Sorry it's a little late, yesterday was pretty busy for me.
This chapter was pretty fun to write, though. Being able to refer to JtR (if you guys haven't read it, that's where most of the north star/life force stuff comes from, so if you're confused I'd recommend giving Journey to Redemption a glance) is nice, since I like nodding to past works. And I'm pretty excited for the next Soot chapter, heehee.
@WildheartTheWarrior: Both of Carmelo's allies are pretty shifty, unfortunately for him. Leopardpaw was pretty fun to work with, too, I really like her. c:
@samredlamb: I've heard that it's good. I was never really a Spiderman fan, though. ;)
@Sara Darkotter: Yup, Leopardpaw obviously trusts Twolegplace cats more than the Clanners, for some reason. We already know that she grew up there, but her trusting everyone wouldn't really make much sense....Hmm. :3
@Juniper: Ah, yes, snowberries. They're something I keep meaning to mention, but I forget. The plant are structured a lot like pokeweed plants (Google them if you don't know what they are) in that they have a lot of little berries that come in clumps. The clumps usually have around 20 berries in each one (like pokeweeds) and there are three in the remaining plant, which leaves around 60 berries up for grabs. Some have already been used, and some have been put aside for replanting, leaving probably 40-45 remaining. Divide that by two (two for each sick cat) and you have 20-22 cats that can be given berries, which is more than the number that is sick. Now, once every cat finishes all four doses (since each berry will be split into two), which might take time since the meddys will try and space out the time between each dose, things might get a little more desperate as they squabble over the berries that remain. Silverstar is deteriorating slowly, but it took her two moons last time to lose a life - the disease is slow-acting - and it's been a little less than one since she lost her last life. I've seen the "hug every cat" video, it's pretty funny, so kudos to you for working a reference in there. xD Swiftshade's an interest case because, as you said, he had no malicious intent, but he still committed acts that he knew were wrong, and placed his life above others by murdering them rather than letting his sister turn on him.
@MatsuriWolfsong: Underneath the smugness, Leopard's kinda pitiful. :c
@TheVioletGleek: I like Fern too. She reminds me of Blackheart from TR, for some reason. Hopefully she won't have a tragic death, haha. All sorts of interesting questions with Leopardpaw there, but unfortunately I can't answer any of them just yet. I'm glad she interests you, though. :D
@Shadow-Wolf: Fern's pretty cool, but she's not necessarily a good guy. She's on AshClan's side at the moment - or rather, they're on hers - but that could always change. Glad you liked the chapter. :)
@RangeroftheForest: Glad you liked it! It was nice to have Spider admit to being a bit of a bully, and allowing Leopardpaw to be lil more vulnerable than she normally is. Character development is always one of my favorite things. :3
@Justsmile: Fern's good at taking charge of things, certainly. She's the one who whipped everyone into shape in the marsh, according to her, and Baron's absent most of the time. She enjoys the challenges that come with leading, and is protective of her cats and others, so it would be interesting to see if she was able to replace Baron/what she would think of becoming a Clan. As for Maggot, loyal companions is one of Carmelo's key issues. Originally, his group was very small and weak because Amber and Cane controlled most of the territory. He'd steal a few followers when he could, but any time he became too powerful, Amber and Cane would put aside their differences to fight him and pick off most of his followers. This led to the makeup of his group being very turbulent, with few cats living/lasting long enough to really get close enough to him to become trustworthy. Maggot is actually his oldest ally at this point, since they had contact with one another while they worked with Lion. After Cane's death, Carmelo became more powerful, and when Amber died he seized control of most of her cats as well, and Maggot remained with him this entire time. Carmelo probably knows that Maggot is shady, but he doesn't have many alternatives and has grown a little too secure in his power, now that he basically has the entire city under his paws.
@Snowlight: Maybe cats taste like chicken? :p Spider's feelings for Blue are basically gone, since she's not been around and he's made new friends/moved on.
@Cinderstar: Glad you liked the chapter. I can't speak of pairings, but Black's assessment was fun. c: Spider pretty much almost dies all the time, haha. He has a rough time with things, I guess. Maybe StarClan just really wants him. xD
