Hello again! I'm pretty sure that this is late. It certainly is where I live! So today, I'm going to do something different. I'm going to give you guys the half I've already written, and try to post the next half tomorrow. And for those of you who read Secrets of the Storms, I haven't written enough for it to be considered a half of a chapter, so wait until tomorrow when I'll most likely have finished it. The reason why I haven't been writing is because I had an idea for another present for my father. It took hours but it's still not done. But, the flight I'm going on tonight is long, just a bit longer than 12 hours. So I'll have quite a lot of time to write, especially when I have to stay up to avoid jet lag.

Review Reply:
I-really-hope-not: My father's birthday is the day I update this, and because he's turning an age that's quite event-making, he's having a party. Bad thing about that is that I have to remember all of the guest's names. There are more than you'd expect! I always get really irritated at myself for not making the truth come out. Problem is that it's i the plot for the next book, and I don't know when it's going to turn out. And, you guessed right! The next character is Cloudkit! That's actually kind of amazing. When I saw the review I asked myself whether I had sent some kind of chapter preview to you, but I now know that it's probably because Cloudkit is the only tomcat in the Clan at the moment.

And now, for the QOTD answer
Previous QOTD: Who do you think the new character will be?
My answer: It's Cloudkit!

I literally just wrote the last sentence. I popped onto the Google Doc and added it in. But now, the moment I think that you've been waiting for: now, onto the half chapter!

Chapter 36

Cloudkit, ShadowClan

After his mother's call stopped echoing around the camp, the cream apprentice appeared, skidding to a halt and dousing Cloudkit in a bath of dust. He gave an excited yip and bounced around, using his tail to smack most of the dust off of his sisters. The large tomkit was almost six moons, and he knew that Lakepaw and her sisters were ahead of the older apprentices, Sleetpaw, Crunchpaw, Icepaw and Featherpaw.

The three sisters were his idols, and he knew there was something off about the slightly older ones. Featherpaw was always separate from them, and Cloudkit didn't know why. His mother, Kinktail, was always telling him not to sniff around other cat's businesses, so he sensed that whatever created the rift between Featherpaw and her siblings was none of his concern.

Once the dust had settled, Cloudkit whispered in his sister's ears. "Hey. Do you wanna go outside camp? Eclipsepaw told me a way yesterday."

To his disappointment, Crystalkit and Shadekit didn't want to go. "Nuh-uh! We need to stay behind and make sure Kinktail doesn't realise you're missing."

Shadekit's answer was more definite. "No. Lakepaw might teach us some battle moves." She play-swiped at Crystalkit, and the two broke out in a mock fight.

Cloudkit turned to Sandkit. "How about you?"

Sandkit grinned, showing a perfect row of small teeth. "You bet yes!"

The tomkit bounded once, happy to have a partner in crime. Kinktail looked over, placing her paw on Cloudkit's bouncing tail. The kit fell to the ground with an audible thump. Sandkit winced, her black front paw reaching up to cover the smile spreading from her mouth.

"Cloudkit, what were you doing?" inquired Kinktail. She raised an eyebrow, grey eyes threatening.

"Kinktail, what did you call me here to do?" Lakepaw butted in. The black, grey and white patched tomkit looked up at her. She darted a quick grin in his direction before focusing on Cloudkit's mother once more. The apprentice even placed a creamy paw on the queen's shoulder, guiding her away from her kits.

Cloudkit shot a glance at Sandkit. The grey and black pawed shekit was positively bouncing with excitement. He looked back at Shadekit and Crystalkit, who nodded before racing off to Kinktail, falling and tripping purposefully on the way. The little tom grinned, before shooting off towards the dirt-place.

For a second, Cloudkit felt free, streaking across camp, the hot, still air whipping against his long fur. That was, until he ricocheted into a warrior's paw. Cloudkit groaned when he felt his hind paws come into contact with his shoulders. He'd managed to fold over once again. His tail curled in front of his nose, tickling it lightly. Cloudkit tried to hold in his sneeze, hoping that the cat who owned the paw wouldn't notice. But of course, he was wrong.

Teeth met in his scruff, and he was pulled up and placed down in front of the cat. Cloudkit's blue eyes were closed tightly, and he peeked out from one eyelid, curiosity getting the best of him. When he saw who lay in front of him, both eyes opened.

The cat in front of him was no other cat than Sapheart. The leader's mate, Sapheart was a very pretty shecat, with pale brown and dark brown and grey mixing itself together over her shoulders. The rest of her body was either a pale or dark shade of brown, or grey. Sapheart's right eye was covered by a splash of grey, and the rest of her face was pale brown, with a few puddles of dark brown thrown in. You could say that she was a calico, but with different colours.

But the most amazing thing about the queen was her eyes. Bright green, like the forest, her right eye was as bright as the catmint Cloudkit had eaten once, sneaking into Sprucestorm's den. But her left eye was a dark green, matching the colour of the pines that made up most of ShadowClan's territory and shielded their camp from enemies.

"Cloudkit, Sandkit, don't try to sneak out of camp."

Cloudkit was unaware of his sister behind him, and opened his mouth to answer when a terrific sneeze erupted. When the patched kit opened his eyes for the second time, he saw Sapheart's face in front of him, fur ruffled from the sneeze. He was dimly aware of Sandkit behind him, in giggles as usual. For a second he was confuddled. Who had sneezed? But as the world focused sharply, the answer appeared in his mind. It was him who had sneezed.

"I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry, Sapheart!"

The queen smiled, mismatched eyes soft. "It's ok. But do not sneak out of camp. Your mentors'll take you. Who knows? You might have had your apprentice ceremony delayed."

It had never occurred to Cloudkit.

'Maybe that's why Crystalkit and Shadekit didn't want to come.' he thought.

Sandkit nudged him. Cloudkit was jerked out of his thoughts, and he bounded after his grey and black pawed sister, making his mind up to talk to his two other siblings once they went back.

"Oomph!" Cloudkit tumbled into another cat for the second time that day. When he and the other cat stopped rolling, he leapt to his paws, horrified to find cream fur all over himself.

"I'm so sorry Lakepaw!" he apologized, again that day.

The cream apprentice clambered to her feet, her lithe frame smoothly moving from one action to another.

"I was showing Shadekit and Crystalkit a battle move. Do you two want to see?" she mewed, licking her paw and drawing it over her ear.

Cloudkit felt a strange stab of disappointment as he realized that Lakepaw was addressing both him and Sandkit. But he nodded anyway.

And there it is! The half chapter! I crack up every time I hear that. But I think that this full chapter is going to be quite long, averaging 2000 words. This half-chapter is 1000, so the part I have to write is going to be around the same. I haven't got enough time to do an ending note, so straight on to the QOTD

QOTD: Have you ever gone swimming before? What's your first memory of swimming?

Such a weird question. This I'll answer next post! Anyway, see you tomorrow when I (hopefully) will update again!