ωαяяισя ¢αтѕ // Mintpool's Venom

Chapter 39

It didn't take long for everything to melt away into absolute chaos.

Mintpool glanced around, trying to spot Robinflight in the crowd. She was the only one left that the gray tabby still had a more personal score to settle.

"Stormfoot!" Thistlestar yowled as the rogues closed in. "Go warn the camps!"

"No!" the gray tom yelped back. "I want to stay and fight!" His gaze fixed on Mintpool, a look of disbelief and betrayal flashing through them.

Mintpool lashed her tail. She'd never been close with Stormpaw - Stormfoot, now - nor Fernpaw, whatever her warrior name turned out to be. Their relationship was odd. She barely spent any time around them yet was believed to be their mother. Come to think of it, Mintpool hadn't exchanged more than a word with Stormfoot and Fernpaw ever. But they were the single reason for her exile.

In so, the gaze of betrayal wasn't a deeply personal one. Perhaps Stormfoot had longed for Mintpool's attention when he was young, but all that was over now - now she was no more than another rogue to him, one that'd betrayed his Clan, of course. And to Mintpool, he was no more than another Clan cat she was willing to tear down in order to reach her victory.

"Listen to your leader!" Thistlestar growled, as fighting broke out around them. "Go."

Hissing in frustration, Stormfoot turned around and bounded into the undergrowth, unchallenged by any of the rogues, for they were all busy fighting. After giving the crowd a quick scan and making sure Robinflight wasn't within this group, Mintpool jumped onto Thistlestar, knocking him over with an easy blow. As she flipped him around, noticing his odd breathing patterns, matted fur, and dilated pupils, it was easy to gather that he was sick.

"Didn't Spotfrost ever inform you that you were ill?" the gray tabby demanded with a sharp flick of her tail, and at the same time scratching the AirClan leader across the muzzle. "She truly isn't as fine as a medicine cat as me, is she? I'll have to take the blame for that, though: I made her a medicine cat too early. Good for me, bad for AirClan."

Thistlestar hissed. "You traitor! You'll go to the Dark Forest for this!"

Mintpool laughed. "Sure, I will. And I'm sure I'll care about that as well." She narrowed her eyes, leaning closer. "And I'll see you there as well, won't I?"

"What do you mean?" Thistlestar tried snapping at Mintpool's paws, but in his condition and lack of training, it was no use.

"You were the one who rejected StarClan's advice, were you not?" Mintpool mewed, as the AirClan leader's eyes widened with fear. "That lead to this entire scene. I'm sure your ancestors will be really pleased about that, hmm?"

"How do you know that...?" Thistlestar shook his head. "Never the mind. They know it's not my fault! They know that you tricked me!"

"I suppose that depends on who's the judge for your trial. As far as I know, Spottedstar isn't very pleased." Mintpool leaned closer, her lips pulling into a snarl. "Now tell me, where is Robinflight?"

"Camp," Thistlestar choked out instantly.

The gray tabby jumped off of him, spun around, and bounded towards AirClan's camp. Thistlestar truly was an excuse for a leader, ratting out Robinflight without hesitation. But Mintpool supposed he tried his best in this rather tough situation. That didn't matter to her though: she had more important things on her mind.

Her paws lead her easily through AirClan's territory, travelling on the land for perhaps the last time. Then, she'll be leaving it all for good.

Halfway to the camp, she realized how mousebrained she was being. Stormfoot must've gotten a warning back to AirClan's camp by now; surely warriors would be ready for an attack. There was no way she could fight off them by herself.

But it was too late to turn back; anger and a want for revenge had taken a hold of Mintpool's body. 

As she walked, her mind danced to when she first became a medicine apprentice. Oh, how far away ago that all was. When Snowfrost was alive. When Spottedstar still ruled AirClan. When she looked up ever so greatly to Echoleaf, and when her and Adderclaw's relationship wasn't nearly so broken. But most importantly, when she'd met Leafwhisker, Cloverleaf, and Cobrastrike - cats she'd once called her friends.

One train of thought led to another, and the gray tabby thought of the dream warning she'd had, then one where she'd first glimpsed at Cobrastrike, catching sight of him killing Leafwhisker, followed by the different futures: one where she protected Leafwhisker's kits, remaining on the Clans' side, and the other where she joined Cobrastrike as leaders of the rogue group, seeking to kill each and every Clan cat and destroy the system.

She wasn't going to do either. Leafwhisker... If her dream had been right, then Cobrastrike would take care of him for her. She'd focus her goal on revenging herself from Robinflight, then she'd leave. Mintpool wouldn't be involved in destroying the Clans as she'd dreamed. No, she'd leave all this and seek out a more peaceful life until the end of her days.

As she neared AirClan's camp, the gray tabby slowed down and softened her paw steps, creeping forward, crouched down, tail low. A plan had begun to form in her mind, hopefully one where she'd be able to sneak past the guards somehow and target Robinflight only. But as she approached the entrance, Mintpool found it deserted.

A frown tugged onto her face. Where are the guards?

The gray tabby parted her jaws, sniffing at the ground of the entryway. All scents were stale, the freshest one being Stormfoot's when he'd rushed in to deliver the warning. So he had made it. But then wouldn't there be more guards, if anything? Where are all the cats? Had they deserted? Mintpool didn't think of the Clans to be that cowardly.

Slowly, the gray tabby peeked into the camp, pelt bristled, ready for a surprise attack. But again, she found the entire place empty.

Flicking her tail in confusion, Mintpool padded in - more confidently - and stood in the center of the clearing. "Come out, you mousehearts!" she yowled, lashing her tail. "I know you're here!" Clan cats may be foolish, but they were also very loyal; there's no way they'd just abandon their camp.

After waiting several heartbeats for no response, Mintpool shook out her pelt in frustration. Where is Robinflight? Her tail-tip twitched as she parted her jaws, searching for the freshest cat scent. Aha. She found a trail. Following it, the gray tabby trotted into the medicine den, poking her head in and glancing around. Completely deserted. All the herbs were gone. Even the water flow of the pool seemed to have stopped somehow. Other than a large pile of moss and bracken, which she assumed to be the remainders of Spotfrost's abandoned nest, there was nothing. 

As she glanced around the den, she noticed a hole in the ground. A tunnel, reeking heavily of AirClan's scent. So they had escaped. Cowards.

Mintpool took a step forward, about to climb into the tunnel and follow it, when suddenly, a brown flash of fur leaped from the pile of moss, striking Mintpool squarely and knocking the gray tabby forward.

And that's when Mintpool's entire world went black.

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Word Count // 1215

Not Edited

Hello, hello, hello!! How's everyone doing today? I'm so, so sorry for the lack of updates (which I believe would be the entire month of February). I've had some new changes in my life which has kept me very busy and away from writing, plus the fact that I've just lacked a whole lot of motivation for this chapter, but today I finally got it done!! And surprisingly, I'm somewhat satisfied with it, since it's one of those chapters that I had a writer's block on. Anyway, I'm hoping to get more updates out (I always say that I know) and wrap up this series soon! There's only about 1-2 more chapters to go, plus the Epilogue, which I've got a pretty cool idea for, and will be predicted to be very, very short, like a couple of sentences maybe.

The picture at the top is (sort of) what I picture the abandoned medicine den to be! Leave any predictions/comments you have (I'd love to read them), and have a lovely, lovely day!! Bye!