Hurry, or it won't be gloomy and cold anymore!

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Lightfeather blinked awake to the sound of almost utter-silence, which was broken only by the muted sighs of cats sleeping around her. She could just barely make out the branches of the den against the dull grey of the sky; the sun wouldn't rise for a while yet. Outside, from what she could glimpse of the clearing, it was still shadowy and dark, the weak light of pre-dawn swallowed by the looming trees that crowded the camp. Most of the prey wouldn't be up yet, especially since the lizards and frogs that ShadowClan had in abundance would still be chilled from the night cold, and so hiding as they waited for the sun. Only the most enterprising of mice would venture out this early in the morning, or night, as it might be more aptly described. Still cool outside, she thought, still dark. And it would stay that way for a while yet, before the glow of the sun managed to break through the trees that choked their territory.

It was high time to wake up Deerfur.

Getting to her paws and stretching quickly to get the kinks out of her spine, the gilded-white she-cat made her way carefully over to the big warrior's nest. "Hey, sleepy-head," she whispered loudly in his ear, prodding him with a soft paw. "Wake up! You wouldn't want to sleep-in on a morning as fine as this one, right?" Lightfeather smiled mischievously and poked the furry tom again, this time in the ribs. She knew she was a morning person, and she also knew that some other cats resented her at times for it. Especially in the morning. But that didn't stop her from waking up early and raring to go, much like her sister, albeit with considerably more enthusiasm. She would go visit Brindlepelt later in the morning, but for now... "Deeeeeerfuuuuuur," she mewed coaxingly, unrelenting in her attention. "I'm not fetching you any fresh-kill unless you actually get up."

[:c a i:]

Oh Great StarClan. There was some monster trying to forcibly remove Deerfur from his warm, comfortable nest. And... What on earth? It was still dark! Who in their right mind got up before the sun? The fluffy tom groaned and rolled over, away from the poking in his ribs, desperately trying to return to the safe, delicious dream he had been having about the biggest rabbit anyone had ever caught. The poking did not cease, and there was an additional "Deeeeeeerfuuuuuuuuuur" being cooed into his ear now. There was clearly no way he was going to be left alone.

Deerfur cracked one eye open a tiny amount so he could squint up to the fiendish cat who had tried to separate the unbreakable bond between him and his sleep. Oh. So that explained things. "Lightfeather." He grunted in a thick, sleepy voice. "Are you absolutely and completely insane?" The last time he was up this early was... Well. Never. And he didn't like it one bit. Mumbling grouchily, he rolled over even further to try and escape Lightfeather and promptly fell out of his nest.

"Oof!" He groused, curling up on the floor and grimacing. There was no doubt that Lightfeather was going to force him up. After all, he'd only gone and agreed to it the night before. Why oh why had he let this persistant she-cat make him agree to being woken up at this unearthly hour? "I have never seen a morning less fine than this one! Come back and see me at sunhigh!" But it was no use, for Deerfur knew he was fighting a losing battle. Sooner or later he was going to have to give in and see the blasted sunrise with the she-cat.

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Trying not to smile at Deerfur's half-awake antics - and for the most part, failing - Lightfeather clambered over the big tom's nest and crouched next to him. Okay, so there was a smile almost splitting her face, but at least she wasn't laughing. Not loudly, anyway. "Oh, don't be like that," she wheedled, her golden eyes sparkling with amusement. "How are you going to see the sunrise if you don't get up until sunhigh? Come on, Deerfur, you said you would." Widening her eyes until they seemed as round as moons, she poked Deerfur a third time and mewed in a small voice, "You aren't going to break your promise, are you? Does that mean you don't want to spend time with me after all?"

[:c a i:]

Both of Deerfur's eyes squinted half-open at Lightfeather's latest tactic. "That" he said "is completely unfair at this time in the morning." He grumbled. "Of course I want to spend time with you. When normal cats are accustomed to being awake." She was smiling! Honestly, how could any cat be so chirpy this early? Deerfur had to admire her limitless energy. They had both gone to bed at the same late hour, yet the difference between them this morning was very pronounced. He was lolling on the floor of the Warriors' Den, whilst the she-cat was bounding around and trying to coax him out of his early morning stupor.

