And this chapter is one of the reasons y this story is rated "T." I think, at least. It gets pretty gross.
Okay, so I want to explain something because it can probably get confusing. I know that in the story, Screechpaw is sometimes called "Screechpaw" and is sometimes called "Aspenpaw." The only time that she is called "Aspenpaw" is when it is Ruffleslash's POV, at least so far. Screechpaw sees herself as "Screechpaw" because she still labels herself as that, not the other name. I JUST WANTED TO CLEAR THAT UP! ;)
HERE IS AN AMAZING ROLEPLAY FROM MyDearNewt!:
Blazestar: Batpaw, by the powers of StarClan, your warrior name is now Batarang!
Batpaw: WTFLUFFY UNICORNS!
Ivyshine: *MANIACAL CACKLING* HAHAHAHAHAHAH! THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN MyDearNewt GETS BORED!
Batpaw: I refuse to live with this ridiculous name! Blazestar, do something!
Ivyshine: It's too late now! I write these rp's! No one else! I have ultimate power!
Blazestar: i-I can't… fight it… I'm sorry, Batpa-Batarang! She's too far inside my mind to- GAAAHHHH!
Blazestar: *stiffens* *pupils change small*
Ivyshine: I'm in his mind now… The Clan shall do my bidding *evil grin*
Blazestar: Whiskerpaw, by the powers of StarClan, your warrior name is now Whiskerwhisker. The clan honors your whiskers and fur and welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan.
Whiskerpaw: NO! PLEASE! I'VE DREADED THIS MOMENT SINCE I REALIZED WHAT COULD HAPPEN AND NOW IT HAS! NOOOOO! *cries into paws*
Ivyshine: Don't be sad, dear, I've given you all lovely names!
Batarang: *mutters* misery enjoys company…
Shinepaw: mousedungmousedungmousedungmouse-
Blazestar: SHINEPAW!
Shinepaw: …
Blazestar: From this moment on, you will be known as Shineshimmer. We honor your shininess and glittery-ness.
Shinepaw: That's not even a wor-
Blazestar: We welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan.
Screechpaw: *runs*
Ivyshine: NOT SO FAST, MY LITTLE PUPPETS! *demented grin*
Screechpaw: *stiffly walks back*
Ivyshine: Don't worry, dear, you're my favorite. Just you wait, this'll be good.
Blazestar: From this moment on, you will be known as Aspentree. StarClan honors your-
Screechpaw: OH COME ON I FINALLY GET MY NAME BACK AND IT'S A REDUNDANT-
Blazestar: -cuddliness and heart and bravery and maturity and soft fur and wisdom and everything about you, and we welcome you as a warrior or ThunderClan.
Aspentree: ok that's definitely that psychotic Ivyshine taking over his mind isn't it
Ivyshine: Aw, admit it, you missed me!
Clan: BATARANG! WHISKERWHISKER! SHINESHIMMER! ASPENTREE!
New Warriors: *silently hating their lives*
Ivyshine: Oh and Flamelick, hi there, ILOVEYOUPLEASEBEMYMATEYOUBEAUTIFULCREATIONFROMSILVERPELT ok byeeee!
Flamelick: *jaw drop* StarClan save me… Ruffleslash was right, oh fox dung, oh fox dung!
Ivyshine: Bye, all my sweet little kits! Off to a different ceremony! *mumbles* Spikefork and Wolfgang… Hehehehh…
ISNT THAT AMAZING?!
Also, I was seriously shocked at how little reviews I got last chapter. What was up with that, u guys? I got like 9, but its basically 7 because one reviewer reviewed 3 times. I luv u guys no matter how many reviews I get, but the reviews motivate me! the more reviews I get, the better the story gets! XD
LONGEST CHAPTER YET! IM SORRY, BUT IT JUST IS! ENJOY!
. . . ….. . . .
Screechpaw padded into camp, proudly holding her head high, her two squirrels dangling from her dangerous jaws. Ruffleslash praised her still as they walked into the clearing, impressed that his apprentice had mastered the squirrel move as such a young apprentice, continuously keeping her seldom seen good mood running.
As Screechpaw was laying her freshkill on the pile, she was tackled by three bundles of fur that had leapt at her out of nowhere. She yowled in surprise as she collided with the ground, the three kits standing over her.
