Swiftcurrent Creek a dangerous presence

"Not that I could see," Bazi replied, moving out of the way to let Scimitar see for himself. There were no visible injuries on Haunter's corpse, no sticky pool around the body - nor the sharp, metallic scent of blood. He might have died from infection; the summer heat had accelerated the body's decay and it was impossible to tell if he had carried the stink of death on him before taking his last breath.

"Maybe.. maybe the two aren't related. Fox's injury and Haunter's death. He was always a little strange; maybe he succumbed to some disease of the mind." Like Ferdie, the Beta thought in an acidic internal voice.

Several options were crystallizing out of the confusion. One - Haunter had infected Fox, passed on, and she had disappeared to die in peace. Two - Haunter and Fox had fought, Fox had killed Haunter, and fled the Creek in a fit of panic. Or, finally - the two were utterly unrelated, and Fox had simply... taken her grief at Haunter's passing and run.

"But if Haunter didn't injure Fox.. what happened?" Confusion creased Bazi's brow once more, and she craned her neck to catch a glimpse of the corpse. Even if he was not diseased yet, dead bodies had a tendency to attract all sorts of microscopic horrors.