Flip-a-Flop

Out of all the sports and activities here, gymnastics was one of their favorites. It was basically what they did at home (excluding the hunting parts), and it was perfect for what their body was made for. Lightness, agility, flexibility, and balance. That was what being an Air was about.

With the gymnasium open for everyone, Smokey took some time for themself to practice here. It was different from the forests they were used to training here, but they managed to adjust just fine. The only thing that made them self-conscious was how they were significantly lighter than everyone else in the gym. When they jumped and flipped, they stayed in the air much longer, then floated down gently like a feather. Comparing their physiology to everyone else became a common thought ever since they came to this island.

At least their lightness added some flair to their performances. Instead of needing to do quick twists and flips before they roughly hit the ground, they could take their time and show off everything they could do before giving an elegant land. Well, show off as much as they could when everyone else was concerned with their own performances. Some people watched Smokey, but they were certain it was not because of their impressive display of ability, but because of the rather "unique" appearance they had.

But why concern themself with that when Nino was here? Smokey expected him to notice them do their spectacular performance, but he seemed busy. Busy with laying on his mat looking absolutely exhausted. Impressing him into approaching sounded pointless right now, but overhearing the quiet insults the cheerleaders were saying about Nino annoyed Smokey far too much for them to continue with their practice. With another flip (just in case he could see them), they landed softly on the ground, folded their wings, then skipped to the group of cheerleaders, blew a cloud of harmless smoke at them, then shooed them away. The smoke may as well have been colored air, but the cheerleaders reacted as if they were threatened with poison and moved far away. Smokey was willing to deal with any consequences for "harassment" later, but as they saw it, they were defending a friend.

A part of them wish they could blow some smoke at Chameleon to get rid of that aggravating whistle she kept blowing, but that was more trouble than they wanted to deal with. Instead, they twirled to face Nino with an expression that could be seen as excited or sadistic (or both), then spoke a boisterous voice, "Nino! We're going to practice together. Do you want some water first? You look kind of dead. I can't practice with a dead person."

Smokey glanced at the dozen-eyed cat and giggled. An intense coach? Clearly, seeing how she was on top of him when he looked just about ready to pass out. "Aw, I want to be the intense coach. That sounds funs" Smokey was unsure how they would play the bad cops of coaches, but it sounded like a fun role to play. With them pushed to the side of good cop, they were eager to try to make that role as fun, if not more.

Smokey gave out a hand for Nino to grab onto, then pulled back. First because they were hot and that would not be refreshing for Nino at all (unless being burned gave him a rush of adrenaline). Second because being the fragile creature they would, Nino pulling them with all his weight would either break their hand (and possibly arm) or have them "fall" down with him.

Straightening their posture, they gave a smirk to Nino. "Well, get up and get it then! If you can't even get yourself some water, how can you hope to do anything else? Want me to outdo you at that too?" they teased.

While following Nino around, they responded with a mocking tone to their voice. "I didn't have to. I wanted to." They wanted to help Nino get that water bottle from Chameleon too, but something told them they would struggle more than Nino did.

Wait, was he wiping the water fountain? An awkward snort and cough came out of Smokey's attempts to hold back their laughter. Nino's antsiness around dirtiness was a pattern they noticed, but coming from a species who would beat each other up for fun and one section would roll around in dirt constantly, this level of cleanliness was hilarious to them.

Smokey kept a safe distance when Nino moved to the fountain. Some of the people here somehow managed to make drinking water a messy task and would hurt Smokey in the process. Luckily, or unluckily in Nino's case, nothing came out to wet Smokey. Instead, it just floating in place.

Wait... it just floating in place.

"Not again?" This happened before? Smokey figured that by now they should have been used to weird things happening around Nino. That was probably the whole reason Smokey was with him now. Nino's reaction made it hard to feel at ease about it, however.

Mimicking Nino by backing away from the fountain, confusion was plain on their face. "S-Sure? I mean, yeah! What does Chameleon have to do with this? Or are we catching another cat?" Please let it be another cat. Smokey had a good feeling their hunting abilities would be underwhelming against Chameleon.

Talking to Nino sometimes felt like Smokey had hearing problems. That there were moments where his words became jumbled up and only made sense half of the time. These were one of those moments where all they could think of doing was smile, nod, and act like everything he said was perfectly sensible.

"That makes sense! I guess? Kind of? I think I understand!" They nodded a few more times. Nino was the expert on this after all.

Before he could continue on with more confusing Wonderland explanations, Smokey twirled away with an excited giggled. "It'll be like a hunt then! Without any of the torture and dying stuff, of course."

Where to look first? Smokey was careful to avoid getting in the way of anyone still using the gym as they strolled nonchalantly through the area. Once in a while they would stop and sniff anything that looked like a good hiding place for a small creature: the benches, the baskets that held basketballs and other equipment, the tra—Maybe not the trash can. That could be skipped. In the meantime, they also tried to sense where Chameleon was through the air, making note of even the smallest of movement.

Watching Smokey was like watching a child too invested in a game of hide-and-seek. Nothing was going to stop them now.

As much as Smokey appreciated Nino's openness towards their hunting, they valued their friendship with Nino and shot a hesitant glance when he mentioned watching them hunt. That could be discussed later when they finished this game of hide-and-seek, but Smokey worried that Nino would find their hunting gross and dirty. Smokey was not the type to get offended over that stuff and just wanted to make sure he was prepared for what he would be watching.

Anyway, Smokey was pleased to see that Nino was going his own way. Perfect for clearing more of the area and noticing anything they might have missed. Smokey continued their search for the cat, though their pace slowed after a few seconds before stopping completely. Sniffing and feeling the air, they swore the cat was nearby. With a frown and furrowed brows, they changed their route, heading towards where they swore Chameleon was.

This was going to look silly, but Smokey could not help but try it. Whenever they felt that Chameleon was close by, they tried to give a quick, but gentle, swipe, and a couple of times they jumped to make up for their short stature. Invisibility did not mean intangibility.

Wait a second, does whatever she has on her turn invisible too? The water bottles and snacks should be their main focus. Chameleon could be worried about later. Now, if only they could get rid of that feeling that she was close by no matter how much they moved.