Sorry for not updating, guys! I was on vacation.
Today: Firestar
Tomorrow: Crookedstar
-Mossy
-chapter seven-
Leafpool yawned and pounded the alarm clock on her nightstand. The incessant beeping halted, but when the brown tabby took off her gel bead-filled sleeping mask, she found she had broken another alarm clock again beyond repair. Growling in annoyance, she yanked out its cord, tossed it into the garbage and made a mental note to buy one made from steel later at Tigert.
Another day, another twenty dollars for producing this awful show, Leafpool thought bitterly as she rolled out of bed and yawned her way through breakfast. The coffee just didn't seem to be working at its full potential today. Leafpool pulled the strawberry Pop-Tarts out of the toaster and munched through them, ignoring the burning sensation on her tongue from the hot strawberry jelly or jam or whatever it was.
It was going to be a rough day. She had to go visit Hollyleaf in rehab, and then Jayfeather at medical school. Lionblaze's siblings were very jealous of Lionblaze because he, apparently, was the "successful one." Well, at least Jayfeather was successful too...
o3o
Leafpool felt like, with her life, she had stepped into a reality show as she stood in front of a large, stone-gray building marked with looming black letters "FELINE REHAB FOR KILLING CATS".
"Why?" the brown tabby squeaked before padding into the place. Inside, it wasn't that much prettier. The only colorful thing was the Clanmas decorations from six months ago that still hadn't been taken down yet over the receptionist's desk.
Ducking under the bright red-and-green streamers, Leafpool muttered to the half-asleep front desk cat, "Leafpool to see Hollyleaf."
The receptionist just nodded and reached blindly to the left for her coffee (which was in front of her). Leafpool walked past her, sucking in her cheeks as she trudged through the back, going by cell after cell and nodding to a guard every once in a while. Finally the tabby arrived at the very last cell, which contained a scruffy black she-cat who was hunched in a corner, watching a tiny TV. Her huge, estranged green eyes reflected on the screen, and when Leafpool leaned closer, she realized her daughter was watching reruns of none other than Crow's Ladies Talk Show.
Touched, Leafpool leaned close to the bars that separated her and the young black she-cat and purred, "Hello, sweetheart."
Without turning, apparently fixated on the show, Hollyleaf demanded, "Who is it?"
"Leafpool!" her mother gasped. "So you're watching my show?"
"Um, yeah," Hollyleaf mumbled, back still to Leafpool. "Look, maybe come another time. Right now I'm at the part where Nightcloud confronts Cloudtail about his kits! Haha! And look at Feathertail's reaction. They are so funny..." Just then, she turned around to find Leafpool gone. "Uh, Mom?"
o3o
Leafpool ran out of the rehab center, tears stinging the back of her eyes, ignoring the confused stares fixed on her. Fine. If you don't care about me-
"Leafpool!" Blinking, the tabby spun around from where she was digging her keys out of her purse for her Furrari. It was Bramblestar, one of the guards (even leaders need summer jobs), jogging after her.
"Yes, Bramblestar?" the she-cat asked respectfully, dipping her head as she paused her key search.
"Did she attack you again?" Tigerstar's son asked, scratching the back of his head as he eyed Leafpool up and down. "You don't look hurt, but I just wanted to make sure."
Leafpool patiently waited for him to finish, even though time was running out for her to get to Jayfeather's school to see his class presentation. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine," she mumbled, meaningfully rubbing a scar concealed by fur just under her collarbone from a past attack. "Thanks for caring," she told her brother-in-law, quickly returning her attention to her purse. "Darn, where are those keys?"
Bramblestar smiled. "Oh, and you dropped these," he meowed, handing her the car keys.
"Thanks again!" Leafpool laughed, feeling stupid. She turned to go, calling over her shoulder, "Tell Squirrelflight I said hi!"
o3o
"... and those are my favorite elements of the periodic table," Jayfeather finished, sighing as his cloudy blue eyes glanced again at the door. Was Leafpool going to come or not? She had already missed the first half of his presentation. The gray tabby turned back to the class, flicking his ear in annoyance when he heard an audible snore.
