Mossy Lookout [Enforcers Only]

[Aolani]

Yellowtwist immediately began to follow Hawkbite. The whole way to wherever the hell he was going, he wouldn't slow down. If he had less self-control than he did, he would be searching for anywhere that could possibly be where they were headed, or looking for. He thought that Hawkbite could be looking for clues about the murderer and just forgot t0 say what they were doing, but after .5 seconds he remembered that Hawkbite was not an idiot and wouldn't have forgotten. Quite surprising for a Shadowclan cat.


He looked around the territory in case he needed to know what it looked like. At this point, He had calmed down at this point, although it wasn't apparent since he had done a good job at concealing his excitement. After several pawsteps, the yellow tom along with his fellow enforcers arrived at an unfamiliar spot. After the cats had travelled across a log, he saw a clearing. It was a slanted location with a rock reaching out of it, which had a blanket of moss covering it. a rocky stream trickled across the hillside. He would've never found out this was even a place if he hadn't been shown, which was good apparently considering it was supposed to be secret, according to the commander.

Yellowtwist nodded. Why would he tell anyone about this place anyway, besides the fact it was the enforcers meeting location? If he had just randomly teleported there, he would be more surprised that he just teleported than the area he had teleported to. It was green and had rocks, tada, you just described nature. Besides, that would be like telling everyone what very common thing you saw on patrol. Anyone who did that could die in a hole, that would be incredibly obnoxious.

Ah, the cannibal. He'd expected this to come up since thirty minutes agohe became an enforcer.
ew.
cannibals.
Ew.
He'd never met one or had anything related to cannabalism ever effect him, but he still hated them because why? It's disgusting, ethically wrong(coming from him that means something), and pointless. He got killing cats, he'd rather be ripping Flameflicker apart at the moment, Or the riverclan cat. The wound was still healing from that and he had no idea what happened at the battle... not important right now. Back on track, but wouldn't one want to keep their pelt as a trophy instead of eating it? Oh yes, he should probably contribute. "Yay, twolegs." He mumbled. "Who was the other one who was with Goopywhisker when they brought back the body? I can't remember their name. I'm not saying they did it, they'd probably have evidence on them, but they could have something to do with it. The reason I don't say Goopywhisker is because their would be... slime? There would be slime on someone or something that would hypothetically be related to the issue."
[ @Estelle @SuspiciousMindz @Aroogi @alec @squidz @Rose @Alchemist Kitsune @Mica @Undertaker @gs29513 - the length of this ping list has caused me pain /silly ]

[Aroogi]

Tuftedtusk
He/Him / Enforcer / 28 moons / ShC

---

The large marbled tom followed his fellow enforcers through the territory, keeping his ears perked to make sure the area was safe. His tail swished. He hadn't been in this part of the territory yet and it would be foolish to say he didn't have a kitlike curiosity about where they were going. When they arrived, Tufted leaped across the log and sat himself in the small clearing.

When Hawkbite had congratulated them and explained no one but them and highranks can be here, pride filled his chest and he dipped his head solemnly. Not a soul would know.

He began to flick his tail in thought when the commander asked if anyone had any leads on the cannibal. His stomach twisted when he thought of eating another cat. How could anyone do such a thing?

"I believe Yellowtwist has a point." He rumbled, the yellow tom's words making sense. "Maybe cats who have been most involved in bringing bodies to camp or something similar are somehow related to the issue. Not blaming anyone yet because I don't have enough evidence."

[ @Aolani @Estelle @alec @squidz @Rose @Mica @/Undertaker @Alchemist Kitsune @gs29513 @SuspiciousMindz ; good lord pinglist long /silly ]

[Rose]

Lostspark
She/Her | Purrks Overlook

The chaos in her mind reigned supreme. One moment silence tolled, a sullen bell in her mind. Relentless, unforgiving, leaving her feeling too bereft and far too empty. The next, a never-ending march, an overwhelming tide that threatened to push her under. When, does a ripple become a tidal wave? When does the reason become the blame?

Regardless, Lostspark had learned long ago how to keep her head above the water.

