mintberry

~~~

MINTBERRY HAD NEVER FELT THIS WAY BEFORE. Motherly. And she didn't think that anyone would've expected her to be or want that type of lifestyle. When she asked Dapplestar about keeping the kit, the silver bengal's eyes nearly popped out of her head, but agreed all the same.

Mintberry had given her a bath, mashed up prey, and named her Darkkit. And Darkkit was now Mintberry's entire world.

The gray tabby wasn't sure what it was that drew her so deeply to the tiny black she-kit. Maybe it was the fact that she'd never truly had someone or something for herself before. Snakestar had ShadowClan, Viperfoot had Frozenlight, Clearfrost had her role, and even Dapplestar's loyalty was to RiverClan first.

Mintberry had never quite fit in in ShadowClan, and she certainly wasn't a RiverClan cat, despite where she now lived. To her, Darkkit felt like an anchor, someone who made her feel that she belonged.

She loved Clearfrost, but even she had to admit that she didn't feel as though she had a support system growing up. She didn't want Darkkit to feel the same way.

"Mintberry." Dapplestar's voice called the gray tabby's attention away from where she'd been rolling a moss ball for Darkkit to run after.

It'd been a few weeks after Mintberry had brought Darkkit back to RiverClan, and the black she-kit was adapting well. She liked fish, wading in the shallow parts of the river despite the cold, and was fairly amiable and agreeable to everyone.

Mintberry only wished that the other cats of RiverClan could accept her.

"Yes, Dapplestar?" The former medicine cat glanced up at the RiverClan leader as Darkkit came tumbling towards the pair.

Mintberry caught Darkkit easily with her tail, pulling her to her flank as Darkkit squirmed excitedly. Dapplestar shot the black she-kit an amused look and placed a paw onto Darkkit's body, pushing her down gently. Darkkit went still from that motion, and she tossed the RiverClan leader a gleeful smile. Dapplestar was always the one who could calm Darkkit down.

The three were at the entrance of Dapplestar's den, huddled together. Mintberry could see RiverClan cats shooting them odd looks, but she ignored it. She hoped that they would eventually accept Darkkit, and that the black she-kit would never feel as though she wasn't part of the Clan.

Dapplestar faced Mintberry again. "I want to talk about Leafpaw's illness."

"Greencough!" Darkkit chirped, and the gray tabby's pelt instantly flushed. She'd named the disease after the green phlegm, and had been calling it greencough only around Darkkit. It felt silly to do so in public. After all, naming a dangerous disease really shouldn't be on the to-do list.

And clearly, her gut feeling was correct, for Dapplestar raised an eyebrow. "You named it?"

Mintberry shrugged, trying to bulldoze through it. "It just feels easier to refer to," she mewed, keeping her voice calm and collected despite her heightening embarrassment.

However, she needn't be afraid. The silver bengal gave her a fond look before continuing. "I was wondering if you had any updates on this... greencough."

Mintberry hesitated before answering. "Leafpaw doesn't seem to be responding too well to the feverfew. He's getting a little better, but not as much as I'd like. I've asked Rosepool, Cloverfern, and Whiteberry, but they don't have any clues either."

Now would usually be when medicine cats would turn to StarClan for help. But, StarClan's nowhere to be found.

Still, Mintberry wondered if Clearfrost could see her - see all of this. Maybe the ragdoll had been the one to send the illness to Ivorystar. And maybe she had a cure as well.

Seeing as Dapplestar had no response, the gray tabby began talking again, a little nervously this time. "You know, this disease probably came from the rogues."

The RiverClan leader flicked her ears. "The rogues?"

"Yeah. Leafpaw was attacked by them, wasn't he? That's the only place I can think of where he could've contracted the disease, considering nobody else is sick."

Dapplestar nodded, slowly. "If the rogues have greencough, that means they're weak. We need to find their camp now and finish them."

"Be careful," Mintberry warned. "Their camp could be contaminated. I wouldn't go purposefully searching for it."

The silver bengal twitched her pelt in acknowledgment, but she was clearly organizing a search patrol in her mind. However, before she could voice any of this, a panicked voice cut through the peaceful chatter of RiverClan's camp.

"Dapplestar! Please, we need help!" 

It wasn't long before a WindClan apprentice burst through the opening of RiverClan's camp. Mintberry's eyes widened when she recognized him. It was Harepaw, Whiteberry's apprentice. The dark gray tabby tom stood there, shivering, and he glanced around wildly, trying to pinpoint the RiverClan leader.

Dapplestar stepped forward, and his gaze fell onto her with great relief. "What is it?"

"Cherrylight." Harepaw trembled. "Swiftstar- he passed away last night, and Whiteberry took Cherrylight up the Highstones to the Mothermouth-"

He didn't need to say any more. Highstones only meant one thing: Snakestar.

Dapplestar cut him off with a lash of her tail. "Patrol. I want Ivyfoot, Appleflight, Leopardlight-"

"Wait." Harepaw's voice interrupted Dapplestar quietly. "We need her."

The silver bengal's voice twisted in confusion. "Need who?"

Weakly, the medicine cat apprentice nodded over at Mintberry. The gray tabby froze as every cat's head swiveled to turn to her, and she felt her ears press down to the top of her head as Darkkit pushed herself into Mintberry's fur at the attention. 

Dapplestar turned back to Harepaw, shaking her head. "She's not a medicine cat anymore."

Despite looking timid and well afraid of the RiverClan leader, Harepaw protested. "I heard she's taking care of Leafpaw."

A glint of annoyance flashed in Dapplestar's eyes. "Yes, there have been some exceptions, but-"

"Well this needs to be an exception," Harepaw mewed, his voice growing firmer now. "I'm only a medicine cat apprentice, and, well, I need a second opinion on this, because I think-" He broke off, nervously. "I think-"

The entire camp was silent now, waiting for Harepaw to finish his sentence. However, the WindClan tom kept cutting himself off, as though he couldn't bear to say it aloud.

Finally, it was Mintberry that prompted him. "You think what?" 

"I think that..." He swallowed, roughly. "I think that Cherrylight and Whiteberry are dead."

~~~

okay, so my idea is that darkkit becomes darkstar, who's the leader of riverclan during the mapleshade era! since this book is wrapping up, i wanted to connect it to the timeline of the cannon warrior cat series :')

have an amazing day/night! thank you for reading!

~ lily