~A Break With Charity~ (OPEN!&PG-13)

[glowlynose]

Briartail pranced happily through the forest, imagining his jaws full of prey and the warmer seasons that would come. It did not matter that right now he was hungry and cold, because in just a few precious months everything would change. In fact, the warrior swore that he could even smell the coming change on the breeze. No longer were the winds purely sharp and cold, for now they held in them the secret of rebirth and joy. Blessed warmth was trickling towards the clans from the south, slowly but sure as the dawn. This is why the tom was so happy. Who wouldn't be, knowing that the misery of leaf-bare was so soon to end? A content smile spread across his face. Despite the chill of the long winter months, life was fantastic. Life was always fantastic.

And oh, look! There were some clanmates of his, no doubt having a grand old time by the river. From the distance he was at, and considering the willow branches that blocked his view, Redtail, Kitewhisker, and Rabbitheart seemed to be perfectly at ease. Why shouldn't he approach?

"Hey guys! How's it go- ... oh. Nevermind," he mumbled, abashed. Redtail and Rabbitheart were obviously in the middle of a big spat, a big spat that he'd just interrupted. Way to go, Briartail. Way. To. Go.

The tom shuffled his paws and looked down, the grin wiped from his face. What would Redtail do to him now? His fellow warrior was bad enough normally, but he looked as if he might completely shred anything that dared to breathe right now. Briartail was breathing. He tried to stop himself, but couldn't manage that for too long. Unfortunately, oxygen was necessary to live.

"Hello Kitewhisker. How are you today? It's nice out, isn't it?" Briartail turned his attention to the elder, hoping that the other toms would decide to ignore him and go back to whatever their row was. Anyway, Kitewhisker's company was preferable to those two fighting any day. Nobody seemed to actually like the poor elder very much, and the others were probably sick of him by now. It would be nice for Briartail to take him off their hands then, wouldn't it? Perhaps if he could just edge the elder that way a little bit, and then a little bit further away from them...

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[Cloud of Diamonds]

Redtail

Oddly enough, Redtail was feeling mostly sad. Angry, yes, a desire to pulp Rabbitheart into mouse chow was there...but it was fading, almost nonexistent now, retreating under his consciousness to lurk in the depths of his mind. But sadness was the prevailing emotion in the StreamClanner's mind. What would Snarl say if he could see him now? Would his beloved brother turn away from the monster he'd become?

Oh, pain. Oh, damn blasted agony that made him want to cry like a kit. Why couldn't it all just end, and take him with it, like the river that had taken his brother away...

Only to see him again moons later, and have shame come crashing down on him.

However, Redtail was disturbed from his brooding to realize that someone he - unfortunately - knew had arrived onto the little scene.

Briartail. It just had to be him, didn't it? He might've known.

The tabby didn't bother to answer Rabbitheart, but simply rolled his eyes at the tom at then addressed the cat who'd once pounced on him for no apparent reason. The tom hated to be pounced on.

"Briartail...this is really somewhere you don't want to be. Though if you could take Kitewhisker with you, you'd be doing me a favor."

The red warrior laughed a bitter laugh at that. Who would want to do him a favor? He could practically see Briartail's thoughts written out before him: fear, awkwardness, and probably something else. Fine and dandy. But he wouldn't miss a chance to get rid of Kitewhisker, incense Rabbitheart though it might.

Kitewhisker

Kitewhisker's pale green eyes grew wide. Was this really...kindness? True kindness? He sniffed the air, as if trying to scent out the longed-for emotion. It wasn't that his life was devoid of kindness, no...he was grateful for apprentices getting him prey, and for his warm den at night, and being able to foretell the future...

But this was different. This was...friendship. Like he'd had with Holly, so long ago...he wondered, off-task, if she really had died...a pang of sadness struck his heart. If she was dead, that meant something the tom had been hiding from for moons upon moons.

Being alone.

But Rabbitheart..."Do you really think so?" He whispered to the silver tabby.

Oh, hello...another cat was here. He squinted at the brown tabby, trying to remember his name...but he processed what the tom said to him, in the mean time...and then brightened up considerably, when he realized he wasn't being insulted.

