ωαяяισя ¢αтѕ // Mintpool's Promise

Chapter 35

Mintpool's pelt fluffed up with surprise, shock and anger flowing through her. Cobrastrike... attacked FireClan? She blinked, trying to wrap her mind around that. He was such a kind and gentle cat! To attack a Clan... well, she couldn't even begin to imagine him doing that. As for the anger, she understood that he was mad at FireClan, but it was an automatic reaction - anything that went against the Clans brought a prick of anger to her pelt. However, she tried calming herself down, thinking about it from Cobrastrike's point of view. She wasn't definitely happy that her friend had done such a thing, but she could understand why.

Tigerstar growled from the branch, lashing his tail. "He must be stopped!" the dark tom yowled. "Him and the rogues! This is getting ridiculous! They've already attacked us all! Are we really going to just sit here, waiting for their next attack?"

Murmurs of agreement filled the air.

"We need a plan," Tigerstar continued, pacing back and forth on the branch, "to end them, once and for all!" He gazed around at the cats below him. "But you've seen what they can do. One Clan can't take them on alone! We need help. That's why all the Clans need to get together and-"

"Tigerstar, wait." The dark tom's speech was cut off by Sunstar. The orange tom blinked at the FireClan leader. "You want us all to team up to attack the rogues?"

"Yes." Tigerstar stared back at him. "It needs to be done. These rogues must be defeated."

Spottedstar twitched her pelt, blinking at the FireClan leader uncertainly. Although Mintpool was sure that she, too, wanted to get rid of the rogues, she just didn't trust Tigerstar completely. The FireClan leader sure didn't give off a easy-to-work-with aura. 

"I don't know..." Moonstar looked conflicted. "Does the Warrior Code allow this?"

Tigerstar twitched his tail-tip with frustration. "Why wouldn't it?"

"Well..." The EarthClan leader shot a quick glance up at the sky. "We should check if StarClan approves first, before we take any action."

"Quit this mouse-brained thinking!" Tigerstar snarled. "This needs to be done, and quickly!"

Mintpool blinked at him, completely in shock. So this is what the elders mean by FireClan being... spirited. He just called another leader mouse-brained.

It was clear that Moonstar didn't miss that. Fury glittered in her blue gaze as Spottedstar and Sunstar just sat, silent. "What did you just say?"

Tigerstar didn't hesitate to repeat himself. "Your thinking is mouse-brained! We need to stop the rogues! Stop taking so many precautions."

Soft growls of anger came from the EarthClan cats as they glared up at the FireClan leader. Before long, their furious yowls filled the air.

"What did you just call our leader?"

"You think you have the right to tell us what to do?"

"What do you mean by "precautions"? We're just making sure StarClan approves!"

"Or do you not care about our warrior ancestors at all?"

Moonstar whisked her tail angrily. "We're not going to join your little attack," she declared.

"What?" Tigerstar glowered at her. "Are you mouse-brained? This is what we need to do to stop the rogues!"

Snarls of anger rose from the EarthClan cats again, this time countered by FireClan warriors. The two Clans seemed on edges, pelts bristled, lips pulled back into a snarl, glaring at each other. Mintpool caught sight of Leafwhisker crouched down in front of a FireClan cat, snarling, looking ready to attack. Even Cloverleaf scooched away from Nightstrike, the FireClan medicine cat doing the same.