Murder in the Woods: A Warrior Cat Mafia

Round 4, Part 1

A dark cloud slowly made its way across the moon, adding an eerie feel to the nightly meeting of the Society. Waves crashed against the rocky shore, leaving mist and salt in the air. And there, in an underground cave, sat the Society.

The cats had first discovered the cave during their first moon as apprentices. One of them had stumbled upon a narrow trail along the cliffs, that was higher than the waves. It descended into the cave, or, in reality, the ledge that circled it near the top. Many tail lengths below, the water entered the cave through an underwater passage. On the thickest part of the ledge, where the trail came out of a tunnel, they gathered.

Cloudpaw, the leader, was mysterious as ever. He had first created the Society, after his sister, Shellpaw, had shown him the cave. None of the apprentices, including himself, really knew the purpose. But they had fun, and none of the adults knew, so they continued their meetings every seven suns.

"Now begins the 12th meeting of the Society!" Cloudpaw announced. The white lightning bolt shape across the dark fur around his eye glinted in the moonlight, as he looked across the other four apprentices. "Let's start with the medicine cat report. Splashpaw?" The tortoiseshell she-cat stepped forward, looking up at the tom.

"The medicine cats had the meeting at the Moonfalls three suns ago. There's something bad happening," Splashpaw told them seriously. "Me and the medicine cat received a prophecy. There will be two, with paws stained red, whose every step leaves a trail of the dead".

"That's concerning, and we must keep a lookout for anything suspicious. Shellpaw, you and Nightrunner go on patrols often. Have you seen anything suspicious on the RockClan border?" he asked. Shellpaw shook her head, and stood up.

"No, both the RockClan and BluffClan borders are solid. They keep to their sides. It is nearing leaf-fall, and they know not to start a battle at this moment in time," she told him. Turtlepaw stood up next, meeting Cloudpaw's gaze. As Sandnose's apprentice, she was the best hunter of the group.

"The shoreline is normal, except for a larger amount of seals. But no signs of any cats, except for our clan," the tortoiseshell she-cat announced. Cloudpaw nodded, then turned to Gullpaw, his second in command.

"Very well. Gullpaw, have the leader and deputy seemed worried lately?" he asked. Gullpaw thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"No, not until they met with the medicine cat after their trip to the Moonfalls with Splashpaw," he replied. And with that, the meeting of the Society was over. The apprentices padded out of the cave and into the night, then returned to their den, and fell asleep.

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

"Sandnose is dead!" Rushstripe yowled, running into the center of camp urgently. Turtlepaw and Beetlestream followed, fur coated in salt and sand.

"What? How!" Thornhawk demanded, coming out of his den. He turned to Cloudpaw, his son. "Cloudpaw, get the border patrol back here! Nightrunner and Shellpaw are out training. Get them too. Get everyone you encounter". The white tom nodded once, then dashed off across the cliffs.

"We, we went fishing," Turtlepaw gasped, panting from having sprinted all the way back. After all, she was an apprentice, and had kept up with two full grown warriors. "Sandnose thought he heard something up top, but Rushstripe told him that it was probably just some deer. He went to check anyway, and the next thing we knew, he was plummeting past us and into the water. He didn't stand a chance". She hung her head, and lowered her voice. "He didn't stand a chance".

"Beetlestream managed to swim out and retrieve his body, but we couldn't get Sandnose back up the cliffs by ourselves," Rushstripe added, with a motion towards the black tom. "Then we rushed back up top as fast as we could".

"The worst part is that there was only the scent of our clan up there," Beetlestream told Thornhawk, shaking his head. "So either Sandnose killed himself, or . . ."

"Someone, go get Splashpaw. She will know where the medicine cat is, to do the burial rites," Thornhawk ordered. As the most senior warrior there, he would have to deal with the situation. "Someone has to let Dawnshine and Redfoot know that their son is dead. And tell Gullpaw about his father". Whitepath, who had been sitting with Morningfire in the sun just moments before, nodded and padded into the elders' den. Meanwhile, Morningfire, his mate, stood up to head towards the medicine cat den.

"What about my father?" Gullpaw asked, coming out of the apprentices' driftwood den. Thornhawk looked at his paws, and they stood in silence, until Turtlepaw walked towards her cousin.

"Gullpaw, Sandnose is dead," she told him gently. The grey and white patched tom backed away in horror, shaking his head.

"No, no! Was it RockClan? I'll kill them!" he yowled. He moved to run for the RockClan border, but Rushstripe and Beetlestream blocked his path.

"Gullpaw, we're going to investigate right now. But it wasn't RockClan," Beetlestream told him. The apprentice let out a choked sob, and collapsed on the ground.

"Splashpaw is dead!" Morningfire cried, running out of the medicine cat den as fast as she could. "It looks like she was force-fed nightshade berries!" Turtlepaw let out a wail and collapsed beside Gullpaw, who she had previously been trying to comfort.

"This was no coincidence! This was a murder!" Rushstripe announced, tail lashing. "Two murderers, working together!" Gullpaw angrily voiced his agreement, closely followed by Turtlepaw, and soon, they were all in a mob-like frenzy. Cloudpaw returned with the border patrol, which consisted of Paleflight, Lionfrost, Sootpetal, and Reedsplash, as well as Emberstrike and Stripefur. At the sight of Splashpaw's body, Lionfrost broke into a furious rage, which riled up the clan further. Sootpetal went into a numbed, shocked state, while Morningfire and Whitepath tried to comfort her.

"Who was it? Who was it?!" Lionfrost roared, angrily slashing at a piece of driftwood that made up the camp wall. Sootpetal whirled on Emberstrike, glaring accusingly at her.

"It was Emberstrike! She was out of camp, not on a patrol, and none of her loved ones died!" Sootpetal yowled. Paleflight stepped between the two she-cats, as they shouted accusations at each other.

"Stop it! Is this really helping?" the white she-cat demanded. The two she-cats looked at each other, then back to Paleflight.

"Yes!" they responded angrily, then continued their argument. Redfoot and Dawnshine were talking to Reedsplash, Stripefur, Rushstripe, and Beetlestream, who soon left camp together. But the shouting cats didn't notice, until the group of four came back with Sandnose's body. Dawnshine buried her nose in Redfoot's fur, letting out soft sobs.

"Everyone, be quiet!" Stripefur ordered. The cats complied, and looked at the group of four silently. Stripefur turned to his son, Reedsplash, who had something to say.

"There were two murderers. We know this. Emberstrike has already been accused as one. Who else?" he asked. Lionfrost growled, and turned towards Rushstripe.

"It was Rushstripe. She's one of the most talented warriors in the clan. She could get away with murder, and none of us would even know," he growled. Reedsplash looked pained, but nodded.

"Very well. Emberstrike and Rushstripe it is. Let's vote on it," he mewed. And so the unavoidable story of murder began.

Murdered: Sandnose, Splashpaw
Healed: Beetlestream
Accused: Emberstrike, Rushstripe
Revealed: No one
Revived: No one
Murderers Left: 2