NOTE: Do not rely on the playlist for clues! Songs in this playlist are mostly there for the vibe or some minor backstory things which I'll reveal later, and are not related to the murder!
Quite a few of these songs are explicit or have adult themes!
SHELLSTAR - Light brown-grey she-cat with bright blue eyes (You)
PONDFEATHER - Mackeral blue-grey tabby tom
FISHSTRIPE - Silver tabby tom with blue eyes
DUCKFUR - Rich brown tabby tom
FLOWERFERN - Black she-cat with golden eyes
BLACKTAIL - Black she-cat with one blue eye and one green eye
BEEFUR - Golden tabby cat
FRECKLEHEART - Beige spotted she-cat
REDFOOT - White and black she-cat with bright red paws
APPRENTICE, SPOTTEDPAW
WHITEWHISKER - White tom with a black tail
BLUEPELT - Blue she-cat with green eyes
SANDFLIGHT - Beige cat with green eyes
GULLWING - Dilute calico tom
APPRENTICE, PEBBLEPAW
WAVEHEART - Light grey tom with deep blue eyes and nicked ears
LAKEFUR - Blue-grey she-cat with golden eyes
PEBBLEPAW - Tortoiseshell she-cat
SPOTTEDPAW - White cat with pitch black spots and yellow eyes
SHOREDAPPLE - Light grey dappled she-cat
HERRINGFUR - White she-cat with one yellow eye and one blue eye
FOAMFALL - Brown tabby tom with blue eyes
It was just before sunrise when you heard the news.
Cats were lazily sharing tongues in the clearing, waiting for Pondfeather to assign dawn patrols. You were in your den, quietly talking with Fishstripe, the medicine cat. After all this time, he was still the one cat who you could call my friend. You weren't friends convientially, you never shared your emotions or aspirations with each other, but you never wanted to share my deepest secrets with him anyways, and you doubted he wanted to share his with you. You just got along, and that was friendship enough for both of you.
The morning greenleaf breeze drifted lazily through your den, gently swirling around you, keeping you cool before the day warmed up. A half-finished fish lay between you, and you each occasionally took bites from it.
"When will Herringfur's kits come?" you asked Fishstripe, taking a bit from the salty flesh of your prey.
"Soon, should it all go well. I am still a bit wary, though, since her and Redfoot's first litter didn't survive for more than a few days," the medicine cat responded. "She will have StarClan's blessing though."
"I will make sure to check on her everyday. I know how much these kits mean to her and Redfoot." You were going to add on something else, but movement outside your den made your ears prick. Foamfall, your father, entered, huffing deeply.
"Dad! What did I say about running up to my den! Fishstripe told you that you can't be racing around like that," you scolded him. However, Foamfall didn't reply with a sharp, playful retort about how youthful he still was. He was stony faced.
"Both of you, I was told to give you some, um, news. Fishstripe, you might not like this." Foamfall spoke carefully and solemnly, far away from his often playful nature.
Fishstripe exchanged a quick glance with you, his eyes full of questioning. You couldn't think of much that would happen right now that Fishstripe wouldn't like. Was Herringfur sick, or did some cat catch a serious disease? In this small, peaceful Clan, not much could go wrong. However, it has gone wrong before, so you still tried to prepare for the worst. Foamfall inhaled deeply and held it, before breathing out sharply.
"Pondfeather has died."
The words hung in the air briefly. Fishstripe uncomfortably scuffled his paws on the stone flooring, not looking anywhere in particular. You thought you should be the first to speak.
"How?" you asked Foamfall, trying to make eye contact with him.
"Duckfur is looking at it now, but he thinks that Pondfeather was poisoned." Your father turned to Fishstripe. "I think you should go and help, Duckfur isn't taking the news particuarly well and his work is sloppy. Unless, of course, you don't want to. I know that he was family."
"I'll help." Fishstripe cut Foamfall off. "It seems what goes around comes around." He exited the den quickly, without saying another word.
You looked at Foamfall. "What does he mean, 'what goes around comes around'?"
