meet me in the garden / dreamnotfound

pilot - clay

After gently nudging against Clay's arm and softly purring in his ear for a while, eager for her morning breakfast, Patches had finally woken Clay from his slumber.

"Good morning Patches!" Clay said to his cat as if she would answer back. She meowed excitedly in return.

He climbed out of bed and stretched his arms way above his head to ensure that any last bits of sleepiness were gone.

He grabbed his lime green long sleeve shirt and threw it over the dirty blonde (as if he could even still call it that, it was basically brunette at this point) hair on his head, and threw a dark brown vest over that. Then he grabbed his comfiest pair of black pants, and made his way to his bedroom door, making sure he didn't trip over Patches who was right up against his ankles the whole time. She really loved Clay, even if he frequently slept in past her breakfast time.

"I'm hungry, lets go get some food." Clay whispered to his cat with a smile on his face as he reached down to pick her up. Patches meowed loudly in agreement to the tall boy.

Clay made his way down the long curved staircase that went right into the hallway, and led to the grand dining hall that they ate in every morning. It was certainly one hell of a dining hall. It could fit 30 some people, but it was only ever Clay, his mother and father, Clay's sister Drista, and Patches, of course, eating at the impressive table.

"Good morning son!" His mother greeted brightly.

"Look at that, he's alive! Haha. Hi Patches!" Drista giggled excitedly, shoving some freshly cooked pancakes drenched in warm maple syrup in her mouth. Clay just smiled and rolled his eyes. He always loved Drista's morning greetings.

"Would you put that damn cat down for once Clay? You don't have to take it everywhere you go." His father nagged as he rolled his eyes, taking a bite of perfectly cooked sausage. Clay knew his father didn't like the cat, but Clay, and even Drista, loved Patches. Most of the time, he felt like Patches was the only one who understood him, and honestly, his only friend most days.

Clay knew he had Nick in the kingdom nearby, but he rarely got to see him anymore. They used to send each other letters in the mail between the periods of time when they didn't see each other, but after a while Clay barely got any mail back, and Clay's parents never let him go see Nick. It was really weird, and honestly quite upsetting, but Clay knew he couldn't ask about Nick because his parents would just tell him to quit worrying about it. But man, did he worry.

Ignoring his father's remark, Clay made his way to the dining table and carefully served himself some fluffy pancakes and sausages, coated in maple syrup of course. Patches hopped atop his lap and eyed the sausages, so he decided to sneak her some under the table. Hopefully his mother or father didn't see. Drista looked over and giggled as Patches chewed on the food.

After Clay finished his delicious breakfast, he thanked the chefs and went in the kitchen to put together a little something for Patches.

"Can't forget about you!" Clay said to his cat, scratching her head.

He tore apart some unseasoned chicken and added it to Patches kibble and daily vitamins.

"Special meal for a special cat." He mumbled quietly, smiling down at Patches. She just purred and ate her meal.

While Patches ate her food, Clay walked up stairs to try to entertain himself until it was time for lunch. He wanted to go outside today even though he already went yesterday, but when he was roaming around the royal garden (it was just a big field of grass with some colorful flowers and elegant trees, but they called it the royal garden to sound more fancy, I guess), he noticed a strange door that was covered in overgrown vines. It had no signs on it stating that no one was allowed inside, and he never heard anyone say anything about it (good or bad), so he decided he would most likely be okay if he entered the mysterious place. Well, he hoped at least.