Contains spoilers.
I decided to make this into a mini-series and write aobut all the apprentices since so many people wanted me to. This one is aobut Stormpaw and Featherpaw. I like this one, it's fun writing about apprentices. Enjoy!
Held Prisoner
Featherpaw and Stormpaw made their way towards the fresh-kill pile. Featherpaw twitched her tail nervously as a ShadowClan warrior passed by. She leaned over towards her brother.
"I don't like this whole Tigerclan idea." She whispered into his ear. Stormpaw nodded in agreement.
"I think Leopardstar has gone mad." He responded.
Suddenly a large tom came up from behind them and growled. "What are you two doing here? The RiverClan fresh-kill pile is over there." He pointed his tail towards a small pile of crowfood.
Stormpaw glanced at the ShadowClan fresh-kill pile and swiped his tongue along his lip. He spotted a plump water vole on the top of the pile.
"Could I just have that vole? Please, Jaggedtooth I'm hungry and so is my sister. We can split that vole." Stormpaw begged.
The huge tabby tom glared at young Stormpaw and hissed. "Go tothat fresh-kill pile now!" he ordered.
Featherpaw crawled up to her brother and nudged him away from Jaggedtooth and towards the RiverClan fresh-kill pile. Stormpaw stopped and turned towards Jaggedtooth one more time.
"Let me at him, Featherpaw. I can take him on." He growled. He puffed out his chest and began to walk towards the large tabby. Featherpaw stepped in front of him, blocking him for going any further.
"Don't go. We don't want to cause trouble." Featherpaw mewed. Stormpaw stood still for a few moments. Finally he sighed and reluctantly made his way towards the RiverClan fresh-kill pile.
Featherpaw spotted a small mouse on their pile of fresh-kill. All the other prey was rotten and smelled funny. The two apprentices did not dare get near them. Featherpaw dragged the mouse out and laid it in front of Stormpaw. The young tom looked at her thoughtfully and purred.
"You eat first." He mewed. Featherpaw nudged the mouse closer to Stormpaw.
"No, the food is scarce so I'm offering you the first bite." She mewed. Stormpaw shook his head.
"I want you to take the first bite. If one of us is going to die of starvation let it be me." Stormpaw meowed. His softgazesoon hardened to an expression of seriousness.
"Don't say those things Stormpaw! We're not going to die of starvation. Quit being so negative." Featherpaw snapped. Stormpaw looked down at his paws and sighed. Featherpaw lowered her head and took a small bite from the mouse. After her, Stormpaw lowered his head to take a bite.
Stormpaw stared at the mouse and groaned. "Only two bites and the mouse is almost gone. You can have the last bite Featherpaw." He mewed. Featherpaw opened her mouth to object but noting came out. She closed her mouth and reached down to take the last bite.
"We can't live like this any longer." Featherpaw mumbled.
"I know." Stormpaw mewed. "We have to do something about this. I'll go talk to Stonefur." Stormpaw padded over to his mentor.
Stonefur was busy talking with the leader of Riverclan, Leopardstar and the Tigerclan leader, Tigerstar. Stormpaw cautiously walked up but he was a bit shy and began to back away. Tigerstar spotted the young apprentice and stared at him for a moment before he said anything.
"What is it?" Tigerstar asked. Stonefur and Leopardstar turned their heads towards the young apprentice. Stormpaw began to cower away, then he felt a nudge behind him. Featherpaw encouraged him to speak with Stonefur. Stormpaw nodded.
"St-Stonefur…" he stuttered. "Our fresh-kill pile only has crowfood in there and Jaggedtooth wouldn't let us have a vole from their pile."
Stonefur glanced at Leopardstar worriedly then back towards Stormpaw. "I'm sure we can work something out." He turned towards Tigerstar. "Can't there be an exception for the apprentices? They need to eat to gain their strength."
Tigerstar snorted a laugh and looked over at Stonefur with sharp, mischievous eyes. "So Stormpaw, you're saying that Jaggedtooth wouldn't let you have a vole from our pile?"
Stormpaw gulped and nodded. Tigerstar looked over at Leopardstar then at Stonefur.
"Let's ask him ourselves, shall we?" he meowed. "Jaggedtooth!" he yowled. A few heartbeats later, a large tom came out of the shadows. He padded towards Tigerstar then bowed his head.