"Oh, hi! I am fine, well, as fine as fine can be. You never know what could happen." He looked around nervously, just in case something was creeping up on them. "I guess it's a nice day...but what if the river floods? It's getting warmer, after all..." He looked at Briartail worriedly.

[Pyro]

Rabbitheart started a bit as Briartail walked in on the near-fight. He hadn't been expecting the cheerful tom to be here. Well, anyone to be here really, besides the dirt-brain and Kitewhisker. He smiled a bit. Maybe now he'd have some support for his claims.

"Briartail! How nice to see you. Redtail and I were just having a friendly debate...Maybe you can settle it. Elder should be respected no matter hat, yes?"

The transformation was practically bi-polar. First he was about ready to tear Redtail's throat out, now he was back to his regular ol' self, albeit slightly cheerier.

"And Kitewhisker..." Some of his former graveness returned. "I wouldn't say something like that unless I thought it with all my heart and soul."

[glowlynose]

Briartail glanced nervously at Rabbitheart. Redtail was in a bad mood, from the looks of things, and Rabbittheart had just asked him to take sides. He didn't want to take sides. That was why he'd removed himself from the situation in the first place! He didn't want anybody to be upset with him. That would not be happy-making at all. Then again, he couldn't just ignore Rabbitheart. That would be rude, and being rude wasn't a good thing to do. He wasn't supposed to be rude. If he was, then he'd be taking a step towards his father. If that happened... he didn't know what he would do.

"Yes, I agree, Rabbitheart. Elders do deserve our respect, in every situation. Then again, I believe that everybody does." Briartail blinked slowly, letting what he'd just said sink into his mind. He'd managed quite well, he thought. In his mind, he'd remained perfectly neutral. Everybody deserved respect, he said, not just elders. So really, Redtail couldn't get angry with him, could he? He gulped nervously as he looked at the ginger-pelted warrior. He was so... intimidating. He could snap Briartail in half if he had the whim to do so, not because he was much bigger than Briartail, but because the poor guy would be too frightened to fight back. Redtail was his clanmate, after all.

"Anywho, Kitewhisker." He turned toward the tom with an easy smile, eyes flashing in the mid-day sun. It was nice to have something else to think about, something other than the arguing toms to his right. If Kitewhisker wasn't there, Briartail would probably leave or completely crumble, whichever came first. "Whaddya say to a nice walk someplace? Someplace far away from the river, so you won't have to worry about it flooding. That would be pretty scary."

Briartail seriously considered jumping into the river and just letting it carry him away from the situation. That had been totally bogus, his last move there. Kitewhisker probably wouldn't want to leave, and now he'd look like an idiot for suggesting it. Way to be, Briartail, way to be.

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[Cloud of Diamonds]

Redtail was split four ways between laughing, breaking down and yowling, rolling his eyes, and giving Rabbitheart a good old-fashioned hard cuff on the ear.

He compensated by groaning and shooting the silver tabby a glare from his dark amber eyes.

"Fine. Who cares. Good, you two...humor each other."

He silently chuckled. The perfect fit, the actually insane elder and the stupidly happy idiot. Then a small part of him, the part that had wanted to break down before, surfaced and cried about what a horrible cat he was. He watched it blankly as it cried, powerless to do anything but sit there staring into space.

But what can I do? I'm stuck like this. I always will be. There's only one cat who can fix me, and he'll never be mine again. All that's left is a cold, cold world and serving my Clan. That's what I need to do.

Maybe he could actually hunt now. A small, twisted half smile showed itself on Redtail's face. Maybe killing something would make him feel better.

Kitewhisker was delighted. And fretful. But that was nothing new.

"Oh, yes! That would be nice! Can we take Rabbitheart?" He looked fondly at his new friend. But then his face became worried. "But...oh no! What if you step on that horrible rock and it's all my fault?!" He nearly fainted from the thought of causing another cat harm.

Then he breathed to calm himself down. It hadn't happened yet. And it wasn't like he could change fate once it had been said. No one could, he reflected glumly. He knew that and lived with it, but it was ten times more horrible when he knew what was going to happen to a cat.

He looked at Briartail curiously, and tried to see if he would encounter any misfortune today.

No...nothing much...except...the tuxedo tom gasped.

"You'll get bitten by a weasel, Briartail!"The old tom wailed.

Redtail snorted but passed it off as a cough before he got up and thudded off.