Apprentice and Pregnant 2

Chapter 2: The Dark Days

Whenever, wherever
We're meant to be together
I'll be there and you'll be near
And that's the deal my dear

"Firepaw is so cute," Ivypaw sighed loudly, interrupting Pinepaw who was in the middle of talking about her training session. "Do you think he likes me?"

"Oh my god," Pinepaw hissed, glaring at her friend. "I was in the middle of talking about my day. You're so rude."

"I'm sorry," Ivypaw said, not sounding sorry at all. "I just can't help it! Look at him, he just breathes cuteness."

Laurelpaw looked over to where Firepaw was sitting with her brothers. He was a scrawny cat with legs that looked too long for his body and a neck that seemed oddly too short. He had a thin orange pelt that he was constantly itching and his nose never seemed to stop running. Laurelpaw really didn't see the attraction at all.

"I wish he'd come over here," Ivypaw sighed. "Why do you think he won't?"

"Maybe because he's more comfortable around a group of tom cats instead of us she cats," Pinepaw said in an exasperated voice. Laurelpaw could understand her frustration, Pinepaw seemed to explain this to her every day.

"You need to get over Firepaw, dude," Laurelpaw said, feeling tired of listening to her go on and on about Firepaw all the time. "He's not that great."

"You're just jealous because I'm gonna get a mate before you," Ivypaw said triumphantly. "You're mad because I'm in a happy relationship!"

"Kind of a one sided relationship if you ask me," Pinepaw said under her breath.

"Ha!" Laurelpaw cackled.

"What?" Ivypaw whined, not hearing her.

"Nothing," Pinepaw replied, winking at Laurelpaw. Laurelpaw smiled, thinking of Thornpaw for the zillionth time. Firepaws got nothing on him.

"Well, I'm not gonna settle for anybody but the best," Pinepaw suddenly said. "I've got my sights on Swallow Star."

"What?" Laurelpaw cried out in alarm. "Why are we just hearing about this now?"

"I wanted to tell you guys," Pinepaw said. "But somebody won't shut up about Firepaw."

"Speaking of Firepaw," Ivypaw said instantly. "Did I tell you he said he-"

"I'm talking now," Pinepaw snapped, cutting her off.

"Why did you have to pick Swallow Star?" Laurelpaw asked, completely confused. That seems like a terribly unrealistic thing to think about.

"He's cute, he's funny, we talk like all the time," Pinepaw said at once.

"Oh yeah?" Laurelpaw snickered. "Name one conversation you've had with him today."

"Well," Pinepaw thought about it for a second. "Today he organized an apprentice fighting lesson and said my name out loud and looked right at me."

"That's not a conversation," Laurelpaw scoffed.

"Well, it's better than nothing," Pinepaw said dreamily. Laurelpaw didn't know which of her friends was more unrealistic. One likes the apprentice who looks like a snot nosed kit. The other has the hot's for the leader.

Laurelpaw paused as something crossed her mind. I guess I'm not much better. I like a Shadowclan cat.

Maybe we're all a little unrealistic

Thornpaw felt as though his paws were on fire as he made the walk of shame into Snakestars den. Adrenaline from earlier was still racing through his veins, nearly making him dizzy. That was probably the best prank I've ever pulled, he thought, smiling uncontrollably. I can't stop thinking about it! He knew he was about to get into a lot of trouble, but he didn't care. Cats around here need to get a sense of humor.

Snakestar had found out right away what had happened; Flametail wasted no time filling him in on the details. Thornpaw wasn't even in the camp for ten minutes before Snakestar had approached him and told him he needed to talk to him in his den.

I guess I gotta get the hard part done, Thornpaw thought to himself as he padded into his leaders den. Every good time has a price.

He stopped short as he realized Snakestar wasn't the only one who looked up at him as he entered the cave. Redpaw and Berrypaw were already there, with Orangetail, Cedarwing and Berrypaws mentor Whitewhisker. Berrypaw looked up at him with a feverish expression, looking like he was gonna be sick. Redpaw stared at the ground, not looking up to meet his eyes.

"Come in, Thornpaw," Snakestar said, voice stern. He beckoned with his tail for him to sit down next to Cedarwing.

"Now that you're all here, I'm gonna start," Snakestar said, sighing loudly. "Today there was a big disruption among Shadowclan. Does anyone know why?"

I really hope that's a rhetorical question, Thornpaw thought to himself, fidgeting with his paws.

"There was a disruption because we were joking around," Redpaw whispered at last, sounding miserable. "We're sorry."

"Not only did you make a complete fool out of Flametail," Snakestar growled. "You also made fools of yourselves. You three have shown so much immaturity lately that I'm finding it hard to take you seriously."

"We're sorry," Berrypaw put in, sounding like he really meant it. Thornpaw felt his heart sink a little. We're just having fun… that doesn't make us immature.

Does it?

"Your mentors have things they want to say to you too," Snakestar nodded at Orangetail, signaling for him to speak first.

"I'm ashamed of you," Orangetail snapped at once, glaring down at Redpaw. "I try so hard to train you and help you learn, but you spend all your time fooling around."

"We were just having fun," Thornpaw protested, feeling as though that was a little harsh. "We try our best at training and-"

"Silence," Snakestar growled, glaring at Thornpaw. Thornpaw shut his mouth with a snap.

"As I was saying," Orangetail scowled at Thornpaw before turning back to Redpaw. "All this silliness needs to stop. You're not a kit anymore."

"I'm sorry," Redpaw whispered.

