ωαяяισя ¢αтѕ // Mintpool's Promise

Chapter 15

The sky was dark as Mintpaw uncurled herself slowly from her nest, going out to meet Leafpaw. She squinted, trying to see in the medicine den. There was barely to no light. In the dark, she could see Echoleaf sprawled out in her nest, her belly rising and falling softly, her tail-tip twitching. She looked relaxed, calm. As the tabby's eyes slowly adjusted to the dark, she glanced over at the herb storage, taking notice that they were low on dock leaves. She stepped out of her nest, hurrying towards the entrance.

Mintpaw kept her paw steps quiet as she slipped out of the medicine den. It was early. Before dawn, even. However, with one glance at the sky, the tabby could tell that it would be light soon. That didn't give her and Leafpaw much time to hang out, but they would take what they could get. Sparing a quick look at the entrance of the camp, she saw Eagleflight. The warrior's green eyes were bright and alert.

She must've just arrived. Mintpaw's tail-tip twitched. It's going to be harder to sneak past her if she's well-rested. I need to get out earlier, before the third cat takes their turn guarding. Briefly, she debated over going out through the dirt-tunnel, before throwing that idea out. I'll just tell her I'm collecting herbs. That way, she can tell Echoleaf, if she wonders where I am. Happy with the idea, the tabby trotted forward. 

Eagleflight caught sight of Mintpaw as she neared. "Good morning!"

"Good morning," Mintpaw chirped back. 

"Where are you headed?" Eagleflight's tail-tip twitched. The tabby could tell there was no suspicion, but there was a lot of curiosity. 

"I'm just collecting herbs," Mintpaw answered. The answer seemed to satisfy Eagleflight, and she dripped her head, indicating for the tabby to leave. Mintpaw hurried out into the forest, feeling a little bundle of satisfaction that her plan had worked. She picked up her pace to a run, bounding through the forest, weaving through the trees with ease, going on a path that she knew perfectly.

Soon, she'd arrived at the border. Leafpaw was already there, glancing into AirClan's territory, waiting for her. His eyes lit up happy as she arrived, swishing his tail. "Good morning!"

"Morning!" Mintpaw bounced into EarthClan's territory. A good thing of being a medicine cat. Nobody would get suspicious. But, to be fair, they weren't breaking any rules, anyway. "How are you?"

"I'm fine." Leafpaw fluffed his pelt. "Cloverpaw was already awake, though. She asked me where I was going. I told her I was just going out for a quick walk before patrols."

Mintpaw felt a guilt twisting in her stomach. "Are you sure she wouldn't want to come?" They weren't breaking any rules! There would be no reason for Cloverpaw not to, unless she were busy. But it would be good to ask, anyway.

"Yes." Leafpaw's answer was short. "She likes focusing a lot on her training." He shook out his pelt, changing the subject. "Come on; let's go explore!"

"Explore?" Mintpaw hurried after him, purring. "This is your territory! Shouldn't you know it?"

"Well I'm showing it to you, mouse-brain, so it's like exploring," Leafpaw teased, "except I'm the one with all the knowledge."

Mintpaw rolled her eyes affectionately, hurrying after the tom, falling in besides him as he led her around. She was careful to stay near the AirClan border, though, and not go too deeply into EarthClan's land. Leafpaw seemed to have the same idea, because he led her a little bit into the trees, stopping there, not going any futher.

A giant, tall oak tree stood in front of her. Mintpaw craned her head, blinking up at it. "That's tall."

Leafpaw nodded. "It's the Great Oak. We use it to practice climbing. There's also a bunch of prey. There's always birds perched up there and mice by the roots. It's also like a landmark, too."

Mintpaw nodded. She could near the sound of birds tweeting high up in the branches and mice's paws scuttering in the undergrowth. "That's cool."

Leafpaw bowed his head. Suddenly, he blinked at her with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Tag! You're it!" He touched his tail-tip swiftly onto her pelt before racing away, alongside the border. 

The tabby stood, startled for a moment, before shaking her head fondly, a smile spreading on her features. He's so immature. However, she couldn't help but feel her paws tug her, wanting to play. Mintpaw bounded after him, her tail streaming out behind her as she ran, eating up the distance. "You'd better hurry up, Leafpaw! I'm right behind you!"

Leafpaw glanced over his shoulder, his eyes widening as a surprised squawk left him. "What? How?" He turned around, focusing on moving his paws faster.

Mintpaw purred, churning after him, her paws kicking up dust behind her as she ran. She had to put more attention on where she was going, since this was unfamiliar territory, and weaved around the trees as best as she could. 

The morning wind blew through her fur, making her stomach flip with joy. Her tail was streaming out behind her as her paws hit the ground, moving her along. The early sunlight shone down on the two apprentices, lighting up their pelts, the light slowly seeping into the forest.

Leafpaw's tail was practically right in front of Mintpaw's nose. Just a little faster... She urged herself, trying to move quicker. Her paws sped up, until everything around her was just a blur. All she could see was Leafpaw's brown pelt. The forest melted away around her. Almost there... Got him! 

Triumph filled the gray tabby as she jumped, bowling her friend over. The two apprentices tumbled over onto the ground, panting and resting. Mintpaw glanced around. There was no EarthClan or AirClan scent in the air. In fact, there was only a hint of Clan scent, coming from where they'd ran. They'd left the Clan territories!

As she turned to tell Leafpaw, the brown tom flicked his ears, hinting that he already knew. However, there was no urge to return in his eyes as he pushed himself to his paws. "Let's explore!"

"Explore?" Mintpaw hurried after him, amusement glittering inside her. She wanted to explore, it would be fun, but they had duties to return to. "But the Clan is going to be awake soon." They couldn't stay out here forever.

Leafpaw shook out his pelt. "Just for a little while. I'll catch something, so my Clan won't get suspicious."

Mintpaw bowed her head, reminding herself that she had to grab some dock leaves before she returned. "Okay." 

Her friend trotted into the new forest, and she hurried to follow him. As she entered, a cold feeling washed over her. The trees seemed familiar, yet she'd never seen them before. A feeling that something bad was going to happen tingled on her spine, making her want to leave instantly. Where have I seen this forest before?

Suddenly, it hit her. It was in the dream, with Cloudpool! The gray tabby, just like her! Mintpaw halted in her tracks. She was finding more and more of her dreams! But what will that gray cat do? What's her name? I don't even know if she's good or bad! Frustration filled her as she debated whether to call Leafpaw to leave or not. 

Leafpaw glanced back at her, worry glimmering in his eyes. "You okay?"

Mintpaw took a deep breath. As you said, you don't even know if she's good or bad. She seemed very kind in the dream. You'll be fine, Mintpaw. The tabby nodded. "Yeah. Sorry." She picked her pace up to a trot, hurrying towards her friend. However, she still wanted terribly to leave the forest. "Can we go, though?" She didn't want Leafpaw to know about the main reason - the dream. "We should get back to Clan territory."

Leafpaw glanced wistfully into the forest, before nodding. "Yeah, we should." He shook out his pelt again, padding towards her. "Come on, let's go. We'll explore another day."

Mintpaw nodded, relief filling her as she followed Leafpaw out of the forest. However, as the two of them exited, the gray tabby felt as though a pair of eyes were following them, stuck on her pelt. Someone had been watching them. 

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Word Count // 1380

Not Edited

Hi! I haven't posted in a couple of days. Sorry! But here's another chapter! I hope you liked it. Any thoughts or ideas? Who do you think might be watching them? I know that most of the chapter was basically a filler.