ωαяяισя ¢αтѕ // Mintpool's Venom

Chapter 18

Dim moonlight splashed onto Mintpool's pelt as the tabby raced silently through the forest. She had snuck out of AirClan's camp and was now heading towards the rogues', her paws running along the familiar path with ease. 

Before long, the camp was in sight. Flare, a fellow Paw cat, was guarding the entrance. She didn't seem surprised to see Mintpool, for Cobrastrike had sent out a word to the tabby to come back this night and report. Flare flicked her tail in greeting as Mintpool rushed by into the camp. Although the gesture was small, it made the tabby's pelt fluff with pride; the rogues are finally viewing her as equals.

"Mintpool!" A familiar voice sounded behind her.

The tabby spun around, ears twitching happily. "Holly!" She bounded towards the golden tabby, tapping their noses together, a purr rising in her throat. She'd missed her friend's company.

The clearing, other than Holly, was empty; affection glimmered inside Mintpool for her friend. She must've waited for her before going to sleep.

"How are you doing?" Holly asked, worry glimmering in her eyes. "Is AirClan treating you alright?"

The tabby nodded. "Thistlestar's definitely under my control," she meowed. "Even when StarClan told him to kick me out, he didn't! Er- StarClan's our ancestors," she added on quickly seeing her friend's confused expression. "They guide us and send us warnings."

"Oh." Holly twitched her tail-tip, looking interested. "That's cool! So they're... spirit cats?"

Mintpool purred. "I guess you could say that."

"Have you gotten any warnings before?" Holly reminded the tabby slightly of a kit listening to stories, eyes wide and eager.

Mintpool flicked her tail. "No, not since AirClan exiled me."

"Mintpool." A new voice appeared from behind the tabby. 

Mintpool turned to see Cobrastrike. She twitched her tail-tip in greeting. "Hello!"

"Why don't you go back to your den, Holly," Cobrastrike meowed. "I think Mintpool and I have some more private things to discuss."

Holly nodded quickly before whispering do Mintpool, "Do you still want to do some training sometime?"

The tabby bobbed her head up and down.

With that, the golden she-cat offered a polite dip of her head towards Cobrastrike before turning, lumbering towards the dens. But, Mintpool noticed, Holly disappeared into the Tail den instead of Paw.

Surprise flickered through Mintpool. "Holly's a Tail now?"

"Indeed," Cobrastrike replied. "She won her battle while you were away."

"Oh." Mintpool felt curiosity bubbling inside her. She'd never seen Holly fight before, but the golden tabby must be skilled in that category. She just wished she could've cheered her friend on. But, before any more questions could be asked, Cobrastrike flicked his tail, moving on to the next topic.

"Did you receive any more news on the Clan attack?" the tom asked.

"They want to attack in different groups in the middle of the night," Mintpool meowed. "They're going to stack up on as many resources as possible before the attack. Then, WaterClan's going to attack first, as the weakest link because they're not that used to fighting in the trees. They're going to charge, fight for a little while, then retreat. Then AirClan's going to jump in while WaterClan retreats back to camp to heal, and EarthClan's waiting to attack. Then AirClan retreats, EarthClan attacks. Then, FireClan's going to wait a while before attacking, to let us think we've won and let our guards down. When FireClan attacks, the Clans think that that'll be enough to drive us all away."