[Charmer]

Originally Posted by DustThunderstorm

Ears pinned back against her skull, Slatepelt looked utterly defeated. Her eyes were trained on the ground in front of Shinefang's paws, rapidly darting back in forth in thought and as she held her breath. She was searching for something, anything to say, but found herself at a complete loss for words as he went on. Slatepelt shuffled her paws uncomfortably.

"Then tell me this, why did Starclan do this to me? Would it really have disturbed some grand important plan to let me grow up happily? To have my mother there to watch me become a warrior? To have kits with my mate and watch them grow up together?"

Keeping her head down, the starclan warrior turned her head away, her gaze filled with grief. She had no idea. She never wished any of this on her love, her best friend. How did it get this bad? How did it spiral so far that Shinefang was so resentful. No... This wasn't the cat she once knew. Of course, her love was just as strong, but Shinefang was no longer the carefree spirit she remembered him being and it caused her heart to ache. Slatepelt longed to slither back to the Skyclan camp with him, curl up in his nest and share her warmth, breathe the life and love back into his heart and lungs. Still keeping her gaze adverted, a warm gust of air blew through the clearing, causing her pelt to ripple with it. What was she supposed to say?

"Slatepelt... don't you hate them for doing this to me? To us? How can you stand to be here with these foxhearts?"

This caused Slatepelt to jerk her head towards Shinefang, her gaze intent as she slowly began to speak. She wanted so badly to snap at him for disrespecting their ancestors like that, but instead kept her voice level and smooth. "Sometimes... things happen that are out of our control... even Starclan." Slatepelt paused for a moment, wracking her brain for words before she continued, "I don't hate them, but I was bitter at first. Everyday I wished I could be with you, next to you and with our kits and our family. It just doesn't always work that way though. It's your destiny and I guess I couldn't be a part of it... It's just... Starclan's will and I have to respect that." Her gaze darkened, yellow orbs focused on Shinefang's face, searching for any sign of understanding.

Shinefang's ears flattened against his head, his one remaining eye glaring. "Oh, so Starclan's will gets to trump everything else... my plans, your plans, and we have to just accept that they work in mysterious ways. Am I really supposed to believe you're ok with that? What happened to you? The Slatepelt I knew was as stubborn as she was beautiful. Why aren't you as furious as I am?!" The old tom's fur was bristling again. He hardly recognized his former mate now. The old Slatepelt would never have accepted that bad things "just happen". When Skyclan was low on freshkill during leafbare, she had been among the first to volunteer for extra hunting patrols. Who was this complacent cat who seemed willing to just accept that Starclan had ruined their chance at a happy life together? Shinefang looked away. He couldn't stand to look at this shadow of his beloved Slatepelt for a moment longer. "That may be good enough for you, but it's not good enough for me. I deserved to spend my life with you, and you deserved to have a long life with me. They took that from both of us. And you can tell those foxhearts you're nesting with now that as long as I'm medicine cat of Skyclan, I'll listen to any warnings or prophecies you have for me, and I'll serve Skyclan with all the care I'd have given to my kits. But you can call Skyclan cats to Starclan after you pry them from my cold, dead claws! I will do everything in my power to keep them alive and with Skyclan. Tell the greedy foxhearts that! Now let me go back to my den! I have work to do!" The medicine cat turned his back on her then, just in time to hide the tears as they began to stream down his face.