I actually had this chapter finished last night but since it was about 11:30 at night I figured I'd just do the review replies and post today.

QLKwriter: Yeah, Sootthorn's just getting more and more worked up about Ashthorn, isn't he? XD I don't know how they'll ever make up, if they will at all.

ShadowHawk540: Thanks! :) And yeah, the Dark Forest might get involved with him...

Sweetflower0409: XD Addernose... His nose is an adder. And yes, that will happen. I'm kidding, actually. :P I don't know what will happen exactly with Adderpaw.

walkswithwheels: All the colleges are getting out of school but I still have 3 weeks left... -.- Also the seniors' last day was yesterday. I don't think I'd be able to talk slowly enough to use a voice recognition program. I don't talk very fast, but it would still probably be too fast. I actually don't really have many interests other than writing. I like drawing but I'm not exceptionally good at it. I like animals but can't see needles go into arms so I can't be a vet. I do think genetics are pretty cool but there are honestly too many breeders in the world. So I'm kind of stuck when it comes to jobs. :P I'm not that good around kids either so I don't think I'd be a good teacher. And I wonder if Cinderstrike's egotistic nature rubbed off on Sootthorn? And I will definitely not make Hyperion's name Hyperfur or something because cats probably don't even know what being hyper is. They'd probably call that immaturity or something. Happy early birthday! :) Even though I'm probably several months early, oh well. And I mean bicycles when I say bikes. My parents would never let me on a motorcycle because of how injured I could get if I crashed. Your Shih Tzu sounds really cute. :)

ilovewarriorcats: I get the feeling that having a twin brother is the best sibling you can have because, as you said, you don't have to share, but you're not so different in age that one can pick on the other. I have an older brother who's less than 2 years older than me so I've always felt that anything he can do I should also be able to do as well. It gets us into a lot of arguments. :P And there's still time for either one to die. Yes, I'm standing by my promise to kill off one of them, but I'm not saying which one yet. ;) And I agree, Dawnshine is a wimpy character compared to the others. I'll make her more interesting in the third book, but I'm not completely sure how to fit that into this book. It's almost over, as I'm sure you've realized. And when I was thinking up ideas for the first ever book, I made sure to make the three basically opposites of each other so their personalities would be more recognizably separate. I started changing POVs because I realized Sootthorn had the potential to become a semi-flat character unless he was described by his littermates. Everyone does seem to think Rainsky should be a medicine cat, though. I've got some end-of-book plans for that... :) I like Bluestar because her view of Thistleclaw was the only one provided and it showed him as a pretty nasty character.

Leopardstar2002: Firstly, thank you so much for taking the time to read my series! :D I know it's really long because you haven't been reading along, but thank you for reading it anyway! And I will tell you this: your prediction is sort of true. Adderpaw won't be a main character like Sootthorn or Foxtooth are main characters, but he will become much more prominent as time goes on.

Cinderstrike's POV

One day. Just one more day until we reached the lake again. We were almost home.

I crouched on a tree branch, claws gripping the rough bark and tail waving gently in the breeze below me like a single strand of spider silk. Ahead me, the leafy tops of trees stretched almost to the horizon. But as a hill crested in the distance, I saw through the smudged trunks a glimmer of deep blue-gray.

The lake.

I twitched my whiskers with annoyance. Why was it still so far away? Why wasn't the lake here? Why hadn't we finished our journey already? I desperately wanted to see my brothers again. How was Sootpaw faring leading LeopardClan all on his own? Had Rainpaw returned from his journey yet? Had he been successful as I had?

I tried sending out a thought to them. Sootpaw, Rainpaw, are you there? Can you hear me? But there was no reply.

Then, through the rustling of tree branches around me, I heard a voice. For a moment my heart leaped; I thought it was one of my littermates. Then I recognized the deep meow and realized with a pang of disappointment that it was only Foxtooth, apparently walking through the forest below me. I glanced downward, preparing to leap from branch to branch to branch to branch to ground and join him.

"But I thought your favorite fresh-kill was a fish!"

I froze. That was Badger's voice! What was Foxtooth doing with her? I thought he hated her like me!

"No, I only ate fish because it was all that was left in the fresh-kill pile after Cinderstrike grabbed her traditional mouse or water vole," Foxtooth laughed.

I caught a glimpse of black and white fur below. Badger had her tail resting across Foxtooth's ginger tabby shoulders in what was quite plainly a more intimate gesture than was necessary for friends. "You selfless tom, you," Badger purred.

They passed out of sight. I still heard the rumble of their voices, but couldn't make out any words through the rushing of blood in my ears. What was going on with them? Were they a couple? Why hadn't I noticed this before?

Then I sat up, eyebrows narrowing. Why did I even care? Foxtooth should be able to spend time with whichever she-cat he wanted. But even then, I supposed, he wouldn't want to hang out with Badger. That she-cat has it in for any decent cat. Just take what she says to me for example! I'm a decent cat! I never mistrust other cats without good reason!

Badger must be trying to weasel her way into Foxtooth's and my new friendship. I had to stop her. I had to protect Foxtooth. So, taking care to make as little noise as possible, I leaped down the tree, landing with soft paws on the leafy ground. Then, following their fresh scents, I stalked through the undergrowth in my masterful stalking crouch.

I'd never been that good at stealth, preferring to race out into the battlefield and deal Dark Forest-worthy wounds to my enemies. But I still managed to creep along behind the pair silently enough so my pawsteps were masked by their voices.

"So are you really coming all the way back to the lake with us?" Foxtooth asked.

Badger shrugged. "Yeah, why not? I helped you find RiverClan. I want to make sure your mission succeeds."

