Dewstripe could feel the flowers.

She could feel them, digging into her lungs, roots stabbing through her heart, petals filling her veins.

She could feel the flowers killing her.

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Long before the first seedlings of love dug into her heart, before the roots of dismay took hold in her lungs, Dewstripe was happy. She was a young, friendly warrior, who worked hard for her clan.

As all warriors should.

Before the death grip of the flowers caught in her, she was satisfied.

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Dewstripe pounced forward, her claws snagging the faint feathers of the chaffinch. A disturbed cheep came from the bird, its shiny black eye staring at her. Dewstripe stared back. Then she snapped her paw down on its neck, hearing a small pop.

Good food, she murmured to herself. The elders will probably by happy to have it. She got to her paws, teeth sinking into the chaffinch, as she lifted her head, amber eyes blinking, taking in the forest.

It was a nice forest, one with light dappling swathes of the ground in golden light, leaves and moss carpeting what it could, leaving the ground underneath spongey and soft.

Dewstripe was happy here.

But her thoughts were not on the forest, as she trotted back to camp. Her thoughts were not on the bird, or the elders she would give it to.

Her thoughts were on a tom.

More specifically, the lack of a tom in her life. In Ireclan, most she-cats were mated by the age of twenty-four moons. And that day was drawing startlingly close, too close for comfort.

Already, her two sisters had had their mate ceremonies, ones filled with flowers and joy, and the promise to make Ireclan proud. Dewstripe hadn't even felt a flicker of hope, not with the remaining toms in the clan.

Her pawsteps faded as she neared the camp, with its ivy tendrils draped over the entrance. Morning glories wreathed around the trees that formed the borders of camp, and ferns curled up high, hiding the shelters and rocks in the midst of all the growth.

Dewstripe lifted her tail in greeting to the guards, letting the wind catch the tips of her fur. They raised their own tails in response, before turning their attention back to their conversation.

Inside, cats lounged in the grass, hushed voices and contented purrs filling the air. Mates curled next to each other, and a few kits tumbled across Dewstripe's path, their high pitched mews filled with mirth and curiosity.

She paused momentarily by the elders, their fur flecked with silver, eyes worn with care, but still shining. Halting words voiced their thanks, and Dewstripe purred back a reply.

Life was perfect...

But she still didn't have a mate. The time was coming when she would be expected to fulfill her duty to the clan, and to carry future warriors. She didn't want to be paired randomly, as had happened to her friend, Marigoldheart. She wanted to experience the euphoria of falling in love.

A surprised meow came from the entrance to camp, and the hushed whispers and cries of confusion rippled on the air, too faint for Dewstripe to truly understand.

She shuffled through the cats, the entirety of the clan moving to the front, voices tangling into an indeterminable web of words, questions, and accusations.

Dewstripe ducked under another cat, stumbled back as another stepped on her tail, and spun, lost in the chaos of writhing bodies. She took a step back, turning, and stopped, staring into what must be the most beautiful thing she had ever seen...

Eyes.

Soft blue eyes, flecked with curling ferns, waves of sky rippling in the cat's gaze. Dewstripe stood there, mesmerized, staring, soaking in the splendor and beauty of such eyes. And when she pulled her gaze away from those sparking depths of blue, the first seed of love had been planted.

The rest of the clan still chattered on, but for a moment, it felt as if it was just her and the stranger. Her gaze flitted across them, the muscles rippling under their pelt, cream and dark russet marbling half in the shadows of the forest.

But it was their eyes that captivated her, and she was drawn to them, over and over again.

But reality rushed back over her when they spoke, tones of warmth and something else gliding over their voice.

The crashing noise of the clearing snapped back into place, voices mingling into one constant thrum, and she saw the stranger speaking, but their words were lost in the cacophony that surrounded them...

The noise of everything hushed, just for a moment, only inside her head, as the stranger stepped forward, and smiled.

Such a small action, but it affected her so deeply, sending warmth tingling through her pelt, sparks of euphoria lighting her up. Feeling her cheeks heat, she ducked her head, relishing the glow that filled her. She opened her mouth to speak, but when she looked up, they were gone.

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Half a moon.

That's how long the stranger had been here.

That's how long Dewstripe had been sneaking glances across the camp, trying to look into those eyes of the sky. That's how long they had gone without speaking a word to each other, their movements a silent dance around camp.

They said the stranger's name was Ember. They said the stranger had been stolen as a kit, taken away from Ireclan. They said he wanted to come home.

