[Rose]

Berryfrost
She/Her

It was harrowing, even those few split seconds of worry, because maybe she'd overstepped by suggesting Snowybreeze go first. Maybe she'd said the wrong thing, though Snowybreeze was no doubt too kind to admit it, maybe Berryfrost had acted rudely with her best friend. But as always - really she should kick herself every time she misjudged Snowybreeze, which unfortunately happened a lot - the cinnamon patched warrior just stood and gestured them onward with a few simple words.

Exhaling with relief, and offering the tomcat a quiet, genteel smile, Berryfrost matched his pace as she followed him to the warrior's den, paying barely any heed to her tired body when it protested at the movements. This was Snowybreeze, and she would give all her time to this tom. Scarily enough, Berryfrost would give her life to this tom if the times called for it. Stepping forward as she reached the den to look into the warrior's den, the speckled molly had been letting her eyes adjust to the dark when.. when suddenly she felt Snowybreeze's cheek rubbing against her own, and an automatic was purr elicited from her. Returning the affectionate nuzzle, the smaller warrior gingerly stepped inside the dark space as her friend did. Indoor voices, okay. She could do that.

Gaze glued to the ground as Berryfrost carefully stepped over wayward paws and tails, the young damsel nearly bumped into her best friend, but stopped herself in the nick of time as he called out softly. Gaze darting upward with surprise - she had not realized she'd been so close - Berryfrost was efficiently distracted when Snowybreeze began drawing things.. out of the nest. And all at once, she knew what the gifts were. Or she could guess, and it made her want to melt with gratitude. How well Snowybreeze knew her, to know that the easiest way for her to grow accustomed to this new den was to similarize it to the other. Heart thrumming loudly in her chest, or was it in her ears?, for she could literally hear it pounding, at these lovely gestures, the young molly's gaze softened with every item Snowybreeze brought out.

That was not all. He'd put thought into the gifts, had put effort behind it all, giving her the nest she'd picked out for him and then bestowing these impossibly sweet words upon her. The words she wanted to repeat back to him. He deserved to hear them, after all, more than her.

He'd gotten her gifts, as a celebration.

And every time he showed her one of them, her heart melted more.

Every time she felt that impossible-to-ignore attraction form all over again.

First he brought out the rock, the one from the day they'd spent out in the territory after Snowybreeze had been given his name. Every day was unique. But if the stars would allow Berryfrost her way, she'd want to wake up with Snowybreeze a stagnant companion in her life. Gingerly picking up the jagged stone, Berryfrost lifted it up, pressing it against herself as the tom began explaining the next trinket.

A pinecone. She'd hadn't had one of those, or even thought of taking one for herself on the few times she'd been there. But now this pinecone held meaning, and anytime she went to Whispering Wetlands and saw one, it wouldn't be pinecones drawn to mind, it would be Snowybreeze.

And the next? A clear pebble. One that caused Berryfrost's eyes to widen with awe. It as something unlike all other she'd seen before, and the young lady lifted the item as well into her arms, delicately cradling the objects she'd been gifted. Oh, how she loved them! Aiming a shy smile at Snowybreeze and his wondrous words, Berryfrost whispered all that she was able to. "Frosted berry friend, now and always."

Almost at the point of cooing over her new trinkets, the slim, fluffy pale female only turned her attention back when her cinnamon patched friend leaned over to lay a feather at her paws. A scarlet red feather, a cardinal feather, that was so appealing to the eye and yet... All Berryfrost could see was the significance behind it. The love and care that had been put into these items. She didn't pick up the dazzling feather, no, in fear of damaging it on accident if it was put aside everything else, and instead lifted her eyes to Snowybreeze.

