Traitor // A Warriors Mafia Minigame

Round Three, Scene Four

"Crowheart has been voted guilty," meowed Quietstar. No sooner had the words left her mouth, the guilty voters- Emberstripe, Sparrowfall, Sootbreeze and Thornwhisker- surged forward to attack Crowheart.

"Stand down!" Most of the attackers followed Quietstar's order, but Emberstripe ignored her, slashing her claws down Crowheart's side. "Traitor!" The ginger tabby she-cat bared her fangs in a snarl, eyes slitted with hate.

Crowheart said nothing in reply, and he didn't show a trace of anger; only shock and sadness filled his gaze as he stared at the hostile Emberstripe. "I suppose it's no use telling you that I'm innocent now," he murmured, and though his eyes were locked on Emberstripe, his statement addressed every warrior. "But you'll see soon." He turned and fled, never to be seen again.

Emberstripe started to chase acted him, but Deerleaf and Ferretdusk, who had abstained, held her back. "Emberstripe, stop!" Reluctantly, Emberstripe relaxed.

"Emberstripe..." Quietstar's sentence trailed off. She stopped herself from reprimanding her; her best friend had just died yesterday. Of course she was going to be... emotional.

"This Clan meeting is over. You are all dismissed."

***

"Who will become my next victim...?" The killer's gaze darted from one cat to another. The others were all asleep, all unwary of the killer selecting a target.

Their eyes settled on a single body- the body of the best fighter in the Clan, who could cause quite a bit of trouble for the killer if they were allowed to live.

Bunching up their haunches, the killer prepared to pounce. Then they sailed through the air, over another cat's body,
and landed on their target. They bit down hard on the neck, killing them instantly.

"That's one less pest to worry about," the killer growled, satisfied. "Soon enough, everyone here will die, and it'll all be thanks to me."

***

The next morning, the warriors were greeted with the sight of another dead body. They stood stiffly in a ragged circle around the fallen warrior's nest.

"Thornwhisker..." Sparrowfall finally spoke up. "How could this happen to him? He was our best fighter-"

"But that wouldn't matter if he was asleep," Deerleaf meowed flatly. "Look, he shows no signs of a fight, and..." The calico she-cat nudged Thornwhisker's body lightly. It barely moved, but enough for the others to notice that his head now hung at a funny angle. "His neck was snapped, likely when we was asleep. His skill would have meant nothing if he were asleep and defenseless."

"So... Another one's dead." A quiet meow sounded at the den's entrance. The warriors quickly backed away to make space for Quietstar to enter.

"Thornwhisker's death can't be a good sign; the killer is choosing their targets wisely." Quietstar raised her head. "But that's beside the point. Another cat has been accused- Snakefang."

"What? Why me?" Snakefang asked, astonished. He glanced around, trying to see if any of his Clanmates had already started to distrust him.

"Why are you asking me? The deputy makes these choices, not me," Quietstar muttered under her breath.

"It's not as if you've ever put any faith in us, Snakefang," Sootbreeze pointed out, "like any other warrior would."

"You're also pretty sneaky." Ferretdusk leered at the brown tom. "Attacking and killing from the shadows in the middle of the night... Sounds like something you could do easily."

"Now, hold on a minute," Heathercloud meowed nervously. "There's nothing that points towards him either."

Emberstripe glared at Snakefang, but remained silent.

"Either way, you must now vote on whether you think Snakefang is innocent or guilty." Quietstar meowed. "Choose wisely, because if he's guilty, letting him stay would be dangerous- but if he's innocent, exiling him would cost us a valuable warrior."

Do you think Snakefang is innocent or guilty?

A/N I know this chapter is really crappy but I have like zero motivation

~Bubble