EDIT: I tried to upload this last night, but FanFiction was down or something. Thanks to my two newest reviewers for taking the time to read my story! :D

My cat just hopped up onto my lap, it's past midnight, and I'm going to start the next chapter. Emphasis on start. Emphasis on going to bed soon because I'm actually really tired. I'll probably just do the review replies tonight and finish the chapter tomorrow. The review replies actually take a lot of time! :O Pretty unexpected, at least for me, when I started doing them. But they're fun, so there you go. I still do them. ;)

EradrinSkyleaf: Yeees, kittens are so cute! :D And I'm actually not too fond of flying on airplanes – they mess up my body's sleep-eat schedule and makes me feel sort of sick. It's not airsick, it's more… travelsick? I think.

Anova00: Oh, wow, that is lucky! Do you go to the mountains to ski or snowboard? Personally I prefer sledding, but skiing is always fun, too.

QLKwriter: Well, at least you're getting snow! Then again, if you are getting snow, then you probably live somewhere more north so you're used to snow and it's not as special like it is where I live. So… I guess the snow would be bad? But at least it looks pretty, right? ;) I don't know, I just really love snow for some strange reason, even though it comes with bitter cold and Summer's really my favorite season.

Starfrost515: Yeah, I figured Smokefoot and Goldenpaw were sort of just characters by name at that point, so I wanted to give them a bit of character. Also, Smokefoot just seemed good to be sort of grumpy. XD Semi-spoiler (what is this madness? I'm giving away spoilers?) none of the kits die in the rest of this book. I'm really not that heartless, as much as it may have seemed at the end of the last book, with Silverdapple and… *sniff* Yep.

Nightfeather: I remember my brother once had to go to the ER and get staples in the back of his head because he fell on the corner of a table. XD Sunkit was named after the sun, the source of warmth and comfort and all things good, and he turns evil? That would be pretty ironic. *pins on "I got through Nightfeather's review" button*

ShadowHawk: You should look up Defying Gravity, it's a great song! :) I hope everything's all right after the storm, though. Storms can be vicious beasts like badgers or Nightstar. (yeah, I just had to tie that in to my story. :P Wow, me) I never used to go anywhere before my family moved and then we started traveling everywhere every long weekend we had, though that may have also been because of my swim meets. But I must say, I do enjoy spending time at home with my family. So either traveling or staying home can be nice. You know what I mean? (I hope?)

Scarletpool: Yes, you are my newest reviewer. Thank you so much again for taking the time to read my story! It really means a lot to me. :) And about Rainpaw, he's pretty busy grieving for Silverdapple at the moment, but maybe in the future there could be another she-cat…

The Age of Awesomeness: Wow, you're my second newest reviewer! And I'm glad to know that you read the first book first, so you're all caught up. :) Thank you so much again for taking the time to read my story! It really means a lot to me.

Cinderpaw's POV

Rain.

Of course it had to rain. Just when we had left the forest, too, and were starting to head farther upstream, out of the sheltering trees and foliage!

I growled as I slogged forward, rain dripping off my whiskers, my paws encased in blocks of mud, my ears flattened against the downpour. Foxtooth, unfortunately, had caught up with me just as I exited the forest. Luckily, though, he seemed to have gotten the hint and was staying as quiet as a rabbit. Well, if the rabbit was cornered it would make a racket loud enough to scare the birds for about a mile around, but Foxtooth, surprisingly, wasn't acting like that. His head was bowed against the driving rain, his reddish fur darkened to a rust color, almost brown, like the color of the tree bark we'd left behind in the sheltering forest.

The river roared and rushed beside me, splashing and tumbling downstream, dragging branches and leaves and even huge logs along with it. Man, was I glad I didn't have to cross that monstrous snake. At least it hadn't been this turbulent when I'd had to cross earlier with Foxtooth.

I growled under my breath, spitting rainwater out of my mouth. StarClan, I hated water. Why did we have to travel through this mess anyway?

Oh, right. How could I have forgotten? Sootpaw and Rainpaw were counting on me to bring back RiverClan. It was very likely that if I didn't return with reinforcements, NightClan would wipe us out. I thought of Sootpaw, of his crush on Dawnpaw, of his broken expression when he saw her taken down in battle, of his vengeful glare as he took on her murderer, as he was sliced down just as she'd been, to lie in the crimson dust beside her, his last breath fading away as his eyes glazed over and his spirit left his body. I thought of Rainpaw, with his grief, still so strong, for his lost love, his eyes lighting up with a burning fury as he attacked the Clan that had taken her away, of his hopeless skills no match for the fearsome NightClan warriors, of him knocked to the ground to die alone, crushed beneath the paws of his enemies.

I was retrieving RiverClan for my brothers. They meant more to me than the world, than my own life. They'd supported me through our journey just as I had them, let me lean on their shoulders, teased me, comforted me, let me be the strong one. I couldn't just let them fend for themselves. They were my littermates, and I would do anything for them.

