Apprentice and Pregnant is an on-going Warrior Cats fanfic by Malicent. The series can be read here: Part 1
, Part 2, and Part 3.
Hollypaw is a young ThunderClan apprentice around nine moons old. One day, Hollypaw and several of the other apprentices decide to hang around ShadowClan territory. This backfires when a ShadowClan patrol attacks them for encroaching on their territory. The young cats are punished and attacked, except for Hollypaw. A creepy older warrior named Longtail pins her down and hurts her, though Hollypaw doesn't understand what he did until later. After telling her mother, Hollypaw learns that Longtail raped her. Her mother wants justice but Hollypaw is too embarrassed to tell anyone. This incident leads to Hollypaw becoming pregnant.
The two sequels tell what happens after Hollypaw, now named Hollyshine, becomes a warrior alongside her kits.
Apprentice and Pregnant provides examples of:
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Everyone Can See that Firepaw and Laurelpaw like one another. The two deny it and constantly argue.
- Betty and Veronica: Laurelpaw has this relationship with Thornpaw and Firepaw. While Thornpaw is a mysterious, foreign cat from another Clan, he's also gentle and sweet. Firepaw is the "safe" ThunderClan cat but he and Laurelpaw gets along like oil and water. In the end Laurelpaw choses Firepaw, while Thornpaw shows interest in a she-cat named Heatherpaw.
- Career-Ending Injury: Grayclaw is blinded when he's clawed in the eyes protecting Hollypaw. He regains sight in one eye eventually.
- Child by Rape: Cracklekit, Silverkit, and Laurelkit were the result of Longtail raping Hollypaw. Hollypaw intentionally hides their father's identity from them, though they know they're half-ShadowClan. Laurelpaw learns the reason behind her conception from Firepaw while arguing.
- Convenient Miscarriage: Laurelpaw becomes pregnant after being raped by her uncle. She doesn't even notice the pregnancy until the moment she miscarries. She temporarily mourns the pregnancy but is more-so happy that she can be a normal apprentice again, instead of a young mother.
- Crying Critters: The cats can cry when upset.
- Dark Fic: Warriors is a dark kid's series but there are somethings even it won't touch. Rape and suicide are two of those. Apprentince and Pregnant does deal with these topics. If you thought Thistleclaw and Spottedpaw was bad, this is much much worse.
- Death by Childbirth: Subverted. Hollypaw's kitting is difficult, but she and the kits all survive.
- Dead Guy Junior: Whitepaw temporarily names himself "Daisy" because he used to call his sister that. Swallow Star renames him because "Daisy" is too much of a Gender-Blender Name for a tom.
- Domestic Abuse: Whitepaw's father Old Gray murdered his mother and sister. Old Gray had isolated Whitepaw's mother and would claw at her often.
- Every One Can See It: In the first story, many cats can see that Hollypaw and Grayclaw have feelings for each other, though they are too embarassed to admit it and don't act on them until the end. In the sequel, everyone can see that Firepaw and Laurelpaw like one another, though they deny it.
- Eye Scream: Grayclaw is blinded when he's scratched hard in his eyes.
- Gender-Blender Name: Whitepaw originally named himself "Daisy", after his sister. It was changed by the Clan leader because he thought "Daisypaw" or "Daisy" was too feminine for a tom.
- Held Back in School:
- Hollyshine was held back a few months after giving birth.
- As a punishment for attempted murder, Ivypaw is held back from becoming a warrior for six months.
- Loving Bully: Firepaw bickers with Laurelpaw because he doesn't know how else to communicate with her, and admits as much.
- Not What It Looks Like: Laurelpaw and Firepaw sneak away together at a gathering. Before returning, Laurelpaw pounces on Firepaw and ends up on top of him. All of the other cats notice, and come to the conclusion that the two had decided to sneak off into the bushes to mate.
- Official Couple: Hollyshine and Grayclaw become one at the end of the first story, with Grayclaw helping Hollypaw to raise her kits.
- Offing the Offspring: Old Gray killed his daughter Daisy.
- Original Character: The entire cast consists of OCs. Several share the names of canon characters, but they're not the same cats.
- Mature Animal Story: Apprentice And Pregnant is based on a kid's series but isn't aimed at the target audience. It deals with darker topics like rape, Teen Pregnancy, and Domestic Abuse.
- Precision F-Strike: Tigerstripe doesn't curse, so it's surprising to Swallow Star when he uses the "f" word (and in front of an apprentice at that). He's furious because Swallow Star is siding with Ivypaw after she attempted to kill Cracklepaw.
- Shout-Out: The title references the reality show 16 and Pregnant.
- Spin-Offspring: Apprentice and Pregnant 2 is based around Hollyshine's daughter.
- Spiteful Spit: Before walking out of his den in anger, Tigerstripe spits at Swallow Star's paws.
- Teacher/Student Romance: Hollypaw and her mentor Grayclaw have romantic feelings for each other, though they are too embarrassed to admit it for most of the story. Hollypaw confesses her feelings first when she finally admits that she is pregnant as a result of being raped by Longtail. Grayclaw comforts Hollypaw, saves her when Longtail assaults her again, helps her raise her kits, and they becomes mates at the end.
- Teen Pregnancy:
- Hollypaw is the youngest queen the Clans have ever seen. She's barely out of the nursery herself. Her underdeveloped body makes pregnancy and childbirth dangerous, but she ultimately turns out fine.
- Hollyshine's daughter Laurelpaw ends up pregnant after being raped by her uncle. She had a miscarriage before even noticing that she had been pregnant.
- Til Murder Do Us Part: Old Gray killed his mate and one of their two kits.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Ivypaw has a crush on Firepaw. All Laurelpaw sees when she looks at him is an ugly, sickly looking tom with a constantly runny nose. However, it turns out that Laurelpaw likes him as well. Laurelpaw and Firepaw end up the Official Couple.
- Yandere: Ivypaw is upset that Laurelpaw "stole" her crush from her. In exchange for her stealing Firepaw, Ivypaw tries to permanently steal something of Laurelpaw's: her brother. She lures him to Snakerocks to hunt and almost gets him killed by snakes. If it wasn't for Tigerstripe, Cracklepaw would have died.
