ωαяяισя ¢αтѕ // Mintpool's Venom

Chapter 5

Mintpool sniffed through some snow, pawing at the white clumps, twitching her tail in frustration. She was trying to find something - anything - that could act as bedding for her nest. So far, it seemed that it was all covered by a thick layer of snow. She glanced at the pile of moss besides her. At least I have that.

Holly's eyes lit up happily. "I found some ferns buried under the snow!" With a cheerful whisk of her tail, she leaned down, sticking her muzzle in the flurries, and pulling out a jawful of ferns, looking very proud of herself.

The gray tabby let out a gentle purr. "That's great. Thanks, Holly."

The golden tabby nodded cheerfully, setting down the ferns. "You're really nice," she commented. "Once, I brought one of the other Paws, Thorn, a mouse, and he hissed at me! I was just trying to be kind!" Her tail-tip twitched as she huffed at the memory. "You're way nicer than the other rogues." 

Mintpool ducked her head. "Thank you." Being nice, perhaps, was part of her personality that she'd developed over the years. However, she realized, it was also a strategy. She'd gotten Holly to trust her, hadn't she? If she'd been mean, she would've been left alone, all confused. But now she has a friend. "Same to you. What brings you here?" A bit blunt, but she'd been wondering that all morning.

Holly flicked her ears. "I used to be a kittypet," she explained, pawing at more snow to uncover more ferns. "I loved my Housefolk - they were so nice! But, one day, they just packed up their things and left." Sorrow crept into her green gaze, and Mintpool suddenly felt bad about asking her. The gray tabby opened her jaws, about to request Holly to pause, but the golden tabby barreled on. "I had no idea where they went! They just drove their monster away." A heavy sigh exited her. "I had nowhere else to go. So, I joined the rogues. They promised me food and shelter, which was better than me wandering around blindly, getting attacked my other creatures."

Mintpool flicked her ears, still having questions, wondering if Holly would mind her asking.

The golden tabby caught her gaze, as though she could read her mind. "Go on, what other questions have you got? I don't mind talking about this. It was moons and moons ago! I'm way over my Housefolk leaving me. And, besides, if we're going to be friends we need to understand each other's backstory, right?"

The gray tabby swished her tail, glad that Holly was so understanding. "How did you learn how to hunt and fight?" That was something she thinks she's going to struggling with the most here; she could barely catch a mouse in greenleaf, much less leafbare! She knew one single move, which wouldn't do her much use.

Holly tilted her head, blinking thoughtfully. "I always knew how to hunt," she meowed slowly. "My Housefolk lived on the other side of the forest, where there were no other Twolegs. So, sometimes, I would just come out and try to catch something. I wasn't too bad at it, but I was never really good, either. When I joined the rogues, I improved my skills. As for fighting, I just watched the other cats do it. It's not very rare for a fight to break out. And, if you study it properly, it's not too hard. Don't worry, I can help you practice."

"Thanks," Mintpool mewed, blinking at the golden tabby. Holly's very clever, she thought. She can just watch cats fight and learn it that way? Great StarClan, I could never do that! Her stomach clutched as that phrase appeared in her mind. Forget StarClan! They did nothing to help you, did they? They didn't send any signs when Thistlestar exiled you! Another wave of anger boiled inside her, this time for StarClan. 

"Mintpool?" Holly blinked at her. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, sorry." The gray tabby nosed away some more snow, uncovering her own patch of ferns. "I just got caught up in some thinking."