Frostleaf looks like she was ready to puke. Sparkfur glanced sideways at her partner. She'd rather call her 'partner,' because she was way past the age of apprentice, clocking in at around nineteen moons. Young, but still six moons older than the young golden warrior.

Sparkfur sighed and glanced around at the cats milling about, talking about what could have happened. Waspclaw kept saying he thought it was Fallowtail: the she-cat who found the body. Sedgeheart had been the partnering deputy to Waspclaw. Sparkfur figured they'd be rivals-- she'd figured out they were actually good friends. Fallowtail was obviously innocent: Sedgeheart fought with his attacker and the thin she-cat didn't have a scratch on her. Sparkfur breathed in deeply. Attackers. There had to be at least two, judging by the thick scent of rogue in the air. It had traces of two-leg on it, so one of the rogues probably just left the life of softness.

She stood up, looking over to Frostleaf, who couldn't set eyes on the black tom.

"For an ex-medicine cat, your a little queasy around dead bodies." Sparkfur remarked.

"I heal living cats, not..." She flicked her tail absently. Sparkfur nodded, understanding.

There was a bit of a clamor as a gray cat swiftly leaped over some brush, his long feathery fur sweeping behind him. He skidded to a stop, dropping a freshly caught bird, his dark green eyes wide.

"Sedgeheart..!" He said weekly.

"Mintstar, we think it was Fallowtail!" Waspclaw hissed to the gray tom. Fallowtail was sitting off to the side, crying, while some she-cats tried to comfort her.

"Mintstar don't listen to that mouse-brain." Sparkfur stood up, padding over to the leader who stood at the passed deputy's cold body. Mintstar nodded deftly. "Fallowtail doesn't have any of the strength needed to murder this cat." She flicked her tail, pacing. "If Waspclaw had half the mind, he would have remembered we're plagued with the Rogue Band." Waspclaw snarled, baring his teeth.

"Cut it out for just one day, Sparkfur! Sedgeheart is dead!" the ginger tabby snarled. Waspclaw's a dull ginger fur stood on end, his dark stripes looking like shadows. Sparkfur was unruffled by his show of strength.

"I know he is, and it's not right, but only the truth will solve what killed him; not desperate attempts for an explanation." She said simply, flicking a look over her shoulder at him. Somewhere between sassy and just plain 'get rekt.'

Mintstar waved his tail.

"Sedgeheart was loyal and just cat. He did not deserve to die. Currently, the rogues are prime suspect."

"'Prime suspect?'It's obvious they did it...." Sparkfur mumbled in Frostleaf's good ear. She ruffled her fur in response, but the golden she-cat didn't know what she meant by it.

"We will keep looking into ways to stop the rogues. For now... We will take his body back to camp like any other fallen warrior. He will have his vigil, as he is entitled to one." Sparkfur turned on a paw and began trekking back to camp.

"Hey, shouldn't we walk with the others back?" The white shecat asked, trying to catch up to the long-legged female's brisk pace.

"No need. It'll get all crowded, and I'd rather get back sooner than later." Frostleaf nodded, struggling to match pace as they hiked from the murder-scene on the border.

Berryfoot looked up from where he was sitting talking to some warriors to see Sparkfur.

"Hey, Sparkfur! Just in time!" Sparkfur looked up. Did he even have the right to talk to her? She breathed out shortly and padded over.

"What do you want, Berryfoot?" She meowed blandly. Frostleaf stood next to her.

"They need an extra cat on the border patrol, and I figured Frostleaf needs the practice." Sparkfur raised a brow. Border patrol? She never went on border patrol. Not because she didn't want to, but because Waspclaw usually scheduled patrols and he didn't like talking to her.

"Jee, hasn't even been a day since Sedgeheart died and your already trying to take his place...." She muttered. One of the warriors gathered obviously hadn't hear the news and was shocked. Berryfoot glared at her for the sassy remark. "Okay fine, fine. We'll go." She flicked an ear to where Frostfur stood at her side. "Where are they?"

"Over there." One of the surrounding cats, Sparkfur recognized him as Cloudstream, flicked his tail in the general direction of a few gathered cats. Sparkfur dipped her head to the bramble den elite and made her way to the patrol members.

