Chapter 79: Broken Bonds
Now that the prophecy was actually under way, I felt a rising excitement and apprehension. I wouldn't need to guide Firepaw along since Starclan couldn't keep their paws out of other cats' business.
Unfortunately, there was still one final piece of business I needed to confront before I let things loose. Brokentail, now Brokenstar, hadn't learned properly. I don't know where it went wrong. I gave him affection and attention, but over time he just pulled away from me. He dodged my embraces and became fixated on his training. I actively had to shut down his training since he was moving into the more lethal and technical moves. These same moves I'd entrusted to Crookedstar, but Brokenstar proved untrustworthy.
I'd actually had to heal Splitpelt from one of their training sessions. Splitpelt wasn't actually fatally wounded, but there was enough killing intent in Brokenstar's attack that it acted like venom, bleeding out into his body. The worst part was that it was just a scratch, the same kind one could receive from a kit during roughhousing. It was frankly terrifying.
I know I promised Brokenstar that I would love him no matter what he did, but what he did to Raggedstar, his own father, really shook me. He killed his own father, who hadn't even been a terrible father, just an absent one, for power that would have come his way soon anyways. Even if I did still love him, he was too big a threat. I was too tempting a target. I'd have to cut him off. I and the Dark Forest could not afford Brokenstar achieving godhood via murdering me.
I called Brokenstar to me the night I made that decision. I'd been lucky in that Brokenstar never actually saw the Unseen Stars camp, because what came next may have earned his eternal rage. I sat him down by the reflection pool.
"Do you know why we are here Brokenstar, dear?" I asked patiently.
"You've finally given up on holding me back. Once I learned of true power, I needed it. With it, I can take over the whole forest. Unified as one, they'll never do what they did again. There won't be cats hated for being interclan if there is only one clan, and if they do, they'll know the taste of my claws." Brokenstar rambled fanatically.
"No." I mewed, letting the silence overtake the world. "Your ideals no longer align with mine. You crave violence and power. You never learned the intricacies of relationships. Every cat to you is a tool to be used and disposed of. How long would it be before you would try to kill me? A day? A season? Now?" I tempted.
Like that, I dodged a swipe aimed right at my neck. "Did you really think you'd kill me that easily after I saw what you did to Raggedstar." I mewed in a measured monotone. I couldn't afford to feel at this moment.
"I need your power! I know you walk through dreams whispering in ears and promising your favor. If I had that, I could take over. It'd be so easy! Then what happened to you would never happen again." Brokenstar mewed in a maddening drivel.
"You misunderstand what is happening here. This isn't a fight, nor am I hearing you out. I've decided to cast you out. You're too dangerous to walk with my cats. Don't bother trying to attack me. It won't work." I mewed with a turn. "Once you wake, you'll never dream of the Dark Forest again. You'll only find your way here the day you die."
Brokenstar leapt at me anyways. In an impressive display of control, I turned, caught him mid leap, and slammed him to the ground, his paws pinned under me and my teeth meeting his neck. He actually looked scared. I released my hold and dragged him back to the reflection pool.
"As I said, not a fight. You aren't a threat to me, but I can't let you hurt mine. Now begone. You no longer walk with my grace." I preached as I shoved him into the pool, letting it drag him back to the world of the living.
It was only after he was gone that I let my façade break. Tears streamed down my face for what I had just done. I'd just cast one of my kits out. Despite all he'd done and all he was still going to do, I couldn't stop loving him. I remembered that angry little kit who craved attention fondly. The first time he fell asleep in my fur with that little scowl would forever be a cherished memory. What had gone wrong? Where was that kit who I worked so hard to make smile? Had I failed him the same way his birth parents had done?
I scarcely left my den in the following days, unable to motivate myself to do anything. At least Frecklewish, Splitpelt, and my kits were by my side. They were giving me the love and attention I so desperately needed. Though, that did not mean I was oblivious. Splitpelt hid a tension that obviously related back to his former apprentice. It wasn't just the same failure sadness I held. I knew Splitpelt was still watching Brokenstar via the reflection pool when he got time. What was Brokenstar doing now?
"Splitpelt. What has you so tense? I know we're both hurt by what I had to do, but something more is bugging you. You know I trust you with all of my problems. Will you trust me with yours?" I asked gently.
"Well, it's not a huge issue. It doesn't directly impact us, so it's not really a problem." He deflected.
"Whatever it is must have made you really upset. You're usually a better liar." I halfheartedly teased.
Splitpelt let out a sigh. He knew he couldn't hide it from me forever. It'd be better for me to learn it now instead of being blindsided later.
"Brokenstar is using kits as full warriors and has killed two himself 'training' them." Splitpelt mewed quickly.
It took a while for the full weight of what Splitpelt just said to process. It was like the words just didn't mesh together, like a gibberish made of real words. It was incomprehensible. Then things started to click. Brokenstar was a spiteful thing. This was likely his means of getting revenge on me. Thus came one of my signature mental breakdowns.