Camp is amazingly awesome. I get freewrite time every day and I'm experiencing something a lot like college. But honestly I'm thinking about trying coffee, which I've never done before, because I'm just so tired. Yeah, 7.5 to 8 hours of sleep apparently isn't enough for me.

So my updating schedule will probably stay the same or get slightly less frequent. I do have freewrite time but I might have to use that to write poems for my poetry workshop if I feel like reading in the evenings instead of writing. I have been working on this chapter since the first freewrite, Monday, though I couldn't work on it yesterday due to a meeting with my instructor, so it apparently takes 3-4 freewrites to complete a chapter. And I probably can't write on weekends because those will be busy. So next update should be... Tuesday or Thursday? I can't post Wednesday because I'm taking a day trip to a nearby town. Okay?

ShadowHawk540: Ah, but if I put his kits at the end, then I couldn't make it a plot point. ;) Kits at the beginning definitely make the story more interesting, I think.

QLKwriter: Depressing theories make a story interesting, though. :P As sad as that might sound... And I guess the cats are just comfortable with Sootstar as a leader because he's been leading them since he was an apprentice.

Leopardstar2002: (You're right :P ) Sootstar will definitely try his best to be a good father. :)

Willowdream of ForestClan: Neither can I! :) They'll be so sweet!

walkswithwheels: My counselor told me that campers had been picked for the raw talent and passion they showed for their writing through the exerpts they sent in. Real confidence boost right there. :) I'll have to check out that story! Though maybe after camp. I'm busy enough as it is. I might actually put in Sol or a descendant of his, but probably not Scourge. Scourge just wouldn't fit. He's too much like Nightstar. I really took your observation about the slow start to heart and hopefully made this chapter much better! I tried to put in as much action as I could without overdoing it, and as it's Cinderstar's POV, I felt like I could exaggerate the action a little. :)

ilovewarriorcats: I'm so sorry I made you cry! ;-; I really didn't mean to, I thought you'd sort of accepted that as true and were working to change it so it wouldn't affect you as much as it did. So sorry! But it really does sound like you're doing much better than you were before. It really can feel good and give you a smile to know you're helping out your family. And even though it'll be boring, I'm glad you can take an online class to help you in math. And those get well messages sound terrible! o_o I should start a page of ACTUAL get well messages, not like the stuff you found. But about your maybe-friend, that still sounds a little odd. What exactly are you scared of? What are you embarrassed about? I actually sometimes feel the same way, but I've found that the best way to get over it is to just do it, whatever your mind and heart and everything else might be telling you. It's exactly the same way I felt about telling my parents I wanted to join our church. It shouldn't be hard, but it was. Last Easter I just sort of said, "Yeah, I'll go to church today," and my parents didn't make that much of a fuss. I could tell that they were proud and pleased but they never really said it to me plainly in words. Does that make any sort of sense to you?

Shadows of Weeping Wolves: Here's some more for you! :D And yeah, Sootstar will certainly be a good father, but he still might take after Ashthorn a little.

The Guardian of the Sky: Yeah, it is Sootstar. :) The most mature and level-headed and all that. I do think he'll make the best father out of the three.

Cinderstar's POV

"What do you mean, there's no prey?" I spat.

Vixentail ducked her head, cowing in the face of my anger. "The hunting patrols found next to nothing in the forest. I'm sorry, Cinderstar." She stared up at me with a rather fearful expression.

I paced back and forth in my den, tail twitching in irritation. Through my frustration, I heard Sparrowtalon comfort Vixentail. "It's okay, she's not mad at you," he meowed softly. "She's mad at herself."

I shot both of them a deathly glare, but couldn't contradict Sparrowtalon. He was right, after all.

"Perhaps you'd better go," the deputy muttered, and with a quick, respectful dip of her head, Vixentail complied, scooting backwards out of the den.

"What's up with this?" I burst out the moment her orange tail had vanished through the entrance. "I've never known prey to just vanish before!"

"It's common in Leafbare for prey to be more scarce," Sparrowtalon meowed, looking slightly concerned. "You have experienced Leafbare before, haven't you?"

I nodded impatiently. "Yes, of course I have. But that was back in the peace forest, where prey was plentiful whether it be Leafbare or Greenleaf."

"In the Clans, prey becomes much scarcer in Leafbare," Sparrowtalon explained patiently, almost as though to a kit. For a heartbeat, I reconsidered naming him my deputy. If he was going to treat me like I was three moons old, then he could say goodbye to his position! But then I reflected back on the past few moons. He really had given me good advice, and as the most experienced warrior in the Clan, he was the obvious choice for deputyship.

"Is it normal to have this little prey, though?" I challenged. "Some of us might have to go to sleep on an empty stomach. And as leader, I probably will be one of the last to be fed! I really don't want to take prey from Brightkit, but honestly, I don't want to starve to death!"

"You won't starve, Cinderstar. It takes many sunrises of no food to starve." He hesitated a moment. "But it is rather uncommon to have quite this little prey. Perhaps it's just because it's the first snowfall of the year, so the prey is hiding deep in their holes. They'll still need food, though, so we should be able to catch more in a few days."

