[Charmer]

Originally Posted by pomegranate

Ringpaw awoke to a rustling in the den. Assuming it was just Shinefang preparing herbs for the day, she though nothing of it and dismissed it with a flick of her ear. She had been having trouble sleeping lately, thinking of how close Shinefang had been to death and how close the clans were to losing tons of honorable warriors, but she had just managed to get some well-earned rest last night. Opening one eye after the rustling faded away, Ringpaw peered around in confusion. Shinefang wasn’t here. Concerned, Ringpaw thought over where he could have gone. It was before dawn, maybe dirtplace? Ringpaw knew it wouldn’t be polite to interrupt his visit to dirtplace, but she wanted to check in on him because if he was going to the bathroom this early instead of sleeping, he could be having some more issues. Standing up, the small calico began to exit the den. She was nearly fully-grown now, but yet she noticed she was always shorter than most cats. Maybe she was just going to stay that way.
Sniffing the air, Ringpaw exited the den. The cold breeze nipped her nose, so she fluffed up her pelt against the chills and began to pad after Shinefang’s scent. It didn’t lead to dirtplace, so she titled her head in confusion. Early morning walk?
——
Upon arriving where Shinefang was, Ringpaw halted. His head was dipped, shoulders slumped. Why was he here, in the burial grounds? Ringpaw never liked visiting this place, it reminded her that at any moment a cat could die and would be laid to rest here, in the cold earth. “S-Shinefang?” She said aloud, approaching slowly. He looked... sad. But also angry, as he stared down at the rustled earth. With a tip of her head, she puzzled over the grave. Who is this?

Shinefang heard the small rustle of another cat approach wasn't particularly surprised to hear Ringpaw's voice breaking into his thoughts. By now, they had spent enough time together that he could practically pick out her paw steps above his other clanmates. Plus, she was basically living in his shadow these days. He got the impression that the shecat was nervous to leave him alone after his battle with greencough. Not that it matters, he thought bitterly, at this rate I'll live forever. Maybe she'll even go before me. The tom gave a visible flinch, instantly hating himself for thinking this. Ringpaw came up beside him, and after stealing a short glance at her, he knew the question on her mind. "Auroraflame. You probably heard already but she didn't survive the greencough outbreak." Cold spread through his chest and he swallowed, holding down the swelling feeling inside. "We didn't really see eye-to-eye. Personality clashes, I suppose. I know it's shocking to think that not everyone gets along with me." A smile twitched across his lips that never reached his eyes, which stayed hollow and fixed on the earth. "She would have been a fine leader for Skyclan. I wish I had told her that."