"Surrender now, Screechstar of WindClan!" one of them, a tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes hissed, her tiny growl making Screechpaw purr.
"Never, Robinstar!" She played along with the kits, who flicked their tails happily at her easygoing nature. "I will continue to attack ThunderClan until the forest is mine!"
"Then face our fury!" another kit, Bushkit, a brown tom with a white stripe running down his back and white paws, snarled, amber eyes lighting up excitedly.
The three kits jumped on Screechpaw, or Screechstar, "attacking" her with their soft pelts and adorable squeals. The apprentice tried to shake them off, but they clung on, their unsheathed paws managing to stay lodged in her fur.
Screechpaw flopped to the ground, gasping over exaggeratingly, pretending that every breath was a burden.
"You . . ." she squeaked, her heavy gasps leaving her too breathless to speak. "You ThunderClan…cats…are…are too tough for me! I should go back to my own territory and stay there for moons!"
The three kits purred, lashing their tails in victory. "We beat the great Screechstar!" Tulipkit, a white and brown she-cat, mewed. "They should apprentice us right now!"
Screechpaw got to her paws, growling playfully. "But you haven't seen the last of me! I'll be back! Sometime soon!"
A call from her mentor turned her head and she said goodbye to the kits as she padded over to him and his sister, who were sharing tongues as they sat by the freshkill pile. Screechpaw sat next to them, grabbing a mouse from the heap for herself.
"So," Wonderstrength mewed. "Ruffleslash tells me that you caught two squirrels today, huh?"
Screechpaw nodded happily as she chewed her mouse, savoring the warm and distinct flavors that came to her tongue. "I finally mastered catching them before they run up a tree."
"Well," Ruffleslash mewed. "I wouldn't say mastered, but you did do pretty well."
Screechpaw rolled her eyes and smiled. "So what have you been doing, Wonderstrength?"
"Not much," the light ginger and white cat replied, bored. "Mostly patrols and stuff. Having an apprentice sounds so much more exciting than not having one. Not that being a warrior is boring or anything," she defended. "But I wish I had an apprentice."
She looked at her foreleg, her right one, angrily, shaking it in front of her. "That stupid WindClan apprentice—Nettlepaw?—permanently ruined my leg when we attacked them to get you back."
Screechpaw scowled. "Yeah, I know him. He's Nettlesting now, but he was the one who suggested they keep me there, in their camp."
She flattened her ears in anger as she remembered the cream and brown tom and the proud smirk that was plastered on his face as Thornstar announced his decision about whether or not to keep the kit. She would give anything to go back to that day and rip that expression off of his face with her claws.
Yeah, like you could do that.
A growl rose in Screechpaw's throat as the voice spoke in her head. What do you want?
A life.
What . . . ? Screechpaw was puzzled at that last part, but her train of thought was cut off when a tail laid softly on her shoulder.
She looked up in surprise at her mentor, seeing his worried gaze on her. Screechpaw looked down at her paws in embarrassment, shocked to see that her claws were unsheathed, digging into her half eaten mouse, the poor creature's body mangled and bloodied. She shrank back slightly, ashamed at what she had done to the food that StarClan had so generously provided for her.
"Sorry," she mumbled to Ruffleslash as she picked up the remains of the corpse, going to dispose of it in dirtplace.
What's wrong with me? she thought to herself as she placed the animal in a hole, covering it back up with the dirt that had been moved to create it. Why am I like this?
You know why.
No, actually, I don't!
Well, you did kill that kit.
Well . . . .
Yet again, Screechpaw found herself at a loss for comeback words. She couldn't argue with . . . whatever was in her head's logic.
What is in my head?
Me.
That doesn't help.
It should.
Well, it doesn't.
She sat down again next to the two warriors, blocking them out and shoving the voices to the back of her mind as she sat there in the afternoon sun, the newleaf light shining on her pelt, making her feel comfortably warm.
All too soon, though, Ruffleslash's voice jerked her out of her thoughts, the ginger and black tom standing up and stretching as he talked to his apprentice. "Come on, Aspenpaw"—that got a startled look from his sister—"all of the apprentices and mentors are going to the training hollow for practice. Trust me, I wish we could lounge around here all day, but we have to go. Besides, it's battle training! That's fun at least, right?"
