Sorry this is such a short chapter! I wanted to get something out for you because it's been so long since I've updated this story!

There are so many reviews to reply to. It's currently 6:42. Let's see how long this takes.

[Currently listening to If My Heart was a House by Owl City]

catbooklover2004: I agree, the lighting was so bad it looked like blue and gold/brown.

Nightfeather: No, you're not colorblind. Your eyes are just blending the colors together or something. My mom was the same way-she HATES Daylight Savings. I was being sarcastic. XD Yeah, Rustpelt's finally getting some personality, isn't he? Should he die? Shouldn't he? Two more chapters and you'll find out. ;) Yeah, I'm sure Snowtuft died, as he carried away Rustpelt. XD *sarcasm* *again* Ooh, I'll have a hard time thinking up a death worse than Tigerstar's! Thank you so much! :D I also used to need an inhaler, though I only remember having to use it after I played in fresh mulch and sometimes with allergies in the Spring. I'll be sure to give Tide the cookies! :D (::) Yes, I'm afraid Hyperion does faint of lollypops. XD Kidding. That would be funny if that actually happened, though. You gave me two long reviews. You get an entire paragraph of a reply. :P I celebrated Pi Day by emailing my math teacher for some extra credit on my last test. XD

QLKwriter: Yeah, I might feel evil enough to kill off Rustpelt... or not. I think it's actually more common to see white and gold, even though the dress is actually blue and black.

ShadowHawk540: It's this thing that started on Tumblr and spread Internet-wide because of the controversy. Just Google "The Dress." You'll find it. XD Next up, Rainsky's chapter! I've got something planned for it, so hopefully I'll be able to type it up within the next few days unless homework gets in the way. ^^

Silverkitty16: Nightstar is a really evil cat. He's so much fun to write, though! Yeah, just Google "The Dress" and you'll find it. It's taken over the internet. Hopefully I won't be busy anymore in a little bit! I hate being too busy to write. :( Ohh, I sort of forgot about Badger. XD I'll have to add her back in next Cinderpaw chapter!

The Age of Awesomeness: Thanks so much! :D Sorry it took so long for me to upload the next chapter! Also, I really don't mind late reviews, so no stress. ;)

EradrinSkyleaf: I don't mind late reviews! That's cool that you're in choir-my school's choir class went to Disney World this weekend. I'm sorry for your loss of your mentor. :( I'm glad you like Rainsky's name! And I'm guessing you don't like sitting in chairs? Or is the chair especially pointy? XD I've heard other people say the dress changed color before.

Willowdream of ForestClan: Yeah, I can definitely see what you mean. Heh heh, my art teacher participated actively in our discussion. :P XD Thanks a bunch! I did have fun with Tide! :) We played games like The Resistance and Time's Up and Say Anything (all really fun).

ilovewarriorcats: Thank you for reading my story! :D The chapters go in order and yes, this one is Cinderpaw's POV. Sorry it's pretty short and sort of boring. :( Next Cinderpaw chapter will be much better, I promise! And I completely see what you mean about the dress. I was introduced to it pretty late so I'm not yet sick of it. It seems to have died down though, or at least at my school. I celebrated Pi Day by emailing my math teacher to get extra credit on my last test. XD I believe you and I ship the same cats. That should give you some clues about Fox x Cinder and Soot x Dawn and Rain x She-cat. ;) And yeah, I think I mentioned her name in a chapter recently. Just in case I didn't, it's Goldenwing.

walkswithwheels: Thanks so much! :) As you're probably a lot older than me, you being in college and all, that comment about me keeping you on your toes really meant a lot to me. I most definitely will do my best to keep this series alive-I still have Book 3 to write!

End time: 7:31

Wow, that took much longer than normal! Anyway, enjoy the chapter! :)

Cinderpaw's POV

The cats moved to the other camp with pretty much no fuss. A couple of the kits refused to cross the river on their own and had to be carried, squirming and loudly protesting, across by Curlwhisker, the remaining queen, and a few warriors. It depressed me when I watched Brightkit carried across, as she kept squealing, "I don't want to go to the river again! Mommy went into the river and she hasn't come back yet!" Finally, though, the healthy cats made it across.

Lined up along the opposite edge of the river sat the sick cats. Many had fur falling out and sat as though exhausted after a long battle, heads hanging and shoulders hunched. Though I felt bad for them, I couldn't help but hope they died without infecting other cats to prevent the spread of disease to more RiverClan cats. As I swept my gaze along the short line—apparently the sickness brought death quickly—I was startled to see Rushstar at the end, head lowered but still looking up to meet my gaze.

"Rushstar, come with us," I urged. If Rushstar was still healthy, there was no point in keeping her on the sick side of the river, suicidal tendencies or not.

But the RiverClan leader shook her head. "I am sick once more," she murmured, her voice almost lost in the splashing water. "I can already feel the disease working its way through my body, poisoning me once more." She sighed heavily. "I wish I never became leader. Then I could die once and get it all over with."

I shot a slightly panicked glance at Foxtooth. If Rushstar was publicly giving up, what effect would that have on the rest of the Clan? He seemed to understand, because after one nod, he turned to the healthy cats.