Rolling her shoulders, the scarred pale feline nodded to Hawkbite as he called her out to Mossy Lookout. She spared her mother a brief glance, but upon learning that she too would be joining them, Lostspark slunk off on her own without another word, melding with the shadows. She wasn't looking to attract predators, currently, so using the shadows to her advantage would have to do. She took the route that was most familiar with her, as was the quickest in her opinion, and then re-emerged as she stepped forward to briskly cross the log as her turn came.

Lostspark paused briefly, cloudy amber gaze flitting to her daughter. Silverlark and Dawnstar she didn't worry about, because they'd been here countless times no doubt. She stood on the other side, standing until both her daughter and her former apprentice (if Rookfire had shown) had made it, appraising them for a moment before settling in a corner, plumed tail coiled around her paws.

Her form froze at the mention of ShadowClan's cannibal, body going eerily still as the unbridled rage in the darkest corners of her heart and mind opened a single eye, stretching languidly with a yawn. It rose to the surface, claws clicking, clicking, clicking. Tapping away at the ground beneath her, frustration and anger a reckless combination. She hated them. This cat, who had dared think it was okay to get away with taking bites of her son.

"Mumblemoth." Lostspark rumbled softly, glancing towards Yellowtwist, her claws stilling but her tail tip flicking idly now. "Mumblemoth was the cat with Goopywhisker, but they have not been seen in moons."

She tilted her head. "So either our cannibal is here and they are laying low to stave off suspicion, or they are gone - have realized what's smart and left ShadowClan, fled. Or our cannibal is incapacitated. For whatever reason, they are unable to kill currently." Supposedly blind eyes turned towards her leader, deputy, and then to her commander. "If it's the first option, I doubt there's much we can do until they do it again. The second; good riddance. The third; When was the last cannibal attack? Who was injured in-" Her gaze flitted to Rookfire briefly, brow furrowing, and then Lostspark rephrased her question. "Has anyone been injured or put out of commission since the last attack?"

[ I skimmed. If I missed stuff lmk please :sweats: ]

[alec]

->> rookfire <<-
[ she/her | shadowclan enforcer | 16moons | purrks ]
a large scarred dark grey cat with minimal white markings and grey eyes

well it looked like rookfire had been right to go to take a seat in front, rather than within the medicine den as hawkbite approached her before even making it more than a few pawsteps towards the desired location. the commander wasnt a cat she was familiar with, having never done any more than recognise him as they went their separate ways, but she had picked up on his genre of communication and behaviour well enough to not think anything of the simplicity of his statement, the congrats wasnt heartfelt because he didnt care who they were. he cared to have proper cats doing good jobs and keeping their paws clean, no more. it was mutual. there was no emotions towards most of the cats gathering to make their way to stars know where, maybe towards sleepysunrise and most definitely towards lostspark, but the others were as much of a blank slate as every new sunrise was to the sky.
figurative feathered were left ruffled a bit when rookfire realised mistlewhisker and dawnstar would be coming as well, leaving camp with no one but grousepaw and mossfreckle to keep order and peace, but she was yet to observe any poorly made choices in shadowclan and deliberately chose to focus on their surroundings, the pain in her shoulder and where there should be an ear, and the way they were taking. further and further into the territory, far enough that rookfire could smell the outskirts and openly observe the outskirts before they reached their destination. secluded and secure and seemingly free of any shadowclanners and outsiders, rookfires stomach turned when she watched the commanded walk across a log and leap to land in a grassy patch on the other side. the thought of putting her entire weight onto her front paws alone, be it both together or just the unharmed one left her internally panicking and outwardly shaking the slightest bit.
in the end, she managed without much obvious trouble, finding an open spot amongst the other enforcers, facing hawkbite who had climbed another log to speak to them, what was it with higher ranked cats and trees by the way?
the newcomer gave the tom a sharp now, "affirmative", there was no one she had any reason to tell about this place, and there would not be a single word leaving her maw either. the place wasnt anything she would want to tell anyone about anyway, possibly a good spot to gather certain herbs but not really special in any other way, even if rookfire could appreciate the view.
rookfire nodded at the points brought up, and then at lostspark recalling mumblemoths presence. "i also remember bitternpaw and nightshade being there, some other apprentice, dark fur i think, as well" a brief pause, rook sorted words in her mind, trying to place pride into either of the mentioned cats actions, tearing into their clan mate like a worthless piece of prey. humiliating one of their own blood beyond death. "we could keep an eye on the cats that showed interest. the cannibal left a body uncovered to be found, i think they wanted us to see it." the need to voice every suggestion as a question, to not put a lot of weight or force into it was chirping in rooks head like the birds amongst them did but somecat had once pointed out her carefully constructed question-suggestions and she had decided now was the time to change that..back to topic.. they had to act, but rookfire couldnt bring herself to offer asking around, causing more commotion might get them another warrior killed. not bring attention back to the murders.. they had to lie low.

