Underdog (Night Visions Songfic)

Song ten of Night Visions.

Early morning take me over

Father, father, father

Take me to the top

“Cloverpaw!” snapped a harsh voice.

Cloverpaw groaned and rolled over. Anything except another day with Fernfall!

“Cloverpaw!” the voice snapped again. “Are you indirectly asking for a moon caring for elders?”

Upon hearing this, Cloverpaw opened one eye. His dark blue one. The other one was light blue. “No,” he replied simply.

Fernfall smiled evilly and picked up a stick and pointed it at Cloverpaw. “The person on the end of this stick is stupid.”

“Oh really?” Cloverpaw said cheekily. “Which end? Yours? How surprising.”

Fernfall clenched her teeth and her nostrils flared. “Shut up, get up, and come up to the cliff where the other apprentices are waiting.”

Early morning wake me up

Father, father, father

This is not enough

Cloverpaw rolled to the side just as Pinepaw landed on the spot where he was a second ago.

Pinepaw hissed at him. “You can’t fight, kittpyet!”

“Oh really?” challenged Cloverpaw. “I have a clan cat father and mother. You’re the kittypet for being dumb.”

Pinepaw screeched in annoyance. Cloverpaw took advantage of the moment and knocked him to the ground.

One paw on the throat, another on the belly.

Pinepaw was choking now. Cloverpaw smiled to himself. The warriors were probably thinking that he himself was choking, and took no notice.

“Don’t kill,” whispered a voice in his head. “Earn trust.”

“Yes, father,” whispered Cloverpaw back. “Whatever you say to overcome this torture called apprenticeship.”

~

Hey, that sounds like my luck

I get the short end of it

Oh I love to be

I love to be the underdog, Hey!

All eyes were on Cloverpaw.

“So you say you almost… choked… Pinepaw?” drawled Fernfall for the tenth time that afternoon.

Cloverpaw bared his teeth. “Yes.”

“Well… we have to decide on a punishment,” meowed Fernfall softly.

Cloverpaw leapt up to protest. “But Grasspaw choked me — almost killed me! — the other day and she was praised!” yelled Cloverpaw angrily.

Fernfall smiled, but not in a good way. “Well, Cloverpaw, Grasspaw has… better… origins. Now, your punishment: no food until the full moon. Luckily its only tomorrow night,” sneered Fernfall.

Cloverpaw stomped out of the camp, ignoring the jeers from the cats behind him. “Talk about discrimination,” he huffed.

Hey, that sounds like my luck

I get the short end of it

Oh I love to be

I love to be the underdog, Hey!

Mossleap scratched the ground with sharp claws. “Be the underdog,” he growled at Cloverpaw. “I can’t believe they treat you like that!”

Cloverpaw watched a bug crawl across a stick. “I hate them,” he snarled. “They treat me worse than mouse bile.” His stomach growled as he mentioned the word ‘mouse’. Cloverpaw had never gone so long without eating.

As if reading his mind, Mossleap tossed a plump mouse at him. “Here,” he chirped. “Nobody will know.”

“Thanks!” Cloverpaw yowled gratefully to his father. In his dreams with Mossleap, sometimes Birdnose, he was cared for and loved.

But in Meadowclan, life was the exact opposite.

~

Early evening settle down

Father, father, father

Who am I to blame?

Early evening hush me over

Father, father, father

Are we just the same?

~

Hey, that sounds like my luck

I get the short end of it

Oh I love to be

I love to be the underdog, Hey!

Hey, that sounds like my luck

I get the short end of it

Oh I love to be

I love to be the underdog, Hey!

~

Living the low life

Low life low life

Living the low life

Low life low life

Living the low life

~

Hey, that sounds like my luck

I get the short end of it

Oh I love to be

I love to be the underdog, Hey!

Hey, that sounds like my luck

I get the short end of it

Oh I love to be

I love to be the underdog, Hey!