First Plans



 F i r s t P l a n s

Episode Seven, Season One, of Beauty.

Enjoy <3

First Plans
“That’s what we’re going to do?” Snowpaw sighs, incredulous. “That’s about the worst plan ever.”

Hawkpaw rolls his eyes. “That’s what you said to about all the plans we’ve suggested.” He’s toying with a few pebbles, still looking worn out and dejected.

“Snowpaw,” I mutter, “Go get the rest of the crew before you dismiss all of my wonderful plans.” I wince as Brownpaw dabs the moss on another one of my wounds.

Brownpaw smiles at Snowpaw’s pouty expression. “That’s her job, Amberpaw. She’s the one who tells everyone that we all suck and that we fail at life.”

“That’s my she-cat!” Lionpaw pops up from behind me, making me jump and hiss in pain. Lionpaw, either oblivious of my pain or not caring, bounds over to Snowpaw and licks her cheek.

She purrs and shoves Lionpaw away. I groan as I lay there in the sand. “I’m dying, Lionpaw, and you’re too in love to care.”

Brownpaw helps me up. Lionpaw looks over sheepishly. “Sorry, Amberpaw, I keep forgetting about your near death experience.”

“How?” I demand as Brownpaw continues to treat me wounds, “How do you forget when there’s a daily reminder in front of you? Are you blind or just blind?”

Lionpaw gives me his impish grin and I throw a rock at him. He ducks and it hits Applepaw, who’s just walking up to us. “Ow!” she complains, “Amberpaw, why are you throwing rocks around?”

“Because-” I begin, intending to give Lionpaw a scolding.

“Because she thinks I’m too handsome to resist,” Lionpaw cuts in, smirking. I toss another rock at him, which only cracks him up even more.

Snowpaw smacks him and mumbles, “I’m the one who should be saying that your’e hot, not Amberpaw.” I self-consciously glance at Brownpaw, but he’s smiling at Snowpaw and Lionpaw. I don’t why I’m staring at him, but I feel something pull me towards him all the same.

Finchpaw, who just came up with Gingerpaw and Cherrypaw made a face at the white she-cat and the ginger tom. “Why are they staring at each other like that?”

Applepaw’s whispers twitches, “I believe they’re in love.”

“We are not!” Snowpaw yells but Lionpaw curls his tail around her, dragging her away.

“Tell us that when you have kits!” Gingerpaw laughs. Snowpaw makes a face at her and Cherrypaw whispers something in Gingerpaw’s ear.

Hawkpaw looks up from his rock. “Aren’t we here to talk about some plan? I believe it would be best to talk about plans while Snowpaw is away.”

“As if Amberpaw wouldn’t do that instead!” Brownpaw snorts.

I roll my eyes and let out a sigh of relief when Brownpaw finishes applying the ointment. “You’re a miracle,” I smile, “Where did you learn all this?”

“Silverfrost and Duskheart made sure I knew all the herbs,” Brownpaw explains, “you never know what could happen in the poor.” He looks a bit wistful.

“You miss your old home, don’t you?” I nudge him, wanting to see a beautiful smile blossom on his face.

He only nods, his face serious. “We were always missing things but it was a good life. I hope Rainstorm’s okay. She should be with Silverfrost and Duskheart right now.”

“Your parents are the most caring cats in the world. Rainstorm will be fine.” It feels weird using her warrior name when she is only eight moons old.

Brownpaw dips his head in agreement and I can tell he wants to say more but Finchpaw calls out to me. “Hey you two! We’re supposed to be making plans right now, not gossiping about our future kits.”

“That’s not what we’re talking about!” I yelp, blushing fiercely. I shoot a quick glance at Brownpaw and I’m disappointed that he just looks uncomfortable. Finchpaw purrs at the redness in my ears but thankfully doesn’t say any more.

“Okay, okay. Plans,” Cherrypaw interjects, “What were the other ideas you guys had before we arrived? Surely we can work of a few of those.”

I frown. “One of them was sneaking around and finding more allies. Another was killing off all our enemies-”

“I know who I’d murder first,” Finchpaw grunts.

Hawkpaw shakes his head and I continue. “We also considered killing one of the instructors. That’s all we got I think.”

“Should go fetch Lionpaw and Snowpaw,” Brownpaw offers, “After all, they should have a say in all this. This is a first big step.”

I nod and Brownpaw steps away from me (which leaves me utterly disappointed for some reason) and heads off to where the two cats had walked off to.

We continue to go over ideas, and when Snowpaw, Lionpaw, and Brownpaw returns, the discussions only get livelier. But even with so many ideas bouncing back and forth, we still couldn’t think of anything.

“I’m going to hunt,” I stand, “It’s our turn to anyways.”

