mafia ✧ warriors minigame

✧ day two

The days after Berrykit's murder passed by quietly like a hunter stalking its prey. Hawthornstar was wary, checking all of his Clanmates and kits always were where they should be. The urge to protect all these cats that relied on him overwhelmed him from sunrise to sunset. From losing his kit he felt not only like a failure as a leader, but a father.

He was about to go and search for a few warriors when Primrosepaw approached him. "Hawthornstar, you have to come quickly!" he urged. "It's Ferretleap. He's dead!"

All the air felt as if it had been knocked from Hawthornstar's lungs. Every effort he had taken to protect his Clanmates seemed wasted. Another was dead. He padded into the warriors' den where Ferretleap lay, curled in a ball. The tom's back was turned to Hawthornstar. He shot Primrosepaw a look.

"Look at him," was all the medicine apprentice would say as he kneaded his soft cream paws against the ground. Hawthornstar padded slowly around the body. He felt bile rise in his throat as he saw Ferretleap's face. Where his eyes should have been, there were now two bloody pits. Gingerly, Hawthornstar reached out a paw to lift the dead tom's chin up. Immediately he wished he hadn't as his paw went into the space where Ferretleap's throat used to be.

"StarClan above," Hawthornstar found himself swearing, simultaneously fascinated and disgusted by the discovery. Ferretleap was still warm. Which meant...

He turned to Primrosepaw. "Wait, how did you know Ferretleap had been killed? It's clear to me it is a recent occurence. You better have a good excuse to explain yourself." Amber eyes met the apprentice's.

"Simple. Ferretleap hadn't been well for a while. I was asked by Elmsting to attend to him and see what he needed. When I left to get the supplies for him, I spent a while rooting in the store, Elmsting cab tell you that, and when I came back he was dead," Primrosepaw replied, sounding remarkably calm for a cat who found a murder victim, though his eyes were round and glistening with unease.

Hawthornstar sniffed. "All right. So who else could have got into the den, murdered Ferretleap without a struggle and padded out again without any cat noticing?" he wondered aloud. "Do you know if any cat came into the den at some point this morning?" The question fell on Primrosepaw.

"I can't rightly say, Hawthornstar. Ferretleap needed borage, watermint, lavender and honey, and honey's not too easy to come by, though Cloudthroat did find me some recently. I knew this and was poking around the store for a while before I found it. Any cat could have gone in," the creamy tom replied, his eyes narrowing in concentration as he tried to remember.

"Okay," Hawthornstar sighed. "Thank you, Primrosepaw. Any information is valuable." Taking this as dismissal Primrosepaw turned and pattered away. Hawthornstar was left alone with poor Ferretleap's body. He sniffed all around the body for scents, but the overwhelming stench of blood clogged up his nostrils and made it completely impossible to catch any others. A sigh blew out from his mouth. Another young cat, lost too soon.

Hawthornstar padded out of the den, scanning the camp for a sign of any cat who might be able to tell him something or help figure out who did this. He could see Asterflight talking to Orchidspot. Straining his ears to hear the conversation, he waited for a moment.                                      "Can I take out a border patrol?" the black she-cat was mewing to the deputy. Her large blue eyes were round and earnest. Asterflight opened his mouth to reply when he saw Hawthornstar. "Hey, Hawthornstar! What can I do for you today?" he asked, beaming broadly. In spite of the serious situation, the smile was infectious and so Hawthornstar reflected it back at him.

He had to remind himself to wipe it off as he told his deputy of the event. "I really hate to be the bearer of bad news, but another one of our cats is dead." The lightness in the air was immediately gulped down by the sobriety of his tone. Orchidspot gasped.