WHAT did i DO ??

[SHADE. :D]

puzzleheart

The fluffy, marked tabby tom blinked open his eyes. He stretched his jaws wide in a yawn, his eerie amber-yellow eyes opening, then squeezing shut again. He could see snowflakes drifting groundwards through the ferns. He could feel Brackenfire's fur against him. He smiled into his paws. There was no reason for him to be upset, was there? He wasn't even cold. His thick black, grey and white mottled tabby fur kept him warm, almost as thought it were still summer beneath his coat. Puzzleheart placed his chin on one paw idly, thinking. His mind strayed helplessly to his siblings. Yarrowleaf, who now spent all of his time trying to prove what a brilliant warrior he was. Cascaderain, who he could tell was in termoil about a certain apprentice. Firebird, who was being her usual loyal, bubbly self, and then Rainbowspirit. He had no idea what she was up to. They hadn't really spoken since their fall out. But Puzzleheart was confused. He had apologized to his sister for losing his temper with her, and she had accepted. Hadn't she? So why did she look at him with those big, sad, hurt eyes, like he had betrayed her in some way? He was so confused.

What exactly had he done?

[Dansen[Mouse]]

~[Brackenfire]~

The cold, stiffness in the air had woken up the large warrior. By the feel of it, she knew that it had snowed, but she really didn't care. Here she was laying next to her best friend, her crush, and maybe soon her mate. His fur was warm and soft, and she could lay here forever next to him. But she lifted her head and was surprised by how much snow was laying in front of the den. But she decided not to complain about it at the moment, though she wasn't really eager to even think about going out there.

She then looked at Puzzleheart who was already awake and seemed troubled. She wondered if it was because of Rainbowspirit, though. Ever since she almost clawed of the she-cats fur, Brackenfire noticed that Puzzleheart and his sister hardly ever talked anymore, instead they seemed to try and avoid each other. Brackenfire was also annoyed by Rainbowspirit's constant disappearing act, then coming back at odd hours all freshly clean.

"Puzzleheart, are you ok?" Brackenfire asked him, wondering if he would tell her, even though it was none of her business.

[SHADE. :D]

puzzleheart

The mostly white tom turned as a voice surprised him. He blinked his round eyes at Brackenfire, trying to get over his shock. She had made him jump - he hadn't realised she had woken. After a few moments, the fluffy warrior smiled, and licked her between the ears, though when he drew back, his amber-yellow eyes were still vaguely troubled. He thought about her question, and with a sigh, decided it was better to be honest with her. He looked into her eyes (so beautiful, in his opinion) andd began to speak. "I'm just... Just thinking about Rainbowspirit," he admitted, his voice heavy as though the subject made him feel tired and old. "I've tried apologizing. I've tried talking to her. I've tried everything, Brackenfire. I don't know what to do." It was odd for the serene Puzzleheart to get so het up. "I mean, where is she now, eh? I don't see her." His voice was not angry, just sad and defeated. It seemed he had lost his bubbly sister for good, and he didn't even know why.

[Dansen[Mouse]]

~[Brackenfire]~

Brackfire merely sat there as she listened to Puzzleheart. She hated seeing him like this, like he lost an important battle. Then again maybe he had. The she-cat turned her head to look outside the Warrior den, and she badly wished that she could understand what he was going through, but she couldn't. Her whole family was gone and she grew up alone for a while until Puzzleheart came into her life. She tried to put himself in his paws, thinking of a brother or sister that she was once close to then everything went wrong and the two stopped speaking to each other, but she was unable to understand.

Finally she looked back at Puzzleheart and merely shook her head. "I wish I could give you some advice about the whole thing, some words that might help make things right, but I can't." She looked down at her paws. "And I'm sorry."

She then turned at Rainbowspirit's empty nest. She tasted the air and could barely catch her scent because of all the other cats sleeping in the den, but she caught it and it tasted stale. "By the smell of it, she might have gone out last night before the snowstorm started." Even though she and Rainbowspirit had their own disputes, she couldn't help but feel a bit worried about the she-cat being caught out in this storm. "I hope she's wasn't caught in it."

