The first chapter has been written! And now it has been posted! :) Thank you all for being patient while I thought up ideas for what will happen in this story. Here's the first chapter from Sootpaw's POV! Well, I guess you've sort of already seen it, maybe. Oh well, I suppose you will anyway after the review replies below! ^^

EradrinSkyleaf: Here's some more for you! :)

MistClan505: You go in to edit the document in Doc Manager and it's the 6th button from the left. Believe me, it took me so long to figure out how to do the gray line thing too. :P

Anova00: Yes, it is! :D

ShadowHawk: Don't worry, I'll keep this series going until the end! ;) I wouldn't want to disappoint the fans who go wild! XD

Nightfeather: Yeah, that was my inspiration for the title. :) And who knows, they might argue about... some things... ;)

Sootpaw's POV

Day one of being a leader. Shouldn't be too hard, right?

I sighed to myself, gazing out at the camp from the Highledge. I knew I really should be in the Leader's Den planning out the day with Cinderpaw and Rainpaw, but I honestly couldn't spend more than about a minute in there. I couldn't bear the increasingly stale scent of my father.

My father. Yesterday, I'd finally realized how he'd been hiding in plain sight. Yesterday, I said goodbye to him forever.

I sighed heavily, scratching idly in the dust with a claw. I'd buried my father this morning, yet hadn't even known him long enough to grieve. Yes, I'd stayed up the traditional night by his side with my littermates, but honestly, I'd thought more of my mother. Lightwing didn't know about Ashthorn's death. She still thought he'd come to get her when peace was restored.

Well, I'd just have to do that duty in Ashthorn's place. Just like leading LeopardClan. Just like defeating Nightstar and NightClan. Just like restoring peace to the entire lake.

"Sootpaw?"

I jumped and spun around at the quiet voice behind me, only relaxing when I recognized the speaker. It was Dawnpaw.

Her flank was sliced through with a deep wound that still looked like it could start bleeding. It obviously hurt her, because as she shifted her weight nervously from paw to paw, she kept wincing.

"Shouldn't you be in the medicine den?" My question came out harsher than I'd meant, and she stepped backwards, her hind paw nearly slipping off the boulder she was perched on.

"I – I… wanted to see you," she said uncertainly, averting her eyes. "If you… um… didn't want me to come-"

"No," I meowed quickly, padding forward. "No, I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry." I let out another heavy sigh. "I guess I'm just adjusting to the strain of leadership is all."

"Oh, I completely understand," Dawnpaw said earnestly, taking a step forward again, away from the edge of the rock. "I mean, if I'd been appointed leader instead of you and your littermates, I'd probably be crumpling already!"

"Yeah, it'd just be you," I said, smiling semi-playfully. "At least I have two other cats I can push all the responsibility onto, right?"

That wiped the smile from her face. "Yeah," she murmured, turning away. "Um, I have to go back to the medicine den now. Stormtuft said I could only come out for a little while."

I stood there, slightly dumbstruck, wondering what I could have possibly said wrong. As I watched Dawnpaw reach the bottom of the rockfall and pad off toward the medicine den, her tail trailing in the dust, I tried to think what the matter could be.

"Unlucky again?" Cinderpaw's voice sounded from behind me and I turned toward her, shaking my head.

"I just don't know what I could have done wrong."

"You mentioned her littermate," Cinderpaw reprimanded. "You know, Featherpaw?"

I could have hit myself over the head, but it was sort of awkward with the way my limbs were positioned. "So that's what I did! Oh great, she'll never forgive me for this!"

Cinderpaw gave me a sympathetic look, then glanced meaningfully over her shoulder. Rainpaw had also emerged from the Leader's Den. As I looked past her at him, I saw him glance at the center of the clearing, where he'd lain between Ashthorn and Silverdapple last night. He was the only one of us three to actually grieve wholeheartedly for one of the dead.

I shut up about Dawnpaw. I figured it would be pretty inconsiderate of me to ask Rainpaw's opinion of Dawnpaw when he'd just lost Silverdapple.

"So what did you decide?" I asked, sitting down once again on the Highledge.

"Well, I'm going to lead the Sunhigh border patrol and Aspentail will lead the Sundown border patrol. Rainpaw will lead the morning hunting patrol and you'll lead the afternoon hunting patrol," Cinderpaw listed. Then, turning to Rainpaw, she added, "That's it, right?"

"Right," Rainpaw meowed. His eyes were red and his knees seemed to be slightly shaking, but his ears were forward and his tail was up. I could tell he was trying to be strong for us and the rest of the Clan, but I didn't reprimand him. If I told him he could never be strong, he'd never be a leader like Ashthorn was.

I nodded briskly. "Great. So you should probably get going."

Cinderpaw nodded. "Yeah. Rainpaw, could you go call the cats we decided on? You should probably head on out right now. The fresh-kill pile is looking a little low."

"Okay," Rainpaw said, smiling at us. I tried to look past how it seemed more to be a forced grimace as he bounded down the rockfall, his paws thudding heavily on the stone. He used to bounce around everywhere he went. What had happened to that ball of energy and optimism that had been Rainpaw?

"What're you going to do?" Cinderpaw asked me quietly. I knew she already knew the answer – it was why she'd sent Rainpaw to get the warriors.

"I guess I'll have to go after Dawnpaw," I sighed. "I have to tell her I'm sorry."

Cinderpaw gazed across the clearing to the large bush where the warriors den was. "I just hope Rainpaw will be all right," she murmured. "Of all three of us, he shouldn't have been the one to lose one he loved so much."

I nodded. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to keep my interactions with Dawnpaw out of Rainpaw's way. I don't want him feeling jealous or sad."

Cinderpaw looked down. "I knew you would, but I had to make sure. You know? Rainpaw can't suffer any more than he has to. And it would kill him if he had to pretend to be happy for you and Dawnpaw."

"I know," I assured her. "Now go lead that patrol of yours, okay?"

Cinderpaw rolled her eyes at me. "Fine, if you say so," she meowed sarcastically before leaping down the rockfall with the agility and speed of a leopard. A leopard leading LeopardClan.

Snorting at my own joke, I stood and padded down after her. I had to go in search of Dawnpaw.

I've noticed, going back and reading the first chapters of Misty Horizon, that my writing has improved since I started this series. So, instead of a QOTD this chapter, I'm going to tell you why.

AOTD: It's because I've been writing almost daily, or been trying to. My Creative Writing teacher at school told us at the beginning of the year how important it was to write daily, so I've been writing this series for my daily writing. Now, after about two months, I'm definitely seeing improvement. Now, if any of you would like to try this "daily writing" thing, I'd be more than happy to support you, if you have an account. I figure it's only fair, as you've all been supporting me for so long! :)