A Star Among Planets (Star Wars Rebels Fanfiction)

Chapter 90: Saved By Son

Halftail pushed himself into Birchfoot's room and he saw the tom still sorting herbs. "Do you do anything else," he joked with his tail tip twitching.

    Birchfoot turned his head and rolled his eyes. "I guess. What would you prefer that I do? I don't have a mate so it's not like I can do anything like that," he pointed out with his whiskers twitching.

    Halftail rolled his eyes back to Birchfoot as he strode forward and looked down at the herbs that Birchfoot was sorting. There were syringes and other pills that he was sorting as well from the medical supplies that they had been able to score. "True. Would you like some help?"

    Birchfoot seemed a bit taken aback. Halftail usually never offered, unless he had a very specific reason to. "Sure, I guess. Is there something that you want to talk about since that's what it sounds like," he pointed out as he passed some herbs for Halftail to sort.

    "Do you think that I'm losing my touch," inquired Halftail as he lowered his muzzle and began to brush some leaves into piles. He thought that one was borage and the other was thyme, but this was something that he knew a lot about. "I mean I lost to both Keen and Swifttail today. I used to be able to fight both of them at the same time with a paw tied behind my back and still win! I can't do that anymore."

    Birchfoot knew how Halftail was feeling. He had known that his father had gone through almost the same thing after he had been injured. Birchfoot wasn't sure how that was like since he had been injured when he was born. He did know that his father losing his identity had almost cost his mother and father their marriage. "I don't think that you're losing your touch. What I do think is that you are figuring out who you are, now."

    Halftail snarled and thrust a paw against the ground. He scattered his newly sorted herbs and he groaned, knowing that he would need to sort them again once more. "I don't want to be different! I'm still a Jedi," he reported with a firm nod of his head.

    Birchfoot didn't doubt that, but it appeared as if Halftail did. That's why he felt like he needed to clarify on it. "I never said that you weren't. I just think that you're learning to deal with some things and that's changing you. You have to accept that, Halftail."

    Halftail shook his head as he picked up the herbs and set them in their own piles once more. He couldn't even bring himself to look into Birchfoot's eyes. "Do you think that I need to retire?"

    Birchfoot seemed a bit shocked that Halftail would ever even bring that up. That was certainly not like Halftail at all. "Of course not! I just think that you need to take care of yourself. Once you do that, everything else should fall into place," he assured as he made his way over and curled his tail around Halftail's shoulder comfortingly.

    Halftail shrugged it away and carried it over to Birchfoot's clefts in the walls. He reared on his hind leg and pushed them back so that they wouldn't fall. Every time Hera did some fancy move the herbs would fall and Birchfoot would need to sort them again. "I'm not so sure about that. Why did I get worse in the first place? What's to stop me from continuing to get worse," he rambled absentmindedly.

    Birchfoot sighed as he thought about what he should say. He really didn't have a good answer for him. "I have no idea, but I told you that I would find out. We just have to wait to run more tests. Besides, you can't give up. What do I always tell you," he inquired as he leaned forward.

    The half tailed tom laughed forcibly. "That Swifttail needs me."

    "The whole crew needs you," pointed out Birchfoot as he picked up a few syringes and tucked them under his chin. Halftail would need those later. "Don't get down on yourself. I hope that that made you feel better."