ogygia

~~~

WHEN ROSEFROST obtained consciousness again, it took her an embarrassingly long time to regain her bearings. And by the time she had, she felt - with quite certainty - that she was dead.

Because as her eyes fluttered open, she found herself covered in ice, but rather curled in a warm, cozy nest, her blood still pumping through her veins. And now could this have happened, if she didn't die and go to SpiritClan?

That question was soon answered as a rustle came from Rosefrost's right, where she spotted a thick wall of ivy that parted to reveal a ginger she-cat with white markings. As the ginger feline padded in, the zephyrs outside took their opportunity to follow into the den, blowing over Rosefrost's pelt and making her shiver.

Okay, so she wasn't in SpiritClan, after all. SpiritClan never had leafbares. Where was she, then?

The brown tabby tensed instinctively as the ginger she-cat padded closer, carrying something in her jaws that Rosefrost's fuzzy vision couldn't make out. However, by scent, she could tell it was food, and her mouth watered.

Stopping short of Rosefrost's nest, the ginger she-cat dropped the mouse she'd been carrying at the brown tabby's paws. "Eat." When she didn't lunge for it immediately, the ginger feline cocked her head with amusement. "I haven't poisoned it. If I wanted you dead, I would've left you in that storm."

Rosefrost felt herself relax ever so slightly, and stretched her neck out to take a bite of the prey. It was frozen, but nothing had ever tasted so good at the moment, and she gulped the mouse down in a few bites.

She swiped a tongue across her jaw when she was finished. "Thanks," she mewed quietly. "For the mouse. And the saving my life."

"Don't mention it." The ginger she-cat padded to the other side of the den, where she started stacking leaves and piles of moss. "My group and I are saving injured cats constantly."

Rosefrost's ears twitched, intrigued. From everything she'd heard about the rogues, this was never mentioned - though, of course, she supposed the Clan leaders wouldn't share good things about the enemy. "Really?"

"Yes. We used to travel around, but the Clans tend to cause many issues, and we've found that we're very needed here."

The brown tabby's pelt flared with heat at those words. Two days ago, she would've clawed this cat's eyes out for saying such things, but now, she suddenly felt weak. Hot on its paws are an emotion she'd never experienced before - shame in the fact that she's a BreezeClan cat.

The ginger feline turned around. "I'm Fox."

Rosefrost twitched her pelt, realizing that now she's expected to introduce herself. But, she couldn't quite meet Fox's eyes when she spoke. "I'm Rosefrost."

A small pause, in which the brown tabby stared heatedly at her paws. Then finally, Fox spoke. "Ah, I see. You're a Clan cat."

All Rosefrost could do was nod. It was clear the ginger she-cat felt some animosity towards the Clans, and the brown tabby wasn't quite sure what she was thinking. "I used to be. I've been exiled."

Now didn't seem like the right time to mention that she was trying to regain entry into BreezeClan.

Fox accepted her explanation, and lifted her muzzle with a dainty, unimpressed sniff. "Exiled in leafbare? The Clans have always been rather cruel like that."

Rosefrost really wasn't sure how to respond, and so muttered something stupidly and incoercible, feeling honor bound to at least try and defend the Clans. But thankfully, Fox didn't seem to hear anything as she swept her tail and gazed towards the den's entrance.

"You're welcome to stay around. My mate's on a hunting trip right now, but will be very interested in speaking with you when she returns." Fox's eyes flashed. "She's always had a deep intrigue with the Clans."

"Okay," Rosefrost murmured softly, before she finally worked all of Fox's words through her brain fully, and her ears suddenly stood up in surprise. "Wait. 'She'?"

The ginger feline's only response was a knowing smile, for she didn't have time to say much more before the ivy wall parted again, this time to let in a dark brown she-cat. Even though the den was dark, the brief flash of sunlight like a crack of lightning from the outside illuminating on the brown she-cat was enough for Rosefrost to recognize her immediately.

Calypso.

And very abruptly, she was brought back to the horrid moment of Tigerblaze asking her to be his mate, the crack of Fog's neck and the gray tom's panicked "Calypso, run!" right before.

And the hiss Calypso let out when she spotted Rosefrost was enough to confirm that she remembered, too. "You," she spat, lashing her tail. "Just what are you doing here?"

"Calypso." Fox frowned, padding over to the brown she-cat's side with clear confusion, touching her tail-tip gently to her mate's shoulder. "What's going on? Do you know Rosefrost?"

Calypso's lips curled in disgust, then turned away as if she couldn't even bear to look the brown tabby's way. "Why don't you ask her?" Despite still being clearly upset, Rosefrost noticed Calypso's agitation had calmed tenfold under Fox's touch.

Speaking of whom, the ginger she-cat then turned to Rosefrost with a questioning look.

The brown tabby winced, unsure of how to tell the story without getting her guts clawed out. "I- one of my Clanmates and I- we were on a walk one day, and we saw two cats leaving BreezeClan's territory with a rabbit, and so-"

"They killed Fog," Calypso interrupted coldly, clearly fed up with the slow, awkward way Rosefrost was going about the tale. "Well, the tom did, at least. Not that she did anything to stop him."

"I tried," is all the brown tabby had to say meekly.

Calypso scoffed. "Meadow now has to live without a mate, and her kits without a father. But great, now they can sleep peacefully knowing that you tried."

"Calypso." Fox spoke sharply, giving the dark brown feline a chiding look. "Stop that, you're upsetting our guest."

"She shouldn't be here," Calypso answered without missing a beat. "She's a Clan cat, anyway."

"Calypso," Fox meowed again, more firm this time. "May I speak with you outside, please?"

There was a brief pause, then the brown she-cat spoke gruffly. "Fine."

Fox passed a comforting smile Rosefrost's way. "We'll be right back."

"Okay."

As the two padded out, it occurred to Rosefrost very suddenly that she was sitting in the heart of the rogues' camp, full of those who hated cats like her. Her claws dug into the moss nest anxiously - hopefully Fox could convince Calypso that Rosefrost wasn't like the other Clan cats. Otherwise, the brown tabby may not live to see another sunrise.

~~~

new characters!! what do you guys think of fox & calypso? please let us know!

have an amazing day, and thank you for reading as always!

~ lily & effie