He was wide awake now. Awake, but tired as all hell. It was late, really, really late. Everyone else in the pack was asleep, and the only sound in the air were the crickets and the late night rustling of small creatures and whatever else hunted in the night. Dual toned eyes gazed wearily into a puddle he had found, one of several that littered the lands as the occasional rain seemed to come across them every now and again. He stared at his reflection, droplets of water making it ripple as the gentle mist fell from the clouds above. It wasn't raining too hard, nor enough to really call it rain right now. It was cold out, and the water collected on his fur like as gently as they would on a spiders web. He wasn't sure why he had so much trouble sleeping all the time, perhaps too young to know or to understand, but he hadn't gone to see anyone about it, let alone talk to his mother or siblings to tell them all the things that seemed to trouble him. Hell, he could barely figure it out himself, all he knew was that he couldn't really sleep, and when he did, his dreams were plagued with things he didn't understand. He saw faces. Heard voices. But the faces weren't always clear, and the voices weren't always audible. Most of the time they were barely above a whisper, and sometimes he couldn't understand what they were saying, but when he did, they said bad things. Terrible things. And it frightened him to the point he didn't want to sleep at all.

"SPEAK"

She was sleeping soundly and comfortably for a while something that had been easier since fall hit. The summer nights had been rough with a full den it at times got vary hot and most times she would end up outside. Being blind she also suffered from being able to tell her nights and her days apart and found it hard to sleep during these times. It wasn't consistent, times she suffered from it and times it didn't bother her at all. Tonight it didn't seem to bother her and she was comfortable in the den. She didn't know what had stirred her, perhaps it was because she also slept lighter since her kids came along. She had been shifting her position and letting her tail gently sweep over her children, counting them within her mind. She found her tail method was the best to use because it didn't wake the kids. She realized that she only had four in the den with her which stirred worry in the back of her mind. Quietly she stirred, slipping out of the comforts of her warm little bundles. Crawling out of the den she stopped at the entrance as the miserable mist hit her. Lowering her nose she sniffed the ground for the trail of her lost child. The scent was that of her Cloud's and her mind worried a little more. He normally didn't travel from the den this late at night. Her nose remained on the ground as she fallowed the trail. The dampness made it a little difficult, but the experienced women found her way. She came up behind him and let her nose gently brush against his shoulder, if he allowed. "Everything alright Cloud" her voice was soft as she spoke. "Talk" & 'Think"

He couldn't understand it. And the more he tried to understand, the more his head hurt thinking about it. He let go of a quiet sigh, ears drooping as he watched his rippling reflection. It was cold out, but his mind and body felt almost...numb. At least, until a soft touch and warm voice met him. Surprised, he turned his head to see his mother next to him, his tail would beat the ground softly for a moment before lying still again. "I'm sorry mom...I...I couldn't sleep.." He frowned as he looked back at the water, dual toned eyes full of indecipherable emotion. Who was he? Why was he here? What was his purpose? What were these strange voices in his head? He was afraid, but he couldn't tell them that..."Did I wake you up? I didn't mean to make you worry or anything..." He looked back at her with an apologetic look, not that she would have been able to see it, but hopefully she heard it in his voice. He reached out and touched her chin with his nose, a move to try and comfort himself. His mom was here. He was safe. He always felt safe around her, but he had never been on his own really to know what that felt like. But he didn't think he'd be leaving her anytime soon. Maybe someday, but not now.

"SPEAK"

art by Risketch