Another chapter! :D I'm so excited that I have the time to post chapters every day this week!

QLKwriter: Fox x Cinder! XD Getting wisdom teeth removed isn't actually all that horrible. It was much worse getting my tonsils removed. :(

Nightfeather: That's okay! But don't worry, it's Shadepaw who died, NOT Aspenpaw! :O I would not kill Aspenpaw! She still has so much potential as a character! XD "Hello, may I please have a thousand flowers to save my dying family?" Now I know what I'm doing after I post this chapter! (watching KidPOV—it looks interesting!)

whitewind04578: Yep, so much drama in that chapter! It was pretty fun to write just like the second half of this chapter. :) I'm a type of Protestant Christian known as Presbyterianism. I'm honestly not all that clear what the differences between all the branches are, though, so I just generally call myself a Christian.

catbooklover2004: I also had my canines pulled, though a couple years after you did. That's strange, though. They must have been baby teeth still.

The Story Of Your Life: I'm not sure if I've told you this yet, but I just want to thank you for taking the time to read my story! :) But yeah, I'm also pretty excited as to where this story's going. It's slowly getting more and more fun to write as I get past the middle and on to the climactic end. Thanks for the warning about Princess Monoke, too, I'm not so fond of super-violent movies.

Willowdream of ForestClan: Yeah, we have the regular Catan and the Ritter Sport Catan, I think. We don't play them too often, though. Thanks! :) I think my recovery's going pretty quickly. I stopped bleeding last night and I was able to eat solid food again this morning. Currently I'm eating a sticky bun. :) Yum.

walkswithwheels: Yeah, I figured it would be more interesting if Foxtooth got sick rather than Cinderpaw. Otherwise that whole chapter would have been Cinderpaw lying around moaning and groaning—not so interesting as Rushstar's suicide attempt! And I do have a plan for Rushstar, so that's why I'm not killing her off. She'll probably die at some point in time later on, just not yet. She has her kits to think of, after all. And getting wisdom teeth removed is actually not so bad. They give you laughing gas. The hardest part for me was keeping on breathing through my nose.

ilovewarriorcats: So you want both Badger and Rushstar to die? Well, I'm planning on killing one of them before this book ends… *evil laugh* The first time I got my teeth pulled, the roots were extra-deep and hurt coming out. My wisdom teeth, luckily, had basically no roots and came out without any pain. And sorry, I've already picked out a name for Cinderpaw that I think really fits her. I'm sure you'll love it!

Rainsky's POV

The next day, we managed to cross the entire field and leap across the river. Honeypaw had a bit of trouble at the river, only managing to get across with the help of her brothers, reminding me with a sharp pang of Cinderpaw. I hoped she was all right.

After a night's peaceful rest, we continued up the next rise. As I'd traveled this way twice before, I remembered what was coming and sped up, bounding to the top of the hill. Behind me, several of the cats gasped, either awed at this new sight or remembering their earlier journey through here.

The Twolegplace.

Motioning to the cats behind me to stay put, I padded down the hill to the first row of hard-edged Twoleg dens. My eyes scoured the rough stone, searching for a flash of golden fur. He'd said he'd wait for me to come back. Where was he?

"Hyperion!" I called. Behind me, I heard Lightwing audibly gasp but paid no attention. I'd told her about Hyperion, right? "Hyperion, where are you?"

There was no reply. Narrowing my eyes in concern, I bounded farther down the hill, raising my voice. "Hyperion! You said you'd wait!"

"And while I waited, I assumed I'd be able to sleep in once or twice," came a grumpy reply. I was too relieved about hearing his voice that I didn't really pay much attention to his tone as I flew at him, pressing my nose into his shoulder.

"You waited for me!" I purred, grinning broadly as I stepped back to survey the golden-furred tom. "You came!"

Hyperion's annoyance faded like the dew beneath my paws would later that morning. "Of course I waited, Rainpaw," he smiled. "I'll always be here for you. If you need me, just call and I'll come. Er—however, the earlier it is, the grumpier I'll be." He grinned.

"I'm not Rainpaw any longer," I meowed, my chest swelling with a new pride. "I'm Rainsky."

Hyperion's eyebrows rose. "Rainsky? You got your warrior name?" His eyes lit up with a golden fire, like they'd suddenly turned into miniature versions of the sun. "Good for you! I suppose you got it by convincing them to come back to the lake?" His eyes slid past me up the hill to where the rest of the cats waited.

"Yep!" I grinned up at him, expecting to see his eyes, filled with a new pride, turning back to me. Instead, I only caught a glimpse of his hindquarters and tail as Hyperion slipped past me, heading toward the cats on the hill. Suddenly confused, I turned to watch him move slowly up through the grass. What was Hyperion doing? Wasn't he proud of me?

Then, with a sudden realization, I saw his eyes fixed on my mother. Lightwing had broken from the ranks of cats and was padding as though in a dream down to Hyperion. They met halfway down the hill. Suddenly wanting to hear what they said to each other, I sprinted over to stand behind Hyperion, fortunately only missing the first few words of their conversation.

"…always surprise me," Lightwing was saying, shaking her head, her brown eyes impressed and amazed.

"I do have a specialty for that sort of thing," Hyperion chuckled. "How have you been doing?"

"Oh, I've been all right," Lightwing smiled. "As I'm sure you've seen, my kits have turned into fine apprentices. Well, this one's turned into a fine warrior already." She looked over Hyperion's shoulder to where I stood awkwardly behind Hyperion. "So, my fine warrior, are we going to travel through the Twolegplace with the aid of Hyperion?"

