Mintfeather's Secret

Chapter 14:

Mintpaw let out a sigh as more coughs erupted through the den. It had been a moon since Speckledfern had talked to Mintpaw about his feelings for Thrushpaw, but the grey tom didn't listen. He continued to grow closer and closer to Thrushpaw, and it became apparent to him that he had fallen hard for the light brown apprentice.

"Hey Mintpaw. How's Russetfoot?" He heard a soft mew from the entrance of the den. He perked up and turned around, purring at the sound of Thrushpaw's voice.

"He's still a bit sick, but he'll be okay in no time." The grey tom reported. Thrushpaw purred and sat beside Mintpaw, their pelts slightly brushing.

"That's good." He mewed.

"How's your shoulder?" Mintpaw asked, trying to strike up conversation as he sorted the herbs at his paws.

"It gets a bit sore after training, but it's doing alright." Thrushpaw answered, looking over at the sleeping deputy. "How are things with Speckledfern going?" He inquired. Mintpaw paused in his sorting before shaking his head and continuing on.

"Things are doing well." He half-lied. In all honesty, as long as neither one of them brought up the conversation they had had, everything was fine. But it wasn't hard to tell that things had changed between the two cats. "Is Robinpaw feeling better?"

"Yeah. I'd assume he is if he keeps kicking me in the side at night." Thrushpaw grumbled. Mintpaw let out a purr at the bitter tone in his voice.

"Still not getting enough sleep?" He asked. Thrushpaw snorted.

"That's an understatement. Ever since Skypaw became an apprentice she's always trying to get into the nest beside me. It was hard trying to convince Antpaw to switch nests with Redpaw. If he still slept in the nest beside me, there's no doubt he would've let Skypaw sleep in it instead." Thrushpaw grumbled. "He honestly hates my guts because he thinks I have a thing for Darkpaw. How fish-brained can you get?" Mintpaw felt his heart rise at what the light brown apprentice had said, and tilted his head at the choice of words the tom used.

"Fish-brained?" He mewed curiously.

"It's what one would say in WaterClan. It's sort of like the term mouse-brain. It just kind of slips out now and then." Thrushpaw mewed with embarrassment. Mintpaw nodded his head in understanding.

"Well, you were raised half of your life in WaterClan, so it's hard to just slip out of something you're so used to." He mewed. Thrushpaw purred and nodded his head.

"Yeah. It's been a while since I've used that term though..." He mewed thoughtfully.

"Do you... do you ever miss being in WaterClan?" Mintpaw asked nervously. Thrushpaw hesitated before responding.

"Sometimes. But I know that I don't belong there. I've always had a feeling that I wasn't meant to be in WaterClan. Even though I miss it because I left my mother, my siblings, and my friends behind, I wouldn't ever go back. I wouldn't trade it for what I have now." Thrushpaw mewed certainly. Mintpaw purred.

"Could you tell me more about your life in WaterClan? All you've really told anyone is vague stories without so many details." Mintpaw chuckled. Thrushpaw laughed and smiled at his paws.

"Sure. As you probably already know, my mother is a she-cat named Moonclaw. My mother is a really nice and generous warrior. She has a sister named Ivywhisker. Her mate is named Adderfang, who she left Nightshade for. I never knew why. They had two kits together, my brother Rockpaw, and my sister, Hawkpaw. They have lots of friends they played with when they were kits. There were Heatherfoot's kits, Bramblepaw and Leafpaw. Dawnfur's were Brightpaw and Pebblepaw. And Petalfur's kits were Mistkit and Birdpaw. Hawkpaw, Brightpaw, and Birdpaw were the best of friends, and so was Rockpaw, Pebblepaw, and Leafpaw. Bramblepaw was more of the in-between friend." He mewed. Mintpaw listened intently, turning his head to where he thought the tom was sitting.

"I had a friend in one of the other clans. She was probably the nicest she-cat I've ever met. Her name was Raccoonpaw from TreeClan. Her mother had another litter of kits too. Fernkit and Snowkit, I believe. Everything was just wonderful. Adderfang treated me like I was his kit before he was told the truth. Then he just... chased me away. My father was named as my mentor because no one knew I was his kit except for him and my mother. I found out the truth one day, and that's when Nightshade told me we were going to run away." Thrushpaw mewed quietly.

"I never looked back or said goodbye to my siblings. I wonder if they think about where I could've gone?" He muttered. Mintpaw frowned and nudged the light brown tom's shoulder with his muzzle.

"Hey, I'm sure everything will be alright. You have a life here in DuskClan, and you have friends and family who care about you here. What more could you ask for?" He mewed brightly. Thrushpaw purred as he stared at Mintpaw with gleaming eyes.

"Nothing." He mewed gently. "Life is perfect the way it is right now." He sighed, leaning on Mintpaw's side. The grey tom felt his pelt heat up and he continued on his work sorting out herbs, trying to ignore the flutter of his heart that semi-distracted him.

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"No! This can't be!" Speckledfern's startled and panicked mew roused Mintpaw from his slumber.

"What's going on?" He yawned, sniffing the air drowsily. He flinched at the strong scent of something he recognized all too well. He had smelled it on his brother and Speckledkit when they were taken out of the pond. The scent of death.

"Russetfoot... Russetfoot is dead." Speckledfern mewed quietly. Mintpaw shot up out of his nest.

"What?!"

"We must tell Dawnstar right away!" Speckledfern mewed, leading Mintpaw out of the den. Mintpaw sniffed the air to scent Thrushpaw nearby. The light brown tom padded slowly out of the apprentice's den, his eyes shining with annoyance and exhaustion. All of that disappeared when he spotted Mintpaw and Speckledfern padding over to the leader's den. He frowned and fought the urge to follow after them, and ended up sitting in the middle of the camp, staring up at the starry sky. He jumped when he heard a gruff, deep mew sound behind him.

"Thrushpaw, follow me." Nightshade mewed as he padded past his son and towards the camp entrance. Thrushpaw blinked with confusion before padding after his father, a frown on his face.

"Dawnstar, I need to speak with you." Speckledfern mewed urgently. The tom lifted his head from his paws and blinked up at the medicine cat with confusion.

"What's wrong?" He yawned.

"Russetfoot... Russetfoot is dead." Speckledfern mewed quietly.