Comfort [closed]

The late night air was burning with the tension and humidity of a storm that had yet to fully break. The sticky evening breeze was wrought with the rumbling of uneasy thunder, which roared and churned with a deafening intensity, while the cloud-obscured sky occasionally set alight with burning tendrils of dazzling lightning. The entirety of the forest, electrified by the anticipation of the brewing rainstorm, twisted and roiled with the heady breeze that erupted into existence every few moments or so. A broken reflection splintered thin across various pools and puddles peered back at Lichenmask, illuminated oddly by the occasional prongs of stark-white lightning. Despite the late hour, sleep would not come to him. Perhaps the fickleness of something as trivial as slumber was for the best- he was certainly most not welcome back at camp. After exchanging such harsh words with Jaystar, his only safety came in the form of Hillfire, Frostpuddle, and Darkpaw, but even they could not spend every moment in one-another's company. He couldn't afford to sleep.

A fiery river of lightning touched down somewhere well behind Lichenmask, alighting the sky with a chilling white palor. The face that peered back at him in wake of the lightning, although it held the same fur and features he knew himself to hold, gazed back with an unfamiliar emotion deeply etched into his weary features. Perhaps this war he had taken upon himself to wage was costing more than he had initially anticipated.

OOC: Forgive me for the late response! I just got a new job so it'll be slower posting from now on! (I'm going to make a member announcement about this soon! :D)

IC: Gentle paw steps made their way to the Broken Pools. After countless seconds of uncomfortable tossing and turning in her nest, Duskpaw had decided to head over to an area she often found herself in. Thoughts, as of recently, were plaguing her mind and were causing her to skip out on some good sleep. She never minded though. The she-cat was a rather hyper and jolly apprentice, instantly brightening up when the first moments of dawn were visible.

Duskpaw approached the small pools rather cautiously after noticing a figure there. Mustering up the courage, the she-cat walked closer. She let out the breath she didn't know she was holding when on closer inspection, Duskpaw identified them as Lichenmask. Quickly regaining her composure, the dark Bengal nudged the tom gently after sitting down next to him. It was a rather turbulent night and she wondered why he was here. Maybe he couldn't sleep either? She was willing to stay and give him company. After all, having someone to talk to always helped many problems. "Is everything alright Lichenmask?" the apprentice asked gently.

The fierce electrical presence, brought forth as a result of the brewing thunderstorm, rifled and ruffled Lichenmask's thick fur into twisting tendrils, fried by the tension. Countless phosphorescent eyes gleamed back him in the scattered reflections of the Broken Pools, silently elating in his bemused and weary state. How much longer could he keep this up? Paws absently shifting atop the smooth stone, worn down by the long-gone flow of ancient waters, another prong of lightning exploded into existence within the sky. The flash of harsh, overly-bright light lasted for only a heartbeat or so, bleaching everything until it was totally void of color. Although Duskpaw's pawsteps were lost amongst the rancorous, sky-splitting lightning and thunder, her sudden words did not startle him. Melancholy gaze still trained upon the splintered version of himself, the young tom only let out a slight grumble in response. "I suppose so."

The persistent she-cat shook her head and sighed. "It doesn't seem like it. C'mon...tell me. Getting things off your chest and mind will help you relax. You seemed so tense lately, I was worried about you." Nothing she said was a lie. She had noticed his change in behavior. She was ready to help out as much as she could. After all, he was a good friend. She shot him a gentle smile as she waited for his response.