"Yes, Tigerstar?" he meowed with respect.
"Stormpaw says you wouldn't let him or his sister have anything from our fresh-kill pile. Is that true?" Tigerstar asked.
Jaggedtooth glared at the two apprentices then looked up innocently towards his leader. "No, Tigerstar. I found them trying to steal from our pile. These two apprentices are lying! They're not loyal to Tigerclan and they don't obey our rules." The large tom meowed.
Stormpaw and Featherpaw gasped. "That's not true!" Featherpaw mewed.
"Silence!" Tigerstar hissed at Featherpaw. Stormpaw stepped in front of his sister and faced Tigerstar.
"No one hisses at my sister!" he growled.
Tigerstar twitched his tail. "I will not tolerate with disloyal apprentices. I should've never let you two join Tigerclan, you two are just some sniveling half-clan apprentices." He snarled.
Stormpaw's fur bristled. Featherpaw was standing right beside his brother. The two were glaring at Tigerstar and Jaggedtooth. Stormpaw heard Stonefur whisper something into Leopardstar's ears.
"I think Stormpaw and Featherpaw are telling the truth." The large gray tom whispered.
Tigerstar turned his head towards Stomefur and growled. "What did you say? You believe these two disloyal apprentices instead of a loyal Tigerclan warrior?"
Leopardstar glanced nervously at her deputy. "W-well, what if Jaggedtooth were lying and-"
"Jaggedtooth wouldn't lie to me." He hissed. "Your deputy has sided with these two disloyal apprentices. Fetch Stonefur's sister, Jaggedtooth, and take the four to that small den over there." Tigerstar pointed, with his tail, to a deserted area on the far side of camp.
Jaggedtooth growled and Stonefur and pushed him forward with his head. Stonefur sheathed his claws and hissed. That caught a few other cat's attention.
"If you hurt any of my warriors, I'll kill you." Tigerstar hissed in a threatening tone to Stonefur.
"Leopardstar, you have to do something." Stonefur pleaded. His leader seemed scared and confused. She stuttered a few unclear words and gulped.
"I-I think you sh-should listen to Tigerstar, Stonefur." She muttered. She turned away in shame and walked off. Tigerstar ignored her stuttering.
"Come on you two, let's listen to Tigerstar. I don't want you two to get hurt." Stonefur mewed. The two apprentices followed the warrior closely.
"Move it." Jaggedtooth snarled. Stonefur trotted towards the deep, dark den. The two apprentices went in first, then he entered then Stonefur crawled in. A few moments later, Mistyfoot was being guided by Blackfoot.
"Here's the other half-clan traitor, Jaggedtooth. Watch her closely, make sure none of them escape." Blackfoot meowed briefly. He turned away and made his way back to camp.
"You're just a piece of fox dung." Mistyfoot spat at Jaggedtooth before she entered the dark den.
Jaggedtooth sat out there guarding the four cats. Featherpaw began to whimper.
"When are they going to let us out?" she asked. Mistyfoot sighed.
"I don't know, young Featherpaw."
Stormpaw looked down at his paws. "It's all my fault. If I hadn't made a big deal out of the fresh-kill pile this would've never happened."
Stonefur nudged the young apprentice on the shoulder with his nose. "It's alright Stormpaw. This shows that you actually care about your fellowclan mates. You'll make aloyal andcaring warrior." He mewed encouragingly.
The young apprentice seemed to have his doubts. "If I survive…" he mumbled.
"You will Stormpaw. We'll all make it through this together." Mistyfoot meowed.
"I hope so." Featherpaw went over to her brother and licked his ear. "You were so brave standing up to Tigerstar like that." She whispered softly.
Stormpaw purred. "Thanks." A glimmer of hope was shone in his eyes.
It had been four sunrises since they were imprisoned. They were only given a small fish, each cat tookone bite before it was all gone. Stormpaw was growing worried.
"Featherpaw, are you all right?" he asked his sister who was curled up into a small ball.
Featherpaw opened her eyes and looked up at her brother. "I'm fine." She mewed happily. But Stormpaw could see in her eyes the pain and hunger she felt.
