mintberry

~~~

LEAFPAW'S STATUS WAS difficult. There was both a good and bad part.

On the up side, despite the leafbare weather, the gray tabby had managed to find the herbs she'd needed to heal Leafpaw's injuries. It wasn't extremely difficult. RiverClan, WindClan, and now even ShadowClan's territories were at her disposal. And, she could easily stop by ThunderClan and ask Rosepool if she needed anything.

While Leafpaw's physical wounds healed nicely, Mintberry quickly noticed that an illness had taken over the black-and-white apprentice's body. He had a fever, his phlegm turned green, and often coughed up mouthfuls of blood. 

Nothing Mintberry did worked. Feverfew didn't cure his worryingly high temperature, and she didn't even know what to do for the blood. In fact, the symptoms she saw in him were strikingly similar to the disease Ivorystar had.

She shivered. Great StarClan, how was it possible that Leafpaw contracted the disease? No cat in ShadowClan, other than Ivorystar, had gotten it. How in the world did Leafpaw get it?

 When she shared this with Dapplestar, the silver bengal stared back at her with wide eyes. "And how did you heal her?"

"I didn't." Mintberry swallowed roughly, feeling ashamed to admit this. "Ivorystar lost a life."

An instant panic had overtaken Dapplestar's expression. "Leafpaw dying is not an option," she mewed. "I can't have an epidemic under my reign. Mintberry, please."

The gray tabby twitched her pelt and bowed her head. "I'll do all I can."

But that was rather difficult, wasn't it? StarClan was gone, and Clearfrost had never taught Mintberry about such a disease. 

So, the gray tabby often found herself a bit away from RiverClan's camp, in a secluded area by a weeping willow tree to think. And think she did. 

She thought long and hard about what happened last time with Ivorystar. She hadn't gotten sick. Why not? The deranged ShadowClan leader had breathed into her face, yet she hadn't gotten it. Was she just immune? Or was it...

Tansy.

Mintberry gasped, the dots in her head suddenly connecting. The night before Ivorystar had lost a life to this disease, Mintberry had had an encounter with the rogues. She was panicked, and to calm her down, Viperfoot had tried giving her thyme - but, with his lack of herb knowledge, he'd fed her tansy instead.

Could that be what prevented her from contracting the disease?

This is silly, Mintberry thought as she padded back into camp for search of the herb. Yet - carefully, maintaining a distance from Leafpaw's nest - she ducked into the medicine den, located the herb, chewed the stems, and swallowed.

~~~

ODDLY ENOUGH, they seemed to do the trick. For the rest of the week, as she worked on the black-and-white apprentice's wounds, she remained perfectly healthy. Satisfied that tansy seemed to work, Mintberry wanted to pick more. However, tansy typically grew in Twolegplaces, and the nearest one was located on WindClan's territory edges.

The very same border where the rogues had taken her and her brothers.

"Take some warriors with you," Dapplestar mewed when Mintberry told her her plan, her blue eyes flickering with worry. "I would come with you, but I really can't get away right now. I have a meeting with Swiftstar, and-"

"That's okay," the gray tabby interrupted gently, passing her a light smile. "I get it."

With Swiftstar's old age, it's better to have as many meetings with him as possible before it's too late. 

For this exploration, Mintberry decided to pick the warriors that she think hates her the least. Beefoot, whose cold gaze always seemed the friendliest; Rockstorm, whose nose usually didn't wrinkle with disgust when Mintberry approached the fresh-kill pile and was Leafpaw's father; and Pebbleflight, who was willing to exchange more than a singular word with her and was Leafpaw's mother.

Still, the three were grumbling amongst themselves as they followed - with a great length of distance - behind the gray tabby through the gorge and into WindClan's land. 

Dapplestar and her patrol walked with them for the most part, splitting off to WindClan's camp once they crossed the border. 

"I won't be too too far," she promised, whispering the words quietly into Mintberry's ear. "If anything's wrong, yowl as loudly as you can, and I'll be there."

Mintberry smiled at her, feeling relief flutter in her stomach. "Thanks."

It was nerve-racking, returning to a place where she'd been kidnapped by rogues, with a group of cats who would in no way ever be willing to save her. 

At the very least, she was hoping that Rockstorm and Pebbleflight would fight for her if something went wrong, even if it was to save her so that she could continue healing Leafpaw.

