Staring at Her Reflection, ...Under the snow-covered ice

[Flamepaw]

A small shadow cast itself upon the small dusting of snow covering Mirror Lake. A she-cat sat beside it, gazing into the reflecting effect of the ice-covered lake. She wondered if it was true, if this lake was forever covered with frost. She had never known it not to be.

Frostbite put a paw on the surface and swiped it around, clearing it away so she could see the dull white of the lake. She could see her face in it, but not perfectly. She leaned forward, squinting her blue eyes. [b]"Hmm ...."[/] An idea was in her head, and she slowly stepped onto the surface.

It had been safe as long as she had known it, but she still never took a risk. Slowly Frostbite began to cross until she came to the small hole in the middle, where the ice was cut away to look into the freezing waters. It was just big enough to fit your paw in, and a whole cat could never imagine squeezing into it.

Frostbite slowly put her paw into the crevice and then felt water consume it. A chill ran up her spine and she shivered, but felt alongside the bottom of the ice. It was very thick, and she felt an odd sickness in her as she thought about what could be at the bottom of it. Suddenly, something slippery brushed against her, and she dug her claws into it.

She brought her arm out of the pool, a small bass stuck the end of her paws, flapping away. A satisfactory grin was on her face as she held her trophy up.

[Moony]

Cursedsong slowly stepped on the ice, making sure it was safe, then padded toward Frostbite. He remembered when she was an apprentice. She was five moons younger than he, but it hadn't stopped him from teasing her to no end. he was probably the reason she could be so sarcastic at times. The thought made him want to laugh.

Hello, Frostbite. He said placidly. He sat next to her, "accidentally" rubbing his shoulder against hers. Ah, what a flirt he was! He smiled at her. He saw the fish and nodded. Good job. He wondered if she would still put up with his teasing.

[Flamepaw]

Frostbite looked up at Cursedsong, momentarily surprised, until she narrowed her eyes. "Thanks." She said, pushing the fish towards him. "Want to share? I'm not very hungry." The white she-cat's eyes flickered quickly, hiding something behind them. There was something about the tom that she couldn't quite trust ... or resist.

"So, what's up?" The lean warrior said as she dug her claws vainly into the ice, but just managed to shatter away a few tiny shards.

[Moony]

Cursedsong smiled, noticing her claws's actions. He managed to once again accidentally rub shoulders with her as he bent and began nibbling at the fish. After he tore off a tiny piece, then chewed and swallowed it, he spoke. Well, not much. Clanlife is as boring as it can get....except when I'm around you. He said, then added in his mind, and all the other she-cats. But you're the prettiest by far.

Anything new for you? He nibbled at another small piece of the fish, nudging the fish toward her and momentarily bumping noses with her when he brought his head up. He felt so silly. He was flirting so much, and no one was around to see, either.

[Flamepaw]

Frostbite felt chills run down her spine. She hated what Cursedsong was doing, but she felt she couldn't quite reject it. She knew that she was just like every other she-cat and there was no difference with her and anyone else, that Cursedsong was just being the usual tease that he normally was. But she decided to play along.

She grinned. "I'm flattered. Nothing's new at all. Same old ..." The pretty white she-cat looked up at the sun for a moment and then back down at the tom. She leaned forward for a quick bite of fish and she swallowed it, suddenly regreting that her breath would stink.

[Moony]

Cursedsong felt something churn in his stomach as he looked at the she-cat before him. She was beautiful. She was prettier than all the she-cats in IceClan, and definitely more so than all the FireClan cats. The only cat that compared would be a StarClanner, and then maybe not even one of them.

Same old....sounds boring. He smiled. He looked away, not wanting her to see that the game he played was beginning to not be just a game. He looked at the sky, trying to regain the sense of control he had felt before coming out here. He finally managed it and turned toward Frostbite. Is there anything I can do to brighten your day?

Suddenly, his shoulder brushed hers again, and he almost cursed himself for allowing it to happen. Surely she would see through his ploy. He kept the same expression though, and held his smile in place.

[Flamepaw]

Frostbite shivered again, not sure if she enjoyed the chills dancing along her back. "Hmm, yes, there's one thing you could do," The pretty Warrior said, glancing at him with a mischevious look. "But I bet you probably wouldn't want to do it." She added that part teasingly, knowing it would make the tom want to do whatever she had planned even more.

