V Chapter 1

1: Breeze was just posted, if anyone's watching the blog. All of the chapters will have similar titles that come from the "In Which X" thingy. I've always wanted to do little headers like that for chapters, I think they're cute. Coming up with titles is harder than I thought it would be, but one of the things that really annoyed me about Chilled was that if I was looking for a specific event (to fact-check or something) I could never remember which chapter it was in, so I'd have to flick through 5-10 of them to try and find it. Chapter titles should help avert that, for the most part.

Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed venturing into Sprite's head a bit. I'll update the bios thing, but I'm only going to post the black fox's picture, since that's all we know about him so far! Faun's chapter will get us properly introduced, and I'll probably post a ton of bios then...but that'll be next Sunday!

I have up to Chapter 7 completed right now, and I'm like 600 words into 8, but I'm going to try and hold back chapters (i.e. only updating on Sunday) to make sure I have a buffer. I tend to go through periods where I'm either planning everything out or just really unmotivated to write, and then I get behind; a buffer should help prevent that. I get kinda antsy holding chapters back, but patience is a virtue and all that. xD

Anyway, seeya next time!

Vulpine Bios

This is where I'll be posting little snippets of the characters, mostly to help you guys picture them; some of their markings will be described in the story, but often-times they won't, simply because the characters aren't really concerned about each others' looks most of the time. Also because their markings can be rather complex. I'll prolly link this post to any other Vulpine posts I make, depending on how things go.

As a side note, while most of these designs aren't too outlandish (they're at least grounded in reality; no weird colors or anything) some of the markings and stuff are really uncommon/unlikely. This is partially to ensure that everyone has a distinct appearance, to make things less confusing over all.

All of the images were made with Kaylink's Fox Maker on dART (http://www.fictionpress.com/s/3151145/1/Vulpine). It's fun to play with, if you're into that sort of thing. However, it does mean that some of the markings are a bit over-exaggerated in the maker, and Ill make sure to mention that with the characters.

I won't post every character here immediately (although I do have all their images) since there's like over 20. I'll probably post a few as they appear in each chapter, to keep things simple, so check this post from time to time.

Unaligned Foxes (dead and living)
Unaligned foxes (those living outside of the Skulk) are called "solitaires" by Skulk foxes, despite the fact that solitaires often live in small family groups.

Sage

Sage is an old dog-fox (or tod, whichever term you prefer) who has lived in the forest longer than anyone else. Old, wise, and a bit gruff from time-to-time, he is the sort who prefers to keep a low profile rather than engage in any hostilities. He's seen more than his fair share of travelers pass through the area, although few stay for very long, and he has never tried interacting with them, as he is not interested in making friends. This changed, however, when he found Sprite in the forest, alone and distressed. He took her in, listened to her story, and vowed to keep her safe as well as he could. He and his young ward often butt heads, as she hates being constrained, but they are very fond of each other. Sage knows all sorts of stories and legends, and uses them to his advantage when trying to distract Sprite or take her down another trail of thought. He isn't entirely honest with her, and avoids most questions he doesn't want to answer, but he has his reasons.

Note: Sage's appearance is one of the inaccurate ones, as I designed it years ago, before this story was conceived. Normal red foxes do not have that much black on them. His appearance is similar to a cross fox (rarer coloration of a red fox; they're the same species), but cross foxes have more darker colors and no white, except on the tips of their tails. He could be some sort of cross mix, but I haven't done much research into them. He looks cool, though. ;)

Sprite

Sprite is an inquisitive young fox who is ever-restless and constantly getting into trouble (trouble Sage has to save her from). She's loud (occasionally obnoxious), spirited, and very warm towards others. She was born in the forest, along with her two brothers, but speaks very rarely about her family and what happened to them. Only Sage knows the full story, at the present time. She has mostly put it behind her, preferring to focus on the present instead. Mostly, she is concerned with the biggest question in her life: What does it mean to be a fox? For whatever reason, she has become obsessed with finding an answer, some sort of explanation for why she was born, why Sage saved her, and what her life is supposed to mean. Try as she might, she can't find any answers from Sage, and so when the strangers do arrive in their forest, she turns to them in hopes of finally laying the question to rest. Sprite is obsessed with all sorts of stories and folktales, both those she learned from her family and from Sage. She has a bad habit of imagining fantastical monsters from these stories, and also of thinking about them when she really should be looking out for danger. Like Sage, she enjoys sharing these stories with others when she can. Most of all, she wants to find foxes her own age to spend time with, those that are just as interested in figuring out the world as she is.