Dapplestar rubbed her cheek against Mintberry's, then waved her tail, leading her patrol away. Taking a deep breath, and glancing over her shoulder to check that they were still here, the gray tabby started for the Twolegplace.

This leafbare had left behind a thick trail of brittle frost, but Mintberry managed to find a patch of tansy hidden beneath the porch. Enough for Dapplestar and a few other cats to have a dose. Quickly, she collected it, but as she straightened, her ears suddenly caught the sound of paws scraping against the wood of the Twoleg nest.

She froze. 

"Are you finished yet?" Pebbleflight called towards her, twitching her pelt a little impatiently from where she was standing besides her mate.

Before she could answer, another sound came from the nest; a mew. This time, the fear in Mintberry's mind disappeared, for that sound was identifiable. It wasn't any threat.

She didn't answer. Dropping the herbs, she shot onto her paws and padded up the front steps to the entrance of the Twoleg den.

"Hey!" Rockstorm meowed, lashing his tail. "What are you doing?"

Still, the gray tabby didn't reply, her mind focused solely on what she'd just heard in the nest. Cautiously - the door creaked open from the last time it'd been forced apart - she stuck her head inside.

"Hey, hey!" Pebbleflight's voice grew closer as the tortoiseshell ran up behind her, snagging her tail. "Don't go in there, are you out of your mind?"

Mintberry shook her off. "Stop that. There's a kit in here."

Pebbleflight frowned. "What?"

"A kit." Whisking her tail, Mintberry slipped inside.

The first thing she noticed was that it was dark. The den was warmer than outside, but it was still cold, no place suitable for a kit. The kit's mewling grew louder at the sound of the two RiverClan cats, and following that, the gray tabby quickly located it beneath a soft boulder that'd fallen from its place.

The kit must've wiggled under the soft boulder to keep warm.

Mintberry can't quite describe the feeling she felt when she first saw the kit. It was a black she-kit, tiny and instantly pushing herself towards Mintberry's paws, attracted to her warmth.

That was new. No cat had ever drawn close to Mintberry because she was warm before, physically or emotionally. This kit was so innocent. No way she'd survive on her own; it's a miracle that she was even alive right now.

"Mintberry?" Pebbleflight's voice traveled from the door. "Ready to go?"

This decision was made very quickly in the gray tabby's mind. Before she could talk herself out of it, she leaned forward and grabbed the kit's scruff. She was too weak to struggle as Mintberry lifted her up and padded out towards Pebbleflight.

The tortoiseshell she-cat's eyes narrowed at the sight. "You're not serious."

Mintberry lifted her head. "I want to keep her." Her voice was muffled by the kit's fur.

"You can't." Pebbleflight shook her head. "That's a rogue's kit, that rogue scent is all over her-"

"The Warrior Code says never to ignore a kit in need-"

"But there must be some exceptions during war," Pebbleflight retorted, her eyes hard.

Mintberry stared back firmly at her. Clearfrost had wanted her to be a medicine cat, so she became one. Viperfoot had wanted to know the prophecy, so she'd told him. And Snakestar - well, what had Snakestar wanted that he hadn't gotten?

She wanted this kit. 

"The rogues must be falling apart if they're willing to abandon their kit," Mintberry argued. "The war will be over soon."

"For all you know, this kit could be a trap-"

"A trap for what? If the rogues were using this kit as bait, they would've already jumped us."

Pebbleflight lashed her tail. "You're a medicine cat-"

"No I'm not," the gray tabby interrupted sharply. "When Dapplestar invited me to join RiverClan, she specifically said that I wouldn't have to-"

"You know what I mean," Pebbleflight muttered, rolling her eyes.

"No, I don't," Mintberry mewed. "Listen, I can take care of this kit and Leafpaw, if that's what you're worried about. This kit will die on its own."

"And there was no chance that my son would die if it wasn't for the rogues," Pebbleflight hissed. "They injured him, gave him this awful disease-"

"And I will do everything I can to cure him." Mintberry lifted her chin. "Now, let's bring this kit back to camp and see what Dapplestar says, hm?"

The tortoiseshell warrior's eyes flashed, but she didn't argue. Placing the kit carefully on her back, Mintberry descended from the porch to grab her bundle of tansy; then, without glancing over at Rockstorm and Beefoot, she started back for RiverClan's camp.