mintberry

~~~

"DAPPLEFROST?" Mintberry called out tentatively into the dark tunnel. "Dapplefrost, are you there?"

Despite having explored this tunnel several times when meeting with her RiverClan friend, Mintberry still hated it. She hated how... unnatural it felt. It was a Twoleg-made structure, the roof blocking the moon, the polluted water dripping down from the walls. And though monsters running on this Thunderpath were rare now, the tunnels still held a strong acidic smell that made her gag.

So, she refused to enter until she had confirmation Dapplefrost had already arrived. 

"Yes, I'm in here," came the RiverClan warrior's voice. "Just keep going down - I'm at the middle."

Taking a deep breath, Mintberry ducked in. Almost instantly came the scent of acid and oil, and the gray tabby shivered uncomfortably. 

She was finally able to make out the silver bengal's shape in the shadows, and bounded forward, going a little too fast and crashing into the wall. Dapplefrost jumped out to steady her. "Great StarClan, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, sorry." Mintberry's pelt burned with embarrassment. "I slipped on... oil."

Dapplefrost's blue eyes seemed like they were the only bright thing in this tunnel, and right now, they twinkled with amusement. "I'm sure."

Mintberry cleared her throat, eager to change the conversation, and said the first thing she could think of. "Snakestrike became deputy."

Dapplefrost tilted her head. "Did he now?"

"Yeah - I didn't know you were allowed to become deputy that young. I mean, technically, he isn't, he had to get assigned an apprentice and everything, which I personally think is still against the code, because he hasn't mentored that apprentice yet, but-" Mintberry broke off, realizing she was rambling. "Anyway, with him in charge, the Clan will burn down someday, I know it."

Dapplefrost hummed. "Then maybe the war will be over." She glanced at Mintberry to see the gray tabby's reaction, but the ShadowClan medicine cat was at ease.

Dapplefrost's words insinuated that ShadowClan will be on the losing side of the war. Mintberry knew she should feel angry and defend her Clan, perhaps, but she didn't feel anything of the sort. Whoever wins, it was a lose-lose situation for her. Maybe being in RiverClan will be better than under the control of a power hungry Ivorystar, anyway.

"Rainstar still hasn't chosen a deputy yet," Dapplefrost admitted. "I think her and Splashfoot - I think they were quite close. Might've become mates in the future, you know? She's heartbroken."

Mintberry winced. "That's horrible." She didn't even want to think about the fact that it was Ivorystar who killed Splashfoot. Unnecessarily, according to Clearfrost. 

Dapplefrost sighed, sitting down. "I feel really bad for Rainstar sometimes."

Mintberry sat next to her. "Because of the Splashfoot thing?"

"Not just that. After her brother became a warrior, he left RiverClan, ran off or whatever. The two were actually very close, so it broke Rainstar's heart. Of course, it didn't help that he completely destroyed her leg later in the future."

Mintberry's ears stood up. "Oh, is that her limp?"

"Yeah. It doesn't even matter that she has more lives, because with every life, the limp comes back," Dapplefrost mewed. "A constant reminder of her brother's betrayal."

Mintberry twitched her pelt. "That's awful. I get enough of my brothers' presence without carrying a sign of them."

Dapplefrost sighed, nodding. "So, anything new with you?"

Mintberry drew a shaky breath. Maybe this was supposed to be a Clan secret in the war, but she needed somebody to talk to. "Clearfrost died."

"Oh." The silver bengal pressed her pelt against Mintberry's in support. "That's rough, I'm sorry."

"Yeah, her vigil was yesterday night." Try all she might, Mintberry couldn't stop thinking about what Snakestrike had said. The fury that overtook her was insane. Clearfrost sacrificed her life trying to stop a power hungry leader, only for her legacy to paint her as a cold, mean cat?

"She took you and your brothers in, right?" Dapplefrost asked. When Mintberry nodded in confirmation, the silver bengal continued, "Well, how are they taking it?"

The gray tabby let out a dry laugh. "Snakestrike's obsessed with his new role as deputy, and Viperfoot's still padding after Frozenpaw. Or maybe it was Snakestrike who liked Frozenpaw. Whatever, I don't know anymore. Point is, neither of them are particularly upset."

Dapplefrost's tail-tip touched Mintberry's, and the two just sat there, silent in each other's company. Somehow, Dapplefrost's presence made the disgusting smell of acid and oil all worth it.

