eternal: hyacinth || warrior cats

chapter 18

mintpaw

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IVORYSTAR SMILED, but again, it was fake. "And what do you propose, Rainstar?"

Rainstar had a wicked look in her eye. "Well, I'm sure you've told Tigerstar about the Great Secret, right?"

Mintpaw's pelt bristled uncomfortably, feeling her veins turn into ice. So that's what RiverClan calls the prophecy, she thought. The 'Great Secret'. Fitting name.

However, that wasn't what she was worried about. Did every cat in RiverClan know what the Great Secret was? Did Rainstar tell them? What about WindClan? Judging by how Rainstar was speaking, she definitely told Swiftstar, but does all of WindClan know?

Was this all a setup? A trap? Was WindClan and RiverClan about to attack at any moment?

Mintpaw tried to control her trembling. She wasn't supposed to know about the prophecy, she reminded herself. But she just couldn't stop the fear that pounded through her.

She looked through the crowd, in search of her brothers. There they were, near the front, eagerly watching the whole ordeal, whispering to each other about what the Great Secret could be.

They had no idea the danger the three of them were in.

And as if on cue, Rainstar's gaze landed on Viperpaw and Snakepaw. A knowing smile passed through her face before she looked back at Ivorystar.

"What's she talking about?" Rosepool demanded, her orange fur ruffled with unease. "What Great Secret?"

It seemed her and Cloverpaw were the only medicine cats that didn't know. Nobody bothered to answer Rosepool's question.

Mintpaw turned to her mentor, to see how she was feeling about this. Clearfrost was staring ahead stiffly, not wanting to even make eye contact with her fellow medicine cats. Mintpaw was surprised; in the ragdoll and Ivorystar's arguments, Clearfrost had always been the one insisting that they share the prophecy.

But what made her even more surprised, and perhaps unnerved, was the look of worry in her mentor's blue eyes.

She'd never seen that before.

Murmurs were breaking out through the clearing, even among the RiverClan and WindClan cats. That eased the gray tabby's anxiety a little. It seemed they'd heard of the 'Great Secret', unlike the ShadowClan and ThunderClan cats, though only their leaders and medicine cats knew the details.

Even the deputies seemed lost.

Good. The less cats that knew about it, the better.

Tigerstar was among those that looked confused, mirroring Rosepool's expression. Ah. So ThunderClan didn't know.

"What?" The brown tabby tom bristled his pelt, green eyes bright, clearly trying to keep calm. "Ivorystar, what's going on?"

"Oh?" Rainstar twitched her tail-tip, a pleased look in her blue gaze. She obviously knew Ivorystar hadn't told Tigerstar. "Was that supposed to be a secret, Ivorystar? Oops."

"I'll explain later," Ivorystar promised through gritted teeth, shooting a glare in Rainstar's direction.

"Later?" Rainstar shook out her pelt. "Don't you think that's something you should've told your ally before he signed himself and his Clan up for a war? Isn't it important to let them know what they're fighting about, and the benefits they could reap from it?"

Mintpaw shivered at the look in Rainstar's eyes.

Benefits.

Tigerstar's eyes gleamed with suspicion, looking at the ShadowClan leader for answers. "Ivorystar?"