Note: Both Sage & Sprite have been my characters for years and years, back in my Shattered-rp days. I've dabbled with them a few times, but never done anything too major; this is the first time they get true character arcs of their own. Exciting stuff. :D

The Skulk: Trainers

Musk

Musk is one of the two male trainers. He's an old dude; this is his fourth year of training kits, so he knows what he's doing. Usually he picks his favorites right from the beginning and focuses mostly on them, leaving the other kits to either flounder by themselves or starve. This year, however, he has been joined by Toma, whose purpose is to gather up the kits Musk leaves behind, and give them a fighting chance. Musk is resentful of his new "partner," especially since it signifies the Reynard's flagging trust in him. Although his training is always brutal, this year it will probably be even more so, because he has something to prove.

So far we've seen that Musk is blunt and harsh in both his speeches and behavior; he has no patience for fools or weaklings, and is not above using his considerable force to make his will clear. Although he's getting up there in years, he still takes pride in his strength and ability to whip others into shape. The kits should not be fooled by his brawn, either; holding the trainer position for four years is no small feat. He's smart enough to know exactly what buttons to push to get the results he desires, and ruthless enough to do whatever it takes to make sure his trainees are the ones that triumph.

Musk was born outside of the Skulk; the Skulk often raids families that live in their territory, killing the parents and taking the kits back with them, as a measure against too much inbreeding. He was the only one of his litter to survive training. He and the Reynard trained together, so they go way back.

Note: The silver markings on his pelt are a little exaggerated due to the maker. Black foxes are a "color morph" of red foxes. They're also known as silver foxes. They are fairly rare in North America, appearing most commonly in the north, and even then they're less than 10% of the fox population. Because of this, I limited myself to only one, although I wanted more because they're super-cool. And then because I could only have 1, I had to make sure it was someone important. Thus, Musk. :D

It also makes him scary as hell to the others, which is a nice bonus.

Toma

Toma is the first fox to hold the position of second trainer to the males. He was appointed by the Reynard to ensure that the runts at least had a ghost of a chance in coming home - mostly because of Faun. Toma was a good choice, because although he is young, he was a runt himself during training - and the only male to return home. Just how and why this happened remains to be seen, but Toma has dedicated himself to trying to save at least one of the runts from their usual fate. Toma himself is a fairly easy-going, amicable guy. Unlike Musk, he wants his trainees to be at ease, since they've already spent most of their lives trembling and being pushed around by the larger males. Time will tell whether his more cheerful approach will work, and whether he has the chops to stand up to Musk's wrath.

Half-brother to Grint, Sillian, and Kadder. 

Field

Trainer for the females. This is her first year of training the females on her own; the prior year she was shadowing the female trainer at the time, who was killed. Field seems confident enough in her role; training hunters isn't exactly hard, as the territory is rich with prey and most of them are clever enough to figure it out with only a little guidance. Field herself is a kind and gentle soul, one who would never dream of rocking the boat or pushing herself to the forefront of the Skulk's politics. She's content to do her job - namely, trying to make the vixens as successful as possible. She likes to think of her trainees as her own kits, if only for a few months, and does her best to make them feel less homesick and worried about the future. However, she's not all that bright, and a few (i.e. Trick) find her motherly nature rather irritating. 

