Foxfire nervously reached over to lick at a cowlick on Gorseheart's ear. He and his mate, Birchflight, had recently become a poly with Gorseheart and his mate, Emberdawn.

He couldn't help but feel nervous. This was the first time he was alone with one of his new mates. He was bad enough talking to Birchflight, and it was only because Gorseheart's and Emberdawn's kits pushed them to admit their feelings that no one died this time.

Even though the hard part was over, the relationship was still incredibly fresh, and Foxfire felt that one wrong word could end their happiness. Unfortunately, it seemed his nerves caused him to do just that.

"I'm glad Protea and Doe pushed us into being mates," he said, trying to be earnest in place of his usual joking attitude.

Gorseheart reacted with surprise, pulling back to blink at Foxfire. "Mates? You and me?"

"Oh uh. I thought that's what it was?" Had Foxfire read into things wrong? He had thought things were clear when they discussed wanting to be a poly. Did Gorseheart think that the toms would only become mates with Emberdawn and Birchflight, and not with each other as well? "Unless....Unless you just want to be with the she-cats."

"I'm.....not sure," Gorseheart admitted, picking at a long fern.

"Oh, that's okay!" Foxfire smiled, but he could feel himself trembling.

"It's nothing against you, I just never felt this way for a tom before." Gorseheart seemed just as nervous. More likely, he was just feeling awkward about letting Foxfire down.

Wait. "This way? Before?" Foxfire pricked his ears hopefully.

"That's why it's hard to tell, I guess. I've been alive for a long time, I've been dead for an even longer time, and in those moons, I've only been with she-cats. But I will say that how I feel towards you is definitely closer to how I felt towards those she-cats, and Birchflight, and Emberdawn when our relationship first started, and definitely not how I felt towards all of my tom friends." Gorseheart was speaking quickly, wanting to clear things up as fast as he could.

"So..." Foxfire let it hang, unsure what he wanted to say. No, he did know. He was too scared to voice it.

"Sure," Gorseheart said with a bit of a squeak, lips twitching upward. He didn't quite voice it either. "And if it doesn't work out, we can still be a poly, and friends."

"Yeah, okay." Foxfire smiled, now genuinely. Still nervous, but much more comfortable, he shifted closer to Gorseheart and resumed his grooming.