Dawnwing's words only forced out more sobs from deep in Braveleap's chest. Even though the tom was from another Clan, Blackmoon deeply felt for him. It hurt him when his own mentor passed away, but how would he feel if someone hurt Hawkpaw or one of the other apprentices in his Clan? He shuffled his paws awkwardly, not sure whether to assist in calming the warrior down, make sure that Hawkpaw was alright, or continue to look over the body. He turned to Shadeclaw, eyes widening at his words. There was no way that DuskClan could do such a thing, right?
Lavenderpaw suddenly hissed at the ThornClan. "Shut your mouth!" the small medicine cat yowled. "We haven't done anything!"
Lightningnose growled. "Who else would have dumped the body here?!" the normally quiet MistClan warrior growled back.
"You must be hare-brained if you think we'd kill a warrior and throw his body into the Moonbrook! Unlike you other Clans, we have tact!"
"What is going on here?!" A new voice sounded from the entrance to the cavern.
Blackmoon turned around to see that Foxstar had approached them, flanked by three or four warriors. Her ginger fur was somewhat ragged and her eyes were bright and irritated. It seemed like their yowling had woken up half the Clan.
Stonefoot pressed up against her brother, her fur standing up on end. "You DuskClan foxhearts killed an innocent BirchClan warrior!"
And so, their misfit group of dragons delved deeper into the RainWing camp in search of Handsome. At first, they were only met by shy-eyed individuals who had certainly heard their conversation with Lemur and Hummingbird. But eventually they found less and less resistance. Unfortunately for them, many of the dragons didn't know where Handsome was. From what Skua could tell, it seemed like this Handsome was much unlike his name; he hardly was found in camp, would rather spend time by himself in the forest, and would never tell anyone where he was going. What shocked Skua the most was the fact that these dragons just didn't care about Handsome, and it wasn't like they didn't like him. They simply shrugged and said "I don't know" to most of the questions they asked.
"This is getting us nowhere," Skua suddenly growled as they walked to another group of dragons. "Do these dragons even care about anything?"
Dreamseeker sighed. "I don't think I've ever read anything like this about the RainWings. I thought they were a vicious, strong tribe that no one dared to cross," she murmured. "But seeing a tribe in such a degenerate state hurts my heart. Just about any other tribe could come and conquer them in a heartbeat. It's terrible..."
Blackmoon did not greet the two DuskClan medicine cats with words. Instead, they only received a dip of his narrow head in greeting. He heard a few vocals from the cats behind him, but nothing overly boisterous or cheery. Either they were more quiet over respect for coming close to sacred grounds, or they knew that they had to respect the fact that they were treading into the heart of DuskClan. Even Lavenderpaw gave Frostpaw and Hawkpaw a narrow-eyed glare, though she said nothing before she trotted after her mentor. Silently, the other Clan cats followed them deeper into the caverns.
A dense smell of cat reached Blackmoon's nose, though there was no sight of any cats prowling through the sandy tunnels or lounging upon the rocks. DuskClan's cats were most likely tucked into the crevices within the walls, sleeping and walking in their dreams. It was only then did he start to feel weary; no matter how many times he had completed this journey, it tired him all the same. He made sure that Hawkpaw and the rest were still near him as they turned many corners and crannies. Before long, the two DuskClan cats led them down a narrow tunnel that sloped downwards.
It was pitch black. He was sure that Willowcloud and Lavenderpaw couldn't even see, though from what he could tell the path was a straight decline with no entrances to other tunnels. The path was narrow, only about the width of two cats of average build. Luckily for them, the corridor widened up again before long, and Blackmoon could feel the night wind lick along his whiskers. Moonlight bloomed forth from a stony room in front of them.
Moonlight filtered in from wide holes in the ceiling, making the smooth stone around them turn like silver. A bright brook cut through the cave, which usually ran crystal clear... if it wasn't for the cat that was splayed right in the middle of it. Blackmoon's eyes widened at the sight of the unmoving figure, taking a step forward as he felt fear bubble up in his chest.
"Russetfern!" Braveleap yowled in horror. The pale tom ran right past them and straight towards the body, Tigershine glued to his heels.
For a moment, Blackmoon found himself rooted to the sandy floors. From his spot at the mouth of the cavern, he could see that the Moonbrook had become tinged red with blood that stemmed from the broken body of the reddish-colored tom. Sucking in a breath, he shook himself from his daze, and pelted after the rest of the frightened and bewildered cats.
"What's happened?!" Blackmoon cried.
Braveleap sobbed as he nudged the tom's fur, but said nothing. Tigershine turned to face him, his eyes solemn. "It's Russetfern... one of our newest warriors. Braveleap was his mentor..." he murmured. "He's been missing since this morning, but we never expected to find him here..."
Dew-whisker was already observing the body. "One bite to the back of the neck was all it took." She pointed a paw at the nasty gash that marred the corpse. "And just look at his body... his attacker probably killed him and threw him in here."
