Murder In the Trees(Mystic, Echo)

[echo]

Finchpaw

The yellow-furred tom bounded excitedly through the undergrowth, weaving through all of the trees. It had been ages since the last training session. He had been busy hunting for the elders and keeping them tick-free as a punishment for one thing, and even when he wasn't doing all that, his mentor and best friend always seemed to be busy tending to other matters. But that was alright. A warrior had to do what a warrior had to do, and why wouldn't Graywhisker want to mentor him? Ever since the older tom had found him, Finchpaw, as a kit on EarthClan's territory, a close bond had formed between the two, similar to that of brothers. The small cat stepped into a small clearing, surrounded by bushes and ferns. While the Thick Forest was tightly packed with plant life, it was always filled with prey. Maybe that was why Graywhisker told him they were training here today. So not only could they battle, catching a quick snack in between was no problem. Finchpaw trotted into the center, looking back to see if the gray warrior was coming.


Graywhisker

Olive green eyes glowing with determination, Graywhisker trailed along after his apprentice. Awhile had passed since their last training session, so it came as no surprise that Finchpaw was so eager. At first, he had been more than willing to pass on his knowledge and advice to the young cat, but Finchpaw seemed to be learning it all quickly, and he worried that his apprentice, who was younger than him by several moons, would become a better warrior. I won't let that happen, Graywhisker thought to himself. That was the real reason he hadn't been teaching Finchpaw as often as he should. It was Foxpaw, who, although seemed somewhat sinister character, had suggested the warrior put an end to all the lessons--in short, kill the small cat.Which was also the reason why Graywhisker decided they "practice" in the Thick Forest. Being so far from camp, it would be unlikely any cat caught him in the act of murdering his own apprentice.

At last, the pair emerged in a small clearing. Finchpaw was already waiting for him there. "What are we gonna do today?" the yellow tom chirped, eyes glimmering with anticipation.

Graywhisker gazed at the apprentice, his claws silently sliding out. "Today," he began, cautious, "I'll teach you the killing bite." With that, the gray cat sprang forward, claws extended. Being both larger and more experienced than Finchpaw, he knocked over the small cat easily. He leaned down, preparing to deal the fatal blow.

"Help!"

[M y s t i c p a w]

Mysticpaw dashed through Thick Forest, happy as ever. She knew Finchpaw would be here training, all because she had been spying on him at the camp. She hid in the underbrush as she saw Graywhisker pinning down Finchpaw. The it came to her what Graywhisker was doing-
Killing Finchpaw.
She was no match for the large warrior, so she just sat there and watched in pain.

Stonefeather sat on a log not too far from Graywhisker and Finchpaw, although it was well-hidden. As Graywhisker pinned down Finchpaw, he gasped. Graywhisker was trying to kill Finchpaw! He looked around and saw what was keeping the log from rolling down the hill and into the clearing where they were. There was a vine wedged into a large boulder and wrapped around the boulder. He jumped behind the log and cut the vine, making it roll down the hill and straight for the two cats.

Mysticpaw spotted the log quickly rolling down the hill, straight for Finchpaw and Graywhisker. She dashed into the clearing and pushed Graywhisker off of Finchpaw. She tried to grab Finchpaws scruff and drag him out of the way. "Come on!" she meowed in a panicky voice, trying to drag him away from the path of the log.

[echo]

Finchpaw

He stared up at the warrior, blue violet eyes wide. "What are you doing?" he choked out, since one of his mentor's white paws was pressed down on his throat. He's going to kill me! Me! Graywhisker! Finchpaw thought to himself, too stunned to struggle. Weren't they best friends? Almost brothers?


Graywhisker

Ignoring the cat's question, he raised a paw, green eyes cold. Just then, his ears pricked as he heard a gasp from not too far away. Then there was a loud rumble, and he felt the ground under his feet trembling. Graywhisker glanced up to see a large log tumbling down the side of a slope, crushing everything in it's path, relentless. And it was heading straight for him. Shocked, barely noticed as another cat flew out of the bushes, knocking him aside. FrostClan scent hung around her, but at this point he didn't care. The log was only a few tail-lengths away now, and he knew there was no time to escape. Graywhisker turned away, bracing himself.


Finchpaw

The log startled him back to his senses, and despair came crashing down around him.Graywhisker's not going to kill me. That is. I'm going to die anyways. A familiar scent hit him, bringing him back down to earth. It was Mysticpaw, who had just pushed the gray warrior away, allowing him to move. Even in his stunned, bordering depressed state, the tom knew enough to run as fast as his paws could carry him, after his friend. He stumbled into the patch of ferns, and felt the log pass where his tail had been a second ago. There was a horrible crunching sound, and then a crash as the log hit a wall of trees. Dust swirled around the ground, and when it cleared away, Finchpaw could see the limp, broken form of his mentor. He stared at it, unable to fully register what had happened. Graywhisker had betrayed him.

