Dubiety ❧ A Warriors Mafia Minigame

round i ❧ prologue

Violetpaw's feet floated above the forest floor. Her eyes were locked on a fat pigeon, which pecked at the ground unsuspectingly for worms or seeds. She had to stop her tail from trembling in excitement; if this catch went well, it would secure her place in the warriors' den tonight.

She pulled back her weight and prepared to jump. She took aim, eyes still locked on her prey, and pounced.

A shriek tore through the forest, piercing Violetpaw's ears.

The pigeon spread its wings and took flight, alarmed by the sudden noise, and Violetpaw landed on the ground. Thinking quickly, she leapt upwards, snagged the pigeon's wing in her claws and yanked it back down to earth, giving it the killing bite. A messy catch, but it would have to do.

"What was that?" A sand-colored shape swarmed down a nearby tree and came to the ground in mere moments- Violetpaw's mentor, Oatwind.

Violetpaw stared in the direction of the sound. She didn't want to believe it, but it had almost certainly come from the weathered boulders where her siblings had been taking their assessment. A sliver of fear wormed into her heart, but she forced it away; she had to keep a level head. Besides, her siblings knew how to take care of themselves. Still, she couldn't help but worry...

"Come on," Oatwind called. Together, the two cats wound their way through the forest.

***

"Primrosepaw, you have to chase a piece of prey my way, to the mossy log near the meadow. It doesn't really matter what it is- a mouse, a squirrel, a hare-" Sedgepaw cut himself off. "Just chase something my way so I can kill it."

"Why do- do we need two cats to catch one piece of prey anyway?" Primrosepaw mumbled.

"Um... I suppose Honeystar wants us to practice our teamwork skills?" Sedgepaw shifted his paws, and his gaze turned upwards to the leafy trees, wondering if she was watching their conversation. Well, of course she is; she's Primrosepaw's mentor, for StarClan's sake! But he was worried that Primrosepaw had just indirectly challenged her leader and mentor- and amused by the fact that she didn't come down and scold her for it.

Primrosepaw stated blankly at the ground for a moment, then meowed, "Then you better get going."

"Ah- Okay." Sedgepaw smiled, then disappeared into the trees.

Primrosepaw looked around and opened her jaws to pick up scents. Wisps of faint scents came to her, but nothing that smelled like it'd be nearby. Except for one... There was a strong scent coming from a cluster of boulders a couple of foxtails away from her, a scent she didn't immediately recognize.

No, I should ignore it just for now. I'll check it out after my assessment.

For a moment, curiousity and logical sense battled inside of her; half of her wanted to see what the scent was, the other knew it was better to focus on her assessment. But her logic won out, and Primrosepaw paved forward, as quickly as she could without stepping on any twigs or dry leaves, smelling for any nearby prey.

The strange scent seemed to follow her, imprinting itself into her mind as she tried to look, but she refused to let herself get distracted. Well, of course I can still smell it; it's only a few foxtails behind me...

There!

Primrosepaw crouched down, her gaze focused on a grazing brown hare. There's no wind, so I just need to get behind it and a little to the left, and chase it over to Sedgepaw. Slowly, she sidestepped until she was completely in the hare's blind spot. She took a deep breath, preparing herself to charge out and scare it off.