Silverleaf yawned, heading to her den. It had been a long day, hunting from sunrise to well now, sunset. She curled up in her nest, but not long later felt a paw prod her. She hissed, opening one green eye. "Who's there and what do you want? I'm tired." She snapped. "It's just me." A familiar voice whispered. She opened both eyes and say up to see her friend, Russetoak. He was a reddish brown tom with deep, handsome amber eyes. He was slender and a big bigger than her in size, toned but not with very broad shoulders. For a moment they just stared at each other, shuffling their paws, then Silverleaf asked, "What is it?". Russetoak just whispered "Follow me." And slid out of the den, leading her out of the camp of their community and to the lake at the heart of the territory. By now the sun had set completely and the moon was shining bright on the lake. Silverleaf took in the beautiful scene, gasping softly. And then she looked at Russetoak, who had been looking at her. They shuffled their paws again awkwardly. They both had feelings for each other but hadn't let them out. They had known each other since they were kits, and had grown up and trained together, best friends for life. Or maybe it could be more? Silverleaf wondered, her heart soaring at the thought of being his mate. "I brought you here to talk." Russetoak finally mewed. She looked at him as he continued "Um…I was just wondering if you wanted to…spend more time together. I hardly see you anymore, and you could use a break from all the work you do. You contribute enough to the community, and I'm sure Moonheart wouldn't mind if you relaxed a bit." Silverleaf blinked at him. "Of course." She purred. They say close together and looked at the lake, and Silverleaf felt like their friendship had finally grown back. Lately she had just worked and worked and spent hardly any time with him, and now they could explore together.
This is probably a weird chapter, but I'm trying to just make them closer. Next chapter timeskips some moons to the end of leaf bare, they're extremely close.