"If I get up now, what do I get out of it?" His voice was muffled, for he had curled his fluffy tail over his nose again and was closing his eyes. "Apart from being tired and cranky all day." He added. "Can't I see the sunrise from here?"

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Lightfeather smiled cheerfully, completely unrepentant for her relentless attempts to drag Deerfur from his warm nest before the sun had even warmed the air. "If you want to spend time with me," she told him, "then you have to get up now. I have an apprentice to train. Much as I might like to, I can't be lolling around in the middle of the day when I've got things to be doing." Scooting around the fluffy lump that was Deerfur, she wound around to his other side and stuck her nose in his face. She sneezed once when the tom's furry tail ticked her muzzle, then batted it out of the way so she could see his face clearly. Was he annoyed yet? She had to make sure not to bother him too much, otherwise he'd never get up. Besides, she didn't want him to be all grumpy the whole time they were spending time together.

But she wouldn't relent in her attempts to rouse him; it was for his own good, really! Sighing, Lightfeather rolled her golden eyes at his obstinacy. Toms! They were the strangest creatures. "No, you can't see the sunrise from here, Deerfur!" she said, an edge of exasperation beginning to show in her tone. "There's too many trees, and besides, camp will be crowded with cats wanting us to do all sorts of chores soon. If we don't leave now, Specklestar or Runningfrost are going to come and ask us why we aren't making ourselves useful! So would you please, please get up? For me?" Blinking her round gold eyes pleadingly, Lightfeather put on what she hoped was a movingly hopeful expression. She was sure she looked silly, but she didn't care. She wanted to spend the sunrise with Deerfur.

[:c a i:]

For a few more moments, Deerfur remained curled up, grimacing at Lightfeather's persistence and grumbling under his breath. But he knew his protests were in vain, since the comfortable land of sleep had slipped well away from him. Sadly, he was very much awake. He let out a grunt of protest as his tail was first sneezed upon, then shoved out of the way. He cracked open an eye to glare at the she-cat. She was nothing if not determined... With a great sigh, Deerfur unwound his limbs and slowly sat up, letting out the biggest yawn ever to grace a cat's face.

"I don't think I like you anymore." He grumbled, the twitching of his whiskers giving away his lack of seriousness. "Well, congratulations. I'm up. Now I have two questions. Why do I have to be up at such a ridiculous time, and how in StarClan's name do you have so much energy this early?" He sighed and shut his eyes again, squatting down again and resting his chin on his paws. "Specklestar and Runningfrost gave up giving me tasks before sunrise a long time ago." Letting loose another yawn, one eye half opened again. He frowned, taking in Lightfeather's appearance. "Err... Are you all right?" The determined she-cat seemed to be blinking rather a lot and squinting at him in a rather odd expression. He sat up again, wondering what she was doing and whether she was planning some trick to make him get up properly. Now concerned that she would inflict some devious plan on him, he hurriedly sat up straighter and tried to look less like he was about to nod off again.

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Delighted, Lightfeather sat back as Deerfur sat up and yawned hugely. He was up! And they had just enough time left to go see the sunrise... if they hurried. "Well you can't see the sunrise in the middle of the day, obviously!" she laughed at the silly question. "But I don't know why I'm such a morning cat... healthy eating, maybe?" Oh well, it was a mystery to be solved another day, possibly never. She wasn't a genius, and she spent more time doing than thinking, so it was entirely possible that once the thought left her mind it would never be back. But she didn't mind; there were much more interesting things to be doing.

