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As the days turned into a week then into a month, Will'o's temper got shorter and shorter. No one, not even his beloved twin, seemed to be safe from his anger. So it wasn't a great surprise, an unpleasant one, but not a great surprise when he finally snapped one evening as the sun was setting.

Chaos had been doing his best to stay out of the way of the furious young stallion, but for some reason he dropped his guard on his way from the main cave back to the den he had been sharing with the boys. Before he realized the danger he was in, a black blur slammed into his side as sharp teeth sank into his shoulder, claws scrambling at his sides.

Yelping in pain, he tried to whirl and snap at his attacker only to be bowled over as the fox shifter into the furious stallion pinning him to the ground with his much larger paw. Will'o leaned down to snarl into his face, "You have been lying to us little wolf. I for one have had enough."

While Will'o had been getting angrier, Wisp had been getting more anxious. It was a sharp contrast to his twin, doing a lot of pacing and jumping at every sound. He had, just as much as the wolves, been staying out of the way of the other fox more and more as time had gone on, and being away from his twin more only created more anxiety. It was a vicious feedback loop.

Everything erupted for him when he heard Chaos yelp. In an absolute panic, Wisp shifted from equid to fox and went bounding toward the sound, in time to see his twin pin the wolf. "WILL'O, STOP!" He shifted back to equid, hurrying over to pull his brother way. "You're hurting him!"

Near by Strife could only watch, her ears back and hackles raised. Against the young shifter, she knew she couldn't do much.

"NO!" Will'o snapped as he bared his fangs, hackles raised down his spine as he struggled with his twin trying to get back to the downed wolf.

"He knows what's going on with Mama and has been lying to us! I caught him coming out of the cave after he said no one but Dad and the witch were allowed in!"

Chaos whined, his eyes wild with terror using the appearance of Wisp to scramble off his back. This wasn't the easy-going kit he and Stife had been taking care of but an enraged shifter. If Will'o decided to kill him there was no way Chaos could stop him.

Wisp whined, trying to pin his brother down, at least long enough for Chaos to get away. "Maybe he didn't go past the cave entrance!" He was scrambling, both to keep Will'o off of the wolves and for answers. He didn't have any, though, besides what he could think of. "What would he even gain if he was lying?!"

As soon as Chaos was close, Strife started checking her mate over. She looked for any bite marks, any claw marks, anything to indicate the young fox shifter had done more than knock him around. This wasn't a kit anymore, he was so much bigger than both of them now and it was only by the saving grace of his brother stopping him that Will'o didn't do worse. Letting out a whine of her own, Strife looked at Chaos, asking with her expression, as much as she could, if they should tell the foxes what was going on.

There was a sluggishly bleeding bite mark on Chaos's shoulder but thankfully it had been made while Will'o was in his fox shape so while nasty, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. He gently nosed Strife's cheek trying to reassure her before wincing and shaking his head.

"I SAW HIM!" Will'o all but screamed his ears flat to his skull but even in his struggles, he didn't attempt to actually harm Wisp. Sure he had been snappish, but never physically violent to his twin...though this was also the first time he had shown violence to anyone not an enemy of the family.

"Will'o...Wisp..I can't" Chaos started only to scramble further away, pushing Strife with him protectively when Will'o tried to lunge past Wisp screaming in wordless rage again.

"SHE BOUND MY SILENCE WILL'O!"

At that the young shifter stopped dead, blinking a few times as if the words had to seep past the rage into his brain. He blinked a few times at the bristled-up wolf, "W.wha.."

Chaos sighed as he admitted, "Rhiannon bound me by oath and spell that I cannot speak of what happens in her cave. I cannot tell you or Wisp anything."

He gave Strife a regretful look, "It was one of the oaths I had to make for her help." He had bound his life to the witch, but for his mate, it was a small price to pay.

Looking back to the twin, Chaos's ears went up as he gave them a challenging look, "Killing me won't change anything, but I can't stop you if that is what you have to do...just leave Strife out of this."

A visible tremble had set up in Will'o's body as his mouth opened and closed soundlessly. Horror was gathering in his expression, "Kill?! I wasn't..." He stopped with a whimper as he realized in his anger what he had tried to do.

"Oh Gods...."

Gently, Strife licked at the wound, focused on her mate. The wound wasn't bad, at least, it would heal and maybe scar a bit, but it wasn't going to impact his ability to hunt. She looked up, watching the foxes, then started to focus again on cleaning the wound, only to get pushed back. She yelped, ears going back, before she growled at the young fox. She'd do anything to protect Chaos if she had to, but she hoped above all else that words would win before it turned to teeth and claws again.

Wisp let out a new whine, grabbing at his brother's tail. "WILL'O! DON'T!" He tried again to get in front of his brother, intent to stop him from harming the wolves, then came up short. His fur all stood on end, tail arching and ears shifting while his eyes widened, as Chaos mentioned killing. The young fox shuddered, letting out a loud whine before jumping on his brother to lay on him. "No no no no nooo!"

Shuddering herself, Strife licked her mate's cheek. She had to weigh, did she tell them or not tell them? Finally, she simply said, "Your mother is still emotionally recovering from the attack. It's a lot she has to get through and doesn't want you two to be exposed to it." Was it a lie? She wouldn't say. There could be truth in her words, for all the boys knew.

Will'o whimpered as he buried his face against Wisp shaking so hard his teeth were chattering aloud. "I didn't...I wouldn't.."

"You would have," Chaos sighed watching the boys. He shot a sharp look at Strife at her words but turned his attention quickly back to the twins. He wasn't sure why she kept her peace but all that mattered now was deescalating the situation.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" A sob broke from the young fox as he tried to bury himself under his twin. "I don't know why I'm so angry!"

"You're angry," Strife said, "Because you're worried." She nuzzled Chaos, then went over to where the young fox was under his twin. She gently licked at his fur, then sighed. "Look, I know it hurts to be away, but this is something your mama's gotta do, okay? Your dad and Rhiannon are better equipped to handle it, since they're older and have seen more. They have experience with this. And just think, it won't be long before you're all together again! You just gotta give it time, is all."

Shifting his positioning, Wisp layed his head on top of his brother's, then gave Strife sad eyes. "But we miss her...."

"I know, but you gotta be patient." Strife gently licked between Wisp's eyes, right over his charm. "Give it a bit more time..."

The young fox let out another whine, eyes closing, before he nuzzled into his brother's back. Something told him more was up than the wolf let on, but he didn't know if he wanted to find out yet. He wasn't as demanding as his brother about it, or volatile, willing to wait even while he all but pulled his fur out or chewed off one of his limbs.

"I'm sorry" Will'o sobbed again giving Chaos a stricken look.

Chaos sighed softly as he finally limped over to nuzzle him, "Forgiven." It would do no good to hold the attack against him when Will'o was right and that they had been, still are lying to the boys.

Strife only sighed, grooming both kits' heads. She looked at her mate, hoping things would work out soon. Wisp only whimpered, nuzzling back into his brother.