"I'll go next," Whitewhisker said as Orangetail stopped talking. "Berrypaw, I feel the same way Orangetail does. I'm finding it hard to mentor you when you focus all your time and energy on playing jokes."

"I understand," Berrypaw replied, voice less timid than Redpaws. "I'm sorry too."

Whitewhisker nodded and looked over at Cedarwing.

Cedarwing fixed Thornpaw with a cool gaze, and Thornpaw had to fight tooth and nail not to wink at her. She's not mad. She loves my pranks… and she knows I'm not a stupid apprentice.

She's my best friend, next to Redpaw and Berrypaw.

"Thornpaw, as funny as your prank was, I feel that you should be focusing your time and energy on becoming a warrior," Cedarwing said simply, voice kind. "That's what being an apprentice is all about. I also understand how you want to have fun and-"

"Alright, that's enough," Snakestar cleared his throat as he cut her off, clearly not expecting her to lay it so easy on him. "I hope you all learned something while you were in here."

"We'll try harder," Redpaw bowed his head to his leader. This made Snakestar look slightly uncomfortable.

"No need to bow," Snakestar coughed awkwardly and shifted his paws. "I'm not going to punish you, but consider this your last warning. Tone down the pranks, or next time you won't have it so easy."

Thornpaw wasn't surprised as Snakestar looked directly at him as he said those words. He stood up, figuring this was a dismissal.

"Thornpaw, I'd like you to stay for a moment," Snakestar said suddenly. Surprised, Thornpaw sat back down. He watched as the other cats walked out, catching Cedarwings eye.

What's going on? He asked mentally, shooting her a look that said what he was thinking. Cedarwing shrugged slightly with wide eyes, looking confused too.

When the den was empty, Thornpaw started to feel terribly uncomfortable. Maybe I'm in more trouble than I expected, he thought. Maybe I shouldn't have been so cocky. Shit, Snakestars giving me the weirdest look ever. What does he want to say to me?

"You look nervous," Snakestar commented suddenly.

"I am," Thornpaw confessed, voice lacking his usual confidence. "What did you want to talk to me alone about?"

"Alright, well," Snakestar stopped talking to look behind him at the den entrance, as if he was making sure everyone was really gone. "It's about you, and well, your pranks."

"I thought we covered that topic already," Thornpaw mumbled.

"We did," Snakestar nodded. "But I want to say some things to you because I know you're the leader of your little group. Can I trust you not to repeat what I'm about to say to Redpaw and Berrypaw?"

"You can trust me," Thornpaw replied, wondering just where the heck this was going with this. He doesn't even look mad at me. If anything he looks amused…

"Alright, well," Snakestar started. "Okay, I'm gonna admit it. Your prank was hilarious. I laughed pretty hard when I heard about it."

Thornpaw beamed, standing up a little straighter. Hell yeah, Snakestars on my side!

"I'm sure I speak for the entire clan when I say that no one was enjoying Flametails patrols," Snakestar continued. "I think you put an end to them, so thanks."

"No problem," Thornpaw said, feeling all giddy again. He felt more at ease at once, and he remembered suddenly that Snakestar was quite young himself and must know what it's like to have a good laugh once in a while.

"I also wanted to bring something else up with you," Snakestar said, voice turning serious. "I'm sure you've heard about the past, haven't you? When we had our old leader Nightstar and his deputy Longtail?"

Thornpaw thought about it for a second, piecing together all the things cats had told him about the past. He had heard a lot about Longtail, and how evil he was.

"I was told that Longtail raped Hollyshine from Thunderclan," Thornpaw mumbled, feeling icky just saying the words. "And then Nightstar launched an attack on them for her kits."

"That's right," Snakestar said quietly, eyes holding an emotion that Thornpaw didn't understand. "Those were the darkest days Shadowclan has ever seen. That poor apprentice's life was ruined. All because of one cat's cruel heart."

"I met Hollyshines daughter at the last gathering," Thornpaw said. "She's a spitting image of her mother, all right."

"Laurelpaw," Snakestar murmured. "And Cracklepaw and Silverpaw."

"Yeah," Thornpaw said, not caring to talk about her brothers. Aw man she's so freaking cute. And now she's in my head again, great. "She's super nice- I mean, they're super nice. I talked to Laurelpaw for a bit before the gathering started, she's kind and chatty and-"

"Not at all like her father," Snakestar interrupted, finishing his sentence. "Just like Cedarwing. One could never guess that she shares the same monster for a father."

"Cedarwings awesome," Thornpaw agreed. "I'm really happy to have her for a mentor."

"I'm glad to hear it," Snakestar said, tone indicating that he was about to draw the conversation to a close. "Anyways, Thornpaw. I just wanted to say that Shadowclan has finally gotten out of the dark days. I'm glad that you're able to get some laughs out of others, because not too long ago everyone was sad all the time and it made for a depressing environment."

"No problem," Thornpaw smiled.

"But maybe take it down a notch, would ya?" Snakestar winked at Thornpaw. "I don't want you to fall behind in your training. I'm very fond of you and I look forward to picking out your warrior name."

"Thank you for being so understanding," Thornpaw said, looking up at Snakestar with a new respect in his eyes. Snakestars such a good leader. I can't even imagine what Nightstar was like.

"Maybe go apologize to Flametail too," Snakestar said. "I think he's still sulking somewhere."

"I will," Thornpaw promised, getting up. "Have a good evening, Snakestar."

"I will," Snakestar said kindly. "Make sure you don't stay up too late. I need you up bright and early for the dawn patrol."