Apprentice and Pregnant 2
Chapter 12: Getting in Trouble
When my heart just bursts like a glass balloon
I let it fly to high and it shattered too soon
I was the wrong damn girl
In the wrong damn room
I broke my glass balloon
Laurelpaws heart dropped as she stepped inside Swallow Stars den, expecting it to be empty. Sadly, that wasn't the case whatsoever. Hollyshine, Grayclaw, Fuzzwhisker, Leaftail, Tigerstripe, Firepaw, and Ivypaws mother Applefur all sat waiting. It was a depressing sight; each and every one of them looked angry and disappointed. Laurelpaw could barely look at her mother, Hollyshines face was twisted with a look of sadness and disbelief. Her step father Grayclaw looked confused and awkward. Firepaw stared at the ground, hunched over and facing the wall. His father Fuzzwhisker had an expression that one would have when they were just informed they were diagnosed with greencough. Leaftail looked concerned but not as angry, and Tigerstripe mirrored her expression. Ivypaws mother on the other hand, had her eyes narrowed into slits.
"Are you three okay?" Swallow Star asked sternly, glaring at the girls. "Do you want to see the medicine cat before we talk?"
"I'm fine," Laurelpaw whispered, not meeting his eyes. The cuts on her face and body burned like lightning but she dared not let it show.
"What about you two?" Swallow Star snapped, glaring at Ivypaw and Pinepaw who were huddled next to each other in fear. Despite the terrible situation, Laurelpaw had to struggle not to scoff. You're not looking so tough now, are you Ivypaw?
"We're fine," Pinepaw said when Ivypaw remained silent, her voice timid and crackly. "Can I start out by saying that I'm sorry-"
"I will start," Swallow Star hissed, pacing around the den angrily. "You do not have the right to explain yourself before I say what I'm about to say."
Laurelpaw felt herself trembling, and she struggled to stay strong even though she knew they were all about to get ripped apart. Hold your head high, hold your head high.
"First off," Swallow Star hissed. "You three are going to fix that damn den before tomorrow morning. I don't care if you're up all night. Until then, Silverpaw, Cracklepaw and Firepaw will share accommodations in the warriors den."
"Okay," Laurelpaw said, struggling not to sound meek.
"Secondly," Swallow Star said, looking as if he was getting angrier the more he spoke. "You three are all confined to the camp for a moon. No exceptions, no freaking way. Never in my life have I seen such terrible apprentices. Not since I was one, and I was pretty terrible. But you three, oh you're on a different level than me and my friends were. What the hell were you possibly thinking, fighting like that in the camp? And with each other, I thought you were best friends!"
"It's Laurelpaws fault," Ivypaw said in a weak voice. Laurelpaw felt like her bones had turned to liquid. She took a deep breath and faced her leader, fully expecting him to scream and yell. And that's exactly what he did.
However, he didn't yell at her.
"If you think you can honestly blame this poor little girl for what just happened, you are very mistaken," Swallow Star hissed directly in Ivypaws face. "I know exactly what happened. I heard you."
"But-" Ivypaw broke in, sounding very frightened. "She-"
"You attacked her," Swallow Star hissed menacingly. "You both did. Ganged up on her like a pack of dogs. She fought to defend herself. Look at her, Ivypaw and Pinepaw. She's scratched up to bits."
"I can't believe you would act like this," Applefur stepped in, glaring at her daughter. "I never thought you would go so far to hurt your best friend."
"She's not my best friend," Ivypaw whispered, staring at the ground. "Not anymore."
"On to my third point," Swallow Star said loudly. "And Laurelpaw, I'm speaking to you now too. You're apprentices. You need to stop focusing on tom cats and start concentrating on your hunting and training. You have plenty of time to find a mate when you're warriors. I knew that you three all had little crushes or whatever you she cats call them, and I let it slide. But now, it's become a very big problem. Big enough to turn friends into enemies, and this is not how it's supposed to work."
"I understand," Laurelpaw said, feeling a little better. It looks like he's calmed down a little… thank Starclan.
