Murder in the Woods: A Warrior Cat Mafia

Round 12, Part 3

Rumble and Bellow simultaneously let out long sighs of relief once they had been decided to be innocent by the tribe. Chase and her kits ran over, expressing happy meows of relief to see their kin stay in the tribe. Climb trotted up to Rumble, meowing quite formally, "I'm glad to see you stay." which made his mentor chuckle slightly.

Their rejoicing was shattered by Lunge, the Clan's Naibu. The aloof cat stepped forward, her slitted gaze appraising everyone in the Clan, except for her family. "Don't let your guard down, everyone." She declared, her rounded ears pinning back flat against her skull. "I doubt they'll stop anytime soon." And on that rather dark note, Lunge retreated to Path's former den. Her mate, Rustle, looked after her with some concern, before padding in after her. 

The joyous air shared by Bellow and Rumble's family quickly dissipated. Lunge had sent reality flinging towards them like a wave of water, leaving chills down everyone's spines and suspicious glares sent towards other members of the Clan. 

The rest of the day went by fairly normally. Streak and Gaze were buried by Float, Flight, Leap, and Roll. Lunge spent the rest of the afternoon and night in Path's old den, with Rustle and her kits curled up next to her. Bellow and Thunder gathered their families close to them, encouraging everyone to go out on a joint hunting trip. Ripple stayed behind, and this time even Bellow didn't berate him about it.

The rest of the day passed without much trouble, the Clan functioning about as it normally should, though there was monotony hanging over the group, broken only with an occasional angry stare by some cat at one of the females of the group.

As the sun began to set, Lunge emerged from Path's den. She strode to the entrance of camp, and then sat down with a decisive glare towards the tribe as a whole. The Naibu's gaze flicked to all the females in the Clan one by one, but the only cat she excluded was her daughter. 

The Clan settled down, families drawing together to sleep in different dens. Rustle stayed with his kits in Path's old den, looking out at his mate with sympathy before retreating back inside. Thunder, Bellow, and their extended family all crowded into the elders den. Flight, Float, Leap, and Roll retreated into the warriors' den.

As the night passed, Lunge remained as a guard. The moon was shining high in the sky when there was movement across camp, causing Lunge's gaze to whip around towards it. She rose to a stand, her body tensing, ready to pounce-

Climb scrambled out of the leader's den, clearly trying to extricate himself from the small pile his family had fell asleep in. With a disgruntled huff, he padded over to his mother, who visibly relaxed when she saw her son. "You should go back to bed." The Naibu murmured, to which Climb frowned towards. "I wanted to stay up with you, to watch over the camp." Climb explained, glancing up to her with respect in his eyes.

As their gentle tones drifted over the camp, she grinned wickedly. A perfect set of targets. She knew all she needed to do was wait. She rose to her paws, nudging her partner, and then the both of them padded out of the den. She yawned loudly, calling out to the pair, "What's up with you both, talking so loudly? We can barely sleep." 

Lunge immediately went back on the defensive, her gaze returning to a hostile glare. "We weren't talking that loudly." She meowed hotly, ears beginning to pin back to her skull. 

The female merely shrugged, padding right up to her. "Sorry, I'm a light sleeper I guess." She mused, smiling at her Naibu. Lunge narrowed her eyes, about to retort, when the murderer plunged her claws into Lunge's throat. Climb could barely make a sound, backing up with fright, before the other murderer bowled him over, holding him still as their partner finished the final blow. They returned to their den with haste.

The morning cast warm, colorful light on a bloody patch of ground, causing an uproar from the cats. With their Naibu gone, who should they accuse?

Murdered: Lunge, Climb
Healed: Roll
Accused: No one
Revealed: Lunge (deputy)
Revived: No one
Murderers Left: 2