I knew I had to hide my scent from her fur. I found a patch of wild garlic nearby and rolled her body in it. My eyes darted around to make sure that no one was watching and I stopped every now and then to scent the air. No one was there but me.

Once Icecloud's body stank of garlic and not a trace of my scent could be detected, I began to scoop out pawfuls of soil to bury the body. She would never be found, and no cat would ever know what had happened to her.

I stopped, suddenly struck by a brilliant idea. I hid the lifeless form of Icecloud underneath a bush and dashed off. I skidded to a halt by the thorn bush I had pushed Dovewing into. I coughed as clouds of dust that I had kicked up in my abrupt halt hit my face.

I snagged a tuft of gray fur off of the thorns with a claw and momentarily breathed in the warm, familiar scent. To think that I once spent my days daydreaming about you, lost in reveries of what could be.

I pulled one more piece of fur off of the thorn bush. I then scampered back to where I had hidden Icecloud's body and dragged it out from under the bush. Slowly, carefully, deliberately, I placed the fur between her claws.

Guilt swelled in my throat but I pushed it down. I crouched beside the white-furred she-cat's body and smoothed her fur.

I felt my blood turn to ice. Her frosty blue eyes were still open and they seemed to be looking back at me, unblinking. A chill ran up my spine from the emptiness I saw in her gaze.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I didn't mean to."

Her eyes didn't move or blink like I half-expected them to; they just stared back into my own.

I closed her eyelids so that it looked as if she were only sleeping. "Perhaps it was for the best. I get the feeling that you won't be the last cat I kill. Only the first of many."

"Bumblestripe!" Dovewing was yelling my name somewhere in the distance. "Icecloud! Where are you two? It's nearly sundown, we need to head back to camp."

I checked one final time to be certain that no cat would find my scent on her fur. I hastily washed my own pelt to remove the pungent odor of garlic from my fur. I gave the body a final look.

"My revenge starts now."

Dovewing's voice was closer now. "Icecloud! Bumblestripe! Where are you?"

As I stood and raced in the direction of her voice, I kept seeing Icecloud's lifeless body over and over again in my head.

Dovewing narrowed her eyes. "Where's your prey?"

I shifted uneasily on my paws. "I didn't catch anything. C'mon, let's just go back to camp."

Dovewing rolled her eyes. "You must've been REALLY unlucky."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Really unlucky."

"What's that supposed to mean? I heard the note of sarcasm in your voice," she meowed.

I feigned innocence. "No, I meant it. I'm the unluckiest cat in the world! After all, I'm in the same Clan as you!"

I heard a loud sigh.

"Whatever, Bumblestripe. Let's just go back to camp."

A/N: Please comment your thoughts, I hope you enjoyed as I always do! :) At this point, Bumblestripe is officially crazy.