Aftermath [open]

Beetlenose hurried back the way the patrol came and picked up two of the fish's tails in his jaws. He hadn't thought about how much he could carry at a time, he'd only been concerned with bringing food home. With a mental sigh, the black and white tom made a beeline for the camp with them flapping from his jaws. He arrived before any of them of course, using an entrance around the back of the concealed camp rather than the front. It was close to the fresh kill pile and allowed him to drop the fish on there before darting to the elder's den.

There was no point in finding the medicine cat; Russetnose was already dead. He solemnly told the elders what had transpired and left them to do whatever it was elders did when a clanmate had died, after the vigil was held when Nightclaw and Luckychance returned. Beetlenose wondered if he had time to retrieve the other two fish briefly, then decided not to risk it. The bicolor tom waited in the center of camp with a few other clanmates, trying to soothe their worries and fears until Mudstar could.

Nightclaw dropped the deputy's corpse once they got into the camp. Sure, the other cats would be horrified, but at the time he wasn't thinking about it; he didn't make a big deal out of problems, he just faced them head-on now- maybe he expected the others to do the same. There was nothing they could do for him now, except find out what killed him and bring him justice if it was possible.

Dogfang, her posture rivaling that of a statue, sat poised upon an outcrop of stones near the entrance of camp. Her self-appointed job that fine evening was to act as sentry for the camp, and so far, so good. No intruders of any sort, no mishaps, no- oh dear. Her green eyes, piercing and alert as always, widened slightly with obvious alarm as she saw the patrol return. Sure, there was prey among them, but something else they had retrieved from the bogs that had given her quite the start: the limp corpse of Russetnose. The black molly briskly retired from her post to inspect further and to ensure that what she had surmised was correct. Oh bollocks, why did she always a knack for telling when things were dead?

The soft thud of pads upon solid ground was barely audible as the warrior as she straightened herself up, narrowed eyes locked on the deputy's corpse as the patrol seemed to process down to the center of camp. Her gaze lingered for mere moments more when it was finally deposited wherever dead Clanmates were left for their final rites, before a simple flick of her ear released her from the body's attraction. Dogfang would make her way to the center of camp, a slow, methodical pace accurately describing her present state of mind: numb surprise. Russetnose had done his job well, and he certainly would be rewarded well in the afterlife, but such fuss and worry over an empty shell was beyond her comprehension. In her "professional" opinion, warriors lived to die for the Clans, and they could do so with honor or with shame. A death in battle would certainly be a fitting end for any cat.

Upon reaching the commonplace, Dogfang would allow herself to sit down before focusing upon the cat that had come in first: Beetlenose. If anyone knew what was going on, it'd be him. "Beetlenose," she would say in that velvet-smooth voice, "what happened?"

Wherever Dogfang went, her son was sure to follow. He was her shadow, silent and obedient; the very image of diligence. Even when the patrol returned, bearing their ... unfortunate cargo... he stayed where he was, watching, never leaving her side. From afar, he could tell their deputy was dead, and, to be honest, he didn't care, but if Mother was interested, then he'd do what he could. Stretching, he meandered over to the body and gave it a sniff.

Russetnose's carcass looked even worse up close; his ear had been torn, his nose shredded, and... it looked like a bite had been taken out of his haunches. Ah ha! Satisfaction welled up inside the gray and white tom, and he grinned despite himself. He knew who the culprit was! It was easy to figure out once you gave it some time. "Look, there," he commented cheerily, prodding the corpse's hip, "A fox. Look, it's too light for a badger, and a cat couldn't have made one that big." What a smart little boy, what a good little boy! Mother would be proud of him for sure!

Nightclaw had been sitting next to the deputy's corpse, awaiting orders on what to do next- Even if Mudstar wasn't back yet. That was when Sharpclaw came over and brought up that it was a fox who had killed Russetnose.
"Yes, a fox. Mudstar is already planning on chasing it away. It was last reported to be around the isolated island." Nightclaw said flatly, as if he had already known all of this. What a killjoy; the younger warrior had seemed so happy to discover this before anybody else said something...

Because he had come in the back way, and not through the main entrance, Beetlenose didn't notice Dogfang or Sharpclaw until they approached the corpse. He opened his mouth at the black-furred warrior's question, only for Nightclaw to answer first. Rather than be irritated that the tom had spoke even though Beetlenose had been addressed directly, the bicolor tom nodded in agreement. "I imagine she'll choose a new deputy first", he meowed with a flick of his tail at Sharpclaw's assessment.

"Yeah, it was a fox." He spoke unintentionally dismissively, since that fact had already been deduced when the body had been found. "I'm a little worried that Mudstar might've went to the isolated island by herself, to be honest", Beetlenose continued with a worried glance at the camp entrance. He rose to his paws and padded in that direction with a call over his shoulders, "I'm going to make sure she's on her way."

He knew- or, at least, was pretty sure -everyone would stay in camp. Not only had Mudstar told them, but now with the body of the deputy laying stretched out in the middle of the clearing, almost everyone would want to know what happened and who his successor would be.

