Private Thread Ask to Join Rose in the Sun

Think before you leap. Find the right route. ~Shadefrost
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Shadefrost approached with the quiet care that had become second nature to him, paws finding the cooler seams between sun-warmed stone. The river’s light flashed against his dark pelt as he slowed near Leopardrose, gaze sweeping the treeline before settling on her.

For a heartbeat, he didn’t speak. He simply stood there, letting the warmth touch him too, letting himself breathe.

“It’s quiet,” he murmured at last, voice low but not fully relaxed. His tail flicked once, betraying the edge beneath the calm. “Too quiet, maybe.”

He lowered himself beside her, not quite touching, but close enough that their shoulders nearly brushed. His eyes followed the line of her rosetted coat where it caught the light, then lifted again to the trees.

“You picked a good place to keep watch,” he added, softer now. A small compliment, honest and unguarded. “You can see them before they see you.”

Shadefrost shifted, settling more firmly against the warm stone, though his ears never stilled their slow sweep of the forest edge.

“…Still,” he admitted after a moment, quieter, “it’s nice to have a moment like this. With you.”

Spawn of flame, Thunder-struck, from the ashes I rise
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Leopardrose did not startle at his approach. Her half lidded gaze slid toward him as he spoke and settled near her. "It is quiet, but I'd prefer it that way." Her tail gave an unsettled twitch, mainly due to a fragment of her subconsciously preparing for the worst. She was sure what she said might be considered obvious...but with cats in the Clan like Wildcry, Gingerthrash, Savagefox, and now Rimepaw, it might not be so clear.

Her chin lifted a fraction at his observation turned compliment. "It can be a peaceful place...when it's not being fought over, but that's been so long ago." Her gaze followed his to the treeline briefly before drifting back to the river. The last time she had been so close was when he had dipped her back feet in when rushing along it's icy surface for a wily leafbare squirrel.

Her shoulder brushed his then as she adjusted her posture against the warm stone. Might have been intentional. "We don't get many of them lately. So... we take them when they come." If that rogue wanted to interupt them she'd have a rough time of it.

Think before you leap. Find the right route. ~Shadefrost
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Spawn of flame, Thunder-struck, from the ashes I rise
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The corner of her mouth twitched faintly... pleased but not smug. Shadefrost had always been steady, measured where it mattered most - even in his shows of affection. When he echoed her resolve about the rogue, she gave an approving hum. "Only long enough before her death."

Instead of allowing the stillness to settle around them once more, the she-cat shifted decisively as one forepaw lifted and sat over his flank. Her weight was subtle and he could wiggle away if he wanted, she only smiled at him as she leaned in and gave him two brisk licks along the edge of his cheek and temple.

"You looked like you may have needed that." Pulling back just enough to study him. "How have you been?" She asked more quietly, an ear still flicked towards the treeline. "I haven't had the time to connect with some of the cats I'd like to..."