Foamfall licked behind your ears gently. "I don't know, sweetie. I think you should take some course of action after Pondfeather's, well, unexpected demise. A lot has happened in the camp after the news, I'm surprised no one else went to fetch you. Everyone thinks it's murder, so everyone is a bit antsy, just be careful with that," he said softly, before murmuring under his breath. "Maybe we should both pay more attention to Clan relations, then maybe you would've known sooner."
You nodded. "He was my deputy. I'm going to find out what happened. I am the leader, and I should take charge of the situation at hand. Thank you for telling me about what happened, Dad. You are the best." You licked his head affectionately, and he lightly bumped your side in return. He smiled at you as he left, bumbling down the slope up to your den. Outside of your den, you could hear quiet whining and talking from the SeaClan cats. It seems that no dawn patrols would be set today.
You resolutely decided that a Clan meeting would be the best way to get to the bottom of this situation. Stretching your stiff legs and flexing your claws, you brace yourself for what would be the most heated Clan meeting in a long time. This wasn't a warrior ceremony, and without a doubt cats would be accusing each other of cold-blooded murder. You were the leader, though. Perhaps your lack of relations within the Clan would come in your favour. To you, Pondwhisker was no more than a business partner anyways.
You strode out onto the Searock, where you called Clan meetings. Cats turned their heads to look up at you, knowing exactly was was coming.
"All cats old enough to swim, gather under the Searock for a Clan meeting!" Your voice boomed confidently over the clearing, and cats began to sit up, stretching their legs. The sun was just starting to rise, and from the Searock, you could see it's light dancing over the ocean. For the ocean, this day nothing special, but for the cats of SeaClan, they'd remember this day for the rest of their lives.
You cleared your throat. "It gives me great sorrow to announce the unexpected passing of our deputy, Pondfeather. Fishstripe and Duckfur, it was from poisoning, no?"
Duckfur was still a weeping mess, so Fishstripe spoke up. "Yes, he died from poisoning. Water hemlock. Duckfur and I have both decided that Pondfeather was murdered."
Cats gasped and turned to the cats around them, glaring at them, already thinking of who the murderer would be. You coughed again. "You don't have water hemlock in your den, do you?"
Fishstripe shook his head. "No, we would never, Shellstar. This implies someone went out of their way to fetch water hemlock yesterday, likely with the intentions of murder."
The Clan fell silent for a few mousebeats, as everyone processed this information. This was, of course, a targeted murder. There was a cat in calm SeaClan that hated their deputy enough to want him dead. Suddenly, a voice spoke up from the crowd.
"Anything you want to say, Shoredapple?"
Every cat whipped their head towards Herringfur, who was bristling at Shoredapple, a plump queen. "We all know that you and Pondfeather are ex-mates, Shoredapple. We all know you hate each other deeply. And from that, we all know who the number one suspect in the Clan for the murder is." Herringfur spat every word out at Shoredapple, who was breathing heavily.
"Herringfur, I don't even know what water hemlock looks like. I may hate Pondfeather, but not enough to see him dead. I am not a murderer, nor will I ever be. Herringfur, maybe we should wait a bit before accusing each other."
"Or maybe we should exile the murderer right away," Herringfur retorted. Shoredapple unsheathed her claws and leapt towards Herringfur, clawing her face. Herringfur yowled, and shoved Shoredapple to the ground, knocking the air out of her.
"That's quite enough!" Your voice rang across the Clan. "We will wait for solid evidence before accusing any cats of murder. It is a very serious crime, and it is not a term to be thrown around lightly. Herringfur, go sit on the other side of camp. If you two queens can't sit next to each other peacefully, then don't."
Herringfur snarled at Shoredapple before skulking to the other side of the camp and sitting under a towering pine tree indignantly.
You breathed heavily, centering yourself. "Right, does anyone know anything about the murder or have anything that could help us?"
Sandflight confidently stuck their tail up. "I was the last one to see them alive!" Around them, cats snickered with disapproval. You had no clue why.
