Murder in the Woods: A Warrior Cat Mafia

Round 1, Scene 3

Sorrelpaw cheered as she counted the tails tackling Antpaw. "You get to stay! You're voted innocent!" she told him. The small ginger tom tried to push her off, whining.
"Sorrelpaw, you're crushing me!" he told her. His sister got off, rolling her eyes.
"Okay, everyone. The murderer obviously isn't going to stop. We need to set up a guard for every night. I volunteer for tonight's watch," Flamepool announced. Patchpelt rolled his eyes, snorting.
"Yeah, like that's going to help. Whatever you want to do, though. Doesn't affect me," the tom told him. Flamepool glared at him, but said nothing. His fatherly disapproval made Antpaw shudder.
"Well, I'm going to see who the murderer is, once and for all!" he mewed. As the cats went into their dens for the night, Flamepool settled down to watch.

The murderer shook their head, chuckling. This was so easy. A watch guard! Pathetic. As if a watch guard would stop a murderer who was already in the camp. They padded up to their target, who was sleeping peacefully. For now, anyway. Once Duskfern was choking on her own blood, she wouldn't be sleeping at all. The murderer unsheathed their claws, leaning over the she-cat. Only a few more to go, until their task was complete. The murderer quickly slashed their claws across Duskfern's throat, severing her vocal cords as well as her jugular. As Duskfern silently bled out, they sat down to watch.

Patchpelt slowly woke up, feeling wet and sticky. He turned up his nose at the metallic smell, looking down at his fur to see what the problem was. He shot up off the ground, yowling. "Blood! Help, I'm covered in blood! The murderer got me, the murderer got me!" he cried. Brambleshade, Finchwing, and Dovecloud immediately woke up, eyes widening in horror at the sight.
"The murderer didn't get you, the murderer got Duskfern," Dovecloud murmured. Brambleshade shook his head sorrowfully, looking down at Duskfern's body.
"Another death. When will the murderer have had enough?" he asked, looking up at the ceiling.
"I don't think they will. We have to catch them," Finchwing told him. She looked around at the rest, tail twitching with frustration. "But who is it?"
"I bet it's Flamepool! He was on watch last night!" Patchpelt cried out. The black and white tom dashed out of the den, and the other cats raced after him. Patchpelt tackled Flamepool to the ground, snarling.
"What's going on? What are you doing?!" Flamepool hissed, trying to push Patchpelt off. The tom held on, not moving.
"Duskfern is dead! You killed her! You were on guard!" he spat. Flamepool's eyes widened, and he let out a wail.
"First my kits, and now my mate? What next?" he yowled, pushing Patchpelt off. The ginger tom looked around at the others, pleadingly. "You know I'm innocent, right? It could have been any one of us! Why would I kill my family?"
"Flamepool wouldn't do this!" Antpaw exclaimed, horrified. Sorrelpaw nodded, outraged.
"Yeah! Why would he kill his family?!" she agreed. Finchwing looked doubtful, as the apprentices defended their father.
"He was on watch . . ." she mewed, glancing between Flamepool and Patchpelt.
"If another cat was the murderer, wouldn't he have seen them?" Brambleshade asked. Dovecloud looked between them, shocked.
"You think Flamepool killed his family? I don't believe it!" she meowed. Patchpelt glared at her, tail lashing.
"Well, we're voting anyway!" he announced. "All in favor?"

Murdered: Duskfern
Healed: Patchpelt
Accused: Flamepool
Returned: No one
Revived: No one