My Apocalypse is Near [Mintglade]

The morning sky over twolegplace was still dark, painted with streaks of pale light. Beechfang had always been an early riser and that hadn't changed. The borders needed to be maintained, cats needed to be fed. That Wolfblossom had assigned her to the border with twolegplace was no surprise, given the rising tensions with Riverclan... But the deputy had to know that that wouldn't be enough. Riverclan wanted her pelt, ragged as it was, and Perchstar was far too much like Beechfang to let it go.

The old warrior was half-tempted to simply abandon the task of patrolling along the twolegplace border and head for the river herself. If Perchstar found her, they could put an end to it without any other cats needing to be put in danger. If...

Beechfang shook her head. Even if she did, she suspected that wouldn't solve things. Birdstar and Wolfblossom were far too much like her to ever let it happen, much less allow for the death of family without retaliation. So for now, Beechfang obeyed, keeping away from the tiny patch of border with Riverclan.

Her former apprentice was on patrol with her today, and Beechfang had only sighed in mild disapproval at the pregnant she-cat choosing to patrol. Still, Mintglade was decent company, and Beechfang didn't have the heart to grumble at her and tell her to stay back in camp.

"How are you feeling, Mintglade?"

In the bulky silver tabby's mind, she had been the one to get them all into this mess, and so the least she could do was continue to provide food for her Clan so long as her paws could still carry her. She knew how to fight, thanks to her mentor, and had learned when to pick and choose a battle. It just was extremely unfortunate that the one time she had shown peace, it ended in a result that she could not have possibly understood until it was much too late.

Hearing Wolfblossom announce the patrol-roster that morning may as well have been a heart attack to the she-cat. She'd been avoiding Beechfang like she was the embodiment of the Carrionplace herself, but it was of no fault to her former mentor. It was entirely to the guilt at eddied at her paws like nibbling mice. As soon as it had been announced that Riverclan had found out about Beechfang's presence and why it was such treason for her mentor to have come back to the Clan of her birth, the Clan in which her children and grandchildren and now great-grandchildren would reside... The anxiety had nearly been enough to make the molly keel over on the spot.

Undoubtedly looking particularly jumpy, Mintglade startled at the question that came her way. It felt odd for her mentor to be friendly with her when--right. She didn't know. Part of that made it even worse. "Oh! I'm... Well, I guess I'm okay. Nervous for when the kits finally come, but busy paws mean a calm mind."

"You look it." Beechfang's whiskers twitched. Her former apprentice had been unusually jumpy, almost... Skittish lately. Beechfang had simply chalked it up to the kits, and the knowledge of the impending problems that loomed over the clan. "It's not going to be the nicest time to raise them with everything... And motherhood itself... I know how scary that can be. But you'll do fine, Mintglade."

There was definitely a degree of relief that came from the fact that it seemed Beechfang wasn't suspecting her jumpiness to be from anything more than nerves. A deep sigh came from the queen's maw at the suggestion of just how much of a struggle it would be to raise them all, too. "Between you and me... So long as they aren't all born with Sunfire's hot-headedness... I think I'll survive. Hopefully they're all mellow, but I think I was a pawful when I was a kit." A nervous chuckle at least served to alleviate some of the tension that she was feeling. "You really think I'll do okay, though? I... I hope I'll be a good mother, but... I don't know. Part of it just feels weird." Rambling. Always rambling when something was bothering her.

"Kits are always a pawful... Some of them will grow out of it." In this family that seemed like a far-fetched dream sometimes, but she wouldn't voice her pessimism. "You have a good head on your shoulders, Mintglade. You'll be able to teach them what Sunfire can't." If she didn't turn a blind spot to the kits, as her own daughter did, anyways.

"Believe it or not, Wolfblossom was the biggest pawful of her siblings. Hotheaded and stubborn." Which was saying a lot, given the cats she was related to, "Now look at her, kind, gentle... Mostly reasonable. Not all kits who start as pawfuls stay that way, especially if they have someone in their life to guide them. That... Wasn't me, but still." She shrugged, "You'll do alright, Mintglade. I promise you."