The cream cat confidently continued their tale. "It was late last night, and I was talking to Pondfeather about if I would be able to skip the dawn patrol the next morning, since technically I am injured from that battle training session Waveheart."
Waveheart rolled his eyes. "It was an accident for StarClan's sake, Sandflight. Just get to the part of the story that is actually helpful."
Sandflight looked at the grey tom, offense shining in their eyes. "Ok. I didn't really notice much that was amiss, but he seemed like he had something else on his mind the entire time, like he wasn't really listening to me (offensive!) and he was just looking over his shoulder. I wonder if something earlier that day had sparked a suspicion in him, or maybe he knew he was going to get murdered. I don't know, I'm just speculating at this point." Sandflight shrugged, before turning to look expectantly at me.
"Thank you Sandflight, that information is very helpful for us." Sandflight beamed smugly, before seating themself down. "Does anyone have anything else they want to share that may help us out?"
After Sandflight's comment, a few cats seemed more willing to speak. Both Fishstripe and Flowerfern opened their mouths to speak, before looking uncomfortably at each other. Fishstripe gestured for Flowerfern to speak first. The black she-cat nodded somewhat shyly, and straightened herself.
"I say I am very socially involved with the Clan, Shellstar, so I have a few things to say." Without waiting for you to say anything, the mediator continued. "I know that you take your leadership position very seriously and you aren't as connected socially with the Clan, which is fine of course!" she hurriedly added, before coughing politely. "Not as many cats like Pondfeather as you may imagine. Generally deputies are very well liked, or they should be, but in Pondfeather's case, perhaps he wasn't the favourite cat in the Clan. You already know about Shoredapple, but take Lakefur. The number of times I've had to mediate an argument between Lakefur and Pondfeather is unreasonable, especially since they were mentor and apprentice."
Lakefur bristled. "Flowerfern, you have no right."
Flowerfern's eyes widened. "I'm just helping, Lakefur! Please understand. Or, take Blacktail. Blacktail wouldn't dare move her nest anywhere near Pondfeather's."
All cats turned, wide eyed, to look at the black she-cat, who remained emotionless. "He had bad breath because he was the sort of cat who liked eating frogs. Also he was annoying. I'm not the murderer, but I sure do think that he was a reincarnated mosquito."
"Thank you for that, Blacktail." Flowerfern stifled a giggle. "Or look at Pondfeather's own loving siblings, Fishstripe and Blue..."
"STOP IT!" Fishstripe's angry voice rang out across camp. "Flowerfern, you do not know everything, believe it or not, and even though I respect you, you cannot speculate about my relationship with Pondfeather. Stop speaking, for the sake of all of us." The silver tabby slowly seated himself, still huffing angrily. Flowerfern's ears pricked and she shivered uncomfortably. Cats looked uncomfortable, so you sighed in defeat.
"Fishstripe, do you want to say what you were saying before?" you finally say to break the silence.
"No." Fishstripe's answer was short and sharp, before he turned and marched into the medicine den.
You sighed. "The meeting is over. Please let me know if you have anything else to say."
You waited until the Clan has dispersed a bit before leaping off the Searock into the clearing. Cats were nervously gossping amongst themselves, and casting shaded glances at you. Ignoring them, you beckoned Blacktail over.
"Blacktail, you're the most senior warrior. Take Gullwing, Pebblepaw and Sandflight on a hunting patrol. You are not to discuss the murder or gossip while you are out, we need to feed our Clan since the fresh kill pile is running low."
Ever reliable, Blacktail dipped her head and gathered the other cats, who after a stretch and a final input into their conversations, left. You continued over the the warrior's den, and ducking your head under the vines, you entered to see Freckleheart, Whitewhisker and Spottedpaw cleaning out the bedding.
"Good morning Shellstar," Freckleheart turned to you with a half smile. "A bit of a stressful morning, but us three are just destressing with cleaning out the warriors den. I find cleaning has a calming affect on a cat."
"I don't." Spottedpaw managed to throw in a remark, but Whitewhisker turned to him and silenced him.
