eye of the tiger

~~~

ROSEFROST KEPT HER BREATHING SHORT AND SHALLOW, scared to so much as twitch. If Tigerblaze discovered her, she'd be dead before she knew it. Thankfully, though, the heather scent seemed to cover her own, for the ginger tabby tom showed no signs of noticing her.

"Tigerblaze," Blueblaze meowed suddenly, short and nervous. "I'm not- I'm not sure of this is right."

Tigerblaze's head snapped towards the blue tom, twitching his tail-tip. "What do you mean?"

"We shouldn't be... skipping the patrol," Blueblaze answered, shuffling his paws. Rosefrost thought this might be the first time he hadn't full heartedly agreed on something Tigerblaze was doing. "They might need our help."

Tigerblaze's reply was drowned in a sudden gust of wind, but it wouldn't have mattered anyhow, for in that moment, Rosefrost's attention was caught on something else: a shadowing shifting in the corner of her eye. Squinting at it, she made out the dark silhouettes of cats in the night.

One of the cats twitched, accidentally moving into the moonlight, and recognition flashed through the brown tabby. Calypso! Does that mean...?

She didn't have to search far to find the feline that'd saved her from the snow storm, for sure enough, crouched next to Calypso was the ginger shape of fox. And as Rosefrost looked behind them, she spotted more and more and more cats, and felt her heartbeat beginning to quicken. It looked as though all the rogues were here.

What's going on? she wondered, though strangely she didn't feel fear. Is this an attack?

Perhaps she should join them. Then, she and Dovepetal could live with the rogues once they'd left BreezeClan. She just had to show Fox and Calypso that she was on their side. But how?

"Tigerblaze, if we skip this patrol, we're neglecting our duties," came Blueblaze's worried voice, snapping Rosefrost's attention back to the two toms beside her. "We really need to go."

"We won't get into any trouble," Tigerblaze assured in that calm, laidback voice that painted Blueblaze's concern as crazy. "Dad would never punish us."

"He would never punish you." Blueblaze's mumble was low, clearly meant for nobody's ears, but both Tigerblaze and Rosefrost caught it.

A threatening growl bubbled in Tigerblaze's throat. "What was that?"

Rosefrost thought Blueblaze would back down. Surely he would, he'd never stood up to Tigerblaze before. Ever since they were apprentices, he was Tigerblaze's follower.

But, the blue tom surprised her. "I said, you wouldn't get into trouble. I would. You never get into trouble for anything, Tigerblaze, and that's not fair!"

"Well, I never do anything that deserves punishment," Tigerblaze snarled in response.

"You do plenty of things that should earn you a good whack in the head," Blueblaze answered, his voice beginning to climb with anger, "but Duskstar just never does anything about it!"

"Oh yeah?" Tigerblaze stood up out of the heather now, lashing his tail. "Like what?"

"Like what you did to Dovepetal," Blueblaze hissed. "You shouldn't have revealed her secret relationship like that to all the Clans! She's your sister."

"She deserved it," Tigerblaze replied hotly. "Two she-cats shouldn't be mates."

"But don't you understand? You've ruined the Clan's reputation, and two cats' lives," Blueblaze growled. "Nobody talks to Dovepetal anymore, and I'd bet Rosefrost's going to die in a couple days, no cat can survive in this leaf-bare by themselves. You just couldn't let them have their secret relationship and keep to yourself?"

Tigerblaze didn't respond, and Blueblaze suddenly let out a dry laugh.

"Great SpiritClan! It's because Rosefrost rejected you, isn't it? You just can't stand the fact that you're not number one in everyone's eyes." Blueblaze hissed. "I never knew you were this kind of cat, Tigerblaze."

The blue tom turned around and started to trot away after Ravenleaf's patrol, but all of a sudden, his yowl split the air as Tigerblaze leaped on him.

Rosefrost could only watch in frozen surprise as Tigerblaze attacked his life long friend. With a dead mother and father who only ever spoiled his kits, the ginger tabby had never been given such a harsh reality of truth in his life. When this happened previously with Rosefrost, he'd killed Fog; now, that same anger was what controlled him as he left blow after blow on Blueblaze.

However, Blueblaze was fighting back. With a growl, the blue tom snapped at Tigerblaze, nipping his pelt and clawing his stomach. Unfortunately, Tigerblaze was BreezeClan's most skilled warrior for a reason, and it wasn't before long until Blueblaze hit the ground with lifeless eyes.

Tigerblaze was shaking.

Ragged breaths exited the ginger tabby as he stared at his friend's body with horrified eyes. "What have I done...?" he whispered softly. Not even his dad could get him out of this one.

And that's when Rosefrost attacked.

Calypso and Fox were watching. If she killed Tigerblaze, and showed them she was on their side, they'd have to let her join them! Plus, Dovepetal certainly wouldn't penalize her for it; the brown tabby was sure the calico now had just as strong a hatred for Tigerblaze as Rosefrost did.

Rosefrost jumped.

Her teeth dug into his ears. Her claws sank into his pelt easily. Tigerblaze's only form of protest was a foggy twist, trying to throw her off, but in too much of a shock to make many moves, not to mention his battle with Blueblaze had drained him.

"Wha-?" Tigerblaze's voice came out jagged. "Rose-?"

For a second, Rosefrost felt bad for him. Seeing his helpless form and hopeless eyes, the brown tabby almost wanted to stop.

Then her gaze found Calypso's, and she suddenly heard the dark she-cat's voice ringing in her mind.

"I'd kill him."

Very quickly, the pity vanished. Blow after blow she landed on Tigerblaze, each one getting her a step closer to a future with Dovepetal.

And just like that, BreezeClan's most skilled warrior fell down with a thud.

Rosefrost's breathing was heavy as she stared down at Tigerblaze's limp, unmoving body. Though she'd fully known what she was doing, it didn't feel real. She half expected him to climb to his paws and leap onto her; so focused in on him, she didn't notice Fox and Calypso approaching her from behind.

"Nicely done." Fox's voice, low and smooth, broke the silent night's air.

Rosefrost took a deep breath, gathering herself, before turning around to face the rogues. Slowly, one by one, they all appeared from the shadows. "Thank you."

Calypso tutted quietly. "I'm impressed. Such a shame that you need to die."

The brown tabby's blood ran cold at those words, and her smile disappeared as quickly as it'd come. "What- what do you mean?"

"We were quite upset when we returned one day to find you gone," Fox meowed slowly. "After all, you're a Clan cat running around wildly with the location of our camp, and we can't have you spreading that information, can we?"

Rosefrost took a step back. "I- I won't tell anyone. I actually want to join your group, that's why I killed- I killed-" She stopped, feeling realization dawn onto her.

What have I done? She'd killed a cat.

"You really shouldn't have killed him," Fox continued. "Now there's nobody left to help you."

"I don't understand," Rosefrost whispered. "I'm not a Clan cat anymore, I want to join your rogues."

Suddenly, Calypso's eyes hardened. "The rogues will never, ever accept any Clan cats into our ranks, former or not," she hissed. "Not after everything they've done to us."

The brown tabby twitched her pelt. "But you took me in when I was injured," she mewed weakly.

"We were hoping we could get information out of you," Fox supplied. "A mistake, as it turns out."

Calypso shrugged. "Goodbye, Rosefrost." Turning back to the rogues behind her, she lashed her tail and barked out the order. "Get her!"

~~~

thoughts on this chapter?? honestly not sure if it's super well written, we don't think the characters are developed enough, but oh well. book's wrapping up soon!

have an amazing day

~ lily & effie