ωαяяισя ¢αтѕ // Mintpool's Venom

Chapter 2

Mintpool froze, not daring to move a single paw step. The rogues! A familiar fear pounded in her chest as she twitched her whiskers, trying to calm herself. You're not a Clan cat anymore! You want to be their ally! Calm down! However as she tried, she couldn't stop that tremble of fear in her whiskers. Her mind flashed back to when the rogues had attacked AirClan's camp. Oh, they'd destroyed it terribly. A group of mangy cats against a Clan of trained warriors. She shivered. They were only able to do that because they didn't care about anything except getting revenge. They didn't even care about their own life! They were crazy beasts. They didn't fight to survive or to defend. They fought to kill. 

That didn't help her nerves. She squinted her eyes, trying to see something - anything - through the dark, icy night. As the tall grass to her right rustled, she almost leaped out of her paws in surprise and fright. How had they gotten there? She shook her head again. Calm down! They'll never accept you if you keep acting like this! Think about the revenge you want to get on AirClan and Leafwhisker. Hot fury pummeled her, and she felt her whiskers calm. She felt invincible when she felt angry, like nothing could scare her. She supposed that was how the rogues felt, but all the time. 

Mintpool lashed her tail. "Come out! Quit hiding!" Not the best move, perhaps, against bloodthirsty cats, but she was tired of this sneak attack game they were playing. 

A snarl sounded from the grass as three cats stepped out from it. One was a brown tom with white spots, and the other was a orange she-cat with sharp green eyes. Both had a glint of savageness as their claws slid out, stalking slowly towards Mintpool.

"Who are you?" the gray tabby demanded, backing away from the two rogues. She slid her claws out as well, but she knew if a fight was to come, they wouldn't do her any good.

"That's no matter to you," the orange she-cat replied with a cruel purr. "You'll be dead soon."

Panic filled Mintpool. "Stop! I want to speak with your leader!"

The brown tom's lips curled into a cold smirk. "Why would our leader want to speak to a petty Clan cat? You're no use to us. It's better to have you dead."

"And we haven't sank our claws into a Clan cat forever," the she-cat hissed. "It's finally time to start our revenge, starting with you."

Mintpool's mind whirled as the two neared. What can I do? Suddenly, she remembered how Mamba had bragged about how Cobrastrike had risen in the rogue ranks quickly. Maybe he's in a high position now, or at least these cats will know and fear him! It was worth a try. It was either that, or she was dead, and she was not going to die before she fulfilled her promise. "Wait! I know Cobrastrike!"

The two rogues exchanged a glance of surprise, stopping in their tracks. "You?" The orange she-cat wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I don't believe it! Cobrastrike, talking with a weak cat like you? Why would he want to?"

"Besides," the brown tom added on, "you're just a weak Clan cat. He wants to destroy the Clans."

Mintpool hissed in anger. Although she wanted to join the rogues, they were still as insufferable as before. "I was his friend," she meowed, lifting her muzzle. "I used to visit him. If you kill me, he'll be very mad at you." She wasn't sure if that was correct. After all, she hadn't seen Cobrastrike in moons! However, it was enough to get the two cats to exchange a glance. 

"He did used to have this cat come visit him, Fury," the brown tom meowed.

Fury flicked her tail. "That might not be her, Falcon."

Falcon twitched his pelt. "They seemed to be close, although. If it is her, and we kill her..."

"She hasn't visited him in moons!" Fury snapped. "Why would he still think of her as a friend?"

Guilt flickered inside Mintpool. That was true. What's the point of telling her she knows him? What if they take her to him? Why would he still help her then? A splash of sadness flickered inside her. Another friendship, gone. 

"We should still take her to him, just in case," Falcon argued. "If he doesn't care, then we'll just kill her!"

"Fine," Fury growled. "Come on. And don't try to run." Raising a sharpened claw as proof, she padded over to Mintpool, flanking her, beginning to lead her into the forest, Falcon on the tabby's other side.

The gray tabby gulped, tilting her head, trying to look confident as she padded along with the two rogues. If this doesn't go well, I'll be dead by dawn.

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The rogues' camp was hidden within deep bushes and tall trees. Mintpool didn't even realize they'd reached it until Fury and Falcon stopped. 

"We have a prisoner!" Falcon yowled, making the tabby's pelt bristle. Prisoner?

At his call, more and more rogues started pouring out of their dens. Mintpool had no idea where they came from; they just seemed to pop out of the bushes! There were so many she'd completely lost count, pairs and pairs of bloodthirsty eyes staring at her, claws out. She gulped, trying to find her friend amongst them. Where's Cobrastrike?

A white tom stepped forward, scars ripped on his pelt. "Prisoners? We don't take prisoners, Falcon." He pulled his lips into a snarl, revealing sharp fangs. "We just kill them!"

"We would have liked to, Jaws," Fury meowed with an annoyed twitch of her tail, "but she claims she knows Cobrastrike."

"She's a Clan cat!" Jaws growled in response. "Who cares? Cobrastrike will be pleased, actually, if we kill her."

Yowls of agreement rang after Jaws' words. Their gaze turned back to Mintpool, looking eager to tear their claws through her pelt. The gray tabby felt a shiver run down her spine. Although she was extremely angry, wanting desperately to get revenge on AirClan, she was afraid, too. These rouges were pretty intimidating, especially with how many there were! How's there so much of them? They can't all hate the Clans, can they?

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you," a voice mused from the back.

Relief filled Mintpool as she glanced around for her savior. The voice sounded familiar... Cobrastrike? No, it was female. Shock surged through her as she spotted Mamba as the cat speaking. The black she-cat strutted forward towards the front of the crowd, facing Mintpool, her green eyes cold. 

"They were quite close," Mamba continued towards the rogues, that were now silent, "and I'm certain Cobrastrike will be livid if he finds out you've killed her." 

Worried murmurs now spread about the rogues. Why do they care so much about what Cobrastrike thinks? Mintpool wondered. Just as she was about to ask, Mamba flicked her tail.

"Come along with me, Mintpool, was it?" There was something about her voice - an air of cruelty despite her rather kind words - that made the gray tabby's pelt twitch with unease. "Our leader, Cobrastrike, would most definitely like to see you."

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Word Count // 1206

Yay, Chapter 2 is done! Another filler; nothing new in here. The beginning will be quite boring as Mintpool gets settled into the rogue life, but bear with me until we get to the exciting stuff! When I first planned this story, my idea was just to write one book and her revenge would be pretty straightforward. However, now that it's in two books, I think the straightforward revenge would be kind of boring. So, I've planned some new stuff now, so it's not just revenge. I'm excited to get to that! Anyway, can't say more without spoilers. The cat at the top is Fury! Okay, bye!