[Undertaker]

@alec - Rookfire | @Aroogi - Tuftedtusk | @Aolani - Yellowtwist | @Rose - Lostspark | @SuspiciousMindz - Hawkbite [Just mentioning the kitties already here.]
Not long after the meeting ended, Hawkbite summoned the Enforcers, the leader, Mistlewhisker to follow him. The muscular she-cat cast a slow glance around the camp before she bothered setting a paw outside of it. She felt that prick of uneasiness in her chest at the thought of leaving the camp unsupervised. Well, aside from a medicine cat and his newly made apprentice who Dawnstar still didn't trust. Grousepaw rubbed her fur wrong, it was nothing personal, but she didn't trust him. Her distrust of the cat was worse than when Mossfreckle first started training under Lostspark.

But as he had briefly trained under Mistlwhisker, and Mossfreckle had yet to do anything that warranted her ire, she'd continue allowing him to train the cat. It was unlikely that Dawnstar would ever allow him to take over Mossfreckle place should anything happen to the current medicine cat. If she couldn't trust her medicine cat to turn on her or the clan, what was the point of keeping them?

Shaking the concern from her mind, the hulking she-cat padded near the back of the Enforcers, a few tail lengths behind. She leaped onto the log behind Rookfire and walked steadily behind the new Enforcer. She faintly wondered if Rookfire had the approval to come along or if she was supposed to be resting in Mossfreckle's den. Not that it mattered, Rookfire would be the one chewed out by the medicine cat if it was the latter.

Despite her tremendous size, Dawnstar landed soundless in the patch of green and moved to settle below the perch Hawkbite was sitting on. As much as she enjoyed being front and center, this was Hawkbite's team, and she was interested in seeing how he ran it. That, and the log didn't look all that comfortable. Dawnstar laid down, stretching out her hind legs behind her, resting on her side with her belly exposed, the colossal she-cat crossed her front paws over one another and lazily glanced at the cats around with just a hint of predatorial interest.

Dawnstar was here more to oversee than delegate or order and perhaps offer approval or a thought here and there. As the question of the cannibal arose, she flexed her claws and sliced through the grass beneath her giant paws. Her anger was a quiet hum within her chest. That cannibal had caused far too much trouble for her liking and dared to desecrate her kin's corpse. She'd have to skin them alive once they were found.

As names were tossed around, Dawnstar noted the names Rookfire tossed out. Nightshade and Bitterpaw. "There have been no attacks since we moved camps and the patrol restriction has been in place, as far as I'm aware. I don't think they've left camp, I believe they are biding their time until things settle or suspicions wane before starting up again. There is no need to resort to eating cats. It's warm and prey is plentiful, I'm assuming it's a craving or something like that they can control considering the extensive time it's been since the Whitetwist's death. My best bet is that it's a sick game as they're not eating the entire cat, purposely leaving behind parts for attention. Whether it's shock, disgust, or frustration, the deaths are getting a reaction and that's most likely amusing them. Why run when nothing is leading back to them and there's more entertainment to be sought out if they wait long enough" Dawnstar yawned, exposing her large fangs. She could be totally wrong, she was making an educated guess. Dawnstar would honestly love to be wrong here.

"Three of the dead were full-grown warriors, whether highly skilled in stealth or battle, it's hard for me to picture an apprentice taking out fully trained warriors without some injuries to show for it. Bitterpaw's been bugging me for battle training as well, so unless he's hiding his skills, and developed the ability to sneak out of camp repeatedly, I doubt it was him."