"Nooo," Braveleap moaned out, collapsing into the brook next to Russetfern. "He's not dead, he's going to be alright-- just ask Dawnwing--!"
Skua wanted nothing more than to agree with Eclipse. These stupid RainWings were just asking for someone to bite them... or even set a few of them alight. He didn't really like the violent thoughts that crossed his mind, but there was little else to feel when you were suddenly caught between a rock and a really, really hard place. When he felt his friend's scales rub up against him, he leaned into Eclipse's form, seeking to ground himself before he exploded all over these stupid, brainless dragons.
"I haven't had anything like that happen before. I'm sorry," Dreamseeker ducked her head, her ears drooping down like a sad dragonet. "But, something tells me that not all of the RainWings are going to be avoiding us. Maybe we could start asking around deeper in the camp, or maybe even try to learn about them. If they see that we don't have ill intent, they could start to approach us instead of the other way around. We'll even have the chance to ask about Handsome."
Three moons, Dreamseeker really came up with ideas on a whim, didn't she? Not to mention they were all quite annoying, even if they did make sense and had the potential to make things easier for them. "Alright, where should we start?" he glanced over at the others.
Oh, rotting boar carcasses. Of course the RainWing would flee as soon as he found out they weren't just there for a tour. Skua sat back down on the ground with a frustrated huff and raised his claw to his eyes. This whole thing was a disaster. If the dragon that was cause of all of this didn't want to talk, then why were they even here? They should just go and speak with Queen Ardent or tell Brightstar that the RainWings didn't want to comply...
"Um... I don't really know anything about that... I'm sorry..." Hummingbird covered her eyes with her claws. "I don't think Queen Ardent can help you either, so maybe it's better if you go look somewhere else..."
Dreamseeker prodded up next to Skua, giving Hummingbird a comforting smile. "It's alright if you don't want to help, but do you know someone who might?"
Hummingbird shook her head. "No-- I'm sorry! I need to go and... count all of the dragonets again. I'll see you around, I guess!" With that, the pale purple dragon followed her brother over the edge and deeper into the camp.
Skua tapped a claw against the platform. "I hope you used your mindreading abilities when you had the chance..." he growled. "'Cause if you didn't, I'm about to start freezing everyone in place and shaking their shoulders until they fess up."
"I don't know why... but when I tried to see if they thought about anything regarding the dragon they gave the venom to, they started to panic once they started to actually think of them. I wasn't able to get any information about them at all..."
"Alright, I'm--"
"But once I asked Hummingbird about who might be able to help us, she thought of two people-- Jaguar and Handsome. We know that Jaguar doesn't know anything, so our next bet is Handsome himself."
Skua plopped his paw back down onto the platform. "I'm pretty sure that Jaguar told us to stay away from Handsome, not go find him."
Dreamseeker turned her head to look at him, shrugging. "I think it's our next best bet if we want to see if we can get anything out of the RainWings themselves before we go talk to Ardent."
Blackmoon heard a scoff from Braveleap before the chatter died down, just like he asked. DuskClan had always been strange territory to him. Secretive and cunning, they chose to spend their days underground rather than stretched out in the sun or under the stars of the night sky. He wondered if their eyesight was poor, similar to other cave-dwelling creatures. From what Willowcloud told him, they did hunt out in the open and only lounged around in the caverns. It seemed like no matter what DuskClan cats told them, they'd always be a mystery to the other Clans.
He felt Hawkpaw approach and ducked his head to meet her gaze. "Foxstar's a moody cat. It's wise to avoid doing anything that might ruffle her fur. That includes talking too loud, or too much." His words were firm in an attempt to make sure that Hawkpaw knew to take their approach seriously. He didn't really know what to expect every half-moon he came, and he was certain that the other medicine cats didn't, either.
The group remained quiet as they walked and the muddy territory turned to smooth grass and stone under their paws. Pine trees arched over their heads, and the shadows cast by the half-moon were darker in the wood. Blackmoon blinked to adjust his vision, his tail sweeping to the side to make sure that Hawkpaw stayed close. He heard Dew-whisker murmur for Frostpaw to stay close as well. It wasn't like any DuskClan cats were going to leap out at them, but it was dark there, and whatever that was killing innocent cats could very well be lurking in the dark, watching them...
"There's the entrance to the DuskClan camp," Tigershine grumbled. "Looks like Willowcloud and Lavenderpaw are waiting for us at the mouth to the cave, thank StarClan."
"Really? Someone's talking about me? I wonder who," Lemur raised a claw to his chin as he pondered. "I haven't left this rainforest in all of my life. Maybe it was just some passerby that was enamored by the sight of me!"
Hummingbird rolled her eyes as she glanced back at Eclipse. "I'm sorry. My brother can be full of himself sometimes, but he means well. I'm sure he can help you out with whatever you need!"
