DarkMoss had no words. Her mouth stayed open in shock, the mouse had fallen into the snow.
"DarkMoss, I can explain." The tabby tom said.
"Your the murder, Thistle?" DarkMoss hopes it wasn't true. Thistle hung his head low, giving a slight nod.
"You killed Lillypaw?" DarkMoss felt her throat tighten with grief. Even though it had been about three moons or so, she still misses her apprentice.
"Yes."
"DarkMoss! Where are you?" DarkMoss heard Aquaspear call to her.
"Go, just go. We will talk later." Thistle looked at DarkMoss, relief filled his eyes. Thistle padded out through the bushes. DarkMoss paced in the small clearing, trying to get rid of Thistle's scent and slightly larger paw prints.
"Brambletail! Aquaspear! Come here!" DarkMoss' voice was choked with what seem to be grief.
"What happened?" Brambletail was the first in the clearing, her brown eyes wide with shock.
"I-I, I don't know. I-I just found him here." That's not really a lie, at least not entirely. Right?

DarkMoss knew exactly what had happen.
"Did you see who it was?" Aquaspear asked her.
"N-no, I only got a faint scent of raccoon." Why am I stumbling so bad?
"Was Thistle here? I keep getting a faint scent of him." DarkMoss took a deep breath before answering Aquaspear's question.
"I met him before I found Branchwalker. He went hunting though." Aquaspear and Brambletail nodded. "Let's get him back to camp." DarkMoss said after a moment.

"That's odd, he's still warm." DarkMoss quickly came up with an answer for Brambletail.
"Maybe he got attacked he couldn't make it to camp and he just collapsed here." DarkMoss lied. Apparently, it was believable. Without another question, they dragged his body to camp. Since of DarkMoss' shoulder, she was left to carry the prey.

"I knew it was DarkMoss!" DarkMoss winced as she heard her name in that tone. They had just brought Branchwalker into the clearing. Thistle was no where to be seen. Cats started to flood around them, some grief stricken but most of them where asking questions.
"What's going on?" Ashstar called out, silence was the only thing said among the clan. With a sigh, Ashstar continued, "who brought who in." DarkMoss lead Brambletail and Aquaspear to the leader.
"I'm the one who found him." DarkMoss told her.
"Continue." Ashstar prompted.
"I found him in a small clearing between some bushes by the twoleg bridge. I caught a faint smell of raccoon on him. It's Branchwalker who died." DarkMoss lied. Pain seem to shoot through her heart as she saw Thistle standing over Branchwalker's limp body.
"Anything else?" Ashstar sounded a bit off, as if she truly believed that DarkMoss was the murder. I can end this now, but Thistle needs a chance to explain himself.
"No, after that I called for Brambletail and Aquaspear." DarkMoss told her. With a nod from Ashstar, DarkMoss was dismissed.

DarkMoss walked over into the crowd of cats. Some of them where giving her glares. Thistle had walked into camp, he acted surprised to see the gathered cats. He gave DarkMoss a pleading glance, seeming to want forgiveness. She just looked away. How could he do that? Thistle padded over to DarkMoss, his head and ears hung low.
"Do you want to talk now?" Thistle asked.
"Let's go to Fallen Tree." DarkMoss said blandly. DarkMoss weaved her way through the cats that had sounded her, not caring if Thistle was right behind her or not.

She paused at the entrance for Thistle, she saw Silverpatch give her a curious look, her head cocked to the side. She just turned around and headed out of camp, Thistle close behind her.
"I know you won't believe me, but I had no choice." DarkMoss was curious on why he would do such a treacherous thing, but furious because of what he did.
"Well, go on." DarkMoss prompted. They where nearly at Fallen Tree before anyone said a word.
"I was forced to." Thistle told her. She looked away from him, still wanting to know why this seemingly kind-hearted cat could be the killer.
"No one forced you to." DarkMoss replied coldly.
"No, not in BirchClan, in the rouge's clan. My leader made me." DarkMoss glanced at him, pain filled his eyes.
"We could've lived a good life, you didn't have to follow him." DarkMoss told Thistle, breaking him from his thoughts.
"No don't get it, she would've killed me. I was scared, and ignorant." Thistle confessed. "I wanted to protect myself, more likely us. I never meant to hurt you though." DarkMoss stoped dead in her tracks, rage pulsing through her like blood.
"You thought killing my apprentice wouldn't have hurt me? I felt as tho my heart was being ripped from my chest. I was devastated. I'll probably never have another apprentice because everyone thinks I'm the stupid murder!" DarkMoss yelled at him. He looked at DarkMoss with pain, sorrow and fear in his eyes. DarkMoss lashed her claws at his face, causing him to squall. Instant regret hit her hard, wanting to apologize for what she had done.

"That's not the punishment someone like me needs." Thistle told her, blood running down his face. Deep cuts where along his face, blood staining his grey tabby fur. The sun was falling in the sky, an array of colors started to appear.
"I," Thistle gave DarkMoss a pleading glance, DarkMoss looked the other way. "I won't do it again. I will never kill another cat, no matter the reason." DarkMoss glanced back at him, her anger slowly going away.
"How can I trust you? I trusted you when I brought you and Fox into the clan, and you betrayed me." DarkMoss' voice was choked with grief.
"DarkMoss-"
"You betrayed my clan." DarkMoss cut him off.
"DarkMoss, please. Give me one more chance." Thistle pleaded. DarkMoss thought for a second. They had sat down in one of the hollow end of Fallen Tree, trying to keep out of the constant snow fall.
"DarkMoss, please. I'll do anything to prove it."