The Skulk: Trainees
     Musk's

Riven

Definitely a bit of a twat. The best word to describe Riven would probably be courageous - followed by stubborn, brash, arrogant, and self-obsessed. He has a superiority complex big enough to cover half the forest - and, unfortunately, the power to back it up. Riven's the largest of Musk's trainees, and appears to be the most promising. Whether he will be one of the survivors of training is not even a question; he already has his eyes set on the position of Reynard. Confident and decisive, he has already intended to make his leadership obvious to the others in his group, and thus far has succeeded, although Reyes seems a bit discontent. Appropriately, Riven despises those whose personalities are the opposite of him - foxes like Faun, who are meek, shy, timid, and on the small side. This philosophy means that he counts all of the runts (and Koulder) among his enemies, but Faun has the special privelege of being the one he hates the most, because of his parentage. Riven takes such a weak kit being the Reynard's son as almost a personal offense, because he believes fate should have put him in Faun's place, giving him an even easier path to leadership. Instead, he has to prove himself during training and gather as much renown as he can, in hopes of finding himself in that position some day. And, in the meantime, he can take his frustration out on his underlings whenever possible.

Despite his youth, he also enjoys leering at females, and can be easily lead along by a pretty face. After all, a strong tod deserves all the pleasures life has to offer. 

Brother to Holly and Mote. Had another sister who died on the journey.

Sillian

A quieter fellow who is decidedly average; he is not large like Riven, Waire, or Reyes, but not small (relatively) like Athor or Koulder. For now, he is basically invisible. He and Grint were close as kits, when it was unclear whether or not Sillian would be large enough for Musk to choose him, but now Sillian has put a little distance between them. Associating with runts is basically social suicide, after all, and the last thing Sillian wants is trouble.

Brother to Grint and Kadder. Had another sister who died on the journey.

Reyes

Another confident fellow, and one of the larger foxes among Musk's trainees. Reyes is strong and quick on his paws, as well as clever; unlike Riven, he has at least some handle on his temper, although he is quick to scorn those smaller than him, and lash out at them when things do not go his way. Reyes has shown some glimmer of wanting leadership for himself, but has chosen to go along with Riven for now. After all, if Riven does become the Reynard, he will still need foxes close to him to help guide him in his decisions, and Reyes is more than willing to help.

Brother to Bolt and Cettel. Had another brother who died on the journey.

Note: Markings on his face are a wee bit exaggerated by the maker.

Waire

Second-largest in Musk's group, narrowly beaten out by Riven. Waire is quiet, with a low voice that is rarely heard. Despite his size and formidability, he has made no attempt to push himself forward as a leader, preferring to follow the others' decisions. He's not all that bright, attacking his problems with brute force rather than thinking them through, but with his promising size, he doesn't really need to. 

Brother to Feo, Athor, and Tress.

Note: Color is a bit too dark, due to my meddling in Paint. :P

Athor

He's quiet, much like his brother Waire, but the two of them are not very close. He is the second-smallest of Musk's group (although of course still larger than the runts) and well-aware of it. Being one of the smaller foxes puts him in a vulnerable position, and he has to be constantly on guard to avoid being attacked or belittled. He is nervous about training, and fairly terrified of Musk. Time will tell if he is able to keep up with Musk's harsh training.

Brother to Feo, Waire, and Tress.

Koulder

Koulder is definitely the oddball of Musk's trainees, as he's the smallest, and looks different from the others because of his heritage outside of the Skulk. He's as aware of his status as Athor is, and has thus far remained completely silent, trying not to stir up any trouble. Instead, this silence has made him a target for Riven's ire, as Riven hates any sort of softness or timidity. Koulder does not seem motivated to push himself, or brave enough to stand up against the larger kits. Whatever Musk supposedly saw in him, if he does not prove himself soon, it is likely that he will be discarded entirely.

Brother to Tamber, Iole, and Lilt.

Note: His litter is composed of cross foxes, another "color morph." Cross foxes are more common than black/silver foxes, but less common than normal red ones. His litter came from outside the Skulk, like Musk's.