I barely contained a snort of derision. Sure she helped us find RiverClan. Only after a lake's worth of sarcasm and unhelpfulness, she did! And what was she talking about, his mission? This was my mission! He just tagged along for some strange reason of his own! He did absolutely nothing to help complete the mission! All he did was get sick!

Foxtooth didn't reply. I wasn't sure if it was because he was too full of pride at Badger's words or if it was because he was too uncomfortable at them. Either way, she ended up changing the subject after a slight pause.

"So tell me about LeopardClan. What's it like there?"

Foxtooth looked up again, quite obviously much more interested in the conversation now. "Well, it's actually not that great. I mean, the cats are nice and the whole way of life, living in the Clans I mean, is just about the best thing ever. It's just we keep living in this constant aura of terror. Attacks from NightClan could come at any time."

"But when you get back you'll fight?" Badger asked eagerly, flexing her claws.

Foxtooth nodded.

"I've never been in a real battle before," Badger murmured almost to herself. "I mean, sure, I've chased off foxes and stuff from my territory, but I've never fought against a real cat before. What's it like?"

Foxtooth seemed to shiver-or at least his tail did. His hindquarters were all I could see of him. "It's the worst thing ever," he meowed softly. "While I'm in battle, it's like I'm defending my territory and my Clan, but I just can't help but constantly think, 'This cat has a family. I bet cats back at the enemy camp are going to wail when they see the wounds I give him.'

Badger was silent. So was I-I'd never thought of battle like that before. It was odd; I'd always been taught that war was honorable and the perfect way to defend your family and your Clan. That was why I worked so hard on my battle moves as a kit. Had I been wrong to do that?

"Well, it's an integral part of Clan life," Badger reasoned. "And when you fight NightClan, just think about all the cats you care about who they hurt."

Foxtooth nodded slowly. "I guess. But I've sort of grown used to my parents' absence, you know? I know they're gone, but it doesn't hurt as bad as it used to." He shook his head, stopping abruptly. I was forced to do the same to avoid discovery. "I sound so cold-hearted," he muttered, frustration audible in his voice. "What orphan doesn't miss their parents?"

"You must have been pretty young, though," Badger meowed, pausing and looking over her shoulder at Foxtooth. "If you don't feel the ache as badly." She turned and padded back toward him. "It's the same with me. My parents left me when I was five moons old." She glanced bitterly at the ground. "I guess it's tradition for rogues like me."

"You're not a rogue," Foxtooth whispered, nosing his muzzle under her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes again. "Rogue feels like such a dirty word."

"A loner, then?" she asked, pushing him away with a paw. "It means the same thing. I don't have anyone to rely on and no one relies on me. Even if I ever got a mate, kits, my mate would probably desert me and leave me to raise the kits on my own. Even then they'd probably leave me when they were old enough. You know, see the world for themselves and all."

Foxtooth shook his head. "They wouldn't leave you," he meowed. "I know they wouldn't."

A sudden rush of guilt swept through me. All this talk of parents had me thinking of Lightwing. I hadn't seen her in moons. There was Badger talking about how she didn't want kits because they'd someday abandon her. There was Foxtooth, promising her they wouldn't. There was me, abandoning my own mother as soon as I could, at ten moons old. My own past supported Badger over Foxtooth.

I unconsciously shifted my footing on the forest floor. One of my paws stepped on a dry stick, snapping it cleanly in two with a loud Crack! Ahead, both Foxtooth and Badger jumped and whirled around to face me.

My fur felt suddenly hot and itchy. I couldn't believe I'd been caught eavesdropping! Of course it had been for a good reason-I'd done it because… because…

I couldn't even remember. Had it been a good reason at all? It must have been.. right?

"Hey Foxtooth," I meowed, hoping beyond hope my voice contained no obvious nervous tremors and completely ignoring Badger's presence. "Um, Rushstar told me to find you and hunt for the afternoon. Sorry to break up your little date," I cast a semi-scathing look at Badger, beginning to get over my own shock and back into my swing, "but cats are hungry back at camp."

Foxtooth awkwardly gave his chest fur a couple of licks. "Um, it's not a date," he muttered, casting a nervous glance from me to Badger. "She just asked me if I wanted to go for a walk and-"

"Yeah, and I'm sure that's not a date." I rolled my eyes. "Come on, let's hunt."I bounded off between the trees, trying to keep as silent as possible so I could overhear any parting words Foxtooth exchanged with Badger. I didn't hear anything, so I turned and cast a fleeting glance over my shoulder. Foxtooth was following meekly behind, suitably shamed, but in the background Badger was glaring at me with the most fire I'd ever seen in anyone's eyes, excluding perhaps my own.

There was no doubt about it. Badger was going to plot her revenge on me. Foxtooth might be ignorant enough to think the walk was all in the spirit of friendship, but his embarrassed explanation did nothing to dissuade my fervent beliefs. And judging from Badger's expression, my suspicions were all true. Badger was trying to move in on my tom.

I skidded to a halt in the leaves. What had I thought? What was that again? Where had it even come from? I didn't like Foxtooth, not in that way at least. He was a stupid, ignorant, immature tom who was obviously too young for me, even though he was technically older than me. He and I would never make a good pairing.

So why was my mind betraying me like this?

Sighing heavily, I continued through the forest, Foxtooth padding along behind me. I wasn't sure exactly how I was supposed to concentrate on hunting now. You worked yourself into this hole, I reminded myself. You get yourself through it. And so I led the way into the trees to do a bit of hunting with Foxtooth.

If you have any questions you'd like me to answer or any suggestions for future QOTDs, let me know! I'd be happy to answer anything that isn't too personal. :)

AOTD: If I actually answer this I might give away a spoiler! Sorry, no AOTD today.

QOTD: Which songs do you think best describe some of the characters in this story?