Sorry for a really short chapter. I had low muse and so not only is this chapter short, it's pretty badly written. :( But I wanted to get another chapter out for you, so I hope you like it anyway!

ShadowHawk540: Happy late birthday! :) I almost did that again but I caught myself. XD I'm having a hard time with that, aren't I? And I don't mind constructive criticism, don't worry.

Leopardstar2002: Thanks! :3 It took a lot of work to get this far. And yes, Rainsky is so lovable! 3

Willowdream of ForestClan: Yeah, it's Nightstar. :P And I agree, Cinderstrike is great!

EradrinSkyleaf: Discounts on all Rainsky merchandise now at your local ImagineStore! XD Buy your new Rainsky pencils, Rainsky plushies, Rainsky cakes, and even Rainsky quilts today!

QLKwriter: What don't you like about Foxtooth's character? I'm not criticizing by the way, I'm just curious. But yeah, I think you are in the majority in loving Cinderstrike. :P

ilovewarriorcats: I really enjoyed your story of Cinderstrike's life. XD It was pretty wonderful. And yeah, a lot more work will be done on Dawnshine. She'll be a much less flat character once the next book gets going, but until then I'm not sure exactly how to make her less flat. Yep... And I seriously don't mind long reviews. It's cool to log onto my email and then see that the review's shortened due to length. XD

RANDOM PERSON: Well, she's close now. I'm pretty sure I mentioned that in the last Cinderstrike chapter that she had maybe a day of traveling left until she got to the lake. So not too long! ^^ And I actually never though of Willowpelt's kits at all, or Cinderpelt/heart. It actually started out with me thinking about what if there was a story with multiple POVs, maybe two really close brothers who are exactly identical or something. Originally I wanted them to be orange tabbies but I couldn't think of names I liked enough. So I switched them to gray and came up with names I liked. I'm not sure how Cinderstrike got added in, though. :P Maybe I thought it would be better if there were both she-cats and toms as main characters.

walkswithwheels: I loved adding in the graveyard because it's never really mentioned where the cats are buried, except for Silverstream and Feathertail. And I do think the Clans have too many characters to give each one a distinct personality. Especially as the series progressed, too, as more and more characters kept coming. If the warrior cats aren't careful, they'll have a famine on their paws!

Sootthorn's POV

The battle training had gone okay—though the peaceful cats hadn't completely forgotten their fighting moves, they weren't called the peaceful cats for nothing. It amazed me, even after having grown up with them, that they hadn't encountered any threats in that forest.

Returning to the camp, I glanced around before spotting Rainsky and Dawnshine sitting in a secluded corner, their ruffled fur and flashing eyes indicating an argument. I bounded over to them, worry growing in the pit of my stomach. What if a rift grew between my brother and my mate?

"Is everything all right?" I asked warily as I came into earshot.

Rainsky broke off from his heated monologue and glanced around. Dawnshine refrained from continuing her attempts to interrupt as she also looked over at me. "Yes," they said almost in unison.

I stared shrewdly from one to the other. "No, something's wrong," I said. "I know it. What were you two arguing about?"

"Nothing," Rainsky meowed quickly. "Well, nothing important at least. It doesn't matter." Dawnshine nodded but said nothing.

"Listen-" I began hotly, determined to get to the bottom of it, but I was cut off by a shrill screech.

"NightClan!"

I spun around, eyes wide. What? How could NightClan be attacking now? We still had to wait for Cinderpaw! Where was RiverClan?

But, sure enough, I spotted Nightstar's sleek, black pelt slipping through the foliage at the top of the hollow. Fall, I found myself thinking. Fall into the hollow. Let one of your warriors push you in by accident. Fall to your death. But I couldn't sit here like a stupid duck and hope my wish would come true. I had to take action.

"Warriors, to me!" I yowled. "Peace cats, behind us. Attack in pairs if you can. Apprentices stay with your mentors. Queens and kits into the nursery, now! Guards, retreat!"

The cats moved into position. I glanced around behind me and saw Rainsky and Dawnshine standing side by side, eyes narrowed and claws out. Whatever conflict they'd had, they were willing to put it aside for this moment. Good.

The first NightClan cats burst through the thorn barrier. Immediately, I understood the advantage of defending your own camp; only one cat at a time could get through the entrance. Unfortunately, the first cat through happened to be the one with multiple lives.

I leaped forward, muscles strong and sure beneath my thick pelt. Nightstar swerved to avoid my charge and I skidded around as Rainsky and Dawnshine leaped past me, followed quickly by Sparrowtalon.

