Chapter 2

Bush

A paw rested on Bush's flank as he woke up, he took one glance to it and groaned. The paw belonged to Cedar, a she-cat who always made it a point to follow him and offer to hunt with him. He flicked his bushy tail impatiently as she snored and seemed to be in a blissful slumber. He rose to his paws without a care, waking her as her paw thudded just outside of his nest. His tail tip twitched once in agitation before he settled his nerves. He was not going to give her the satisfaction of annoying him. Rolling his eyes, he turned and left the den with a rumpled pelt. He heard her gasp in shock, rustling in her nest to clean up and look proper unlike him. Bush left the den of woven reeds, shaking out his pelt before he began to smooth it out. The tick of a she-cat came out flustered, her brilliant green eyes locking onto him as she frowned. He ignored her stare as he twisted around to clean the base of his tail, he froze as she stepped around him, her gaze thoughtful and full of something that made his pelt feel full of ants. Why won't she ever leave me alone? She's like a burr, except I can at least remove those! He thought wryly as he stared unblinkingly to make his point in silence.

"Mind if I help you, Bush?" she mewed slowly in a kind tone that made him narrow his gaze.

"Buzz off." he growled unkindly, flattening his ears, "I have it handled."

"No need to act all tough," she mewed gently, her tone sounding more like she was talking down to him like some dumb quarter moon-old kit. "I only want to help you get your fur done."

He bristled, baring his teeth in a hiss. "Then use your star-forsaken ears and let me finish grooming myself. I'm a grown tom, Cedar!"

Her gaze hardened, "I know that," she spat. "I'm a grown she-cat with feelings too, but I can't do this alone!"

"Do what alone?" He stood up, anger bubbling from deep within him, "All you ever do is follow me around when I would rather like it if you left me alone."

"I want to be with you and you won't even give me a chance." Cedar snarled, her tail lashing.

"Ever since your eyes opened you followed me around like a shadow. I haven't done anything alone. I tell you to hunt elsewhere, you follow and scare off prey I could have caught. You get caught in a patch of brambles and I have to fetch you out of it." Bush pointed out, fighting to keep his calm, "I don't even know how good of a hunter I am because you keep trying to distract me."

"I don't try!" she meowed, exasperated, "I chose you to be my mate. You're an excellent hunter, a handsome tom, and-"

Bush cut her off, his tone turning icy as he finished her sentence. "And I have not bothered to choose you." Silence greeted him as his nerves simmered down, the shock on her face worth every word he spoke. Calmly, he inquired, "You chose me, but I haven't returned it, so why are you still trying? Do you want me regardless of my feelings? Do my feelings mean nothing to you? I need time and space to think on what my feelings are, Cedar. I'm not fully ready to settle down. We just stolen this land from Finch, her kit, and that tom what feels like yesterday to me. I need space to consider the changes and if it was all worth it."

"I-I see..." Cedar stammered, her gaze growing round with some kind of understanding. "I'll leave you alone for today. But please... at least show me how great of a hunter you are. I know you have to be the best, but I want the rest of the River Fragment to know that too."

Bush blinked as he mewed coolly, "Very well, but remember, consider my feelings as well as yours."

"Oh, I will Bush, I promise!" she mewed happily, "I'll stay here and see what Shrew has for mate-seeking advice for the younger she-cats."

Bush watched as she sauntered off with her tail held high. His nerves began to settle, his tail twitching irritably against his will. Cedar was a spoiled-kit no matter how much she "grew-up". In his opinion, she was just a pain in his tail that never left. He always couldn't go anywhere without her tagging along and claiming him as her mate. She acted sweet and loving, but she was even telling other she-cats that he belonged to her even before they began to be fragments. Ever since then she had been extra annoying, so much so he used to sneak away from the Blood Gathering to explore deeper to the river before finding Finch. After that, he had been unable to get Cedar to leave his side. She became worse, all because she discovered him with Finch alone and demanded to know why he hadn't told Fawn about the territory they could have. Then she took it upon herself to tell Fawn and Light, leading to that dreadful day.

The day Finch was so certain he betrayed her and her kit. He wanted to explain so much, but Cedar was satisfied and praised him for finding them a new place to live. She acted like it was his plan all along and they all congratulated him. None ever considering his plight or why he was talking with Finch. He desperately wanted to explain himself, but he never had the chance to. Leaving Cedar's side, the BloodClan Fragment-cats he known as well, would only expose of the secret he tried desperately to reveal. The problem was, Finch didn't agree to live with them. She left, leaving him alone with a she-cat obsessed with being his mate when he never wished to be hers.