I nodded, looking between Lightwing and Hyperion. Was there something between them that I was missing? But with Lightwing's eyes on me, I didn't dare ask. Instead, I headed back up the hill, calling to the remaining cats, "Come on! Let's get going through the Twolegplace!" I stopped as the crowd began streaming down the hill. "It's a huge Twolegplace, I'm afraid," I continued in a normal voice as they began passing me, heading down the hill. "We should start as soon as we can."

Together, Hyperion and I took the lead as we began the long journey through the world of hard stone, foul stenches, and Twolegs. Lightwing, Aspenpaw, and Alderpaw followed us, then the three other apprentices, Rowanpaw, Oakpaw, and Honeypaw, and their parents. After them, safely surrounded by their parents, Crowtail, and Robinchest, bounced Lionkit and Hopkit. After them came Tortoiseheart, Breezelark, Adderpaw and his parents, and tagging along behind, Frozenwhisker and Dewcloud. In this formation, we headed into the Twolegplace.

That night, we stopped in a dark alleyway luckily uninhabited by rats, rogues, loners, or Twolegs. I sent out Hyperion with all six apprentices on a hunting trip, letting the older cats rest their paws after a day of walking across hard stone.

As I lay on top of a discarded cardboard box that felt wonderful under my sore paws, I heard a little squeak that announced the arrival of Lionkit. He'd left his brother to play with his parents to scramble up the side of my box. I scooted over to give him room to sit next to me. Lionkit, suddenly serious for such a playful kit, took a deep breath and asked, "Can I ask you a question, Rainsky?"

"You already have," I teased, nudging his belly to see if I could get him to play. My attempt was unsuccessful. I leaned back, looking at Lionkit with new eyes. If he could withstand tickling, this must be really serious. "Sorry," I meowed. "Yes, you can."

"How can I be brave like you?"

I blinked, taken aback by the question. "What do you mean?"

"What does bravery mean?" Lionkit scratched at the box, leaving the faint imprint of his claws on its surface. "Remember back with the foxes? I tried to be brave. I did everything I'd been told to do—protecting my loved ones at great risk to my own life. And then Tansyfoot and Whistlefur get mad at me!" He looked imploringly up at me. "Then you do the exact same thing and it's the greatest, bravest thing ever! I just don't get it!"

I was speechless. For my whole life, I'd watched Cinderpaw be brave. I'd watched Sootpaw be brave. I finally was brave myself in the battle where Ashthorn and Silverdapple died. But I'd never really thought about what bravery was.

"Rainsky?"

"Yes?"

"What's bravery?"

StarClan, this kit was determined. Fortunately, he kept on talking for a moment, allowing me a little longer to think.

"I risked my life for those I loved. So did you. I could have died. So could you." He sighed, blowing out air in one great whoosh. "I just don't see why you were called brave and I was called an idiot."

"Well…" I hesitated. What was the difference? "I did it because I had to. I did it because you're younger than me and because, well…" I trailed off. Those weren't really differences at all.

"Let me tell you a story about another kit named Lionkit," I began again. "He also came face-to-face with a fox. But he didn't try to fight it. He ran away to protect his blind brother, Jaykit, and lead him to safety." I paused again, then realized that didn't help my explanation at all. "Um… let me think for a moment," I muttered.

I sat, lost in thought, for a long time, mulling his question over. What did bravery mean, and how could I explain it to this little kit? I couldn't just bluff it off now and tell him later—Lionkit was just three moons old, but he certainly was determined. He wouldn't leave without a satisfactory answer. But what was that satisfactory answer?

"That's it!" I cried suddenly, making Lionkit jump. "I was scared, but I did it anyway. You did it to prove yourself. That's the difference."

I thought back to my story and another realization came over me. "But you know that other Lionkit? He was also brave because he knew when it was too much for him. He knew when he couldn't handle it on his own and so he went for help. That's another kind of bravery, you know—knowing when you need help."

"And I needed help then?"

I laughed. "Yes, you most definitely needed help then."

Lionkit grinned at me. "That makes sense, I think. So if Hopkit and I are faced by a fox next time, I need to go for help until we're warriors and can fight it all by ourselves. Then we can protect the kits, just like you protected me!"

"Exactly," I purred.

Lionkit pressed his nose against my chest. "Thanks, Rainsky!" he exclaimed, squealing in his excitement. Then he took a flying leap off of the box, barreling into Hopkit in a newly reenergized play-fight.

"You handled that well."

I glanced around to see Hyperion smiling at me from his seat on a nearby, smaller box. "I did?" I asked, turning to glance once more at the orange kit.

"Definitely," Hyperion assured me. "In fact, in a few moons, I think you might even consider naming him your apprentice. I think you'd teach him well."

"Really?"

My eyes widened as Hyperion nodded. "Really." He took one look at my expression and added, "But don't let it get to your head. You need to sleep tonight." He laughed and leaped down from the box. "Come on, let's eat something and get some rest. We need our strength for tomorrow—another full day of traveling, I'm afraid."

My mind was buzzing almost too much to comprehend what Hyperion had said. Scrambling unsteadily to my paws, I followed him off the box to the small heap of pigeons caught by the apprentices. When I finally got to sleep that night, my dreams were full of Lionkit asking me questions about life as a warrior and my meaningful answers coming with ease.

So what do you think about Lionkit and Rainsky? What do you think is going on between Lightwing and Hyperion?

AOTD: Yes, I've actually had eight teeth pulled in my life. I had all four canines pulled when I was about 7 or 8 (I think) because they were in the way of adult teeth coming in. Then I got my wisdom teeth pulled yesterday.

QOTD: My brother's birthday is tomorrow. Does anyone have siblings?