Diverging Paths (Warrior Cats Fanfiction)

Chapter 22

One whole day since her last meeting with Tiltpaw, and Hollowfortune had still neglected an apology. Highwings wondered if he ever would say something, or if they would go on for moons playing this game of theirs. As she once again joined Tiltpaw under the Thunderpath tonight, she was seething with anger at how her brother had been avoiding her all day. Like she was some kind of fearsome, venomous creature that would kill him if he drew too near.

It was purely out of spite that she avoided returning their relationship to normal herself, because if he was not willing to put in the effort, why should she? The whole day, she had hung around with Moorpaw and Sprintquick instead, who were thrilled for her recovery and were jolly young cats who were fun to be around. Even if Highwings did not share their sense of humor - or any sense of humor for that - they did not seem to mind that at all. They were tolerant of her awkwardness, understood her blunders, and all-around were a nice pair to her. Moorpaw's temper had even driven Bounceback away when he tried intruding, which Highwings very much appreciated.

However, even as she enjoyed their company and continued staying away from Hollowfortune, neither Moorpaw nor Sprintquick would be able to fully replace her brother. Even if Highwings feuded with him now, it left a hole in her heart to be so distant from him. They could be sitting right next to each other, and Highwings would feel like he was billions of tree-lengths away. And that just made her feel...so alone. With Archpounce practically abandoning me, I can't stand to lose him.

So despite a day spent in laughter with her favorite couple, she came into the tunnel irritable and snappy. Tiltpaw was able to instantly pick up on this, simply from the way she carried herself and the way her face looked. The apprentice, who as usual was first to the tunnel, stepped forward as she dropped her two mice and one robin.

"Anything you need to talk about?" he softly inquired, seeming to have completely forgotten the offensive line Highwings had spoken yesterday, or at the very least, ignoring it.

"Yes," she grunted. "It's about my brother."

"Oh." The thin apprentice sat down. "What's going on?"

Highwings groaned. "You know how I got attacked by rogues? Well, he ran away from the battle, he never came to see me in the medicine den, and now he's totally avoiding me. Of course I've been focusing on my duties still, and I have friends other than him, but wow, he's acting like a coward and it's driving me up the wall."

Tiltpaw frowned. "Wow, that's not right of him. What do you think he's mad at you for?"

"Oh, he's not mad or anything." Highwings remembered she had not at all told Tiltpaw what Hollowfortune was like. "He's just a coward. He gets scared easily - you see, he was like that as a kit, but he also has this lazy eye and got bullied for it, so I guess that made it worse - and now he's completely turned his back on me."

"Ah, I see." Tiltpaw examined her eyes. "And you haven't tried talking to him at all?"

"If he's not going to put in the effort, why should I? He owes me an explanation and he's not giving it to me," Highwings growled, flicking her tail as she stared at the ground.

Tiltpaw chuckled a bit, which made Highwings draw up her head to look at him in surprised outrage. "Sorry. It's just that...I'm sure he would love to apologize. But it seems like you're completely forgetting who he is."

Highwings curled her lip in indignation, turning defensive. "What do you mean by that? It's not like you know him!"

"Maybe not, but from what you've told me about him, maybe he wants to apologize to you," he explained. "He loves you, as your brother. But you need to talk to him first."