Mince

-Originally named mintwing
-Exalted
-Went to plague
-Never returned
-Comes back as aberration


Mintpaw sucked in a breath
“Just get the sample.. and leave” she kept repeating in her mind, following her teammate into the heart of plague. The wyrmwound.

She peeked at it, though there was a lot of fog around the area, she could tell by the boiling glow of where it was. She sniffed the air and immediately regretted it, trying hard not to gag.

“Yes, I wouldn’t recommend getting too close.” spoke the spy.
“How have you lived here this long?” asked mint’s teammate.
“Sheer determination” he sighed.
“Anything to keep my flight safe” mintwing looked at him admirably.

“Alright.. i’m going for it” Mintwing extended her wings. Taking in a deep breath of the sicking air before plummeting. She had trained for this moment, the entire operation had been a year’s planning.

She steeled her nerves, opening her wings at the very last second and hovering down. She dunked the bottle into the wyrmwound with her foot. Quickly pulling up and capping it with her hand. She then heard a screech, which was echoed throughout by others. She froze for a moment, knowing now was the moment she flew for dear life.

She desperately tried to escape, but the air was so thick and sickened her. With each breath she felt years of sickness sticking to her lungs. Her teammate dived down, the fae took the vial and shot out of the way. The vial was now heading out of wyrmwound. Now was the part she hadn’t been trained for, escape.

But as she tried to combat the sickly air she saw an unfathomable amount of plague dragons rushing around. Some guards rushed towards her specifically. A few tried to follow the fae but he was too fast. The spy was likely hidden in the same place as before, safe and sound.

She swerved and twisted past fleshy spires and frantic dragons. Until she collided with an imperial, she rebounded and fell. Dizzy. She could see the bubbling brew below closing in. Once more she opened her wings at the last possible moment, but thats when she felt something heavy collide into her back.

It was this moment that mintwing realised something. This was why none of her siblings or friends were allowed to go with her.. her survival- past this point, was not necessary. She had never had a chance.

Soon searing pain hit her nerves caught up. She was enveloped in a horrid heat. She refused to open her eyes in a last ditch effort of self preservation. But it made sensations stronger. she felt her body begin to deteriorate while simultaneously covering with boils.

She felt her very self get split in half, her body became lighter.. lighter.. lighter.. till it all went to black. At last.. sleep. Unfortunately, it would not be permanent.

It was within that nightmare that mintwing thought back to her childhood. The only comfort she could have was nostalgia. Unable to even hug herself as her body was too numb to move.

“Nightmare’s aren’t real. They all go away when you wake up” cheyanne used to tell her. Her large paw rested on her back.
“Some say that nightmares prepare us for what happens in reality. But i’ve never faced anything scarier than a nightmare” her soft chuckle was like a lullaby. Oh how she just wanted to live in that moment forever. But life was calling her.. and her waking nightmare had only just begun.