LEFT TO BLOOM \ sablemist

[FERNGILL]

He couldn't believe it- blue, bright blue, a vivid colour he'd seen up in the mountains. They were perfect , and had rose so soon after leafbare's snow had washed away- it was meant to be, he was certain of it! Sablemist had sprung to his mind near-immediately. The flowers were a perfect match for her clear-water eyes, and... well, every time he saw flowers he thought of Sablemist. She had such a good eye for them, for their colours- for anything beautiful, really.

There was a spring in his step when he sighted her- in fact, he got in a bit of a tangle. "Sable- oof!" He tripped to the ground in a puff of sand, but was quick to scramble back to fiery paws, a blur of flame when he finally got to her. Gently, Ferngill placed the flowers at her feet- by a miracle (and from holding his chin up high), the flowers hadn't been damabed by his tumble. "Lucky find, right? I thought of you as soon as I saw them- they're beautiful, aren't they?" After a long leafbare, these flowers were special, a wonderful sight for a sore eye. And there was no cat he'd rather give them to.

\ @Sablemist ​

✦ penned by pin ✦​

 

[Sablemist]

The sudden partial call of her name, by a voice all too familiar, prompted her ears to perk and swivel instantly. While blue eyes are quick to gaze in her audits tilted direction, Sablemist's maw gaped marginally in response to Ferngill's abrupt tumble. Concern seized the molly, causing her features to twist as she spun on her heels in wake of a plume of dust. "Ferngill!" She gasped, taking several hurried steps forward. However, before she could ask if he was okay, the ginger tom popped back up as if his little spill never happened. Perky and bright as ever. A subdued sigh of relief escapes her jaws, allowing worry to melt away from her visage before fully concentrating on what he placed at her paws.

His opening question rings within her ears as she inspects the beautiful blossoms with a delicate smile. It was a lucky find indeed, especially so early into the new leaf season. She couldn't recall ever coming across flowers marked with such a vivid hue. She's prepared to answer him, to agree with the blooms being a rare find. Yet those words found themselves lodged within her throat. Restricted, they eventually crumbled away when faced with the lead's next string of words. "I thought of you as soon as I saw them-" He said, and again her stomach erupted with the flutter of butterflies. A strange emotion she still couldn't quite wrap her mind around. He'd thought of her first? Out of everyone of their clanmates?

Pools of blue lift from the clear water buds to find sparkling emerald. "They're beautiful, aren't they?" Beautiful he said. Did that make her beautiful too? Other clanmates have complimented her before and none of their remarks warranted a reaction such as this. Ferngill was her closest friend, why would his words be any different? Regardless of her failed reasoning heat flushed throughout her face, spreading up into her ears until she sought comfort by wrapping her tail around her paws as she sat. "Th-they are really pretty, thank you." She voiced and finally gifted him a sheepish, albeit grateful smile. "Fern...could you um-can you put them in my fur, please?" Sablemist asked. They were far too nice for her to roll in and hope the petals stuck and for those not used she planned to tuck them within her nest.

✿ ≖≖ riverclan warrior / seventeen moons old / she/her ≖≖ ✿​

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[FERNGILL]

In a really weird way, her tone of concern made him feel a little happier- it ebbed away the embarrassment that much faster. If there was any embarrassment in the first place, anyways. Sablemist was one of very few cats who never appeared to Ferngill as if they were judging him- no, her crystalline eyes were always clear and kind, like summer waters. Ferngill watched her intently, searching her face for any twitch of movement- he thought he saw happiness in her eyes, but there was an odd sort of shock on her face too. he noticed her tail flick to cover her paws...

She did that a lot, tucking a plush tail over her paws, cradling herself. He scrunched his nose up with a smile when he saw it, endearment warming in his chest. Yeah, clean and clear- like the sun itself. He liked that about her.

Sablemist's smile was twinged with shyness, he noticed- Ferngill tilted his head, but couldn't find any insincerity in her voice. No, she really did like them, he was sure of it- and that made him as happy as if he had lounged a day in the river, the sun spangling the ripples. Could you put them in my fur, please? "'Course I can," came his enthusiastic agreement, bursting from him before he could really think about it.

He sat close, gently weaving the flowers through her domino fur. One against white- striking, like the sky peering through clouds. One against black- bright cornflower in the night. Grinning all the while, Ferngill found himself breathing shallowly as Sablemist’s scent mingled with the petals, and flooded through him floral and warm.

He looked up at her then- met her eye. When had he first noticed the depth of them? The paler flecks in amongst the bright green, like scattered patches were sun-bleached, or kissed by the daylight refracting through water. Ferngill's head tilted to one side again- yeah, he was right. These flowers matched her eyes, mostly, but they weren't quite as pretty... and he was rather impressed with himself that he'd remembered the colour of her eyes so well...

Then, he realised he'd been looking at her for a little bit too long. And they were quite close together, and- and Ferngill suddenly felt like his face was ablaze. "Oh! Um-" he'd made the noise before he'd even thought about what he was going to say. "Sorry," through the stalk of a flower, "I just- I thought this one should go behind your ear..."