"Come on!" he called, lifting his chin and tail into the air. "Let's move!"

A few last, hurried goodbyes were called out to those cats staying behind. Foxtooth moved through the crowd, and as he went heads seemed to turn instinctively to follow him. Gradually, the RiverClan cats began moving, following Foxtooth to the new camp.

I shook my head, startled. Was Foxtooth actually starting to accept some responsibility?

Well, I guess it is about time, I thought as I brought up the rear.

It didn't take long to settle the cats into the camp. Sure, no one had much room, but all cats had a branch over their heads to protect from the rain and at least meager protection from the wind on the sides. With many "son of Squirrelflight and Bramblestar"s and "daughter of Ashthorn"s, Foxtooth and I managed to settle the RiverClanners into their new, temporary home. Across the river, the stronger of the sick cats watched morosely.

When no more cats were appearing before me, asking where in StarClan their nest was, I padded over to stand beside Foxtooth. He glanced over at me, leaned down to lick his paw, and quickly smoothed down a tuft of fur sticking up on his head. I rolled my eyes at a lone cloud drifting across the sky.

"Hey Cinderpaw," Foxtooth meowed happily, sitting neatly with his tail wrapped around his paws, hazel eyes sparkling. "How were the RiverClan cats you had to deal with?"

"They were okay," I murmured, glancing quickly around to make sure none of the Clan cats had heard him—they may have taken offense at his use of the words deal with. "How are you?"

"Much better now you're here," Foxtooth purred. I looked at him and he glanced away sheepishly. "Um, I'm good."

"O…kay," I said, suppressing a smile. Foxtooth was trying way too hard to impress me—it was good for him to embarrass himself every now and then. Sure, he may finally be growing up, but there was still a long way to go before I'd ever return his affection.

The only cats I really cared that much about were Sootpaw, Rainpaw, and Lightwing, and they were family. There was no way I'd give my trust to some random tom, even if he had chased me all the way down the river and would follow me all the way back. No, I'd never really wanted to someday get a mate. It just didn't seem that important, especially in light of what was happening back at the lake. But still, Foxtooth was my ally, the cat from home and probably easier to trust than a RiverClan cat. I needed a partner to find a cure, and Foxtooth did have sharp eyes—he'd spotted the camp when I hadn't.

"Foxtooth, come with me," I meowed suddenly. Seeing his suddenly wide eyes, I clarified hurriedly. "We need to search for a cure."

Foxtooth's tail drooped but he forced a smile all the same. "All right," he said. "Lead the way."

I took a step back toward the tree-bridge, but paused at the sound of a yowl from one of the dens.

"Did I hear you say 'cure'?"

I wheeled around, my eyes landing on a tom racing out from inside a hollow log, his light gray fur scraggly and his eyelids drooping over brown eyes. Though he was by no means an old cat, he had a few flecks of gray around his chin. Stress causes gray hairs, the Lightwing of my memory whispered in my ear.

The tom skidded to a halt in front of Foxtooth and I. I flinched back to avoid the spray of damp grass and dirt. "My name is Ripplefur," the tom panted, "I'm the medicine cat."

"Um…" I glanced at Foxtooth. "We were just going to head out to try to find a plant that might cure the cats."

Ripplefur swallowed. It appeared as though he was regaining his breath. "Let me come with you," he meowed urgently. "I can help you."

"Are you sure?" I asked uncertainly.

"Listen," Ripplefur now sounded annoyed, "I can speed up your search immensely by telling you what herbs I've already tried. I am the medicine cat, you know, and I've been trying to cure these cats for moons now."

Speed was everything. "Okay, come with us," I meowed without hesitation. "Come on, Foxtooth." I bounded out of the camp, Ripplefur beside me, my Clanmate racing to keep up behind us.

The sun had dropped halfway beneath the horizon by the time I finally gave up the search. It had not been a successful afternoon for herb-finding. Basically everything I saw Ripplefur said he'd already tried, sometimes making the cats sicker than they already were. Only one plant—a bright green one with wide leaves and purple flowers—had he not already tried, but after a little while of carrying it in my teeth, I realized it had numbed my mouth, which apparently meant it was poisonous if eaten. Needless to say, I dropped it straightaway. Foxtooth even scraped some dust and grass over it as though he were in the Dirtplace.

As we padded into the temporary camp, my eyes had drooped to halfway shut like Ripplefur's. All I wanted to do was curl up in my nest and sleep until well past the sun rose the next day. Unfortunately, the excitement wasn't over for that day; as soon as we entered the camp, Mossyfoot, the deputy, raced over.

"Something's happened," she meowed briefly, her eyes wide and scared. "Rushstar lost a life."

I'm sorry if that chapter was boring. :( I had pretty low muse for Cinderpaw. Don't worry, next chapter of hers will be better!

AOTD: I saw black and blue-brown. The dress was actually blue and black, but the colors in the picture were right on the edge of our visible spectrum of color, so people saw it different colors. Apparently more people saw it white and gold. I think the whole thing's sort of interesting, though I found out about it pretty late, so all the fuss probably was just wearing off.

QOTD: Random again, I'm afraid. Does anyone have any allergies?