"Brother no'' Cheesy came up behind Burrow, putting his arm on his shoulder to stop him, but he shrugged it off.
'"No Cheesy, this has to be said. You know why Mother preferred me over you Sharp?? Why she never saw you but she saw me???" Burrow asked, Sharp raising up to face him and wiping the tears off of his face.
"Noo... why is that?? Would you like to tell me oh mighty and worthy to be loved son of Mince???" he hissed, eyes beaming angrily at Burrows.
"It was because I was responsible and rational. I didn't just jump into things because of my emotions, I didn't just do crazy nonsense to prove to other people that I was the boss." Burrow stepped even closer to Sharp now, them practically breathing into each other's faces.
"Oh really Burrs?'
"Really Sharp" Burrow spat out.
"Guys come on, please. We just suffered a tragic loss, there is no time for this." Cheesy came up in between them, but Burrow just shoved him to the side with so much force poor Cheesy toppled over.
"Well I'm sorry that I couldn't be the picture-perfect son Burrow. But you and your damned Mother both liked each other because both of you were conceited. Thinking you're so fucking perfect all the time, both of you undermining the rest of us. Me and Cheesy were nothing but pieces of shit to you and her. Mother never acknowledged anyone else except you!!!" Sharp shoved Burrow in his chest.
He fell back, his face perplexed.
Burrow sighed, straightening himself and stepping right in front of Sharp's face.
"No Sharp. Mother and I were not conceited. She didn't "brush" your efforts under the rug to satisfy my ''ego". She brushed it under the rug because your attempts were careless, sloopy and irresponsible. Your selfish. You only do things to prove that your better than me, like we're in a competition. We aren't. And the fact that you try to level with me means you must think I'm above you..."
Sharp stood there turning his fists, his face fuming. Cheesy noticed his knuckles turning in his hand. He raised his hand out to Sharp, but Burrow continued, getting even closer to him.
" I'm not a coward who would leave his mother in a cage to fight a whole cat and run off like some Bitch with his tail tucked between his legs"
Sharp flung a right hook across Burrow's jawbone as he said that the hit so hard it flung Burrow across the room.
He got up off the ground just as quick and charged into Sharp. They crashed on the ground, Sharp rolled over on top of Burrow and slammed a series of fists at him, Burrow holing up his arms to dodge the blows. Burrow heisted up his waist and unbalanced Sharp off his body, climbing on top of him, giving him a right hook to the jaw.
A trail of spit and blood flew from Sharp's mouth into the ground, they flipped over and over again, rustling across the floor.
" Sharp!!! Burrow !!!!Stop this right now!!!" Cheesy shouted.
He ran behind them as they fought in different directions, keeping his distance. Sharp was holding Burrows arms now and they were tugging back and forth, all across the room, Sharp biting Burrow on his ear and Burrow yelped, tiring his body around and whipping Sharp in the face.
"Your nothing but an impulsive rat!!" Burrow shouted.
''Oh yeah???? Mother's only begotten son???? I should call you God the way she worships you all the time!!!" Sharp yelled back.
Chessy's stood there helplessly in the background, watching his two brothers get at it in a ball of squeals, fur, and fists. Dust flying through the air as they wild out. The helpless rodent looked around, his eyes desperately searching the room for a solution.
"Guys!!! Come on!!!" he realized that him shouting wasn't going to work. He needed to do something fast, before they killed each other.
His eyes rested on the bottle cap of water that was filled in front of him. He ran to and took it up, heading towards Sharp and Burrow. He knew what he would do.
'" I said stop!!! Cheesy took the bucket of water and threw it on them, soaking both of them down. Instantly the bucks ceased fighting, both of them jolting out of their rage from the coolness and the sudden splash of the water.
Sharp stepped back and coughed, Burrow stepping back and rubbing his eyes.
Moments of silence waded between the three. All that could be heard was gruntled, dragged out breath.
"What is wrong with the both of you???? Our Mother just dies and you two somehow make this about yourselves???" Chessy's voice was raised now, his anger getting the best of him.
''Get it together guys!! We'll need each more than ever now that Mother isn't here to save us anymore. And playing the blame game of who did and why isn't gonna help us!!! Drats!!!" Cheesy threw the empty bottle cap on the ground, marching over to his corner.
Sharp and Burrow stood there stood there, looking at each other, blood dripping out of their noses, their eyes swollen and stained, appearances ruffled. Sharp glanced up at Burrow. Burrow glared back. Both of them looked at each other through, beaten, disfigured faces, realizing how foolish what they were.
"Hmph" Sharp grunted and went to the far left to his bed, and Burrow going over to his own, in two separate corners of the room.
................................................................................
The days after that event ensued, Sharp and Burrow staying clear of each other.
The brothers nibbled on the pieces of cheese, breadcrumbs and anything else Mother left in their space, paralyzed in their fear of going out into the outside world. Sharp just paced back and forth with his restless mind and slept, then he ate. Burrow did much of the same thing but stayed in his corner, just moving to eat when he felt like it.
