rhododendrons

~~~

CLEARFROST WAS STRESSED. She needed some time alone. So, the ragdoll hadn't thought twice about sending Mintpaw to go find some herb as she headed in the opposite direction, making her way straight into the Battle Cave.

The Battle Cave, despite its name, serves a positive usage. It's where ShadowClan medicine cats would stay if their camp was attacked while they were out in the woods. It had thick walls, effectively blocking any means of sound from the outside and inside. In other words, it gave Clearfrost the silence she needed right now to think.

The ShadowClan medicine cat sat down, wrapping her tail around her paws as she stared blankly at the rock wall. There was only one thing on her mind: the prophecy.

The stupid prophecy that brought RiverClan and ShadowClan into the years of bloody war. Clearfrost didn't know what to do. Obviously, the contents of the prophecy created greedy thoughts, as Ivorystar and Rainstar demonstrated with the war. She'd thought that it would be better if the prophecy was shared with everyone, so they could all come up with a democratic agreement on what to do, but Ivorystar didn't feel the same way.

Her sister was very clear: keep the prophecy to yourself.

Clearfrost had felt a flicker of hope last night during the Gathering, after Rainstar placed the idea of the Great Secret in everyone's minds. She'd thought maybe Ivorystar would tell Tigerstar, so at least all the leaders would know.

But no, of course not. She'd been foolish. She'd underestimated how power hungry Rainstar and Ivorystar were. Of course they wouldn't tell Swiftstar and Tigerstar the real prophecy. Clearfrost was very good at reading cats, and it was easy for her to tell that even Poolmist and Whiteberry didn't know the contents.

So, nothing ended up changing. Still only her, Ivorystar, and Rainstar knew the real prophecy.

Well, that wasn't entirely accurate. As she said, Clearfrost was very good at reading cats. And so she knew that her gray tabby apprentice knew more than she was supposed to.

The ragdoll sighed. She should have a talk with Mintpaw about this. It would be the right thing to do, she supposed, but she didn't particularly enjoy conversing with other cats.

Clearfrost forced herself to her paws. It'd been some time, and she should probably go find Mintpaw, anyway. She padded over to the area she'd sent her apprentice off, and started the search for the gray tabby. "Mintpaw? Mintpaw, where are you?"

She'd expected Mintpaw standing a couple feet from the clearing, with a pile of freshly picked burnet, ready to bring the herbs back to the camp. What she hadn't expected, though, was to almost trip over her apprentice as she weaved through a bush.

"Mintpaw!" Clearfrost wasn't one to feel many emotions, but she couldn't deny the shock that breezed through her. "What are you doing? Why are you hiding in a bush?"

"I-" As Mintpaw sat up, the ragdoll could quickly tell something was wrong. Her apprentice's eyes were widened, pelt prickled with unease. "I- Well-" 

Clearfrost frowned. Mintpaw would typically tell her anything without hesitation. Before she could speak, however, a yowl came from the distance. Both she-cats' heads whipped in its direction, alarm coursing through them.

It only took Clearfrost moments to understand what had happened. "Oh, it's RiverClan." Mintpaw must've seen an attack patrol, gotten scared, and hidden in the bush. They're attacking the camp.

The ragdoll's ears twitched ever so slightly at that fact. She had plenty of faith that her Clanmates would be able to drive their enemies out, and Ivorystar's determination to control the prophecy won't allow her to surrender. She wasn't particularly worried over the fight. 

"Come on."

Mintpaw scrambled up, following the ShadowClan medicine cat towards the Battle Cave. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere to wait out the fighting," Clearfrost answered shortly. "We have some things we need to talk about."

When they reached the cave, neither cat spoke for some time. The only sound that filled the air was water dripping from the cave's roof. That was, until Mintpaw pipped up.

"You have something you want to talk about?"

Clearfrost studied her apprentice briefly. The gray tabby seemed extremely nervous. "Yes, the prophecy."

"Oh." Mintpaw's ears stood up in what must've been eagerness, though the ragdoll could tell it was fake. However, there seemed to be another emotion behind the gray tabby's eyes: relief. 

Clearfrost frowned. What else was Mintpaw expecting? 

"You're going to tell me the prophecy?" the gray tabby continued, her voice pitched.

"Don't have to," Clearfrost replied shortly. "You already know it."

She knew she was right when Mintpaw's eyes widened and started shaking her head wildly. "No! No, I don't! I don't."

"Stop with the act," the ragdoll meowed flatly. "There's no point in pretending. I know you overheard Ivorystar and I. But the real question is, why are you so scared? Did Berryfern threaten you or something?"

Clearfrost was certain everything she was saying was correct. Though she loved her old mentor deeply, Berryfern can be very intense sometimes, and her loyalty to ShadowClan was unmeasured. She'd want the same thing as Ivorystar: to keep the knowledge of the prophecy scarce to most.

Seeing Mintpaw's frightened eyes, Clearfrost spoke again. "Berryfern can't hurt you. She's dead. She just wants to keep the prophecy on a down low to help ShadowClan, she's very loyal to the Clan."

"She said... She said she has kin," Mintpaw mewed timidly, "who are willing to help her."

"That's mousedung," Clearfrost answered, flicking her tail. "You know the prophecy. You know she wouldn't dare touch a single strand of fur on your pelt. Plus, she doesn't have any kin left in ShadowClan."

The gray tabby pulled back in surprise. "She doesn't?"

"Nope. Both of her parents had no littermates, and they died shortly after I became her apprentice. She was very sad that night, I remember," Clearfrost muttered softly, reencountering the memories. "And her littermates, a brother and sister, disappeared from the Clan the next day along with her sister's mate."

"What happened to them?" Mintpaw asked softly.

"Nobody knows," the ragdoll meowed with a shrug. "Nobody ever saw them again."

Mintpaw shivered, and Clearfrost twitched her pelt, re-focusing them on the whole point of the conversation.

"But that's not what we're here to talk about. I wanted to talk about Ivorystar."

Mintpaw flicked her tail curiously. "Ivorystar?"

"Yes. I'm sure you know how strongly she feels about keeping the prophecy a secret. You must not let her find out that you know. She's willing to take extreme measures."

The gray tabby nodded hesitantly. "But- but she wouldn't hurt me, right? With the prophecy and all?"

"Ivorystar's different from Berryfern. She's much more willing to take the risks. I mean, you know the prophecy. You know what must happen for it to be achieved." 

Mintpaw looked confused at those words, but Clearfrost didn't elaborate.

"To keep the prophecy a secret, my sister is more than willing to kill."

~~~

not my favorite chapter, i need to be honest. but, i thought there might be some confusion in mintpaw's chapter about how clearfrost didn't notice, so i hope this explanation is sufficient! oh, and i took a little break from writing before completing this prologue, so i feel like clearfrost might seem a bit out of character, i'm trying to get back into it :)