it didn't matter that diamond's pelt was whiter than the clouds at sun-high.

it had never mattered- every single one of diamond's victims had been lured to her. almost- tonight, diamond wanted the thrill of the chase. and by chase, what was meant was that diamond would seek her prey in her subordinates' stead.

diamond sniffed the air. it was rank with the aftertaste of death, mingled with the faint smell of rosemary that had kindly been rubbed into the corpses' pelts before they were buried. now, she was simply looking for the cat with the most distinct scent- she didn't care whose life she took that night, so she was going by arbitrary factors to choose the unfortunate soul.

the scent stuck out painfully like a thorn in the pad. fear-scent, not stale enough to be old. who would be awake at this hour? but diamond didn't really care. she'd found her victim, one way or another.

she followed the sharp scent to its owner. there they were, a shadowed silhouette that could barely be seen under the sleeping elm, gray eyes flashing silver when struck with the scarce, pale moonlight.

"there you are, moonstone," diamond purred. "play nice with me, okay?"

"play nice? what delusions do you have running around your head?" the lean silver tabby's legs seemed stiff, paws planted in or out of the nest with claws already out. the warrior sounded hostile, but scared- her meow was shaking violently, more so than her actual body.

"oh, relax, darling," diamond deflected singingly, "i've heard the mentality around here is that death is a mercy granted only by those brave enough to dish it out."

"i've survived too many battles to die lying down with my belly up!" moonstone pulled her lips back in a snarl. "you, diamond, the amoral rogue murderer- you're more worthless of an opponent than a leaf!"

moonstone pounced, and while diamond reared, moonstone shot out a paw and caught diamond's leg, pinning it down. the silver tabby twirled around and scored a number of slashed on diamond's belly before diamond tore herself free. the mastermind locked eyes with moonstone, huffing, bleeding from her right foreleg and from her belly wounds.

"is this the hill you want to die on?" diamond managed a cocky smirk. "why won't you let me take your woes away?"

"stop trying to twist me with your paltry lies!" moonstone prowled around diamond, watching for her next move, her snarled face twitching.

"they're not lies, my dear. this is what your clanmates seem to think, so take it up with them!" diamond leapt forward, and moonstone threw herself aside; a growl rumbling in her throat, moonstone lunged towards diamond. diamond looked ready to counter moonstone's force, but at the last second she bolted sideways, and moonstone crashed onto the ground. diamond quickly slashed down moonstone's side, and the she-cat screeched once before she fell silent.

"... pitiable thing, she was." diamond swayed on her feet, breathing hard. "always plagued by the traumas... of her life as a warrior. but if cats can do this even to one another, even ones who aren't amoral like me... that proves that what i do must be right."

she didn't seem to remember that benitoite and velvetpreen weren't with her this time.

diamond sank to the ground, exhausted; blood soaked into the dirt around her.

"... well... this game is meeting closure, anyway..."

***

warning: this is too overblown for any sane person to enjoy

shoutout to nova because i am her anime writer

amberstone sat at the flower hill, facing the horizon. the waves lapped at the stone cliff, not exactly ominously, but more so forewarning- like they were reminding you of a pleasant time that you'd soon need to cherish more than ever before.

the she-cat breathed in. the tanginess of the sea ticked her nose. was it a pleasant sensation or not? it made her want to sneeze, and yet, the fragrance made her nostalgic, hopeful, even. she thought she'd spend her whole life out here, chasing rabbits and sharing tongues with other wild cats. then diamond had showed up and sparked a killing spree. when did everything go wrong?

"oi."

amberstone turned around, meeting the gaze of someone familiar sitting between the calla lilies and the mock oranges. the sea refused to cease, its waves being the sole thing that broke the silence between she and the other cat under the dotted night sky.

"you're..." the cat drew closer. "l-let's just cut right to the chase. you're an innocent, right?"

suspicion burst inside amberstone like a nebula. "yes."

the cat sighed softly. "my friend would have refuted that straight away. they believe that, since all cats have hurt one another some way or another, they are all evil. i am starting to see things from their perspective."

amberstone stepped forward. her paw hit something harder than a clod of dirt, and she looked down. beneath her paw was a chain of ivory links, growing thinner and thinner until the tip. attached to it was... further along, just around the calla lily's leaves, was a curled set of off-white prongs, half-buried in the ground.

cat bones.

