Robin J. Harrison

Storm woke to the sun shining through the leaves of the Fledgling den. Birds chirped occasionally, though not nearly as much as they did most mornings. He raised his head and looked around the mostly empty den The only other Fledglings in the den with him were Bone Ripple, and Tremble, the other Fledglings who had gone to the Meeting last night. Squirrel pushed his way into the den and his face lit up when he saw Storm awake. Squirrel tiptoed around the still-sleeping lynxes in their cuddle pile and came to lick Storm’s ear. “Good morning,” He purred quietly as he groomed Storm’s ears. “How was the meeting last night?” Storm sleepily told Squirrel all about the meeting, even mentioning when he made new friends from the different tribes. “Your new friends sound fun! BleedingJay sounds like he needs to calm down, though.” Storm nodded. He was feeling more alert as his brain woke up. The day birds were chirping softly, way softer than the morning birds. “What time is it?” Storm asked, sta