Murder in the Woods: A Warrior Cat Mafia

Round 13, Part 1

It was a normal day in FarmClan. The goats were frolicking in their pasture, the horses were grazing in the field, and the sheep were bleating. Bullheart woke up with the sun shining down on him, through a slit in the wall of the barn. His mate, Cherrypool, lay beside him. It was a wonderful way to begin the day.

The ginger tom stood up and stretched, ready to get to work. A few cats, namely Boarstorm, Rabbitflight, and Plumsong, were already awake. At the sight of his brother, Bullheart frowned. His relationship with Boarstorm had been strained recently, due to Boarstorm's disdain of his friend, Almondfall.

Despite this, Bullheart decided to be the bigger cat, and padded over to Boarstorm. "Good morning, brother. How's everything going today?" Boarstorm's amber eyes narrowed, as if trying to see if Bullheart was trying to trick him. When he found no sign of deception, he nodded.

"Well. Horsefrost, Oatstrike, Ryeblaze, and Curlypaw already left on the dawn patrol. I'm supposed to lead the dusk patrol later. You're going to be on the dusk patrol, by the way," the ginger tom mewed. Bullheart felt a rush of pride go through him, and he puffed out his chest a bit. His brother had chosen him for his patrol, whether it was to spend time together or because he was a good fighter. That made him happy.

Bullheart looked back at his sleeping mate, hoping that she would be on the dusk patrol with him. It would be nice if they could spend time together. As if he had read Bullheart's mind, Boarstorm shook his head. "No, Bullheart, you won't be on the same patrol. Cherrypool is on the hunting patrol with Hayshade, Mousepaw, and Wheatflower." Bullheart let out a sigh of disappointment. It was normal for them to be separated, however. Cherrypool was a good hunter, and he was a good fighter, so they were put on different patrols.

Boarstorm padded away from Bullheart, heading over to his apprentice, Seedpaw, who had just awoken. Bullheart didn't really care for Horsefrost's kit. To him, Seedpaw seemed entitled, being the son of the 'hero of the revolution'. Curlypaw and Mousepaw, on the other paw, were fine. They weren't entitled at all, in his opinion. His opinion didn't count for much though. He was told he was stupid.

Bullheart was surprised by Cherrypool coming up beside him. He hadn't even heard her. He supposed that was what made her a good hunter. With a purr, he rubbed his cheek on the top of her head, and sat down.

"It's a beautiful morning, isn't it?" she mewed, looking out at the farm. He nodded. But something was bugging him, as though he had a nagging feeling in the back of his head. The same thing had been bugging him since the early days after the revolution.

"Cherrypool, what do you think happened to Chickenfoot and the others? I know they went out on patrol and didn't come back. But I don't know why. And the hunting patrol didn't come back with prey, either. I remember, because Ryeblaze and Oatstrike were still kits then, and they were wailing because they were hungry," he rambled, keeping his voice low enough so only she could hear. Cherrypool's eyes darkened with fear.

"Don't speak of Chickenfoot and the other three, Bullheart. It's for the best," she ordered. Bullheart nodded in agreement. If his mate told him not to do something, he wouldn't do it. She was smarter than him, after all.

The morning passed. Bullheart remained in camp, waiting for the hunting patrol to leave, and talking to Cherrypool. He got new bedding for Peartail, and he and Boarstorm helped Goatleap and Barleythorn to the trough to get some water.

The dawn patrol returned right before the hunting patrol left. They had found that with so many elders, it was best to only have one patrol out at a time. That way, the others could protect the elders, and sometimes, kits.

Cherrypool joined Wheatflower and Mousepaw by the door of the barn, waiting for Hayshade to join them. It was odd that Hayshade wasn't already there. Since he was the patrol leader, it was considered irresponsible to be the last one there. Cats had already begun to murmur about it.

Mousepaw, albeit uncomfortably, made her way behind the hay bales to try to find where her mentor was. The entire clan sat, waiting patiently for her to return, knowing that Hayshade would be harshly scolded by the leader.

Suddenly, a high-pitched shriek echoed throughout the barn. Mousepaw scrambled out from behind the hay bales, paws covered in blood. She ran straight to her mother, Wheatflower, while quickly voicing broken sentences.

"Hayshade — he — blood everywhere — breathing — treachery!" the small, brown she-cat wailed. Then she buried her face in Wheatflower's fur.

Honeyshine quickly turned to Plumsong, who was standing nearby. "What are you waiting for? Go get Rabbitflight, quick!" she ordered the ginger tom, tone sharp. Plumsong drew back slightly at the anger, then ran off to fetch the medicine cat. Horsefrost and Boarstorm were already forcing their way through the bales, following Mousepaw's bloody paw prints.

Plumsong soon came back, chest heaving, his paws covered in blood. "Rabbitflight, he's dead! Treachery!" the ginger tom yowled. Gasps sounded throughout the clan. Two cats dead? It could only be murder.

"We must find the traitor!" Seedpaw screeched angrily, fur bristling. He was far from threatening, but the raised hackles on his spine made his fury clear.

"Traitors, not traitor. Two murders at the same time. Two killers," Sheepwatcher remarked, wisely figuring out the important detail. Honeyshine and a few other cats began to panic.

Boarstorm flicked his tail toward Almondfall, scorn on his face. "Isn't it obvious? It's clearly Almondfall. The coward probably didn't like the revolution, and killed the cats who inspired us during it!"

Cherrypool growled at him. "You're just targeting Almondfall because you despise him! Besides, he's weak! It'd make more sense for a stronger cat like Ryeblaze to be a murderer!"

Peartail nodded thoughtfully, in response to both points. "Either of you may be right. Or maybe they killed Rabbitflight in order to get rid of our medicine cat. But whatever it is, we should deal with the problem," she mewed.

"We could exile the cats we believe to be the murderers," Woollytuft suggested. It made sense. If there was a traitor in their midst, they had to get rid of them. Barleythorn, however, just groaned.

"That's not exact! Plus, how do we decide who gets exiled and who doesn't? It's a lose-lose situation. I say we just let it be and hope the murderers are done. After all, we're all going to die eventually," the pessimistic tabby grumbled. The other cats ignored the tom's suggestion. Unlike him, they weren't ready to die.

"What about a vote? You know, like a watchamacallit? A democracy?" Curlypaw chirped. All was silent for a moment. Horsefrost looked at his son with shock, while Boarstorm glowered at the small apprentice. A few other cats seemed uncomfortable.

Almondfall stood up and glared at them. "Well, it doesn't hurt to try, does it?" he demanded. This caused a few of the cats to voice their approval. The tom nodded toward Curlypaw. "I say we try his idea out."

"Very well, but the two cats up for exile should be you and Ryeblaze. You two were the first accused. It's only fair," Goatleap mewed in response. Almondfall respectfully dipped his head, accepting the terms. The vote would begin.

Murdered: Hayshade, Rabbitflight
Healed: Honeyshine
Accused: Almondfall, Ryeblaze
Revealed: No one
Revived: No one
Murderers Left: 2