"Urgh!" Frostcloud groaned jokingly. It was sun-high now and she and Smudge had just finished their third race- Smudge had won the majority.
"You won the first race." Smudge consoled, bumping into Frostcloud and tripping her.
She rolled her eyes, "It's all these rocks! Just race me in the forest, we'll see who wins then."
Smudge pretended to be displeased, "Excuses, excuses!"
Frostcloud flicked her tail before leaping, tackling Smudge into the grass. He yowled, then gently chewed at her shoulder while she kicked his underbelly with her sheathed hind feet.
They rolled over in the gravel, and Frostcloud leapt off Smudge only to tackle him again when he got to his paws. "Ah! Ow!" He yelped.
Frazzled, Frostcloud climbed off the lean tom, "I'm sorry! Are you okay?" She asked quickly, sniffing over Smudge. Did she push him into a sharp stone? Her pelt became hot in guilt as she searched for a wound.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" He asked, cocking his head to the side and pricking his ears. His mischievous yellow eyes glowed, and Frostcloud returned his joke by gently batting his ear.
"Mouse-brain!" She chirped.
A loud purr welled in Smudge's throat and he pounced, wrapping his legs around Frostcloud's neck as they fumbled back into the dirt. She rolled her head, giving a gentle bite to his ear.
The tussle lasted for a few heartbeats more before Smudge rolled onto his back and Frostcloud sat upright, licking her paw and running it over her whiskers. "I didn't think I'd meet another fun cat out here." She said.
"What do you mean?" Smudge asked.
"Well, I wrestle with Mosspool- my friend- back in PineClan." She explained.
"I forget you live with a lot of cats." Smudge commented.
Frostcloud shrugged, "Not a lot. Our Clan almost died before I was kitted. But two queens had their litters two seasons ago, so there's more cats now."
"How many?" Smudge asked.
"Well- there's our leader, Whitestar. And his deputy, Crowfur. My mother Riverpelt, and then my friends Mosspool and Littlefern. Our medicine cat is Dawnheart, and my old mentor- Cricketlegs. Then there's Sunfur and Warmheart, and their kits-"
"You don't consider that a lot?" Smudge asked with and amused twitch in his whiskers, "It's like a rat colony."
She dropped her eyes to Smudge, who returned her gaze steadily. "What made you become a loner?" She asked.
He pricked his ears, "Well, what made you become a Clancat?"
"I- I was born in the Clan." Frostcloud blinked, like she didn't understand the question.
"Well," Smudge explained, "I was born to a loner and her mate. So when my siblings and I got old enough, we went our separate ways."
Frostcloud shook her head, "Why didn't you stay together?"
"We took care of eachother till we were strong enough to be alone." He elaborated.
"Well," Frostcloud said after a moment of thought, "I can't imagine what it's like to live without a Clan."
Smudge rolled onto his feet before shaking out his coat, sending clouds dust into the air.
Scanning the horizon, Frostcloud spotted a tree just some distance away. "Last one over is crow-food!" She blurted before hurtling in the trees direction.
"No fair!" Smudge cried as he ran after the smaller she-cat.
Frostcloud put all of her focus into not stumbling over the rocks or getting tangled in the grass in her path. The tree was close enough that with her head-start she just might be able to reach it before Smudge.
Or so she thought. With the speed of an eagle, Smudge was darting past Frostcloud. "You'll have to do better than that, forest-toes!" He called back at her.
Smudge reached the tree, turning around to face Frostcloud with a victorious glow in his eyes. She met his gaze as she came closer, and after flashing a mischievous look, she leapt and grasped the trunk of the tree.
Her claws gripped into the crevices of the bark, and swinging her tail, Frostcloud worked to pull herself a bear-length higher. She propelled herself upward once more before she swung herself to one of the thicker branches.
Frostcloud looked down, where she found Smudge watching her in awe.
"I won the race to the top." Frostcloud said with a twitch in her whiskers. Though, the tree wasn't particularly large, she didn't spend a lot of time climbing, and was almost surprised she managed to make it up without slipping.
"Frostcloud?" Smudge asked, "More like Squirrelcat!"
