courting ritual

~~~

IT WASN'T LIKE ROSEFROST had planned it to go this way. It just sort of happened. Like tripping over a root then tumbling down a hill - once the falling begins, it's quite hard to stop.

The brown warrior was a shy cat. She kept quiet, hated being the center of attention, and preferred working by herself rather than others - that is, unless it was with a cat she knew well, like Craneflight. With him, she was a completely different cat. She talked, laughed, cracked jokes, and told the white tom everything.

He was her best friend, and this might be the first time Rosefrost has ever kept anything from him.

She wished desperately she could tell him. She hated keeping to herself. But she had a feeling that once it got out, cats would inevitably pay a lot of attention to her, and she absolutely hated that. When she first became a warrior and all four Clans chanted her name at the Gathering, Rosefrost almost passed out.

Right now, the brown tabby was sitting at the edge of BreezeClan's camp with her tail wrapped around her paws, staring off into the moor's distance as a cold, leafbare wind blew past her, causing her to shiver. But she didn't move to shelter - her mind was thinking about the situation, as it did at least twice everyday, and she hardly noticed the chill. In fact, she hardly noticed anything at all.

That's why Rosefrost almost jumped in surprise when she heard a voice behind her. "Hello, Rosefrost."

The brown tabby jerked her head over her shoulder and spotted the speaker - a ginger tabby tom. "Hi, Tigerblaze."

She couldn't keep the contempt out of her voice. Being Duskstar's son along with a talented warrior, Tigerblaze had quite the ego. It certainly helped that everyone believed he would be leader someday. That day has yet to come, and to be honest, Rosefrost would hate to see when it does.

Tigerblaze looked down at others, and viewed most cats as below him. When they were apprentices, he ignored Rosefrost for a good part of it, and always rolled his eyes and complained when his sister, Dovepetal, invited Rosefrost and Craneflight to join them for meals or to share tongues. The brown tabby had spent the first half of her apprenticeship extremely awkwardly and uncomfortably because of him.

Not to mention, Tigerblaze drew attention with him everywhere he went. He was the golden son, one of the best warriors in the Clan. And he thrived on attention - there wasn't anything he enjoyed more. If he were LightningClan, Rosefrost would be ShadeClan.

Needless to say, she didn't like being around him.

However, Tigerblaze didn't seem to notice this, and instead ruffled his fur. "Cold day, isn't it?"

"Yeah, the elders were saying this has been the coldest leafbare in a long while." Rosefrost shifted on her paws uneasily. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Actually, there is," the ginger tabby replied. "I was wondering if you'd like to go on a walk with me. I promise I'll keep you warm."

Rosefrost twitched her tail-tip. This has been the fifth time this week he's asked her on a walk, and she hadn't ever bothered to turn him down, not wanting to make a scene or deal with his follow up questions. It didn't really matter, right? She had time in her day, and she preferred this over him being unkind to her.

"Okay."

Again, the unwillingness in her voice flew right over Tigerblaze's head as he puffed out his chest, as though he'd been certain her answer would've been a yes all along. Then he turned around and led the way out of camp.

~~~

"SEVEN."

Rosefrost glanced up from the rabbit she'd been devouring and squinted at the white tom crouched across from her. "What?"

"Seven," Craneflight repeated, this time with more certainty in his voice. "I just counted, that was the seventh walk you and Tigerblaze went on this week."

Rosefrost and Tigerblaze had returned from their walk around the same time Craneflight's patrol came back to camp. Upon seeing the pair, the white tom had demanded Rosefrost give him details, and though the brown tabby had tried changing the subject, Craneflight seemed determined.

Rosefrost stared at her friend in blank disbelief. "You've got to get something better to do in your free time," she mumbled as she took another bite of the prey.

"Excuse me for being happy for you," Craneflight retorted. "I'm just excited - you've never shown attention to any tom before."

Rosefrost flicked his ears. "I pay attention to you all the time."

"Romantic attention," Craneflight corrected as he rolled his eyes good-humoredly. "I mean, remember when we were apprentices, and Blueleap brought you prey for a whole moon? When he finally asked if you wanted to take a walk together and you turned him down, I thought he'd start crying."

Rosefrost wrinkled her nose. "That didn't happen."

"Yes it did! And now, Tigerblaze is padding after you, and you're returning his affections!" Craneflight declared dramatically. "The invitations for a walk are practically courting ritual at this point."

"I am not returning his affections," Rosefrost meowed firmly, "because there are now affections to return. He's not padding after me, he's just being less awful than before. And the walks are not a courting ritual. Plus that was only the fifth time we've taken a walk, not the seventh."

"Like that makes it any better," the white tom teases.

"Eat the rabbit and be quiet," Rosefrost meowed.

"You must like him too," Craneflight meowed, as though he hadn't heard the brown tabby's words. "I mean otherwise, you'd make up an excuse for why you can't take a walk. If you agreed to go, you must've actually wanted to go."

He got her there. Rosefrost's mouth opened and closed as she tried producing a response, before she gave up and twitched her pelt in defeat.

A smug look spread on Craneflight's face when he realized she had no retort. "Well, well, well. It looks like our little Rosefrost has grown up and developed a crush on the leader's kit."

How ironic, the brown tabby thought as she eyed her friend. If only you knew.

The sun was setting and the moor's gusts were picking up now, dipping into the coldest part of the day. When the cats of BreezeClan would scramble into their dens for shelter and warmth, Rosefrost and Craneflight would always stay outside a little while longer. Ever since becoming warriors, their schedules had been quite busy, and now would be the time they shared secrets or whatever they wanted about their day, their words carried away by the wind and etched into the night.

That's what the pair were about to do now. However, as Craneflight angled his ears towards a patch of heather in suggestion as to where they should huddle, Rosefrost spotted a flash of calico fur from the corner of her eye.

~~~

hello! finally, the first chapter's complete! let us know what you thought!! so, so excited to be sharing this with you all and finally getting it out <3

thanks for reading! have a fabulous day!

~ lily & effie