Another chapter! Yippee! I'm really happy I got this chapter done, and apparently so is one of my cats. Widget is sitting beside me and purring, though that might be because on occasion I've been reaching over and scratching her head.
I also posted a picture of Rainpaw and Silverdapple on my Deviantart account that I'm really proud of. I actually got the tails to look like real tails with no strange wiggles! :)
The Age of Awesomeness: I totally get the not logging in at 11 PM. XD I'd probably do the exact same thing.
walkswithwheels: I'm not sure if this was confusing in the story, but Rushstar's not actually blind and deaf. Cinderpaw just compared her to being blind and deaf because she didn't respond immediately when Cinderpaw and Foxtooth entered her den. And I agree, eating (white) chocolate is the best part of Valentine's Day. :) I'm not so fond of regular chocolate, though.
QLKwriter: Yeah, Cinderpaw totally knows Foxtooth likes her. She just thinks he's way too immature for her. And that does seem to be the majority of what Valentine's Day comprises, doesn't it?
Rainpaw: I almost forgot! XD Good thing I didn't! :3(::) Cookies! And yes, you do need to update your story, you haven't in about a month and I miss it! :( And Netflix is amazing. :P My favorite shows are probably something along the lines of Sherlock (#1), then Merlin, and let's just add in Once Upon A Time just because.
jadonfickle/operationbanana729: Ah, yes, thank you for reminding me of extreme plot twists. Heh heh heh, now I'm probably going to do something completely unexpected that will make everyone on here hate me but still love the story. And yeah, tying yours into mine would be really cool! :D Just make sure you give credits to me for the parts from this series, okay? I'll have to go check out your story! :D I'm super-excited to read it! And if you need any help figuring out how to do something on here, just PM me and I'll help to the best of my ability!
Nightfeather: Don't worry, I am also forever alone. *gives forever alone cookies* Shadowstreak seems like a sort of familiar name, so it was probably from my fanfiction, but I can't remember what he did. XD Well, maybe I should go look it up then! And I don't think cats can really snap their fingers. Rushstar is depressed, so... yep. Hopefully Cinderpaw and Foxtooth can turn her around, but I'm not sure if they can! Maybe Rushstar will end up killing herself two more times and end up in StarClan where she'll realize her mistakes. Maybe. And I don't mind late reviews! I do late uploads, so it is perfectly acceptable for you to do late reviews. (I've heard Chinese is really difficult!)
ShadowHawk540: Yeah, I looked up the ones in California! That's cool that you still get to see your friend every so often! :)
Silvery: Yes, low muse strikes everyone. Though I'm not sure if it's technically low muse if it's just logging in...? It's low must if I only upload one chapter per week! -.- Did you break your pinkie or just bruise it or what? I'm not good at basketball, though people see my height and tell me I should be good at it. Either that or they say I should be a model. (bleh, I'd prefer being a writer) You are officially the first person to call me Snowy. Here are 100 internet Valentine's Day chocolates! :)
Willowdream of ForestClan: Ugg... Why are my chapters always so late X) (Sorry, I had to do that :P) Video games are fun, but shoulder surgery isn't. :( As I'm a swimmer, I sometimes get shoulder problems when I'm swimming wrong, and those can hurt a lot!
The Guardian of the Sky: That's a really cool new username! :) I love it!
Rainpaw's POV
The day had come. It was time to give my speech.
Lightwing led me from our old den, where we had spent the night together. I was surprised at how small it seemed—somehow it had seemed bigger before. After two quick washes, or rather, one quick wash and one excruciatingly lengthy wash during which I sat in silence while Lightwing continually told me how neat and clean I had to look, we were on our way.
The day was fitfully sunny, with a strong wind chasing clouds and leaves alike to the horizon. The tops of the trees bent and swayed under the pressure and I narrowed my eyes against the weaker but still present breeze cutting through the undergrowth. Several times during our journey Lightwing forced me to stop while she removed a leaf or small twig or bit of dry moss from my pelt, smoothing down my fur with one white paw.
But I could barely stand still. Adrenaline raced through my veins as I shifted from paw to paw, gazing restlessly around. Thoughts circled in my mind, chasing each other out of the limelight, each present only for a heartbeat. What was I doing? Why was I doing it? Did I really have to? What would it feel like to stand in front of an entire forest of cats? Would I even be able to speak? What would happen if I couldn't? Would the cats laugh at me? Would they just sit there staring at me in silence? Which would be worse?
Finally, I couldn't stand listening to my thoughts anymore. "Lightwing?" I blurted out suddenly.
Lightwing turned to me. "Yes?"
