Apprentice and Pregnant 2
Chapter 28: The Last Prank
One shot
Everything rides on
Tonight
Even if I got three strikes
I will go for it
This moment, we own it
"I've given a lot of thought to how your assessment went," Snakestar said, mouth twisted as if he was trying not to laugh. "And even though Thornpaw tripped over a pile of rocks, I've decided to make you three warriors."
"Yeah!" Redpaw cried out happily, looking over at both his friends with excitement. Thornpaw looked down, embarrassed. I can't believe I freaking did that, he thought to himself, thinking back to earlier in the day when they had their hunting assessment. The one time I don't look where I'm going, it has to be when Snakestars watching me! And ROCKS, of all things. Like come on
"I'm proud to announce that you three will be attending the next gathering as warriors," Snakestar continued, sounding pleased with himself. "I will be holding your naming ceremony tomorrow morning. This will be your last night in the apprentices den."
"Thank you," Berrypaw bowed his head, along with Redpaw. Thornpaw just nodded at Snakestar, still not quite accepting the fact that they were going to be made warriors. It's like a dream, he thought. The whole thing feels a little surreal.
"You're dismissed," Snakestar said, standing up. "Enjoy your last evening as apprentices."
"We will," Thornpaw said quickly, paws suddenly itching to talk to his friends alone. This is our last night as apprentices, he thought excitedly. Which means we should probably pull a prank, for old time's sake.
"Dude, you're so jumpy," Berrypaw commented as the three left the den.
"Yeah, you're practically shaking," Redpaw snickered as he looked over at Thornpaw. "You must be really excited for tomorrow."
"You know what would make tomorrow even better?" Thornpaw asked, getting straight to the point. There's no time to lollygag, we're already well into the evening!
"What?" Redpaw asked. Thornpaw snorted, Redpaw already sounded wary and he hadn't even told them what he was thinking yet. It's like they can read my mind. I must be more transparent than I give myself credit for.
"I think we should go out with a bang, if you know what I mean," Thornpaw said, bouncing up and down on his paws. "Let's give them dinner and a show, know what I'm saying?"
"No, I don't know what you're saying," Redpaw replied, looking confused. "Dinner and a show, what-"
"We need to pull a prank," Thornpaw said slowly, staring at his friends. "And it needs to be our best one yet."
"No," Redpaw said at once, shaking his head. "No way, Thornpaw. This is not the time to be annoying Snakestar, let alone the rest of the clan. He'd probably withhold our naming ceremony!"
"Yeah, I'm not chancing it, with our ceremony on the line," Berrypaw put in, sounding as if he was forcing himself to say the words.
"Come on, guys!" Thornpaw smiled, mind spinning with ideas of what they could do. "It's our last chance. Besides, it's probably expected of us."
"Probably," Berrypaw murmured, looking into the distance as if he was contemplating the idea. "You know what? Let's do it. Can't let down the crowd, right?"
"Right," Thornpaw started jumping around again, feeling like an excited kit. "What about you, Redpaw? Are you in?"
"Think of how lame everyone will think you'll be if you sit this one out," Berrypaw nudged him, nearly shoving the smaller cat over.
"Fine," Redpaw sighed after a few long moments of thinking. "But nothing too crazy, alright? If Snakestar gets mad and delays our warrior ceremony, I'm holding you two to blame."
"Wow, they're beautiful!" Hollyshine murmured as she looked down at the kits. "Leaftail, you must be so happy!"
"More tired than happy at the moment," Leaftail said, sounding as if she had been awake for a full moon. "These two don't seem to ever stop crying."
Hollyshine stroked the little kits with a sheathed paw, feeling happy for her sister. Two healthy she cats, she thought to herself. I wonder what she'll name them!
"I gotta say, Hollyshine," Leaftail said suddenly, leaning her head back onto the soft moss. "I honestly have no clue how you possibly went through this as an apprentice. And with three kits! I can't even imagine."
"It had its struggles," Hollyshine shrugged, pushing away a bunch of bad memories at once. She thought back to the days when she had just given birth, learning how to care for her kittens as she put becoming a warrior on hold.
Why won't she stop crying? Hollyshine remembered herself saying; back when Laurelpaw wouldn't stop screaming when she was a tiny kit. Does she hate me or something? How do kits even work?
"How are you holding up, by the way?" Leaftail asked gently, snuggling the kits closer as they began to cry louder. "With everything that's been going on, you must be so sick of all the drama."