"In a few days some of us might have starved," I pointed out. "Or we'd be too hungry and weak to hunt properly and just scare all the prey away."

Sparrowtalon blew out a long breath. "I don't think we should jump to conclusions just yet," he meowed calmly. "We can't predict the future. How do we know what the prey will do?" He glanced out into the clearing. I followed his gaze and saw most of the Clan gathered around the meager fresh-kill pile. Foxtooth was attempting to pull frozen prey apart with his claws, giving out equal portions to each cat.

"How about we send out a night patrol?" I suggested. "We can hunt then. If we still can't find anything, we can send messengers to ThunderClan and WindClan. And RiverClan. We can see if they're having the same prob-"

Sparrowtalon cut me off before I'd even finished. "No."

"But-" I tried again hotly.

Sparrowtalon shook his head. "No. Cinderstar, I know you must be worried about your brothers, but we have to let them deal with their problems by can get through this, so can we." Then, seeing my murderous expression, added, "But the nighttime patrol is a good idea. We can see if nocturnal prey is easier to hunt."

I grinned. "Perfect. I'll lead, you pick the rest of the cats."

I strode out into the clearing toward the fresh-kill pile. If I was going hunting, I surely deserved some prey. I'd bring some back for the Clan, after all.

The moon had just cleared the horizon when we set out, me leading the way into the silent, shadowy pine trees. Behind me padded Frozenwhisker, Mistheart, and my apprentice, Morningpaw. I was happy with the patrol-Sparrowtalon had chosen the cats based on their pelt colorings, hoping that more gray-colored cats would blend in with the nighttime snow.

I slunk through the trees, pausing behind trunks, letting myself move with the shadows. Though I had never been too good at stalking, my time as leader of ShadowClan had taught me a few basic tricks to not being seen. Rule one: never stand up.

Twitching my tail from side to side, I let the patrol know to split up and search on their own for prey. I heard two sets of soft pawsteps crunching off through the hard surface of the slightly icy snow, but Morningpaw crept up behind me. I nodded to her and padded on ahead. She could stay with me. She was my apprentice, after all.

I cast my nose around, making exaggerated but silent sniffing gestures. Morningpaw grinned and began casting around with her nose, searching for any sign of prey. I did the same and together we moved forward, away from the camp.

For the longest time, we couldn't find a thing. Apparently, prey is best found during the day. By the time the moon was almost at Moonhigh, I'd just about given up when something caught my eye. Morningpaw was signalling wildly with her tail, waving it in a wide semicircle, though keeping it close to the snow so as not to alert the prey. I crept forward, wincing every time my paws crunched through the solidifying icy top of the snow, gazing around for any source of movement other than my apprentice.

What was that?

Was it even prey?

It looked like a battle opponent.

I stared at the creature. It had a white face and a dark gray body, a long, hairless, pink tail, and a pointed nose. It was turned away, foraging near the roots of a tree, digging in the snow with small, clawed paws. Maybe it was looking for bugs.

Morningpaw gave a look that read, What is that thing? I shrugged in reply. Maybe food? I crept forward, using the creature's digging as cover for my own crunching steps. I wasn't sure I'd be able to take it, but I could at least try. Even though it was kind of sort of as big as me.

I stopped, rocking on my haunches. If this really was food, it would feed half the Clan. Sure, the Clan was rather small, but feeding half of it would still be an admirable feat in this weather.

In a heartbeat, I was soaring through the air. My claws extended mid-leap, my jaws parting in a silent, triumphant yowl. I knew if I made any sound, I'd scare off any other prey in this area. But that suddenly became much less of a concern when I landed on the furry creature.

It howled loud enough to wake every Clan around the lake, rolling over on top of me, pushing me into the snow, and wriggling with all its might to get free. Whatever this thing was, it really didn't want to be caught.

I struggled to hold on, claws digging deep into its flesh, teeth gritted with the effort of keeping my limbs still. There was no way I was going to let this thing get away. After that yowl, I'd find nothing else out in the forest tonight, or even maybe tomorrow. I couldn't let my Clan starve.

But it was slowly wiggling out of my grip. Tensing my muscles, I tried to roll over and pin it down, but it was too heavy. Honestly, the thing was as big as I was! But just when I thought all hope was lost and my prey was going to get away after all, I saw a flash of light gray paws and the creature let loose a scream that surely rattled the stars above, leaving my ears ringing painfully.

It was all worth it, though, when it went limp, collapsing onto my body. I scooted out from underneath to see Morningpaw shaking her scarlet-drenched claws onto the ash-gray snow. The furry creature lay on the ground, eyes half-closed in death, its belly ripped open, blood drenching the icy snow, warm enough to temporarily melt the snow.

"Great catch, Morningpaw," I congratulated my apprentice.

She grinned, scuffing her paws on the ground in embarrassment at the praise. "It was mainly you," she muttered. "I just finished it."

"Just," I scoffed. "You did amazing. But I guess there won't be any other prey in this area after those howls, so we should get this back to camp and get some sleep."

