where there's smoke... [c]

Firepool had been in a bit of a mood lately, to say the least. Moonlily was gone. She was his friend, at least, he had thought she was. He had never been talkative, very friendly... or social. His former mentor just gave him some level of comfort though, and then she had just left. Birdstar had told him that she left, at least. He had been so worried that she had disappeared, caught by a predator, never to be seen again.

Not only was he sad. He was angry. How could she, he thought she had at least cared a little for him. Then she was just gone! Nothing said, no goodbye, just gone. Then Firepool was alone again. Amber eyes searched as he padded through camp, having finished some basic maintenance on the dens. He was looking for that light-gray pelt, those green eyes that always seemed to hold some level of joy. He wasn't really alone, the warrior knew that, he had Smokestep. All he wanted was to be near her, he didn't even really want to talk unless she wanted to, he just needed to be by someone who could remind him he wasn't alone.

Finally catching a glimpse of her, Firepool trotted over, with a quiet "Hi" as greeting. "Sorry if I'm bothering you, I just wanted to, uh, hang out I guess." His fluffy tail swayed in the dirt, gently flicking side to side. Maybe she'd not be busy.

Since Falconmoon had become a warrior, Smokestep suddenly found herself with far more time than she knew what to do with. She'd been given an apprentice practically fresh out of apprenticeship herself, and through some combination of Wolfblossom's training, and Falconmoon's skill, the little sun striped warrior was, well... little no more. She'd used Falconmoon as an excuse to delay the trip to the Moonstone that would see her into the life of a medicine cat proper... after all, it wouldn't be fair for him to have to switch mentors mid-training. But now that it was over, that date was looming over her. Soon, she'd become a medicine cat (if their interpretation of her dream was correct, anyway) and that meant...

That meant Firepool was off limits. As a medicine cat, she couldn't take a mate. But that didn't stop her from lighting up as he called out to her, breaking her from the melancholy she'd been experiencing at the thought of losing her best friend. She turned to receive him, eyes soft, and as he neared, Smokestep closed the distance, tucking her head under his chin for a brief moment. She pulled away as he spoke, giving a light purr of amusement. "You've never bothered me," she chastised gently. "I stepped on you, remember?" Smokestep smiled, flicking him with the tip of her feathery tail.

"I was just trying to figure out what to do with my day," she admitted. "I'm not assigned a patrol, and I no longer have an apprentice. It's so quiet. What did you have in mind?"

The ginger tom couldn't help but light up a bit as Smokestep shoved her head under his chin, even if it was just for a moment. "Maybe we could just go for a walk? Doesn't have to be a patrol." His voice had grown more confident at her words, it always had taken him a bit to come out of his shell for anyone, even those he knew. With an awkward swish of his tail, Firepool added, "I just like spending time with you though, it could be anything. I didn't have anything in mind in particular when I came over here." He didn't want to stifle anything she wanted to do, after all.

The she-cat nodded, blinking slowly at him. "Of course," she said. "Let's take that walk, then!" Smokestep brushed Firepool's shoulder with her tail as he passed him, tipping her head towards the exit out of camp. If they just so happened to find some hunting to do, great... but she didn't have food on the brain at the moment.

Refusing to let her guilt over the whole possibly-chosen-by-StarClan-to-be-a-medicine-cat thing ruin their good time, Smokestep just... cleared her head of the whole thing. She wanted to enjoy the time she had left, before new responsibilities were laid on her shoulders... and new rules. Looking over her shoulder at Firepool, Smokestep grinned. She paused, waiting for him to catch up to her, and once they were abreast, she flicked her ears forward, nostrils flaring to bring in any scents. It smelled normal... no intruders, no predators, just SkyClan. Smokestep breathed in and then exhaled long and slow, contentedly.

"Hey," she glanced over. "Wanna race?" Without letting him answer, she crow-hopped away and landed, tail straight up, legs slightly bent, belly almost to the ground in the most kittenish expression of excitement. "How about to that one tree with the weird trunk? You know the one?" Smokestep looked up at him with bright eyes, shifting back in fourth on her paws as if she was going to take off at a sprint the moment he said yes.

Amber eyes watched the tip of Smokestep's tail touch his shoulder, and lead him out of camp. Firepool couldn't help but follow, even though he had been the one to suggest the walk. The tom breathed in the scents of the territory, the trees, and faint scents of prey. He couldn't help but wonder if he should hunt, to be productive... to be a good warrior. Then he looked to Smokestep again, and decided against anything that could ruin their time together.

As Smokestep slowed to a stop, so did Firepool, and he awkwardly watched as she took in the scents. Flicking his eyes to anything but her, he watched the trees rustle in the slight breeze until she spoke. She did a strange hop, it was cute, strange, but very cute. He hadn't played much with others as a kit, but he knew what she was trying to do. With a deep rumble of amusement, Firepool took a spot close to Smokestep before saying anything.

"I do."

Then he immediately took off, yet not in the direction of the strange trunk, but of a much stronger tree. A climbable one. Firepool wanted to be impressive, he couldn't help himself. So he'd follow the branches and drop down to the strange trunk from above, and maybe he'd lose, but that didn't really matter to him. Not with Smokestep.