Screechpaw stood up, sighing. "I guess. If I master all of the moves quickly, though, can we go for another hunt?"
Yeah, like you'll actually manage to master something.
Shut up!
Ruffleslash purred, oblivious to Screechpaw's inward quarrel. "Again with the mastering! You're good, Aspenpaw, but you haven't even been apprentice for a moon yet!"
Screechpaw forced out a smile. "Still."
Ruffleslash flicked his tail, swatting his apprentice over the head. "Fine. But I expect you to actually master them, then."
Still not going to happen.
I'll show you, you stupid voice!
The two padded out of the thorn tunnel, breaking into a jog as they leapt over logs and bushes on their way to the training hollow. Screechpaw kept her eyes ahead of her, already growing accustomed to the constant sprinting and the prickly forest floor, but still needing to watch her paws. Ruffleslash, on the other hand, moved easily and swiftly through the trees without needing to look where he was going, the moons that he had spent outside of camp, though they weren't a large whole, training his brain to the point of where it memorized every bump, every dip, every part of ThunderClan territory. Screechpaw frowned. How could he be such a young warrior and already have memorized the entire forest?
They arrived at the training hollow, the three other pairs of cats already there, waiting for them patiently. Screechpaw went to go sit with the other apprentices while Ruffleslash sat by the mentors, giving her a small wink. It was something that he had just started doing, winking at her. But she liked it, so she didn't tell him to stop, and he didn't. There was something about the gestures that made Screechpaw feel calm, more relaxed.
Such a freak like you couldn't ever be calm or relaxed. Before you even think it, don't bring normal into the picture.
Screechpaw growled quietly to herself. She would get the voice back later.
"Okay, apprentices," Smokeleg started, wrapping his tail neatly around his paws. "You've already learned the forepaw swipe, the belly rake, and a few other moves, but we're going to teach you a new one today: the leap and hold."
The apprentices fidgeted excitedly as they sat; the leap and hold was one of the most useful battle moves for small cats, especially apprentices, when they took on larger cats in battle.
"First," Smokeleg continued. "You wait until your opponent is on their belly or is turned around. Then, you just jump onto their back and hold on. It's really quite simple. Everyone practice with your mentor, and don't forget to keep your claws sheathed."
The pairs spread out across the sandy hollow, every warrior going more in depth about the specifics of the move with their own apprentice.
"So, Aspenpaw," Ruffleslash meowed. "What moves do you think you could use against a warrior to get them into a position where you could use the leap and hold on them?"
What moves . . . .
None. You couldn't manage it anyways.
Ugh . . . .
"Well, you could use the forepaw swipe, right?" she asked, head tilted to the side in question.
Her mentor narrowed his eyes in thought. "I suppose. But the best move of choice would be the hind leg kick."
Screechpaw nodded. "Okay. How do you do that?"
Ruffleslash stood up and demonstrated the tactic on an imaginary cat, jumping over its head, landing with his hindquarters facing the other cats, then staying balanced on his forelegs while kicking out with his hind ones. He sat down again, casually drawing one paw over his ears.
"See," he said. "You face your opponent, then jump over them. When you land, you kick out with your hind legs and catch them on their back paws. Once they fall over, all you have to do is turn around and jump onto them and hold on with unsheathed claws."
Screechpaw nodded and flicked her tail, clearly impressed at her mentor's ease and ability to complete the complex move. "Do you really think that I'll be able to learn all that today?"
"I think so," the dark ginger tom replied. "If you try really hard, then I know you can accomplish it."
Screechpaw swallowed nervously, then nodded. If her mentor thought she could do it, then she couldn't let him down.
I wouldn't let your hopes get so high, the voice in her head scoffed.
Screechpaw snorted softly. I'll show you. I know I can do it.
This will be fun.
Ruffleslash and Screechpaw got into position, standing a foxlength away from each other, each scuffling the sand around their paws in determination to show the other their skill.
"Run at me, then jump over as high as you can manage," Ruffleslash mewed.
Screechpaw nodded. She stared at her mentor, trying to pick the best moment to move. He stared back, tail lashing in preparation. They circled each other, each watching the other in the way a hawk would watch a field mouse.
Screechpaw shot forward, running at Ruffleslash, her legs pumping as they pushed the ground beneath her. Ruffleslash drew closer and closer, and Screechpaw stuttered her movements so that she could make the leap over him, but her paw caught on a stray uneven patch of sand and instead of jumping, she crashed head on into the ginger and black tom, the two yowling in surprise.
