Apprentice and Pregnant 2
Chapter 13: Missing Pieces
Well, I've got thick skin and an elastic heart,
But your blade it might be too sharp
I'm like a rubber band until you pull too hard,
I may snap and I move fast
But you won't see me fall apart
'Cause I've got an elastic heart
It had been quite a few days since the gathering and Laurelpaw was happy to find that everyone had calmed down quite a bit. Her scratches were healing nicely, along with Pinepaws and Ivypaws. The apprentices den was rebuilt, after a terribly long night of work. Laurelpaw shuddered as she remembered falling asleep that night just when everyone was getting up.
In other news, Swallow Star had accepted Daisy to be raised in Thunderclan. He had his naming ceremony a few days ago, and seemed to be fitting in nicely.
Fitting in or not, Laurelpaw thought to herself sadly. It's only a matter of time before something happens. He has so many terrible memories and has seen so many horrible things… it's going to catch up to him eventually.
And that really scares me.
Swallow Star had also given Daisy the name Whitepaw, given the fact that he couldn't grow up with a girl's name. Daisy, well, Whitepaw was so heartbroken, Laurelpaw thought as she remembered the look on the little cats face when Swallow Star had said he had to change his name. But at least Swallow Star took his feelings into consideration, given that daisies have white petals.
"What are you doing?"
Laurelpaw was pulled from her thoughts as Firepaws annoyed voice rang in her ears. She turned to see him standing there, looking irritated for no good reason.
"What do you want?" Laurelpaw snapped, suddenly feeling angry because Firepaw was too. "And stop looking at me like that."
"Your brothers are out hunting," Firepaw sighed loudly, rolling his eyes. "So I guess I have to hang out with you now."
Laurelpaw looked around, noticing Pinepaw and Ivypaw chatting a little ways away. Her mother (and Firepaws mentor) was sitting in a group with Leaftail and Fuzzwhisker, while Tigerstripe was just padding out of the medicine cats den.
"There are plenty of cats for you to hang out with," Laurelpaw cried. "Instead of being rude to me, go do something else! Go play a game with Ivypaw and Pinepaw or something. Or go ask Hollyshine to take you out."
"Nope," Firepaw shook his head simply, as if that wasn't even an option. "We're hanging out now, as much as I don't want to."
"You're not making any sense," Laurelpaw sighed loudly, rolling her eyes like Firepaw just did. She stopped mid roll and stood rigid. Oh jeez, she thought to herself. I hadn't realized until now how similar we act.
"Why do you look so angry?" Firepaw asked.
"Cause you look angry!" Laurelpaw replied, wondering what the point of all this was. "You always look annoyed when you talk to me."
"That's cause you annoy me," Firepaw said in an exaggerated voice. Laurelpaw didn't reply, and noticed that Firepaws eyes were sparkling now and he didn't look annoyed anymore.
"Hey!" Pinepaw called out from where she was sitting with Ivypaw. "Laurelpaw, Firepaw! Come over here!"
"Pretend you didn't hear them," Firepaw whispered, shuffling around so his back was turned to them. Laurelpaw stared at him, wondering why he was so weird.
"Why don't we go hang out with them?" She offered. "It's not like we're doing anything anyway. And none of us can leave the camp still except for you."
"You just don't listen, do you?" Firepaw shook his head in disbelief, looking annoyed all over again. "Me and you are hanging out right now."
"Well, I'm going to go see what they're up to," Laurelpaw snapped, glaring at him. "I don't need to sit here and fight with you all day. I have better things to be doing with my time, thank you very much."
"Well, so do I!" Firepaw cried. "Go then, go see them!"
Laurelpaw looked over at Ivypaw and Pinepaw who were still staring at her. Well, guess I'm going to go hang out with them now. I wonder what we're going to do. I wonder what Firepaws going to do when I get up and walk over there. Maybe he'll go hang out with his dad, or go find my brothers.
Laurelpaw found herself not moving at all.
"Why haven't you left yet?" Firepaw snapped.
"Why haven't you left yet?" Laurelpaw fired back without missing a beat.
"Do you want to go hang out by the pond?" Firepaw asked in an angry voice.
"I do!" Laurelpaw said, matching his tone.
"Fine, let's go then!" Firepaw shook his head and starting walking away in the direction of the pond just outside the camp.
"Fine!" Laurelpaw hissed, following him.
"Fine!"
"I'm glad things have finally started to settle down," Hollyshine said, feeling happy that the tension in the camp has seemed to die down considerably. "That was a rough week."
"Tell me about it," Swallow Star mumbled, looking tired. "I'm happy the apprentices are all friends again. Who knew Ivypaw could be so vicious?"
