Annnnd…

…I'm back! :D I'm so excited to be back with all of you! Thanks for not being mad about me leaving for about four weeks to do NaNoWriMo. :) I promise it wasn't in vain! And yes, I did complete the 50,000 words!

Anyway, on to the review replies. So sorry if I miss a couple of you, it was so long ago that you reviewed!

Willowdream of ForestClan: Did you end up finishing your story? ;) It's so cool that you did NaNoWriMo, too!

ShadowHawk: Oh, yeah, you do need an email address to sign up. Oh well, maybe sometime in the future you can join! :)

QLKwriter: Yeah, Rainpaw didn't start out so well, did he? I know it was a short chapter, so I'm glad you still found it good!

MistClan505: Yes, let's hope he can adjust! Also, I think you've gotten a good idea for your new story! :) I'm excited to catch up on reading it after I post this chapter!

Nightfeather: I was sad, too, believe me! But now I'm back and excited to keep on going with this story! :) No spoilers on Lightwing, but yeah, I sort of wanted Ashthorn to have to make up a new warrior name on the spot, because he only had the time from when Silverpaw told him about his kits to the time when his kits entered the camp to come up with his plan to test their leadership skills. So just a generic, lame sort of warriors name it is! XD

Bobbie1776: Sorry you had to wait so long for this chapter! No more breaks, I promise! :P

Sootpaw's POV

As I watched Rainpaw's tail flicker through the thorn barrier, out of sight, I couldn't help but feel a pang in my chest, as though he were taking a small part of me with him, as though my heart had been ripped into three pieces – one remaining here to beat as best it could inside my own chest, while the other two followed my littermates along their dangerous and winding paths.

A flash of reddish fur caught the corner of my eye and I turned to see a bushy tail whip out of sight through the barrier. I glanced around in confusion and spotted Rustpelt gazing at me in apology. "I couldn't stop him," he said hopelessly, gesturing with a paw at the barrier through which, if I wasn't much mistaken, Foxtooth had just vanished.

I sighed, but nodded at Rustpelt. "Thank you," I meowed, trying to school my voice into sounding deeper, more commanding, like a leader's should. I took a deep breath, pushing out my chest and lifting my chin. "I'm sure Cinderpaw will send him back by sundown."

Rustpelt chortled. "You got that right," he muttered, turning around and heading back into the center of camp. "That star-struck idiot will be tripping over his own feet, he'll be trying so hard to please Cinderpaw! That she-cat is full of nothing but sarcasm and claws, if you ask me. No offense, Sootpaw," he added quickly, glancing up at me.

"None taken," I assured him.

I gazed out at the Clan as Rustpelt took his seat amongst his Clanmates again. A sudden panic of sorts seemed to give my mind a squeeze. What was I doing up here? What could I tell the Clan? They were all looking to me for some orders, so what should I do? What could I do?

As I stood there, fear threatening to overcome me, Cinderpaw's voice came back to me, speaking again some of the first words she'd said out loud to me after the battle had ended, after Ashthorn had died, after we'd become leaders. "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."

The grip panic seemed to hold around my mind seemed to loosen, allowing me to think more clearly that before. Of course. Patrols. Patrols were easy, right?

"We need a hunting patrol to leave immediately," I said in a commanding voice, resuming my role as leader. Glancing around at the cats, I searched for the right one to lead the new patrol. One face in particular caught my eye. "Larkwing," I decided. "You will lead it. Take…" Again, my eyes scanned the sea of faces, wondering who should go. Probably one of the mentors should leave, to give their apprentice a bit of hunting practice, and maybe one other warrior for extra protection? "Take Rustpelt, Scorchblaze, and Shadepaw," I decided.

The cats whose names I'd called nodded and made their way to the thorn barrier. I watched them go, Larkwing pacing sedately at the head, followed by Scorchblaze, who flexed her claws as she walked, her apprentice bouncing eagerly at her side, and Rustpelt bringing up the rear, looking determined, his eyes alight with excitement at the prospect of a hunt. I beckoned him over for a moment, and he joined me at the rock, curiosity blotting out the other emotions visible on his face.

"Can you ask Larkwing to follow Foxtooth's scent trail?" I asked him in an undertone. "I want you to bring him back with you. It wouldn't do for him to sit out by the lakeshore or something all night."

Rustpelt nodded. "I'll make sure of it," he promised. "I don't want that any more than you." And he bounded after his patrol to catch up with them.

I watched them go before turning back to face the crowd of cats. "Now for the border patrol," I continued. "Sparrowtalon, you will lead. Take… Crouchfoot, Mistheart, and Snowclaw with you." As the cats formed into a group, I wondered momentarily if I'd made the right decision, not sending an apprentice to learn where, exactly, the borders were. After a heartbeat, I shook the notion off. Dawnpaw wouldn't be going with Snowclaw because she was still too badly injured, and the younger apprentices would probably just be too young to be able to cope if the patrol was attacked again. It was essential to send a strong patrol to renew the markings composed of only warriors, especially considering what had happened yesterday with Cinderpaw's patrol.

Turning back to the cats again, I realized that there weren't actually too many cats left. There was Aspentail, flicking his tail grumpily as usual, Cherryfall, sitting next to her apprentice, Twigpaw, who was batting aimlessly at a newly fallen brown leaf, Molewhisker, who was washing his sister's ears, and Streamfrost and her apprentice, Morningpaw, who were next to Twigpaw. Morningpaw had joined her brother's leaf game out of boredom.