Dewstripe couldn't deny the hope unfurling in her, and she couldn't ignore the attraction that burned deep inside. She could feel the soft pricks of something else growing in her though, and it scared her.

The gentle hush of the stranger's voice, and they were padding away, out of camp, into the woods.

Dewstripe couldn't help it. Her paws tugged after him, and she followed them, letting them lead her out the back of camp, through the outstretched ferns, past the two guards perched by the exit.

Birds chirped on and on, their melodies blurring into each other, each one light and sweet, trilling in tandem with her beating heart.

A choking feeling crept up her throat, and she stopped, coughing, feeling pain flood her chest, the prickling growing worse. Something soft, mixed with blood, filled her mouth, and she coughed again, feeling everything clear.

Flowers fell from her opened jaws, tinted red with blood, petals swaying gently in the air as they fluttered down, clustering at her paws.

Fear crawled down her spine, spider legs of it making her fur rise, the creeping sensation that something bad was about to happen, choking her again.

She turned and ran.

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Ember stared at her, their sky blue eyes flitting back and forth, from her, to somewhere behind her.

Dewstripe's flanks were heaving, and her mouth was slightly open, as she scoured her mind for something, anything, to say. Left without a voice, and captivated by Ember's eyes, she knew she had no chance.

Ember gave her a concerned look, settling his tail on her shoulders, his words soft and comforting. But they did anything but comfort. Dewstripe could feel the prickling again, the choke of petals filling her again.

A light mew, and Ember turned away, smiling at Crocusdance, his tail sweeping away from Dewstripe as he trotted toward the young mollie.

Dewstripe watched with growing despair as the two cats rubbed against each other, tails twining, the bliss of each other's comfort clear.

She could feel the flowers now.

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Dewstripe stared at the flowers covering her paws. She didn't want to look up. Couldn't look up. Ember was right across the camp from her, Crocusdance curled against him as they shared a bluebird.

She had caught that bluebird.

She had wanted to bring it up to Ember, to ask to share it with him, to finally speak, to tell him how she felt.

But instead, she was called away, and forced to leave the precious piece of prey at the pile, to watch as Crocusdance picks it up instead, to feel the prickling pain as the two cats shared it.

So instead of looking up, and seeing them, she stared at the flowers. A few more dripped from her jaws, and the buds of new ones poked through her throat.

They hurt so much.

Dewstripe could feel the roots spreading throughout her body, rippling under the surface. She could feel the crush of petals creeping info her lungs, making it hard to breathe. She could feel the pain as they forced through her, shredding what little hope she had.

Coughing, more blood soaked petals joined the ones spread forlornly at her paws, and Dewstripe shivered, looking away...

Right into the eyes of Ember.

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The woods were calm.

The woods were quiet.

The woods were the only place she could escape Ember and his deep blue eyes. The only place where she could escape the sight of Crocusdance and Ember curled together.

But she could never escape the flowers.

The coughing was growing more frequent with each day that passed, and Dewstripe seemed to be trailing bloody petals behind her, wherever she went.

A snap sounded off behind her, and she spun, eyes wide in disbelief. Ember stood before her, eyes clear yet filled with with confusion and sorrow.

Dewstripe took a step forward, but her paws stuttered, tumbling over themselves, falling towards Ember.

The marbled tom caught her against his side, and slid down to the ground with her, shock in his eyes of the sky.

She stared up at him, stared up into his eyes, for what might be the last time. Her body gave a soft shudder as the flowers pushed out, sharp thorns digging through her.

She was finally with him, finally able to find her voice, as the tears flowed unabashed. "I love you," she whispered, voice choked with flowers.

She watched the tears in his own eyes, felt a tugging in her heart as a small bud spread across her fur, and let out a soft sigh, staring into those eyes of the sky.

The final flower bloomed.

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Thank you for reading Flower Garden! This was a lot of fun to write, and although I don't have much experience in writing love, there us something freeing about it

I hope you enjoyed this!

Every time I see you
It's getting a little harder to
breathe
And it feels like if this goes on
There won't be anything left of me to
see

I brought you a bouquet of
flowers
And you said they were a work of
art
But then you left me with the shredded
petals
Of the flowers I picked from my
heart

Ok, so all of this art and writing is from ages ago, but I wanted to share it with you guys.

I also wanted to let you know that you guys will be getting a lot more writing accompanying art

If I ever actually manage to write/art

I'm so busy right now :(