They tumbled over and over in the sand, eventually falling away from each other, left gasping and shaking on their own.
Nice one, you mouse brain!
I'll do better next time.
Yeah. Sure you will. When rabbits fly.
You'll see.
She turned her attention from her own head to the panting warrior tail lengths from her. "Ruffleslash! I'm so sorry, are you okay?"
"Okay?" he asked, his back facing Screechpaw as he sat, trying to catch his breath. "Okay? You just ran straight into me!"
"I-i," Screechpaw stuttered. She hadn't meant to make him upset, it was an accident! "I'm s-sorry, I—"
"I'm better than okay!" Ruffleslash exclaimed, turning to her, his face turned up in a wide grin, purring from ear to ear. "That was great! But are you okay?"
Screechpaw blinked, relieved. "Yeah. But I got a lot of sand in my fur!"
Ruffleslash stood up, showing off his own pelt. "Look at mine!"
Screechpaw laughed, the tom's sandy fur making her grin. She purred even more at his attempt to shake the sand off his head, which was to no avail, the stubborn, miniscule rocks sticking to his ginger hairs. He eventually sat back down on the ground, exaggerating a disappointed pout, huffing like a kit.
"My pelt is never going to get clean!" he meowed, trying to paw his fur clean instead. Again, it was fruitless.
Screechpaw looked at him, eyes wide in pretend epiphany. "I know! Maybe if you roll in the sand, then you'll get clean!"
Ruffleslash's eyes widened, too, and his tail flew up. "Great idea!"
Screechpaw's mouth opened in surprise as she watched him roll around, only getting the white sand more imbedded in his pelt. He sat up, purring uncontrollably, eyes alit in amusement as he saw his apprentice laugh.
"As your mentor," he said, sitting up straightly as if he was a very important leader. "I order you to clean your fur in this sand like I did."
Screechpaw dipped her head in "respect," barely able to hide her smile. "Yes, your high and mighty mentor-ness."
She got on her back, shimmying her pelt back and forth until it was covered in the powdery white stuff, purring all the while. She sat up, trying to blink the sand from her eyes. She looked down at herself, seeing the ghost like form of her beautiful black and silver tabby pelt. Oh, her mother was going to give her a harsh scolding later.
Ruffleslash watched her through narrowed eyes, the mock authority not even close to being powerful enough to drown out the clear amusement in them. "I approve," he meowed.
The two laughed as they looked at each other's pelts, each now identical replicas of each other and the ground beneath them, all color other than the white of the sand nonexistent on them.
"Okay," Ruffleslash mewed eventually. "Let's master this move now." The two got back into their previous positions, getting ready to try the move out again. "Now don't forget to jump as high as you can. Also, try jumping and not running into me at full pelt." His eyes narrowed in amusement at his last words.
Screechpaw nodded, crouching down, tail lashing in concentration. I can do this.
No you can't.
Yes, I can!
You're just going to fail again.
Screechpaw snarled and ran at Ruffleslash, jumping at the last second before she collided with him again. She soared over him, but didn't quite jump far enough and landed just behind him, so close that their pelts touched, and Screechpaw didn't have enough room to carry out the second part of the move, the actual kicking part.
I told you.
How many times do I have to tell you to shut up!?
"It's okay," Ruffleslash meowed, seeing Aspenpaw's frustration and trying to console her. His apprentice, he had come to learn, could easily get mad at herself if she didn't immediately succeed at a task. He had to somehow convince her that no one had ever been able to do anything perfectly on their first try.
"Trust me, it took me a long time to master this move! It was at least a quarter moon until I finally got the jumping part down!"
Aspenpaw visibly brightened at that and Ruffleslash inwardly sighed in relief. He had to learn exactly what to say with her. So far, everything he had said was the right thing.
The silver and black cat crouched yet again, breathing deeply as she prepared herself yet again.
You got this. Just run, jump, land, and kick.
Just jump, fail, break your neck, and die like the little murderer you are.
Go away!
No.
Ugh, I'll show you! Just watch!
