He doubted that, but he didn’t argue; he appreciated the compliment. “I don’t know,” he admitted softly, looking over at her again. “I don’t want to fight anymore.” Sootstep could say that much safely. He was tired of the arguing, of dreading patrolling with her knowing that it would entail. But beyond that? Could he call her a friend, after only a few conversations without fighting? Why did it bother him so much to think of her as only a friend?

Sootstep nodded tentatively. “Friends.”

Friends was good. He wasn’t convinced he wasn’t anything more than friends; he would miss cuddling with her, but he wasn’t ready for a relationship. He cracked a smile. “Think the clan will be surprised if they see us getting along?” They’d tried to hide it, to an extent, but he doubted he did a very good job of pretending to be excited to patrol with her.

"Well, they might not be wrong." Sootstep looked back at his prey and nodded, resigned to the fact he was already feeling tired. He didn't want to push it too soon. "Yeah, let's go."

sure c: your turn to skip

make Dawn jealous? cx

Sootstep yawned as he trudged back into camp with the rest of the patrol. The borders were safely marked and he hadn't seen a sign of the foxes, though he almost wished he had: every time he got too far from camp a shiver ran down his side, and he couldn't help looking over his shoulder, expecting to see the ginger monstrosities bearing down on him again. It was a relief to get back to camp, but if they ran into the foxes at least he'd be able to fight them off again and know they were gone for good, instead of lying in wait.

He headed straight for his den and started over to his nest, pausing as he caught a whiff of familiar scent on the moss next to his. That was new. It wasn't another new warrior he smelled, though, it was Dawnmemories. The dark gray tom stood still in the darkness, then slowly turned, slipping out of the den, and headed across the camp to stand before the pair.

"..... Hi."

oof flirting with soot? we'll see how this goes cx

He studied her expression carefully, searching for an explanation, lingering on her eyes until he was sure she wasn't going to look up and meet his gaze. His brow furrowed slightly— this felt more important now, if she had a reason for the move she'd just tell him, wouldn't she? So she wanted to be next to him. Sootstep wasn't upset by the decision, he wouldn't mind having her close by, though he was a little worried he might end up cuddling with her again when it got cold, and without the excuse of bleeding to death, he wasn't sure that was a move he should be making.

He glanced back at Sunfrog after a moment, taking her in with a single quick look like he hadn't even noticed she existed before. "Ah—" he glanced back at Dawnmemories, uncertain, but he did need an excuse to stay longer and see what was going on in her head. He shrugged casually. "Sure."

He stood before them a few seconds longer, stupidly unsure where he was supposed to sit, until Sunfrog moved over to give him some room. He shot her a grateful look as he sat down beside her. "Okay," he meowed slowly to Dawnmemories, forced casual, trying not to sound too skeptical of her story. Because really, who moved their nest because of a draft? Maybe she wasn't so eager to be next to him, and that was fine, he just thought she would have a better reason than that. There were plenty of other places she could have moved. Unless they also had the draft. Sootstep wasn't sure if he was trying to convince himself she wanted to be by him or didn't.

"Ragingspire twitches and talks in his sleep. Just so you know." His neighbor in the den was older than the both of them, but he'd been promoted late because he'd taken a journey as an apprentice. The other tom rarely talked about what happened while he was gone, but he muttered nonsense about it in his dreams.

His lips tightened as he looked away from her, his sour smile all too easy to see through. "Maybe," he replied with an edge to his tone. He knew it was a joke, but it wasn't a funny one. It felt like he was the punchline here. Like she'd ever actually move her nest next to his, ha-ha, how pathetic was he to really think she wanted to be so close to him? What a fool he was! She was just looking for a warmer place to put her nest, must've thought it would be such a funny joke to freak him out by sleeping next to him, then move her nest back to wherever she actually wanted it to be, maybe laugh about it with her friends that she'd actually gotten his hopes up.

Ha ha.

Finally his attention shifted back to Sunfrog and he forced a slightly more genuine smile. "Oh, I wish I was joking. Do you know how many nights he's kicked me awake? I'm surprised he doesn't wake the whole den."

Sootstep was saved from replying by Dawnmemories’ departure. He was glad for that; he could focus on his confusion instead of the little shiver of excitement that raced down his spine at the thought of her clinging to him like that. Knowing how comfortable it had been to cuddle with her, and knowing it would never happen again, was bad enough to kill. He didn’t need the little flutter of hope that with her so close and leadbare so cold...

The dark gray tom shook his head firmly. “I should probably go after her,” he murmured, working hard to ignore the strange implication she’d made about he and Sunfrog. “Or you’re her friend, you could... but someone should.” He didn’t move yet, dreading going but strangely eager as well.

rip cx ALSO NO POOR DAWN YOU'RE KILLING ME WHY ARE WE MAKING THIS MORE DRAMATIC

Sootstep forced a laugh. Sunfrog was a good cat, and she was being kind to him. That wasn't unusual, most of their clan was considerate, but she was somehow extra kind. It was hard to place, and maybe kind wasn't the right word for it, but she seemed genuinely interested in what he had to say and her jokes were lighthearted too. Few cats afforded him that kind of attention and he was surprised by how much he enjoyed it. If he stayed here with her, he had a chance to make a new friend, and those were in such short supply... but his heart tugged him toward the den. He was worried about Dawnmemories, even if the warrior wasn't his to worry about. Why was she acting so strange? Running off like that didn't make sense if she'd moved her nest as a joke, but the draft wasn't a big deal either, so why would that make her go? No, there was something else going on. Someone by her old nest she couldn't stand to be near, or just maybe someone she wanted to be closer to...

... but either way, he had to see if she was okay. He rose to his paws and headed for the den before remember to call absently over his shoulder, "See you around sometime, Sunfrog." Smooth, Sootstep.

He slipped into the den and headed for their nests, then paused, silently looking back and forth between the nests, confused, because wasn't that his nest? The den looked slightly off with her nest by his but he was certain she was in the wrong one, after all her new nest looked much fresher than his. Sootstep rarely had time to replace the moss in his nest and it was in desperate need. He opened his mouth to say something, then stopped, unsure where to begin. When he was younger and he tried to fight he felt this certainty that he knew how, but his paws were too young and clumsy to move properly, and it had frustrated him to no end; he felt that again now, only this time he wasn't fighting. This time he knew he ought to curl up around her and bury his face under her neck and hold her close and never let go.

Instead, he let out a long breath to control himself, and tentatively stepped closer. "Dawnmemories? Are you- are you okay?"