     Toma's

Faun

The son of the Reynard, Faun has a bit of an uphill struggle ahead of him. His mother died giving birth to his litter - of which he was the sole survivor - which has caused his father to resent him. This resentment is only compounded by the fact that Faun is nothing like what a Reynard should be. Because of his premature birth, he's small for his age, and looks as though he will not be getting a growth spurt any time soon. He is also shy and rather timid, traits his father despises. Faun spent much of his early days avoiding larger kits, who bullied him out of jealousy (because of his position as the Reynard's son). Most of this bullying was ignored by the other adults; runts are doomed in training, after all, so it was not as though Faun would ever be coming home. However, despite his feelings, the Reynard did do his son one favor in appointing Toma to train the smaller males. This is the only gleam of hope Faun has, but it's a dim one. He feels his death is almost inevitable, and cannot even seek solace with the other runts, as he feels cut-off from them by his hierarchical position in the Skulk due to his father. Faun is lonely, but too shy to do anything about it, and seems resigned to his eventual fate as fodder for the large males.

His one boon is his cleverness, which he uses to wiggle out of sticky situations - namely, Riven's continued pursuits.

Grint

Grint is an upbeat little jokester, despite the severity of his position. He's already set to work befriending the smaller males, and eventually hopes to cozy up to some of the larger ones, too. He doesn't seem too worried about the future, preferring to focus on what he views as the fun of the present.

Brother to Sillian, Kadder, and a diseased sister.

Bolt

Bolt and Grint are of the same cloth; both are high-energy little males who would much rather prefer to smile rather than mope. Bolt's quick on his paws, but likes to use that speed to play a rousing game of tag, rather than chasing down an opponent.

Brother to Reyes, Cettel, and a diseased brother.

Note: His facial markings are exaggerated as well.

Feo

Easily the glummest of the group, Feo has not one, but two brothers that tower over him, a fact that has cast a gloomy cloud over his head. Unlike Grint and Bolt, he holds very little hope for the future, and is all too aware of the futility of Toma's training.

Brother to Waire, Athor, and Tress.

     Field's

Trick

Trick's real name is Lilt, but she absolutely hates it. She views Lilt as a "typical" vixen name in the Skulk - short, meaningless, and easily passed over. It's a symbol of everything that she hates about being a female in the Skulk's society. She's replaced it with "Trick," a much firmer name in her mind - the rougher "T" sound, like in Tamber's name, and the sharp "ck" at the end that makes you take notice - but can't be very open about it. Musk doesn't generally approve of foxes renaming themselves. Trick's a bit callous when it comes to others; her big focus is on proving herself as a worthy adversary to the males, so that she might be allowed to join their ranks as a fighter, rather than a hunter. She has no patience for hunting, and would much rather be fighting off enemies and gaining all the recognition that the males receive for their courageous actions - not to mention that she would be far less disposable, and could potentially hold a leadership position some day. Obviously this is radical thinking within the Skulk, and she knows she must tread lightly, but she has already made a few errors in her eagerness to get ahead.

Her relationship with her family is rather rocky. She views Koulder as weak, but also must acknowledge that he is competition; after all, if she is able to get herself in with the males, then the two of them might have to fight one another at some point. Her relationship with Tamber is equally antagonizing, as Tamber already has her own life mapped out, and it does not contain either of her sisters making their way home. Trick's parents were killed by the Skulk whens he was very young, but her vague memories of them are part of what fuel her ambition to change the Skulk's practices and way of life - and she does not care who she might have to use to get what she wants.

Sister to Tamber, Iole, and Koulder.

Tamber

A very pretty and very cunning little vixen, Tamber has her eyes set on the crown jewel of the trainees: Riven. She's already made plans to gain his favor in hopes that once he comes home and becomes the Reynard, she will stand by his side as his mate. This position has little real power, but does give her some authority over the vixens, as well as preferential treatment, which is about as high as vixens can get in the Skulk's segregated society. She's more than willing to do whatever it takes to succeed - including eliminating her competition.

Iole

We don't know much about her yet, other than that her sisters don't think much of her, and she has not captured Field's attention, either.

Sister to Lilt, Tamber, and Koulder.