Screechpaw threw herself forward, her silver paws pounding the ground as she rocketed toward her mentor, the voice's words fueling her rage and need to prove it wrong. She leapt, flying over Ruffleslash's head, and landed as gracefully as he had, her rump pointed towards his. Her blood boiling, she quickly shifted her weight and balanced on her forelegs as she kicked out with her hind ones, which shoved into Ruffleslash's, causing him to crumple to the ground. Screechpaw whipped around, jumping onto his back and gripping his shoulders with her paws, almost forgetting to keep her claws sheathed in her hatred towards the voice.
She stood there atop his back, panting. Her eyes were trained on the cat beneath her, but as she stepped off of her mentor, they shifted to the six other cats around the hollow, all open mouthed and staring at her.
"Wow," Shinepaw mewed, too impressed to say anything else.
"How did you do that?" Whiskerpaw gaped, eyes wide in disbelief.
Screechpaw looked around at them. Hadn't they all learned the same thing?
Ruffleslash seemed to have read her mind. "I taught her a new move to help her learn the leap and hold," he explained to the other cats.
"Well, you didn't need to," Smokeleg meowed. "But it's great that you did! How many times did it take you to perfect that, Screechpaw?"
Perfect that . . . . He had said that she had perfected it! Was that the same thing as mastering it?
"Two times," Ruffleslash answered for her.
"Two times!?" The other cats exclaimed in unison.
"That's insane!" Batpaw said.
That's not the only thing that's insane, the voice snarled.
Stop it!
"Well," Smokeleg meowed. "I don't think you need to work on it any more. You two can leave if you like."
Screechpaw looked at her mentor, victory and happiness lighting up her face. He just rolled his eyes in defeat as they padded out of the hollow, the eyes of the others still trained on them.
"Then I mastered it?" Screechpaw pushed.
"I wouldn't exactly say that you 'mastered' it," Ruffleslash mewed. "But that was pretty amazing. You definitely earned your extra hunting practice."
Screechpaw hopped on her paws, some of the white sand falling to the ground from the movement. "Cool! Where at?"
"Let's try the ShadowClan border."
They walked through the forest, stopping near the pine forest, but not near enough to sense anything other than the sappy scent of the trees.
"When you're hunting mice," Ruffleslash quizzed. "How do you step?"
Screechpaw bit her lip in concentration, trying to recall the lesson that she had been taught days before. "You have to walk lightly."
"And why?"
"Because they can feel the vibrations in the ground."
"Right." Ruffleslash scented the air. "Now, try to catch at least one mouse, then we can head back to camp."
Screechpaw nodded, opening her jaws to scent the air, almost immediately picking up mouse. She looked around, seeing the tiny creature scuffling around the roots of a tree not five tail lengths away.
She dropped into a crouch, making sure to step lightly as she crept across the floor, dodging leaves and avoiding twigs all the while. She kept one eye on the mouse and one eye on the path she would take to get to it.
It's just a mouse. It's basic. I can handle it.
The mouse stayed where it was, unaware of its upcoming doom. Its only thoughts were to get its food, get to shelter, and repeat. It was so oblivious.
Screechpaw leapt on it, her claws impaling the animal through the neck and making its death quick and clean, as painless as possible. As humane as possible to the cats in the forest.
The apprentice glanced down at her catch, about to pick it up and carry it off, but recoiled in horror at what was in her paws.
It was the body of Poolkit, crippled and bloody. The white, ginger, and black kit's corpse was mangled, her neck snapped, the head twisted unnaturally and wide eyes staring straight at Screechpaw. The jaws were parted, blood dribbling out and seeping into the soil, and a wail rose from them, gurgling and bubbly from her ripped throat.
As Screechpaw watched, terrified, the distorted body got up, the broken bones making grotesque snapping and cracking noises in the process. The bloodied carcass stood silently, having to stand at an angle so that the head could stare at the shuddering apprentice.
Screechpaw backed away from the thing, starting to hyperventilate as it took a staggering step forward, the head swinging even more as the snapped neck failed to give support. Screechpaw yelped in pain and fear as she tripped over a root and fell to the ground, unable to get away.
"Screechpaw," Poolkit said, drawing the word out, long and endless, the haunted ringing of it echoing inside of Screechpaw's mind. "Screechpaw."
"What!?"Screechpaw shrieked at the thing, trying to tug her snagged paw away from the root, pure terror making her completely forget the pain of her leg as she tore at it with her claws. "What, what do you want from me?!"
