bloodied rose || warrior cats

chapter 4

a dog's ears

~~~

THE HEATHER BEHIND Rosefrost rustled, but the brown tabby paid them no mind, her eyes fixed on Craneflight's face as her friend processed her words. She really wasn't sure how he'd take it - how any cat would take it. Were two she-cats even permitted to become mates? Rosefrost had never heard of such thing. Maybe she and Dovepetal could be the first.

Craneflight looked as though someone told him he was actually a rabbit, but to his credit, his voice was decently steady when he spoke. "Dovepetal?" he echoed hollowly. "As in... BreezeClan's Dovepetal?"

"As in Dovepetal, Duskstar's daughter, Tigerblaze's sister, however you want to put it." Rosefrost broke off, twitching her tail-tip anxiously as the white tom nodded slowly. "Craneflight? Say something."

"I-" Craneflight twitched his pelt. "What do you want me to say, Rosefrost? I never would've thought- I mean-" He shook his head, as though clearing his jumped thoughts. "Is that even allowed?"

"I don't know," Rosefrost mewed, a little hopelessly. "SpiritClan, it's messed up, isn't it?"

The white warrior's eyes widened. "No, no, that's not what I meant to say," he meowed immediately. "I only meant- it's not messed up, I just-" He cut himself off again and took a deep breath. "How long?"

"What?"

"How long?" Craneflight repeated. "How long have you liked her?"

Oh, finally. An easy question to answer. Rosefrost tilted her head as she recalled when she first felt things for Dovepetal when they were apprentices. "She saved my life from dogs, remember? Since about then."

Craneflight sat down and stared at his paws, before letting out a small chuckle. "That long, huh?"

Rosefrost nodded. She debated whether or not to say these next words, but this was Craneflight. He was her best friend; if there was one cat she could tell, it was him. "I think I'm in love."

The wind rustled the heather, tugging at the ends of Rosefrost's fur as it went. Craneflight's been stunned into silence again, his mouth opening and closing with no words coming out. Finally, he worked up a response. "Well that sounds serious. Will you confess? Ask her to be your mate?"

The brown tabby ducked her head uncertainly. "I don't know. Should I?"

Another long pause, then Craneflight answered. This time, he sounded much calmer, as though he'd made up his mind about something. "Only if you want to." He bumped her shoulder. "And if you're comfortable."

Rosefrost passed him a small smile, relief fluttering in her chest. "Okay. Thanks."

Craneflight returned the expression, before sweeping his tail and gesturing towards the Tallstone. "Nightpetal announced tonight's Gathering patrol while you and Tigerblaze were out, and your name was on the list," he meowed. "We'd better go get something to eat before we set off."

The brown tabby nodded, and the two padded over to the prey pile.

~~~

THE GATHERING ISLAND was laden with scents of the other Clans by the time BreezeClan arrived. Apprentices were off to the side, holding a contest for who could jump the farthest; elders sat together in a bunch, sharing tongues and gossiping; medicine cats were near the back, and BreezeClan's medicine cat - Ravenleaf and his apprentice Snowpaw - tapped noses with the others in greeting. Duskstar headed for the large tree immediately, where all the Clans' leaders except Ivystar of ShadeClan were settled.

"There's an empty area," Craneflight meowed, pointing at a section near the edge.

Rosefrost stepped in that direction, but stopped short when she spotted Dovepetal in the corner of her eye. The calico was by herself, fur ruffled a little awkwardly at the lack of company. The brown tabby took a deep breath and gathered all her courage. "I'll be right over, Craneflight."

"What?" The white tom followed Rosefrost's eyes to the calico's pelt, his tail-tip twitching knowingly. "Ah. I'll save you a spot."

"Thanks."

Rosefrost waited until he'd trotted off before approaching Dovepetal, taking each step tentatively. When Dovepetal saw her coming, the calico visibly stiffened but, at the very least, didn't walk away. She stood her ground as the brown tabby approached slowly, and once she was in front of Dovepetal, Rosefrost offered her a tiny smile.

"Hi."

"Hello." Dovepetal's voice was colder than normal, and the brown tabby was suddenly seized by a panicked desperation that the calico would be mad at her forever.

She racked her brains for something to say. Anything to say, that would make Dovepetal's gaze warm and kind again when the calico looked her way. Finally, Rosefrost meowed lamely, "Please tell Tigerblaze I'm really sorry."

She thought it was a bit of a stupid lead off, but it worked. Dovepetal's disconnected expression dropped immediately, and the calico sighed. "No, don't be. Don't worry about Tigerblaze. I love him, but honestly, I'm glad you didn't accept. I don't think-" She cut off, twitching her nose delicately as she formed her next sentence. "I don't think he's ready for a mate."

Half those words flew over Rosefrost's head, but she caught the important meaning: Dovepetal wasn't mad at her. A wide beam overtook her face, and she flicked her tail. "Would you like to sit with me during the Gathering?"

The calico hesitated. "Tigerblaze might be mad. He'll think I've betrayed him or something."

Rosefrost waved her tail. "Craneflight saved a spot near the edge, we'll be well hidden." She tried sounding as convincing as she possibly could, praying to SpiritClan that Dovepetal would agree so the two could spend more time together.

Thankfully, it worked, for Dovepetal relented. "Okay."

Rosefrost's face lit up, and she twitched her pelt, leading the calico over to where Craneflight's white pelt stood out against the masses of grays and browns, padding side by side with Dovepetal. Halfway there, the two were shoved apart as a cat squeezed between them rudely to get to his destination. The brown tabby's ears twitched with disdain, and she was almost about to snap something when she spotted who the culprit was.

Tigerblaze.

The ginger tabby had stormed between Rosefrost and his sister without even glancing at either of them, heading straight for the tree the leaders were perched on and finding a seat right at the front.

"Ignore him," Dovepetal meowed softly into Rosefrost's ear; the brown tabby tried not to focus on how close their faces were. "Since Mom died when we were young and Dad never tells him no, he always gets fussy when he doesn't get something he wants. It'll wear off soon."

Frankly, Rosefrost couldn't care less, but she nodded anyway. The two finished the trip over to Craneflight, who passed the brown tabby a surprised look when he saw Dovepetal. "I had to fight some LakeClan warrior off to keep these spots," he meowed as the two she-cats neared.

"Now, now, violence during a Gathering?" Rosefrost mewed good-humoredly as she sat down, her heartbeat fluttering faster as Dovepetal purred. "How could you?"

Everything was looking up. Dovepetal wasn't mad at her and the whole Tigerblaze situation was settled. What could go wrong?

~~~

sorry for the filler, next chapter's going to be much more exciting ;)

thank you for reading, and as always, feedback is appreciated!

~ lily & effie