Three moons, Skua sure hoped so. They would have wasted the whole trip if Lemur stated that he couldn't help them. He lifted himself from his laying position and glared at the pinkish-colored RainWing, who looked back at him in a stupid kind of way. "We heard that you gave away RainWing venom to a stranger. This stranger turned it against the SkyWing queen and murdered her in cold blood. So, we've come here to ask who you gave it to and why."
Both of the RainWings turned several shades paler. For the first time since they got there, Hummingbird remained silent. Even the dragons within proximity of the group turned their heads to glance at them, if only for a few tense moments. Skua's heart skipped a bit. He had been blunt, yes, but had he done something wrong?
"Uhhh..." Lemur mumbled, taking a step back towards the edge of the platform. "I actually have to... uh... gather fruit before suntime... so... uh... bye--!" And with that, the pinkish dragon had disappeared over the ledge.
"If there's one thing to be grateful for, it's that. I don't remember the last time the Clans have been against one another, even if we've had our fair share of shady leadership," Dew-whisker agreed with Dawnwing, sharing her appreciation for the sounds of joy behind them. "Though, we must be wary of what's to come. Medicine cats can and should be close to one another, but warriors..." she dropped her voice to a murmur. "They may one day be each other's opponents on the battlefield."
Tigershine snorted. "You've always been such an optimistic cat, Dew-whisker."
Blackmoon felt his paw go straight through a muddy ditch. The foul semi-liquid reached up to the middle of his leg, but he was able to compose himself and keep walking before anyone could notice what had happened. He really had to pay more attention to where he was going. "DuskClan territory's up ahead. Best to cut the chatter down a little," he told the group of noisy cats. Even though ThornClan didn't share a border with the cave-dwelling Clan, he didn't like the way that they looked at the other Clans during Gatherings. It was like they didn't trust them, or if they were insignificant insects.
"Great. That means I can get back to BirchClan sooner," Braveleap sniggered at Hailshine. "I feel like I'm going to leave my paws behind in all of this mud."
Skua ate several other types of fruit, filling his stomach until he couldn't eat another of the strangely shaped morsels. He settled for digging his claw into the wood of the platform as he waited for the others to finish their meal. What was interesting to see was Aardwolf carefully peel his banana with tender claws, which only added on to the time it took for him to eat it. Why not just eat it with the skin? Was the inside sweeter than the outside?
Hummingbird fluttered her wings at Aardwolf's praise. "Oh, it's no big deal. Us RainWings don't really like causing trouble. Why bite and scratch each other when you can just solve things through words?" she piped.
If that doesn't make me want to throw up, I don't know what will.
"Lemur? You know him?" Hummingbird gasped in shock. Just when Skua thought she was going to ask Eclipse how she knew a dragon from a tribe they had never seen before, she continued her blabbering.
"Who knows me?"
Skua turned to look over his shoulder at where the voice came from. A large RainWing with strawberry-colored scales landed on the platform just as Hummingbird finished her sentence. Unlike Hummingbird, his colors were much easier to look at (though still as ridiculous, since he kind of bordered on pink rather than red) and his gaze was a deep maroon. Though timid curiosity laced his voice, his features were warm and accepting.
Lemur's broad neck turned to look at the smaller RainWing. "I heard about weird dragons showing up in camp, but I didn't expect them to be this weird," he laughed. Turning back to them, his expression hardened, though not with hostility or anger. "You said you knew me? I don't think I've met any of you dragons before."
If the lot of them had wanted to stop and hunt, they would surely find nothing among the surrounding brush. They were just too loud for any meek creatures to stay around for long, though this didn't really bother him much. He wasn't very hungry (the herbs were doing their job well) and it warmed his heart to see the cats of different Clans chatting among each other as if they were all one big happy family. Gatherings were more or less the same; Blackmoon was surprised they didn't all share tongues during the event. He felt his whiskers twitch with amusement as he imagined such a bewildering scenario, only to be interrupted by Dawnwing's question towards Dew-whisker. As she slowly shook her head, he felt a deep pang of worry, though he forced himself to nod curtly at Hailshine's greeting.
"We're doing well, though I've received no word from StarClan. Frostpaw hasn't said anything, either," she raised her eyes towards the two chatting apprentices. "Are you having trouble keeping Hawkpaw interested in StarClan, Blackmoon?"
Blackmoon shook his head. "Hawkpaw seems to be excited about meeting them, eventually."
"Lucky you. Many of our older Clanmates have lost faith, including our deputy. I hope it doesn't impact our apprentices. The last thing we need is for cats to be raised outside the warrior code."
Their conversation was interrupted when he heard laughter come from behind them. Braveleap and Hailshine seemed to be deeply engrossed in their conversation, and Lightningnose had joined Addertongue and the other ThornClan cats. Tigershine sighed.
"I sure hope they show up tonight." He made a face as he shook out his paw from wet soil.
"I hope so, too," Dew-whisker murmured as she turned away, motioning with her tail. "Come along. This way's the safest path through the marsh."
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