the start of something great [c]

Scorchtalon ambled through the tall grass on the way to fourtrees with a bounce in his step and an excited gleam in his eyes. It had been only a sunrise since he'd met Marshmallow on the thunderpath, and he was surprised she'd agreed to meet him again so easily. Still, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to it. His paws traced the familiar path until the four great oaks loomed before him. Sitting down next to the nearest one, he groomed himself lazily while he waited.

Scochtalon glanced up as Marshmallow approached, flashing her an easy-going grin.

"Hello!" He replied with a cheerful wave of his tail. "It is a bit odd not being here at night as usual, but it's beautiful. Kind of makes me wish we had more gatherings at this time of day." He trailed off with a chuckle, staring up at the trees with a serene expression.

Privately, he liked fourtrees better when there weren't so many cats rushing to and fro. For a moment, there was no sound except the birds singing and the wind whispering through the tree branches. He rarely got moments like these back in camp, when there was always something going on, the rush of clan life in a constant, never-ending motion. Silence was... nice.

He seemed to suddenly remember where he was, licking his chest a few times to cover up the embarrassment of getting so distracted. What had she asked...? Oh, right!

"Windclan is great, we've got a new deputy, but I'm sure you'll hear all about that at the next gathering in a few sunrises! We also have a new leader, naturally, and I think he's gonna do a great job! He's got all of Windclan supporting him, after all! How's Shadowclan? Any news?" Okay, maybe he'd overshared a little, but she was going to find out eventually. Besides, no one had explicitly said the news had to remain a secret.

Scorchtalon nodded along to Marshmallow's words. The Dark Forest invasion had been traumatic, so it was unsurprising that Shadowclan had been a bit shaken up by the battle. He was curious to hear more about the rank changes though. Had Shadowclan lost it's leader as well? He truly hoped they hadn't, as Windclan was still grieving the loss of Goldenstar, and he wouldn't wish that on any clan, enemies or not. She didn't seem willing to elaborate, so he opted not to push it; after all, he would find out at the next gathering in just a few days. Just as he'd expected, the topic of conversation was immediately shifted, albeit to one he found much more interesting.

A race, eh? Scorchtalon thought, perking up excitedly. True to his Windclan heritage, the tom had always loved running. And who hadn't wondered what the view was like from the top of the Great Rock? He sped after Marshmallow, easily pulling ahead of her with long strides. Once he reached the rock, he stared up at it for a moment, admittedly a bit stumped as to how he would even get up there. He'd seen cats struggle with leaping onto the Tallrock back at camp, but this?

Still, his competitive nature wouldn't allow him to give up, and he took a few steps back for a running leap at the regal boulder. He thought he had won when his front paws scraped the top, leaving his hind legs hanging while he tried to pull himself up. But he'd misjudged the leap, and there was only smooth, solid rock under his paws, nothing to dig his claws into in order to climb up. So he slid back down, landing on the ground with a thud that made him wince. Thankfully, nothing was injured but his pride.

Scorchtalon, having already accepted his defeat, was not at all surprised when Marshmallow managed to scramble up to the top of the rock with minimal difficulty. He was a bit cross with himself for completely overlooking the possibility of climbing up at a shorter point, but he purred good-naturedly as Marshmallow celebrated her victory. He chuckled as he was reminded of prancing around camp as a kit proclaiming himself Scorchstar to any cat who would listen.

"I was just being nice and letting you win," He teased, nudging Marshmallow with his shoulder once she'd leapt down. "I could've gotten up there, I just didn't want to be a showoff."

What was it about being with her that made him feel like he was a fumbling apprentice once more? Maybe his warrior skills were getting rusty, he'd have to put in some extra training once he got back to camp. That was the only explanation, of course.