tragedy, inevitability, discovery

Among the crisp, Leafbare-stiffened stalks of cattails reeds that lined the riverbank, on the ThunderClan side, was a small, mottled prone form. Timberpaw, the SkyClan apprentice, lay on his side, half in, half out of the river. His tail streamed behind him in the water, silky fur dragged along with the ice-clogged current. To any passersby, it would be easy for the body to go unnoticed within the clump of riverside foliage, but any cat who drew close enough would be able to pick out the shape of the apprentice lying there.

To assume the cause of death to be drowning would make sense to most, but upon further inspection it would be clear that the river didn't kill this cat. The blood was long gone, washed away by the current, but there were neat, precise tooth marks on the young cat's throat. This was no accident, this was a murder. But no scent aside from Timberpaw's own clan clung to his coat.

Delicate snowflakes landed gently on Dustcloud's fur as she made her way down the river, being sure to stick close to her own Clan's side for fear of coming into contact with a RiverClanner. She was still recovering from the loss of her son, which came as a shock and altogether had thrown her into a bit of a spiral... She'd get through it, though, she had to. She had kits that needed her love, and Oakstar, who needed her to stand strong at his side. Any sense of mindfulness had left her completely, though, as she pushed her way slowly through the reeds. Her mind was in a completely different place, muscle memory guiding her paws as she went along on her lone border patrol.

Each step was usually accompanied by the gentle sound of snow crunching beneath her paws, but suddenly she felt the cold, lifeless exterior of... Oh, dear StarClan. A horrid gasp of shock and dread filled the air as Dustcloud drew back her paw immediately, looking down and realizing just what she had walked into. Tears filled her eyes as she was reminded of her own son, once again, yet this time... This cat hadn't even made it to warriorhood. Clearly, this young tom was from SkyClan from the smell of his pelt... But it hadn't seemed like he'd been attacked, surely though... He couldn't have drowned. Finally able to move from where she formerly stood, paws rooted into the ground, Dustcloud gently pulled him from the frigid water, taking a moment to pray for the young SkyClanner, wishing him good hunting among the stars. Heart dropping as she realized what she had to do, Dustcloud very gently took hold of his scruff, placing him on her back while trying to balance him on her spine. SkyClan was quite a distance from where she was now, but she couldn't just leave him lying there- his family deserved to know. When she got back, she'd be sure to let Oakstar know what had happened.