once you called me 'brother' [p]

[Bern]

| Gorsestrike | RavenClan | male | 46 moons |

True to the ways of the clan of his choice he kept to the shadows and undergrowth, moving through it almost soundlessly. Despite growing up with wide, open moors and skies, the confinements of the forest came almost like second nature to him now. It was only in these past few days that he had strayed beyond the border more and more. 
He thought this would have been enough time for his son Foxpaw to make up his mind and join him already. There could not be anything holding him back anymore, ever since he had removed Mousepaw from the picture. Surely no bond now could be greater than that of father and son?
His fur bristled. Doing so it got slightly entangled in naked branches of the undergrowth of RavenClan's forest. He slipped out into the open between two tall standing birch trees. Their white bark with black patches blended well into the snowy surroundings. 
By now Gorsestrike was practically sitting on the border. But he had come out of his hiding for a very simple reason: He had spotted the next best thing to his son. His brother Emberleap. And he was alone.
He fought hard with himself to keep an unreadable, a neutral facade as his green eyes stared at the brother he had left behind all those moons ago. The brother who had betrayed him deeply. The brother who would now help him get his son. What Emberleap may not realize was that once again Gorsestrike had the upper paw. 
'I know your secret, brother dear', he thought with an internal smugness. 

Tags: Fen

[Fen]

Emberleap tag:Bern,| notes: Emberleap jumped awake, hearing an all too familiar voice beside him. Russetface. He groaned, angry at being woken up. He soon realized he was talking in his sleep, he had seemed to do that a lot, even since he was a kit. He had found out a few things that way, he decided to listen in, just in case there was anything important that was bothering him. He would talk to him about it later. He couldn't understand what he was saying at first, and it was almost comforting to him, almost helping him fall asleep again. He was on the edge, when he heard Russetfaces voice get louder.  The next thing he said made his stomach drop, and his head spin. "No stay away.... he may be your dad but he is bad news.... he is cruel don't trust him.... Foxtooth please" The tom immediately felt his legs move, he knew exactly where he was heading.  Emberleap slipped out of the den, and began running through the camp, ignoring the cats that stared at him with wide eyes. He was on a mission. How the hell did this happen? He wasn't supposed to know. They weren't supposed to meet, not ever again. Emberleaps bubble that he had built around his family wasn't lasting as long as he meant for it to, and Foxtooth was paying the price for it now. Russetface is a good son, he tried to protect him too.  Emberleap didn't slow down, not even for a moment. He was out of camp now, and finally further into the territory. He had a straight path towards the border, and he figured that's where Foxtooth had been meeting Gorsestrike.  That piece of shit. There were many thoughts running through his mind, but that was the only one that he could register for the moment. He had tried so hard, and even his best wasn't enough, not with Gorsestrike around.  He could smell his scent, even if he did smell like Ravenclans stench now. He couldn't mistake it for anything. He ran straight towards him, their eyes piercing straight into each others souls. The time was now, Emberleap would end this once and for all, he didn't care how bloody or how loud it got. He didn't care who heard it. He stopped short, breathing heavily, and got right in Gorsestrikes face. "You're going to leave Foxtooth alone now. He's my kit now, you lost that chance when you abandoned him. And i think you're going to get the fuck off of our territory, too, traitor." Emberleap could see the smug look on Gorsestrikes face, and this made him even angrier. "You think you're untouchable. You think I don't see every little detail, and you think you can hide in the shadows?" He chuckled,  "Not even Starclan can hide from me." His voice got deeper as he growled, baring his fangs in an attempt to get Gorsestrike to make the first move.

The greatest secrets
are always hidden in the most unlikely places
made by remi of rilla go! & adoxography

[Bern]

| Gorsestrike | RavenClan | male | 46 moons |

His left lip raised in a slight smirk at the anger his brother displayed in his rash approach. One could almost see him fuming. Much like the smoldering ember he had been named for. Figured that mother's favourite would be named after the remains of a fire, of powerful flames and the other, the spare, be named after prickly flowers.
But contary to Emberleap's loud, hot rage, Gorsestrike remained calm. He did not even flinch despite his red and white brother practically pushing his stupid face into his. For too long had he played this game that a little mpist air on his whiskers would force him to move now.
He barely even blinked as the FireClanner let out his message, filling in the gaps in Gorsestrike's knowledge so seamlessly. He had expected this cat to be reluctant to meet him, yet he had charged right at him in an angry stride. Turned out he had found out about father and son reuniting. And to no one's surprise it had angered him greatly.
'Good.'
Prior to his brother's moronic speach he had been wondering where he had gone wrong, why his son had not come to him by now. Turned out Foxtooth had accepted a warrior name and rank in FireClan. This raised the brief question about his oldest's intent: Had he accepted the full FireClan rank to spite his father for killing his mate?
Perhaps he had miscalculated.
But no matter, he would still get what he wanted. Maybe he could even use his son's new status to his advantage. If only he got to speak with him instead of his idiot of a brother. Well. If anything the rest of Emberleap's talk, his big talk, was rather amusing.
Same old bragging. Same old provocation. Same old Emberleap.
But today Gorsestrike was not the same he had been in FireClan.
Back then he had been aggressive, prone to fall for his brother's outrageous statements and hubris. He had been weaker in both body and mind. And he did not have the advantage of the secret he now knew and could utilize to have his brother help achieve his goal.
Only the slightest twitch of his tail showed that any of the words of his brother had got to him.
"Brother dear", he started. "Firstly I would appreciate it if you spat somewhere else and not my face" He wrinkled his nose in disgust. "At least a greeting would have been nice, have these past ten moons make you forget all about manners?"
His green eyes blazed with something nasty as he glared into his brother's golden ones.
"As you can surely tell, I am not exactly on your territory", he stated technicallities. He knew it would drive his brother mad. He would have relished in this, hoped for Emberleap to take a first swipe at him so that he'd have the moral high ground of "only having protected himself from an aggressor". But not tonight. Tonight he was a man on a mission.
"To turn to the unmistakeably hot topic of tonight's meeting: I want my son. Yes, mine." He really had to control himself to keep his cool, to not start to growl.
"I never abandonded him. I lost him. And when I tried to come back for him I was chased away. You too are guilty of keeping us apart" He made a dramatic pause in his speach.
"But you will atone for your sin. You will help father and son unite forever." His green gaze almost turned gentle and he tilted his head slightly, although still unmoving in body. "It is the right thing to do", he added. Appealing to his brother's moronic moralic side before revealing the big fish.
Gorsestrike's gaze hardened again as he finally let the cat out of the bag: "If you still need an extra incentive to help us, then let me tell you about four quite remarkable young warriors I have come to know here in RavenClan. They are siblings, you know? Littermates. The remarkable thing is that two of them have quite the ginger patches in their fur. There's a rumour about them, you know?"
The all red tom leaned forward as though furtive and whispered: "They say their father was a FireClan cat"
He leaned back again and with a grin finished: "If my imagination isn't running wild then I could swear the oldest, Riversong, had eyes just like mine. And the oldest sister, Troutwhisker had eyes. Just. Like. Yours."

Tags: Fen