ωαяяισя ¢αтѕ // Mintpool's Promise

Chapter 29

Mintpaw's paw steps were soft as she padded alongside Echoleaf. The half-moon beamed down at them as the two medicine cats made the journey to the Moonpool once again. The forest was still, the night sky glittering with beautiful stars. Mintpaw's pelt twitched with excitement as she moved, eager to reach the Moonpool.

"Slow down, now," Echoleaf purred as the tabby bounced ahead.

"Sorry!" Mintpaw turned back, feeling as though she were an apprentice again, and that this was the first time that Echoleaf had brought her to the Moonpool. She couldn't even count the amount of times her mentor had to tell her to slow down. "I'm just really excited."

"Of course you are." Echoleaf's whiskers twitched fondly as she reached Mintpaw. "There would be an issue if you weren't."

Echoleaf had been hinting that Mintpaw would receive her full name soon in the past moon. This morning, finally, she'd informed her apprentice that tonight was the night. For the entire day, Mintpaw had been livid with excitement. Robinpaw, looking a little distasteful that the tabby would receive her full name before she did, seemed to attempt to bother Mintpaw even more. But she didn't care; nothing could have ruined her good mood. 

The gray tabby nodded cheerfully. She couldn't wait to tell Cloverpaw, Cobrastrike, and Leafwhisker! An exciting thought flashed through her mind as Echoleaf continued on the trail. "Echoleaf!" she called as she bounded to her mentor's side. "Will Cloverpaw receive her full name, too?" It would be so cool if me and her got our names on the same night! 

Echoleaf blinked thoughtfully. "Perhaps. She's certainly old enough, and there's no point in making her wait any longer. Rainpool didn't speak anything of this to us, though. But, there is a good chance."

Mintpaw nodded cheerfully again. She set off on the trail, bounding towards the Moonpool, stopping every once in a while to wait for Echoleaf to catch up. Tonight, especially, her mentor seemed to walk especially slow. Finally, the glittering pool was before them. The gray tabby launched herself down the steps, joining Cloverpaw at the bottom. Nightstrike and Ravenleaf still had yet to arrive. 

"Guess what?" Cloverpaw mewed as Mintpaw padded forward, her eyes dancing with excitement. "I'm getting my full name tonight!"

"Really? Me, too!" Mintpaw's tabby pelt bristled with excitement as she watched Cloverpaw's eyes light up with even more joy.

"Yay! We'll receive our names together!" Cloverpaw sat down, wrapping her tail neatly around her paws. Mintpaw joined her, willing that Ravenleaf and Nightstrike would show up soon. If she had to wait any longer, she felt as though she might burst. The two apprentices talked cheerily about what names they think they may get.

After what seemed like moons, Ravenleaf and Nightstrike's paw steps echoed through the air as they joined the rest of the medicine cats.

"Sorry for being late," Ravenleaf mewed. "I hear an apprentice is receiving her full warrior name?" Foxpaw swished his tail from besides her. 

"Two, actually," Rainpool purred, trotting forward. "Shall we begin?"

Exchanging an eager look, Mintpaw and Cloverpaw stepped up to the Moonpool. Echoleaf and Rainpool glanced at each other, as though communicating through their minds, before Echoleaf stepped towards Mintpaw.

"I, Echoleaf, medicine cat of AirClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of a medicine cat, and with your help she will serve her Clan for many moons." Echoleaf paused, her green eyes dancing, before continuing. Mintpaw's tail-tip flicked with confusion. Was that uncertainty?