"Is there anyone, aside from Nightshade, interested in Whitetwist's death? Preferably onlookers."She asked, not interested in trying to pull up the memory when there were cats around to do it for her. "Any cats frequenting the medicine den or showing up with unexplainable scratches or wounds?"

[Estelle]

Despite the fog in her mind, it felt as though her paws remained buzzing with disbelief. Being ranked an enforcer the very meeting she became a warrior – becoming a warrior this meeting at all, especially after her mishap, it felt… The warm feeling in her chest was strange, weighed down by something heavier she couldn’t quite explain either. But this is what she had always wanted; to follow in her rolemodel’s pawsteps, to rise to the occasion and be a semblance of perfection in her family’s eyes – and her own.

The nine moon old’s eyes blinked slowly at Hawkbite’s curt congratulations, eyes briefly trailing towards her mama and grandmama before following his step; Sleepysunrise was not often quick to accept a stranger’s command without caution, but Hawkbite, besides being the enforcer commander, she assumed had Miss Grandmama’s trust and aided in her training adequately. Dark paws and a pale one trailed along, noting how one by one every enforcer came to gather around.

The trail Hawkbite led them along started out as about as familiar as new territory could get, until it deviated from the usual grounds they walked. Whiskers twitched with mild interest as they were guided towards a secluded, green patch of land her blue eyes had never before laid upon, and she wondered why – until Hawkbite swiftly gave the explanation. In hindsight, it made sense; the elites required a place to discuss away from prying eyes. True to the murderer among their ranks, not every ear need bear witness to the enforcer’s discussions; making it all the more… Ah, she hadn’t the word. But she felt a certain interest in now being part of these discussions. Or so, she hoped.

Her head bobbed in a light nod of understanding, face frozen despite the many emotions and thought swirling about in her mind. She remained poised in her position, chasing away the last of the fog within her mind from her sudden passing out during the meeting. Attention was directed towards the matter of business, the cannibal and the killer. Briefly her mind flashed back to the news of Smokekit’s eaten body, eyes subconsciously seeking out her mama’s.

Yellowtwist spoke first following the commander, and her eyes drifted towards him. The warrior and newly named enforcer raised suspicion about whoever was with Goopywhisker that day (whom her mama informed had not been seen for some time), reasoning that – for some reason – there would be evidence of slime had the aforementioned warrior done it. Now, Sleepysunrise was hardly familiar with the cat, and thus was unsure what this could exactly allude to (or frankly what Goopywhisker’s face was), but no one seemed to contest that idea yet, she remained quiet. Sleepysunrise had spent much of her apprenticeship avoiding the apprentice’s den and interactions with her fellow clan mates were rather limited; she had a difficult time believing this cat was a goopy and their name suggested.

Tuftedtusk’s input for short, but something to ponder, bringing the young enforcer to think back if there were ever any repeat body-finders; though, if she tried to hide a murder, she would consider it smart to avoid always bringing back the victim or victims. Perhaps it was something to look into, but a shaky theory at best. Mama’s words raised a fair question, but regardless of whether the cannibal had gone or was unable to attack at this time, Sleepysunrise felt they had assume the cannibal was still in their clan until time proved otherwise. Mama had taught her to always be on guard, and she was, and saw reason to apply it to this situation.

As for the last attack, she had no direct idea. She had a rough name in mind for the victim, but the young enforcer had been spending her moons focused on her training especially, seeking every bit of knowledge she could find among the revelations of the past three moons. Moving on, Rookfire took their turn to speak, raising an interesting point; the cannibal wanted the body to be found. Was that why Smokekit’s body had been left behind as well, uncovered and clear within the den of the medics? Miss Grandmama added to the conversation.