How could her voice sound so calm and collected? "I—What am I supposed to say?" I stammered.
"Just say what your gut tells you to say," my mother assured me. "You'll be fine."
"But what if I say something wrong?" I shivered uncomfortably at the thought, slowing until I almost wasn't moving forward at all. My heart began thumping harder and harder inside my chest. I could feel my breath coming in short gasps. My vision began going black around the edges.
"Rainpaw stop." Lightwing's commanding voice somehow penetrated through the thick, foggy wall surrounding my mind, chasing it away like the clouds overhead. "You'll be fine, I promise. If you want, I can stand up there with you, but you have to do this."
"But I can't!" I stared at the ground, blinking rapidly. Do not cry. Do not vomit. Do not cry.
Lightwing's foreleg reached up, knocking my chin and forcing my nose upward to face her. "You can. You will. I know you can." She smiled at my panic-stricken expression. "Hey, just think of Sootpaw and Cinderpaw. You don't want to let them down, do you?"
My littermates' faces flashed before my eyes. Almost unconsciously, I squared my thin shoulders. "I can't disappoint them," I muttered to myself. "They're depending on me."
"That's right," Lightwing meowed, smiling in a relieved sort of way. "They need you to do this, Rainpaw. I promise these cats won't laugh at you. They'll listen. And I'll be sitting right there in the front."
I nodded, my heart rate slowing marginally. I took a deep breath and my vision seemed to clear.
"I'm so proud that you're doing this for your siblings," Lightwing murmured. "You'll be just fine."
I clenched my jaw and nodded again, resolutely picking up a forepaw and setting it firmly on the leaf-strewn ground in front of me. I couldn't let them down. I couldn't. I just had to focus on them. If I did that, I could give this speech. It wasn't any problem if it was for them. And if I didn't do it, we would fail. Everything our father had worked for would be for nothing. Everyone who had died would have died for nothing. Silverdapple's death would be in vain.
Silverdapple's death would be in vain.
Suddenly I was racing through the trees, Silverdapple's face swimming before my eyes. She smiled at me, her bright blue eyes glimmering fondly as she wavered with the wind. I felt Lightwing pounding alongside me, guiding my pawsteps, but I didn't pay much attention. Sootpaw's and Cinderpaw's faces had joined Silverdapple's, his full of solemn strength, silently bearing the burden of looking after a Clan, hers mostly disdainful and irritated, though with a hint of confusion around the edges. All, however, looked at me with love and respect. They all were counting on me. Them and every other peace-loving cat.
I burst into the clearing by the stream and skidded to a halt. There seemed to be cats everywhere I looked. A bubble of fear formed inside my stomach, rising through my heart to my brain. How could I give an unplanned speech to these cats? I barely even knew them! What if they laughed?
The misty outlines of the cats appeared once more before my eyes, but the three from before were, this time, joined by a fourth. Ashthorn. He gazed at me out of those dark blue eyes, Sootpaw's dark blue eyes, but something was different this time. Every other time he'd looked at me, his face had always been scrunched up in disapproval. Now, however, he stared at me with an expression I'd only seen once before—pride. That had been the exact face I'd seen when he lay in camp, bleeding from fatal wounds, though admittedly without the pain of before. Then I heard his voice in my ear. You can do this, Rainpaw. Remember that time you served as deputy? Think of it as training for now. You've done this before. It's not so scary. You're speaking to mostly younger cats this time—cats around your age. Is that really so bad?
No, Ashthorn, I thought determinedly, my fear fading like the memory of a nightmare. This isn't so bad. I'm not scared. I can do this. I'll do it for you, for Silverdapple, and for my littermates. This will be easy.
I bounded over to the stream, leaping onto the tallest rock I could see. I balanced there, turning and sitting down, inadvertently edging to the back. I'm not scared, I told myself, I'm not scared. I'm not scared. Lifting my voice, I called out, "Cats of the peaceful forest! Gather below me and hear what I have to say!"
Immediately, I cringed inwardly at my words. What was I, their leader? What right did I have to order them around like that? But if I added a 'please' now, it would look strange, like I wasn't confident enough to give them a speech. But I was confident enough. Wasn't I?
The cats below formed a ragged semi-circle around me, the apprentices near the front and the older cats and kits nearer to the back. They all were staring up at me, their faces ranging from boredom to curiosity to distracted, at least in the case of Tansyfoot as she attempted to make Lionkit and Hopkit sit still.
Tansyfoot. Lionkit. Hopkit. I knew these cats! Where was this nervousness coming from? They'd all acted friendly and welcoming yesterday, so why wouldn't they do the same today?