"You didn't need to get me any of these." She whispered softly when he was finished, gaze watering with emotion as Snowybreeze shifts his vision to the floor. He looked so nervous, so ready to think that Berryfrost wouldn't love all these trinkets he'd spent time looking on, when in reality she wanted to cradle them forever and never let go. But beyond that, beyond these sentimental gifts, Berryfrost knew that she'd trade all her belongings in a heartbeat if it meant seeing Snowybreeze happy. "Really, you're the best gift I've ever been given. A-and I-" the young molly pauses a moment, swallowing the stammer as her vision blurs for a moment with uncertainty. "I c- could never have asked for a better friend."

And then, everything just collapsed. The affection she felt for this patched warrior, both friendly and other. The weakness in her body, begging for rest after functioning so long. The throbbing sensation in her heart, both hurting with the fear of rejection and wanting to burst with happiness. The stress she'd felt the day before, that if she wasn't finished with her apprenticeship before turning thirteen moons, Peachfrost or Fallownose might feel disappointed. The scab on the underside of her forearm, that had started itching a while back like crazy, as if there were ants crawling all over it. It all piled onto her shoulders, until Berryfrost could do nothing but let out a quiet sob, drop the items she'd been holding, and then bury her face into two, upturned paws lifted off the ground. She only felt utter humiliated now, if anything, crying in front of the cat she so wanted to impress. "I'm s-s-sorry." She stammered after a moment, words blurring together as Berryfrost attempted to wipe away... whatever this was. Whether it be a meltdown, or a panic attack, or whatever someone wanted to describe it as. But for Berryfrost, it felt like neither. Even that single sob and those few tears had helped a.. a.. tightness that had been building in her chest for the past few moons. And letting it loose now, being able to do so in the midst of a very occupied warrior's den and still feel like it was only Snowybreeze that her world revolved around, that just punctuated how special he was to her. So whether Snowybreeze knew it or not, he'd been the cat to help her out of her shell since apprenticehood. But what good was anything if she kept all this to herself?

Breath shuddering with anxiousness a moment, Berryfrost squeezed her eyes shut. She had already broken berry law, and would probably do it again with her next few words. "I really really like you and I just hope... I hope those tears didn't insult you because I wasn't crying at the gift I- I just- Maybe I cry too much but sometimes I miss everyone. I miss my mothers, both Shiningmoon and Skyleaf. I miss Tawnypaw, I miss whoever my father was supposed to be. But when I miss all of that, all I have to do is find you and-" She paused, almost having added 'And nothing besides you exists anymore'. But the small sense of propriety and logic in her brain stopped her. It was no use bombarding her best friend with all her faults this dawn. He would probably just feel obligated to humor her if she told him about her feelings, which both was heartbreaking and made her want to somehow dare herself into saying it. Instead she continued with what she'd been saying before. "A-and. Snowybreeze, you've been the best friend I can ask for since that meeting where we were apprenticed. You're the reason I felt brave enough to find Peachfrost and ask her to give me my hunting lesson, and now I have a caring mother. You're the reason - because you didn't laugh at my trinket-collecting ways - I felt bold enough to speak to Fallownose when he caught me playing with a feather, and now I have a loving father."

Her words were jumbled, tumbling one after another in a hopeless mix of confusion and helplessness. What if she'd really really really upset Snowybreeze? Then Berryfrost would really panic. A breath, here, and then Berryfrost went on. Her voice had thankfully evened out by now, and so had her heart, thrumming at a calmed pace. "You're special to me too, I hope you know that. I care about you, about what you think, even on all the little trivial matters. I hope.. I hope you know that." Forcing herself to pry open an eye after a moment, the young she-cat gently swept up the gifts she'd been given, hugging the forevermore to be treasured items to her chest. And then, a meek whisper, this one tentative and hopeful. "I really really like the gifts, thank you." For even if she'd somehow managed to scar sweet Snowybreeze with her absolute idiocy, she'd no doubt care for him and cherish always. Shifting forward, Berryfrost began gently arranging the trinkets back into the nest, letting her paws do the work as she waited for a reply.

[ @Alchemist Kitsune - Snowybreeze ]