((OOC: Sorry for  being inactive, school starts back up soon for me, and I have to make sure I get all of my school work that I had over the summer done. I'm a procrastinator at heart))

Luckychance sat glumly near the others, one ear cocked to idly listen to the conversation, but most of his attention was paid to Beetlenose, who he watched leave the camp. He hoped that the black and white tom was wrong about whether or not Mudstar went off to where the fox was alone, because as much as Luckychance believed fully in the clan leader's skills, taking on a fox was serious business, Russetnose's death spoke enough for that.

The young warrior's gaze returned to the corpse of the former deputy. There was an awful amount of talk about how he died, although there seemed almost a lack of actual emotion about the fact. "Poor Russetnose", he remarked mournfully, "StarClan recieved a brave warrior."

A coy, feline smile was given as Dogfang heard her adopted son's analysis of the situation. "Well done," came an exotic sounding purr, her voice laced with approval, "your deductive skills are sharper than a badger's claws." Perhaps she was attempting to coast smoothly over Nightclaw's blunt interjection, for she would promptly gloss over his observation and instead respond to Beetlenose's worries. With a rather displeased voice, her emotions of 'what the hell' quite apparent, she'd inquire, "You mean Mudstar is going to confront that fox alone? What madness is this?"

Her eyes would glance over her shoulder towards the entrance of the camp, a silence building up from her that proved that she was considering her options. On one paw, Mudstar had given orders to remain in the area until her return, and on the other paw, loyalty and duty to the Clan required her to live up to her reputation of being a tireless fighter and provider. Orders and morals were pitted against each other, but quite frankly the choice was clear: what glory was there in merely standing about idle? What songs do they sing of the warriors who sat back and allowed other to snatch honor from them? These thoughts occurred to her as she would once more look at the slowly growing population of felines in the camp. This would be boring. There was fun to be had chasing down a fox.

As she watched Beetlenose make his way towards the exit, the large molly would be quick to follow. "If you're going to go, then I'm coming with. Besides," she would say plainly, a tongue swiping across her charcoal-colored lips, "any cat that goes up against a fox alone is suicidal. The more in a fox hunt, the merrier." Surely her merit of being able to punch things in the face with great skill would be enough to warrant her a pass out of here? No doubt it would be exceptionally useful if they should encounter this creature before they encountered Mudstar.

Sharpclaw looked up from the body, sparing no time with silly, fabricated memorials to join his mother's side, where he belonged. Let them say what they liked, it didn't change the fact that he hardly knew Russetnose, or cared for him at all. He was also not too keen on helping Mudstar fight off the fox, as they'd never seen eye to eye. But what could he do? He was a loyal servant, to his mother, at least. Cold eyes regarded the swamp's sickly, muck-covered expanse with quiet disdain. He may have been raised here, but he could never get over the feeling of mud oozing between your pawpads. Best get this over with.

Despite her words at the seperation, the MarshClan leader had lingered about the body following the departures of her fellows. The trail would easily and quickly go cold; this might be her only chance. Abruptly she steered her course towards the north-west, where the bloodied grass led her. She had much difficulty in tracking the trail, as it went straight through the thick wetlands muck. Any blood had long since disappeared from the murky waters, and soon she reached the point where Russetnose's wounds had not been large enough to drip blood along the reeds. She resorted to broken stems, hints of fear-scent in the humid air, and common sense. If she had to guess from the body, she'd say the kill had occured about two hours ago while everybody had been on patrol. About half-way to the Isolated Island the trail went cold. Many animals broke reeds and sometimes they just died and it wasn't possible to follow any sort of trail discernable to the silver-eyed warrior. She'd lost it. Angrily swiping at the mud, the she-cat whipped around and ran back towards home.

Her single-track mind hadn't really been thinking about much besides tracking Russetnose. Now she needed a new deputy to rise in his stead. Mudstar wandered south-east towards the southern border instead of camp. It was imperative to her peace of mind that she be /certain/ that the border was secure. She could not have the invasion occur while her clan was so crippled by its loss. What if Russetnose's murder had been a sign!? What if it was the message from MarshClan's enemies, an indication that terror was nigh!? With determination stronger than StarClan's claws, the leader approached the border and glared across it as she moved parallel and checked the scent-markers that had been placed. Finally satisfied, she tilted her head back to the sky. The sun was setting, which meant the clan was waiting on her decision.

She approached the camp only to find Beetlenose and Dogfang at the entrance. What did they think they were doing? It was time for Russetnose's vigil and the ceremony. "All cats old enough to hunt their own prey, gather beneath the High Stump for a clan meeting!" There was no time to dawdle, moonhigh was fast approaching. The she-cat rose to her place and turned to face her assembly. Assuming the warriors responded to her call, she would begin.

"Many of you are aware of this already, but this day has seen the end of our deputy. Following this meeting, the elders will take Russetnose's body out to bury him. He was a loyal deputy and a strong warrior. We must pray his successor proves just as valuable to the clan as he was." And hopefully moreso. "I say these words before StarClan, so that the spirits of our warrior ancestors may hear and approve of my choice. The new deputy of MarshClan is Beetlenose."



[Sorry I didn't get this up sooner, omg I wanted so badly to draw the picture but I flopped and now my post is larger than Rhode Island oops.]