Lily was not awake, and never would be, this early. The blackbird snoozed out in the open, a refreshing--if a little unnerving, at first--change from Broken Boulder, between the gnarled branches of a very old willow. The night had been cool and cloudy, the wind lulling her into a blissful sleep. Even the sound of nearby footsteps was not enough to rouse her.

Sorry, Seabreeze. You would have to be an alarm clock, this time.

Luckily--or unluckily?--for Seabreeze, Lily's mother had woken her up like this many a time, so there was no alarm when she roused to singing. Shhhh Mum, I'm tired, she muttered, trying to tuck further into herself. Then her ears registered the sounds of a forest, rather than open plains, and her eyes shot open, staring at Seabreeze with embarrassed alarm.

Erm. . . she muttered, clambering clumsily to her paws. Sorry about that. Heh. She giggled in thoroughly awkward fashion, shaking the dust from her pelt. My, erm, Mum used to do that for me, she explained, though it didn't really help matters. Oh well. Seabreeze would recover from this more gracefully than she had; the woman had a knack for that.

What, erm--what can I help you with? Lily asked, grasping for the last remaining shreds of self-composure.

She stifled a yawn, shaking her head as her eyes watered. It's okay, really, Lily insisted. I'm notorious for over-sleeping; it's good that you woke me up. I can sleep entire mornings away, no problem. The fog of slumber was lifting slowly, replaced with a dreary clarity (have I mentioned she hated mornings? if she were human, Lily would be addicted to coffee).

Is this about the scouting trip? the blackbird asked, tilting her head. We can leave soon--but Delight did tell me that Alarian left of his own choice, so. . . What a surprise, really. But that alleviated the need for them to look for him. What other things needed to be done?