The she-cats join me and we set out together, with Snowpaw reluctantly leaving Lionpaw’s side. It’s rather relaxing to be walking in the forest, not worrying about anything other than how much prey will we catch.

“Where should we go?” I ask, glancing at the other she-cats.

“Running Brook,” Snowpaw suggests, “So we can catch fish for Flarepaw to eat.” I wrinkle my muzzle when I remember the fish taste of the trout I had been forced to ear.

“Forget her,” Cherrypaw cuts in before I could voice my agreement, “Let’s go to Meadow Valley. It’s more romantic.”

Applepaw glances at her, puzzled. “Why do we need to go to some place romantic? It’s not like the toms are with us anyways.”

“And even then, only Snowpaw would be flirting,” I taunt the white she-cat playfully. I can’t help but think it would be a lovely place to hang out with Brownpaw.

Cherrypaw looks slightly embarrassed. I notice she’s sitting closer to Gingerpaw than she needs to. “It’s pretty,” she defends, “Plus we need to catch decent prey for us to eat too.”

“She has a point,” Gingerpaw put in, “As much as I want to get back to Flarepaw, we don’t want to end up eating fish too.”

“Rainstorm would have loved it,” Snowpaw murmurs as she relents, “But I suppose you have a point.”

Cherrypaw looks elated and I catch her giving Gingerpaw a happy look. “Let’s go then,” I say, deciding to dismiss it, “We need to catch as much as we can before dark falls.”

~

Brownpaw found it rather lonely talking to Hawkpaw and Lionpaw. He was used to solitude and work, after all.

“I bet I’d beat you in a fight,” Lionpaw told Troutpaw, sizing the gray tom, “You don’t look that hard.” The three of them were trying to find good allies in the toms but so far Lionpaw’s been competing with each and every one of them.

“No you can’t,” Troutpaw shot back, “I’m tougher than you think.”

Lionpaw shrugged, “Too bad I didn’t get to fight you in the elimination rounds. That would have been a fun match.”

Troutpaw looked a bit miffed and Brownpaw dragged him away. “We’re supposed to be recruiting cats, not insulting them,” Brownpaw sighed, “I think Hawkpaw should do the talking now.”

“Why don’t you?” Hawkpaw grunted, “You’re a better talker. Especially peace talk.” The tabby tom looked angry. Brownpaw frowned at his expression.

“I’m from the poor, remember,” Brownpaw swished his tail, “They wouldn’t listen to me.”

Hawkpaw grunted his disapproval. “This is stupid. All those toms probably support the system. We’re only fiving ourselves away by trying to recruit cats.” He scuffed his paw, “Or maybe I’m just being pessimistic.”

Brownpaw decided to talk to a few more toms before the three of them decided it was time to give up and settle somewhere else. “That was a flop,” Brownpaw commented, “It seems we’re stuck with the numbers we have.”

“Which is promising,” Lionpaw muttered, “Hopefully the plan won’t require a lot of us.”

“It’ll be dangerous,” Hawkpaw warned, “We need to be prepared for loss.” His eyes clouded immediately. Lionpaw looked away and Brownpaw immediately knew he was thinking of Snowpaw. Brownpaw’s thoughts drifted towards Amberpaw. The orange she-cat was strong, Brownpaw thought, She would survive anything.

But never once did Brownpaw worry about Amberpaw because of his feelings, only because she was his best friend.

~

When we got back, the toms are sprawled lazily in a meeting clearing for the toms and she-cats. They’re chatting and I can tell each and ever one of them are relaxed and happy.

That’s the other thing the Beauty cannot take from us: our happiness.

Despite all the despair and hardships, there will always be a ray of sunshine that cuts through and frees us from pain. Because we resist the Beauty, we will always have happiness.

Happiness and love.

Snowpaw is already giddily talking with Lionpaw. Brownpaw and Hawkpaw focus on them, amused. Cherrypaw and Gingerpaw continue their conversations as we settle down with some of the prey that we didn’t deposit on the she-cat’s fresh-kill pile.

I trot over to Brownpaw. He purrs as I settle next to him. “How was hunting?” he asks, smiling as he accepts the vole I pass over to him.

“Good,” I take a bite of my mouse. “These forests are as rich as the hunting areas back at home.” I don’t even realize how it sounds.

Brownpaw’s face closes off. “Yeah,” he looks away from me, “They wouldn’t want to disappoint the Beauty apprentices, after all.” There’s disapproval in his tone, like I had disappointed him by pointing out the prey. But it was showing how biased the system really was. Of course Brownpaw resents the topic. He probably never had enough prey to live by in the poor.

I touch his shoulder with the tip of my tail. “Sorry,” I mumble, “That was inconsiderate of me.”

He shrugs me off. “It’s the truth anyways.”