"I'll ask Jaggedtooth if we could have something to eat." Stonefur offered. He got up and was just about to Jaggedtooth when the large tom poked his head into the small den.
"Stonefur, come out here." Jaggedtooth ordered. Stonefur slowly made his way out. Jaggedtooth stared at the two apprentices and snorted. "You two, come out here." He meowed. The two apprentices followed Stonefur.
"What about me?" Mistyfoot asked desperately. The large tom twitched his tail and growled deeply. "Stay here." Mistyfoot was about to say something but she decided not to.
Featherpaw looked back at her mentor worriedly. "What if they do something to her?" she asked.
Stonefur did not respond, he didn't even look at her. His eyes were tired and unfocused. He knew things were going to get worse. Instead, Stormpaw replied. "I'm sure they won't do anything to her."
Suddenly a large white tom with jet black paws approached the three cats. "Come with me." He mewed simply before he turned away. Without a word, Stonefur followed.
"What if he's leading us into a trap?" Stormpaw mewed to Stonefur.
The gray tom sighed. "Follow his orders." He meowed tiredly. Then he continued to follow Blackfoot. Stormpaw and Featherpaw reluctantly followed.
Little did they expect the terror that was going to happen next. Tigerstar had accused the three cats of being disloyal cats because they were half-clan. To prove his loyalty, Stonefur was ordered to kill the two apprentices.
"No…Stonefur would never kill us." Stormpaw whispered into his sister's ears. Featherpaw began to tremble with fear.
"I don't want to die, Stormpaw. Mistyfoot said we'd all make it out alive." Featherpaw whispered.
Stonefur turned towards Leopardstar. "I take orders from you." He mewed.
"Do as Tigerstar says, Stonefur." Leopardstar meowed. The two apprentices were shocked to hear their leader say such a thing.
"We're going to die." Featherpaw pressed her nose into Stormpaw's flank.
Stonefur glanced back at the two apprentices, his eyes softened. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you two."
Featherpaw raised her head and stared at Stormpaw. "I knew he wouldn't hurt us." Stormpaw mewed with hope. Suddenly he saw Darkstripe leap onto Stonefur. The large gray tom raked his claws along Darkstripe's leg.
"You can do it!" Stormpaw mewed with confidence. Featherpaw twitched her tail nervously as she watched the two cats fight.
Stonefur was winning, he had Darkstripe pinned to the ground. Suddenly Blackfoot pulled Stonefur off of Darkstripe and the battle took a turn for the worse. Blackfoot slit Stonefur's throat with his claw. Stonefur's dying cry was cut short, followed by an eerie silence.
Stormpaw and Featherpaw stared at Stonefur with wide eyes filled with fear. Featherpaw couldn't take her eyes off of Stonefur's lifeless eyes, neither could Stormpaw.
"Come on you two, return to your den." Blackfoot hissed. Still shocked from the death of Stonefur, the two apprentices said nothing. They slowly turned away and padded back towards the den.
Once they got in, Featherpaw began to whimper. Stormpaw went to a dark corner and curled up into a small tight ball. Mistyfoot looked out the den hoping for her brother to return, but after a few moments she realized what had happened.
"No…" she mewed with disbelief. "He can't be d-" she did not say the word.
Featherpaw turned her head. "He's dead, Mistyfoot. They ordered him to kill us but he refused." She mewed quietly, her voice was almost a whisper.
"He died a hero." Stormpaw muttered from his corner. He lifted himself from the ground and went over to sit next to Mistyfoot. Featherpaw sat on the other side of the gray she-cat. And together, the three cats prayed that StarClan would guide them to freedom.
"Never stop believing…have hope…" a faint voice echoed. All three cats looked around. A glimmer of hope rose in Mistyfoot's eyes.
"Stonefur?" Mistyfoot mewed. There was no response. Her eyes became dull and saddened. Stormpaw and Featherpaw glanced at eachother then they both looked up at Mistyfoot.
"Don't worry…" Featherpaw began.
"…we'll make it through this." Stormpaw finished.
Poor Stonefur -cries-...Whew...I did enjoy writing this chapter, it was fun writing aobut Featherpaw and Stormpaw. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. If you have any suggestions, I'd be happy to take them! Reviews are highly appreciated, thank you for reading!