Miss Grandmama raised the point of the recent injuries; even if Bitternpaw was cast aside due to being an apprentice (not much older or younger than herself, in fact, if memory served well), then they at least had to keep an eye out for Nightshade she believed; as for the wounds… She had no answer to that, Mossfreckle or Grousepaw may know so better. She was silent for a few moments, a silent indication of her lack of answer for her grandmama before speaking her own few words.
“...Nightshade could be watched.”
She thought.
“Camp could be watched… Better. Smokekit was… eaten inside the medicine cat’s den, inside camp.”
Her eyes briefly rested on her mama, checking the facts. Mama never mentioned a blood trail, and he had died inside the den from the herb. Even if no recent victims were inside camp the murderer pulled it off once, they couldn’t let it happen again.
“And... Our perpetrator might not be getting healed. If the wounds are.. minimal enough. Or go unnoticed enough. If they can’t explain them.”
In other words, she supposed that those with untreated injuries could be questioned. Specifically, those whom they were suspicious of or seemed to have cat-inflicted wounds. That is, if there were indications of cats who were getting healed without a proper explanation for their wounds - it was a theory in case Miss Grandmama's question was not met with affirmative answers.
“Lengthy trips out, too. Better monitoring could help, maybe.”
Speaking of,
“The travel restrictions can be reining the perpetrator in, too.”
Wondering that if the restrictions were lifted, would the murders and cannibalism start again?


[ @SuspiciousMindz @Aolani @Aroogi @Rose @alec @Undertaker ]

[Mica]

Mistlewhisker
ShadowClan Deputy
she/her | 42 moons
[Large black cat with a half white muzzle and a pale green eye]
Purrks: Beefed Up T3, Shadow Fiend
· · ────────────── · ·
[Hawkbite - @SuspiciousMindz ] [Yellowtwist - @Aolani ] [Tuftedtusk - @Aroogi ] [Lostspark - @Rose ] [Rookfire - @alec ] [Dawnstar - @Undertaker ] [Sleepysunrise - @Estelle]
· · ────────────── · ·
While she would have liked to stay and talk with Squirrelrise, Hawkbite beckoned her and she left without fuss. While Dawnstar might have disbanded the guards, they were still cats who were useful enough to warrant the title. Leaving camp without a battle-trained higher rank was a small concern, but she knew at least some of her clanmates weren't total morons.

Mistlewhisker followed everyone along the path, the log, and into the mossy clearing. Cats settled here and there, Hawkbite leaping to the top and Dawnstar settling at the bottom. Mistlewhisker sat with the rest of the Enforcers. This was Hawkbite's domain, and she had no desire to encroach on it.

The cannibal situation was obviously brought up. Her tail tapped in irritation over her paws. Goopywhisker and the cat he was with when he brought Whitetwist's body were mentioned, and she didn't have to think long before Lostspark gave the name of the second cat. Mumblemoth. She knew next to nothing of the cat, only that they had been missing for a while. "Another cat who comes to mind is Fireflyflicker. She seemed intent on controlling the investigation and even left camp with evidence." Annoyance at the memory flooded her. "However, Silverlark just found the demoted Fireflypaw dead in the territory." So that was another lead gone.

At the consideration that the killer was laying low, Mistlewhisker spoke up. "Hillstrider said he found a ThunderClan apprentice at the border mutilated and unconscious. He returned him to a ThunderClan patrol, and told me that the apprentice's blood could be found well within the territory." So whoever had hurt the apprentice had done so over a wide distance. "He did not have bites taken out of him, from what Hillstrider reported." So perhaps they were dealing with two issues. "So we could have two different perpetrators." Did they know of each other? Were they working together?

More cats interested in the murders? She couldn't come up with names in particular, but Nightshade had been recently in the medicine den. But that could mean anything.

"I will track of who skips out on patrols, and those who disappear while on one. We could patrol the entire territory consistently to keep an eye out for bodies." As of right now, Mistlewhisker was focused on cleanup and maintanence of the problem. Once they knew more, had more leads, she could move her attention to preventative measures.

