Curiosity [Mintglade]

The Riverclan apprentice had taken to traveling at the back of Riverclan's group, blue eyes flitting from the unfamiliar surroundings to the dozens of unfamiliar cats that Riverclan had been forced into close proximity with. Their neighbors from across the river had drawn her attention the most, disdain and doubt lingering in her chest as she eyed the Thunderclanners, and disdain and a sense of mild curiosity as her gaze swung to the Skyclanners that traveled alongside them. They both shared a forest, and from what little Swanpaw knew, there didn't seem to be too much of a difference between the forest-dwelling cats... Except that Skyclanners were apparently much larger.

When one drifted closer to her, Swanpaw fought to keep her nose from wrinkling in habitual disgust at non-Riverclan scent. They were traveling together and allies, of course... So that meant she had to pretend to be friendly.

"Um, hi." She offered, "Skyclan right? I'm Swanpaw." She mewed.

It felt like they were traveling for days on end. Well, more than days at that point. Moons. Cats of all clans mingled together in mostly-harmony, with only minor squabbles breaking out here and there. For being the ever-cheerful cat that she was, even she was starting to feel the effects of the travel. Her tail swished back and forth in exhausted mild agitation, but the moment that there was another cat who seemed to drift near her, she immediately snapped back into that more cheerful demeanor. Offering a bright smile, she dipped her head. "Yep! I'm Mintglade, it's nice to meet you Swanpaw." She purred in greeting.

Taking a moment to sniff the air, it was easy enough to determine just what clan that she came from. Riverclan. It had her whiskers twitching in realization. "You're from Riverclan, yeah? I didn't get to tour our shared border very much... my mentor just... never wanted us to go by there. I wonder why, now that I think about it... She doesn't go to gatherings, easier." She wondered out loud. Was it perhaps too much to share? Potentially. But they were supposed to be allies. So it wasn't like she was sharing anything that was bad!

---

Meanwhile, a bit farther back, a silver and white molly lurked. The conversation caught her attention. A cat who evaded Riverclan and gatherings? Now this was something to pay attention to. However, she was not going to intrude just yet. Perhaps she would, or perhaps it would steer away and she could simply drift on.

"Mintglade... That's a pretty name." She mewed. She nodded at the question asked, pride swelling in her chest. "Yeah, I am." Nobody outside of Riverclan would ever know her true origins, and maybe in time Riverclan themselves would forget that she had been found on the territory and not born in their camp. And Riverclan certainly needed to know nothing further than that.

"Who was your mentor? I can't imagine Poppyshine keeping me from the borders, but she is our deputy and all. And they do still need to be patrolled." There was only a hint of smugness in Swanpaw's voice that her mentor was the deputy, but her curiosity was genuine. "Honestly... Gatherings are chaotic." She shrugged, "But it's better to know your allies, right?"

Mintglade couldn't help but feel a bit bashful at the compliment. Her ears heated up with a warmth she hadn't felt in quite some time, and her gaze went to the ground as her cheeks even puffed from the way she momentarily curled her lips inward. "Thank you," Mintglade's voice was much quieter than it had been when first giving her greeting. Certainly bashful, that was for sure. It helped that Swanpaw beside her seemed to beam with pride as she recognized she was from Riverclan. But truth be told, Riverclan was perhaps the easiest clan to tell by smell. Even the marsh-dwelling Shadowclan mingled just a bit too close to Thunderclan scent sometimes for her to be able to truly tell them apart.

Her ear flicked at the question. "Oh, nice! I wonder what it's like training under the deputy. My mentor was Beechfang, she's... actually both Birdstar and Wolfblossom's mother." Some part of her deep down felt like it was taboo to mention who her mentor was, given how she had avoided the borders and gatherings. But... it wasn't as if she was ever told to not talk about her mentor! She truly liked Beechfang, and it was a point of pride for her to have trained under the former medicine cat. "She used to be a medicine cat. Honestly, I'm not sure why she avoids the river and gatherings, she never told me... And, well, I never thought to really ask her. It just felt... mean, you know? She's got all sorts of scars and stuff too, so she's seen a lot of things. I just don't want to drudge up any bad memories, I guess."

Perhaps she shouldn't have been rambling that much, and Mintglade yet again looked down at her paws. "Sorry, I ramble... Especially around friends. Since we're supposed to be allies while traveling, I guess that makes us friends for right now, yeah?"

---

Beechfang?

That was a name that stirred at her memory. Something about stories as a kit she'd been told from her mother, about the heavily-scarred feline that came from Skyclan. Mistwalker kept one ear pivoted back in full, listening for any other details to note. Though, it quickly seemed their conversation drifted away from that. Whiskers flicking silently, the silver-and-white molly repeated all of the details to herself. Neutrality poised on her face as she continued to walk ahead, but there was one thing that was for certain: she was going to be having a small chat with her mother soon, even just to know a bit more about who this Beechfang was.

"Oh, Poppyshine's an amazing mentor!" She purred, "I've learned a lot from her after she took over my training. My first mentor got sick and died before she could really teach me anything, so I'll always be grateful to Poppyshine for that." She was grateful for Perchstar too, for so many things.

"Beechfang?" She tipped her head, curiosity shining in her eyes. The name sounded vaguely familiar, but from where she could not recall. Nursery tales, perhaps. "That doesn't sound like a name someone would give a medicine cat... Although if she's a former one I guess it would make sense." A lot of scars... Soft blue eyes searched the Skyclan crowd, curiosity gleaming in their depths. Wolfblossom and Birdstar had a few scars, and if this she-cat was their mother, surely she would look at least somewhat similar, right? "Raising both the leader and deputy... I bet she's proud of them. Strange that she wouldn't show support at gatherings, though. I would, if it were me."

Her eyes found the side of a ruined face, bare flesh showing where fur had not grown back. A mess of scar where an eye should have been. Tattered ears, silver and white pelt that seemed more scar tissue than actual fur. Maybe she would have been pretty once, but that seemed to have been a long time past. An ugly life lived, if her appearance was any indication. "Is that her?" Swanpaw asked innocently. "I can see why she wouldn't want to talk about the past, with a pelt like that." She mewed, more to herself than to Mintglade.