ωαяяισя ¢αтѕ // Mintpool's Venom

Chapter 33

Soft flurries were fluttering down from the sky as the cold, frosty air nipped Mintpool's nose. The gray tabby trotted into the rogue camp, nodding a greeting to Python and Flare, the two guards that were watching the entrance that day.

Mintpool's gaze swept the camp. It was the Paws' turn to eat, she noticed; many of them were bunched off to the side, sharing prey. As the gray tabby looked around, something caught her attention: Mamba, Ivy, and Poison were huddled together, heads pressed, whispering furiously amongst themselves. Mamba seemed angry, hissing something towards Ivy; Ivy glared right back, opening her jaws as she retorted; Poison had a glimmer of fear in her eye.

What was going on?

The gray tabby watched as Shadow, a Council Member, trotted towards the trio. As soon as the black she-cat had her presence noticed, the three cats instantly pulled away from each other. Mamba's expression returned to a stone-like one; Ivy smiled sweetly at her fellow Council cat, whisking her tail in mock kindness; Poison put on a shaky smile and greeted Shadow. Clearly the gray she-cat wasn't as experienced with these things as the other two.

"Mintpool." Cobrastrike's voice brought the gray tabby away from her staring. "You're back! How are you? Did AirClan suspect anything?"

"Robinflight did, but it was nothing I couldn't handle," Mintpool replied. "I have new information. The Clans are moving their attack forward by three moons."

"Three moons?" A frown tugged on Cobrastrike's face. "That's fine, I suppose. It's not like we need to have anything planned. The sooner we get rid of them, the better."

The gray tabby nodded. "Right. I was wondering-"

"Let every cat gather around to witness a rank challenge!" Mamba's voice pierced the air; startled, Mintpool exchanged a confused look with Cobrastrike before they both padded towards the black she-cat, who was standing on the boulder.

The trio had now split up. Mamba's expression was stone-faced, nodding slightly in greeting as Cobrastrike jumped on top of the boulder to join her.

"I, Mamba, the deputy, announce and approve of this challenge," Mamba yowled. "Holly wishes to rise to the rank of Fang, and therefore needs to win a battle against a cat of that rank. I shall choose whom that is." The black she-cat's gaze swept the crowd; for a scary moment, Mintpool thought that she was going to pick her. But with a simple scoff and roll of her eyes, Mamba continued scanning the cats. "Poison shall be the defender."

The dark gray she-cat stepped forward. Mintpool couldn't see her expression, as her back was facing her. But she spotted Holly, and gave her a quick, encouraging smile.

"Poison must fight to defend her rank as Fang. To win, one must hold down the other for three seconds." Mamba flicked her tail. "You may now begin."

Mintpool held her breath as she watched the two she-cats stalk each other in a circle. She'd never seen Holly fight before. Of course, the golden she-cat had helped train her, but she'd never watched her fight another cat. Her ears twitched with excitement, cheering for Holly inside of her head.

"Go Poison!"

"Boo Holly!"

"Get her Poison!"

Mintpool tried glaring at the cats who'd said this, but they'd disappeared in the crowd. She sighed, shaking out her pelt, focusing her attention back on her friend.

Holly jumped first. The golden tabby soared through the air, claws extended, towards Poison. The gray she-cat's eyes widened with alarm, ducking and rolling away, carrying just the tiniest of scars from this.

Instantly, the gray cat flashed out a paw, her claws scarring Holly's flanks, drawing blood. The golden tabby winced as she rolled away, climbing to her paws.

She didn't have very long of a break, though.

Poison came charging at her, head down.

Mintpool felt her breath hitch. Come on, Holly! She glanced at the tree behind the golden tabby. You know what to do! She remembered what her friend had taught her with dealing with this move; yet Holly seemed frozen, petrified.

The golden tabby's body seemed to act on its own. She was up in a rear, ready to bring her paws down on Poison's head. But it needed timing; and Holly seemed to be a little out of it right now.

As predicted, Poison bowled Holly over. The gray she-cat held Holly down for a long three seconds, before letting her up.

Yowls of cheer rang through the clearing.

"Poison! Poison! Poison!"

Through the cheering, Mintpool noticed Holly looking very dejected as she climbed onto her paws. Sympathy rushed through her friend. Poor Holly. It must've been a hard couple of days for her, especially with Ivy's whole accusation.

As the gray tabby climbed to her paws, about to go comfort her friend, a cat bumped roughly into her. Mamba.

"Move," the black she-cat snarled.

Mintpool scoffed, flicking her tail, but before she could take any steps, she spotted Ivy alone by herself at the side of the large crowd congratulating Poison. She looked confused, as if she'd just woken up and found her entire life changed. Yet at the same time, the brown she-cat's expression was pleased; a flicker of joy flashing on her face.

Mamba shouldered the gray tabby out of the way and padded over to join the Council Leader. Mintpool stared at the two, utterly confused, before rolling her eyes, giving up. They were too hard to figure out.

Turning around, Mintpool joined Holly's side, offering her friend a gentle nudge.

"I'm alright," Holly meowed, sighing. "A little disappointed, but okay." She blinked at the sky. "I just froze up. I guess I'm not as good as a fighter as I thought."

"You are! You taught me to fight."

"Perhaps I'm better off as a mentor or strategist."

"And there's nothing wrong with that," Mintpool replied, swishing her tail. "You're great at both! And think about it: you'll be extremely important with either job."

Holly nodded, looking slightly more cheerful. "I guess." She stood up, shaking out her pelt. "Come on, want to go hunting? We haven't done that in a while."

The gray tabby purred, climbing to her paws. "Of course!" And with that, the two set off. All thoughts of battles, Ivy, and Mamba melted away for the rest of the day.

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Word Count // 1018

Not Edited

Hi! This chapter's interesting, I suppose. I'm not a huge fan of writing battle scenes, so that certainly wasn't what I enjoyed about it. What I liked was the whole thing with Ivy, Mamba, and Poison. Any thoughts on it? You guys are extremely smart, so I'd love to hear your thoughts! Poison is on top! Goodbye!!