You returned the remark with a small smile. "Before you clear out the moss, can I check Pondfeather's bedding from last night? Also, show me where he slept."
Whitewhisker let out a snort. "I'm surprised you couldn't smell where he slept. It's very faint, but it's that musty smelling spot near the centre of the den. Also, here's his bedding, I cleared it just now. There's nothing much in it, apart from that StarClan awful smell. I can see why Blacktail moves her bed away now. They'd sleep right next to each other in the middle, since they're both senior warriors."
Freckleheart also snorted. "I was resisting the urge to move away my bed as well, his breath stank more than usual last night. Wait, Shellstar, do you know if this water hemlock stuff that Duckfur was talking about stinks?"
You started to take the bedding from Whitewhisker and the odour immediately hit you. It was strong, but not sharp, and it smelled undeniably like a twoleg leaf garden. You gave the bedding back to Freckleheart. "No, the medicine cats didn't tell me it had a scent. Actually, Frecklewish, can you keep the bedding behind the den once you're done cleaning out everyone else's? It might be helpful."
Frecklewish answered with a dip of her head. "Of course, Shellstar."
You nodded with a small smile to acknowledge her. As you turned to leave, you realised this may be your chance to get further clues from the three cats. "Is there anything you guys want to say about the murder before I go?"
The three looked at each other warily, before Spottedpaw spoke up. "He was my mentor. He didn't like me very much, but yeah, it was upsetting anyways. I don't know why he didn't like me, maybe because I just showed up in this Clan when I was 6 moons old and he just became my mentor? Maybe he wasn't prepared or something, I don't know."
You looked surprised. "He told me he was keen to mentor you when you joined the Clan. Did anything he do cause any fights?"
Spottedpaw shook his head. "Nup. He just didn't like me because apparently I was worse than his other apprentices. He wouldn't stop telling me. Redfoot's much better, she's more supportive."
Freckleheart looked surprised. "Oh, when Pondfeather was mentoring my son, they got along perfectly. I'm surprised to hear that Lakefur and you weren't as great."
Spottedpaw gasped. "You have a son?"
Freckleheart nodded. "Yes, Gladepaw. He was only 7 moons old when he was attacked by foxes on a patrol. Everyone else on the patrol tried to save him but he lost too much blood. I think about him every day. I will say, I was a bit iffy on Pondfeather being a mentor at first after Lakefur made it very clear the two didn't get along, but I must say, Pondfeather and Gladepaw had the same adventurous spirit, so I think they were a better pairing."
Whitewhisker nodded. "Yeah, they seemed like they got along well. That's a rarity with Pondfeather, him and another cat getting along well."
You widened your eyes. "Pardon?"
Whitewhisker shrugged. "I used to be his friend from when we were kits. Him, Herringfur and I. We all wanted to be the best warriors in the Clan, and then Pondfeather became a deputy and we all thought we'd made it. But he just became more and more bossy after he got that status and he became a pain to be around. All he cared about now was being deputy, not any other bonds or relationships he had. It was deputy this, deputy that for ages and ages. Eventually Herringfur and I drifted away from him. Yeah, that's all there is to it really."
You dipped your head in gratitude. "Thank you for speaking to me, you three, and if you learn anything else, please let me know."
You nod towards Spottedpaw, Whitewhisker and Frecklefur as you exit the den. "I'm taking the bedding to Duckfur and Fishstripe."
Frecklefur nodded. "That seems like a sensible course of action. Hopefully you can find some clues, this whole thing is very concerning, and I hope we get to the bottom of it. Don't carry the bedding in your mouth in case it has some poison on it, Shellstar. It probably doesn't but we'll never know."
You smile. "Thanks Freckleheart. I'll take care." You hook the bedding over one claw, and lopsidedly hop towards the medicine den, taking care not to let it drag across the camp ground. You notice out of the corner of your eye that Blacktail's patrol has returned, and the fresh kill pile is stocked, with it's salty aroma making the camp more bright. Although some cats still look nervy, many were now sitting beside each other in the clearing, picking at their prey. It would take a while to heal the wound caused by Pondfeather's death, and it would still leave a scar regardless, but Shellstar couldn't stand to see her Clan divided like they were that morning. She continued onto the medicine cat den, to see Gullwing exiting.
