Apprentice and Pregnant 2

Chapter 29: Finale

"We're afraid to live, and we're afraid to die. What a way to exist."

"Hold on a second," Cedarwing said, narrowing her eyes in confusion. "You want me to what?"

"Gather the clan around the big tree with the hanging branches," Thornpaw repeated, paws fidgeting impatiently. It's almost night time; I need to get this show on the road!

"You're really gonna pull a prank the night before your warrior ceremony?" Cedarwing shook her head and sighed. "You're crazy, Thornpaw."

"So you'll do it?" Thornpaw asked eagerly, fixing her with a begging stare. Cedarwing looked him in the eyes for a few seconds, her doubtful gaze turning soft as she saw the shine in them.

"Fine, I'll do it," she said at last. "But I'll have you know this is a silly idea, Thornpaw. I'm sure Snakestar won't be impressed."

"It's our last night!" Thornpaw said excitedly, not feeling worried about Snakestar at all. Snakestar likes my pranks, but no one else but me knows that. I'm sure he'll be okay with it.

"You'll use any occasion as an excuse to pull a prank," Cedarwing said knowingly, rolling her eyes slightly. "Well, I guess I can't say I'm surprised-"

"Great," Thornpaw interrupted, not wanting to waste any more time. "Go gather everyone up now and I'll go get into position."

"Alright," Cedarwing mumbled, turning around. Thornpaw watched her approach a group of cats sitting together before he moved; just to be sure she'd really go through with it. Phase one is a go, he thought as he ran over to where Berrypaw and Redpaw were sitting. Berrypaw looked at him excitedly, while Redpaw scowled at the ground.

"Is she gonna do it?" Berrypaw asked as soon as Thornpaw was in earshot.

"Hopefully not," Redpaw muttered under his breath.

"She's getting everyone ready right now," Thornpaw said in a rush, nerves suddenly shadowing his excitement. I hope we can pull this off.

"Berrypaw, go over to where Cedarwing is and nonchalantly join the group," Thornpaw instructed. "Redpaw, follow me and we'll get ready to climb the tree."

"Won't it look obvious we're up to something, if we're climbing trees?" Redpaw sighed loudly, looking incredibly cross. "No one just randomly climbs trees. They're gonna have us figured out before we even get halfway up the damn thing."

"Well, I'm kinda hoping everyone will be too distracted by Cedarwings group to notice," Thornpaw replied, looking over to where Cedarwing was. She was leading a group of cats, making way for the spot under the tree branches. Time to launch phase two!

"I'm making my move," Berrypaw whispered, standing up. "Wish me luck."

"You got this," Thornpaw reassured him before his friend walked away. "Just be casual."

Berrypaw just flicked his tail, walking over to where the group was. Thornpaw turned his attention back to Redpaw, trying to ignore the annoyed look on his face.

"Alright, it's time to go," he said quickly. "Let's go over to-"

"Whatcha doing?"

The unexpected voice took Thornpaw by surprise, and he turned around. Heatherpaw was standing behind him, looking at him curiously.

"Oh, hi Heatherpaw," Thornpaw greeted her quickly, not prepared to see the young she cat. Heatherpaw had been an apprentice for three moons now, but Thornpaw was always too busy with Redpaw and Berrypaw to pay much attention to her. She was a strange cat, always asking questions that no one would really ask and poking her nose into everyone's business.

She was also Snakestars daughter.

"Whatcha doing?" she asked again when Thornpaw didn't answer.

"Just hanging out," Thornpaw said with a rushed voice, getting agitated. Go away, Heatherpaw! We need to get our plan moving!

"Don't lie to me!" Heatherpaw cried loudly. "I've been listening to you three. You're planning a prank again!"

"Sh!" Thornpaw hissed, looking around wildly to make sure no one heard her. "Talk quieter!"

"So I was right," Heatherpaw said proudly, a smirk growing on her face as she sat down. Thornpaw sighed. Nope, she's not going away.

For crying out loud

"Alright, yes," Thornpaw whispered at last. "We're planning a prank. And we need to get going right now for it to work. So I'll um, talk to you later, okay?"

"I want to be a part of it," Heatherpaw said excitedly, her tinny voice growing even higher pitched as she spoke. "Can I, Thornpaw? Please!"

"No," Thornpaw mumbled. He was starting to grow restless. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the group of cats sitting down under the branches. We're running out of time!

"Why not?" Heatherpaw demanded.

"Because," Thornpaw snapped. "Redpaws gonna do it with me. We don't need three cats."

"Hey, I don't mind," Redpaw said, ears perking up as he realized an opportunity to get out of it. "Have fun, you two."

"Hey, wait-" Thornpaw cried as his friend walked away. "You can't just-"

"Bye," Redpaw called cheerfully over his shoulder.

"Oh my f-" Thornpaw hissed under his breath, stopping himself before he named every swear word he knew. The whole plan is falling apart! Oh, I should have known something like this would happen. This prank was too much of a long shot to run smoothly.

"Don't worry," Heatherpaw said kindly, not looking fazed at all that she just wrecked the plan. "I'll help you."

"You know what?" Thornpaw sighed, giving up. "Fine."

"Really?" Heatherpaw face lit up and she stared at Thornpaw. "You mean it?"

"Yeah," Thornpaw said, smiling slightly at her eager expression. "Hope you can climb trees."

Heatherpaw jumped a little, excited. Thornpaw watched her as her eyes shined in anticipation, not a care in the world. She didn't know what the real world was like, how scary it was.