[squidz]

~ BRIARSPLASH ~
very large & fluffy dilute gray tortie she-cat with goldish-green eyes
[ shadowclan enforcer | she-cat | 27 moons | abrasive, standoffish, loyal ]

~

apologies if i forgot anyone asgfsdg

[Hawkbite - @SuspiciousMindz ] [Yellowtwist - @Aolani ] [Tuftedtusk - @Aroogi ] [Lostspark - @Rose ] [Rookfire - @alec ] [Dawnstar - @Undertaker ] [Sleepysunrise - @Estelle] [Mistlewhisker - @Mica ]

Briarsplash followed Hawkbite into the new area, her goldish-green eyes rounded as she gazed around. A secret area of the territory only high ranks knew about? What an honor! Now she was one of them. Pride glowed in her chest, but she nodded her head firmly to the Commander's orders; as much as she'd like to boast of knowing about a top-secret, super-important spot to some other warriors, there was no way she'd risk a position like this. So the fluffy she-cat would certainly hold her tongue. It was thrilling nonetheless to be surrounded by ShadowClan's most important figures, feeling her heart pick up a bit at the sight of her leader, deputy, and Commander all at one — and surrounded by Enforcers, both the current and the freshly-initiated, such as herself.

As the meeting begun, naturally, the most important topic was the cannibal. Briar's nose wrinkled instinctively at the mention of such a horrendous act; look, she was no saint, but there was no way in StarClan's great green forest that she'd ever consider eating a cat. Even when she'd been starved nearly to death, collapsing on the ground after her kitting all those moons ago before stumbling into ShadowClan (memories she'd still never uttered to a single soul), doing something like that had been the last thing on her mind. They had to figure out who this was... and fast.

Unfortunately for her, the large warrior had nothing of value to add — she'd only noticed and seen what her now-fellow Enforcers had noticed, just some whisperings or occasional odd behavior. At Mistlewhisker's suggestion of two perpetrators, the fur along Briarsplash's spine rose, getting creeped out by the idea. Not one, but two possible psychotic cats? On top of all this territory stress going on? Sure, it wasn't a fully sourced guess, but the mere possibility made her stomach twist.

Fun times for ShadowClan... she flexed her claws against the mossy dirt, evermore honored to be chosen to help deal with this, as odd (and stressing) as it was. She'd love nothing more than to get her claws on whomever was doing this, teaching them some justice. At the deputy's suggestion of increased patrolling, Briarsplash nodded, finally deciding to at least add her two cents.

"I agree with that, plus lookin' out for anything new — and I'm more happy to do whatever I can," she offered, her raspy yet surprisingly-soft voice sounding perhaps strange from her large, foreboding stature. "If I catch even a sniff of the rat-brain who's doing this sort of thing... they won't be getting away again," she promised with a low growl behind her words. Even if she had to drag them kicking and screaming to ShadowClan's camp to interrogate them, she would gladly do so.

[alec]

->> rookfire <<-
[ she/her | shadowclan enforcer | 16moons | purrks ]
a large scarred dark grey cat with minimal white markings and grey eyes

rookfire had a brief moment of regret that she hadnt voiced her opinion better as dawnstar turned the mention of bitternpaw from 'hey look they were there and might know stuff' into 'maybe it couldve been an apprentice' but otherwise, the leader was bringing up good points. them not leaving camp sounded sound, mostly because it would be hard to hide continuous disappearance while the strict restrictions were still in place. now she was left to wonder if the cannibal would get antsy, if there would be anything on the outside to give away their craving, as dawnstar had rightfully called it.
shock value, perhaps they were waiting to let everyone think theyre gone, let their guards down and then return with more brutality than before, rookfire could get behind that idea, not because she wanted to eat cats and put their remains on display, but with the feeling of surpassing expectations. rookfire briefly wondered if any of the cats attending this meeting could ever eat another cat, be it one of their own or the enemy, rook wanted to think that she could. if it was between a body and death rookfire saw no shame in taking what had once served another well to nourish the living. murder one of their own for that reason however..
dawnstar was right, bitternpaw was off the table, though still to be kept an eye on, and their focus should be on well trained and possibly aged warriors, seen around camp with either untreated injuries or frequenting the medicine den. which was probably the first thing about the cannibal that rookfire could investigate easily, ask mossfreckle if there had been any cats with unexplained or repeated injury, and work herself down that list until one of them was just off enough to ring alarm bells. if only it was that easy.
mistlewhisker brought up fireflyflicker and rookfire squinted, she herself hadnt even mentioned fireflyflicker amongst the cats that were engaged around whitetwists body because for one, she was dead, and two, rook couldnt imagine a cat like fireflyflicker commiting these acts. even if the dead warrior did make herself very suspicious by trying to take the investigation into her own paws and ran away with evidence. actually, if there were no more murders rook would maybe have to change her mind, silverlark had just found fireflyflicker out of camp alone.. either the real cannibal was really happy about fireflyflicker dying a fool for distraction or they were dead.
the other murder however, hm rookfire couldnt really believe the cannibal would let off eating their victims flesh in order to simply distract so mistlewhisker was probably right, two violent cats hiding amongst them then huh. "i can ask mossfreckle about any cats with unexplained wounds once we're back, he could keep out an eye as well. since the cannibal was able to find a victim within camp once, i offer to guard the medicine den as best i can while i allow my shoulder to heal." rookfire didnt like the thought of the cannibal turning to sink their teeth into mossfreckles flesh, he was capable sure, but the cat that had taken out multiple warriors and managed to eat one victim within camp, within the medicine den..she didnt really want to risk it.