"Fourth point," Swallow Star announced. Laurelpaw inwardly groaned, not knowing what else he could possibly bring up. How many points does he have?
"We are all aware of what happened at the gathering," Swallow Star continued. Laurelpaw suddenly got a terrible acid reflex, and it felt like she was full of air. She couldn't even look at Hollyshine and Grayclaw. Oh my god
"There was a big misunderstanding between Firepaw and Laurelpaw," Swallow Star said. He suddenly turned to glare at Pinepaw and Ivypaw again. "Which by the way, you would have known was a freaking misunderstanding if you had let Laurelpaw explain."
"Yeah," Ivypaw whispered, looking very crestfallen and unhappy. Despite how brutally they had fought earlier, Laurelpaw couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness for her. Swallow Star's really laying it on thick.
"By the way," Swallow Star said abruptly, turning to Laurelpaw. "Daisy is safe and happy in the nursery. But we'll talk more about that later."
"Glad to hear it," Laurelpaw whispered.
"Anyways," Swallow Star sighed. "Since we're all clear that it was a mix up, I'll move onto my fifth point."
Sheesh, again with the points!
"For this one, I'm speaking to Ivypaw, Pinepaw and Firepaw," Swallow Star continued. Laurelpaw breathed a sigh of relief.
"This is very hard for me to say," Swallow Star said, looking as if he was in pain. He gave a sad glance at Laurelpaw, making her wonder where he was going with this.
"Okay, here we go," Swallow Star said, looking as if he wasn't ready to go at all. "For the second time this season, it's come to my attention of a certain word that's been used in a hurtful context. Firepaw, you know what I'm talking about."
"I know," Firepaw mumbled, still staring at the ground. Laurelpaw looked at him as he mumbled his response, thinking again of what Ivypaw had said. Her heart clouded with sadness, and she wondered why she cared so much about what Firepaw thought of her. Does he really hate me that much?
"Actually, you know what," Swallow Star said suddenly, looking over at all the parents. "This isn't just for the apprentices. This goes out to the entire clan."
Laurelpaw had a sinking feeling on where this was going and didn't like it one bit.
Oh, this is going to be so embarrassing
"The word ACCIDENT will NOT be used in my clan," Swallow Star said furiously, spitting the word and pacing again. He looked so angry and hurt that Laurelpaw suddenly didn't feel embarrassed anymore. He's sticking up for me…
"I don't know how anyone could possibly feel good about calling Laurelpaw this word," Swallow Star hissed. "She is not an ACCIDENT. She is a blessing to our clan. She is meant to be here. The next cat who tells her otherwise will be dealing with me personally, and trust me. It will not mean a good time. Does everyone understand this?"
"Swallow Star," Firepaw said quietly, voice timid and crackling. Laurelpaw looked over at him, surprised to see his eyes shiny as if he were going to cry. "I already said I was sorry-"
"I know, Firepaw," Swallow Star interrupted, holding up a paw. "You were fighting for god knows what reason and you didn't think it would be hurtful."
"Just wanted to clear that up," Firepaw whispered, taking his position in staring quietly at the ground once again.
"I think I've said what I've needed to say," Swallow Star said after thinking for a second. "Does anyone have anything they would like to address?"
"I do," Hollyshine said, standing up at once. "Laurelpaw, I want you to know that you are very loved. By all of us, especially Grayclaw and I. You are a beautiful young she cat, and the past little while has been very hard on you. I want you to know that we're here for you."
Laurelpaw fidgeted awkwardly, feeling not very beautiful at all with all her scratches and blood caked to her fur.
"Thanks, mom," she said quietly. "I appreciate it."
"Do you two have anything you'd like to say to Laurelpaw?" Swallow Star asked sternly, looking over at Pinepaw and Ivypaw again.
"I'm sorry," Ivypaw whispered with sad eyes. "I'm so sorry, Laurelpaw."
"Me too," Pinepaw said miserably. "We're the worst friends in the world."
