Mintfeather's Secret

Chapter 28:

"Mintfeather, you need to witness this!" The light grey tom jolted awake and lifted his head groggily, recognizing the scent of Darkriver. He felt his heart clench painfully as he sighed and stood up to follow the she-cat. Moons had passed since Mintfeather's last interaction with Thrushwing, but his heart was still broken. He couldn't believe he had just lost his chance so quickly. He didn't want to believe it.

"What's going on?" He sighed.

"It's Nightstar. He's... well, he called for the clan to witness the beginning of a new rule. It's just horrible." Darkriver mewed shakily. "Redfang messed up in training earlier and Nightstar ordered Snakefern to 'punish' him. He nearly ripped the tom's eye out!" She mewed fearfully.

"What?!" Mintfeather exclaimed, taken back by the news he was recieving. What in StarClan had possessed Nightstar to go this far?!

"Thrushwing, do not help that disgrace! Let him cower there in the mud!" Mintfeather's ears nearly flattened against his head in fear when he heard Nightstar's cold, deep voice spit at his son with such ferocity and hatred.

"He needs to get to the medicine den." Thrushwing argued stubbbornly, standing beside Redfang's crouched and bloody form. The ginger tom had claw marks on his ear, over his left eye, and down his chin, and his amber eyes were wide and full of fear. "He needs my help." The warrior growled.

"I don't care. Do not help him up or you'll be next." Nightstar seethed. Thrushwing glared up at his father challengingly and turned to help Redfang up, only for the tom to immediately spring away from him and get up on his own, albeit shakily and unsteadily.

"I-I can do this." He whispered to Thrushwing reassuringly, who gave him an incredulous and worried look. "I don't want you to get in trouble for helping me." He added under his breath when he hobbled past the brown warrior, their pelts brushing as Redfang parted from his friend. Thrushwing watched after him before he turned back to glare up at Nightstar with flaring emerald eyes.

"This is going to be a new rule. If anyone disobeys my word or my deputy's word, they will suffer severe consequences. Be warned!" The dark brown tom announced, and the clan stayed deathly silent as he glared around at each cat, as if he was daring them to speak against him. When no comments were made, he turned and padded into the leader's den, allowing a heavy sigh of relief to escape most of the warriors gathered.

"Thrushwing, have you got bees in your brain?!" Mintfeather heard Robinfeather hiss at the tom nearby and contemplated whether or not he should join the conversation.

"No. Why?" Thrushwing asked monotonously.

"You could have put yourself in danger!" Darkriver chimed in with a worried tone.

"So? Redfang needed my help. I wasn't just going to let him be!" Thrushwing mewed. "What does it matter if I could have put myself in danger?! He needed help and I wasn't going to turn my back on him. Besides, someone needs to stand up to Nightstar. What he's doing to the clan is wrong, and you both know that as well as everyone else! But you refuse to stand up for yourselves!" He growled.

"Thrushwing is right." Mintfeather spoke up quietly, feeling the mood shift and turn tense as the three warriors fell silent. Robinfeather and Darkriver gawked at him with wide eyes, not expecting him to speak up and defend someone. Thrushwing stared at him with a softened expression that still withheld a hint of grief in his emerald eyes. "Someone has to stop him from ruining the clan further. And we have to stick together if we want to get through this, which means we have to have each other's backs." Mintfeather explained slowly, becoming increasingly more quiet as his nerves got the best of him.