Morningpaw nodded and, gripping the creature's scruff, tried to heave it across the snow back the way we'd come. It didn't move. I padded around and picked up its haunches. Together we lugged our prey toward the camp.

Frozenwhisker and Mistheart had returned by the time we made it through the camp entrance. Frozenwhisker had turned up empty-pawed, but Mistheart had managed to catch a small mouse. Both stared in amazement as we passed, heading slowly toward the fresh-kill pile.

"Cinderstar? What is that?" I glanced around to see Twigpaw standing nearby, head cocked to one side as he stared at the creature.

"I believe it's called a possum," Sparrowtalon meowed, padding up behind his apprentice. "We used to eat them as kits sometimes, remember, Mistheart?"

Mistheart nodded. "It tasted strange, but it was still food."

I grinned at Morningpaw. "Looks like it is fresh-kill. Congrats on catching it."

"You caught that?" Twigpaw looked impressed. I left Morningpaw explaining that it hadn't been her, it had really been Cinderstar, and dragged the possum to the center of the clearing.

"Night hunting is a success," I informed the Clan at large. "We really need to do it more often, using our skills as ShadowClan cats to the utmost."

The Clan began nodding, smiles forming on their faces. A few even began murmuring to each other, but they broke off when a loud screech rent the air.

A massive owl swooped down from the sky. For a moment, I thought it was heading for the fresh-kill pile and I reared up on my hind legs, determined to defend our prey, but it passed over my head, soaring straight for the nursery.

I whipped around. In a heartbeat I comprehended that Brightkit must have been woken by all the excitement and come running out of the safety of her den. Spotting her cream pelt amongst the legs of my Clanmates, I flung myself forward, diving to cover her with my body.

I made it just in time. Screeching again, the huge owl sank its talons not into Brightkit's head, but instead into my shoulders. I yowled in agony, but the owl wasn't finished yet. Apparently it'd rather have me than nothing, for it lifted me into the air with ease, beating its massive wings.

My imagination got so caught up with imagining how it would feel to die nine times inside an owl's stomach I forgot to fight back. It was only due to an orange blur that I wasn't carried away by that owl.

Foxtooth, with a screech to match the owl's, lunged upward to sink its claws into the owl's legs. It cried out and tried to shake him off, but he clung on, hissing and spitting whenever it jerked back and forth.

"Foxtooth," I gasped. "You have to let go. Stop acting the hero."

"I won't let it take you," he growled, his every muscle clenched with the effort of holding on.

The owl swayed as Foxtooth began climbing up its legs, reaching for its neck. I glanced downward and saw the ground, but it was so far away. "You can't kill the owl," I panted. "We'll die anyway."

But Foxtooth had already sliced his claws against the bird's neck, dripping blood down onto my head. I felt us begin to fall, almost as though the ground were pulling us toward it. I shut my eyes, a scream tearing itself from my lungs as we began to fall.

The owl's wings snapped back, lending us no way to prevent our free-fall as we tumbled through the air. I opened my eyes again, squinting through the rushing air at the ground speeding up toward us.

One of us wouldn't survive. But one of us could come back.

I wrapped my limbs around Foxtooth's body, squeezing my eyes shut once more. At least he could survive.

We hit the ground. excruciating pain lanced through me and I let out a yowl, abruptly cut off as darkness filled my vision like a clump of dirt thrown into the lake, blotting out the moon and stars and feeling of frigid snow on my fur.

I woke with mist swirling around me. Blinking, I slowly turned around.

In front of me was a shimmering pool of water-the Moonpool. Around it sat nine cats. Cloudwisp. Rushstar. Blackstar. Breezepelt. Fallingwhisper. Heathertail. Pantherkit. Lilyheart. Ashthorn. As I watched, Cloudwisp stood and padded away, vanishing into the surrounding mist. As she disappeared, a hazy gray shape seemed to take her place. I squinted at it. Who was that?

"Your first life has come to walk in StarClan," Ashthorn murmured. "Cloudwisp gave you a life for selflessness and you used it to save the life of a Clanmate." He padded forward, resting his muzzle on my head. "May your selflessness never die, my precious daughter."

When I get home I'll try to draw the scene where Cinderstar and Foxtooth are falling. I think it'd be really sweet and dramatic if I can get the anatomy correct (and maybe make my heads less round...)

AOTD: I think he'll be clueless because he doesn't know the first thing about how fathers should act. He's never really had a model, after all.

QOTD: Do you have a set time you usually write?

One more A/N for now. I'm going to open up OCs for Sootstar's and Dawnshine's kits. There'll be three of them, two she-kits and one tom.

Anyone is open to submit, but be warned: if you've already submitted an OC I'll be less likely to pick yours, especially if they played a major or semi-major role. If they're less well-known I might still pick your kit. Also, I posted Sootstar's and Dawnshine's appearances in the Allegiances and will try to stick as much as I can to their kits looking like them or their parents. Remember, Sootstar is descended from Lightwing and Ashthorn, and before them Breezepelt and Heathertail. Dawnshine's parents are Dovewing and Bumblestripe. (Also, I won't pick any kits with red eyes or a pink tail! Relative realism, please! ^^)