- Jun 7, 2022
- 71
- 6
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He shouldn't be here.
No, he should be back at camp, or... on a patrol of his own. He should be keeping busy, should be far from here.
And yet, Finchcatcher is here, the red-furred warrior crouched within bushes that sit at the edge of the border between Oak and Pine. Hidden. Waiting.
He's been hiding here more often now, enough to know that he can't guarantee catching a glimpse of what he's been waiting for. Who. Who he's been waiting for. He hasn't showed up yet in Finchcatcher's attempts, and the warrior doesn't think he'll stop camping out underneath border-lining foliage until his search is successful.
Until he sees cloud-white fur, until he sees flame-red ears.
Until he sees his brother, once more.
The last time. The last time they'd seen each other, it had been a fluke. All of it - the fact that Cosmospaw had seen him, the fact that he'd found out his whereabouts, something he'd tried to keep under wraps for his brother's sake - it shouldn't have happened. And, oh, what terrible timing too - among the first border patrols after Morningpaw's death on the line between Thunder and Sky.
Did Cosmospaw know, then, that it was Finchcatcher's fault? That it was him that overstepped the border, that caught that squirrel? Did he know now? Had word spread in the clans' shared mourning over the child who'd praised his catch, only moments before her demise?
Did Cosmospaw know Morningpaw, as he'd known Toad? Was he friends with this one too, when she and her siblings traveled to visit their father in SkyClan?
It's just another reason for his brother to be disappointed in him, another reason for Cosmospaw not to acknowledge him. Another reason, for Finchcatcher to stay a ThunderClanner, to never go back to the pine forest he once called home.
For his brother's sake, for his happiness.
Finchcatcher doesn't know how he'd be able to go on, if Cosmospaw was further destroyed by his actions. He'd promised their shared father - promised to take care of the once tiny white kit he'd had to carry through the forest. To keep him safe, let him grow into himself.
Finchcatcher leaving SkyClan was a difficult decision, but one made for Cosmospaw's sake. Even if Finchcatcher still feels out of place, he would do it all over again, if it guaranteed Cosmospaw's safety.
His half-brother only deserves good things. A good life.
And if that meant Finchcatcher couldn't be in it, then so be it, for nothing is more important to him than Cosmospaw.
He hears rustling across the way, and sinks further into foliage, holding his breath. Would this be the patrol? The patrol he finds his brother on?
Slowly, SkyClan's cats come into view. One by one, brown and blue and black fur. And then --
White, with red ears.
His brother.
He leans forward in the slightest, trying to get a better view while still staying hidden. He wants to cry - his brother has grown, since the last time he'd seen him. No longer is he a kit, small enough to have to be carried around everywhere. No longer is he scared, ready to hide away as Finchcatcher currently does. No, Cosmospaw is smiling, Cosmospaw is talking to his fellow patrol members, joking with them, Cosmospaw is --
"Cosmosbloom, take this side with me."
Cosmospaw is Cosmosbloom. His brother is a warrior.
Cosmosbloom, Cosmosbloom. A fitting name for him, a better one, than Finchcatcher.
He can't help the sorrow that mixes in with the pride he has for his younger brother, for the kit he'd once hunted for, once sought to protect. Grown up already, a warrior ceremony Finchcatcher couldn't attend. He can catch his own prey now, can provide food to SkyClan's youngest. He can protect himself now.
It's a bittersweet realization.
And oh, how he'd like to step out of his hiding spot and speak to him, how he'd like to hear his brother's tales from the other side of the border. How he'd like to tell him he's proud of him, that he's happy Cosmosbloom is happy.
But, he knows it's for the best if he doesn't. He knows.
And, that's okay, he thinks. That's okay, because he's gotten an answer to a question that's been gnawing at his mind since the last time he'd seen the snow-furred tom, and that's all Finchcatcher had been seeking in his current mission.
His brother's well-being, his safety. Cosmosbloom is happy and thriving, and that's all Finchcatcher could ask for in all of this.
He does not know what he'd do, if he'd heard otherwise. He doesn't think he could go on, in the way he's gone on after Emberstar's own journey to StarClan.
Finchcatcher remains hidden until SkyClan's patrol departs. He feels a bit lighter now, like a weight is taken off his shoulders. As he turns to head back home, he silently thanks the stars for the strong warrior Cosmosbloom has become.
The kit once wanted to be like him. Finchcatcher thinks he must be better.
