the shrike to your sharp and glorious thorn [closed]

(this thread directly follows this one)

Every sunrise since the plague had befallen the Clans, at the hands of the Righteous Few, Olivestone had found herself with a feeling that she had never really expected to have. With each passing day, the feeling grew in intensity, and she found it difficult to keep her gaze off of the the pretty she cat in question. Paws dirty and mouth full of moss, the deputy made a beeline for her nest, sitting close to the center of the cluster of nests that hugged the camp wall. She dropped her little bundle of moss and sorted through the pawful of faceted green stones she'd found, picking the biggest one and shoving the rest in her nest under moss and heather for later use. She gently wrapped the rock she'd picked out back up in the moss, and took a few moments to clean all of the dirt off of her paws and pelt. She then turned around, scanning the camp for a certain she-cat.

When she'd found Zinnia, Olivestone took a deep breath and picked up her bundle of moss before approaching her, heart pounding, but for a different reason this time. Upon stopping in front of Zinnia, she set her moss bundle down, she took a deep breath.
Alright, Cobaltfire. Here goes nothing.
"Hey, Zinnia! Would you like to go on a walk with me? I've got something to tell you."

Zinnia, who had been observing the clouds, tilted her head to express her curiosity. WindClan's deputy had captured her heart and her thoughts, but she tried her best to feign ignorance to that fact. The fact of it was Olivestone was a friend, first and foremost. In the moment, those thoughts were brushed aside as she was distracted by the dirt on her paws and the moss bundle she'd set down. Though she wondered about its purpose, she didn't comment on it - WindClan allowed her eccentricities, and she could do the same for them without question - though she'd never seen someone other than the medicine cats carry around a moss bundle before. "Of course - I'd love to. What did you have in mind?"

Olivestone's heart jumped a little as Zinnia agreed to spend some time with her, and with enthusiasm as well. She smiled, her heart beating a little faster as she chirped,
"Great! I was thinking about taking a walk through the flower fields."

She then picked up her moss bundle, flicking her tail in a gesture at Zinnia to come along. She mentally started reciting the things that she was planning on talking about, determined to not forget anything important or interesting, as she led the way out onto the moor, Zinnia at her shoulder.

Zinnia followed along without question or complaint, tail swishing lightly in the breeze. The momentary quiet wasn't unpleasant - it allowed her to gather her thoughts, and try and decide what she should voice. After all, when walking with the cat who held her heart in her paws, how was she to keep that very thought from spilling out against her will?

It didn't take too long for Olivestone to take the pair to the flower fields, the sun setting ahead of them as their route wove along the rabbit trails that ran through the grass. As the flowers showed up in higher density the further the pair went into the field, the deputy was looking for a place she'd found a few moons ago. A small, windswept tree stood at the top of a hill, the roots digging into the earth. The roots had crumbled the side of the hill, and the wind had scoured away the loose earth, creating a little flat ledge on the side of the hill, surrounded by flowers, the tree above covered in lovely white petals.

It was here that Olivestone finally stopped, setting down her moss bundle, and sitting down herself. She gestured with her tail for Zinnia to do the same, and opened her mouth to speak, her heart pounding in her chest.
"So, I brought you here because I've got something important to tell you. Ever since the Righteous Few sent down the plague, I realized that I felt more for you than just friendship, or that of just a Clanmate. I realized that I like you more than that, and at the Gathering last moon, one of the StarClan warriors told me to be upfront about how I feel and to follow my heart. So, I'm doing that."

She took a deep breath to steady herself before continuing, unrolling the moss bundle she'd brought with her, revealing the little green stone she'd found in the tunnels.
"I went deep into the tunnels and found this little green rock. I'd heard stories of caves down in the deepest reaches of the tunnels that sparkled and glowed, and against all odds, I actually found one. I brought back some of the stones that I found inside to give to you. You've stolen my heart, and it's taken me a long time to work up the nerve to tell you. I love you, Zinnia."

Zinnia watched as petals drifted down from the white-blossom tree, floating breezily along and into the flower fields. It was a lovely sight, but she had the sneaking suspicion that Olivestone wanted more than to simply share a stunning view of the territory. And as her companion began to speak, she was proven correct.

"I love you, Zinnia."

Even in her wildest dreams, she'd never imagined it to be quite so unmistakable. There was no ambiguity to her words. She fell speechless, words that she couldn't quite voice dancing across her mind. Her eyes fixed on a particular petal, snow-white in color, as it followed the breeze in lazy circles. That was what her thoughts felt like, in that moment, though faster and far more dizzying.

With a start, she realized Olivestone must have been waiting for an answer, and turned to face her as well as her lovely rock - she hadn't known rocks could sparkle like that. Oh, what if she'd ruined it all with her silence? The love of a lifetime fallen at her paws, and had she lost it already?

"I haven't any sparkling rocks, but I'm sure I could find something worthy of you in time. I... My thoughts are dizzy, disorganized, more so than usual... But it's a feeling I don't mind, I think. I feel like everything is lighter with you, somehow, in a way that it isn't with anyone else. I think..."

She fell silent for a moment. Words came easy to her, most of the time.

Not for this, and as she felt herself stumbling over them she struggled to salvage something remotely poetic.

"That is to say, if I've stolen your heart," she spoke softly. "Then I suppose that mine has made its home with you. That is to say... It's yours to keep, for as long as you wish."

Olivestone felt a purr burst forth in her chest, and a smile crossed her face as Zinnia responded in kind that she reciprocated the feelings that the deputy herself felt. She scooted close to the cat that she could now call her mate, and settled down beside her, content to just spend time with her, to bask in her presence.
"I'll be sure to care for it, as I'm sure you'll care for mine."

The sunset and the shiny rock, the flower field and the tree with its blossoms were all beautiful in their own sense, but in Olivestone's opinion, nothing could beat out how beautiful Zinnia was to her.