Blank Slate

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Slatepaw yawned, his sharp teeth glinting under the morning light. Today was a free day for the apprentices, so Slatepaw had slept in until nearly sunhigh. Clearly, he wasn't the only one with the intention of taking full advantage of their free day by sleeping until sunhigh. Gorsepaw and Finchpaw were still asleep in their nests. Gorsepaw's paws were twitching as if she was running in her dream. I should go visit Cinderpaw and check up on him. He thought, finally rousing himself up and out of his nest. The pale grey tom stretched, then padded out of the den.

He spotted Cinderpaw sitting by the medicine cat den, already awake. Slatepaw trotted over to the warm brown tom, dipping his head in a greeting.

"Hi Slatepaw, I was wondering if you were ever going to get your lazy butt out of that den and visit me today." Cinderpaw joked. 

"Me? Lazy? Of course not!" Slatepaw replied with a smile on his face. He continued, "I'm actually here to ask you about your republic idea. I want to know more about it." 

Cinderpaw's emerald eyes darkened the tiniest fraction. "O-Oh, of course." There was a hint of disappointment in his voice, but Slatepaw shook it off.

"So," The brown apprentice began, "I was just thinking that it might be fairer if we- the clanmates- could choose a few warriors to, like, represent us or something. I haven't really thought it out yet, but it would be cool if those three or four representatives could make all the important decisions. Maybe we could also elect a leader too, instead of the former leader choosing a deputy and the deputy rising to become the leader. Because then I think everything would be more reasonable, I guess. Like I said earlier, I haven't really thought it out much yet. It just seems really cool, you know?" Cinderpaw finished, looking a little embarrassed by his idea of a republic.

Slatepaw was so engrossed in Cinderpaw's description that he didn't realize the brown tom had finished speaking until Cinderpaw prodded him with a paw. "So? What do you think?" Emerald green eyes stared at him expectantly. 

"Oh, I uh, I really like it. I mean, I think that's a very interesting concept. And yeah, I also think that would make everything a little fairer," Slatepaw nodded, already feeling inspired. After that, the two toms' conversation drifted on to less serious topics.

It was well past sunhigh when Cinderpaw began to feel tired and settled back into his nest. With a quick goodbye and a promise to visit him again soon, Slatepaw left the medicine cat den to search for Finchpaw. He spotted the pale brown she-cat sitting by herself, tucked away in a shady corner of the camp. She seemed to be caught up in her own thoughts and didn't notice when Slatepaw approached her cheerily. Only when he waved a paw in front of her face did she seem to snap back into reality. 

"Oh! Hi Slatepaw." She mewed, seeming a bit frazzled.

"Hey Finchpaw, whatcha thinking about?" Slatepaw asked. 

Finchpaw blinked rapidly, then answered quickly, "N-nothing. It was nothing." She changed the subject, "So, Slatepaw, what are you here for?" 

The wiry furred tom grinned, "I think we should set the scene tonight. I can't wait any longer, the sooner we do it, the less likely someone is going to catch us. Besides, if we wait too long our clanmates might think PrickleClan isn't trying to invade." He reasoned. 

Finchpaw nodded her head, "Sure, but what about Cinderpaw? Has he already remembered?" 

Slatepaw sighed and shook his head, "No, he hasn't. But that's alright. Cinderpaw will remember later. We can't wait any longer, though. We have to bring democracy to this clan ruled by a single leader as soon as possible." 

The small brown apprentice shrugged, "Okay, that works, I guess."

Sensing that Finchpaw was a bit reluctant, Slatepaw began speaking again, "Look, democracy will make everything so much more fair to us. When we have democracy, we won't be treated so badly by Brightstar and Spruceblaze. We'll have representatives who make the decisions based on what we want, not what the leader wants. Wouldn't that be great? We'll actually have a leader and deputy that we like, not just someone that the former leader liked. Or, if the leader became power hungry, we could kick them off their seat of power."

 He continued after a pause, "That way, our clan wouldn't be so twisted. Everyone will be treated fairly, and we'll be the ones making all the important decisions. Throughout the representatives, of course. But it's all the same, in a way. Think about it this way, would you rather have one leader who doesn't know what it's like for their warriors making all the decisions, or a group of warriors representing us and making the right decisions? 

"So if we wanted a war, we would get a war, but if we didn't want a war with another clan, we wouldn't be getting involved in a war. Everyone would be happy." 

Slatepaw's yellow eyes gleamed by the end of his speech.

Finchpaw looked deep in thought.

"Okay," She said at last. "Let's do it." Her large green eyes sparked with a fierce determination. 

Slatepaw cracked a smile, "We'll go set the scene tonight at moonhigh. That way, we'll be able to see what we're doing clearly. The rebellion is going to overthrow Brightstar and we'll finally bring peace to NettleClan." The wiry furred gray tom spoke with a quiet but unwavering resolve.

That night, when the sun finally set, Slatepaw lay in his nest, unable to sleep. Slatepaw twisted and turned, attempting to get a bit of rest before moonhigh, but sleep avoided him. Thoughts raced around in his head, faster than the fish darting around in a stream, keeping him alert and awake. Slatepaw envied the two other apprentices laying near him, who were both sleeping deeply and soundly. Unfortunately, he could only watch and wait restlessly for the moon to reach its peak.

Churro back at it with another chapter