She slowed, taking in the scene. Lambflower stood, gushing and flirting with a tom. Lambflower was Stormstrike's sister, one of Sparkfur's nursery denmates. Sparkfur didn't like Lambflower. She glanced to her partner, who had taken to talking to a senior warrior who seemed on guard with the outsider.

Sparkfur strode over casually. "Hey Lamb..what is it, flower?" Sparkfur knew the cats name, but she liked to see the annoyed expression on the she-cats soft featured face. "Sorry, so many cats in this clan!" She laughed it off, waving her golden striped tail. "Speaking of which, who are you?" She asked as charming as she could be to the tom, savor in in the jealous glare of Lambflower.

"Depends. What's your name?" Sparkfur was intrigued. She tipped her head up.

"Sparkfur."

"Ryeheart."

"What haven't I seen you around?"

"I've heard it's because you never go on patrols. Ever." Sparkfur nodded her head, shrugging.

"Doesn't interest me in the slightest."

"What does?" The tom blinked. He had pale brown fur, tabby stripes just barely visible but certainly there. He had captivating gold eyes.

"You'd have to see for yourself." Sparkfur had never actually taken an interest in toms or an interest in flirting. But she found it quite fun with this Ryeheart character. She flicked her tail goodbye, Lambflower rolling her yellow eyes in annoyance, and padded over to Frostleaf.

Frostleaf glanced at her from her almond shaped odd-eyes suspiciously, and Sparkfur twitched an ear. Cloudstream approached after licking the cheek fur of a dark brown tabby she-cat; his mate, Sparkfur concluded without a second thought.

"Hey guys, ready to go?" He asked. Sparkfur didn't answer, letting the other members of the patrol nod their approvals. Frostleaf padded side-by-side with her mentor, making up the middle of the patrol. Cloudstream was just in front of them, with Ryeheart and another tom in the back.

"I heard a MarshClan cat went undercover into the rogue territory last half moon." Frostleaf meowed to Sparkfur, but it was loud enough for the whole patrol to hear. Cloudstream hm'd his interest.

"What was his mission?" The tom in the back, a reddish-brown tabby tom, spoke up. "Sorry; I'm Cypressfoot." Sparkfur flicked her ear deftly in a small greeting. He was on the wrong side of Frostleaf, who didn't hear him at all.

"Probably just to infiltrate and get intel." Sparkfur answered after a moment of no answer.

"I wouldn't sent him in to kill the rouges leader." Cypressfoot said, padding up so that he was side-by-side with Sparkfur. "How about you?" He raised a brow charmingly.

"Killing him would be brash and idiotic." She dismissed him simply, and he resumed his place next to a slightly smirking Ryeheart.

"Oh yeah? What would you have a cat do if you had them infiltrate?" The reddish tom growled.

"Probably just have them report back in secret with when and where attacks would be. Sparkfur nodded in agreement.

"It'd be a suicide mission, though." Sparkfur remarked, the patrol pausing as Cloudstream scented some brambles, dismissing it as Frostleaf's foreign scent from earlier that morning. It was quiet as they followed the border, Sedgeheart's scent still hung in the air, mixed with blood, death, and rouges. Frostleaf shivered.

"Guys, let's stop here for a moment." Cloudstream said quietly. They broke up, scenting over the area briefly as they took a moment to rest.

"He was a great deputy." Ryeheart said quietly, he gold eyes focused on the dead grass.

"Yeah, he was." Cloudstream agreed, just as quiet.

"It's not right." Frostleaf hissed. "They have no right to just--just go around murdering cats!" She scored her claws into the yellow grass. "Whether it's Sedgeheart, or if it's a FogClan warrior." Sparkfur hadn't realized there was so much anger building up in the soft cat.

"It's alright, Frostleaf. We'll get them." Ryeheart murmured comfortingly. Sparkfur tipped her head up. There weren't many kind cats in the clan, it wasn't as valued as bravery and loyalty; at least not the kindness where you are nice to the foreigner and caring to the widely hated outlier.

She figured that must be what made her like him so; she didn't like a whole lot of cats because none of them liked her. She liked Asterfoot and Frostleaf and of course the always amiable Cloudstream. But Ryeheart was more than just friendly and kind, he was something she hadn't seen before; he was genuine. And she found that she loved that.

--

AN

I was hoping to have this out yesterday, but I was busy. SO here :)