The Forgotten Sibling

Chapter 21

Riley didn't think Jhaufyther could look more beautiful, but it turned out that he definitely could.

His blue and white fur was glossy and shiny. His plumy, bushy tail was lashing, his wonderful blue eyes filled with determination. The stinger slid out menacingly, a drop of venom glittering at the tip. He peeled back his laps and snarled, "You want a challenge, Star Tail, now you got one."

The purple cloud continued to stir and spin, but Star Tail would not appear. Jhaufyther laughed. "Wow, I thought you were such a big 'wing, Star Tail. Now you won't even show yourself? Talk about cowardly behavior."

A ball of dark shrapnel was hurled at him, but he flicked it back at the cloud with his tail, and a painful yelp could be heard from the fog.

Jhaufyther, stop this. Star Tail's voice shook.

"NO. You hurt SO MANY PEOPLE. You almost killed someone! Why should I stop if you're worse than I am?"

What Jhaufyther said seemed to be the final blow. The sky turned completely dark as Star Tail finally made his appearance.

Riley always thought that Jhaufyther was intimidating. The blue eyes that pierced into your soul, the dripping stinger that was hidden in his tail ready to stab into you at all times. Now that she looked at Star Tail, Jhaufyther did not look nearly as intimidating at all.

She had only seen Star Tail once, in the dream that she had a century back. Even in that dream, he seemed small, not much bigger than Jhaufyther. But she realized that he just made himself small.

Star Tail was massive. Huge. Big. Whatever word you wanted to describe him. His perfect black fur was shining with small stars, and there were human skulls whose mouths were open in silent screams and trying to push out of his fur. His tail was identical to Jhaufyther's: bushy, plumy, incredibly long and looked as if you could use it as a blanket.

His quasar, pure white eyes dug into Jhaufyther. His large, black, smoky wings beat the air, sending waves of darkness and sleepiness that made Riley want to curl up and drift into unconsciousness; but she knew that if she did, she would never wake up again.

His teeth were pure silver, made out of the dust of small planets. He had a large white crown set on his head that completely contrasted his entire body. Squinting at it, it seemed to be made out of quartz, but she wasn't sure and she didn't want to find out.

Surrounding him were two black spheres that slowly sucked everything in. Riley could see trees stretching out like they would in cartoons, slowly fading into the spheres. Even the ashes flew up in slow motion to be eaten by them.

"I hurt many people because I wanted them to feel a fraction of what my pain was like," he growled. His voice was just like Riley remembered: raspy, deep, booming, sending chills down her spine. It was like Skrill's except even more menacing.

"That's called being a coward," Jhaufyther snapped. "Letting out your pain by inflicting pain on others? Are you kidding me?"

What struck Riley the most was the fact that Jhaufyther didn't seem angry. He seemed... disappointed, like a father who realized his son got dropped from school. That same, sad tone that resonated in his voice and was seen in his eyes.

"You haven't done anything better than I have."

"I do it for a reason. I do it because they deserve it, not because they are innocent. I hate humans, I really do, but I can still acknowledge if they're innocent or not.

"What's different about you, Star Tail, is that you're so focused on your revenge that you couldn't even see how much damage you have done. You have such a big ego that you fail to recognize what wrongs you have done.