Crowfeather adjusted his tie in the bathroom mirror. Running his hand under the sink, then through his raven colored hair, one thing was decided. This was downright the strangest dinner party he had ever been invited to. It was the iconic murder mystery themed event that Bramblestar hosted alongside his wife, Squirrelflight, every six months or so. Everybody wanted to make the guest list, and somehow, Crowfeather had done it, as well as some acquaintances of his.
Straightening his tie once more, he turned off the sink and unlatched the door, stepping into a long hallway. He walked down the eerie hall, finally reaching the expensive-looking dining room. A large, wooden table stretched across the room, with fancy china atop its glistening surface. At the table sat six other people, each glancing at another awkwardly. As Crowfeather pulled out his chair, their eyes darted to him for a split second, then either back to their shoes or to the person sitting next to them. The group consisted of Thornclaw, Dawnpelt, Rosepetal, Stormfur, Dovewing, and Squirrelflight herself. As Crowfeather sat on his hard, uncomfortable chair, he couldn't help but wonder where Bramblestar could be. How rude it was for him to be absent at his own party! Crowfeather hoped that Squirrelflight would give him a stern talk later about party etiquette. He also noticed that the butler was missing, as he was growing impatient waiting for him to deliver the dessert. The previous two courses had been okay, but dessert meant that the meal was almost over, and that he could go home sooner. Sure, this was a special occasion, but Crowfeather would rather watch his football game alone than be here. His thoughts were interrupted by angry muttering coming directly from his left. He looked over to the ginger-haired hostess, who was grumbling about 'how the stupid butler is going to get a pay dock'. Seeing the raven-haired man staring at her skeptically, Squirrelflight laughed nervously, her face red with embarrasment.
"Ha ha, is it hot in here or is it just me?" she asked, fanning her face with her hand. The guests stared at her silently. Pushing away from the table, she stood up from her chair.
"Excuse me, I must go powder my nose."
And with that, the hostess left the dining room quickly. Crowfeather watched her sashay down the hall. He guessed that she had actually gone to see what was taking the butler so long. Turning his gaze back to the table in front of him, Crowfeather let his thoughts flow once more, evaluating each guest at the table. Dovewing. Sassy and beautiful, but not very well-liked. She had decided to play as Kasandra Scarlet, a famous television actress who had done dirty work to get to the top. Thornclaw. Loyal and sort of unknown. He was playing as Jack Mustard, who was a former pro football player with failing good looks. Crowfeather snickered at this. Stormfur. Good and caring. He was Jacob Green, a good man who always tried to help out others. Then there was Dawnpelt. Let's just say she has a bad reputation. She had chosen Eleanor Peacock, and extremely rich woman from a family of politicians. Rosepetal-
Wait a minute, where was Rosepetal? Crowfeather looked over to where Rosepetal should've been sitting. Where did the cream-haired girl go?
"Uh... where'd Rosepetal go?" Crowfeather asked, glancing around at the guests. Stormfur blinked.
"She said she had to go "freshen up"." he said, looking curiously at the raven-haired man.
"Oh..." Crowfeather was confused. He hadn't heard Rosepetal say anything... maybe he was just too focused on his thoughts. He grew even more puzzled as he felt something bump his foot under the table. He shot Dawnpelt- who was sitting across from him- a startled glance. She failed to notice his stare, still looking down at her empty plate nonchalantly. Crowfeather smiled coyly at her and brushed his foot up against hers. Dawnpelt's innocent glance turned to a sharp glare as she drew back her foot and kicked Crowfeather in the shin. He grimaced and quickly looked away, only to turn and glare at Dawnpelt as he felt something bump his foot again. The cream-haired girl opened her mouth to say something when suddenly Dovewing crawled out from under the table. Everybody watched in awe as she slowly made her way back to her chair beside Crowfeather.
"Sorry," she said apologetically. "I dropped my napkin." She placed the cloth back on her lap and sheepishly smiled to the guests seated around her. How odd... Crowfeather hadn't seen Dovewing crawl under the table, or drop her napkin for that matter. Taking a closer look at the cloth on her lap, the raven-haired man noticed that it had red, sticky stains splattered across it's slightly wrinkled surface. He couldn't worry about that for long, though, as Rosepetal had appeared out of nowhere and was back in her seat, having a conversation with Dovewing as if she hadn't just crawled out from under the table! Then a bloodcurdling scream erupted from somewhere within the house.