Tulips and Falcons [Tulipfang]

Mistyfalcon blinked awake blearily, stifling a yawn as he sat up in his nest. Evening sunlight filtered through the den, and the warrior carefully shook out his pelt before slipping out of the mostly full den.

At this hour the clearing was quiet, most of his clanmates not yet awake. That was fine by Mistyfalcon, who wasn't in a particularly talkative mood. He usually wasn't, and the silence of the muddy hollow was more of a comfort than talking with a group of cats would be, anyways.

The late leaf-fall air was crisp, and Mistyfalcon shivered slightly as he sat, dark gaze scanning the quiet camp in thought. The kits were still missing, and it seemed like there was little to do about it. So far all of Shadowclan's search efforts had been in vain. It was worrying, and Mistyfalcon had the nasty suspicion that the longer it dragged  on, the less likely they were to be found.

Though she was usually a pretty heavy sleeper like her father, something, well, someone, had awoken her. At a quick glance out of the den, it was obvious that it wasn't even dawn yet and so she tried to very best to fall back asleep but for whatever reason her efforts were in vain this morning, and after who knows how long of rolling back in forth in her nest, she let out a sigh.

Gracefully getting up and making sure not to disturb any other cat, the white and ginger warrior tiptoed her way out of the warrior's den and into the ridged Leaf-fall air. Part of her wanted to grab a quick snack to hold her over till she went hunting later, but the familiar pelt of Mistyfalcon caught her attention. He was up quite early as well and she wondering if he had a specific reason or just so happened to wake up.

"Hello there Mistyfalcon. You're up a bit early," Tulipfang mewed softly with a dip of her head as she approached the tom. Now that she thought about it, him getting up was probably what woke her up, but she held no ill will towards the younger tom about it and decided not to bring it up.

Mistyfalcon offered Tulipfang a tired half-smile as she approached, though instinctively, subconsciously shifted so that the ruined left half of his face was away from the white and ginger she-cat. It was becoming something of a habit, lately, though the tom hardly seemed to realize he was doing so.

"Couldn't sleep." He shrugged. The dog that haunted his dreams as surely as half his clanmates seemed to be haunted by his ruined visage, the missing kits... Sleeping was seldom pleasant. The camp was still and quiet (excepting their current conversation) and Mistyfalcon found that far more pleasant, almost soothing. Perhaps it was his longer tendencies that made it so, perhaps the more recent events that troubled him. Either way, it was better than being curled up in the den, staring at the mossy side of his nest and still wide-awake.

She hadn't expected much out of the dark pelted tom, but she wasn't complaining. Though she could be talkative at times, she understood that some cats didn't always sleep as well as she usually did and fatigue seemed to be prominent throughout the clan these days.

"Yeah... I was fast asleep, but now that I'm up there's no going back," she mewed with a smile, every so slightly hinting to the fact that he'd most likely been the one who bumped her nest. Of course, with the cold season being upon them, it was probably better that she got an early start on the day anyway, seeing as though laying around wouldn't get her warrior chores done.

"I've been out here a while." Mistyfalcon idly stretched, back arching as he rose to his paws briefly, then settled down and wrapped his tail around his paws once more. There was a slight stiffness to the movements, lending truth to his words.

If Tulipfang was looking for sympathy, he might oblige, but Mistyfalcon wasn't going to concern himself with the slightly accusatory words. He stuck to himself, and he liked it that way. He had little need to go around waking others from their own sleep, no matter how restless his own was.

Listening with her gaze fixed on the tom, Tulipfang nodded along. "Oh, I see," she began. She silently wondered why he'd been awake so early and while part of her didn't want to pry, the white and ginger warrior couldn't contain herself. Besides, they needed some conversation material anyway and what better than to address the possible issue at paw.

"So what keeps you awake? Or what makes you wake up so early, I suppose," the warrior mewed with a smile, tilting her head ever so slightly so the side.

"Nothing that concerns you." Mistyfalcon's tone sharpened with irritation, the dark-furred tom not at all pleased by her prying. He didn't want to talk about what kept him awake, at least not with her. Was Tulipfang truly so dense or was she mocking him? Mistyfalcon honestly couldn't tell. Most of the clan knew he'd been mauled by dogs, as if the scars across his face weren't glaringly obvious.

"I'm going hunting. It was nice talking with you, Tulipfang." Tattered ears twitched back in annoyance, Mistyfalcon stood. Perhaps the pine grove would hold the peace and quiet he sought. Camp clearly didn't.