Mintpool's paws crunched softly on the snow as she trailed after the patrol. As soon as they neared the Gathering clearing, her paws led her easily, for she'd walked the path a thousand times.

The patrol padded to the very edges of the clearing, as close as they can get without entering it. Frost shot a look towards Mintpool, as though she expected the gray tabby to leap into the clearing and betray them, yowling that there were rogues in the bushes, before giving her orders, her voice in a hushed whisper. "Hide under the bushes. Listen to everything you can and try to remember everything. If we get caught, it's every cat for themselves. Also, hide your scent in the snow."

Mintpool nodded, wiggling underneath the bush, feeling cold snow clump on top of her, a shiver running down her spine. She twitched her tail-tip, now settled and out of view, seeing sets of paws shuffling from outside of the bush. She couldn't begin to guess who they belonged to. Pricking her ears, she heard Thistlestar's voice travelling towards them.

"Our medicine cat, Mintpool, is no longer a member of AirClan," he announced. "Unfortunately, we have made a terrible mistake. But, we see that we've done something we shouldn't have and are trying to fix it instantly. If any cats see Mintpool, we ask that they pass on the message we would like her back in the Clan."

Low murmurs filled the clearing, although the gray tabby caught onto some that was right outside of her bush. 

"Why did AirClan even exile Mintpool in the first place?" The gray tabby recognized that voice instantly. Cloverleaf. A shiver ran down her spine at the voice of her friend. 

"We thought she broke the Warrior and medicine cat code and had kits," Echoleaf replied, her meow ashamed. 

"But didn't you know she wasn't carrying kits?" This mew, Mintpool could barely figure out who the owner was. Realization struck her when she realized it was Foxpaw, Nightstrike's apprentice.

"I was being a mouse-heart," Echoleaf mewed. "I didn't say anything. I only confirmed she wasn't carrying kits after she was exiled, Foxcloud."

Oh, so he's Foxcloud now. Mintpool's ears pricked with interest, ignoring the leaders' announcements.

"Why would you do that?" came Ravenleaf's meow.

"I just..." Echoleaf broke off. "Well, I had this dream... a long time ago, when Mintpool was just a kit. Cloudpool came to me in that dream, and warned me, showing me a scene with dead bodies, only the scent of mint covering them."

The gray tabby's ears pricked with surprise. That's the dream I had, too! She was glad that the other rogues had disappeared to different edges of the clearing; she wouldn't want them to hear this.

"I thought the dream referred to Mintpool, and that she was going to become evil in the future," Echoleaf continued. "So... I thought it would be better if she left the Clan." 

Well, you only pushed me more on that path when you didn't speak up! the gray tabby thought with a lash of her tail. And I feel no regret for stepping on that trail. 

Protests from the other medicine cats arose as Echoleaf spoke quickly. "I know, I know, I was wrong! If I could go back and fix that moment, I would. I just hope we can get Mintpool back." 

"Yeah..." Rainpool's voice was soft. "With the battle coming up, it is good to have more than one medicine cat. And you don't even have an apprentice!"

A noise of agreement came from Echoleaf. "Yes, but Spotkit's been showing some interest in herbs, recently," she purred. 

The gray tabby's ears pricked up. Spotkit? She'd almost forgotten about her! She remembered how the little kit resembled Snowfrost so greatly. A sudden surge of anger roared inside her. Adderclaw didn't stand up for me, and Flowershine wanted me gone! Spotkit's family is horrible. She felt her tail lash as Echoleaf's voice continued. 

"That little kit looks a lot like Snowfrost," the AirClan medicine cat mused. "And, Adderclaw seems to be showing favorites, even though he really isn't supposed to. But, I suppose, Spotkit does resemble his mother greatly. Plus, she even has Mintpool's green eyes!" A sigh followed her words. "I know Adderclaw misses Mintpool a lot, and he's feeling a lot of regret for not saying anything. I just hope we get her back soon."

The gray tabby felt surprise shock through her. She'd assumed Adderclaw had completely forgotten about her and put his entire focus on his new family. She felt slight warmth bloom inside her for her brother, but the hatred for the rest of his family, especially Flowershine, overpowered that. 

"Mintpool will probably come back soon," Cloverleaf's voice comforted. "She loves AirClan more than anything!" 

