Karma's maw, which was finally free, let out a bellow of pain.

"Mother! Mother, help me-!" She called, bucking and shaking her body, before charging at the nearest tree. She turned at the last second, slamming her back into the tree, knocking the wind out of herself.

A faint crackling could be heard in the distance, coming closer and closer. A look of fear crossed Whisper's face, and he charged towards his sister and Frost.

"Frost! That's enough!"

Just as Frost jumped from Karma's back, Truth emerged from the brambles, her chest heaving. How she had heard Karma from so far away, no one knew. Karma whimpered and ran back in the direction of home, tail between her legs. She wouldn't be messing with them anytime soon.

Whisp glanced at his mother, who was staring sternly at both him and Frost. However, she did nothing but turn back and follow her daughter home. Whisp's tail flicked back and forth, and he let out a sigh of relief.

He probably wouldn't be able to go home tonight, but that was a sacrifice he was willing to make.

Suddenly, the thing that Frost had said finally registered.

He turned slowly to the cat, who was licking Karma's blood off his claws. "Frost?"

"What did you mean by... Mia and those three annoying furballs getting the claws?"

He asked, but he thought he knew the answer already. He took a step away but kept his face calm.

Whisper blinked, a bit concerned. Was he... talking to a murderer?

He remained silent, however, looking to the side. Adina fluttered down quietly, landing on his shoulder.

"I believe your mother would like to talk to you again," she whispered, her beak clicking slightly as she talked.

Whisp nodded, before glancing back at Frost. "Hey, I've gotta go... do something."

"Wow, very convincing," Adina retorted quietly, puffing up her feathers as Whisp glared at her.

"Maybe we should tell Mother about him," Whisp said in a quiet voice, his head low as he walked. Adina cooed thoughtfully. "Perhaps. But we might have misunderstood him. We can't jump to conclusions," she said, clicking her beak. Whisp sighed heavily, lost in thought.

"What if..." he began, tilting his head to the side slightly.

"What if we tricked him into talking about it to Truth?"

Adina cooed, clicking her beak in thought. "It might work. Her magic is fairly strong. But I doubt the feline would fall for that; cats are naturally shifty creatures."

Whisp let out another sigh. "Of course we get stuck with the murderer."

Frost followed them pace-by-pace, not daring to miss anything. He needed to know everything just incase they tried something, but then again, it wouldn't probably help in the first place. The Maine coon had to flatten his fur to avoid snagging any branches and blowing his cover.

The scent of wolves was starting to get stronger. Frost flattened his ears and got lower to the ground to pass under a bush of stickers.