ωαяяισя ¢αтѕ // Mintpool's Promise

Chapter 43

Night was falling by the time Mintpool snuck out of AirClan's camp. A chilly breeze rippled through the clearing, freezing her to the bone. Her paws felt frozen already as she began the trip to EarthClan's forest. 

It was quite difficult to sneak out of the camp. Because of the rogue threat, Thistlestar had posted two cats instead of one for guarding. Now, instead of having to convince one cat, she had to convince two. And, just as her terrible luck expected, Robinflight was one of those cats tonight. The brown she-cat was suspicious of her enough already! So, Mintpool had to sneak out of the dirt-place.

Now, the gray tabby's nose wrinkled, for she could still smell the scent of the dirt-place on her pelt. 

The night was going pretty badly for her already. Everything felt frozen cold and her pelt stunk. At least it can't get better. As though some force of nature heard her thoughts and took it as a taunt, soft, fluffy snow started falling from the sky.

Mintpool's tail lashed as she glared up at the black sky. For StarClan's sake! she thought irritably. I didn't think I could get any colder. Huffing, she picked up her pace, trying to get to the border and back to her nest as quickly as possible. At least the dirt-place scent will be gone.

Soon, the familiar EarthClan border was in sight. Mintpool's green gaze scanned EarthClan's side, trying to spot Leafwhisker in the dark.

Suddenly, the bushes rustled. That must be him! The gray tabby opened her jaws, about to call out a greeting, when she heard Leafwhisker's low murmur. "Stay here, okay? I'll be right back. Don't move."

Confusion rippled through the gray tabby. Who's he talking to? "Leafwhisker?" she called.

The brown tom's head poked out of the bush, his green eyes wide and startled. "Oh, hi, Mintpool!" he meowed. "I didn't think you'd be here already."

Mintpool's whiskers twitched with amusement as he made his way out of the bush to join her besides the border. "Well, you did tell me to meet you at dusk. In fact, I believe it's past that."

The EarthClan tom ducked his head. "Yeah. It was a bit harder to get here than expected."

"What do you mean?" Mintpool tilted her head. "Was it hard to convince the guards? Did Moonstar put extra guards for the rogues, too?"

For a moment, Leafwhisker's face went black, before he nodded hurriedly. "Er... yeah, sure."

The gray tabby flicked her ears. Although Leafwhisker seemed warmer than before, he certainly didn't trust her like he did when they were younger. She waited for him to continue, but he was silent, staring at his paws as his brown pelt was coated in soft, fluffy snow, unmoving, as though the sharp coldness didn't bother him at all.

Mintpool whisked her tail, slightly annoyed. He might have all the time in the world, but she wanted to get back to her nest as quickly as possible. "So, why did you call me to meet you here?"

Leafwhisker's gaze raised from his paws instantly. "Right! Sorry, I was just in thought."

The gray tabby tilted her head. His eyes were more readable now and she could see... sadness? Why is he sad? And the sadness wasn't any basic sadness, either. It was much deeper. Grief? Was that it? Mintpool shook out her pelt. She knew grief; she'd just lost two important cats in one moon! Is he trying to keep something away from me?

"It's no problem." The gray tabby flicked her tail. "So, what do you need?"

"Oh..." Leafwhisker trailed off again, clearing his throat, shuffling his paws. "Well... er, you remember Luna?"