I focus on my food as the silence between us stretches. “What did you guys do while we were gone?” I decide to ask. The silence was getting unbearable anyways.

“We talked to a few toms about their opinions of the System and trued to see if we could defect a few to our side. I don’t think it worked very well to be honest,” Brownpaw frowns, “So whatever you have in mind, make sure it isn’t risky. These cats are the only ones we have.”

He talks about us like we’re pieces that can’t be wasted. But I understand what he means. If we lose anyone, we probably can’t find anyone to replace them. There’s no way.

But in a way, he’s also wrong.

“We’re not pieces to be used and disposed,” I tell him quietly, “Yes, we don’t want to lose anyone, but there are ways to replace them. There are sympathizers and rebels out there.”

Brownpaw’s gaze is unfathomable. He’s always been a figure of solitude. “It won’t be the same,” he says simply, “And plus, we can’t access the rebels for the next eight moons. We’re stuck here, remember?”

And that’s when a plan hits me. I smile at him, even though he has a stony expression. “You’re a genius,” I purr, even as he continued to give me that look, “I know what we can do as a plan.”

Brownpaw raises an eyebrow and stands. “I’ll go get everyone. You finish your meal and make sure you know exactly how the plan should go.”

I nod and he ambles towards the others. I bite into the mouse, savoring the rich taste while I wait for the others to arrive.

~

Brownpaw padded around the clearing, searching for the others. He spotted Cherrypaw and Gingerpaw first. Walking closer, Brownpaw heard snippets of their conversation.

“Should we tell them?” Cherrypaw asked, her tail draped over her paws.

“No,” Gingerpaw sighed, “They wouldn’t understand.”

“They know what love is,” Cherrypaw argued, “After all, look at Snowpaw and Lionpaw! Look at Amberpaw and the way she looks at Brownpaw! We’re no different.”

“This love is different,” Gingerpaw looked concerned, “They wouldn’t get our feelings for one another. We can’t tell them, not yet.” Gingerpaw didn’t notice that Brownpaw had arrived. Cherrypaw’s eyes widened but Brownpaw paid no heed to what he heard.

“Amberpaw wants us all so we can discuss our first plan. She wants to have something by tonight,” Brownpaw told the two she-cats before turning away as though he had never heard them.

He took a few steps but Cherrypaw stopped him. “Please don’t tell anyone.”

Brownpaw knew what she meant. “I won’t,” he promised. It was their secret to keep. They would tell the others when they were ready.

Cherrypaw gazed at him for a moment longer before hurrying away. Brownpaw continued onwards.

Applepaw and Finchpaw were easy to find. Hawkpaw was already beside Amberpaw. All that was left was Snowpaw and Lionpaw. The pair of love birds.

When Brownpaw approached them, Lionpaw was whispering something in Snowpaw’s ear. The others always found it strange that Snowpaw and Lionpaw had bonded so fast, but in reality, they only had small gestures at first.

“Pst,” Brownpaw hissed jokingly, “An instructor is watching you two.” Immediately both stopped laughing and scooted away from one another. “Just kidding,” Brownpaw added.

Lionpaw huffed and smacked Brownpaw. “What was that for? You really had me scared.”

The brown tom frowned, “You two shouldn’t flirt so blatantly in public. Someone’s going to find out about…this. Plus, Amberpaw wants us all.”

~

Brownpaw and the others finally appear. I stretch and sit up to groom my tail as they approach. “Any new ideas?” I greet them, nonchalantly.”

When none of them replied, I mew, “I think we should do something with the poor. We need to get them to know there are other cats on their side.”

Applepaw nods, “That’s a good idea. If we’re going to support the poor, we need to let them know we’re going to help them beforehand. Plus, if the rebels are out there, they’ll recognize us and we’ll be able to form an easy alliance with them.”

“What should we do thought?” I intervene, “Should we help some of the poor or attack the Beauty?”

“It’s too risky to get into the Beauty,” Hawkpaw says, “Last time when I was with Rainpaw, I saw how guarded the border is. We should try to save the poor instead.”

Finchpaw tips her head, “Remember those terrible slaughters we saw? What if we found out when one is going to be staged and we can sabotage it?”

“Do they still do that?” Snowpaw frowns, “What if that was just for us to see?”

Brownpaw shakes his head, “They don’t do that often. I’ve never seen it happen before. They must only be doing it for show.”

“Ever two moons,” Applepaw reasons, “It can’t be every moon or else the older apprentices such as Gingerpaw and Cherrypaw would have seen it already.”

I take this all in. “All right, so in two moons, we’ll thwart a Beauty attack. Sounds good.”

We exchange grim glances. This would be our first act of rebellion.

We’re rebels and that’s why the Beauty can’t take away our happiness.

Our happiness and our love.

The End.