[ big sorry for breaking post order but i dont have my laptop much longer ]

[gs29513]

Shrewstep had been content to listen to the cannibal discussions for a good few moments, especially because he wasn't the most senior of enforcers or the one who had been finding the bodies. He had been present for the chaos that was the cleanup after Whitetwist's death, but they hadn't learned much from that besides Fireflypaw had been a bit of an attention hog before dying, and that the killer was smart enough to leave decoy fur around. Which....really didn't tell them a whole lot, beyond the fact that they were able to kill Whitetwist. Which could have meant basically any warrior, because he didn't think the victim had been particularly skilled.

As the discussion seemed to be petering into 'keep a better eye on things', Shrewstep got up the courage to offer a suggestion he'd been sitting on for....a bit of time. His hesitance in presenting it had mainly stemmed from the fact that it wasn't a particularly........morally upstanding course of action. Taking a life just for the potential to flush out the cannibal. But this was Shadowclan, everyone saw them as the murderous rogues of the forest anyway. They had certainly never been shy about defending their borders from Outsiders trespassing, they could just.....make sure that was done with a little extra vigor once or twice, and the body was left behind.

The suggestion that there were TWO potential nutcases on the prowl was not a particularly welcome one, and Shrewstep had to give himself a soft little shake of his fur to calm himself down. It was his job to deal with this, he wasn't some scared little apprentice anymore. He didn't have kits he needed to worry about protecting. Marigoldpaw was more than capable of looking after herself, and Fiercefire was too. Not that he would care if something happened to Fiercefire. Obviously. He was just the other cat he knew, there was no caring there and wanting him to stick around as some sort of link to his past. Duh. That would be stupid. He really needed to stop letting himself get sidetracked in his own head.

I'm happy to help with extra patrolling or supervising some area of the camp Shrewstep began, because he didn't want to get himself in trouble by not underlining his happiness to help as Rookfire and Briarsplash were doing but I've been thinking there might be a more active way of dealing with the situation. Stars he hoped this didn't get him fileted. The cannibal, at least one of them if there are two, he really hoped there was only one clearly doesn't have a problem scavenging from cats that are already dead. With a bit of a small gulp Shrewstep stopped his train of speech there, because bringing up the whole....Smokekit situation with the kid's mother Right There would probably not have been a great idea. For once, his brain was useful and stopped him from putting his foot in it.

He continued. If an outsider who trespassed just.....happened to get killed and the body was left in the territory or the Outskirts, and this was then mentioned in camp soon after, it's possible the cannibal would think of it as an easy meal. We could put a few cats up in the trees or something around the area, and see what comes to check the body out. There was always the possibility that the only things interested would be potentially dangerous scavengers like badgers or foxes, but given his audience he was fairly certain those wouldn't prove too much of an impediment to the plan. After all, it wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing to knock off a few predators who'd potentially be after them in the near future.
@SuspiciousMindz @Aolani @Aroogi @Rose @alec @Undertaker @Estelle @Mica @squidz