ωαяяισя ¢αтѕ // Mintpool's Venom

Chapter 16

Before Mintpool could say anything, Spotpaw flicked her tail in greeting. "Hi."

The gray tabby paused, slightly shocked at how open the young she-cat was. After all, she'd just found out that her mentor was dead. "Hello." Mintpool blinked, trying to study Spotpaw. The spotted she-cat's gaze seemed bubbly and cheerful at the surface, but deep down, heavy grief shadowed her eyes. The gray tabby guessed that Spotpaw was a cat who hid their bad feelings and tried covering them with good ones, as if it would help make them feel better.

"I can't wait to learn things from you," Spotpaw meowed, "and I'm really glad that you're back in the Clan. Adderclaw talks about you a lot."

"He does?" Mintpool tilted her head, bemused. 

Her apprentice ducked her head. "Yeah. I think he feels pretty guilty about what happened. I hope you can forgive him."

This sent another wave of shock through the gray tabby. She's quite mature for her age. She's handling Echoleaf's death well and is trying to get me to forgive her father. A cat who rules with head over heart. An opposite of Mintpool, perhaps. After all, she had made the impulse decision to join the rogues. "No worries. We're all in the same Clan, now. It would be mouse-brained to hold a grudge."

Spotpaw looked happy at her words.

The gray tabby shook out her pelt. "Echoleaf's funeral should be starting soon. Is there any mint left in the storage?"

The spotted apprentice nodded. "Mhm! It's in the back. I can go get it, if you'd like?" 

"That would be great, thanks." Mintpool watched as Spotpaw darted away, her mind whirling. So far, she seems nothing like Adderclaw or Flowershine... She twitched her tail-tip, rather fondly. She reminds me more of Snowfrost.

Spotpaw's head bobbed out from the storage, sprigs of mint in her jaws. They weren't the freshest leaves, but they'd have to do. Mintpool flicked her tail in thanks to Spotpaw, grabbing the leaves and padding outside, the apprentice on her tail.

Echoleaf's body lay in the center of the camp. The entire Clan was now crowded around it, murmurs of grief filling the air. Even Robinflight looked sad, shifting her paws as she stared at Echoleaf's unmoving body. As Spotpaw darted away to join her family, Mintpool padded forward. Thistlestar flicked his tail in indication for the ceremony to begin.

The gray tabby had experienced two ceremonies in her life. One for Snowfrost, and the other for Spottedstar. She had a good grasp of what she was going to say. "Echoleaf's spirit has left us and joined the ranks of StarClan." Her meow bounced off of the trees. "She was a brilliant medicine cat and was a great friend to all of us. Her name shall be passed down in our stories." Mintpool twitched her pelt. "Echoleaf, may you find good hunting, swift running, and shelter where you rest." With that, she stepped forward, giving the gray she-cat's pelt a lick. "You were a wonderful mentor and friend to me."

One by one, AirClan moved forward, giving their dead medicine cat's fur a lick, murmuring parting words. As Spotpaw bounced forward, her eyes danced uneasily before she spoke. "You were a very good mentor, even in the short period of time we spent together. You taught me a lot, and I'm very grateful for your guidance." 

Thistlestar finished off, crouching low and murmuring words that Mintpool couldn't make out. When he was finished, she padded forward once more, chewing up the mint and lapping it on Echoleaf's pelt. When she was done, the scent of mint covered the gray she-cat's body completely.

As Mintpool moved back, she couldn't help but feel it was a scene she'd seen already. Echoleaf's dead body... everything smelling of mint... the dream! Her mind flashed back to when she was an apprentice. The dreams StarClan scent her over and over again... one had Echoleaf dying. And, she smelled of mint.