Following soft steps (6)
I believe the answer is:
flight
'steps' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'following soft' is the wordplay.
'following' becomes 'f' (used when citing page numbers etc).
'soft' becomes 'light' (synonyms).
'f'+'light'='FLIGHT'
(Other definitions for flight that I've seen before include "Group of birds - running away" , "Air transport - running away" , "The feathers on a dart or arrow" , "the vanquished may take?" , "A series of stairs" .)