"Tigersong, you have been voted guilty and therefore must immediately leave." Sleekstar glared balefully down at the golden Bengal tom. He looked stunned for a moment, before regaining his calm composure.

"Whatever you say, Sleekstar," he slurred indifferently, "but let it be known that I'm not the murderer." He swept his gaze across his Clanmates, mild amusement flickering in his eyes.

For a moment, the other cats watched in silence at Tigersong, marveling his calmness in the face of banishment. Then Starlingtalon narrowed her eyes." You're probably just pretending to be innocent."

Tigersong preceded to groom himself and flick his tail at Starlingtalon.

The warriors formed a ragged ring around him, ready to force him back if he changed his mind and decided that he cared, that he wanted to stay.

Finally, he stopped grooming himself and stood up. "Well, then," he meowed with finality, "I'll admit that it was nice knowing you. I'll see you in the next life." With that, he flicked his tail and stalked away.

"That was... strange," Perchberry murmured.

Lichenleaf nodded mutely, staring out at the still visible Tigersong.

"That's enough for today," Sleekstar sighed. "For our sake, let's hope he did do it. We don't need any more deaths on our paws."

***

That night, the warriors slept deeply and soundly. Even Bubblewish and managed to overcome his insomnia.

Too bad for him.

"Bubblewish! Wake up, wake up!" A familiar voice purred, breaking the peaceful silence of the night.

Bubblewish stirred. "Is it morning already?" he asked groggily. He stifled a yawn and shook his head, trying to wake himself.

The other cat chuckled. "No, no, dear. I've been starving for two nights now. First Dovefern escaped death, and then you. Hopefully, you'll have the sense to die tonight."

The cat pounced on Bubblewish, one forepaw firmly planted on his throat, the other softly hovering over his stomach. They extended their claws and started to purr even louder, drinking in Bubblewish's fear-scent, and letting their paw lightly tease his belly.

"Of course, I have no intention of letting you live again." That voice- it was so sickeningly sweet, so smooth, so seductive... so sadistic... Bubblewish took a shuddering breath, knowing that the murderer would kill him if he tried to escape. But that voice- it tempted him to relax and just give in to death.

"But enough talking. A cat must feast for their endeavors, no? Especially when they've been withdrawn for two nights. Revenge is sweet, is it not?"

The killer slit Bubblewish's throat. His blood poured out, and with each convulsion the body released, the killer purred louder. They let the torrent wash over their paws, savoring the feeling, the scent, everything... They lowered their muzzle into the stream, drowning themselves in the blood. "Yes, yes... it's delicious, is it not?" they asked themselves triumphantly.

When the tom's body finally lay limp, the killer picked him up and dragged him outside. They studied his body in the moonlight- once white fur stained with red on one side, and an ugly gash ripping his throat open. But the killer felt that they had to take more than a few simple drinks to satisfy their thirst for revenge.

Leaning into the dead cat's ear, they whispered, "I think I'll take more than some blood for myself, just for the sake of it. Let it be known that this is what happens to those who oppose me."

The cat raised a paw, unsheathing their claws once again, and tore Bubblewish's belly open. The scent of death and flesh, and the faint scent of blood, hung in the air. They lowered their muzzle, drinking in the smell, the excitement, their own ecstasy...

... And sank their fangs into Bubblewish's flesh.

They gorged themselves on their Clanmate's body, tearing away chunks of meat like a rabid dog, only stopping when the sun started to rise. By then, the body was an unrecognizable mess of bloodstained fur and mutilated flesh. Only the head and pelt remained untouched.

"Wow, you finally did something useful, Bubblewish!" The murderer licked away the last traces of blood from their lips. "You showed me how to, ah, get the most out of being a warrior." They turned away, their tail waving high in the air. "I can't wait until they all end up like you, too."

***

The next morning, the warriors awoke to the sight of a bloody mass of fur. They stood around it in a ring, none of them eager to draw near.

"W- What..." Swiftshine shuddered, then forced the words out of her mouth. "What i-is that? Who is that?"

Birchtuft glanced sideways at her. He drew forward, stiffening more and more with each step he took. Then he stopped. "I- I can't... " he meowed huskily.

Pebblestrike dragged a careful glance over the circle of warriors. Slowly, his eyes widened as he realized who was missing from the group.

