Fools Rush In [Darkspirit]

While there were plenty of herbs in the strange gardens the twolegs kept, their gardens were no true substitute for what could grow in the forest. For all that Beechfang had despised being a medicine cat, her knowledge of herbs had proven to be useful, and she had reluctantly ventured forth into the forest proper, sticking close to the foul-smelling thunderpath in search of a few things that twolegs didn't often keep. The herbs that managed to grow along the foul strip of strange gray stone weren't the healthiest specimens, but that was fine. She was no longer a medicine cat to be granted safe passage on clan territory, no longer a clan cat at all, really. She'd take what she could get her paws on without disturbing the healthy herbs that grew farther away from the thunderpaths that the clan medicine cats were likely to need.

The herbs were merely a cover, however. The small bits of oak leaves, sage root and fennel she'd acquired could be found in plenty of places that weren't along the Thunderclan border. Her unease after learning that Dawnhawk's pack of rogues still existed in some form, and a desperate need to seek out Dovefrost's killer, or any information on who had done it, had driven her this far into the forest. One a threat, the other very, very personal. She wasn't as familiar with Thunderclan as she once was; time had taken most of the cats she'd known and respected. But Fawnshine had promised to find her mate's killer. Some time had passed since, with no word from the medicine cat. That was fine, Beechfang told herself. She'd known better than to ever get her hopes up or have high expectations of anyone.

Or maybe she was simply jaded. The life she'd lived had stripped her of any optimism she might have had once. Dovefrost had-- Well, it didn't matter now. The good had been snuffed out by her own paws. Whoever in Thunderclan that had murdered him had simply finished the task. With a shake of her head and a weary sigh, Beechfang plodded onward, head turned slightly to keep the dense foliage and trees of Thunderclan territory within sight. She'd found nobody on the border except for the mingled scents of Thunderclan and Shadowclan. The latter must have made it through the destructive rains that seemed to have done a number on their territory. Even so close to the thunderpath, sections of it were still under water, and the marshy territory she could make out on the other side seemed to Beechfang even more of a mess than usual. Her thoughts wandered toward her friend Basilbloom once more, wondering how the physically fragile but mentally strong she-cat had fared.

Not her problem, she chided herself. And not why she prowled along Thunderclan's border, careful not to step over the boundary of their scent markers as she slowly worked her way back toward Skyclan, back toward twolegplace.

Beechfang's sensitive ears caught the rustle of foliage and she paused, head turning in that direction. "I am passing through. I have no desire to fight." Perhaps the herbs bundled in her jaws would indicate that, but maybe not. Plenty of cats had seen her confession and the chaos at that gathering, and she was sure Briarthorn- Briarstar, she corrected herself, would've said something about her exile. She could only imagine what the other she-cat would've said. Being on her own around clan territory required a cautiousness she was only just now starting to truly learn.

Darkspirit hadn't been to gatherings in several moons, not since his first one that ended up with his father taking over the forest with undead abominations. The young tom had had enough of the Shadowclan stink wafting into his nose for one evening. He slipped beyond the borders of Thunderclan territory, his young tom instinct to wander away from home beginning to take hold of him. He walked along the Thunderpath, arching his back at the first few monsters that ran by, but eventually got used to their presence and ignored their passing.

He wasn't going to go too far, but he was curious about the rest of the world outside of Thunderclan. Truthfully, the scent of monsters killed his sense of smell to anything else around him and he strained his ears to listen for more monsters. What he didn't expect was the sound of a voice... a voice somewhat familiar. He pushed through a small patch of bushes and spotted a silver she-cat riddled with scars and with some plants in her mouth. How hungry did someone have to be?

"You're not on clan territory, so you should be left well enough alone." Then it finally clicked. He'd seen this she-cat before... at his first gathering. She'd been nice. Wasn't she the daughter of Bloodstar...? Didn't that make her family? My aunt. Darkspirit blinked as recognition and realization both began to meld together.

