Never Tell me the Odds [closed]

Aether wrinkled his nose at the thought of going through twolegplace, but as of right now, he needed a place to hide. He needed a plan for when, not if, his relationship to SkyClan went awry. He promised to give his life to SkyClan, but this was not worth it. Not to him. The thought of supporting cats like that..... he felt sorry for the truly good cats, the ones like Myrtledove and Lionboar, who had stood beside him. They put their faith in the wrong cat.

His mind drifted to Poppyshine. She had said she had faith in him. And now they may end up at odds. He couldn't ever imagine fighting a cat like her. Even now, an odd smile crossed his face whenever he thought of her. She truly was something....

A sound down one of the alleys alerted Aether, and he was immediately on edge. Was an alley cat gonna leap out at him?

At the sound of nearby pawsteps, Hyacinth’s fur bristled. The fur standing on end made her appear to be slightly larger than she actually was as she crouched low to the ground, hoping to avoid detection from whoever it was nearby. It was clear to her that it was a cat- a fox, badger, or raccoon would never walk with such purpose and caution. Her mind quickly flickered to the Order’s dwindling numbers- she wasn’t sure they’d stay together much longer. She wasn’t sure they’d be able to, even if they tried. She was completely on her own. There would be no patrol to back her up should she get herself into trouble. She’d have to play her cards carefully. Slowly, she crept forward, trying to catch a glimpse of whoever was nearby. Clan cats usually didn’t stray into the twolegplace unless they were in search of herbs, so maybe she’d get lucky and run into a medicine cat.

What she saw shocked her. Standing to her full height, she ceased any effort she’d been making to conceal herself. Hopefully, that didn’t turn out to be a mistake. ”Aether?” She didn’t need to ask; his brown coat was unmistakable. Somehow, though, he looked different than when she’d last seen him.

Aether did not expect to see his own mother in a place like this. Who else would be there? Tarot had made it clear that he was still on Aether's side, but he didn't think everyone would be. What about Ares? Or Calypso? Would they be waiting to rip him apart?

Aether looked around warily, tasting the air. There were a few cat scents, but other than his mother, they weren't fresh, at the very least. As far as he could tell, they were alone. But he was still worried.

Turning to Hyacinth, he looked his mother in the eyes. "What are you doing here?"

Hyacinth’s expression soured a bit at her son’s question. ”What am I doing here? I go where my paws take me, just as I always have. Is it not more dangerous here for you than it is for me?” It was an obvious reference to their affiliations; Aether had strict bounds, whereas Hyacinth did not. Or at least she supposed he did. He moved with some urgency in his paws, yet his pelt still smelled of SkyClan. It was a fresh scent- he’d been there recently, so he must still be living there, she thought. There were so many things about her son she did not know- they hadn’t spoken, let alone seen each other, in moons.

"Danger has nothing to do with it."

Aether snorted as he said this. He was walking on thorns at SkyClan. Bloodstar hated him. And Aether hated his leader. It was a mutual relationship, but dangerous nonetheless. Then there was Beechfang. He knew better than to think that, despite her support, they could ever get along. As far as he was aware, any cat could kill him any time they wanted.

"Anyway, what I mean is, why are you here of all places you could be? Were you following me?"

Once again, Aether glanced around. There had to be something he was missing.

"Where are the others hiding? Or are you going to fulfill dad's wish yourself?"

He narrowed his eyes, ready for whatever was to come. Whatever that would be.

Danger had everything to do with it, in Hyacinth’s head. Regardless of where her kits went and what they did, she still cared for them deeply. That included worrying over their safety. ”I didn’t know you would be here. It’s the last place I thought I’d find any of my kits, actually.” Hyacinth’s heart hurt at the notion of Aether believing she’d want to do him any harm. She wanted to protect him from developing that kind of mindset, and it seemed like she’d failed. Her expression softened. It wasn’t his fault he was this way, it was hers. She let it happen. ”It’s just me, Aether. And I’d never hurt you. I’d die before laying a claw on one of my own.” The fact that she even had to say it hit her like a monster on the thunderpath. ”There aren’t any other anyway, even if I did want them here with me.” The sadness was clear enough to read in her tone.

Aether's blood ran cold at his mother's words. His siblings, they were all gone? Was it really only him and Thistlemask left?

There was a mixture of emotions at this news. Grief, being the most obvious one. They were family. And once upon a time, family was his whole life. They meant everything. They cared for each other, kept each other alive. Now that family was all either dead or went their own ways. They were all just as alone as he was.

But there was another thing he felt, something he would not admit to. Not in front of Hyacinth, not when she was clearly in pain. But a small part of him felt a bit of vindication. This meant that Ares was dead. The brother who bullied him, believing himself to be superior, and so sure that Aether was going to get himself killed. Always treated Aether as though he was weak. And Aether just outlived him.

Still, Hyacinth didn't need to know that. What she needed was her son. Moving forward, all tension gone, Aether rubbed against his mother. Although he was an adult, and surpassed Hyacinth in size, he ducked into her arms, as though he were still a kit. Maybe a part of him needed this too.

"I'm sorry. After everything that happened with Dad, I got caught up in my fear. But I'm still here, mom. Even if I live in SkyClan now, I'm safe, and I am happy. And Achlys is still in ThunderClan. We both have new names too. I'm Crimsonflame, and she's Thistlemask. We have whole Clans backing us up, we're going to be okay. We were taught how to survive by the best mom in the forest, after all. We'll be okay."