Dark Forest Resident: Mothbloom
Aliases / Nicknames: Medicine Cat Killer, Foxheart, Mothblood
Gender: tom
Sexuality: homosexual
Family: unnamed mother, unnamed father, unnamed sister, Whitedusk (grandfather)
Other Relations: unnamed mentor
Clan: Thunderclan
Rank: warrior, temporary medicine cat
Characteristics: kills to make his own legacy
Number of Victims: 8
Number of Murders: 7
Murder Method: poisoning, tearing throat
Known Victims: several unnamed warriors and medicine cats, Lilyseed
Victim Profile: anyone he felt like hurting, warriors from other Clans, medicine cats from own Clan, sick or hurt Clanmates that went to him for help
Cause of Death: suffocated, killed by his leader
Cautionary Tale: ??
Story:
It didn’t matter who he was.
It never mattered what he did.
The only thing that mattered was his legacy, his amazing grandfather, a heroic deputy, a true bright star! If Mothpaw messed up, how dare he stain his grandfather’s name? If Mothpaw did something great, well of course he did! He’s Whitedusk’s kin!
The stress of it all caused Mothpaw to lash out, but no one ever listened to what he had to say, believing him to just be an insolent, disrespectful child.
Even when he shouted in their faces why it was so unfair, they failed to listen, only getting angrier with him and punishing him for speaking such a way to his kin and about his kin.
‘Whitedusk would never.’
Fine!
They want to know something Whitedusk would really never do? They want to force the burden of some random kin’s legacy on his shoulders and bury him in with the rest of those trapped in his bloodline?
Well, how about he makes his own history? He’ll stand out, apart from Whitedusk, and if by doing so he would have to hurt one or two cats... so be it.
It was just a thought for a long time. Mothbloom wasn’t sure how he could really do it, not just by getting away with it until he was ready for his deeds to be known, but emotionally.
To think about killing someone was far different than really taking a life. What if he couldn’t handle it?
So he settled with a test. He deliberately carried a still-living chipmunk near the Skyclan border so that he could chase it across and be confronted by a lone Skyclan warrior.
He struck quickly, snapping at the warrior’s throat like a snake while he was too busy ranting at him to protect himself. A twinge of regret pricked at Mothbloom’s paws at the gurgling, but he held on. Then, looking down at the body, a soothing wave washed away his worries.
Contented, he dragged the body into a pile of strong-smelling catmint before leaving to wash it all away.
But would one body be enough? If he truly wanted to get rid of Whitedusk’s memory and become his own cat in history, wouldn’t he have to kill plenty?
He couldn’t supress the thrill he felt as the unexpected death was announced at the next gathering. Then again, why should he supress it at all?
More and more, he became content with witnessing others suffer. He killed the Clan’s medicine cats, including the retired elder, more to watch his own Clan weaken-- his own kin who had treated him so horribly for acting the same as any other, just because he had to always be great-- than to add to his...task.
They had to get a new medicine cat from, ironically enough, Skyclan, who luckily also had a retired medicine cat to spare. He had to train an apprentice, Lilypaw, in Skyclan’s territory. With the sudden deaths stirring suspicion and the killer not yet caught, the leader didn’t want to risk her Clanmate.
Mothbloom had to stifle a dark chuckle when he requested to his own leader to have him become a ‘temporary’ medicine cat while Lilypaw was away, proving to her that he had enough information to get by, and if someone seriously needed help, they could run for help.
It was easy to poison his Clanmates then. And he had fun doing it too! The retiree briefed him on what herbs to use when, and especially on what herbs not to use.
Mothbloom made sure to use those ones. It was so fun! Watching them writhe, gasp, reach for him. He pretended to try to help in case someone walked in on him just sitting there while their Clanmate died, but it was always clear to the dying cat that he meant to do nothing for them.
Unfortunately, it was during one of these times that Lilypaw--Lilyseed returned. Helping the cat, she realized that he had died of what were clearly signs of foxglove poisoning.
She first believed it to be an accident, but after speaking with the leader and discovering that several of their other Clanmates had also died of similar symptoms, as well as symptoms of other poisons, it wasn’t hard to trace it all back to the one cat that was caring for them all-- Mothbloom.
He admitted to it all, taking it as his chance to have his deeds known, and admitted to also killing the previous medicine cats and several cats from the other Clans.
The looks on those who had so badly wanted his destiny to follow Whitedusk’s! Priceless!
He finished his cheerful speech by lunging at Lilyseed. But before he could tear into her, he was tackled to the ground by her father, Bramblegorse, and was beaten to a near-pulp.
Instead of exile, he was kept as prisoner. Lilyseed healed his wounds as best she could, even though she was told that she didn’t have to.
Still, he was growing weaker by the day. And when the leader slipped into the den and held her paws over his nose and muzzle, he couldn’t fight back.
Additonal Information:
--I think you can guess who this is loosely based on!
--They likely did go for help with so many dying, but they probably settled on ‘some prey must have eaten poison and it affected them’ only for Lilyseed to show up right after someone died (and was thus able to properly examine the body) and go ‘nah they were given poison directly.’
--His family did truly love him and felt incredibly bad because they knew that they pushed him onto such a dark path + they didn’t see the struggle he was undergoing or noticed how evil he had become.
--He’s flamboyant.