"I've seen you before. Beech... something I forgot I'm sorry. You were at my first gathering before.... before the Dark Forest took over everything." The longer he looked at her, the more sure he was that it was the same cat. Her scars were unique, especially her face. It was unfortunate, but it did make her easy to identify.

"I was Darkpaw then. I'm Darkspirit now." His tone dropped, betraying his dislike of his name. "Stoatstar gave me that name as a kind of a cruel joke I guess. Or maybe it was meant to be a slight, I don't know. I didn't ask and we didn't speak before he was gone." His tail lashed, clearly still bitter about the entire thing.

The tom that appeared through the brush was one she recognized. Had she not spoke with him briefly at that gathering, not seen how Dawnhawk had interacted with him, it would have been easy enough to guess at his heritage. Mismatched eyes, one the same, striking blue as her littermate, and a pelt so reminiscent of her mother's that it was easy to think Smokefeather was still haunting her in some sort of twisted game. Logically Beechfang knew the elder was truly gone, but she wasn't gone from her mind.

"Beechfang. And yes, I remember you, the night was certainly chaotic." Chaotic and horribly, horribly unpleasant. The mention of how he'd earned his warrior name practically confirmed her own suspicions. Suspicions she'd wanted to ignore. "Nephew, then... I thought so. I'd never seen a cat that resembled your grandmother so closely, and she had been in the elders' den for seasons by that point." She murmured, "It's your name, Darkspirit, you make it your own and don't let it define you. Your former leader isn't the only one that seems to like burdening others with pasts that should stay buried." Her thoughts turned briefly to the cruelness of Dawnfeather's name when she'd already looked eerily similar to her wretched namesake. Darkspirit wasn't quite as bad in her estimation, but Beechfang would never understand it. Dawnhawk had been hated, why remind everyone of it? "I'll never understand why. There's being unable to let go of the past, and then there's being cruel."

She hadn't come here to talk however. Well, not about cruel naming practices and a miserable gathering. And the longer she stood in front of one of Fawnshine's clanmates, the more her own query weighed on her. She needed to know, and if Fawnshine had stuck to her word, the tom would at least be able to answer a basic question. If Fawnshine hadn't actually told anyone, well, that would be Fawnshine's problem. "I expect you don't want to deal with anyone related to that monster, and I don't blame you. I'll try to make this quick. I'd been hoping to run into someone out here, Two things - I have information the clans might be interested to know. Unhappy to know, but it's better everyone's aware of it. And I seek an answer to something that happened recently involving one of your clanmates. It should be a simple thing to answer, if there's no word, I understand." Her paws shifted on the ground in discomfort as she stared at the young tom in front of her, debating whether or not she should even ask. He was one of Dawnhawk's kits, but only a few words had told her that he was no fan of him, and he'd been raised in a clan. He wasn't one of the rogue filth that had attacked Shadowclan or her father repeatedly. From what she'd remembered he hadn't known his father when they'd first met, and the emotion in his voice had seemed genuine enough to Beechfang. He was young anyways, and she didn't think he would have known Dovefrost all that well to hunt him down and murder him in twolegplace.

Someone in Thunderclan had. Beechfang couldn't just let it go.

Fox it, she thought, taking a breath. He'd already know the information if Fawnshine had announced it, and Beechfang had no reason to think she wouldn't. Dovefrost had been her mentor, and a well-respected medicine cat. Either there was information or there wasn't. The only way to find out was to ask.

"Your medicine cat, Fawnshine returned to Thunderclan with news that would've been announced to the clan. The murder of your former medicine cat, Dovefrost. Did anything come of that meeting?" Keeping the edge of desperation out of her voice had been difficult. She wasn't sure she succeeded completely.

Once she had an answer, whether it was one she wanted or not, she would share her own information. Dawnhawk's band of rogues was too important to ignore, even if the tom no longer walked among the living.