flower friends {marigoldkit}

The nursery had begun to intrigue Rosepaw. With her friend Sootstorm and Ferntwist's litter due to be born soon, she found herself giving it and the new life within an interested glance every time she passed.

Today, she looked again to the cosy hollow in the prickly protection of the camp's gorse walls which she had called home many seasons ago and which would soon be the home of much joy to a young couple.

It was not far from Whisperear's flower garden which she had begun planting for them when she first returned and was tending to at the moment. The common wild roses, poppies, and marigolds from Batsong and her first trip to the flower field were thriving. The garden had expanded to include lavender and fennel, which both smelled very nice, bracken and fern which were lush and green, and most recently a little chicory plant.

Each new plant had been chosen because it was the namesake of a clanmate. Rosepaw nurtured the garden with all the same care the cats of WindClan deserved. It was with surprise that she crouched to sniff the flowers only to find a kit amongst them.

"Oh, hello, little flower!" He was as much at home there as the most settled of the blooming flowers. She looked on him with warm curiosity. "You are Marigoldkit, aren't you?" Her single left golden eye blinked closed as she grinned. "I'm Rosepaw."

"Do you like the flowers? Did you know this golden one here is marigold, just like you!" She extended a paw to a bloom, a gentle tap making the flower joyfully bounce as she playfully booped Marigoldkit softly on the head as well.

His grown-up eye colour was coming through and it seemed they would be its same yellow. "It's a very strong herb, too, good for quite a few things," she enthusiastically told the kit. Hopefully she wouldn't bore him ~ she had quite an accidental habit of rambling.

Rosepaw couldn't help but giggle gently with the kit's wild snickering. A little trickster, huh? Had he been hiding? "How mysterious!" she said as he didn't answer her question. "You could be anyone or anything, then, as far as I know. So, what are you?" She asked playfully, possibly rhetorically.

He reached up for her face, but was very small, and didn't quite reach before he tumbled back down. Rosepaw, already crouched on her haunches, extended both paws out to him and the flowers to break his fall. But luckily she didn't need to, all were alright and not crushed.

He squealed with delight at her bop on the head and gazed up at her curiously. "I know, I lost an eye," she looked around making her eye go funny. "Where did it go?" she shrugged. "I dunno."

Distracted for one moment, she was surprised by the tiny tom digging his teeth into a yellow-orange petal. She smiled, amused. "You know what to do with herbs," she laughed. "How does it taste?"

She knew it tasted mild, citrusy, sometimes with a slight spice, unique. "If you like it, you may also like fennel." She gestured with her rosy wispy tail. Fennel had that unique spice as well. "All of the flowers in this garden are safe to eat. Sniff first, though, to find out if you like the scent." Not everything probably tasted good but marigold should be okay. Babies, she purred laughingly, put everything in their mouths.

In a blink, he had rolled away into the flowers and disappeared in the garden, only ocassional snuffling sounds and a trail of rustling foliage revealing his path. What was maybe-Marigoldkit investigating? "Ah!" she had it, "You won't find any eyes there," she purred, "To tell the truth, two-legs took it." Her single golden eye narrowed. "But, they also healed me like medicine-cats. You get some, you lose some, huh?" She shrugged it off. "You never know, though, those marigolds are quite the same colour..." She hummed in thought. "Do you have a favourite colour, maybe-Marigoldkit?"

Orange looked how a marigold tasted ~ bright, buzzy, and zingy ~ like the bits of petal stuck between the kit's little fangs. It was a good colour.

Her single golden eye searched the garden for a common wild rose. It was a soft pink. She picked one and held it up for Marigoldkit, showing the similarity with her tufts of wispy rosy fur. Rosepaw tucked it behind her ear with the shimmery black feather from Batsong.