here comes the rain again « [OPEN]

Typically exhausted from a full day's work of hunting patrols, regular patrols, and just overall duties, the tom had followed his retreating clan mates for a well deserved rest inside the great tree that made up the TempestClan camp. Things had been odd as of late, or that was one way to put it. While curious, the tom usually took no personal interest in the proceedings as long as they didn't clash with clan life, and so far, they had not. All he was worried about right now was getting to that thick branch that, as hollow as it was, served as his nest.

A heavy groan escaped Badgerlight's lips as he settled down for what he presumed would be a restful night. He was one that sleeping came like a gift too. Moments after laying down, he could be out just like that; his breathing hard and his mind dead to the waking world. With a light, night-time breeze running through the openings in in the tree, that was just how his night began. The tom was lost in a realm, bland and dreamless. His large form remained stoic, and little moving as the prime darkness hours passed and morning was not far off the horizon. This was when, much too his surprise, Badgerlight awoke to a still moonlit sky.

The tom's bright eyes blinked tiredly as he glanced around him. A loud yawn pushed itself from between his jaws and he smacked his lips dryly. Half-asleep and not far from closing this gap, the male was not aware enough to wonder what, if anything had woken him up. When a shuffling that was far from a sleepy cat erupted up from under him though, Badgerlight jerked his head cautiously and froze in place as he waited for the sound to come again. There! A black ear flicked as it caught the noise again, and curiously the tom looked around the dimly lit trunk.

His glowing green gaze detected a vaguely outlined silhouette moving amongst the base of the massive plant. For a few moments, the answer eluded the weary cat of just who made their den right there, until it finally snapped into place. Dreamfeather! A small sigh of relieved air fled the tom, who also almost gave a shattering laugh that surely would have disturbed the other cats still in slumber. And he had thought there to be an intruder, how dumb of him. The tom chided himself mentally as he changed his position and curled his head close to him paws. Before dozing off once more, Badger found himself thinking what could have possibly had the deputy up at such an hour...

Once again, his emerald eyes flickered open to greet a waking world, but this time a soft light could be seen filtering through the branches. In spite of the rain that drizzled down from an overcast sky just hours before, Badgerlight found itself mildly cheerful as he began to stretch his stiff bones in preparation for another day. It was then that the silver pelt of Dreamfeather caught itself at the very edge of his vision, and the occurrences of not too long ago returned to him. While he and the deputy were not altogether close, they were still clan mates. So as Badgerlight's stocky form clambered down from his bedding, the tom met the she-cat with lopsided smile and a rich, abysmal purr as he paused next to her. "Good morning Dreamfeather. Sleep well?" The tom quizzed, his glowing eyes looking at her with a stare that suggested more than just an innocent question.

All attention was given to the deputy as Badgerlight patiently awaited a reply, truth or not, to his somewhat innocent question. He was not an altogether fretful, emotional cat who had to share every clan mate's troubles, but he was not a hard cat either. He just knew where the line was whether intervening was correct or not. More often than not, the tom kept well enough to himself and let others figure their own. He preferred it that way, and he assumed they did as well. Yet this was the deputy, and her health and well-being coincided with that of the clan as a whole. That was what had caused the burly cat to act and question so.

An intuitive gaze picked up on all the motion around him, including that of his selected company's. Badgerlight's luminescent sights trailed the passage of Dreamfeather's tail as it flicked restlessly in an almost hypnotic fashion from the left to the right, over and over. The right end of his jaw dropped in an off-sided frown as he speculated wordlessly to himself. With only a faint rustle, he sat himself down next to the bengal-clad she-cat and wrapped his black-tipped tail around his white-dipped paws. It was not entirely abnormal, the deputy's quietness and overall lack of conversation, Badgerlight knew.

He was not an unsocial feline himself, but neither was he outwardly friendly to many. Dreamfeather just seemed to have these traits in excess, and remained to herself. Her duty was still performed well, so it was never necessary or desired for any to comment. As those blue eyes flickered to meet his own, Badgerlight put forth a mellowed-out, nearly invisible grin upon his features and emitted a low chuckle that did not appear to have fully left his chest. A witty response to a normal question - he liked it. With mock thoughtfulness the tom cocked his head to the side and looked up, the edge of his jaw jutting out as he set it.

For that moment, his eyes had left hers for the first time since the conversation had started; his unwavering stare now off into space as he enacted deep concentration. "Hmm, me? What a difficult question." Badgerlight began, his humming voice stern as if the answer sincerely eluded him. "Well I must say that I slept fairly well. In spite of the fact of some late night kitten came bargin' in on my pretty dreams." With ease the tom's tone had slipped into that of one of false outrage at the wrong done against him. Once again though it began slipping into a note of casual. "Which leads me back to the question - how did you sleep last night, sly Dreamfeather?"


(ehhh, bad post)