"Well, it's no secret that she likes Firepaw," Hollyshine replied, looking over to where her apprentice was sitting with Laurelpaw. "Also, it's no secret that he likes my daughter a little bit."
"A little bit?" Tigerstripe scoffed, speaking with his mouth full of food. "More like a lot, if you ask me."
Hollyshine didn't reply, noticing that the two apprentices were arguing loudly as they walked together side by side.
"All they do is fight," Swallow Star snickered, looking over at them as well. "But they're always together."
"Well, I support their relationship," Hollyshine said simply. Maybe if Laurelpaw focuses on Firepaw, she can forget all about that Shadowclan tom cat she mentioned a few moons ago!
"How are you feeling, Hollyshine?" Leaftail spoke, looking over at her sister curiously. "Are you stressed out at all?"
"A little," Hollyshine admitted, feeling a little wary. "After what happened at the gathering… and the attack on Laurelpaw, I guess I'm feeling a little rattled still."
"Not to mention the arrival of Daisy," Tigerstripe put in.
"Whitepaw," Swallow Star corrected.
"Yes, Whitepaw," Tigerstripe said quickly. "I'm feeling a little strange about that whole situation. Firepaw told us that he found him at the gathering… but something just isn't adding up. Why was he out there alone, and where's his mother?"
"Whitepaw told me his mother was dead," Swallow Star said slowly. "He seems really numb about it, and I don't blame him. That much have been so traumatic, and I don't think he knows how to process it or deal with it."
"So we're going to let him stay in Thunderclan?" Hollyshine asked, feeling slightly off. He's right, something isn't adding up. There's definitely a piece missing in the puzzle somewhere, but I can't figure out why. And since Firepaw and Laurelpaw were the ones who found him, I can't shake the feeling that they know a little more to the story.
Something that they haven't told the rest of us.
"Yes, he will be raised as a Thunderclan apprentice," Swallow Star nodded his head yes. "He's almost at his sixth moon, and I'm pretty sure we're all aware of Thunderclans lack of apprentices lately. He'll be a fine addition."
"Has Whitepaw told you anything else?" Tigerstripe asked. "About where he lived, or anything at all?"
"He did," Swallow Star said, sounding bothered. He flattened his ears slightly, and Hollyshine wondered what was triggering the reaction. "But he said he didn't know, which I find very odd. And he kept bringing up the name 'Old Gray.'"
"Old Gray?" Leaftail said, narrowing her eyes. "That's odd. Maybe that's the name of his father."
"Given what Whitepaws told me, I'm hoping with all my heart that Old Gray isn't his dad," Swallow Star said. "From the sounds of it, Old Gray sounds just awful."
"Why?" Hollyshine asked.
"Oh, just the way Whitepaw talks about him," Swallow Star replied. "He'll tell me how Old Gray shoved around his mother and sister before he died. And he mentioned that Old Gray used to give him scratches, which is a huge red flag."
"That's terrible," Hollyshine said sadly. That kind of violent behavior reminds me of Longtail. Ugh… how many monsters are in this forest?
"Swallow Star, you mentioned that there is a shortage of apprentices," Leaftail broke in suddenly, changing the topic. Hollyshine looked over to her, noticing that she had a sparkle in her eyes.
"Yeah, we need more kits," Swallow Star said, looking confused on why Leaftail was bringing it up again.
"Well," Leaftail said, taking a deep breath and looking over at Tigerstripe. "We've got some news to share with you."
Hollyshine cried out happily, realizing that her sister was about to announced that she was pregnant. Hooray! How exciting!
"We're expecting kits," Tigerstripe blurted out, looking proud and happy. Leaftail glared at him playfully. "I wanted to be the one who told them!"
"It just came out!" Tigerstripe smiled, looking down at his chest. Hollyshine felt happy for them. Leaftail and Tigerstripe are going to be wonderful parents.
"How long have you known?" Swallow Star asked, looking less wary and more excited.
"A little while now," Leaftail replied. "We didn't want to tell anyone until we were sure."
"Well, congratulations," Swallow Star said. "That's really awesome, guys."
"I'll admit, I'm pretty nervous because we're still so young," Leaftail confessed, looking unsure of herself suddenly.
"I understand that," Hollyshine mumbled.
"Oh, sorry, Hollyshine," Leaftail squeaked, realizing she had said the wrong thing.
"It's fine," Hollyshine smiled, brushing it off. It's funny, Leaftail is still very young and she'll be having kits soon… meanwhile I'm the same age and already have three kits that are almost ready to be warriors.