"Well done, Jayfeather," the teacher, Ms. Yellowfang, praised in her raspy voice. "You will be a fine medicine cat one day, following in your mother's pawsteps."
Jayfeather blushed, pawing at his cheek to hide it. Who knew how red he was?
All of a sudden, someone burst into the classroom, gasping, "Am I late?"
His mother. "Er, yeah, you are. You missed half of my-"
"Well, you could represent it, couldn't you?"
"No!" the class begged.
Jayfeather glared at them and then hissed, "I'll just do the second half. Okay, so..."
o3o
Leafpool trotted out of the school, glancing at her watch. She had time for lunch, then had to get rehearsing and hang out with Feathertail and Nightcloud. She was relieved to have been able to catch her mid-day nap during her younger son's presentation; she was smart to have worn her shades so he couldn't tell she was asleep- Leafpool facepawed herself. Jayfeather was blind, for StarClan's sake.
o3o
"Hello, and welcome to the Crow's Ladies Talk Show!" Leafpool, Nightcloud, and Feathertail all meowed in unison like a singing quartet minus one.
"Today we have an extraordinary guest for you all!" Leafpool purred, beaming. "My father, Firestar!"
A still-handsome ginger tom with a flame-colored pelt and sharp emerald eyes padded onto stage with a grin. "Thank you for having me, sweetheart. Such a cute show."
Leafpool flattened her ears and sighed. "Thanks, Dad. So you're here to talk about Mom, I guess... hmm..." She stuck out her tongue.
Nightcloud smirked and bounced forward to the edge of her seat. "Tell me, Mr. Firestar Sir, O Great Leader of Thy ThunderClan, what is Sandstorm like? A storm of sand? Or a sand of storm?"
Feathertail cocked her head. "The second one doesn't even make sense."
"Shut up," Nightcloud replied.
Firestar laughed. "Well, Sandstorm is not like a storm of sand or a sand of storm," he meowed, rolling his eyes at his goddaughter, Feathertail. "No, honestly, she has a carefully-sharpened tongue and a crafty but sweet attitude that I just love. She is really the only cat for me, no matter how much I'll always love Spottedleaf."
Leafpool glared at him. "Dad, come on! You and Spottedleaf were never meant to be. And she was much older than you. That crush was kinda gross."
"You sound like your sister!" Firestar snorted. "Look, things happen for a reason. So Spottedleaf and I didn't end up together, and it wasn't meant to be. Sandstorm and I did-"
"FIRE!" A loud screech erupted like lava from a volcano from backstage. Sure enough, smoke was billowing out from behind the curtains. Leafpool gasped and raced off stage along with her co-hosts and father.
o3o
Tigerheart climbed his way through the rubble of the studio, wincing. In all his days as a firefighter, he had never quite seen damage this extensive. Or expensive... to repair. He picked all the way over to where a sobbing Leafpool, concerned Nightcloud, and worried Feathertail were. "Well, girls..." the dark tabby meowed slowly. "The reason for the fire was because someone left a fork in the backstage toaster." He raised a gloved pair to reveal a smoky black fork missing one of its tines.
"Oh, no..." Nightcloud breathed.
Leafpool turned on her. "It was you?"
Oh and just wanted to provide you guys this list of real-life references made into Warriors references, in case you were confused (some are more obvious than others):
-Kinstagram=Instagram
-Tigert=Target
-Kit-Cat=Kit-Kat
-Furrari=Ferrari
-Lion O'Brien=Conan O'Brien/Shaquille O'Neal
-Red Breeze=Red Bull
-Breeze Jewelers=I dunno, Kay Jewelers? XD
-Clanmas=Christmas (not to be offensive, since it is a religious holiday :o)
-High-four=High-five
-Facepaw=Facepalm
-Ask about any others I may have forgotten
-Mossy