Thornpaw wondered to himself for a second, thinking about what life would be like without Laurelpaw and everything that had happened.

She was a dream, turned into a nightmare, he thought to himself, feeling an odd sense of relief. I spent so long living in that dream world… I guess part of me forgot about reality.

"We gotta go!" Heatherpaw cried, breaking his thoughts. Thornpaw turned to her again, snapping out of it.

"You're absolutely right," he said, bracing himself to start climbing. "Let's go."

They climbed the tree in silence, and Thornpaw thanked his lucky stars none of his clan mates took notice. He climbed to the highest branch, turning back to help Heatherpaw up.

"Thank you," she whispered, looking into his eyes. Thornpaw couldn't speak for a moment, his heart tightening. He wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing, but he did know one thing for sure.

Her eyes were so green he couldn't look away.

He wasn't thinking about Laurelpaw at all.

Laurelpaw sat still, the wind chilling her. She stared out at the world in front of her, thinking to herself about how misleading it was.

Life seems to go in whatever direction it pleases, she thought. When I was made an apprentice, I never dreamed in a million years that my life would turn out this way!

Starclan, what are your plans for me?

I can't even imagine what you have in store

"Hey there."

Laurelpaw jumped, so deep in thought she hadn't noticed Firepaw approaching.

"You look lost in thought," he commented as he sat down next to her. Laurelpaw shrugged, looking out at the forest again. Firepaw did the same, and a long silence unfolded. The wind blew harder, making her shiver this time.

"Do you ever wonder if there's more to life?" Laurelpaw asked suddenly, hoping Firepaw wouldn't scoff at her. To her surprise, he looked at her seriously.

"There is more to life," he said slowly. He sounds so mature, Laurelpaw thought to herself. There's no traces of silliness, when did he grow up so much?

When did I?

"There is more to life," Firepaw said again when Laurelpaw didn't respond. "And it's fucked up. Sorry for my language. But it really is, and I've been asking myself the exact same thing lately."

"You have?" Laurelpaw whispered.

"Yeah," Firepaw glanced at her, sounding both sad and happy at the same time. "And you know what? As fucked up as it is, life goes on. It goes on, because we're afraid to die. We're afraid to live, and we're afraid to die. What a way to exist, hey?"

"I think that's the smartest thing you've ever said," Laurelpaw smiled and looked down, reciting his words over and over in her mind. He's right, but I still don't understand…

"It's just," Laurelpaw broke off, not sure how to voice her concerns. "So much has happened already, you know? I feel like I've already lived a thousand moons… and we're not even warriors yet."

"That's going to change this evening," Firepaw said, sounding nearly indifferent about the whole thing. "Swallow Stars holding our ceremony after dinner."

"I almost don't feel ready," Laurelpaw confessed; feeling embarrassed that she was actually saying it out loud. "It feels like the end, more than anything. It doesn't make sense to me."

"Oh Laurelpaw," Firepaw smiled at her, green eyes shining as he spoke. "This isn't the end. We're just getting started."

Credits to the songs I used, not including the poems which I wrote myself.

Animals- Maroon 5

Whenever, Wherever- Shakira

I Get Even- Mickey Avalon

Paparazzi- Lady Gaga

Ever Fallen in Love- Pete Yorn

See You Again- Miley Cyrus

The Hanging Tree- Jennifer Lawrence

Lost Kitten-Metric

Unusual You- Britney Spears

Stadium Love- Metric

Drunk Love- Snow Tha Product

Hermit the Frog- Marina and the Diamonds

Elastic Heart- Sia

She Wolf- Sia

Big Bad Wolf- In This Moment

Vultures- Insane Clown Posse

Where the Lonely Ones Roam- Digital Daggers

Dead End Countdown- The New Cities

Blur- Britney Spears

Halleluiah- Leonard Cohen

The Twist- Metric

Hurry up and Save Me- Tiffany Giardina

Painkiller- Three Days Grace

We Own It- 2 Chainz

Well, it's over. Let me just say firstly that this book did NOT go the way it was planned. I had a whole different plot at the beginning; Firepaw was only meant to be a background character! I was going to originally make Laurelpaw pregnant with Thornpaw, but then I felt too bad about doing that so I switched it up.

Firepaw was originally supposed to die in the fight with Old Gray.

I wrote the entire chapter, explaining his death and everything. It was completely finished, but when I went to post it I just couldn't. It didn't feel right so I scrapped the whole thing and started the chapter over.

I was gonna make Swallow Star like Laurelpaw, but that would have made things too complicated.

I created Silverpaw to be an evil character, taking after his father Longtail. I killed the idea when I realized there would be too much going on in the story if that went on.

Laurelpaw was originally going to bear Old Grays kits, but that would have been a little too messed up for my liking.

ALSO, fun fact for everyone- When I first started this book, I was totally in love. MADLY in love, with someone I should NOT be in love with. I can't explain it, but I'll tell you this. If you are reading Lionblaze Lost the Lightning, I'll have you know it's inspired by true events. I'll let you put the pieces together. Anyways, the verse used in chapter one was "our" song. Whenever it would come on, we'd sing it to each other and I loved it. Now I am finished the book, and we're nothing anymore. It makes me sad, but it is what it is. So much has changed since I wrote chapter one. Life is a tricky thing.

I hope you all liked my story, thank you for sticking by it to the end!

And yes, there will be a third. I will be starting it soon, and it's gonna come out of a completely different direction. Be prepared, cause I'm switching it up.

-malicent