ωαяяισя ¢αтѕ // Mintpool's Venom

Chapter 34

The two moons flew by. Everything was peaceful. In AirClan, at least. No more cats dared accusing Mintpool of anything. Robinflight didn't bother her anymore. Spotfrost's worry levels went down. Prey was slowly returning.

In the rogue camp however, it was a different story.

There had been a couple more attacks. By the same cat, it seemed. 

Rage, a Tail she-cat, came to camp one night, limping and gasping. She was shaking, seeming to terrified to report what she'd seen, only managing out short puffs of, "Green eyes! Green eyes... So cruel..."

Python had been next to be attacked. After a night of him disappearing, the black tom was found the next morning by Ivy, tucked in the deep thickets of the wood.

"It was so easy to pass by," Ivy had meowed. "If it had been any other cat, I doubt they'd have been able to find him. Thank Spirits for my tracking skills!"

They'd carried him back into camp, unconscious. Mintpool had done all she could. Thankfully, he was alive, but still unconscious. He'd been hurt so badly that he'd passed out. "Green..." the tom would sometimes murmur in his sleep, followed by a shiver. "Green means death."

That hadn't been very helpful.

The worst of them all was Frost.

The Fang she-cat went missing for two days. Every cat was panicking, thinking that she'd gone down the same path as Poison. But she returned on her own one night, trembling, looking mostly unhurt other than a scratch across her face, running from her right eye to the bottom of her muzzle. Thankfully, her eye was okay.

But clearly, the she-cat's spirits weren't. She screamed when Mintpool tried to approach her to heal her, flashing out her claws wildly and shrieking, "Get back! Get back! No! Go away! Please!"

It had taken forever for Mintpool to calm her down and take care of her wounds. The gray tabby wasn't stupid enough to ask her of who attacked her; there would be no new information, she knew, and Frost seemed extremely traumatized from it. She wouldn't even look Mintpool in the eyes whilst the gray tabby was healing her.

Mintpool knew why.

Her green eyes.

The gray tabby was exhausted. She hadn't been to AirClan's camp in three days. Before then, she'd only popped in once in a while, taking care of Rage and Python. Now, with Frost, Mintpool thought it'd be best to remain in the rogue camp. After all, it wasn't like Claw was going to take care of them.

"How are you holding up?" Holly's voice came from the entrance of the den.

Mintpool glanced up from where she was sorting out the scarce herbs that the rogues possessed. Her friend was standing at the opening of the den, a shrew dangling from her jaws.

"Tired." The gray tabby spoke, voice sleepy. "I've barely gotten any sleep in the past few days."

Sympathy flooded Holly's gaze as she trotted inside, dropping the shrew at her friend's paws; Mintpool gave a nod in thanks. "I imagine that's hard. You've got so much responsibility on you, with taking care of these cats and still needing to worry about fighting in the war..."

Mintpool bowed her head. She knew that if anything happened to the cats that were under her watch, the blame would be directed to her. Holly knew it, too, and the golden tabby stretched out her muzzle, touching her friend's shoulder softly.

Mintpool sighed, flicking her tail, feeling better. She hadn't seen Holly in a couple of days. The golden she-cat had been training fiercely. After all, the final battle was coming up very quickly. It was the day after tomorrow, the gray tabby realized.

Wow.

She'd been so wrapped up in the attacks that she'd barely stepped outside her den and noticed the changing weather. Glancing out of the opening of her den, Mintpool noticed that the frost on the ground had melted away. A breeze fluttered inside of the medicine den, bringing the promises of newleaf.

"Thanks, Holly."

The gray tabby didn't particularly know what she was thanking her friend for. Everything, she supposed. For being her friend. For teaching her how to hunt, to fight. For coming up with the idea of her spying on the Clans. For encouraging her to rise in ranks, leading up to her position today. And, of course, for bringing her the shrew.

Holly chuckled. "Of course. No problem. That's what friends are for." She got the gray tabby's message.

"Green..." Python's voice broke the moment, his voice cracked. "Green eyes mean death."

A sigh came from Mintpool. "He's been saying that for the past two days." A frown tugged on her face. It was really starting to creep her out.

Holly chuckled lightly. "Green eyes mean death? How poetic."

A purr rose from Mintpool. "Indeed. How's everything going with the rogues?"

The golden tabby shook out her pelt. "I'm still being accused, of course," she meowed. "Especially with all this... But some cats have backed off. Ivy's still going strong, though, and even Mamba's joined in."

Mintpool felt her pelt bristling. "What?" Having two of the most powerful cats in the rogue group against Holly didn't sound good. "What's Cobrastrike doing?"

"He's not really joining the conversations..." Holly trailed off awkwardly. "He jumps in when Mamba and Ivy say they want me exiled, but that's it."

Anger fueled through the gray tabby. Holly's been fending for herself? Mintpool rose to her paws, tail lashing. "I need to go speak with Cobrastrike. Do you mind keeping an eye on these three? Call me if anything happens."

Holly nodded. All three of the cats were asleep. Rage was snoring softly in the corner, most of her wounds healed, Python was still in his sleep daze, and Frost had finally settled down, too.

"Wait, Mintpool..." Holly called after her. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to go give Ivy and Mamba a piece of my mind," the gray tabby snarled. With that, she turned around and stalked out of the den.

The timing seemed like it was written by some powerful being. Just as Mintpool stepped out of the den, Ivy's voice rang through the clearing.

"Every cat! Gather around!"

She and Mamba were standing on top of the boulder; cats began to pile around them. Mintpool spotted Cobrastrike sitting off to the side, but he did nothing to stop the she-cats.

"Our cats have been attacked!" Ivy meowed. "Cobrastrike, our own leader, attacked. Rage, wounded, trembling. Python, so badly wounded that he went unconscious, and still is! Frost, driven insane. Whoever did this needs to be punished for their actions! And the culprit is no other than Holly!"

Mintpool opened her jaws for a sharp retort, but Mamba spoke before she could.

"Actually, Holly, I disagree." The black she-cat blinked at the Council Leader, who looked very shocked at Mamba's words, as ripples of murmurs spread through the crowd. Even Cobrastrike looked surprised.

Finally, Mamba's making some sense! Mintpool blinked, eager to see the deputy squash down Ivy's argument - it wouldn't be hard.

"I believe that the culprit of all this is Mintpool."

Never mind.

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Word Count // 1170

Not Edited

Heyyy! What did you guys think of this chapter? Not too much secrecy, I think, but I still had a fun time writing it! Any predictions for the future? Let me know!! Python is at the top of the chapter! Have a wonderful day!! Goodbye!