Quote:
Originally Posted by Duststorm
A translucent figure was positioned on the far corner of the clearing, long tufts of vibrant green grass rising above their waist and flowers dotting the large expanse. Slow and ever so graceful, the figure rose to their paws and seemed to saunter closer to Shinefang. A warm smile stretched across their maw, the phantom finally approached the old cat and rested back on their haunches a few tail-lengths away. Stardust trailed through-out their fur, their features almost unreadable if not for the compassion welled in their golden yellow eyes and the admiration rolling in waves from their pelt.
"I must be a huge mouse-brain then, yeah?" The mysterious feline cooed playfully before rising from their spot. Making their way over, the Starclan cat let out a stiffled purr. Pelt smelling of warm milk and heather, they maneuvered them-self next to Shinefang and rubbed their muzzle against his cheek.
"Hello, my love." |
Seeing movement in the clearing, the old warrior turned, his one remaining eye blazing as he arched his back and prepared to spring. But when he saw the figure stand, he froze and stood transfixed, his snarl now a slack-jawed gape. He recognized that sleek frame and the way the cat moved with flawless grace and ease. That pelt, those golden eyes, that smile... he knew them all so well. He had spent moons tenderly memorizing every fur on that pelt, and the way those golden eyes would shine like the setting sun. "Slatepelt..." Even as Shinefang heard himself say the name out loud, he felt his earlier rage dissolving. A warmth that he thought had died long ago stirred within his chest like the first seedling fighting through the frost at the end of leafbare. His mate approached him, and in a movement so sweet and tender, rubbed her muzzle against his cheek, just below his lost eye. She never did seem to mind his injury from apprenticeship. It was one of the many things he had loved about her. In that one moment, among the glittering starlit fields, Shinefang let his former mate's muzzle linger there, and he felt like he had come home for the first time in many years... for the first time since...
Shinefang pulled away, slowly. He wanted to stay there forever in her embrace. But he had spent so many years wondering, agonizing over a question that only she could answer. And he needed to know. "Slatepelt ...why? Why did you leave me all alone?" The old tom's heart ached as he asked. He didn't want to remember any of this. He wanted to bury these memories deep down where he'd never have to see them. But he had to know. "I had to grieve for you, and our kits, all by myself. I never even got to meet them... " The tom took a step back, his legs beginning to tremble, as if the weight of his grief might crush him. His lips began to curl as he went on. "My brothers and sisters, they died too. I had to leave our old territory so I couldn't even visit our kits' graves anymore... I had to do all of that alone. You said you'd stay with me but you left me... Why?" The old tom's hackles began to raise again, and he bore his teeth in a snarl. "You were a stronger warrior than any cat I knew. Our kits may not have made it because they were too little, but you were a fighter, Slatepelt!" Shinefang raked the ground with his claws as he shouted. "You could have fought and survived... but you left me!" The tom was shaking uncontrollably now, his face contorted in a pain thousands of times worse than any ache or battle wound. He shut his eyes tight, and looked away, as his tail fell slack against the earth, and he bit his lip to contain a bitter sob. "You said we'd always be there for each other. That we could get through anything together... but you left me."