A chill pricked Roseblossom's paws. The slushed snow was icy beneath her feet. She picked her way through the mud and snowmelt leftover from the rain that had lasted two sunrises. She remembered the previous border skirmish serenely, and it was almost as vivid as her vision of fierce claws and dark shadows.
       She had went on a hunt alone, finding only a scrawny sparrow. The slushing of mud under another cat's paws sounded from a clump of dry yellow grass ahead of her. Roseblossom stopped, tasting the air. Another cat was near her, and it wasn't WindClan.
The scent was clear and clean and crisp; it almost seemed faintly familiar. Roseblossom dropped her prey, scraping what was left of some snow over it.
        Roseblossom followed the scent, detecting the cat's closeness. Roseblossom perked her ears as the sound of clumsy paw steps in the mud grew louder as she neared the cat. The paw steps stopped. Roseblossom did as well, holding her breath.
       The yellow grass swished and crunched ahead of her as the cat started moving again. Roseblossom pushed through the tall gorse, surprised at the other cat's speed. This cat may be fast, but I have good stamina.
       Roseblossom pushed on at a fast trot. She caught a glimpse of a cream tabby tail swish through the gorse ahead of her. Her heart beat quickened along with her paw steps. Aspenrose. Roseblossom recalled what Driftfrost had said when she was visited by him and Aspenrose in her dreams. StarClan allows her to visit the waking world, to watch over the Clan she left behind.
       Questions she hadn't visited for moons stirred back through Roseblossom. She had decided to ignore the biting urge to understand why Aspenrose had left, and focus on the bigger picture; the sickness spreading through her Clan, and the regular skirmishes.
       But now Roseblossom's worries and wonders overwhelmed her. She worried about her dream of shadows and the skirmishes and the illness. She wondered now about the unknown prophecy and why Aspenrose had left and how she had come to join StarClan.
       Roseblossom bounded forwards, trying to keep sight of Aspenrose's tail. "Wait!" She called out frantically.
       The cream tail disappeared through the tangle of gorse and stiff yellow grass. Roseblossom surged forward, breaking out of the grass onto open moorland. She blinked at the empty slush-covered hills that rolled out before her. There was no sign of Aspenrose. She must had to of went back to StarClan, she acknowledged that the morning dawn beauty had faded, and with it, so had Aspenrose.
*•*•*•*•*•*•*
Droplets of icy cold rain came down from the dark sky. Roseblossom shuddered from the cold. Warmth flowed through her when a comforting tail was wrapped around her. She was curled up beside Ambernight under the open sky. She liked being out in the open, but with the frosty weather of leaf-bare, she longed for a nest and shelter.
As of right now, no cat was infected with the odd sickness. Firepool had still been wary though; she had ordered Zoompaw to clean out the elders den and the nursery just in case the illness still lingered.
Roseblossom shifted beside Ambernight, and he raised his head, amber eyes gleaming with fondness. Roseblossom gazed at him, blinking with affection. He stroked his tail over her flank.
She flicked his ear with her nose. "Furball," she teased, amusement lighting her hazel eyes.
Ambernight nuzzled her, pulling away awkwardly to look at her again. Roseblossom rested her head on her paws, sleep dragging at her thoughts. The warmth of Ambernight's whisper reached her ears.
"I love you, Roseblossom."
Roseblossom snuggled closer to him, unable to keep the smile from her face. "I love you, too." And she meant it.