"Screechpaw," it repeated, drawing even closer now. Screechpaw watched as the head, which had been tilted so that the ears were pointed off to the right, twitched and rotated completely around the neck, coming to rest in the same place as before, the gore of the inner throat becoming visible. The head gave another shudder before it gave out again, falling towards the ground, bouncing slightly due to the gravity and unreliability of the neck.
It took another step forward, but the legs gave out and Poolkit fell to the ground, her body falling across Screechpaw's legs. The apprentice screeched in utter terror as the dead cat stared up at her with lifeless eyes that still managed to chill her to the bone and make her stomach heave.
Screechpaw tried to get away, but her stuck paw prevented her from moving at all. She ripped at her paw, trying to get it narrow enough to escape, but no progress was made.
"Go away!" she shrieked at the corpse, covering her ears, screwing her eyes shut, screeching with all her might. "Leave!" She screamed, a blood curling noise that somehow was not enough to move Poolkit away. It was so loud that her ears ached, but she didn't stop. She wouldn't stop until the carcass was gone.
A warmth suddenly enveloped her, surprising her into ceasing her frightened wails. Screechpaw's horror only doubled as her mind concocted possible answers to what could've been creating the feeling. Scared beyond what she could've that possible, she found enough courage within her to open her eyes.
Screechpaw was shocked to see dark ginger fogging her vision. She looked up to see her mentor curled around her tightly, his warm fur pressed against her, doing its best to heat up her frozen blood. His head was buried deep in her fur, and Screechpaw saw his mouth moving as he talked.
But what he said she did not know. The sound of her shrieks and the corpse's words still reverberated around her mind, the only thing that was occupying it, other than the loud voices that were always within her brain. She just pressed her face into the ginger fur some more, letting Ruffleslash's calming presence work its magic.
She breathed, trying to slow the freaked out rasps that escaped her, and slowly, ever so slowly, they finally resumed their normal rhythms. She kept her head buried in the fur, though, until Ruffleslash looked down at her, Screechpaw finally being able to hear his words. "It's okay."
Aspenpaw looked back up at him, and his heart shattered at the expression in her blue green eyes: fear. Nothing but fear. He should've helped her, should've prevented her from becoming this broken.
But what had happened to his apprentice? He had watched her the whole time, too confused and petrified to interfere until she started screaming. All that had happened was she caught a mouse, then freaked out, tripped, tried to cut off her own paw, or so it looked, and then shrieked.
Stupid, he scolded himself. Why didn't you help her immediately?
Because I didn't know what to do! he argued.
He quit fighting with himself and turned his attention back to Aspenpaw. "Aspenpaw, you're okay. You're with me, you're safe."
Screechpaw looked into his bright green eyes, wanting to believe him. "I'm not safe. Not while that thing is near me."
His face frowned in confusion and worry at her words. "What do you mean?"
Screechpaw whimpered. How had he missed Poolkit? "You know, right over there—"
She turned to where the corpse had been lying, but was left gaping as she stared at the empty patch of forest ground, no blood or anything that would've announced the dead kit's attendance.
"What?! How did she . . . ." Screechpaw mewed, frantically trying to make sense of things.
"Stop," Ruffleslash meowed gently, forcing her to make eye contact. "Aspenpaw, stop." Screechpaw stared into his green eyes obediently as he continued. "Just relax. It's been a long day, I get that, so let's go back to camp and we can have tomorrow off. Are you fine with that?"
Screechpaw nodded as she gazed, hypnotized, into his eyes.
"Okay then," he whispered. "Let's go back. I'll grab your mouse."
He gently stood up and retrieved the piece of freshkill while Screechpaw removed her paw from the root, an easy thing to do now that she wasn't having a breakdown, but Ruffleslash quickly dropped it when he saw that his apprentice was shivering from fright, the mouse the cause of it.
"I'll just . . . ." He quickly dug a hole and dropped the prey in, promising himself that he would retrieve it later as he guided his shaken apprentice away from the area.
They walked in silence, Ruffleslash with his tail across Screechpaw's shoulders to help her walk.
What's wrong with me? she asked.
The voice didn't answer, and Screechpaw wondered if she had asked it the question or if she was just thinking to herself. Even if she was thinking to herself, though, the voice would usually interrupt. Why not now?
