Random Short Stories

Suck Up [🦋]

In the heart of the forest, beneath the sprawling branches of ancient pines and whispering canopies, lay the bustling territory of HemlockClan. A place of majestic warriors, where the winds carried tales of bravery and the scent of moss curled in the air.

Yet, amongst the thriving clans of cats, there existed an annoyance that disrupted the harmony—Snappaw, the teacher's pet.

With his sleek, light tortoiseshell fur and bright blue eyes, Snappaw often wore an insufferable grin on his face, a feature that was only outdone by his tendency to ingratiate himself with every mentor and senior warrior he encountered.

Whether it was bringing the elders a gift of fresh-caught mice or offering to fetch herbs for the medicine cat, he was always trying to prove his worth. But his obsequious nature came at a great cost to his fellow apprentices.

He was eager, ambitious, and just the right amount of sycophantic. Always the first to volunteer for tasks, always prancing after senior warriors, offering fawning compliments and suggestions.

"Oh, you taught that training session wonderfully, Windstar!" He would chirp like a finch, practically glowing under the praise. "I learned so much about hunting from you! I can't wait to apply it in my next outing!"

"Oh, Dustfur, I thought your strategy during the last battle was brilliant!" he would exclaim, padding up to the battle-scarred mentor after a training session. "You're the best teacher ever! I absolutely learned so much from you today!"

Yet, it wasn't just his sugary demeanour that made him stand out; it was his insatiable desire to keep the other apprentices in line. Every small mishap became fodder for him to carry to the mentors, voice dripping with innocence as he relayed tales of her peers' supposed infractions.

"Jerboapaw was chasing butterflies during hunting practice," he would tattle to said apprentice's mentor Sunwillow. "I thought it was quite disrespectful to waste such valuable training time!"

"Onyxpaw just flicked his tail and rolled his eyes in annoyance when you weren't looking," he'd whisper to Petalnose, the black and red furred apprentice's mentor. "And it was definitely more than just a little swat at a fly!"

"Did you know, Shallowfrost?" Snappaw exclaimed one afternoon, his voice a pitched whisper as he sidled up to the burly warrior. "Hatchlingpaw and Almondpaw are climbing the boughs of Hollow Oak again! They might fall! We should tell someone!"

Shallowfrost, Hatchlingpaw's mentor, only sighed, his thick fur bristling with annoyance. "They're just being apprentices, Snappaw. Let them have their fun," he replied, turning away, yet Snappaw's words lingered in the air like a storm cloud.

"Fun?" Snappaw echoed, eyes sparkling with feigned concern. "But what if you're wrong? Mentors need to know!" And with that, he went off to find Almondpaw's mentor Applemask, because he knew she'd do something about it.

"Look, there's Lavenderpaw! I think she was just about to eat before suppertime!" Snappaw would chirp sweetly to his friend's mentor, Sunshadow. "Shouldn't we remind her that's against the code?"

With a curt nod, Sunshadow would march over to set the young apprentice straight while Snappaw watched the scene unfold with a strange satisfaction, a mischievous glimmer in his eye.

It appeared that every single HemlockClan apprentice had fell victim to his relentless vigilance more than once, and each time it felt more and more like he was reporting them for minuscule misdeeds.

From clumsy Gopherpaw practicing his moves too close to the elder's rock, to Shrimppaw catching tadpoles in the stream when she was supposed to be hunting, no apprentice escaped his sharp, watchful gaze.