"Well, my daughter was pregnant, but now she's not," Hollyshine said, feeling sorry for Laurelpaw. Poor baby. "That was traumatizing enough, but then my son almost gets killed! The way things are going, I wouldn't be surprised if Silverpaw knocks someone up and then breaks his leg."
"I'm pretty sure that won't happen," Leaftail giggled. "In that order, anyway."
"Get outta here," Hollyshine snickered. "Seriously, though. I think I'm okay now, despite everything that's happened. And to think, I thought all the drama would end when Longtail died!"
"Then Old Gray came out of nowhere," Leaftail mumbled. "Who would have ever guessed he had a brother? It makes me wonder if there are more family members of his that we need to be worried about."
"Don't even say that," Hollyshine shuddered at the thought. "Ugh, the thought alone is terrifying."
"Do you?" Leaftail asked, voice quiet. An eerie tone suddenly spiked the air, and Hollyshine wondered why she was starting to feel spooked.
"Do I what?" Hollyshine asked.
"Do you wonder?" Leaftail asked, looking away. The kits began to cry louder again, pawing at their mothers side. Leaftail stroked them a few times before continuing.
"Cats don't just appear out of nowhere," she mumbled at last. "Do you ever think… maybe he has more siblings, or his father-"
"I can't think about that," Hollyshine cut her off, feeling sick to her stomach. "No, I cannot wonder about that, even for a second. Because if I do, I will lose my mind. And I do not say that lightly. I can't live my life in fear of that, Leaftail. I just can't."
"I didn't mean to upset you," Leaftail cried, sounding apologetic. Hollyshine took a deep breath and forced her fur to lay flat again, trying to calm down.
"I won't be alone in here for long," Leaftail blurted out when Hollyshine didn't respond, clearly trying to change the subject. "Snowsong is expecting another litter."
"Oh," Hollyshine said, voice distant. "That means Firepaw will have some new siblings."
"Yep," Leaftail muttered uncomfortably. "Look, Hollyshine. I'm sorry for bringing it up-"
"It's okay," Hollyshine interrupted before she could start apologizing. "The past is the past. I will not let it change my view on the future."
"I don't want to do this anymore," Redpaw said flatly, looking very cross. "I told you nothing too crazy, and you didn't listen!"
"It's not even that bad," Berrypaw sighed dramatically. "Chill out."
"You're in too deep now," Thornpaw said. "No backing out."
"I hate you both," Redpaw mumbled, looking very fed up with the both of them. Thornpaw didn't really blame him; the prank was a bit of a long shot. I hope we can pull it off, he thought, feeling nervous. I want this to be remembered as the best prank ever pulled, not the fail of the century.
"Can we go over the plan one more time?" Berrypaw asked, looking as though he was having trouble remembering everything. "Just so it's fresh in our minds before we start?"
"Good idea," Thornpaw nodded his head, ignoring Redpaws scowling. "So here's what we're gonna do. Everyone is out in the clearing, finishing up their dinner and whatnot. I'm going to go tell Cedarwing to organize a little sit down meeting with everyone, to 'talk' about anything that they'd like to get off their chest."
"TWO PROBLEMS ALREADY," Redpaw interrupted loudly, sounding completely irritated. "One, only Snakestar can organize meetings. Two, why do we need Cedarwing to do that anyway? Why can't you do it yourself?"
"If I do it, they'll all catch on right away," Thornpaw replied. "I can bet you a moons worth of good hunting that they're already wary of us pulling something on our last night."
"So if Cedarwing does it, we won't raise suspicion," Berrypaw put in, trying to be helpful.
"And I don't think Snakestar will care if she asks everyone to come and talk to each other," Thornpaw continued. "It's not like we're organizing a hunting party or patrol so I don't really see the problem."
"Okay," Redpaw muttered, looking annoyed that everything was so carefully thought out. "Go on."
"Alright, so this is where you come in Berrypaw," Thornpaw said, feeling nervous about giving such a big role in the prank to his friend instead of taking it on himself. He'll be fine. I hope.
"You will nonchalantly bring up how you think there are ghosts around," Thornpaw went on. "Say it in a sort of joking way, so no one takes you too seriously. We don't want them to think you're setting them up for something. Meanwhile, Redpaw and I will climb up the branch that overshadows the clearing. If we set it up just right, we should be directly over the group."
"What happens next?" Redpaw asked.
"We'll improvise from there," Thornpaw shrugged. "It all depends on who says what."
"This prank is completely ridiculous," Redpaw sighed. "Let's get it over with."