"They may have given up on giving you pre-dawn assignments, but they'll be looking for me! And you bet they'll give you something to do if they see you wandering around without a job. Now come on!" she cheered - quietly, so the other warriors in the den didn't growl at her again. She was glad to see Deerfur looking much more awake than he had at first. "I'm fine, so let's go see the sunrise. It's almost morning; we don't want to miss it!" Getting to her paws, Lightfeather bounded to the entrance of the den and stopped, making sure that she was actually being followed. She wouldn't put it past Deerfur to snuggle down for a few more moments of sleep once she exited the den.

[:c a i:]

Deerfur considered keeling over and falling asleep again once Lightfeather's back was turned, but with a sigh he realised she was keeping an eye out and making sure he didn't do just that. It was tempting though, for his eyes were heavy with sleep and he was fuzzy from not being awake properly. This was sleep deprivation, this was. Of course, Deerfur knew perfectly well that there were other cats who were at the Gathering and got to sleep far later than him, yet were already up and about, but he happened to be a cat who liked to sleep. A lot.

"Healthy eating?" Deerfur called indignantly. "Is that supposed to imply that I don't eat healthily?" There was nothing wrong with his diet. He ate at least a good few square mice a day... Perhaps with some sneaky snacking. Nothing wrong at all, he thought grumpily, dragging his paws as he hauled his ruffled, furry frame out towards Lightfeather, squinting against both the morning brightness and Lightfeather's overly-active self. It almost made him wince so early in the morning.

"I'm tempted to let them find you, just so I can go back to sleep." Deerfur grumbled, though it wasn't bad-tempered now that he was up and the sleepy fog started to dissipate from his mind. He felt slightly better as he woke up; even a little pleased with himself for getting up so early for the first time in his life. "Don't think I'll make a habit of this. This a special one-off just for you. For no reason other than because you persevere too much for your own good, and I happen to like you." He continued grumbling, squinting left and right out at camp from where they stood. "So are we going then?" He asked. "Where's this famed sunrise? It'd better be worth..." He trailed off, suddenly seeing exactly what was going on in camp.

The sleepy look on his face quickly giving way to one of charged seriousness, he glanced briefly at Lightfeather. "What in StarClan's name is going on?" He muttered, losing all joviality. There was a great number of cats gathered and Specklestar was preparing to announce something. This could only mean that something serious was happening. He listened, flicking his ears forward to focus on the leader, drinking in the information wordlessly. He looked at Lightfeather. This was one of the rare times when he was efficient, serious and ice-cool. Normally relaxed and lazy, Deerfur only ever became like this in times of crisis, and though it didn't quite seem fitting for him, he was very good under pressure. "We're guarding camp." He mutterd, thinking things over hard. "Great StarClan... A loose dog." But ShadowClan was strong and they could handle it.

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Standing beside the fluffy tom, Lightfeather gazed with shock and sadness at the chaotic scene in the clearing. "I guess that means we won't get to see the sunrise after-all," she mewed, her elation flowing out of her all at once. Would she ever be able to rouse Deerfur ever again? It had been so much effort wasted. The pale-furred she-cat knew she should be concerned about the dog on their territory, and she was. But she couldn't stop frustration from bleeding through the concern. Why had Twolegs let one of their stupid, bumbling dogs loose on the territory? They were forever making the Clans' lives more difficult than they needed to be. And besides that, what was Specklestar doing, calling her and Deerfur to guard camp? He usually wasn't even up by this point, and the fact that he was was entirely Lightfeather's doing.

"Fox-dung!" she spat, "Those lousy Twolegs are always making trouble." She was feeling so uncharacteristically upset, but she just couldn't help it. She was so busy mentoring her young apprentice and fulfilling warrior duties, it was so rare that she got to do something alone with a friend. "Why in StarClan's name did Specklestar choose you to guard camp?" she muttered mutinously, voicing her previous thoughts out loud. "You're usually not awake at this time of day anyway." She glanced at the shadows at the edge of camp. Could they sneak out anyway? No, that was a terrible idea. It would only put the Clan in danger and get them in trouble. Plus, they would be in serious danger if the dog found them. Lightfeather sighed and looked down at her paws. What a mess this morning was turning out to be, and dawn had barely even broken.