The most interaction that Sharp and Burrow would had was when they passed each other to go get some water out of the bottle cap to drink, but that was it. They didn't speak, no hellos, no goodbye. Burrow was in his corner, stubborn, upset, and eating. Sharp stayed in his corner with much of the same temperament.
This bothered Cheesy greatly. He didn't know if it was because he was the youngest, but he never did understand their egos. What sense did it make to fight when they should be grieving?? They just lost their mother for Drat's sake, and here they were, making this bigger than it should be.
The days crept by and for weeks, going into months, the bucks refused to talk to each other. Burrow going out to get food on his own and coming back to his side. Sharp would go to get food from his corner and do the same thing.
One afternoon, Cheesy decided that enough was enough. He had to get his brothers to speak again, someway, somehow. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in his head.
"Perfect!!' he mumbled to himself, rushing out the peephole to get food during a bright hour in the day, when the cat was normally asleep in the afternoon.
"Gonna get us some dinner guys I'll be right back." Cheesy said as he wemnt.
Sharp looked up at Cheesy going out the door and so did Burrrow. For a moment both of them looked at each other begrudgingly, then going back to whatever it is they were doing in their individual corners.
Cheesy came back a few minutes later to find both of his brothers asleep, in their respective areas. So he took out all the food that he got out of his little knapsack. Bread, chicken, corned beef, sweet corn, apple pie, and whatever else, spreading them out on the table like Mother used to.
" Ahhhh I should have done this sooner!! We haven't sat to eat since all the drama. God please make this work" Cheesy thought to himself. He did the last finishing touch and went to the bathroom to fill the cup with water so that they had something to drink, quickly coming back.
"Wake up guys!!! Wakey wakey.... its dinner time." Sharp got up and opened his eyes, noticing all the food laid out like how their Mother used to do it. Burrow stretched his arms and got up, seeing the same thing.
"Let's eat together brothers. I know the both of you must be so hungry after such a long day. Please, sit. Let's eat some grub!!" he encouraged. Burrow carefully observed all the delicious foods around him, Sharp doing the same. They both sat down, Burrow on Cheesy's right and Sharp on his left.
"Thanks Cheesy-'' Both of the boys said this simultaneously, them looking up at each other weirdly from across the table. They broke the gaze just as quickly, focusing their attention on the food served in front of them. Cheesy chuckled softly, glancing between them as he straightened up the bread in front of Burrow, him sitting in the middle of them at the right end of the table.
"Now, hold my hand. Let us honor Mother even as she moves on to another life, by blessing our meal. It's time to pray. Burrow, would you do the honors??'' Cheesy asked, to which he silently nodded and agreed.
"I don't believe in this fake God that Mother spoke of. I never did. But I'll do it for her honor, with pleasure. Someone has to honor her..." he stated, peering mischievously across the table at Sharp.
They bowed their heads and began praying.
"Father we come to you as your most humble, loyal and responsible servants. We want to thank you for providing us with this meal, thank you for your protection. Thank you for allowing us to experience the love of a Mother who always taught us to be careful in making decisions and letting us know that our actions affect those around us, no matter how deluded we are to think that it is only about us." As Burrow said his prayers Sharp opened one of his eyes looking at him, with a hate filled glower on his face.
Cheesy sighed and put his head down in defeat.
''And here I was thinking that this could've gone well" he muttered to himself, sighing as Burrow continued his prayer.
"And most importantly Lord, we would like to thank you for blessing us with the gift of Mother Mince's presence, even though it was for such a short time we thank you, and we ask you to punish those who left her in a compromising position for her to fend for herself. We know that wherever she is, she rests in peace my father. Amen" Burrow ended.
Cheesy and Sharp opened their eyes, looking over at Burrow skeptically.
''Thank you Burrow for that um..what I hoped was a genuine prayer? Let's sit and enjoy our meals guys" Cheesy insisted. Just as he was about to sit down along with Burrow, Sharp cleared his throat to say something.
''I would like to pray as well" Sharp commanded, his eyes beaming at Burrow with a vengeful glare. Cheesy stood up, knowing that no good would come from this.
"Well we normally have only prayer at dinners, but I guess two prayers would just give an extra blessing to the food?...." he said tentatively. Cheesy knew it wasn't a good idea to allow Sharp to pray after Burrow called him out like that, but he wanted to give both of them the chance to say what they needed to. This was the closest he managed to get them in months! Even if it wasn't under the most favorable circumstances, at least they were communicating.
Sharp bowed his head and they followed, closing their eyes and holding hands.
"Dear lord, we come to you rendering the best that is within our circumstance to do, despite the hypocritical and fake interest of those that surround us. Despite those that masks themselves as our ''Family'' when they are just here to wave their status and approval in front of our faces.'' Cheesy sighed deeply as Sharp said this, rolling his eyes to the back of his head.
"Here we go again..." he whispered.