Was it because of what had just happened? But what had just happened? Screechpaw shook as she recalled the traumatizing event that had just occurred. She knew that no matter how hard she tried, she would never be able to erase the image of Poolkit's rotting carcass from her mind.
"I'll tell you what," Ruffleslash said, interrupting Screechpaw's thought in the way that the voice had so often done. "Once we get back to camp, I'm asking Blazestar if you can go to the Gathering tomorrow."
Screechpaw's ears shot up as the new topic shoved the old one to the back of her mind. "Really?"
Ruffleslash nodded. "Of course. You've been awesome this moon; you deserve it more than any other apprentice."
Screechpaw padded on through the forest, keeping quiet until she finally spoke. "Thank you."
"Any time." Then Ruffleslash looked at her and winked. And though the day had been one of the most awful ones of her life, Screechpaw couldn't help but smiling.
. . . ….. . . .
The dead she-cat looked down at Screechpaw as she and her mentor padded into the ThunderClan camp, feeling completely dejected at the apprentice's happiness.
I thought that that was an enough to scare the life out of that killer, she snarled to herself, lashing her tail. I suppose something else will have to be done to ruin her life.
She watched as Screechpaw was immediately greeted by the other apprentices, who all were talking about her amazing skill during battle practice and how great she had been. Screechpaw thanked them all and purred as they talked, but was obviously not actually paying attention to them.
She wasn't paying attention, that is, until her father walked up. He pulled her aside and individually praised her about her amazing job with the battle moves, proudly puffing out his chest as he recalled her moves. Screechpaw was beaming at his words, her good mood now entirely back.
Screechpaw grinned as her father congratulated her one more time before he padded away to go and brag to some other warriors about his daughter. The apprentice sat and stared cheerfully, gazing around the clearing contentedly.
Up above the forest, a tiny spark lit up in the dead she-cat's head. Yes, it was there. If she was only to nurture it, then it would grow into an amazing scheme. The more she thought about it, the wider her malicious smile grew across her once pleasant face.
Oh, this plan would work all right. And it would leave that kit's life even more broken and crazed than before.
But to have it completely play out, she had to go and talk to one other cat. Without him, the plan could never work. And she had a feeling that he would agree to help. After all, she wasn't the only cat in the clans that had a grudge against the apprentice.
. . . ….. . . .
Screechpaw padded over to the apprentice's den, shaking her head to try to clear it of the voice's strange grip that it always had over the silver and black tabby's thoughts. Yes, she was happy despite the sight of that corpse, but that didn't keep the voice away from her mind.
Just go away! she think-yelled at the voice as she curled up in her nest, kneading it with her paws just a little bit too hard out of her frustration, some of the pieces being flung out of the den.
No. I'll never go away.
Why?
Because. You ruined my life. Now, I'm going to ruin yours.
Those words stopped her in her tracks. She had ruined the voice's life? That couldn't be right, the only life that she had supposedly ruined belonged to—
No. It couldn't be. There was no way. She would never do that. Not the innocent cat that Screechpaw knew. Sure, she had seen the cat with her own eyes torment her, haunt her, but that was her own crazed imagination, wasn't it?
Hey, voice?
Yes, my lovely little cat killer?
If I guess who you are, will you tell me?
Sure, whatever. Shoot.
Screechpaw took a deep breath before she asked the dreaded answer that she knew the answer to deep in her heart.
Are you Poolkit?
There was a pause in the conversation, as if the cat on the other end of the conversation was thinking. Why would she need to think? Before Screechpaw could further her thoughts, the voice replied, the words forming a knot of horror in Screechpaw's stomach.
Yes. I'm Poolkit.
. . . ….. . . .
5091 words. I cannot even express to you how exhausted I am. That took so long to write. Omg.
So did you like it? I hope so, this breakdown was pretty intense! I thought at least.
DON'T FORGET TO GO AND VOTE ON THE APPRENTICE'S WARRIOR NAMES POLL! THERE ARE SOME AMAZING CHOICES!
QOTDT: who is the tom that the dead she cat is going to go and talk to? Who is the dead she cat? (2 q's)
Ok thank u so much! Don't forget to suggest, correct, and review! I am so excited to see what you guys have to say about this chapter!
Ok byeeeeee! Keep your eyes open for the next update!