Murder in the Woods: A Warrior Cat Mafia

Round 3, Part 11

The tribe all glared at each other, full of distrust. The vote had been close, but Chuva was eventually voted out. She snarled, tail lashing.

"Of course! Leave it to you idiots to vote both me and my sister out! I'm going to do join her tribe!" she spat. Rugido's hackles raised at being called an idiot, and a low growl formed in his throat. She whirled around to face him, furious.

"You don't get to argue, Rugido! You think that just because you're the oldest, and you used to be a fighter, that you're the leader! Well guess what? There won't be a tribe left to lead!" she roared. "You have two elders, a cub, two fighters, and a hunter! You have what, maybe one pair of jaguars who would mate with each other?"

Masaya and Preto both turned embarrassed and awkward, and shuffled away from each other. "We're not - that's not - " Masaya protested, unable to find the words.

"We're not mates," Preto mumbled, kicking at the dirt. Chuva rolled her eyes, and flicked her tail dismissively. She turned to Machupo, who hadn't yet said a word.

"Machupo, I hope that you end up joining me in Macaco's tribe. She'll be heartbroken to find that Raio is dead, but she'll get past it, I hope. Just make sure you don't die," she told him. With that, she left the tribe, heading for the location that Macaco had gone to previously.

"Another innocent," Nuvem muttered, head low. Then she turned and padded over to the elders' den, closely followed by Kapok and Rugido.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Nuvem woke up in the dark jungle, but couldn't even muster a bit of anger or shock. She was so tired, tired of everything that had happened in the tribe. Tired from having to do work that no elder should have to do. Tired from taking care of a heartbroken cub and her abrasive mate.

"Just do it. My time was close, anyways. Better me than the young ones," she yowled weakly. The shadow cat strode out into the middle of the clearing, and stopped in front of her. In a creepy motion, it tilted its head to the side, solid, glowing blue eyes filled with curiosity.

"Almost all of them have pleaded, or roared, or showed some sort of negative emotion. You are different. Braver. Just like I expected. You should be proud," it told her. Nuvem didn't know what it was talking about, but met its gaze with a hard one of her own.

"I don't care what you think. Let's get this over with," she declared. She sat up straight, chin held high, as the shadow cat padded slowly forward. Then claws slashed across her throat, and she faded into dust.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The jaguars stood in a silent circle around Nuvem's body, as the heavy rain fell on them. It was almost as though Silverpelt was crying. It seemed fitting. The old female had been the soul of the camp, and now that she was gone, it barely seemed like a tribe anymore.

"When I was sick with The Fever as a cub, she stayed with me," Masaya began, breaking the fragile silence. "Even when Manchado and my parents were afraid to come into the shaman's den, she stayed. Angra had assured her that I wasn't contagious, but still. It meant a lot".

"She knew that I was insecure about my fur. It all seems so stupid now. But she assured me that it was what was on the inside that matters, not the outside," Preto added.

"She made me my first moss ball, when I was upset because Xingo had lost the flower we had been playing with," Kapok squeaked. Rugido hung his head further with each story that was told.

"Nuvem always made sure that me and Raio were free to have fun, even when it bothered Rugido. She always got him to back down," Machupo mumbled. That story was the last straw. Rugido padded a few tail-lengths away from the others, and sat with his back turned towards them.

"Let's vote," Masaya croaked, voice hoarse. The rest of the group nodded, and waited patiently for Rugido to return.

Murdered: Nuvem
Healed: Masaya
Accused: No one
Revealed: No one
Revived: No one
Murderers Left: 1