~~~

A PALE BEAM OF LIGHT shone uncomfortably on Mintberry's face, making the gray tabby stretch into a yawn. With a start, she realized she'd fallen asleep, curled up against Dapplefrost's side.

Huh, she'd actually fallen asleep. And a deep, calming sleep, where she didn't toss and turn every few minutes, on the brink of rest, before giving up and climbing out of her nest. She hadn't gotten proper sleep like this in a while.

Mintberry jumped up, squinting to the entrance of the tunnel, where daylight greeted her. Uh oh.

"Dapplefrost, Dapplefrost," the gray tabby mewed, giving her friend a couple pokes. "Dapplefrost, wake up."

Dapplefrost groaned, something about her not being on the dawn patrol today, and turned around, her back firmly facing Mintberry.

Mintberry sighed, refusing to give up. "Dapplefrost, wake up. It's morning."

The silver bengal yawned, sitting up. "Mintberry? What's going-?" Her eyes suddenly widened with panic. "Oh, no."

"It's still dawn, we should have time to sneak back into camp," the gray tabby mewed, "we'll need to be quick, though. Will you get in trouble if WindClan catches you?"

Dapplefrost shook her head as she climbed up. "Hardly. WindClan and RiverClan are always on each others' territories nowadays, to run messages or whatever."

"Right." Mintberry flicked her tail. "Um, same time?" She normally wasn't the one to plan their meetings, so she felt relieved when Dapplefrost agreed.

"Same time."

The two quickly said their farewells before bounding in opposite directions to the tunnel exit. Mintberry took a deep breath of fresh air as she burst from beneath the Thunderpath, shaking her pelt as if that would somehow rid her of the smell. She'd have to give herself a nice, long wash later.

The gray tabby was planning her return - jump into a pile of mint to cover the Thunderpath scent and grab some of the herbs as an excuse for her outing - when the sound of brambles rustling came from behind her.

Mintberry froze. Dawn patrol? Where was the nearest patch of herbs? Could she play off the Thunderpath smell as just... standing next to the Thunderpath? She didn't have time to think about this any longer, for the undergrowth was beginning to part, and she did the first thing that came to mind: jump under a bush.

And Mintberry would forever be grateful that she did so, for it wasn't her Clanmates that walked out. Rather, an unfamiliar brown tabby tom, a ginger-and-white tom, and a white she-cat. They were talking loudly, clearly unconcerned about trespassing on ShadowClan's land.

"Are you sure their camp is this way, Deimos?" the white she-cat questioned.

"Quite sure," the ginger-and-white tom - Deimos - replied confidently, though they were walking in the opposite direction of ShadowClan's camp. "The scents lead this way, if you'd bother to use your nose, Bellona."

Bellona let out a scoff of annoyance. "They've just done a patrol, their scents are leading this way because they were walking up and down the border to mark it."

Mintberry shivered from her bush. Who were these cats? How did they know so much about the Clans' schedule and lifestyle?

"Will you lower your voice?" Deimos snapped. "You're going to attract attention! I bet the patrol's still around here!"

"I'm going to attract attention?" Bellona hissed. "You're the one lumbering around here! If anyone's going to give away our presence, it's you."

Deimos growled. "That is no way to speak to your lieutenant."

"Oh, sorry, lieutenant," Bellona mewed in a mock sweet voice. "It's just that we've passed the same stream five times, and the frog even thinks we're lost. I saw it give us a judgmental look last time."

"It's a frog! It can't judge us!" Deimos protested.

"Shut up, both of you." The brown tabby tom finally spoke, his voice deep and rough. "I should've brought Ajax and Nyx instead. They know how to keep their mouth shut."

Bellona huffed a sigh. "Sorry, Aeolus. You know, you've gotten a lot bossier since you became leader."

Mintberry froze.

Aeolus.

"The wind is coming."

And that's when she got a good look at Aeolus's face, or more importantly, his eyes. A bright, startling green that haunted her in her worst nightmares. A green she recognized so easily.

Berryfern's eyes. They were the same shade.

Mintberry shivered. Berryfern's kin. They'd come for her. 

And what was even more horrifying was the fact that Aeolus's green eyes were boring right into hers, a sinister smile spreading across his face.

~~~

no idea how mintberry knows aeolus means wind, we're pretending ;)