[SHADE. :D]

puzzleheart

The big tom exhaled at length, confusion and sadness sweeping through him like a chill wind, but it had nothing to do with the snow falling. He turned his face to smile at Brackenfire as she apologized, before licking her between her large, pointed ears. "It's not your fault," he mewed in his deep, sincere voice. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't make you worry. They're my problems." He nuzzled her with his nose, then blinked his eerie amber-yellow eyes at her words. Worry briefly glazed them, and he thought of going to look for Rainbowspirit. He then hung his head. What was the point? She was probably fine. Would she even want him to save her? If she even needed saving? He doubted it, in both accounts. Sighing, Puzzleheart leant against the larger cat. "She'll be fine. She's resourceful."

[Dansen[Mouse]]

~[Brackenfire]~

"That's alright, Puzzleheart. I'm here if you ever need someone to vent too." The silver tabby replied as she returned his nuzzle. Her was steady, but her heart felt heavy. She wished that she could do better for him, that she could tell him something that would make everything alright, but the words were foreign to her, her mind unable to form them. Instead she knew that all she could do at the moment was comfort him by just being there. The she-cat laid her head across his back and sighed.

She loved him, more then anything in the whole world. She knew that he too loved her but neither of them had told each other. Suddenly she began to feel the old shyness come over her again as she thought about how she could tell him those three little words. But her mind came up blank and her heart felt like it was in her throat, leaving her speechless. Finally she decided to see if she could go around it.

"Puzzleheart?" she began, straining to not whisper, though she spoke in a low voice. She swallowed the lump in her throat and shifted uncomfortably. "Umm... what do you... I mean... well..." She struggled to get the words out, but she then turned her head to look into the toms eyes and her heart melted in them. She smiled and spoke a little more confidently. "Do you... well, like me? Like, more then a friend?" she whispered the last part, almost afraid of his answer.

[SHADE. :D]

puzzleheart

Puzzleheart smiled gratefully at Brackenfire, though he didn't like to burden her with his silly little problems. He pressed his brow against her's, his bushy tail flicking back and forth. The young warrior noticed the emotion flickering through the large silver tabby's eyes. He looked away, not wanting to intrude, though he was pretty sure what she was thinking about. The tom exhaled at length. They had been close for so long, ever since they were apprentices, when Brackenfire had been a lonely outsider, and Puzzleheart had been the oddball of his litter. That friendship had evolved into something more, but he had never mentioned it to his friend, not wanting to spoil what they already had between them. He had seen it before, unrequieted love ruining bonds. But the tom flicked up his large ears politely to listen as she spoke, wondering what words would come from her mouth. He blinked his glowing amber-yellow eyes a couple of times. He was confused. "Well, of course I like you, silly."

But then she carried on. Puzzleheart blinked slowly, his expression changing. He thought the question over for a heartbeat or two, then leant forward to lick Brackenfire over the ear gently. "Brackenfire, you're everything to me." It was true. He had never cared about a cat so much before in his life. He pulled back, looking into her eyes. "I love you."

[Dansen[Mouse]]

~[Brackenfire]~

A smile slowly crept over Brackenfire's maw as she heard the three little words, I love you. For a moment she couldn't even breath, her heart fluttered in her chest like a trapped bird wanting to escape. Everything is her life finally fell into place and for a moment, since she was a kit, she was...happy. Everything was going right, nothing was hurting, no one hated her. Everything, for a moment was just perfect for her. Finally she bent her head down and leaned against Puzzleheart. "I love you too."

The she-cat knew that Puzzleheart must still be worried about his sister, or maybe just tired of her for constantly disappearing. Brackenfire half hoped that the bubbly she-cat would appear through the entrance and make everything right again between the two of them. But Rainbowspirit was no where to be found. Brackenfire sighed and started to groom the toms back in hopes of at least comforting him that way.

[SHADE. :D]

puzzleheart

Puzzleheart breathed in the scent of the she-cat beside him. He smiled when she spoke. In truth, he had already known it. And she had already known how he felt. But they had just never spoken about it. The thickly-furred tabby tom pushed his nose between her shoulders. Her silver-striped fur was soft and silky beneath his cheek. "Don't ever leave me," he mewed. He thought aboyt his siblings. None of them were very old. Nineteen moons. Yarrowleaf was too busy fighting to find a mate. Cascaderain was... Well. Cascaderain. She'd always been overly immature. But he sensed that something was up with her. (This made him want to sigh. Happy Cascaderain too. What next?) Of course, Rainbowspirit was her sulky self, but an odd wary mysterious attitude had come about her. And then there was Firebird. The only one of his siblings who hadn't changed. He knew he could rely on the level-headed ginger cat to never change.