Sisterly Love [Harechaser]

As the days passed by, Roseburn had been growing restless. Time-wise, hardly any time had passed at all since her accident. But in terms of her boredom? It felt like it had been moons. She couldn't wait to be out there again, hunting and fighting and being a warrior.

If she could be a warrior, at least.

That was a thought that crossed her mind every now and again, more often than she would like to admit. Nightstar had said she would need to relearn to talk, eat, everything. What if she couldn't? He said that they would figure something out, but what if there was nothing left for her? What if her life was going to be in this den?

A rustling outside jostled her from her dark thoughts, which was probably for the best. She had to be able to be a warrior. She couldn't let this stop her.

Turning her head, she saw Harechaser coming. Immediately, Roseburn perked up.

"Hi!"

Harechaser had decided that she was done hiding and trying to avoid her whirlwind of a sister. Of course, deciding such and putting that decision into action were two very different things, and so despite herself, her paws hesitated at the den entrance anyways.

With a shake of her head, Harechaser forced her paws to move, carefully dodging the thorny bush that guarded the entrance to the medicine den. She couldn't help shooting a glare at it, not at all impressed by the thorns being anywhere near her semi-fluffy, medium-length fur, and stepped into the den proper. Her mismatched gaze quickly found Roseburn, though the injured tortoiseshell beat her to the punch with a greeting. She seemed... not hostile, and that was enough for Harechaser.

"Hey, Roseburn." She returned her sister's greeting with a warm, if still slightly hesitant, smile as she approached and sat. "Thought you could use the company, pretty boring in here, right?"

"Boring is an understatement." Roseburn chuckled dryly, wincing at the pain the action caused, as she sat up to give Harechaser some room to sit. "It's been a while. How have you and Echomist been doing? You two been doing alright?"

It felt a little weird, with Harechaser being here. The two of them had stopped being close a long time ago, and maybe Roseburn harbored some disdain for her sister. She had always been jealous of her littermates, with how they seemed to excel without her. On a normal day, she might have sneered at Harechaser for coming in as if they were best friends. But then, it was a friend she needed. And she didn't want to fight today. And she honestly was happy that her sister had come to see her.

"Alright, I suppose... I'm glad we made it back home. Being separated from you guys that long..." Harechaser shook her head, "I was worried I might not make it back, honestly. I know we haven't spoken much and that... this too..." Harechaser huffed out a breath, struggling to find the words. "I'm sorry, Roseburn. I shouldn't have avoided you for as long as I did."

Roseburn smiled, and for a moment Harechaser was relieved. Until she started to talk. She... couldn't tell if Roseburn was being sincere in her words or not. If they were meant to provoke, well, her sister had always known how to do that. Quite spectacularly. As she listened to Roseburn, Harechaser questioned her decision to even bother.

"Stars above." Harechaser muttered, "I was being sincere, Roseburn." How in the void was she supposed to deal with this? "Nightstar and Swiftheart love you, I love you too, sister. But you make it so foxing difficult. The only one saying you're a piece of foxdung is yourself. You have to butt heads with everything and everyone, even when they're trying to make amends." She huffed. If she'd been a twoleg, she would've thrown her paws into the air out of frustration.

So much for apologizing and moving on... Harechaser's ears flattened as she glared at Roseburn. "You are a contrarian to everything anyone says. It's needless. You're right, Roseburn. Nobody wants to be around you because of you." She snapped, feeling the uncharacteristic burst of anger within her chest. "How is that our fault? Things don't come naturally to you because you don't apply yourself, sister. If you had spent less time on stupid pranks, less time on being arrogant and spiteful, you could've easily moved through training the same way we did. You have nobody else to blame."

"I'm not sure why I bothered trying, this was pointless." Harechaser turned away, fluffy ginger tail jerking back and forth in frustration. How could Roseburn hate her own siblings for something so stupid? Still, her words had stung, not that Harechaser would admit it to her. Tears welled in her eyes, making her vision blur, and Harechaser let out a soft hiss. Anger, not hurt, she told herself. "You know what? Don't talk to me. You aren't the sister I know, anyways." She'd leave if Roseburn had nothing else to say, and Roseburn could sit and wallow in her boredom and insecurities. It wasn't Harechaser's problem.

"Fine, Roseburn." Harechaser hissed through gritted teeth, ginger tail lashing back and forth. She was so angry she couldn't even look at her. She wasn't sure she wanted to, right now. She'd tried, foxdung, she'd tried and Roseburn had thrown it back in her face. She shouldn't known better.

She was already walking by the time Roseburn told her to get out, and Harechaser didn't mind listening to that order. Not that Roseburn had any right, but if that's what she wanted, it was fine. It was better than putting up with her. She couldn't remember why she'd tried in the first place. Harechaser stepped out of the den with a shake of her pelt, wishing that the movement could shake off Roseburn's horrid attitude and the bitter taste in her mouth.