" Father, Mother Mince was a wonderful, loving, and caring mother to us all. But we are all imperfect and we fall short of your glory at times, as it is a sin to give more love and show favoritism to one person over others. For those that are responsible are not as responsible as they think, they themselves forgetting the people around them that have saved them from time time. Though it may not be in the perfect style that they feel they have to impress on others, we know that you see and appreciate all efforts, and you have no favorites, you don't inflate anyone's ego. Amen"
Sharp opened his eyes to see Burrow looking straight at him. He slammed his paws on the table, mouth scrunched in a scowl. Burrow stood off his seat and glared back, unafraid. If daggers could form off of the tension that was in a room, this room would be filled with daggers, as the two stood there looking at each other with the most cross and angry looks that Cheesy had ever seen before. None of them were moving or fidgeting, just standing there like statues with angry faces.
Cheesy sighed and looked wearily between the two, hoping that he wouldn't have to part a fight again. Not moments ago, he brought that water bucket back, and he didn't want to have to wase water on that. Again.
''Brothers, brothers' brothers... can we have one moment of peace where we sit down together and enjoy our food. Mother would've wanted us to have dinner toget-"
"Screw what Mother wanted. She was biased, just like this snobby, stuck up, ass kissing bastard. I'm sure he knows how every inch of her behind looks, from the fur down to the very texture of it" Sharp hissed, looking at Burrow scornfully.
''Well screw you too Sharp!!! You were never apart of this family anyway; Mother never liked a bone in you" Burrow bite back.
''So?? I never gave a damn about being in this shit Faily anyway. All she ever did was care for you and Cheesy. There was no place for..so forget all of yall" he uttered back, his voice cracking. Cheesy reached his hand out and touched Sharp's shoulder, seeing that Sharp was on the verge of tears. The proud rodent merely pushed Cheesy's hand away, taking up his pieces of chicken and bread, going off to his corner and muttering to himself about how much of a prick Burrow was.
''Good!" Burrow nodded his head and grabbed a piece of the Apple Pie, heading back to his corners. It was only Cheesy standing at the dining table, lifelessly playing with his food, after losing his appetite. Cheesy looked from left, seeing Burrow eating his Pie by himself, and then he looked right, seeing Sharp eating by himself on his side. Tears filled his eyes, the choking feeling in his throat, seeing his family fall to pieces like this.
His Mother was gone, his brothers hated each other, his family was falling apart in front of his very eyes.
'I've never felt so alone." He cried, getting up from the table and packing the food away. He went to his quarters and laid on his bed, staring into the ceiling and thinking about everything, until he fell asleep.
.............................................................................
The next day Cheesy gets up before the brothers, who were both still shoved to their corners. Instantly he went to the water cup, gulping down what was left to quench his thirst.
"Another day in the hell hole..." Cheesy thought to himself, walking lazily to the knapsack of food he had gotten last night, taking up a piece of corned beef and eating it with some cheese and bread.
"At least I have the cheese to soothe my sorrows" he chuckled to himself, eating slowly, enjoying every bit of his meal. Burrow and Sharp were awake now, but their backs were turned as they faced the walls, resting ever so grudgingly in their corners after what happened yesterday. Cheesy thought about the insults and the things that were exchanged and swallowed bitterly. How could two brothers that were born and raised under the same roof, that feed from the same breasts harbor so much hate for each other? They were all raised together the three of them. Ever since they were smaller Sharp and Burrow had always been in a competition for Mother's love...Cheesy thought to himself. Now hated each other, and it was painfully quiet. Too quiet, Cheesy couldn't handle it anymore. He had to find something that would distract him from the tension.
"Guess I'll just play by myself" Cheesy went by the gaming table, got the soldiers from the box, set up the board and began playing Dratsmate with himself. Sharp and Burrow watched him from their corners and said nothing.
Cheesy placed his rodent King and moved it two paces forward, getting rid of the rodent soldier that was on his enemy's side. Since he was playing by himself, he was his own enemy, so he went over to the other side and moved his Queen Rodent forward, in line with the King Rodent who just smacked the soldier out of the way.
Sharp looked on and shook his head, trying to hide a laugh but not being able to. Only Cheesy would move his King soldier on the first pitch. Burrow began to peep out too, noticing the same thing.
"One soldier down to the royal rodent kingdom. All hail the rats!!Duu duuummm" Cheesy made his hand in the shape of a trumpet, blowing his horn and sounding out the call for battle. He moved to the other side and moved his Cat Bishop to the right, having the feathered one exposed. Then he moved to the other side and placed the Rodent King all the way to the direction of the Queen Cat.
"Wooow Cheesy no. What are you doing there fella??" Sharp got up from his bed and moved over to Cheesy, setting his paw where the Queen cat was and placing the soldier back, jumping over the other rodent soldiers and getting to the King Rodent.
"You have to defend your lines Cheesey. Now that the cat soldier is in front of the king, He becomes a Cat Bishop!" Cheesy found the cat Bishop and gave it to Sharp, him replacing it with the soldier on the board.
"That's more like it Cheese. Now what else do you think can be done?" Burrow came from behind Cheesy, looking on the board and wondering what action he could take. He looked to his right at his rodent soldier, moving it forward, behind his rodent knight. Burrow shook his head, getting up out of his bed and coming to the board, sitting in the middle beside Cheesy and Sharp.