Nightstar began laughing as he gazed around at the camp. "This is your great army?" he taunted. "This is what you've been building? You have, what, a few warriors and a bunch of kittypets?"

I growled and leaped forward again, trying to take advantage of his distraction. It worked; I slammed into his chest and knocked him to the ground.

"What the Dark Forest?" Nightstar rolled as he hit the ground, sending me beneath him. I arched my back, trying to flip him over. I recalled how heavy he'd been at the last battle. I must have grown stronger myself since then.

Suddenly, I found myself on top. Digging in my claws, I leaned to one side, trying to counter the momentum that might send me back to the ground, ripping my claws into his belly at the same time. In this fight, I realized that I might be as good a fighter as Cinderpaw even, as strength was just as important as skill.

But then Nightstar flipped me off of him. I soared through the air, legs pinwheeling as I tried to regain my balance. I saw the ground coming up fast right at my head, and at the last moment curled myself into a ball. I hit the ground on my back and rolled right into the jagged edge of a large rock. I looked up and saw I was at the base of the Rockfall.

As I rolled back onto my paws, rotating my shoulders to make sure I hadn't broken any bones, I spotted Nightstar padding serenely through the mass of battling cats toward me. I crouched, but one of my legs appeared to have been bruised badly and it gave out from underneath me. I lay there on the ground, panting, as Nightstar pinned me with one lazy paw.

"Sootkit, how terrible, you've fallen and you can't get up." He smirked.

"I… am… Sootthorn!" I panted, trying feebly to push him off.

Nightstar's eyes widened. "Sootthorn? How touching. Did you choose your name after Daddy?"

I growled low in my throat, but I couldn't deny what he'd said. It was true, after all.

"Are you trying to be your own cat? Are you trying to break away from Daddy's regime?" Nightstar pouted at me. It was rather odd to see such a kit-like expression on such a huge tom. "Well, I'm afraid you're more like Ashthorn than you really think. Both of you have the same fur, same eyes. You took leadership because you felt it was your responsibility. Oh, and I can't forget one other thing." He smirked. "Both of you were willing to leave Lightwing behind to pursue your own dreams."

"No!" I attempted to shove him off but Nightstar just laughed.

"Trying not to think about it?" he asked silkily. "Telling yourself you're not like him? You're lying to yourself, Sootthorn. You're so much more like your father than you think."

A gray blur seemed to shimmer above Nightstar's shoulder. Rainsky had leaped onto his back with a cry of, "Sootthorn!" Nightstar released me for just a heartbeat, but that heartbeat was enough as it allowed me to slip out from underneath him. Quickly, I scrambled up onto the boulder behind me, out of harm's way for at least a moment.

Rainsky had dug his claws into Nightstar's back. While the black tom spun and kicked his hind legs, trying to dislodge him, Rainsky ripped at his pelt, making the sleek fur stick up strangely when it wasn't pulled away entirely. But Nightstar still couldn't get Rainsky off, as he always kept at least three paws firmly planted on his back. Finally, Nightstar reached around and sank his teeth into Rainsky's paw.

Rainsky screeched in pain. I was about to leap down to help him out, but he shook Nightstar off easily and leaped up to stand beside me. "Up, up," he hissed, and together we scrambled up the Rockfall, digging in our claws, both of us favoring one of our forepaws.

Nightstar shook his head and, just as we reached the top, he began climbing behind us. Rainsky put himself between me and the NightClan leader but I shoved him roughly aside. "I'm fine," I muttered. "You're not strong enough to take him on."

"I'm plenty strong enough-" Rainsky began hotly but I cut him off.

"I meant physically strong. Nightstar would pull you right off the Highledge."

Rainsky looked at the ground. "Yeah, okay, I guess," he muttered. But he watched me warily as I backed away from the edge of the Highledge, preparing to leap.

Nightstar surged over the top of the Highledge faster than I would have thought possible. I only barely had time to rear onto my hind paws before he slammed into me. I dug in my claws, twisting my body to allow him to swing around me instead of pushing me off the side. He scrabbled for a moment amongst the dust and stones, real fear suddenly spiking in his eyes, before disappearing over the edge.

I dashed to the edge, Rainsky beside me. Together we peered over the side to see Nightstar's broken body lying below.

I glanced sideways at Rainsky and saw trepidation in his eyes. "That was only one life," he murmured. "How many more does Nightstar have?"

Sorry again for a lack of quality. But since today's the first day off from school, I might be able to type up more chapters more often! :)

AOTD: So hard to decide! Let's see... I don't like Dawnshine so much because I still feel like she's really flat. I like all three of the main characters, Sootthorn, Cinderstrike, and Rainsky.

QOTD: Do you play any musical instruments?