“Mint? Where is your mother? Why are you here?” Fallenwings asked quickly after his jaw was done dropping.
“I have no idea. I just woke up here, only remembering who I am” the she-kit murmured softly.
“Well then... Could you come with me?” Fallenwings gently asked. Seeing her alarmed face, he added “I just want to bring you to my clan. They won’t hurt you, we just want to help. Ok?”
The she - kit nodded her head and followed close behind Fallenwings as he carefully brushed the ferns aside. While they made their way back to camp, Fallenwings told Mint about FallenClan and how he lived. She nodded curiously as he talked and listened to every word he said with an attentiveness that Fallenwings had never seen in a kit so young before.
After a couple minutes of walking they reached FallenClan camp, filled with sleepy cats eating juicy fresh kill. Fallenwings stopped outside of the camp and told Mint,
“Just be quiet and stay with me ok? They will like you, just sometimes... they can be a little hostile to strangers. Just do as I say and you will be alright. That sound good?”
Mint nodded as Fallenwings led her into the camp, now full of cats who had just woken up and started eating prey. Mint let out a small noise of amazement before padding into the camp, next to Fallenwings as she promised.
“Who do you have there Fallenwings?” Echonight, his mate asked as she padded over, Blossomkit by her side.
“Mommy! Can I talk to the kit?” Blossomkit asked loudly as soon as she saw Mint.
“One second honey” Echonight murmured, letting her tail gently stroke Blossomkit’s back “Fallenwings? Who is that?” She repeated.
“Mint. I found her while hunting. Says she doesn’t know why she’s here and who her parents are. Figured camp would be safer for her than the woods.” Fallenwings answered quickly.
“Can I talk to her?” Blossomkit loudly asked again.
“Yes just let me talk to dad.” Echonight meowed, an exasperated look on her black, white and yellow face. “Shouldn’t we tell Silentstar?” Echonight murmured quietly.
“Can you? You're her sister... you might have better luck than me” Fallenwings whispered back, remembering why Silentstar didn’t always like outsiders.
Echonight stared at Blossomkit and Mint and decided their frolicking was harmless before saying “Fine. Can you watch the kits Fallenwings?”
“Ok” Fallenwings responded quickly. After Echonight had strolled away to the main den to wake and talk to Silentstar, Fallenwings noticed that some of the cats in the clan had scented Mint and begon whispering and staring at them.
“Who’s that?” Archtail asked with a hostile tone to his voice as he trotted over.
“A kit I found while hunting. Her name is Mint and Echonight is discussing her with Silentstar right now” Fallenwings said. Seeing Archtail’s suspicious stare at the two kits wrestling, Fallenwings added, “She’s three moons old. She can’t harm anyone.”
Archtail scowled and then hissed “We can’t be sure of that” before walking away.
Meanwhile, while Archtail was talking, two things happened. First, most of the clan was gathered around them, and second, Mint was now clinging to Fallenwings leg with a scared look and her face. Fallenwings bristled at the cats and wrapped his tail around Mint’s small body as the clan began walking towards them.
“Why did you bring her back?”
“Is she a dirty rouge?”
“Why does she smell so bad?”
All of the cats overlapping meows just made Mint grip onto Fallenwings harder. Blossomkit pressed herself against Mint, her good eye facing the cats around her.
Suddenly, the crowd parted and Shadedmoon appeared, hissing. She stalked forward until her head was close to Mint’s.
Fallenwings tried to push her away, but when it didn’t work, he wrapped his tail around her tighter. “Shadedmoon... Echonights talking to your sister right now. Silent-” Fallenwings said before Shadedmoon cut him off.
“Silentstar wouldn’t like her here” Shadedmoon murmured menacingly, tilting her head so Mint was forced to stare in her cloudy, blind left eye. Mint whimpered and Fallenwings began to tell Shadedmoon to stop messing with her, but Silentstar had appeared with Echonight beside her.
“Silentstar can decide what she wants.”