Round Off



 R o u n d O f f

Episode Six, Season One, of Beauty.

Enjoy <3

Round Off
“We have a free day!” Snowpaw crows as she enters the den again. “That means no training, no more dropping out, and no more losing friends…”

I flinch slightly at that last sentence and Snowpaw realizes her mistake. “I mean no more danger of losing friends – wait that sounds just as bad. Um I meant-”

I wave her off. “It’s fine, we all miss Rainpaw after all. Some more than others.” I glance at Hawkpaw, my heart aching for the brown tom. Brownpaw and Lionpaw are comforting Hawkpaw, but it doesn’t seem to be enough. I just hope Hawkpaw can recover from losing Rainpaw.

Snowpaw follows my gaze, her eyes tired and weary. “He just needs time,” she murmurs, “and soon, when this corrupt system is over, he’ll be with her again.”

Sighing, I stand slowly. “It just feels so sudden. We’ve known each other for a few days and she’s already gone.” I blink back tears. “I didn’t know it’d be so hard.”

The white she-cat wraps her tail protectively around me. “It’ll be okay,” she promises, “You’ll make it okay, Amberpaw.” I don’t have the heart to tell her that it’s not okay and nothing will ever make it better.

“So,” Snowpaw continues, beckoning to the rest of our friends, “What shall we do on this fine evening?”

“I know what Amberpaw will be doing,” a gruff voice announces, “She’ll spend the day telling us why she poisoned Flarepaw. I find myself staring up at the venomous pools of Blackstripe’s eyes.

I cough in surprise, “Excuse me?” I snap, “When did I do that?”

But the other instructors are already closing in. I feel surprise flit through my pelt. I exchange panicked glances with Snowpaw. She looks startled, and Finchpaw is the one who snarls. “I think you’re mistaken. Amberpaw would never do that.”

“We need proof to believe that,” Flowerbeam sighs grimly, “and as of right now, Amberpaw is the prime suspect.” Blossomflecks nudges me away from my friends.

“We’ll find the real culprit,” Applepaw’s cool voice sounds, “Then you’ll have no reason to accuse Amberpaw of such a treacherous crime.”

“You go do that,” Willowfur grunts, and then they take me away.

~

“This is stupid,” Snowpaw smacked her paw down, “We’re going to catch the cat who poisoned our last favorite cat.” Snowpaw pawed the ground angrily, “And for what? For Flarepaw to roam free and healthy again to torture us? For her enemy – our potential ally – to be murdered?”

“To save Amberpaw,” Brownpaw corrected, “We’re doing this to save Amberpaw. Don’t forget if they don’t get proof that Amberpaw didn’t do it, she’ll be the one to suffer.”

“A penalty like that could be punishable by death, depending on how bad the crime was,” Applepaw sighed, “And because the victim is Flarepaw, Redstar’s daughter, Amberpaw will b e convicted as a murderer – or just a traitor.”

Gingerpaw growled in frustration, “Then we’ll have to find out who did this.”

Cherrypaw flicked her tail. “How do we know it was somebody from the Academy?”

Lionpaw snorted. “Apparently Flarepaw told the instructors that it was somebody from the Academy. She also specified that it was a scent we knew and it was her enemy. The instructors then asked who she suspected, and Flarepaw told them Amberpaw.”

“What a stupid lie,” Finchpaw snapped, “They just believed her?”

Brownpaw nodded, “She is, after all, Redstar’s daughter. They would be foolish not to believe whatever Flarepaw says. We need real proof to figure this all out and save Amberpaw.”

“They’re foolish enough to follow Redstar in the first place,” Snowpaw hissed, “especially since they know what she’s actually doing to the poor.”

Applepaw blinked, “By the way, where’s Hawkpaw? He should be here for this too.”

“He said he wanted to visit Rainstorm,” Lionpaw mewed, “He didn’t want to take part in this. Not without Rainstorm I suppose. He’ll probably try to figure it out with her in the poor.” Lionpaw stretched. “Where shall we start?”

Finchpaw frowned, “We need to know who Flarepaw hates. Obviously it wasn’t any of us. Any of Gingerpaw’s cats that she despises?” She turned to the ginger she-cat, “After all, you were here longer than we were.”

Gingerpaw stared evenly back at Finchpaw. “It’s a possibility that one of my cats poisoned Flarepaw, but surely it could be anyone?” She curled her fluffy tail nervously. “It won’t be easy to find who did it; nobody’s going to confess because the culprit knows what the penalty is too.”

“Death,” Brownpaw confirmed, “Which means we need another way to root the culprit out.”

Cherrypaw narrowed her eyes and circled the group. “I’ll investigate the others and see if I can figure it out. We should split the jobs so we can figure this out faster. We don’t know how long Amberpaw has before they declare her as the culprit.”

Uneasy silence blanketed over them like a dark thundercloud. Each apprentice looked at one another, unsure of their next move.

“Well,” Brownpaw mewed determinedly, standing up, “Let’s get started.”