I stood to address them properly, like a leader should, like Ashthorn would. Or maybe even Sootpaw. I wasn't so different from them, was I?
"As you all know, I arrived in this forest yesterday with two other apprentices," I began, searching the crowd for Aspenpaw and Alderpaw, finally locating them beside the stream and nodding at them. During my search I didn't see Frozenwhisker or Dewcloud at all. "You were told that I was here to see my mother, Lightwing." It was easier to find Lightwing—she was right where she'd told me she'd be, at the front of the crowd. She gazed up at me with love and pride mingling in her brown eyes. "That is true, but it's only half of why I came back.
"You all know the story of why you came here. NightClan took over part of the lake, comprised of the power-hungry cats left over from the Great Battle of the Clans. You wished for peace, and so you left the lake just like RiverClan and you searched for a peaceful place to live." I took a deep breath. This was the hardest part—the time when my wording had to be just right, or else my quest would fail. My paws began to shake, but immediately steadied when the faces of four cats—three gray and one silver—flashed before my eyes. "So you made your camp here to raise your kits and live in peace. And I don't deny that you found that peace.
"But is this version of peace really the answer? You live like loners here, in separate dens, coming together every day to relax together by the stream, hunting by yourself or in small family groups, mothers and fathers training their own offspring. Are you really Clan cats anymore?"
My words had caused a stir in the crowd. I spotted Crowtail whispering earnestly in Robinchest's ear, his face triumphant. Rowanpaw, Oakpaw, and Honeypaw clustered together, the toms speaking earnestly to each other and to their parents while Honeypaw merely listened in. Even some of the adult cats looked nervous. I saw Whistlefur and Tansyfoot exchanging unnerved glances while Tansyfoot continued to try to separate her kits, who weren't paying attention to a word I said. Voletail and Leafheart were too busy staring at me, their eyes narrowed in concentration, to even pay attention to what Adderpaw was saying.
I took a deep breath. "The final battle for peace around the lake is coming. Will you stand beside me as I defy the evildoers at the lake? Will you fight for your peace? Will you rejoin the Clans and bring them once more to their former glory?" I closed my eyes. "We have survived this long due to my father's bravery and skill. But Ashthorn has met his end. He now walks amongst the stars, watching over us as my littermates and I try to restore peace to the lake. But our Clan is small, and if we do not receive help, we will not win this battle."
Opening my eyes, I gazed around at the cats. Many looked uncertain, and a few looked downright terrified. I knew that if I wanted to get them to return with me, I had to give them one more reason, tipping them over the edge. I had to get them all to return with me.
"How many of you left your own littermates back by the lake?" I challenged. "How many of you left kits, parents, mates, or siblings back by the lake? They're still fighting. Why won't you?" I paused for the dramatic effect before saying my last line. "Will you let those loved ones die when you could have helped them?"
"No!" I glanced around, surprised to see Dewcloud leap to her paws on the opposite side of the clearing from her kits.
Frozenwhisker, beside her, also stood quickly to stand by his mate's side. "I won't let my littermates fight alone," he cried.
Blossomstep rose, standing between her two sons, her daughter beside her. "I was named for my aunt, dead at the claws of a NightClan warrior!" she yowled. "I won't let her death go unavenged!"
"Neither will we!" Oakpaw and Rowanpaw looked ecstatic at their mother's enthusiasm. Even Honeypaw nodded a few times.
Adderpaw leaped into the air. "I will fight!" he called jubilantly. "I will protect my future Clanmates!"
Crowtail bounded onto another riverside rock, though his was shorter than mine. "I will lead my family into battle!" he howled. "I will rejoin the Clans of my kithood! I will protect my birthright, my ancestors' home!"
Lightwing's eyes shone with pride. In amongst all the chaotic yowls of war, I saw her mouth, I'm so proud of you.
I grinned at her, my heart feeling as though it had turned into the sun. I'd done it. I'd succeeded in my quest. We would return to LeopardClan and help Sootpaw and the others win the battle. At that moment, victory seemed more within reach than it ever had, even when Ashthorn was still alive. We could do it!
Over 2,000 words in this chapter! Aren't you proud of me? XD
AOTD: For Valentine's Day, I sat around with my friend and did homework. I still have some to do even though all this past week for me has been snow days. I'll have to check my school email, too, just to make sure my teachers haven't sent out more homework for me to do. But I DID get a huge bag of sweettarts! :D
QOTD: (can't think of one!) Um, are you getting snow around this time? Wow, that was a really bad question. If you really don't feel like replying to that, then that's perfectly fine with me.