give me a reason . storm

The long stretches of sun that sprawled across the den floor reached Pinestar’s whiskers first. The tendrils wrapped themselves across the fine fibres, gently pushing the morning warmth up toward his body. Each dappled ray, slightly disturbed by the hanging vines at the entrance of the den but not always, brought with it the familiar call of morning; it took little else to wake the large tom. Large amber eyes slowly cracked open, his body stretched out long and relaxed outside the boundaries of his nest. His long, sweeping tail flicked from stiffly at his side to more stretched out as he flexed his paws, one by one, before slowly his limbs extended. His front paws grasped for the morning like, clawed soaking up the rays in what was just another element of the routine.

Each paw was carefully folded in as he rolled onto his belly, whiskers twitching and jaws parting in a long, deep yawn. The rest was like clockwork, his paws came first, tongue rasping between his pads carefully and precisely, not a piece of dirt could be there if he wanted to be comfortable. Then came his tail, ears and chest. Finally, he reached back to fix each side, however paused in the movement. That hadn’t always been part of the routine. But since Lilyfang decided she wasn’t talking to him, it had become so. He used to leave that till breakfast with her. Pinestar turned his head away, deciding against it. No, today was the day, he couldn’t let this behaviour continue any longer. Of course him mind had plenty of reasons for his friend’s sudden shunning, but, maybe it was time for the truth before he drove himself bee-brained with it.

Careful paws carried him across the soft sandy ground toward the dappled light, and gently he poked his nose through the vines, slowly pushing them out of the way as he eased forward into the warmth, his head lowering to avoid too much glare from the sun. His patched pelt automatically puffed out slightly, holding strong against the chill that continued to hang in the air. Not that he expected it’d last long. Pinestar’s gaze swept the clearing, before moving to the sun above, where it stood proud just above the tree-line, lines of clouds beginning their sweep across the otherwise clear sky. A thoughtful hum rumbled deep in the leader’s voice, before he turned his attention to the cats already in the clearing at work. It seemed like things were already moving, and the deputy had done their duty of organising the patrols. He’d realised early into his leadership, not waking up for them was the best decision, otherwise it was too hard to avoid the urge to reorganise things. Instead, he settled for finding out later, and left to his own pleasing.

Usually, his next step would have been to the camp entrance to check on the guard, before seeking out a report. However, right at that moment, he had another goal in mind. He had his heart set on sorting his issue with Lilyfang. “Stagfoot,” he called out suddenly, spotting his brother’s long-limbed form slowly shambling toward the entrance after a leaving patrol. The tom’s head swivelled around. “Yeah?” Pinestar glanced toward the patrol briefly, before back to his older brother’s patient face. “Is Lilyfang still in the warriors den?” The amused look the older tom flashed him almost made Pinestar’s pelt bristle a bit. What was that supposed to mean? Stagfoot bobbed his head before taking off after the rest of the patrol. “Yeah, yeah, don’t worry. I’m sure she’d love to wake up to you.”

Pinestar pointedly ignored the heat that blossomed under his pelt. He’d talk to his brother about talking to him like that later. He didn’t need comments about his relationships made from a tom who tried his luck at every cat in the clan. Pinestar shook his pelt briefly, before lifting his head and striding forward to the entrance of the den. “Lilyfang, a word, please?” he meowed loudly into the den, deep, clear voice no doubt disturbing other resting warriors. But, it was the easiest way to get attention. Pinestar stepped back, and to the side of the entrance he took a seat, carefully wrapping his tail around his paws. It was the best way of keeping them still when they itched to continue on his morning inspection, rather than simply wait.