Frostcloud couldn't help but purr. That's not how our names work! She was tempted to tell the tom, but the beam in his yellow orbs wouldn't allow it. "Come up!" She said instead.
Smudge fidgeted. "I'm not sure how!" He confessed.
"It's easy." Frostcloud encouraged, "All cats can climb!"
Smudge eyed the tree. He shifted the weight on his feet once more in consideration before he dropped into a crouch. Then suddenly, a pounce.
Though ungraceful, Smudge held tightly onto the trunk, his legs hugging the bark and his claws fully extended.
"Good!" Frostcloud said, "Now push down with your hind legs, and move your front claws up."
Smudge twitched his ears and followed Frostcloud's instructions. After a short time, he was at eye-level with her, and he wavered onto the branch she sat on. "See?" She teased, "I told you you could do it."
"You climb trees in PineClan?" Smudge asked as he worked to catch his breath.
"Sometimes." Frostcloud shrugged, "We learn how to, at least. But Marshcats are the tree-climbers. They move from branch to branch like squirrels."
Seemingly entertained, Smudge went on to wash his ears. Frostcloud twitched her tail, then used her own paw to wrap around the back of Smudge's head, pulling him down to match her height. "Here." She said before licking the back of his ears.
Smudge twitched his whiskers. "Your pads are soft." He observed.
"Are they?" Frostcloud asked.
"Yeah." He said. He lifted his own paw, pressing his pad against Frostcloud's nose. She pulled away, surprised by how calloused he was.
"Weird." Frostcloud purred after some moments. StoneClan and ValleyClan cats must have rough paws too, she realized. Would that mean MarshClan pads are even softer than PineClan's? Their territory is damper, anyway. But they do climb a lot of rough trees...
Red Barn almost looked like a small bush from where the cats sat so far away. And with dusk approaching and heavy clouds clogging the sky, their world was cast in a somber shadow. A cold breeze ruffled Frostcloud's fur, and she found herself leaning into Smudge and the warmth he provided.
"Are you leaving at dawn?" He asked quietly.
Frostcloud's heart lurched. She longed to go home, to return to the familiar scent of PineClan and share tongues with Riverpelt and Cricketlegs, reliving her journey. Then to collapse in her feather-soft nest in between the suffocatingly-furry ball of fur that was Mosspool, and Littlefern in his calming and gentle presence.
But... why didn't she want to leave? Somehow, she felt rooted to the exposing scrublands. "Most likely." She admitted eventually. She glanced at the sky again; surely those clouds would release their storm. As much as she was appalled by the idea of the chaos the thunder would cause in her chest, if it did rain tomorrow then they wouldn't leave till the day after. She almost felt grateful the storm kept her here longer. "Unless it's raining."
Smudge leaned back into Frostcloud, and her ears became hot when his tail just barely intertwined with hers. I don't want to leave him. She realized suddenly, butterflies erupting in the midst of her belly.
She pressed into Smudge further. His warmth was so comforting, unlike any cats she had ever met. He was charming, he made her purr, and he came to her when she was upset.
But... he's not from her Clan. Frostcloud's shoulders became heavy under the weight of her emotion. She couldn't disobey the warrior's code... she could imagine Cricketlegs disapproving stare now.
But why can't I be with him? Frostcloud thought suddenly. Wouldn't Riverpelt be happy her only kit found such a kind mate? Mosspool too? And Whitestar had to be afraid of how small Clan was, more than he lets on. Maybe Smudge could join PineClan. OakClan had been made up of loners, after all.
"We should start going back." Smudge said, interrupting Frostcloud's thoughts and eyeing the sun that would soon dip below the horizon.
Frostcloud nodded, uncertain at first. She liked sitting with Smudge in the tree and she didn't feel ready to return to Red Barn. Not to mention it was easier to work through in this comforting silence.
"Are you okay?" Smudge asked, nosing Frostcloud's cheek.
"Of course!" She said with a higher-toned voice. Smudge was such a happy tom- he didn't need to see her upset. "Now I get to teach your clumsy paws how to climb down the tree!"