[:c a i:]

"Hey!" Deerfur said, eyes shooting wide with indignance as Lightfeather groused about Specklestar putting him on guard duty. How completely unfair! How untr... Actually. "That is... Fair enough." He yawned. It was true. "But she can't exactly put me on a patrol to catch the mangy creature, can she?" He yawned again, even more widely. His sleepy nature was returning now that he judged the Clan not to be in immediate danger. "Seeing as I'm "usually not awake at this time of day anyway"." He shot Lightfeather's words back at her with a half-smile.

"Don't look so put out, Lightfeather." He said gently. "Now you've just about got me up once, you know it can be done. We'll see the sunrise together when this fiasco calms down." He told her with a smile, watching vaguely as the cats in Clan organised themselves. "Just don't spread it around. The last thing I want is Specklestar thinking I'm happy to start doing dawn duties." He said, only half-joking and shuddered at the thought of being woken up every day at this time. "And anyway, you get to spend the day guarding camp with me. What could be more wonderful for you?" He puffed his chest out in mock vanity. He knew Lightfeather was upset that their sunrise outing had been spoiled after she'd gone to such effort, but it couldn't be helped. Best to try and cheer her up so they could still have some fun whilst guarding.

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Lightfeather sighed. She was being petty and selfish, and she knew it. Determined to put her discontent behind her, she turned to Deerfur with a bright look on her face. "That's right," she said with mock thoughtfulness, "I do get to spend guard duty with you! I guess StarClan has favored me, then." Shifting over, the white she-cat snuggled closer to Deerfur, enjoying the feeling of his fluffy pelt on hers. "I wonder how the kits are doing," she sighed, thinking fondly of the little bundles that had been born the previous night. She assumed that the queens would still be sleeping this early in the day, though they might have been roused by all the commotion about the dog. Hearing a shrill mew from the far end of the clearing, the young warrior perked her ears and squinted her golden eyes in the direction of the nursery. "Was that Paleflower?"

[Mousy]

Toadpelt padded in just as Lightfeather was waking Deerfur up. This in itself wasn't very exciting, but it was more interesting than moaning quietly in the camp, he decided. He listened quietly to what they were saying, pressed up against the wall, then thudded down heavily in his nest. He laid his head down on his paws and glared at the rising sun out of narrowed eyes.

"Stupid sun... Stupid Hawktalon... Stupid twoleg... Stupid twoleg's dog..." he grumped irritably, hoping neither of the two other cats would hear his complainings and ask what in StarClan's name he was on about. If her heard the word Clan one more time, he would run screaming from camp and become a rogue with Swiftstorm, he thought.

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[:c a i:]

Deerfur grinned, glad to see Lightfeather looking more cheerful. That was more like it. His grin only widened as the she-cat settled herself against him and looked rather proud of himself. Well, this was more like it! Early morning snuggling. Much more his style. "Too right." He replied. "It's going to be fun, you'll see." He tipped his head thoughtfully at the mention of the kits, having forgotten about their recent arrival. He quite fancied going to have a little nose around the nursery so he could take a peek at the latest ShadowClan youngsters, though he supposed it wasn't really anything to do with him.

"Hmm. Well if you're a good girl, maybe Poppyfrost will let you see them later." He teased. "You did help with the birth, after all." He yawned, settling back lazily in a feeble pretence of guarding. Well, he'd take his turn doing it properly later. Perhaps after a nice mouse or two... He was broken out of his reverie by the yowl and he snapped to attention quickly, suddenly anxious that the dog had broken into camp or something terrible like that. "I don't know, what's wrong with her?" He muttered back, squinting along with Lightfeather. "Do we go and see?" Curiosity and an instinct to rush to the rescue was making Deerfur itch to hurtle over and check things out.

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

OoC// Posted in Frosty's Nursery topic.