𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘴: 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘺 (𝘉𝘖𝘖𝘒 2) (ROS)

𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 9

After the gathering ended, things seemed to be all okay. 

No.

Rusty'claw didn't think someone could spill the bees that easily. There were even dreams given to him that he was supposed to tell the story, which could trigger the prophecy rain that happens every once a while. He tried to show no disappointment. He stuck through the gathering and the festivals with the last bit of his sanity. The tom sat down on the dry dirt, standing to look at the mountains. The wind breeze through his mattered fur.

The dirt stained him and burning his scars that he had gotten recently. The eyes of disappointment weighed him down, the voices of doubt that caused him to feel as if he was a failure.

He noticed the sun facing him. The ball of fire, his eyes, causing him to look away. He grumbled in frustration, the feeling of disappointment growing stronger than before. He heard a voice behind him. It was Yellow'petal. "Why haven't you come back to camp?" He asked. "You know mother's wondering about you." Yellow'petal's movement seemed nonchalant. Rusty'claw's face grimaced even more. "That's a bunch of horse-dirt. She can barely remember that she even has a second son in the first place." 

"That doesn't matter. You hold too much hate in your heart." Yellow'petal sat alongside him, staring at the setting sun. "You need to reconcile with her." He ordered, that annoyed Rusty'claw even more. "She doesn't need reconciliation. She doesn't deserve it." He spat, his tail lashing from side to side. "I'm surprised you're taking up for her as the favorite son."

Yellow'petal could see how hurt his brother looked. It was almost a feeling of betrayal. "You know that hate of yours will get you nowhere, no matter how much someone has done to you. You're putting more wood in the fire." His head nudged his shoulder, Rusty'claw bared his teeth and shoved him away. Yellow'petal's eyes were hard enough to see the soul of a tom, suffering from inside and out. "If you're still mad about him, we can talk about it." He added.

There were tears coming from Rusty'claw's eyes. He didn't know why he wanted to cry, and even tried ignoring his emotions showing. "I'm not crying for someone who isn't even in our lives anymore. He abandoned our mother. That's where it ends." He closed his eyes, hard enough for his emotions to be avoided. 

"You know he wanted you to be great... but not in a way that'll block everything good in your life." Yellow'petal said. He wasn't known to give up on what he wanted. And all he wanted was his brother to get better. "I have good things in life." Rusty'claw sneered, his eyes giving disgusted glares at his brother. "I have a plan that'll get me to the top. You don't know me."

"I do know you." His brother led out a rough grunt. "I know that you don't like that Softpaw, I can see envy all over you." His front legs leaned forward. Rusty'claw's face changed into amusement. "What if I did? What are you going to do about it?" He had an endearing look in his eyes, testing his brother's patience. Yellow'petal's face grew into more irritation. "I know you'll go over the top if it means to ruin some cat's life. I'm not letting you risk that over something so useless!" He snarled at his brother. "You'll get someone killed! You'll get yourself killed!"

The ginger tom scoffed, the wind blowing behind his fur that resembles the blaze of a fire. "A little tom wouldn't lay a claw on me. I dealt with him yesterday. He only ran away from me when he knew I wanted to hurt him." 

"He only knew that because he was weak, and vulnerable. Just as how father left us in that state!" Yellow'petal hissed, his body tensing up from the memories that he hated to look back in the shadows of their past. Seeing his brother descend from grace of a better life that he should've been thankful for, it angered him even more. "And now you're leaving your family for what? A hopeless dream of chasing a ghost?" 

The mention of his father's disappearance made him growl, the tears in his eyes returned in small to big drops. His claws pierced the earth below him. His body vibrated with aggravated growls, he closed his eyes and led out a big sigh. "He wanted me to be great, and I'm doing what he wished. We'll be powerful, we'll be happy, we'll be family again." 

Realizing that his brother's mind won't be changed soon, Yellow'petal lowered his head, emitting a defeated sigh. "If this is what you want, then have it. You won't be speaking to us any longer." He murmured, turning his body around. The tension-filled silence was nothing more than frustration, and conflict of one's mind. Yellow'petal headed off, his paws marking the dry, red dirt as he went. Rusty'claw scoffed, his mind speaking negatively of his brother's choices. This is abandonment. And yet he's the one who gets told about how he acts like his father? 

But there were thoughts coming to mind. The feeling of losing someone he cared for at such a young age, only to leave when things go awry. He couldn't forgive Golden'flame when she was the one who drove him away, and that caused him to be paranoid. What if his own actions would drive his own blood away? What if he did turn out to look like him. Abandoning his problems to chase an ancestor who probably doesn't care about him? No, that couldn't be right. Firestar appeared in his dreams before... what if... what if... what if?

Foolish.

Nothing will get in the way. Not even his own family. His mother could mew and cry, his brother can cut him off whatever he wants. But nothing will get in the way of his life dedicated to being what his father couldn't. Nothing.

When he felt the sun darken as the clouds build above him. He stood from his spot and jogged back to camp as the rain drench his fur.