"Birchtuft, come back." the gray tom murmured. "That's- That was m-my..." Pebblestrike's voice quavered, far from the characteristic relaxed face he usually displayed. He turned away and stepped back, unable to finish his sentence.

Starlingtalon, taking a brief glance at the other warriors, approached Birchtuft. She whispered something in his ear, keeping a cautious gaze on Pebblestrike all the while.

After she left, Birchtuft faced the crowd. "Bubblewish is-" He glanced towards Pebblestrike, who gave no response. "Bubblewish is dead," Birchtuft continued, "another victim of the killer. But..." Before he could change his mind, he turned to the body and sniffed it, before prodding it with a trembling forepaw. "It feels like some of his flesh has been... torn away. Did the murderer..." Birchtuft blinked in confusion. That possibility seemed too bizarre to even consider, but...

Swiftshine shrieked in fear, inferring what Birchtuft was about to say. Every cat flattened their ears at the unexpected noise. "Ah, jeez, you know how sensitive Swiftshine is to fear," Dawndust chided, but his own voice masked immeasurable terror.

"Sorry," Birchtuft muttered, but his eyes stayed on Bubblewish's body- or what was left of it.

Dawndust summoned Perchberry with a tail flick and the two steered Swiftshine away to the forest, trying in vain to calm her down.

Lichenleaf glanced at Sleekstar's den. "How is he not awake, after Swiftshine's scream?"

"Don't be so rude!" Brindlespring rolled her eyes. "Why don't you waek him up yourself, then, if you're going to complain about how he's still sleeping?"

Lichenleaf muttered something under his breath and made his way to Sleekstar's den. The rest of the warriors stayed beside Bubblewish's body.

When Lichenleaf returned with Sleekstar, both cats looked uneasy. "We've lose five to the killer already," Sleekstar growled. "We must take risks and do anything to make sure at least some of us survive. We must have hope!"

The Clan cheered half-heartedly. Considering they stood beside their former Clanmates's dead, bloodied body, it was miraculous that they could cheer at all.

"Everyone, please share any new information you have, anything that could lead to the killer. A vote will be held shortly."

So a discussion much like the one from the previous day commenced. Many arguments broke out, and many disagreements were had, until Sleekstar yowled for a stop.

"An accusation can be made now," the black tom meowed. "The accused is Pebblestrike."

The gray tom's ears pricked. For a moment, there was silence as he stared up at his leader. Then a low noise rose in the air- Pebblestrike's growl. "What makes you think that you can accuse me of killing my own brother?" His voice was a low, broken rumble. He glared one by one at his Clanmates, his grief-filled eyes asking the question he didn't put into words:

How could you betray me like this?

"Sure, I get it, I'm lazy and pretty useless at everything if I don't put my heart into it," Pebblestrike continued, "but that's not enough to accuse me of-" his gaze flicked to his brother's body. "Of w-worse than murder and wanting to banish me!"

"Are you so lazy and laid-back because your belly is filled with dead cat?" Brindlespring hissed.

Pebblestrike whirled around, startled, but before he could say anything, Starlingtalon joined her. "You might be lazy, but maybe you're desperate and hungry because you can't catch prey for yourself!"

"Hold it!" Dovefern pushed Brindlespring and Starlingtalon away, her voice filled with fury. "Pebblestrike is laid-back, we all know that. But does that really make him a hardened killer? If anything, that trait should take all suspicion off him!" She slitted her green eyes angrily and glared at the other warriors. "Listen to yourselves, accusing your own Clanmate for murder without evidence out of pure paranoia! Have you no shame? I'd have thought you'd all learned better, seeing as both Poppyfoot and Tigersong were exiled and turned out to be innocent." She raised her chin, daring any cat to challenge her.

"Dovefern is right." Birchtuft stood by her side, his fur forcibly flat. "I know I didn't vote innocent for every vote, but that doesn't mean I thought every cat was a killer. Should we not be more careful than to throw more and more baseless accusations? What if another innocent warrior gets exiled?"

"Don't waste the day with arguments!" Lichenleaf curled his lip. "We still have to vote, whether it's innocent or guilty. We can do it now, or we can argue until sundown."

Reluctantly, every cat went silent.

"Good. Now we'll have to vote- vote upon what we think." He shot a quick glance at Pebblestrike, his expression unreadable. "We've only got one chance, and one alone."

Do you think Pebblestrike is innocent or guilty? Leave your votes in the comments section!