"Gullwing, are you ok?"
The calico tom nodded wearily. "I was feeling faint on the patrol so I went to see Duckfur and Fishstripe. I'm feeling a lot better now, though. Thanks for asking."
You nodded, glad to hear the tom was better. "That's good to hear. Take care."
You turned and ducked your head beneath the tangled vines that covered the cave which housed the medicine cat den. You were immediately hit with the sharp herbal smell that was always trapped in the fur of Duckfur and Fishstripe. In the corner of the den, Duckfur was humming quietly to himself as he sorted herbs. Even though he still seemed a bit glum, Duckfur was getting back into the rhythm of his work, even so soon after the death of his friend. Fishstripe was cleaning up the herbs they presumably used on Gullwing, but his ears perked up when he sensed you.
"Shellstar, how are you? And... oh, what's that smell?"
You nodded a small greeting. "Freckleheart, Whitewhisker and Spottedpaw were cleaning out the den, and I told them to leave Pondfeather's bedding behind. That's the smell for you."
Fishstripe's face contorted when he got a whiff of the bedding. "Oh, I guess Blacktail was telling the truth when she said that Pondfeather stinks. This is disgusting. Thanks for bringing it, but may I ask, why? We'll check over it, but any reason in particular?"
"Yes, Freckleheart said that last night, Pondfeather's bedding smelt worse than he normally did, and she was wondering if the poison had any smell."
"Water hemlock does." Duckfur turned around and padded towards you and Fishstripe. "So Freckleheart was saying he had bad breath last night?" You nodded in response, and the brown tabby tom thought for a heartbeat.
"So that means he was poisoned last night, then. Water hemlock has a slow burn effect if I remember correctly, as in it takes longer to work than a herb such as deathberries. Hey Fishy, can you go and check around the fresh-kill pile by any chance? I want to see if there's any water hemlock scent there."
As Fishstripe left the den, Duckfur looked to you awkwardly. "I know a lot about herbs, the good and the bad. I realise it probably isn't a good look on me to say all I know about water hemlock after a cat got murdered by it, since now you're probably suspecting me." Duckfur's mood dropped again, and he slumped.
You touched your tailtip lightly to his shoulder. "No, I'm not suspecting you. What you said about water hemlock is really helpful."
Fishstripe came back into the den, shaking his head. "Nothing. I also remembered just then that the water hemlock patch is just outside our territory, isn't it?" Duckfur nodded in response. Fishstripe continued. "That's interesting it was water hemlock poisoning, then, since there is a deathberry patch near the twoleg house in our territory, and I imagine most of the warriors are aware of it. So why would a cat go so far out for water hemlock?"
You sat thoughtfully. "From what you told me, the effects of deathberries are instant, and water hemlock takes longer to take hold. Maybe they wanted to hide the evidence."
Duckfur's ears perked slightly. "Deathberries have very little scent compared to water hemlock though, so this cat must know how to handle water hemlock. Also, we've never talked openly about water hemlock's abilities, so some cat must know all the traits of water hemlock, which is interesting."
"We haven't told anyone about water hemlock either, and even though my brother isn't exactly my favourite cat, I'm not a murderer, and obviously Duckfur isn't. Shellstar, do you know any cats who have any medicinal knowledge?"
You shook your head. "Not that I know of. This is interesting of course, and we should do something with the information, but the thing is, I'm not entirely sure what."
NOTE: Since all suggestions only had 1 input, this course was randomly chosen.
You looked at Duckfur. "Duckfur, while I'm here, is it ok if I have a quick chat to you? In private ideally."