"I just got so jealous!" Ivypaw wailed, sinking down to the floor as if she had given up on standing. "And I lied, Laurelpaw. I just wanted to hurt you; Firepaw never said any of those things."
"Why wouldn't you let me explain myself?" Laurelpaw asked, feeling as if a weight had left her shoulders. Thank Starclan… Firepaw doesn't hate me
"Because," Ivypaw said in the most miserable voice Laurelpaw had ever heard. "I couldn't control my anger. When Pinepaw told me what happened, it just pushed me over the edge. All I saw was red. You just don't get it, Laurelpaw."
"Why not?" Laurelpaw mumbled, wishing that Ivypaw would speak to her in private instead of announcing her feelings in front of all the warriors.
"I didn't just get jealous when I heard about the gathering," Ivypaw continued, voice sad. "I'm jealous of you all the time. Because Firepaw-"
"Alright, that's enough," Firepaw snapped, getting up at once. "Swallow Star, may I leave?"
"Yes," Swallow Star said without even thinking about it. "Thank you for taking part in this discussion."
"Don't mention it," Firepaw mumbled awkwardly. He quickly left, not looking at anyone.
"Okay, I think I'm done," Swallow Star said. His expression softened as he looked over at Ivypaw and Pinepaw. The two she cats looked beaten down and defeated. The warriors took this as a dismissal so they stood up to leave, filing out one by one. Hollyshine leaned down to rub her face against Laurelpaws as she walked by.
"I love you, baby," she whispered.
"I love you too, mom," Laurelpaw replied. She noticed Grayclaw looked a bit dejected that she didn't acknowledge him, so she ran up quickly and pressed her face against his too.
"And you too, Grayclaw," she said into his fur. Grayclaw nuzzled her, purring, before breaking away to follow Hollyshine out of the den.
Now it was just Ivypaw, Pinepaw, Laurelpaw and Swallow Star.
"Can we go too?" Pinepaw asked, still sounding sadder than ever. Laurelpaw suddenly realized something, and she felt sad for her. She's so in love with Swallow Star, she thought to herself. And this is the longest conversation she's ever had with him… but he spent the whole time yelling and screaming at her.
"I actually wanted to speak with you three alone now," Swallow Star said, his voice gentle this time. "I know I was pretty mean just now, wasn't I?"
"Yeah," Pinepaw said dejectedly.
"I had to make sure you understood the consequences of your actions," Swallow Star said. "But now I'm fairly sure you have learned your lesson. I don't think I'll ever have to yell at you like that again."
"It was so scary," Pinepaw cried. Laurelpaw felt sad all over again, because she was actually crying.
"It's hard being a leader sometimes," Swallow Star whispered, looking down. "Please don't cry, Pinepaw."
"You hate me," Pinepaw sniffled, rubbing her face with a paw.
"I don't hate you," Swallow Star said. "Not at all. Was I impressed by you today? No, but that doesn't mean I don't like you, Pinepaw."
"Really," Pinepaw whispered, looking up. Swallow Stars eyes were full of kindness now as he looked at her.
"I like you very much," he said at last. Pinepaw brightened considerably, and stood up a little straighter.
"How about we go rebuild the den now?" Laurelpaw piped in, hoping to stop a possible awkward silence. "It's getting light out and we should probably get started before it's morning."
"Okay," Ivypaw replied. "So… are we okay?"
"Yeah, I don't want to stop being friends," Pinepaw sighed. "I feel so bad, Laurelpaw. Let us make it up to you!"
"Hm," Laurelpaw pretended to think about it. "I know!"
"What?" Ivypaw asked desperately, clearly wanting to make amends the best she could.
"You could get me some cobwebs," Laurelpaw said, looking down at the scratches that were still bleeding. "Before I bleed to death in Swallow Stars den."
"TO THE MEDICINE CATS DEN!" Ivypaw cried out happily, running over to Laurelpaw and pressing up against her side. Pinepaw ran up and stood on Laurelpaws other side, laughing. They walked out of the den, side by side and covered in blood.
They can be horrible at the worst of times
But I'm happy we're friends again!