Jaggedstar's Twist

Chapter Four:

After a few heartbeats, Whitekit's amber gaze flitted open. He glanced up at Furzekit, then nodded.
Furzekit glanced outside of the nursery as Whitekit stretched then got to his paws. The white tom brushed past Furzekit, and outside.
"Wait for me!" Furzekit squeaked, then bounded after his brother.

The clearing nearly glowed in the bright greenleaf sunshine. A few cats were clustered into groups, sharing early morning prey. Furzekit glanced at each of the groups, searching for the silver pelt of his father.
No Sharpfoot.
Across the clearing at Rainsong's den, Tawnykit and Brownpaw sat beside each other, wading moss into balls while chatting on.
Furzekit rolled his eyes. Tawnykit wasn't doing any good deed; she was chattering with Brownpaw like a queen would when gossiping about the latest Clan news.

Me and Whitekit can race instead of what they're doing. Furzekit nudged his brother's shoulder. "Let's run!" He squeaked.
Whitekit peered past Furzekit at Tawnykit, flattening his ears.
"What? You want to help them?" Furzekit's gaze widened. Irritation seeped through him. "I thought you wanted to play!"

Whitekit took his gaze off of the two she-cats and stared at Furzekit. Silently, he placed a paw on Furzekit's shoulder but did not say anything. Why wasn't he speaking to him?

"Talk to me! Why won't you talk to me?" Furzekit snapped at the white tom, shrugging off the paw. "Talk to me!"
Whitekit backed away from Furzekit, but never took his sun-lit gaze off of his brother.
"Talk to me!" Furzekit wailed.

A few cats that were sharing prey glanced over their shoulders at Furzekit. Brownpaw and Tawnykit paused in their conversation, staring in the direction of the commotion.

Furzekit lowered his head. "Please! Just say something!" He gritted his teeth. Why wouldn't Whitekit listen? Was it true that his brother was mad at him?
But I didn't do anything! Furzekit didn't understand. Why would Whitekit be mad at him for no reason?
The white tom remained staring at Furzekit, but not a single sound emerged from his mouth.

"What's going on out here?" Furzekit flinched at the tone of Hailspot. After a moment, a gray-and-white head popped through the entrance.
"Furzekit! Why are you being mean to your brother?"
"I'm not being mean! He's being mean! He won't talk to me!"
Hailspot's piercing eyes narrowed. "Maybe he doesn't like that you're being loud. Now hush up! Mothfur's trying to sleep!"

"You know Hailspot, I'm not always trying to get sleep." Mothfur's voice drifted from behind the gray-and-white queen, and a few moments later the pale pelt of the she-cat flashed in the sunlight.
"Thank you Hailspot, but I can deal with my own kits. You can deal with yours." Mothfur murmured to Hailspot.

Hailspot's muzzle crinkled. "Humph, fine." She muttered, then glanced in the direction of where Tawnykit and Brownpaw were at. After a few silent heartbeats, she disappeared back into the den.

Mothfur's soft gaze rested on her two sons. "What is the matter, Furzekit, Whitekit?"
"H-he won't talk to me!" Furzekit mewled to his mother. Tears burned at his eyes.
The she-cat's tail brushed against his flank.
"I know he won't, Furzekit. And I don't think he's choosing to, either." Mothfur murmured. "I'll have him checked from Rainsong, don't worry." She touched her nose to Furzekit's ear.

Mothfur stared at her other son, sighing. "Don't feel bad, Whitekit. I will have you checked out by Rainsong." She turned her gaze on both of her sons. "Now both of you go and play."

Furzekit nodded, then closed his gaze as Mothfur pressed her muzzle to his forehead. "Don't over-exhaust yourself. Come in when you're tired." She reminded, then slowly padded back into the nursery.

Furzekit gazed over at Whitekit, guilt flooding his bones. If there was something wrong with his brother, he should've been worrying about it, not taking it out on him.
"Sorry Whitekit," Furzekit lowered his head, "sorry for being mean."
Whitekit blinked, then shook his head. Furzekit's heart sank.

"W-what? You don't forgive me?" He hunched his shoulders.
Whitekit's amber eyes widened, and he quickly shook his head again.
Furzekit sighed in relief. "Oh, o-okay."
He glanced towards the medicine cat's den. Tawnykit and Brownpaw weren't there anymore. Furzekit shrugged. They probably went inside.

Nudging his brother's shoulder, Furzekit began to bound towards the Outlook Rock. "I'll race you!"
Whitekit slightly leapt back, then took off after the light brown tom.
Furzekit panted softly, but drove his paws further against the ground. He had to go fast enough to win. Whitekit's warm breath raked across his tail.
Taking one large leap, Furzekit dove forward. He skidded to a messy halt at the base of the massive rock with Whitekit just behind him.
"I beat you!" Furzekit squeaked. He grinned. "I will be the fastest moor-runner WindClan has ever seen!"

Faster than Shadewhisker. I'll show all of them. Furzekit swished his tail in the moorland grass. Nothing would stop him.