And suddenly, he was a bit sheepish about closing in- he hesitated for a moment, before craning his neck and nestling the flower behind her ear. He was very aware of his own breath, and Sablemist's, and where they were stood all of a sudden.​

✦ penned by pin ✦​

 

[Sablemist]

Time drifts by in comfortable silence with every blossom carefully placed and there is a moment where she wondered if their arrangement meant anything special. Her head tipped slightly while he worked diligently, stealing a glance at that dazzling smile one more time. It was an infectious dose of positivity, warm and comforting like the sun above. Beyond the floral scent enveloping them soft notes of water mint waft through her nose. Apart from the typical smell of the river clinging to him it was her favorite smell. Fresh and invigorating, just like his grin, just like his gaze. How long has it been that way? Truthfully she had no idea.

A single verdant eye eventually finds her own and for once, instead of averting her gaze in a shy manner, she holds it. Strong chiseled features buried beneath bold tangerine fur cradle a delicate stem as she examined him. A noise is made but it lost to her ears in the midst of her doe like staring. It's not until he apologizes that she blinks back to reality, acutely aware of her own staring. "It's okay..." Sablemist breathed softly. For he truly had nothing to apologize for. In a strange way she favored being the center of his attention like this and if she could- she'd like to hold it for just a little longer.

She notes Ferngill's brief hesitation before craning upward and she lowers her head half way to meet him. Making it easier for the flower to be tucked within the crook of her ear. To both her relief and terror he does not pull away immediately. Instead he hovers, lingering there as the warmth of his breath tickles her face. The subtle fluttering of her heart evolved into a hammering as she leaned closer, eyes hooded as the distance between them grew smaller. Inching closer her eyes close, the fog of her mind blanketing all reasoning as she sought to touch her nose to his own. The thought felt wrong. Yet, despite her only reason being he was her friend she couldn't find the will to pull away.

Charcoal nearly tapped cool salmon until another warrior's voice split the air beyond the foliage concealing them. "Sablemist the patrol is about to leave, hurry up!" Eyes of periwinkle snap open at the call, her pelt bristling slightly in surprise as she reluctantly pulled herself away from the ginger tom's face. "Coming! Give me just a second." She shouted hastily over her shoulder. The molly's gaze landed on Ferngill again with a myriad of emotions swimming through their depths. A rare twinge of anger followed by a flicker of disappointment and a dash of embarrassment completed the concoction. She was irritated by the interruption, that much she knew. But disappointed? She found herself shocked for wishing she could have gone through with her actions. "I-I'm sorry Ferngill." She murmured, ashamed by her lack of self control.

Starclan knew she didn't want to destroy what they had between them. Not after being friends for so long. Ebony ears fall against her skull as she gathers herself, the patrol was no doubt growing impatient by now. "I'll talk to you later." Although her tone was poised more like a question if anything as she withdrew a couple of steps. Her paws felt like heavy stones, unwilling to leave the sunset tom, but she turns anyway.

✿ ≖≖ riverclan warrior / seventeen moons old / she/her ≖≖ ✿​

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[FERNGILL]

He didn't know why he'd paused, but Sablemist was looking right at him, and his gentle breathsmingled with hers, a warm web between them. Ferngill didn't want to pull away, especially after she'd soothed him- told him it was alright. What did it mean, that it was alright?

Then- then, she was moving. Inching forth, and he lost sight of those crystalline eyes as they fluttered closed. Throat drying, paws tingling numb, Ferngill felt his heart thumping in his chest, loud and roaring. For a moment he was still, so very still- teetering on the edge of action. Because in that moment Ferngill found that he didn't really care about who might be watching, or whether he'd looked for too long, or whether she'd liked where he'd put her flowers. What he wanted was to touch his nose to hers, and keep it there, and-

A call for Sablemist split the air, and- yeah, it was disappointment he felt when she drew away, her eyes snapping open. Ferngill felt his paws again, and his heart burst at its beating peak. For a moment he shared her glance- periwinkle eyes shone apologetic. The ginger tom's paw sat slightly ajar as he sought for the right words. I'm sorry, she said. What was she sorry for? Was it- was it that she was sorry for the interruption, or sorry that they'd gotten so close?

"It's- it's okay." He said it after a few moments, after too long. Stars, she... she'd always been there for him, always always, and... Ferngill was so overcome with the million things he felt in that moment that barely anything at all managed to come out of his mouth. I'll talk to you later, she murmured, and Ferngill felt a very distinct dip of disappointment at the realisation that nothing else was going to happen.

Still, he dressed himself with a noticeably flustered smile. "Yeah, definitely," he chirped, nodding enthusiastically, trying- trying to act like everything was exactly the same as it had always been. That they were friends, forged through pain and kindness, and that was that. What stood in the way of his toil was the sudden, lurching realisation that he wanted to usher Sablemist back over to him. That he wanted to wind their tails together- that he wanted to tuck his head beneath her chin and drink in her scent, and give her everything he saw that reminded him of her. Give her everything-

But instead, he dipped his head and said in a hurry, "Good- uh, have a good patrol..." And, inwardly facepalming, he turned away and sought somewhere to hide. ​

✦ penned by pin ✦​