Apprentice and Pregnant 2

Chapter 8: Family Genes

You've got my eyes

You've got my eyes

You'll never be mine, but

You've got my eyes

"Don't get caught," Laurelpaw whispered. Thornpaw gave her a look that held so many emotions it was hard to tell where to start. It was a look of confusion and fear, mixed in with longing and sadness. Laurelpaw nodded slightly to show that she was feeling the same. What a weird chain of events, she thought, looking down at the little kit. And poor little guy! What will happen to him when we bring him out there?

"Well, standing around isn't gonna do any good to anyone," Firepaw said at last. His voice was serious and wary, no traces of sarcasm anywhere. Laurelpaw just nodded and nudged the little kit to his paws.

"Come on," she said. "We're gonna find someone to take care of you."

"I don't know any of them!" the kit shrieked as he peered through the trees at the huge gathering of cats. "There's no way I'm going to let a stranger take care of me. No sir, I won't."

Firepaw smiled slightly, and looked up at Laurelpaw. "At least he's got a sense of humor," he mouthed the words. This made Laurelpaw feel a bit better. Maybe he's going to be okay, despite whatever terrible things may have happened.

"They won't be strangers after you spend some time with them," Firepaw explained. "Would you rather be alone by yourself?"

"No," the kit mumbled, staring at his paws. "I just keep thinking about Old Gray. I should go find him, he's gonna be so angry."

"You're never gonna see Old Gray again," Firepaw said sternly. "I'll make sure of that."

Firepaws words made the kit look terribly upset, and he shook his head over and over.

"No, no, no!" the kit cried. "I need to find Old Gray!"

"Why?" Firepaw asked after a few moments. Laurelpaw glared at him, confused on why he was making the kit talk about the horrible cat.

"Well, we need to know," Firepaw said in a defensive voice. "Don't look at me like that."

"Are you sure," the kit asked in a very quiet voice, staring up at Firepaw with scared eyes.

"Am I sure about what?" Firepaw asked.

"Are you sure you meant what you said," the kit explained. "About making sure I'll never see Old Gray again?"

"I promise," Firepaw said kindly, rubbing the kits head. "Don't ever worry about him again."

"Do you have any friends around here?" Laurelpaw asked, figuring she might as well see if there was anywhere else he could go before they announced his arrival to the gathering. The kit shook his head no, and Laurelpaw sighed.

"Old Gray was the only cat my sister and I ever knew," the kit said sadly. "Momma told me once that she used to know other cats, before Old Gray took her away."

"Why did Old Gray take her away?" Firepaw blurted out. Laurelpaw gave a hiss of frustration. Shut up, Firepaw! It must be so hard for him to talk about.

"Old Gray used to live here, you know," the kit said, looking around. "Huh. I didn't realize that until now. I wonder if his brother is still here."

"Wait, what?" Laurelpaw asked, feeling strange suddenly. "What do you mean, he used to live here?" Was he a part of one of the clans?

"He told us he lived with a big group of cats," the kit said. "But he hated it because he had no friends. So he left, and he tried to get his brother to leave too. But his brother didn't want to, so he left by himself. I think that's how the story goes, anyway."

Laurelpaw stared at Firepaw, completely taken off guard. She didn't know what to say, and it was apparent Firepaw didn't either.

"Maybe I could find Old Grays brother," the kit said helpfully. "I'm sure he'd help me."

"What is your name, by the way," Firepaw broke in.

"I don't have one," the kit said simply. "Old Gray always used to tell me that I didn't deserve one."

"What the hell," Firepaw mouthed the words to Laurelpaw. "That's so sick."

Laurelpaw just nodded, feeling like she was going to throw up. Old Gray sounds like he needs to take a long, long nap and never wake up. Ugh, what a sicko! This poor little cat!

"What did your mother call you?" Firepaw asked. "She must have called you something."

"Old Gray would get mad every time she would give me a name," the kit said. "Then he'd be mean to her and give her scratches."

"Ugh," Firepaw shook his head, wincing. Laurelpaw felt sick to her stomach.

"Would you like us to give you a name?" Firepaw asked suddenly. The kit shook his head no at once. "Absolutely not. Weren't you listening? I don't deserve one."

"Old Gray was wrong," Firepaw growled. "You deserve a name, he doesn't. He's a very terrible cat and I'm sure he told you many things, and he's wrong about all of them."

"Hey, watch it," the kit said angrily. "That's my dad you're talking about."

Firepaw glanced up at Laurelpaw, with a look that said I knew it. Laurelpaw sighed, feeling very stressed out. What will anyone ever do with him? He's so damaged I don't know how he's gonna live a proper life.

"Okay, well, we need to call you something," Firepaw said at last. "How about a temporary name for now?"

"I guess," the kit sighed. "You may call me Daisy."

"Daisy's a girl's name," Firepaw pointed out awkwardly.

"It's what I used to call my sister," the kit explained. Laurelpaw gave a look to Firepaw that signaled to drop it.

"Okay, Daisy," Laurelpaw said. "That is what we will call you."

"Terrific," Daisy said, looking happy with himself. "Now can we go find Old Grays brother? I'm getting hungry."

Laurelpaw didn't know what to say. There is no way we are taking him anywhere with any relation to this Old Gray character. Not in a million years, brother or no brother.

"What's your brother's name?" Laurelpaw asked, stalling for time.

"He had a weird name, it sounded like two words mashed together," Daisy said, looking confused. "I never really understood it."

"It's a clan name," Firepaw whispered to Laurelpaw. Laurelpaw nodded grimly. I wonder who it was...

"Oh, I can't remember," Daisy said angrily, scratching the grass with his tiny claws. "Longtooth or something like that."

"That doesn't sound right," Firepaw said, thinking it over. "That's too silly sounding to be a name. Besides, I've never even heard of anyone called that."

"Neither have I," Laurelpaw put in. She felt strange suddenly, as if the blood in her veins were freezing into icicles. It felt like she was sitting in the bottom of a warm pond, staring up through the water at the earth above.

It was the oddest sensation, but Laurelpaw couldn't place why she was feeling it now.

"Wait, I remember now," Daisy said. "It's not Longtooth, how silly! Longtail is what I meant to say."

Laurelpaws pond turned deeper, and she felt herself sinking down and down, until her body hit the bottom of the ocean. There was something very wrong with that name, but she didn't know why.

Longtail

Who the hell is that… why can't I pinpoint it?

She looked up at Firepaw, and was startled to find him hunched over and staring at the ground like he was about to throw up.

"What's wrong?" Laurelpaw asked, feeling very alarmed. "I'm getting a really weird feeling right now… Do you know who Longtail is? I feel like I've heard that name before, but I can't remember when. Do you know anyone with that name? Do you think we heard it in an elder's story at one point?"

"How do you… not know who that is," Firepaw sounded like he choked out the words. He stared at Laurelpaw with feverish eyes.

"Who is it?" Laurelpaw demanded. "I'm asking for a reason, Firepaw! Why does that name sound so familiar? And why does it make me feel so weird, is he a bad guy like Old Gray?"

"One could say that," Firepaw mumbled, not looking at her.

"For Starclans sake!" Laurelpaw screamed. "What's with all the secrecy? What the heck is your problem?!"

"He's your dad, Laurelpaw," Firepaw said, looking at her with a pained expression. "Longtails the cat who raped your mom."