"your friend sounds awfully cynical," amberstone breathed. but she was no longer paying attention to the other cat.

this beautiful garden... why did it hide such a terrible secret? why was there a... skeleton...? amberstone tore her gaze away, searching the other plants- only to find the ghosts of nightmares underneath each one. suddenly, amberstone felt sick.

"y-you're not the one planting the skeletons here, are you?" amberstone whispered.

"what?" the cat followed amberstone's gaze. "... stars, i never even noticed those. what a strange display..." the cat's voice grew shrill. "how... interesting."

"so this isn't your doing? so you're... innocent?" amberstone stepped closer. the herbal scents kept her from being able to pick up the cat's scent, amberstone realized quickly. she cursed to herself. being able to trust even one cat would be good enough for her.

but the cat looked sharply at amberstone, their body turning stiff.

"innocent? i just explained how no one is innocent."

"but you're not responsible for these murders?"

"i- i have yet to carry out one of my own." the cat hesitated. "i... i think it's a mercy to show a warrior death rather than let their life drag out, especially under diamond's rule. amberstone, wait," the cat stammered, sensing amberstone's horror, "wait! just- do you think i'm wrong?" anger edged the cat's voice now. "what about this life do you think is even worth living? it's my sworn duty to grant passage to starclan to you all, even if i'll never get there myself because of this!"

amberstone only listened to her own haggard breathing for a moment. murder was mercy?

"but what about the times everyone was happy?" amberstone demanded. her green eyes pricked with some sort of rage, and she had to fight back her overwhelming emotions just to snap back at this... psychopathic character. "you've given up, haven't you? if the traitors had never cropped up, if diamond had never come, then we'd still-" amberstone choked. "we'd still be happy."

the cat flinched. "diamond is not only against you- she is not our ally. she killed one of us. agateash, remember?"

amberstone froze.

"you're not being coerced by diamond...?" once those words were out, amberstone's shock gave way to blinding fury. "well, then, you're no better than a rotten fox-heart!" the she-cat roared and clawed the traitor's shoulder, but they didn't hesitate to fight back against their once-friend, wrenching themselves free of amberstone's claws and catching their foreleg, throwing her into a plant and pouncing onto her almost immediately.

the two cats locked themselves into a grappling match. warrior to traitor, both with full warrior training, both fighting for hope- but in their own views of the word.

amberstone was beginning to lose it.

she'd rationalized to herself that the traitors and diamond must have been one and the same syndicate- but to know that these former warriors had turned upon their own friends of their own volition...? amberstone could feel the claws of despair sink into her heart. where was the good in the world that she'd wanted to fight for?

where was it?

no. if she wanted to have hope that wouldn't be answered by more despair, she was looking in the wrong universe. perhaps this traitor had a point- life was agony after agony, wasn't it?

but then, when she asked herself why, knowing that, she was still fighting, still sending scratches the traitor's way, she couldn't find a logical answer.

the traitor kicked amberstone in the belly hard, and she curled into herself, breathless. the traitor pinned her to the ground, cutting off her airflow with their forepaws and slashing at her belly with her hind paws.

amberstone looked up, pain from the wounds and from the traitors' betrayal swimming in her eyes. she was so tired. pain seeped past her muscles, setting her body aflame, her belly melting into agony beyond anything she'd felt before. all dealt to her by someone she'd have hunted with, shared tongues and secrets with, once upon a time.

she only wanted it all to stop. she didn't want to hurt anymore. it was too late to wish for anything better.

the traitor stopped. slowly, almost reluctantly, they stared at amberstone's bloodied form. they looked down at their own bloodstained paws. their mouth opened, then closed.

"i-i..."

the traitor stepped over amberstone's body. the she-cat's eyes closed, pain flaring at random from their final stand.

just finish it already.

a warm tongue rasped over amberstone's pelt. slow and drawn-out, like they were at once afraid to offer their warmth, yet wanting to offer everything at the same time. what was it? had starclan taken pity on amberstone? the she-cat started to disconnect from her own body. slowly, one by one, she felt the painful claw marks detach from her soul. was this what death felt like? where pains are lifted away like down in a breeze... where everything is still and calm...

"i'm.."

dimly, amberstone recalled this voice. it didn't belong to one of the dead.

the traitor quivered violently at every extra drop of blood that seemed to torrent out, every unnecessary blow that was dealt- and for what? for the sake of robbing hope from cats like these?

"i'm a monster...!"

━━

moonstone was killed in diamond's game. she was the veteran.

amberstone was killed by the traitors. she was the lookout.

━━

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