened?" She sniffed, barely audible, as she took a closer look at the empty body on the ground.

Ashpaw was barely recognizable. The damage was far worse than she had realized from far away, although by the looks of it, a cat had done this. She sniffed the apprentice's cold body, in hopes of catching a Clan scent, or even the scent of a rogue, but the scent of blood was getting stronger and more overwhelming by the minute.

Crowpaw looked at her sister, the deputy. "I have my suspicions... but there are things I'd rather not share with the whole clan, just you and Tinystar and maybe Mintwhisker." She commented, glancing at the nursery.

A cat had killed Ashpaw. As Crowpaw's words sunk in, Tigerleaf couldn't help but feel sick. Who would want to do such a thing? The gray and white tom was an apprentice, not to mention a disabled one. They were all cats, weren't they? Then how could someone be so cruel? She just couldn't comprehend it. A corner of her vision was dyed red by Ashpaw's body. The young warrior sent a painful glance in its direction, before tearing her gaze back to Crowpaw. Suddenly, something clicked within her mind - a rogue that smelled like RiverClan. It couldn't be... could it? Jaystar's words from the last gathering sounded in her mind. The beat of her heart thundered in her ears. It felt hard for the she-cat to draw breath. A RiverClan warrior had been the one to blind Ashpaw's eye. It wouldn't be surprising for such a cat to have committed other similar acts of violence. Then... could he have been the one who had been exiled? After leaving RiverClan, he might still be hanging around.

If that really was the case, does that mean that it was my fault Ashpaw was killed? As if she had been struck by lightning, Tigerleaf stood rooted to the ground. She bowed her head, stunned by the possibility. He wouldn't have run away when he heard her words. He would have stayed and fought to the death. The SkyClan deputy approached, but she barely even noticed her arrival. Did I kill him? Did I kill Ashpaw?

Crowpaw's next words caused her to snap her head up again. "What are they?" The note of pleading in her voice was unpleasantly obvious. However, she had no time to be concerned about pride. Her golden eyes bore into the dark apprentices', searching desperately for an answer. "Do you have a clue who did this? Please - " He words choked in her throat, "tell me..."

OOC: mobile

Crowpaw looked between them."Okay, but you're not going to like it..." She took a deep breath to remind herself to stay calm. "You know that rogue, Shade, that Jaystar told us about at the gathering... I think it might have been him. I think he's the only one insane enough to do this. I couldn't find Ash..paw's belly and..." She gulped. Her voice grew wobbly. "And I heard chewing and something about how different clans tasted before I made it there. I- I- I think Shade ate him!"