Not anymore!

"Hopefully," Echoleaf murmured softly. 

"Enough of this talk," Nightstrike meowed. "The leaders are about to announce the date for attacking the rogues! I've been bugging Tigerstar to set a date for moons now! I need time to prepare for my herbs!" 

Just as she spoke, the gray tabby heard Sunstar's voice meow, "So, how about we attack in the next moon?"

"We can't!" Moonstar's voice protested. "It's leaf-bare! We barely have enough prey and herbs to get by. We can't suffer any injures. Not to mention, the rogues have been raiding us and stealing out resources!"

"You keep pushing back the date!" Tigerstar's voice growled, sounding annoyed. "We've already pushed it back so far. The rogues are only getting stronger the more time we give them. I say we attack them tomorrow!"

"I want to get the rogues out, too," Thistlestar's voice pipped up. "But Moonstar's right. We barely have any resources and can't suffer any injuries, much less a battle."

"This is so mouse-brained!" Tigerstar snarled. 

"I think Thistlestar and Moonstar have a point," Sunstar's voice mused. "Perhaps it is better to attack when our resources are more stocked." 

"Now about we attack at newleaf?" Thistlestar suggested. "Our warriors will be strong and ready."

"Newleaf?" Tigerstar's voice sounded as though he saw Thistlestar grow two heads. "Are you kidding?" 

"Newleaf's a good idea," Moonstar agreed.

"That's mouse-brained!" Tigerstar hissed. "Who knows how many cats the rogues will have by then!" 

"But we have better warriors," Sunstar pointed out, his voice calm. "With fully fueled cats, we can defeat those untrained rogues with ease."

Murmurs of agreement followed the WaterClan leader's words.

"Fine," Tigerstar spat, his mew strained as though it pained him to agree. "We'll attack at newleaf. We're not pushing it any further, though." He received meows of confirmation from the other leaders.

"Hopefully the rogues don't attack us before then," Rainpool's voice murmured.

"Hey," Cloverleaf meowed, her voice sounding surprised, "does any other cat scent Mintpool?"

Dread pounded in Mintpool's stomach.

"Mintpool?" Echoleaf's voice was confused. "What are you talking about?"

"I-" Cloverleaf paused, doubting herself. "I think I caught her scent. It wasn't strong, though..."

"Then it's probably just from previous Gatherings," Ravenleaf meowed softly, dismissing the topic.

Mintpool breathed a breath of relief, not realizing that she'd been holding herself so stiffly from that. As she adjusted, her body crunched against the snow. 

"I heard something!" Cloverleaf mewed, her voice panicked. "I heard something move!"

"It could just be a mouse," Foxcloud replied.

"A mouse wouldn't come this close when there are cats around," the EarthClan medicine cat retorted. "It's a cat!"

Oh, no! Mintpool's paws tingled with stress. What have I done? I need to get out of here! 

"A cat?" Mistypaw's voice came, sounding confused. 

"There's a cat!" Cloverleaf meowed firmly, her mew loud enough to travel through the clearing.

Mintpool's vision blurred as panic took over, wiggling out of the bush as quickly as she possibly could, not caring about hiding.

"Wait, I do see a cat!" Ravenleaf yowled, too dark to tell that it was Mintpool.

The gray tabby streaked away into the forest, panic taking over. She heard the branches of the tree crack as the leaders jumped off, bounding after her. Paws thundered after her as they chased, determined to catch her. 

"It's a rogue!" Tigerstar's voice was excited. "Catch it!" 

Fear surged through Mintpool as she turned sharply into AirClan's territory. She knew it best, and might be able to escape her pursuers there. Unfortunately, she had an entire group of AirClan cats on her tail. And, they had more practice racing through the territory than she did. They easily pulled ahead of her, forcing her to a stop. 

Mintpool halted, ducking her head down, trying not to let them identify her. However, it didn't work very well, considering she heard Thistlestar's surprised meow sound right behind her.

"Mintpool?"

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Word Count // 1418

Not Edited

Hi! Finally, somewhat of an exciting chapter! At least, this was pretty fun for me to write, and I hope you enjoyed reading it too! Anyways, what do you think will happen next? Do you think Mintpool will lie? Will she get out of it? Let me know! Okay, that's all, bye!