"Keith."
Slowly, he opened his eyes. The world began to unblur. He was in his bed, inside his room, in his house. The place he loved. He got up quickly as he saw the leafeon, his older brother, standing at the doorway. His eyes sparkled at the sight. "Oliver!"
"Hey, Keith," Oliver said.
"Where's mom and dad?"
Oliver's smile faded, but he kept forcing it up. "Busy."
Keith tilted his head. "Why?"
Oliver sighed, and went to go sit beside him. "Listen, you're just an eevee. I don't think you're ready to learn yet."
"Learn what?" Keith asked.
Oliver looked out the window, not replying.
Keith's ears flattened. "Are they..."
"No. You wouldn't understand," Oliver said.
"What is it? You can tell me!"
"Oliver! Come on!" a voice called from outside.
Oliver perked up, and looked at Keith. "Listen. Stay here. Don't leave. Somebody is going to come pick you up. Alright?"
"I don't get it," Keith said.
Oliver looked away, his tone suddenly sounding somber. "You...you wouldn't."
Then there was silence. The only sound was the sounds of chirping outside. The sunlight shined through the window, hitting Oliver's side. Keith was hidden in the shadows. He knew what was going on.
"You're leaving."
Oliver got off the bed. The sunlight instantly slapped Keith, nearly blinding him. He put a paw up. Oliver turned to Keith. "Listen, okay? We're not doing this to be mean."
Keith spun around.
"Hey, Keith. Come on." Oliver sat down again, patting his younger brother's back. "It'll be okay."
Keith curled up into a ball. "How do you know?"
He lied down beside Keith, keeping his arm around him. "Because I do."
Keith closed his eyes. "Are you sure?"
Oliver opened his mouth, but closed it right after. He didn't know what to say.
"Oliver!" the voice called again.
Oliver shot up. "Coming!"
"Wait-"
"Stay here," Oliver ordered. Then he started heading for the doorway. But halfway, he stopped, and turned to Keith. "Just remember I'll be here in your heart."
Keith stared at Oliver, and noticed he was shaking. "Don't go."
Oliver took a deep breath. "Take care of yourself." And with that, he left.
Keith stared at the spot his brother was in, everything suddenly feeling so cold. The breeze swept past him. His room felt empty.
"I...I don't want to be alone."
* * *
Oliver looked back at the house. Clouds were covering the sun, and the world seemed more gray now.
Another leafeon sat behind Oliver. "How did he take it?"
"Oscar. Am I doing the right thing?" Oliver turned to look at Oscar.
Oscar put a paw behind his head. "I dunno. He's not my brother."
"What if he thinks I'm leaving him?"
"He probably does," Oscar said. "But he'll learn. I had to leave my younger brother too."
Oliver covered his face, and yelled. "It's my parents fault! They FUCKING got themselves stuck in prison."
"Yo...uhh, you know, security is still out there. You might wanna quiet down. We're trying to be-"
"DAMN IT." Oliver hit the ground. "DAMN IT, DAMN IT, ARCEUS FUCKING DAMN IT."
"Hey!"
Oliver looked up, and shared a glance with Oscar. Security was coming. "Run."