She stood up and looked at him quickly, trying to take in all that she knew about him. He didn't have the most pleasant name or background, but he was a nice tom after all, and quite good-looking. But something just wasn't right about him. Everyone in the Clan liked him, but Frostbite was more sensible than other cats. She was level-headed, though that made some cats like her even less.

But she was happy with herself. She was perfect the way she was, even if no one else thought that.

[Moony]

As soon as she spoke and waited for him to answer her, he knew the game she played. He smiled and leaned toward her. What could I do? He curled his tail around hers, his eyes dancing. He wanted her to continue. The only thing he couldn't do was leave her alone.

Come on....tell me... He purred.

[Flamepaw]

She felt herself quickly being charmed by the tom but assured herself that it was just him playing around. Cursedsong had every she-cat in the clan following around after him and she normally wasn't like everyone else in the crowd. She liked being different, being able to hold on to her morals.

However, it was nice to have fun sometimes. She leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "Play a little game with me." The way she said it was almost suggestive, but she knew that when she actually told him the game he would react differently.

[Moony]

Cursedsong smiled. He knew how to play games. He purred in an odd way, laughing, then took a deep breath. He wondered what kind of game she was thinking of. Of course, darling. What game?

He knew it was pathetic, but he felt like playing along. Most she-cats, he wouldn't have given them much time, but Frostbite was different. She didn't follow him around with a silly expression. She was different.

[Flamepaw]

"Truth or Dare."

An old game but risky all the same, and it was one game that Frostbite loved to play. She always played a dare, doing anything from wandering in FireClan territory to breaking a few rules that normally she would have abided by. She grinned mischeviously at Cursedsong. 'Darling.' That's what he called her.

No. She still wasn't that kind of cat. She wouldn't fall head-over-heels for him. She would try her hardest to stay away from loving him.


... Her hardest.

[Moony]

Cursedsong heard the game and almost launched himself backwards. He had not expected this. He wasn't sure he could do it. This had been a game that his freak of a father had played with he and his siblings. It had always turned out that they got hurt or broke the rules, and he was the one that saved them or got caught. He hated that game, for what his father had used it to do. But he could do this....for Frostbite. She was the only cat worth it. She didn't know how hard this was.

The whole time, his expression had remained pleasant and carefree. He smiled, chuckling. Well, then. Let's begin. You first? He wanted her to ask him to do something. To see if she was really the wonderful cat he had begun to think.

[Flamepaw]

She stopped for a minute, seeing an odd change grow over him. Not in his face, but just in the way Cursedsong acted. But it was gone and she soon forgot it. "Alright. Truth or dare, Cursedsong?" She said, hoping and wishing that he would choose dare. She'd already thought of a good thing to do, and it would be fun to watch him do it.

The pretty white she-cat swished her tail lazily, scattering little snowflakes all across the ice, trying to make it un-dusted, almost. She liked seeing her reflection. Not because she was vain, but it was cool to look down and see yourself staring up at you.

[Moony]

For some reason, Cursedsong's whole being felt like running away from this. He was straining against himself to stay there with her. He took a deep breath as though he had finally made a decision after long thought, and said, Dare. He knew that whichever he picked, she would have something good.

He prayed that it didn't involve breaking any rules. Even minor ones. He was frightened of what Oathstar might do, which wasn't like him at all. He normally would be the one to flirt with any cat, even some loner or rogue prisoner, if it meant the Clan got something out of it. Heck, he had even flirted with Oathstar before. He almost laughed at himself, but didn't. He was tense, waiting for Frostbite's reply.

[Flamepaw]

"Calm down, Cursedsong," The she-cat said gently, frowning slightly at the strain he was going through. Maybe she should stop; she didn't want her friend to go through mental pain. "Are you ok? Maybe we can just stop, if you want to." She said, blinking her bright blue eyes.

"We can play something else, you know." She told him reasurringly. "You can choose the next game," Frostbite said, though she did wonder why he was so ... changed all of a sudden. She felt in her heart that she did care about the tom, no matter how much she did not want to, and that she didn't want Cursedsong to feel hurt or upset or whatever.