[M y s t i c p a w]

Mysticpaw dashed aside with Finchpaw just as she heard the crunch. She sat down next to Finchpaw, a worried look on her face. "You ok?" she mewed quietly.

Stonefeather dashed down when the log was out of sight. "Finchpaw!? You o-" Stonefeather yowled, cutting off when he spotted Mysticpaw sitting next to Finchpaw.

[echo]

Finchpaw

Swallowing hard, he climbed to his paws, still staring at the corpse. The whole episode had lasted just a few moments, but it had hit a nerve. Had Graywhisker been planning to kill him like that all along? Had they been friends or had he been pretending all along? Somehow Finchpaw was wishing it had been fake. His confidence had died along with the warrior. Had he been right to become friends with Mysticpaw then? He didn't think he could trust himself to choose his own friends anymore. Maybe they're only pretending, too, out of pity since I seem so small. I'm a runt. Could that be the only reason? Finchpaw wondered, feeling doubtful of himself. "I'm fine," the tom mewed, keeping his voice steady, but he avoided the two cats' eyes.

[M y s t i c p a w]

Mysticpaw could tell Finchaw was scared. She knew it was either that or he was ashamed, which wasn't very likely at the moment. "No, your not..." she mewed, barely audible. She completely forgot about telling Finchpaw that she could only see him at gatherings, but that was probably a good thing at the moment. She purred a little, trying to comfort Finchpaw as much as possible. "I can bring you back to camp if you was," she meowed, trying to get him away from where the body was. "Stonefeather, can you bring Graywhisker's body somewhere to bury it?" she asked, her eyes almost filled with pain. She could almost feel how Finchpaw felt- Hurt, Scared, and Doubtful.

Stonefeather, almost befuddled by the pain that shown in Mysticpaw's eyes, nodded. He padded towards Graywhisker's limp body and picked it up, only to walk through the trees with it, obeying Mysticpaw. Mysticpaw seemed to have some sort of relationship with Finchpaw, but how? Making up his mind, he decided to keep quiet until he found out more.

[echo]

Finchpaw

His blue-violet eyes flashed with an unreadable expression at the medicine cat apprentice's offer. Does she think I'm scared? Weak, maybe? I'm not what? I don't need her help to get back to camp, Finchpaw wondered, his thoughts muddled. Getting to his paws, he watched as his clanmate dragged the lifeless body through a screen of ferns, hiding it from sight. "No," the tom mewed abruptly. "You can go back to your Clan."

[M y s t i c p a w]

Mysticpaw shook her head slightly. "I want to go back with you, but if it's what you want," she mewed, her voice soft and calm. Finchpaw seemed a little too off. Just confused, maybe?

[echo]

Finchpaw

"That's what I want," Finchpaw mewed, still not looking at her.Is it?

[M y s t i c p a w]

Mysticpaw nodded a bit. She padded slowly away and stopped at the edge of the ferns. "Hope I see you soon, Finchpaw." she mewed befere continuing into the ferns.

Mysticpaw stopped for a moment to rest. She had been wandering around, trying to avoid any patrols that might come. It hit her once she thought about Finchpaw.

He WANTED me to leave! Maybe... Maybe he doesn't want me around at all...

She pinned her ears back as she thought about this. She wanted the thought out of her head, and now.

[echo]

Finchpaw

He nodded numbly as Mysticpaw slipped away, heading across EarthClan's territory and back to her own Clan's. Graywhisker's scent hung in the air as the yellow cat began padding back along the path he had taken just this morning. Could it really have been this morning since he walked through the forest, eager for a training session? It felt like much longer. What will I tell Fierystar? If I say the truth, she'll find out about Mysticpaw--unless she already knows? What if she blames me? Would it be my fault he died for not fighting him off myself? What if I was wrong to have let him get crushed by that log? Questions swirling in his mind, Finchpaw let out a sigh, letting his paws carry him back to camp without looking.

[M y s t i c p a w]

Mysticpaw shook her head, trying to keep the thought away. She had completely forgotten about what she was going to tell Finchpaw, but that might have just made him feel worse anyways. Now she had two more thoughts running through her head-

What would she tell Oceanstar, and what would she say?

She was going to tell Oceanstar, and she couldnt lie and say she was going to stop seeing Finchpaw. Hopefully Oceanstar would allow her to sneak in for a couple nights to see how he was doing atleast.

With that, she dashed through the ferns that led to FrostClan camp, zigzagging so she wasnt caught by her own clan's patrols. She knew, the only two cats that knew were Oceanstar and Cinnamonpelt. Nobody else needed to know. She straightened up and dashed through camp, straight into Oceanstar's den.