Which was completely different from how I felt about the ignorant, naïve idiot padding along beside me. Though he might look stoic enough with his head bowed against the gusting wind, eyes narrowed and ears flattened against his head, plowing onward like a mountain against a blizzard, I knew he was just an inconvenience. Looks weren't everything. It was what was inside that counted. And StarClan, did this tom have to grow up! He was still as young as the new apprentices back at camp in his mind. If he could only become a warrior inside as well as outside, then maybe I'd accept him as a friend. But anything else and at any time before then? No. Not a chance.

I gritted my teeth and growled under my breath. Apparently Foxtooth had the hearing of a rabbit as well as the silence of one, because he turned his head toward me, his expression a mask of concern. "Are you okay?" he asked, his voice just audible over the storm. So much for the silence of a rabbit. "You've been growling to yourself all day. Was… was it something I did?"

I sighed to myself, pointedly turning away. Why did this cat have to nose his way into everyone's business? I had my problems, he had his, and every single other cat had theirs, so why did he have to pry? Plus, the sound of his voice was annoying.

Foxtooth, thankfully, got the message. He dropped his head back down and continued padding along through the field, his paws splashing through the puddles. I moved away to avoid getting splashed. Though I was already soaking wet, I felt like getting splashed by water that had touched Foxtooth was worse than getting splashed with mud.

We continued on through the field with no change whatsoever in the scenery, plodding on and on through the downpour, until, finally, we reached another forest.

The river cut through the trees, thinning them to either side. It splashed downstream, back to the lake, and I made sure the river didn't splash me either. Quite honestly, rivers in general repulsed me. I couldn't imagine why – it wasn't like I'd almost drowned in one! And now I was going to find RiverClan, who probably lived at the bottom of an ocean or something. For the first time, I wondered if maybe it wouldn't have been better if Rainpaw or Sootpaw came on this journey instead of me.

"Hey! You two!"

I whipped around, claws suddenly unsheathed, my lips parted in a snarl. Who was this, to interrupt our journey with possible danger? Who dared disturb my despondent, dreary thoughts?

It was a cat. A she-cat of about Foxtooth's age stood there, her back to the river, her black and white patched fur a sharp distinction against the dark gray river raging a tail-length from her tail. Her yellow eyes gleamed with reflected lightning as it flashed over our heads.

"Come with me!" she called over the storm's noise. "Quick!" She turned around and vanished over the river's bank.

Foxtooth and I, surprisingly seeming to have the same idea for once, lunged forward to try and catch her as, we were sure, she fell yowling into the unbreakable grip of the current raging beneath us. But by the time we got there, all we saw was turbulent iron-gray waves and a mishmash of random foliage coming from upstream.

"We're too late!" Foxtooth moaned, dropping his chin onto the sandy bank where it dropped steeply away into the river. "The wind must have blown her off the edge before we could get to her!"

Immediately I dug my claws into the turf. There was no way that wind would pluck me off the edge; it could take Foxtooth first and then I'd know enough to run away from this river. But before the blustering weather could take either of our lives, a black face decorated with white spirals poked out from the bank as though it had come straight through a solid wall.

"What are you waiting for?" the she-cat asked in annoyance. "Come on!" And again she vanished, only this time Foxtooth and I knew she hadn't gone into the river; rather, she'd disappeared into what seemed to be a den in the riverbank.

The river raged on, endless waves slapping spray up against my fur, the swollen waters rising perilously close to the den's entrance. I hesitated, my gaze fixed on the waters, imagining clawed paws rising from the water to drag me down into its depths. My muscles froze, so I couldn't move a kittenstep either to safety or to try and enter that den. I couldn't do it. The risk of landing in the river was just too great.

I saw a dark red blur drop over the edge out of the corner of my eye and knew immediately who it was. Foxtooth had done it. He'd made it down there. And now both he and the she-cat would be waiting for me down in their little den thing. I couldn't keep them waiting! It would make me look weak for sure! So, clenching my teeth and narrowing my eyes, I fixed my gaze on the sandy bank and leaped over the edge.

I mistimed my jump completely. Just as I landed on the mostly dry sand, a wave broke over it, sweeping my paws to one side. I scrabbled at the sand but there were no pawholds to be found – no rocks, no roots, no nothing, and the river had grabbed me and I couldn't fight, couldn't resist, because it was nothing but water and you couldn't claw water into submission. You could only run, run like a coward, away from the terrible water.

A flash of reddish fur flickered in the corner of my eye for the second time that day, and I felt a set of teeth in my scruff, hauling me out of the river's clutches and onto dry sand. I coughed, kicking my hind legs underneath me and scrambling away from the evil, murderous river. Foxtooth had saved me. How embarrassing was that, that I had to be saved by such an idiot?