~

I glare at each of the instructors in turn. “For the last time,” I sigh, exasperated, “I didn’t do anything to Flarepaw. I don’t hide behind poison and do sneaky things such as poisoning Redstar’s daughter.”

Blossomflecks snorts. “There’s evidence that you did it,” she snarls, “so you can just fess up and be done with it. Or would you rather we took your friend Finchpaw instead?”

Flowerbeam shoots her a glare but I snap. “Yeah? Like what?”

The cream-colored instructor twitches her tail. “Flarepaw has informed us that she remembered your scent the night she was poisoned. She told us that someone had put something in her mouth and she couldn’t remember anything but a she-cat’s scent. She is certain it came from your group, but more likely from you.”

“That’s just more of Flarepaw’s lies,” I hiss, lashing my tail, “Do you actually believe her?”

“Do not speak so lowly of Redstar’s daughter,” Willowbreeze warns, “We are expected to believe her word, as it’s the only evidence or lead we have.”

I resist the urge to laugh and turn to the more diplomatic she-cat. “Give my friends a few days and they’ll solve it. They’re smart; I know they can do it.”

They exchange uneasy glances and finally Blackstripe nods. “They’ll have three days. When the three days are over and no one else steps forward, you will receive your punishment.”

They don’t wait for my reply. The instructors file out of the den and slide the bramble net in front of the entrance. I am left in the silence, the darkness, to think.

And I pray to StarClan – if they exist – that Brownpaw and the others will solve the mystery. My life, and most likely theirs, depended on it.

~

Cherrypaw located Silverpaw. The silver apprentice was her friend, and like her, hated Flarepaw. Cherrypaw hoped it wasn’t Silverpaw, as she didn’t want to lose her friend. Still, the red-furred she-cat hopped towards Silverpaw and mewed. “Hey, Silverpaw, do you have time to take a walk with me?”

Silverpaw glanced up at her in surprise. “Of course,” she smiled, “Where do you want to go?”

Cherrypaw shrugged as they began walking towards the entrance of the camp. “Anywhere you prefer?” she asked instead.

“How about the Half-Rock?”

“Sure.”

Just three days, Cherrypaw reminded herself, ''We only have three days to do this or else Amberpaw dies. ''The thought about the orange she-cat dying made Cherrypaw cringe.

Silverpaw skipped ahead and Cherrypaw was content to lag behind. It gave her more time to think. Finally, when the pair reached the Half-Rock, Silverpaw settled down next to Cherrypaw, content. “What did you want to talk about?” she asked softly, “Surely we didn’t walk out here for no reason. You wanted to get away from the instructors, didn’t you?”

Cherrypaw wasn’t surprised that Silverpaw had seen through her ruse. The silver she-cat had always been observative, and that was one of the reasons that Cherrypaw chose to talk with her.

“It’s true,” Cherrypaw nodded, confirming the other apprentice’s guess. “I wanted to talk to you about the recent poisoning.” She watched the smaller apprentice closely, hoping to see a reaction. Silverpaw’s eyes widened ever so slightly, and she met Cherrypaw’s gaze evenly. There wasn’t fear or panic in her eyes, only slightly confusion.

“Do you suspect me?” Silverpaw finally asked, “Is that why we’re here?”

Cherrypaw sighed, “I don’t know what to think, Silverpaw. Amberpaw’s life is at risk and honestly, I don’t know who did it. And after three days, if we can’t find the true culprit, Amberpawwill be killed. So honestly, I’m also looking for someone who would sacrifice themselves for Amberpaw.”

Silverpaw looked slightly surprised. “I didn’t do it, if that’s what you wanted to know, but I don’t think I’d throw myself to the dogs to save someone you care about.”

“What if it was Gingerpaw’s life at risk?” Cherrypaw knew all of Gingerpaw’s cats had a special devotion towards her – in cluding Cherrypaw, but she didn’t know how far it stretched.

“Gingerpaw is a different matter,” Silverpaw mewed simply. “I don’t know Amberpaw though.”

Cherrypaw nodded slowly and stood. “Thanks for telling me, I have to go and continue searching though.” She began to walk away but a shout from Silverpaw stopped her.

“Try not to just graze the surface of this case, Cherrypaw,” Silverpaw’s eyes were solemn, “I fear this is much worse than that.”

~

“Please? I just want to speak to one of them. Preferably Brownpaw,” I plead to the instructors as they go through their daily questions. I want to take a step forward, but a sharp pain in my side stops me.

It is the second day of the prolonged wait and the instructors had gotten fed up with my responses. They’re starting to get physical, and it really stings.

“After you answer this question,” Gorseheart orders, “Do you have any suspects in mind?”

What a strange question to ask me, don’t they already think I poisoned Flarepaw? Before I can stop myself, my mouth got the better of me. “Why would you ask me that? I thought you were all so sure that I was the one that nearly killed you precious Flarepaw.”