His heart was breaking, his hunting had been poor, which was mostly Cedar's fault, but it was his own feelings to blame as well. She never could see past her own nose and whiskers. She was perfect, in her eyes, and was always right. However, Bush knew that was far from the truth. Cedar was a pain to deal with. A chattering songbird that refused to quiet down, while having only eyes for him. He was an average-looking tom, nothing special. He never could understand why she chose him over any other. He tried to be unlikeable for moons and it never worked. She told him to stop playing hard to get, so he began to be careful with his actions and slowly became colder and colder to everyone as a result.

No matter how hard he tried, Cedar didn't seem ready to leave his side. Her eyes glimmering like stars with wonder and excitement. Acting like they were already mates when they rarely ever spoke to one another. His anger forever kept in check as he did not want her blood on his paws. As the irritation faded, he focused on the path ahead of him once more. If only he knew where Finch had gone with that kit. A feeling of bitter resentment rose inside him as he prowled through the undergrowth, amber eyes glinting in the sunlight. All he wanted was to invite Finch and her kit into their fragment so they could be together forever. Never once had Bush wished for her to become so hurt over his white lie. He wasn't lying when he considered himself a wanderer. He was preparing to leave the fragment altogether himself, but now he was trapped with a paw in each path. One where he was being praised for finding a home and the other where he felt a yearning for love.

Closing his eyes to listen to the forest as he slowed his steps to a standstill, he could almost imagine the days and nights they shared. The gentle scent of crushed grass bathing his nose and tongue as he nestled in closer to his true chosen mate. A gentle rhythm of a stroking tongue lulling him into a sense of comfort and ease. Every part of him wishing to be there for her and their future kits. With a deep sigh, the memories being torn away like a thick cobweb, he opened his amber eyes and gazed around. The river murmured and gurgled several fox lengths past the bushes and reeds. Yet, his chest ached for the love he had lost due to his misguided hopes and dreams.

"Alright, Bush, pull yourself together." he grumbled to himself, padding forward to try to hunt again. "Anyone would think you are moonstruck over some cat."

Irritation spiked his pelt, as much as he loathed Cedar, he loved Finch twice as fiercely. If there was a way for them to be together, on the same side, he would take it. Anything so he wouldn't feel trapped in a one-sided love where he felt less of a tom and more of an object that must be obtained. The kit that would grow up without a father, he did not blame himself for it. He blamed Cedar for ruining his attempt to leave. There was nothing he could do now; no where for him to call home, while trapped miserably between two she-cats. One he couldn't stand and the other he wished he could repair their relationship with. There was no chance with either now. The rustle in the undergrowth made his ears twitch. Prey that once belonged to the beloved she-cat he met. Memories of that dark ginger she-cat staring hollowly with her yellow eyes full of the fierce betrayal when his fragment entered the river-forest.

How could he ever thought he could convince her to leave her life in the reeds to join their horrible ranks? How could he ever been so naïve to think that Cedar wouldn't make her miserable out of blind jealousy? With a soft sigh, he gave into the reality. He should have left a long time ago. Even now, he would have been happier, but with how attached Cedar was of him, then there was no chance she would stay in the group without him. No matter which way he turned it over in his head, Cedar would never leave him alone. Bitter anger filled him as he took a hunter's crouch. His amber eyes glittering angrily as a water shrew dared to poke its head out of the foliage. With a snarling roar, he pounced, his claws digging deep into it's small furry body as it squealed and writhed in agony. He didn't kill it right away. He flung it into the air, the picture of Cedar filling his mind as the shrew was soon replaced by it. It slammed into the earth, stunned as he pounced over it squarely and bit down into it's spine with a satisfying crack.

Like this shrew, he was going to get rid of the burr in his pelt. The one who clung on thinking she was all that. If he wanted to be left alone, he had to sever her ties to him completely. He had to make her loath him as much as he loathed her. Holding his bloodied prey in his jaws, he knew what had to be done. He had to do something that would shatter her views of him forever, no matter the cost of lives he had to destroy. The image of his sole surviving kit flashed into his mind. Would she ever remember him in the future? Would she ever know the pain he was suffering from not seeing her or her mother? Lowering his head, he had to hope she never would know those pains. Slowly, he padded back to the camp, his gaze hard with a choice. For now he will have to tear Cedar apart, no matter how much it would destroy the entire fragment's view of him in the end. The sooner he broke ties with them all, the sooner he could try to pull his real chosen mate and kit back to him.

Author's Note:

Now, you may be wondering "How in the world is this even okay?" and the answer may surprise you. It's not. When two who do not care for the others emotions are in a relationship, things are bound to happen. Now, that leaves us with all those cats. Well, there has to be a reason there was so little cats at the start of Shrouded Destiny right?

I'm so sorry, for not updating that second time, life got in the way, but I am uploading this now and I will upload the New Years Eve one later on. I shouldn't be too distracted to, that's for sure. Hope everyone has been enjoying all of their holidays!

Thank you for reading, have a wonderful morning/day/evening/night! - NightSky