Silvershore

Chapter Twenty-Six

"Stormjay!" Bright Moon's ears perked up, randomly. They were just organizing their new resources they picked up when she seemed to have remembered something important.

"Hm?" Stormjay turned over to her.

"I...well, so much has been going on recently, that...I completely forgot to tell you something really important."

"Oh? What is it?" Stormjay asked. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine." She smiled. "Just...I found out something about myself." She paused. "And Roscoe."

"Roscoe?" Stormjay flattened his ears. "What about him?"

"Well...could you sit down? It's a really, really long story. He, Leia and Alpine already told me it's okay for me to tell you. Roscoe's already one of your closest friends, so he already trusts you. Alpine and Leia don't know you that well, but also said it was fine, since you should probably know this about us."

"Wait, so is this between, like, you and Roscoe, or do they have something to do with it, too?"

"They're part of the story, but the whole thing is mostly about Roscoe."

"Alright...I'm listening." Stormjay sat down in front of her.

"Uhm...so, you know how Roscoe wasn't born here?" Bright Moon asked. Stormjay nodded. "Well, he wasn't exactly a loner before all this, either..." She sighed.

"Huh? Roscoe told me he was, and joined us after his parents died...what's going on?"

"He was actually born in The Pack of the Fire." She told him. "Now, don't give me that look! He wasn't lying to us or anything. It's...complicated."

"Well, go on...I'm interested. But is he really okay with me knowing..?"

"He said it was fine. It's better if you know, because I somewhat play a role in this story, too, I suppose..." She paused. "I promise, that doesn't mean I've been keeping things from you! You know everything that's ever going on with me. I...just...Stormjay, Roscoe's my half-brother."

Stormjay went silent for a moment. "...Wh...what?"

"I know..! It's...hard to believe! But...obviously, since my dad is clearly not who we thought he was...it's safe to assume he...did some things while he was here without us knowing. He...cheated on my mom...with some girl from The Pack of the Fire...ugh! It's just so awful!" She started choking up. "I...I'm sorry, I...I hate him!"

"B-Bright Moon..." Stormjay immediately sped up to her and pulled her close to his chest, wrapping his tail around her back gently. "D-Don't apologize...it's completely okay to cry."

She sniffled. "I'm...really trying not to...I can't be weak. I can't...let him win..!"

"You won't. He'll never win. Because...I'm right here. I'm going to do absolutely everything in my power to keep him from hurting you. And, everyone else in this pack cares about you so much...no one else here will let anything happen to you either. I promise."

"H-He's...he's got that whole pack...after me...specifically me...a-and...h-he said they could just come by any day...a-and kill me...I-I'm so scared, Stormjay...a-and this is exactly what he wants! He wants me to suffer like this! I can't give him what he wants!" She wept.

In those tears, her inner angel pleaded for help. In that moment, was a chance for Stormjay to reach in and give the kind of love and nurture that could temporarily calm her down. He knew this obviously wasn't the kind of problem he could fix with a few kind words. But, for now, that was really the only thing he could do for her.