I pushed myself to my paws and stalked into the den, not even glancing at Foxtooth. My pelt burned with embarrassment despite my recent dip in the frigid river water. Shaking myself like a dog, I ducked my head and entered the shady den made completely of sand.

The black and white cat sat beside a nest made of moss and bracken. There was something a little strange about how tidy it was; I'd expected that this she-cat wouldn't have a clue how to make a next that good. Maybe it had been passed down from her mother or something.

Foxtooth entered the den behind me. I immediately crossed to a corner far from the entrance and bent my head to busily clean myself. Luckily, Foxtooth didn't follow.

The she-cat sat in silence while we dried ourselves. It was only when I was finished and glanced up that I initiated conversation.

"So who are you?" was my first question. Probably a little rude, but there you go. I had to make a good impression, didn't I?

The she-cat raised her eyebrows. Apparently she had noticed my rudeness, and judging by the slight upward tilt of her nose, she didn't like it. "My name is Badger," she said loftily. "I am a loner who calls these woods her home."

"Aren't you worried it's going to flood?" I asked, half-glancing at the swollen, turbulent river outside.

"Oh, no," Badger said soothingly. "I've lived in this den for many moons and so did my father before he passed away. Together we saw many, many rainstorms and this den has never flooded once. It seems it is at a high enough level in the bank that it is difficult for the storms to wash away," she finished in a self-satisfied sort of tone.

Immediately, I decided I didn't like her at all. She was way too self-centered for my liking. "Why did you nearly kill me?" I demanded, standing up and shoving my nose in her face. It was time she saw who was really on top: aka me.

"Oh, I wasn't trying to kill you!" she exclaimed, laughing slightly. I growled low in my throat. "That wasn't my fault! I was just trying to offer you a shelter to outlast the rain, is all."

I glared at her. I could hear the message underneath her words as plainly as if she'd shouted it in my ear. You're just clumsier than me. I turned away in disgust. Now I was stuck in a den with a cat who had a very high opinion of herself and the blundering idiot, Foxtooth. This cat was just badgering me!

"Well, I'm afraid we can't stay," I said, imitating her lofty tone. "We have a very important mission to complete."

"Oh, really?" Badger asked. I scowled. "Well, don't let me keep you! It's just that it would be pretty difficult to climb out of this den with the river this high. I'd be more than happy to keep you for… say, a quarter moon while the river dies back down?"

"A quarter moon?" I gasped. "No way are we staying that long! No way!"

"Well why not?" Badger asked. "It's not like you can get out of here after your… ah… unfortunate accident just now."

I kicked sand at her. "Excuse me," I hissed, "but if we stay for a quarter moon, my brothers might be dead! His brother might be dead!" I flicked my tail at Foxtooth, who was crouching on the sandy floor watching us silently, his eyes wide and his ears forward. "We can't stay for an entire quarter moon! No, we have to find RiverClan." I stalked toward the entrance. "Come on, Foxtooth," I spat.

"Wait," he said suddenly.

I whipped around, glaring at him. He wasn't looking at me, though, so my expression was wasted. He was staring at Badger, and I realized after a heartbeat that he looked suspicious. What was going on with him?

"You moved funny," he said slowly, still staring at Badger, who was as still as a tree trunk, gazing coolly back at him. "When Cinderpaw said 'RiverClan', you moved funny. It was almost like you knew RiverClan."

Badger just looked at him for the longest time. I was frozen, staring straight at her, but she and Foxtooth were having a sort of silent staring match and neither was looking at me. Finally, she spoke.

"Very good, tom," she said, her lips curving into a smile. "You saw my hint. Yes, I do know RiverClan. I know them very well. In fact, I'd be willing to take you to them, if you want."

I stepped forward again. "Yes," I said somewhat abruptly. "Anything that can get me back to my brothers. They need me."

"I'm sure," Badger said softly. She stood, stretched luxuriously, then padded out of the den at a relaxed sort of pace. Foxtooth glanced around at me, and for the first time, I met his gaze for a heartbeat. Then, I dropped it and headed for the entrance. We really had no time to lose.

So how'd you like the chapter? This one took me since Saturday night to type, but I'm glad it's finally done! :)

One more thing – I updated my profile so that it now has a poem I'm pretty proud of. It was based off of a dream I had, so… yeah. My dreams are apparently really detailed and complicated when put into poetry. XD But seriously, I'm actually really proud of that poem and it would mean a lot if you could go read it and send me a "review" or something in a PM. Thanks! :)

And now on to the AOTD and the QOTD…

AOTD: Yes, I'm going to London for about a week over Christmas, so I'll most likely not post any chapters around that time. :( Sorry about that, but I'm sure you understand, as I probably won't even bring the laptop with me.

QOTD: What is your favorite non-Warriors book?