No, he should be back at camp, or... on a patrol of his own. He should be keeping busy, should be far from here.
And yet, Finchcatcher is here, the red-furred warrior crouched within bushes that sit at the edge of the border between Oak and Pine. Hidden. Waiting.
He's been hiding here more often now, enough to know that he can't guarantee catching a glimpse of what he's been waiting for. Who. Who he's been waiting for. He hasn't showed up yet in Finchcatcher's attempts, and the warrior doesn't think he'll stop camping out underneath border-lining foliage until his search is successful.
Until he sees cloud-white fur, until he sees flame-red ears.
Until he sees his brother, once more.
The last time. The last time they'd seen each other, it had been a fluke. All of it - the fact that Cosmospaw had seen him, the fact that he'd found out his whereabouts, something he'd tried to keep under wraps for his brother's sake - it shouldn't have happened. And, oh, what terrible timing too - among the first border patrols after Morningpaw's death on the line between Thunder and Sky.
Did Cosmospaw know, then, that it was Finchcatcher's fault? That it was him that overstepped the border, that caught that squirrel? Did he know now? Had word spread in the clans' shared mourning over the child who'd praised his catch, only moments before her demise?
Did Cosmospaw know Morningpaw, as he'd known Toad? Was he friends with this one too, when she and her siblings traveled to visit their father in SkyClan?
It's just another reason for his brother to be disappointed in him, another reason for Cosmospaw not to acknowledge him. Another reason, for Finchcatcher to stay a ThunderClanner, to never go back to the pine forest he once called home.
For his brother's sake, for his happiness.
Finchcatcher doesn't know how he'd be able to go on, if Cosmospaw was further destroyed by his actions. He'd promised their shared father - promised to take care of the once tiny white kit he'd had to carry through the forest. To keep him safe, let him grow into himself.
Finchcatcher leaving SkyClan was a difficult decision, but one made for Cosmospaw's sake. Even if Finchcatcher still feels out of place, he would do it all over again, if it guaranteed Cosmospaw's safety.
His half-brother only deserves good things. A good life.
And if that meant Finchcatcher couldn't be in it, then so be it, for nothing is more important to him than Cosmospaw.
He hears rustling across the way, and sinks further into foliage, holding his breath. Would this be the patrol? The patrol he finds his brother on?
Slowly, SkyClan's cats come into view. One by one, brown and blue and black fur. And then --
White, with red ears.
His brother.
He leans forward in the slightest, trying to get a better view while still staying hidden. He wants to cry - his brother has grown, since the last time he'd seen him. No longer is he a kit, small enough to have to be carried around everywhere. No longer is he scared, ready to hide away as Finchcatcher currently does. No, Cosmospaw is smiling, Cosmospaw is talking to his fellow patrol members, joking with them, Cosmospaw is --
"Cosmosbloom, take this side with me."
Cosmospaw is Cosmosbloom. His brother is a warrior.
Cosmosbloom, Cosmosbloom. A fitting name for him, a better one, than Finchcatcher.
He can't help the sorrow that mixes in with the pride he has for his younger brother, for the kit he'd once hunted for, once sought to protect. Grown up already, a warrior ceremony Finchcatcher couldn't attend. He can catch his own prey now, can provide food to SkyClan's youngest. He can protect himself now.
It's a bittersweet realization.
And oh, how he'd like to step out of his hiding spot and speak to him, how he'd like to hear his brother's tales from the other side of the border. How he'd like to tell him he's proud of him, that he's happy Cosmosbloom is happy.
But, he knows it's for the best if he doesn't. He knows.
And, that's okay, he thinks. That's okay, because he's gotten an answer to a question that's been gnawing at his mind since the last time he'd seen the snow-furred tom, and that's all Finchcatcher had been seeking in his current mission.
His brother's well-being, his safety. Cosmosbloom is happy and thriving, and that's all Finchcatcher could ask for in all of this.
He does not know what he'd do, if he'd heard otherwise. He doesn't think he could go on, in the way he's gone on after Emberstar's own journey to StarClan.
Finchcatcher remains hidden until SkyClan's patrol departs. He feels a bit lighter now, like a weight is taken off his shoulders. As he turns to head back home, he silently thanks the stars for the strong warrior Cosmosbloom has become.
The kit once wanted to be like him. Finchcatcher thinks he must be better.
// PROMPT: write about something finchcatcher can't live without. is it his clan, a keepsake, a friend, a clanmate?