bloodied rose || warrior cats

chapter 6

frostbitten

~~~

WALKING TO THE EDGE OF BREEZECLAN'S TERRITORY felt like a dream. Rosefrost's legs trembled when she reached the border, the place Tigerblaze had crossed this morning without a second thought. She shouldn't have followed him. Then none of this would've happened. SpiritClan, how she wished she could turn back time.

"Go." Blueblaze's low growl came from Rosefrost's left. The tom who Craneflight claimed had a crush on her as an apprentice was now glaring at the brown tabby with nothing less than pure hatred. "I pray to SpiritClan we'll never see you again."

The pleas Rosefrost had worked up died in her throat, and she turned to Sunfrost, instead. The ginger-and-white she-cat was her former mentor, after all. "Sunfrost," she whispered, "please."

Sunfrost, at the very least, looked conflicted. "You should go, Rosefrost," she meowed at last. "Duskstar ordered. I hope-" She paused, breaking off. "I hope you'll be okay out there."

Panic and hopelessness seized Rosefrost, but there was nothing she could do. She stepped over into the unclaimed lands, a shiver running through her spine as she did so. This was it. She may as well be walking into her death.

The first snow of the season started to fall as Sunfrost and Blueblaze turned around and began their journey back to the Gathering island. Rosefrost stared up at the glittering stars and full moon, feeling the small, cold flakes speck her fur. SpiritClan's mourning me, she thought. That's what the snow must be for.

"Two she-cats as mates." Blueblaze's snort came loud and clear as he and Sunfrost disappeared. "Can you imagine? Now that's ridiculous."

Rosefrost's pelt began to rise, but she held her tongue and instead whipped around and stormed off. Unsure of where to go, she let her paws guide her, but she was more than a little tired and confused and cold. That's when the panic seized her, an undeniable, raging panic that said she was going to die. She'd never been without a Clan before? How was she meant to do this?

Take a deep breath, she told herself. I'll sleep tonight and figure things out in the morning.

Twitching her pelt, she looked around, trying to find a piece of shelter. The closest thing she could find was a tall pile of boulders and, as she neared, she realized with a jolt that this was the rock stack Tigerblaze had brought her to only this morning.

She curled up on the bare stone ground, and shut her eyes. But try as she might, sleep wouldn't come to her.

Out of frustration, Rosefrost opened her eyes again, and found them pinned on the direct spot Tigerblaze had murdered Fog. But the gray tom's body wasn't there.

The brown tabby shivered, pressing herself harder against the boulders. Someone had come. Someone had come to take Fog's body away. His rogue friends. Hopefully they'd leave her alone tonight.

Rosefrost plopped her head down and drew a paw miserably over her muzzle. By some miracle, she eventually managed to fall asleep.

~~~

WHEN SHE WOKE UP the next morning, the snow had stopped, creating a world of white. The first thing Rosefrost noticed was that she was freezing; despite the boulders having given her some shelter, it didn't protect her much from the gusts of wind, and the night left a thin layer of frost on her pelt.

The second thing she noticed was that she was starving. Upset over the Tigerblaze Dovepetal situation, the brown tabby had hardly been able to swallow any prey before she left for the Gathering. Now, as her stomach grumbled loudly, she was beginning to see what a big mistake that was.