Duckfur looked around, panicked. "Me? Shellstar, I-"
Fishstripe interrupted. "Shellstar, I absolutely know you're trying to solve this, but it's more likely to be me than Duckfur." You opened your mouth to speak, but Fishstripe shook his head. "Whatever. I'll go collect some herbs. It's doing to be sundown soon, and it'll be good to do when it's still light."
You dipped your head. "Thank you Fishstripe." You turned to Duckfur. "Duckfur, this doesn't neccesarily mean that I think you're the murderer, but I do want to ask you some quick questions. Firstly, how do you know so much about water hemlock?"
"My mentor, Oatfreckle, told me about water hemlock. I once mistook it for chervil when we were collecting herbs a bit outside of our territory, since they look similar from a distance, and I went to go pick some, but Oatfreckle told me not to. She told me how to identify it and its dangers then, and I've never forgetten since."
"What does chervil look like?" You wanted to be entirely sure that Duckfur wasn't trying to fool you.
Duckfur nodded. "I've got some here." He stood up and walked over to a nook in the wall that was filled with herbs, and took a stem out.
"Small white flowers and small leaves, it's just that chervil doesn't smell quite as bad and hemlock is slightly darker."
You looked at the plant thoughtfully. It didn't have the horrible smell the plagued Pondfeather's bedding at all. "And you haven't given any cat chervil recently, and perhaps it was water hemlock?" Duckfur shook his head vigourously, slightly offended. You shot him a coy smile and wrapped your tail around your paws.
"Now that's out of the way, what was your relationship with Pondfeather like?"
Duckfur started to tremble, the comfort of reciting herbs no longer there. "We've been nothing but kind to each other. You remember, my sister died when she was 3 moons. She didn't show any signs of ill health the day before, and then the next morning, she just couldn't get up. What you probably don't know, though, is that Pondfeather, who was 5 moons old then, comforted me that day, and he postponed his apprenticeship until I was old enough so I could have someone to train alongside, just like I would've had my sister."
You nodded. "Oh, I remember that now. I was a young warrior then, and I was wondering why Pondfeather was postponing his apprenticeship for so long. You didn't even become a warrior."
Nodding, Duckfur continued. "It was actually Pondfeather who suggested I become a medicine cat. Oakfreckle helped me and Blacktail, my mother, a lot, and when I was telling Pondfeather about how much Oakfreckle had done, he said I should ask her to become a medicine cat. Mum told me not to listen to Pondfeather, I don't think she's ever quite forgiven Pondfeather for putting a frog in her nest when he was 6 moons old, but I became a medicine cat anyways."
"What about when you were older, what was it like?"
Duckfur continued. "Pondfeather had always been nothing but kind to me, always bringing Oakfreckle and I the best prey when we were working in the medicine cat den, and we'd go on walks together when we were young warriors. We gradually became less close after he became friends with Whitewhisker and Herringfur, but he was still kind. It was around then that Fishy finished his medicine cat training, and we were already good friends, even thoigh he started training only after he became a warrior." Duckfur paused for a bit. "After Oceantuft died and Pondfeather became deputy, he just stopped coming into the medicine den for little visits and making small talk with me altogether. I didn't do anything to warrant this. I knew he and his siblings started having a rocky relationship after he rose to being deputy, so maybe it was Fishy's presence that drove him away, but still, he was kind to me. He was kind to me until the day he died." Duckfur stopped, looking down at his paws.
You gently put your tail on his back. "If I can ask you one more question, do you know why Bluepelt and Fishstripe didn't get along with Pondfeather?"
"With Fishy, one day, about half a moon after Pondfeather became deputy, he stormed into the medicine den. It was dusk, and he was just talking to Pondfeather about something, I don't know what. He told me that Pondfeather had ruined their relationship, and that he was a vile brother, but he didn't tell me what happened, because he didn't want Pondfeather's and I's friendship ruined. With Bluepelt, I don't entirely know, but I know she wasn't allowed to go on patrols for a long time."
What should Shellstar do next?
a. Interrogate Fishstripe
b. Interrogate Bluepelt
c. Interrogate Blacktail
d. Interrogate Herringfur
e. Interrogate Whitewhisker