Thornstrike narrows his eyes at my sarcasm and opens his mouth (no doubt so he could reprimand me for being rude). But at the last moment, Gorseheart waves Thornstrike back and mews. “We do believe that, Amberpaw, but we want to make sure we don’t have the wrong cat.”

“Oh you have the wrong cat all right,” I grunt. After a few glares I add, “But I don’t actually know anyone who would actually try to poison Redstar’s daughter.” Though I’d give them a pat on the back for it. “And before you accuse another wrong cat, it’s not any of my friends either.”

“We wouldn’t suspect anyone without reason,” Flowerbeam attempts to reassure me, “We’ll be more careful than that.”

I can’t withhold my snort and I try to conceal it in a cough. “Can I please talk to one of my friends though? Maybe as a last request before you go off to find some other poor cat to replace me?”

Blossomflecks gives me an annoyed look and flicks her tail at Willowbreeze. “Go getch one of them, any of them.” Willowbreeze dips her head and races out of the den. I remember her saying that she is Redstar’s messenger.

I wonder if Redstar will hear about this.

Now I just have to wait and hope someone comes.

~

Brownpaw was surprised, along with the rest of them, when Willowbreeze came up to them and said, “Amberpaw has placed a request for one of you to talk to her.”

Snowpaw immediately jumped up but Brownpaw stopped her. “Let me go,” he told her, “I know Amberpaw better than you do.” And I can probably catch a hidden message better than you can. He told her silently.

The white she-cat stared at him for a moment longer, and then she relented and sat back down. Brownpaw turned to the instructor. “I’m ready.”

Willowbreeze broke out into a sprint and Brownpaw pumped his legs to keep up with her. He wasn’t in favor of talking to Amberpaw in a den full of instructors, but at least he was getting to talk to her.

“Step inside,” Willowbreeze ordered, “And make it quick.”

It turned out that the instructors were giving them time and privacy. He nodded to her and walked in. Amberpaw was a mess. Scars lined her pelt and dried blood crusted her wounds. They would get infected if they weren’t treated soon, but Brownpaw supposed that after tomorrow and if no culprit was found, Amberpaw would die anyways.

“What happened?” Brownpaw asked, still in shock.

Amberpaw shook her head. “Doesn’t matter; Brownpaw, something’s off with this case.”

“You can say that again.”

The orange she-cat continued, unamused. “Flarepaw’s too confident that she can get me killed. You need to think outside the box. Why was the dose so small that Flarepaw was able to recover the next morning and be able to inform the instructors exactly who it was?”

Brownpaw frowned. “You’re right. If someone wanted to kill Flarepaw, they would have used a bigger dose to make sure Flarepaw doesn’t recover. So we need to find…someone close to Flarepaw.”

“She’s conspiring against us, Brownpaw,” Amberpaw whispered, “We need to make sure we plan each move right before she makes it worse.”

Brownpaw nodded and was called outside. “Time’s up,” Thornstrike told him, “Run along now.”

And he did, because he needed to save Amberpaw and to make sure Flarepaw didn’t get away with whatever she was planning.

~

“Okay, let’s get our list of suspects,” Applepaw mewed, “Cats who support the system would support Flarepaw. Cats who are poor would be tempted to support Flarepaw in exchange for power. Are these all?”

Lionpaw nodded, “Cherrypaw did a good job in trying to find the suspect but we’re looking in the wrong direction. Flarepaw must have hired this cat to do her bidding.”

“Then it can’t be someone with lots of wealth,” Gingerpaw mused, sharing a glance with Cherrypaw. “So someone was desperate enough to let Flarepaw influence her.”

“That’d be me.”

Everyone turned in unison to be staring at a miserable Violetpaw. She looked dejected and it was obvious she was giving herself up. “Flarepaw promised me lots of prey and protection for me and my family.”

Finchpaw frowned. “Why are you telling us this now?”

Violetpaw sighed, “Because I know you would have found me eventually. I wanted to do something good in my life, so I decided to turn myself in.”

Applepaw laid a paw on the trembling she-cat’s shoulder. “Thank you for doing this, it means a lot. May StarClan light your path for whatever there is to come.”

Violetpaw nodded bravely and without hesitation, she headed towards the instructors.

Applepaw watched her, thinking how courageous the she-cat would have to be to fess up.

~

I wasn’t surprised when the instructors released me with a few apologies. I went and found my friends and together we rejoiced and mourned.

We rejoice because I’m not dead and Flarepaw’s plan was thwarted. We mourn because a potential ally is about to be executed.

They didn’t believe Violetpaw when she said that Flarepaw had bribed her (of course, Flarepaw had denied it and the instructors believed her.)

“Violetpaw has committed a terrible crime. She tried to murder Flarepaw by using deathberries. Luckily, she failed and now she will be executed for her crimes.” Blackstripe flicks his tail and Blossomflecks slices her paw downwards. A sickening thud sounds…then nothing.

I exchange glances with my friends.

We had to take down this system.

The End.