won’t forget you [closed]

Mintpaw sat just on the other side of the frozen river beside camp, feeling chilled. Thankfully, not to the point of fever — she wasn’t looking to feel that again, it was icky — but the normal amount that made her paw ache, and her shoulders. But she was waiting for her mentor. It wasn’t with the same curiosity as their early sessions, though.

Unlike before, Mintpaw felt... fragile. And perhaps even more withdrawn, because she knew. I’m not going to be here much longer. While she had come around to the idea — of Thunderclan meaning safety, and maybe a better life — it also meant facing her mentor, and pretending that it wasn’t at all.

At the sight of the pale, lithe warrior Riverclan had assigned as her mentor, Mintpaw stiffened. But she still tried to look pleased, and found it wasn’t difficult. It was hard not to like Hollyleaf, when she was so polite — the kind with real warmth behind it. A thought occurred to her, though. Will Riverclan blame her if I leave? It was a bit distressing.

As it was, it was Hollyleaf’s job to mind her. But no, they wouldn’t; her entire family was leaving, and not just her, and it wasn’t just wandering off. It was what had to happen, but… the idea of Hollyleaf forgetting about her, eventually, twisted sadly in her gut. The bond between mentor and apprentice was said to be sacred; and Hollyleaf seemed to genuinely care that Mintpaw learned to take care of herself. I won’t forget it, she decided, even if it didn’t totally help her now.

She looked up. Slightly, anyway: Mintpaw was almost of a height with her mentor. “Hollyleaf, good morning. If — if it’s okay, can I ask something?” She felt herself becoming bolder with asking things, as it was never poorly received. And before she could think better of it, the young apprentice said, “Do you think you could teach me something special today? Something important to you?”

It felt silly once she’d said it, but Mintpaw stubbornly didn’t take it back. They wouldn’t have long together, and she wanted it to be special... “Not for any reason, I just want to,” she mewed, not entirely untruthful. She wanted to.

Being called to somewhere by one of her apprentices was unusual.

Though, she felt something pulling her to go. Nonetheless, she trusted Mintpaw, too. Finally arriving at the area after a while, she flicked her tail, smiling before sitting beside her apprentice. Blinking, she nodded for the molly to continue. Perhaps it was only now did she realize how much more mature and grown her apprentice have looked, and she gave a small purr to the thought. A step closer to becoming a warrior. However, when Mintpaw asked to be taught something special... she took a moment before finally replying again. "Of course. If you do have any questions, feel free to ask me." With that, she stood up, gesturing with her head for Mintpaw to follow behind.

Steadily, she walked, following the path of wherever the frozen river led her to. She made sure to keep a safe enough distance in case of an accident happening, though also just close enough so that she'd be able to get a good view of it. "When I was an apprentice, Creamfrost hadn't shown me around as much as I wished to. And with that, I met a special, yet confusing cat," She gave a small wink to Mintpaw. "Don't tell anyone I told you this, though I maybe have ventured out a bit too near the SkyClan borders. Hollypaw, a SkyClan apprentice I've met before at a Gathering back then, mistook me for bad intentions. She fell into the freezing river as she attempted to reach our side of the borders, and I had to help her out."

The memory of the misunderstanding still stayed clear in her mind, and she gave a soft smile remembering it. "We got into a small misunderstanding, and so had a brief skirmish there. After I explained though, things cleared up. At least, she did understand that she misunderstood, and I'm relieved anyway that she did. I wouldn't know what else would've happened if we met again at the Gathering. Maybe, the lesson to all this is.. always be mindful of where your paws currently stand at." Hollyleaf licked her chest fur, feeling a flush rush towards the tip of her ears as she spoke. "Don't repeat what I did, though. It's not very wise to." By the time she finished telling the tale, they've already stopped at a frozen lake. Though with ice covering the creatures underneath, the warrior still found beauty— as well as danger in it. All things had a unique side to them if you learned to observe them. And during times like this, non-frozen lakes would be proved especially useful. She still longed for New-leaf to arrive soon, however.

Mintpaw’s heart lightened as Hollyleaf agreed, feeling a small smile grow. Everything seemed to be taken in with grace and thoughtfulness, with her mentor. Does anything phase her? But unlike Perchfall — who the young molly admitted to finding slightly intimidating — Hollyleaf never made Mintpaw feel as if she were an imposition. All my questions are welcome.

And she had questions. She kept up with Hollyleaf with a little effort, but her interest kept her from feeling too worn. She... met someone at the border? And rescued them? Then her ear twitched.“Wait... her name is Holly, too?”

From SkyClan. The mention of being careful where you put your paws made her shiver, wondering... wondering if Hollyleaf knew. She was capable of being subtle like that. But how could her mentor have heard? Is she trying to say Thunderclan might mistake us as dangerous? Mintpaw and her littermates were thin, but... strong enough, she thought. But we’re little older than kits...

It was what made Mintpaw think it... it might work. Clans needed kits.

She was gradually pulled from her thoughts by Hollyleaf’s story, and eventual stop. The warrior seemed to be confiding in her, and that flush seemed real. And Mintpaw realized she was just being overanxious. She looked sheepishly at her mentor, and then at the ice shimmering before them. It really was beautiful, if deadly — as Mom was always warning her. “I suppose I’ll have to meet her at a Gathering, sometime. Does she look like you?”

"Yes. As strangely coincidental as it was, her name was Hollypaw, too." Hollyleaf flicked her tail. It was a sign to show though the lake was beautiful, it was incredibly dangerous as well. She was sure Mintpaw could tell, though. Then, another question came by. This one was followed by a small chuckle of hers. "Oh, no. Not at all." Hollyleaf took a moment to visualize the molly's pelt colors. Then, having a clear enough image in her mind, she continued. "Her pelt has dappled of orange, black, and white. Orange and black mostly, though. I guess you could say we're pretty much... the complete opposites."

Whether or not we become more alike in the future is still a mystery, though.

The she-cat blinked slowly, gazing a bit further from the frozen lake. Mysterious trees lie beyond there, though it was too dangerous to cross the lake now. She wouldn't take the chance to. And so with another thought, she searched for a topic that they'd be able to talk about. There wasn't very much going on in her life, and so it'd be natural to be curious about her apprentice's, too. Lifting her gaze from the lake, she glanced over to Mintpaw with a curious purr. "What about you, Mintpaw? Has there been anything interesting going on?"