"Aspentail," I addressed the only senior warrior left. He flicked his ears to indicate he was listening. "You lead the hunting patrol for this afternoon. Take Molewhisker and…" I hesitated. I'd wanted Twigpaw and Morningpaw to practice their battle moves today, but there still needed to be a warrior to guard the camp entrance. Maybe if I put both apprentices with one mentor, it could still work. "Me," I decided. "I'll go with the hunting patrol. Twigpaw and Morningpaw," the apprentices abandoned their leaf game and sat up straighter, eyes bright and alert, "you two will practice your battle moves with Cherryfall today. Streamfrost, you can guard the camp."

Streamfrost nodded and bounded off immediately to the thorn barrier. With a sigh of relief now that I'd finally gotten most of today's patrols in order, I slipped off the flat rock and glanced up at the sun. It was just past Sunhigh. So that meant Dawnpaw was probably awake. I still had one thing I needed to do before I left on the hunting patrol. I had to go talk to Dawnpaw and tell her I was sorry. So, gathering up what remained of my courage – I definitely needed it – I bounded across the camp to the medicine den and, taking a deep breath, slipped inside.

The den's interior was dark. Neither Stormtuft nor Goldenpaw was there; I supposed they'd gone herb-gathering after the Clan meeting this morning. Or maybe they'd just gone to check on Amberwing. Either way, the only living form I could see was a mound of soft gray fur, like a dove's feathers.

"Dawnpaw?" I asked, and even though I spoke in a soft voice, my voice seemed to echo all around the den, as though I'd shouted it.

Dawnpaw's head came up, her ears turned backward. I couldn't tell if they were back because she was still annoyed at me or because she was trying to hear me better. Either way, she seemed to be waiting for me to say more, as she didn't say a word. I sat down in the center of the den, gazing at Dawnpaw's back, and took a deep breath to speak.

"Um… I'm sorry about what I said," I began awkwardly. "You know, what I said yesterday morning? Um… sorry it's taken this long for me to come find you. It's been… busy."

Dawnpaw's ears went slightly forward. She seemed to sigh – at least, her shoulders went up as though she'd breathed in deeply and then sank back to their original position as though she'd blown all the air out in a sigh. I waited, barely breathing as I waited for her to say something. After a few heartbeats, I was rewarded.

Dawnpaw turned halfway around, not quite looking at me, but not turning her back completely to me either, which was a definite improvement. I could see half of her face, her eye shut, her fur illuminated by a single ray of sunlight that somehow made it through the cave entrance. "I know you've been busy," she whispered. Her voice seemed to also echo around the almost empty cave, though her echo sounded somehow better than mine. It was more musical, like a whisper in a magical cave covered with gemstones. Definitely not like mine, with its rude sort of ring to it. I looked down in shame and waited for her to continue.

After another sigh, Dawnpaw turned back away from me. Suddenly, I wondered if I'd been supposed to say something. StarClan, these she-cats were so confusing with their mind games! Why couldn't they just tell us what they wanted instead of giving us these vague hints we never really ever actually got? But then she continued and I relaxed again.

"I should be the one who's sorry, Sootpaw, not you. I was the one who overreacted to what you said. You didn't mean any harm. I should really stop getting so worked up over it. Over… her."

I wasn't really sure how to respond to that. But I figured I had to say something, so I gave it a go, using what Cinderpaw had used with Rainpaw after the battle. "Do you want to talk about it?" I asked. "About Featherpaw? Maybe it would help to just get it all out instead of bottling it up inside. I'm guessing the two of you were close?"

Dawnpaw nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, we were." She was silent for so long, I began to wonder if I should say something else before she continued. "We were closer than normal littermates, I think. Almost like you with Cinderpaw and Rainpaw," she said with a wry sort of smile. I saw half of it – she'd turned to the side again. "We'd do everything together, me and her. She and I. Us." She blinked rapidly and opened her mouth to say more, but no sound came out. So I broke in.

"I think I feel almost the same way," I meowed quietly. "With Cinderpaw and Rainpaw gone, it's… it's like I've lost a crucial part of me. It feels like it won't come back easily, even though I know they're coming back soon."

Dawnpaw nodded. "Yeah, it must be hard, losing two treasured siblings. But I suppose it sort of balances out, what with you knowing they're actually coming back." She sighed and turned away again before continuing in a quieter voice than ever. "Look, Sootpaw, I'm glad you stopped by. I'm glad you had me talk about… about Featherpaw a little. But I really am tired. I – I was up for a lot of the night, remembering her. I should probably get some sleep."

"Oh. Oh, yeah, okay." I began backing away.

"Sootpaw, I really am glad you came. Thank you." Dawnpaw curled up in her nest, but before I could turn away, she gave me a smile. Sure, it was small and half-hidden by her moss, but it was still a smile, and that was something. I padded out of the medicine den feeling like maybe I wasn't completely hopeless after all.

I tried to make the chapter longer than normal because you all haven't seen a post in about a month. Let me know if you like it! :)

QOTD: Truthfully, did you have to go back and reread some of the older chapters because you'd forgotten a lot of what happened?

(sorry for the lame question! I'm sort of tired and really should start on homework or something... I've been procrastinating :P)