eternal: primrose || warrior cats

chapter 6

mintpaw

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CLEARFROST PULLED AWAY from Ivorystar as soon as they slipped into the medicine den. Whereas before, her tail was wrapped around her sister's shoulder in a show of support, she disentangled herself once they were inside the cave, taking several steps away from ShadowClan's leader before speaking.

"You're crazy."

Ivorystar's eyes sharpened, the previous state of shock and grief melting away quickly. She angled her ears at Mintpaw, giving the gray tabby a pointed look.

"Mintpaw, go grab some thyme and mint," Clearfrost ordered, "and while you're there, could you re-organize the juniper berries and poppy seeds and swap the two's storage areas?"

Mintpaw nodded, padding away. Clearfrost and Ivorystar had been meeting a lot recently; the ragdoll had probably told her to re-organize so many things she'd practically switched around the entire herb storage.

"Are you sure she can't still hear us?" Ivorystar hissed.

"The walls are thick," Clearfrost assured, though she knew it wasn't true. She didn't seem to care, though, if Mintpaw heard. "Let's move on to another topic. You killed Waspstrike."

Mintpaw's breath hitched at those words, feeling her veins slowly turn into ice.

"I did no such thing," Ivorystar snapped. "As I told everyone else, a monster ran him over."

"Like I'm supposed to believe that," Clearfrost meowed coldly. "He got ran over by a monster on a Thunderpath which hardly any monsters go by? What was he doing on the Thunderpath in the first place? And you're telling me that both you and him couldn't hear the monster coming in the dead of night? That's a load of foxdung."

"I'm sorry if you don't believe it, but that's what happened," Ivorystar replied firmly.

"I'm certain." Clearfrost's voice was dripping with sarcasm. "What warranted his death? Him asking about the prophecy?"

When Ivorystar didn't answer, the ragdoll got her answer.

"So I'm correct. That's unfortunate, Ivorystar, he's a good cat. He's a good deputy and would've made a good advisor."

"I don't need him," Ivorystar mewed flatly.

Clearfrost's voice was icy when she spoke again. "I'm guessing you don't need the thyme then, either. No point in wasting herbs."

Uncomfortable silence followed her words. Then a rustle as Ivorystar stood up and left the den.

Clearfrost sighed. "Mintpaw, you can come back now."

The gray tabby stumbled forward, mint clutched in her jaws. She knew Clearfrost is aware of her eavesdropping. There's no point in hiding. "She- she-"

"Killed Waspstrike, yes." The ragdoll seemed as unfazed as ever. "You can put the mint down here."

"Isn't that... against the Warrior Code?" Mintpaw squeaked. "Shouldn't StarClan do something?"

Clearfrost ruffled her fur. "What would StarClan do?" she asked softly. This was perhaps the first time the gray tabby saw her mentor so vulnerable. "In the end, they're just spirits. And they're not all-knowing. Plus, the majority of them are hardly paying attention to what's happening in our lives. I mean, why should they? They've got everything they want, endless euphoria."

"So..." Mintpaw's mouth felt dry. "What do we do?"

Clearfrost gazed at her. "What can we do? If we try anything, Ivorystar would have us killed before we can utter a single word."