Murder in the Woods: A Warrior Cat Mafia

Round 5, Part 2

Rosefern carefully counted the votes, then growled. "Innocent, both of them," she announced. It was clear that she wasn't happy about the outcome, since she had voted guilty.

"Oh, thank StarClan," Fennelnose sighed, a little too loudly. He noticed the odd looks that he was given, and chuckled sheepishly. "You know, because the loss of two more warriors would be terrible?" The rest of the clan accepted the response, except for Tulipfur. She went over to Fennelnose, and the two young warriors began to talk.

Daisyshine bounded over to Marigoldleap, and joined in the conversation between him, Daffodilsong, and Lilytail. Many of the cats, except for the apprentices, were still mourning. The apprentices decided to play a game of hide-and-seek to cheer themselves up.

Petuniapaw dashed into the forest, looking for a good hiding spot. She eventually managed to squirm under the roots of a tree, breathing as quietly as she could so Lupinepaw wouldn't find her.

She heard pawsteps coming up the trail, and held her breath. The cat stopped in front of Petuniapaw's hiding spot, but didn't bend down to look. This confused her.

"Lupinepaw? Is that you?" she asked quietly, remaining where she was. The cat moved on, and Petuniapaw settled back into her hiding spot. All of a sudden, she felt claws in her pelt, pulling her backwards. She was ripped out of her hiding spot, and let out a shriek. Then her head was slammed down against a rock, and her vision went black.

Petuniapaw didn't show up after Lupinepaw found Pansypaw and called for the others. Tansypaw went out to look for her, and told the others to wait there. He padded into the forest in the direction that he had seen Petuniapaw go.

"Petuniapaw? Where are you? Lupinepaw found Pansypaw first," he called. Then a metallic smell filled his nose, and he broke into a run. "Petuniapaw! Petuniapaw!" He skidded to a stop in front of the tree she had hidden in, seeing the claw marks in the soil. He ran around the tree, and let out a choked cry when he saw Petuniapaw's body. Then the other murderer silently leapt out of their hiding spot, and quickly broke Tansypaw's neck.

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Lavendercloud soon sent out a search party when neither of the apprentices showed up. They went in four groups of four, so none of the groups could be overwhelmed by having both murderers in it.

The group that found Petuniapaw and Tansypaw contained Azaleawing, Violetfrost, Tulipfur, and Lupinepaw. Lupinepaw withdrew from reality, and just stared blankly ahead. Tulipfur was sent to go get the other groups, as Violetfrost picked up Petuniapaw and Azaleawing picked up Tansypaw.

The cats immediately returned to camp. The first group, containing Rosefern, Asterheart, Lavendercloud, and Sagepool, had already arrived.

"Petuniapaw?" Lavendercloud whispered hoarsely, seeing Violetfrost carrying her dead kit. She broke down sobbing, as Sagepool mourned and tried to comfort her. Rosefern growled, and Asterheart shook his head with disappointment.

The next group to arrive included Daisyshine, Fennelnose, Orchidwhisker, and Pansypaw. Daisyshine let out a wail and ran over to Lavendercloud and Sagepool, closely followed by Orchidwhisker. Pansypaw padded over to Tansypaw's body, and buried her face in his fur with a sob.

Finally, Lilytail, Marigoldleap, Daffodilsong, and Iristuft arrived, led by Tulipfur. None of them were as effected by the deaths as the other cats, but they tried their best to comfort the mourning family members.

"I think . . . I think we ought to vote now," Fennelnose announced, clearly uncomfortable. He didn't want to disturb their mourning, but something had to be done. They couldn't let the murderers get away with this. "Suggestions?".

"One of them was Orchidwhisker," Lilytail declared, looking at the grey tom with anger. "The cat who killed Yarrowstrike had to sneak into his den, then kill him without any of us noticing. And who's the stealthiest cat in the clan? Orchidwhisker. Besides, he's so grumpy all the time. Is it that much of a stretch to think that we annoyed him enough for him to decide to kill us all?" Murmurs spread throughout the clan, agreeing with her statement.

"I think that Azaleawing is the other," Marigoldleap mewed. He flicked his tail at Petuniapaw, and the obvious claw marks at her flanks. "Tulipfur told us that Petuniapaw was dragged out from under a tree. Azaleawing is one of the most athletic cats in the clan. She could easily do that, and ambush Thistlestorm, if Orchidwhisker killed Yarrowstrike". More murmurs spread, and Orchidwhisker and Azaleawing were cornered.

"Everyone, calm down! We'll vote now," Fennelnose yowled. The clan went to vote, continuing to block the exits.

Murdered: Petuniapaw, Tansypaw
Healed: Rosefern
Accused: Azaleawing, Orchidwhisker
Revealed: No one
Revived: No one
Murderers Left: 2