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Things rarely got Mikree worried. He was a very laid back lion who took things as they came. He lived in the moment and didn't dwell much on the past or the future. The things that got him the most 'anxious' were when dinner was going to happen and if he'd beat Reinhardt to what was, in their opinion, the best spot to sleep in the entire Watchpoint. So far the massive lion had been beating him to the spot, leaving Mikree to settle for second best.

But today something was worrying him. In fact, it had been worrying him for about two weeks. Reyes had gone out on a mission by himself to see to some bothersome hyenas a ways off that might be trouble. As per usual, he kept in contact via messenger birds to communicate with the rest of Blackwatch. The birds had stopped coming, however, and it had been a while since the last one had been received.

Mikree paced in Reyes' 'office', the small room the one he frequented most as if it might lure the dark lion back to tell him to piss off and find his own office if he wanted to pace in one so badly. Every time he heard footsteps he'd look up, expecting to see the commander, but instead it would be other passing soldiers.

Finally he couldn't take it anymore. Morrison needed to know. Maybe he'd be able to give him some clue as to what might be preventing Reyes from sending birds. They were close...or had been, at any rate. Maybe it was one of the many things Reyes hadn't told him about his past coming in to play.

The tan lion set off, climbing slowly from the underground tunnel system to the upper part of the Watchtower where Morrison kept his crew. He padded into the much larger den that served as his office and cleared his throat.

"Mornin', boss," he said as he stopped in the entrance. "Mind if I bother you for a word?"

Mikree gave the cheetah a wink and a click of his tongue as she glared at him, letting her pass without further comment. Once it was just him and Morrison, though, his good-natured expression quickly dropped. The older lion didn't seem too concerned to see him which only made him that much more worried. He knew Reyes didn't communicate with Morrison so Overwatch wouldn't get caught up in the stuff they had to do as Blackwatch, but surely if he needed help he'd have reached out to his companion. Mikree knew they bickered, but it was like that of an old mated couple. They were at each others throats one moment, then sitting in comfortable silence the next.

"Right. Uh," he paused, unsure of how to go about asking if he had heard from him at all. "You...haven't gotten any birds from Reyes lately, have you?" He left it at that, not wanting to say more than he had to. The less Morrison knew the better from a political standpoint. He knew the commander knew that too, so he hoped he wouldn't press for details.

Mikree cursed softly in his mind as Morrison answered. Three weeks ago, right before Reyes had left. So he hadn't heard anything at all. Figured...damn Reyes for sticking to the rules.

"Ah. Okay. Well. Um." God he was bad at this. He could be as smooth and charming around anyone in any other situation, but his worry was clutching and clawing at his throat. It wasn't like Reyes to take on missions alone, either, so this whole situation had a very strange air to it.

"Aw hell, there ain't no way to put this other'n just sayin' it. Reyes left three weeks ago on a mission by himself, he was keepin' in touch with the messenger birds, but we haven't heard from him in about a week an' a half. Dunno which direction he went in, how far, none of it. He was very hush-hush 'bout the whole thing, said he'd take care of whatever it was. And now it's just. He's not communicatin'. And that ain't like him."

Mikree had always prided himself on being able to read others fairly easily. Reyes was a challenge, of course, but usually he could determine if the lion was pissed at him or was just amused and pretending to be annoyed. Morrison, though, was an easy read despite his hard features. His eyes were a dead give-away to the emotions that were always swirling beneath the surface. Reyes had called them both bleeding hearts at different points in his time with Blackwatch, so he felt like they connected on that part, at least.

As the older lion approached him, though, Mikree felt a little unsure. What was he going to do? Usually if Reyes approached him like that he got a smack to the head for being an idiot. Was he an idiot for going with protocol, though?

The question made him hesitate. He opened his mouth and shut it again before looking away from the commander, the scar that he had given him in his youth forcing him to to look anywhere but at the pale lion.

"Not really, boss," he said apologetically. "I mean...he told all of us he was goin' off to see about some hyenas, you know how they are. It was just supposed to be a sit and watch kinda mission, though, nothin' dangerous. He wouldn't've gone if it were."

Well, that was a lie. He wouldn't have gone alone would have been better to say, but he was sure Morrison understood. A hesitant look appeared on his face, though, as he glanced back at the blue-eyed male. "I mean. He wouldn't, right?"

The omnic wars...of course. Mikree felt like an idiot for not realizing what the implications of 'hyenas' meant around here, but now it all made sense. He instantly regretted not hounding Reyes more about what he was going to do. Had it really even been just a 'get in, get some intel, get out' situation? Or had he gone off to try to single-handedly take care of them?

He let out a slow breath as Morrison answered him. He would. Of course.

"Then we gotta get a search party up. I'll see if I can find any of the birds he was usin', see if they can lead some of us to where it last made contact with him," he said, his paws itching to move, to run in a direction and keep going until he found Reyes. Then he could be the one to scold him and cuff him in the muzzle and tell him to go run laps. Because he was sure they would find him alive. Injured, perhaps, or captured, but alive all the same.