Chapter 42: On a Snipe Hunt

I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I'm a bit of a bastard. Not in the way others would usually define one as. I just enjoy messing with people. Usually, it is benign, but sometimes I do it just for the kicks. As the sun shown through the mess of leaves and bramble containing the warriors den, I knew it was one of those days. I'd get to express, let's say, my creativity while teaching a valuable lesson. Since I knew Brackenpaw was likely to just take me at my word, no matter how ridiculous, I thought of a very fun lesson plan.

I must have had one of my looks because Ravenfeather was instantly beside me with a question. "What's got you all excited today?"

I turned to him with a somewhat feral grin. "You know how much I like manipulating others and how Brackenpaw always just takes anyone superior to him at their word. I think I want to see how far I can push it. How long can Brackenpaw take nonsense before he is fed up? I'm going to force him to speak his mind even if he'll hate me for it. Just stop me if I take it too far."

Ravenfeather nodded, amused. "I'm actually kind of curious too. What kind of nonsense will you try to teach him?"

I chuckled quietly. "How about having to stalk a rabbit backwards because its ears face forwards?"

Ravenfeather shook his own head suppressing a laugh. "That's so mousebrained! Do you really think you could get him to do that?"

"We'll see. I plan to embarrass him until he questions my judgement, no more, no less. This is something he needs to learn. No cat is infallible." I mewed.

Apparently, I wasn't as quiet as I hoped because a few other warriors decided to speak to me. "If this works for you, let us know. I wouldn't mind embarrassing a few apprentices if it makes them a little smarter."

Since the dawn patrol just left with Fireheart and Cinderpaw, I grabbed Brackenpaw from the apprentices den. He looked at me with the same reverence he looked at all the other warriors with. I'd enjoy breaking that spark. It would only hurt him in the long run.

As we left, I decided to feed Brackenpaw his first lie. "We'll be working on hunting techniques. Also, don't expect Ravenfeather to speak to me. We had a little spat, so we're not on speaking terms right now."

Brackenpaw tilted his head in question but instead of addressing me, thereby questioning my statement, he turned to ask Ravenfeather. "Why are you here?"

Ravenfeather in a bad deadpan stated. "We get lonely when apart for very long."

Brackenpaw's question was answered in a not very satisfying manner, so the game had begun. I decided to start with some simple but questionable deceptions. The first of which was saying that the cold would bring out more animals. That was a flat out lie. Most critters had already finished their stockpiling for winter. They were largely still around picking up the occasional nut or berry since it wasn't quite time for hibernation. I saw a flicker of discontent on Brackenpaw's face because he knew something about that was wrong, but he still said nothing.

As the day continued to pass us by, my lies became more whimsical and flagrant. I made up a creature we were hunting, the infamous snipe. Nothing like a snipe hunt to try and convince someone that one shouldn't just take another at their word. I stated that the snipe was a flying reptile like a snake who you could identify by the red scales as it passed through the treetops. I had Brackenpaw annoyed, staring at trees fully well knowing that nothing was there, and nothing would be there. I could see his tail lashing in annoyance, but I still hadn't pushed him far enough. He still hadn't confronted me.

Brackenpaw finally got angry enough to question my judgement in a roundabout way, but he'd get no satisfaction from Ravenfeather. "A snipe. Reallly? Does he really believe there's such a ridiculous creature out here? Can you please tell him to stop?" Brackenpaw begged Ravenwing.

"No can do. Me and Smudgefoot still aren't talking. It's none of my business if he wants to hunt an imaginary monster. You'll have to tell him yourself." Ravenwing mewed, pretending to whisper so I wouldn't hear.

"I'm sure it's around here somewhere." I announce. "Oh! I remember what we're doing wrong. It's got forward facing ears, so we have to stalk it backwards."

I actually forced Brackenpaw to stalk backwards for what was clearly over an hour before his rage finally boiled over. "Enough!" He yowled. "Why are you doing this to me?! You've had me out here all day stalking a creature that doesn't even exist and making me do ridiculous things. What's the purpose? Why are you lying to me?!"

That actually forced me to laugh. "Sorry for laughing, but that's the lesson right there. You knew I was wrong, but you let me keep pushing you. I mean, look at yourself. I convinced you to roll in mud, stalk backwards, and stare at the sky all the while. The point was to push you, make a fool of you, so you'd know that we aren't always right. You're an apprentice, but you haven't asked me a single question. When I asked something unreasonable, you did it without asking why. Tell me, what is the point of being an apprentice?" I lectured.

Brackenpaw was slightly taken aback. "Um… It's to learn?" He asked nervously.

"Exactly! Your job is to learn. Now tell me, how do you expect to learn if you never ask questions? You aren't learning. You're imitating. If you want to become a warrior, and I mean really want to be one, you must know when to ask the question of why. We can't always just treat what is said to us as truth. No cat should be untouchable to being questioned. Even with the code, I'd never back a leader like Brokenstar was, and it's because I know when to ask questions, even if they wouldn't appreciate it."

Brackenpaw tilted his head in thought before deciding to finally ask me a question. It was one I hadn't quite expected, but it was an amusing tension breaker. "So, were you and Ravenfeather actually mad at each other?"

Ravenfeather was the next to laugh before responding. "No. There was no fight. Smudgefoot told me what he had planned, so I decided to sit in to see how far it'd go. Honestly, if it weren't so obvious that you knew he was lying, I'd have ended the lesson long ago. The lesson only works if you finally get mad enough to question his judgement."

When we reentered camp, told Brackenpaw to get something to eat, but not a mouse. He asked why, so I met him with a knowing grin. Thus, he took a mouse from the pile. He still didn't know about reverse psychology and the methods to prevent oneself from being manipulated, but he was on the road to learning it. I'm sure he'll find my lessons very enlightening in the future.