Holly

Holly is Riven's sister, and appears promising; she, Tamber, Tress, and Mote are the only four to have successfully brought back prey for the males each time they have gone out. She's very close to her smaller sister, and takes care of her when she can. She has been shown to be sympathetic to the smaller runts as well, such as when she tried bringing Grint prey, only to be thwarted by Musk. She and Mote keep to themselves when they can.

Sister to Riven and Mote.

Mote

Holly's smaller sister, and the quieter of the pair. So far she appears to be a good hunter, and sympathetic to the runts - although she might have only been following Holly's lead when she tried bringing prey to Feo. She is constantly shadowing Holly, and does not like interacting with the others.

Sister to Riven and Holly.

Kadder

A bit clumsy but enthusiastic, Kadder is eager to learn and desperate to please the higher-ups in the Skulk. Unlike a few of the others, she doesn't seem to have any ill will towards her fellow competitors (much like her brother, Grint). She and Cettel have a lot in common, and enjoy each others' company.

Sister to Grint and Sillian.

Cettel

Cettel is as light on her paws as her brothers, but it remains to be seen if she has any of Reyes' cleverness. She and Kadder are already friends, and like Kadder she is not aggressive towards the other females. 

Sister to Bolt and Reyes.

Tress

 Tress does not have sisters (like Trick/Tamber/Iole or Holly/Mote), and does not seem inclined to make friends with the others (Cettel/Kadder). She prefers to keep to herself, and is a bit miffed by others that she perceives to be less intelligent than herself. This includes both Iole and Trick, as Trick is currently attempting to keep a low profile among the females. Tress would rather hunt by herself, and thus far has shown a knack for it, indicating she will be a firm contender in the upcoming hunts.

Sister to Waire, Athor, and Feo.

Vulpine's Up!

Hey, guys. I doubt there's anyone who follows this blog and not my FFN posts, but just in case someone out there does, Vulpine is officially up. Hope you guys will check it out!

http://www.fictionpress.com/s/3151145/1/Vulpine

I'll be making a second post soon, with a few character bios like Chilled/Shattered had. Stick around. :)

73

Hot damn that was a long dry spell. Didn't get squat done on vacation, then I had my wisdom teeth out, and then I was just really unmotivated. But that's all over now, and I hope you're not too mad for me making you wait. The Epilogue should be out in a few days, it won't be too long. Not much to say, besides adios, Spiderman.

O, I guess I can celebrate over 500k and 1000+ reviews. Both of those numbers are pretty crazy, man. What am I doing with my life again? xD

Srsly, it wouldn't be possible without you guys. Thanks so much for all your feedback and support. <3

@Swiftehstar: Sorry you blarged? And sorry this chapter doesn't really answer that question, haha. Owell.

@Luna-Soul-Sky: Glad you liked it!

@Guest: Yeah, it was good to see Sooty was back on her paws, so to speak. Most people guessed Chilly would be part of Silver's litter, too. You guys are sharp. :P

@Dracones: Sorry about your poor shattered shipping soul. That's a good point; I think it kinda works, since she's planning on leaving the Clan and all, possibly for good, but it was unintentional, and adding more details to her feelings about the Clan would have been better. Unfortunately, the chapter was already enormous, so there wasn't much space to squeeze things in. Ah well.

@TheVioletGleek: Hey! Good to see you again, love. No worries, I'm sure the hiatus turned a lot of people off (this recent accidental one prolly did too v_v). And, again, I must apologize for breaking your heart a bit...but that just means I was doing my job correctly! :D Rook/Nightingale will never ever ever happen; he sees himself as her big brother, and she views herself as the same thing for him, in a gotta-keep-you-outta-trouble-way. No make-outs for them. Alas, Chilly is never going to reappear again. Boom. I said it. The Pool ate him, and while some tiny pieces might linger in the back of Icekit's brain, there's not gonna be any reuniting when he goes to StarClan. Chillpaw's died a rather final death, one that he chose on his own terms; a rarity in the Warriors 'verse, but an interesting one, I think. FictionPress is FFN's sister site, so they're almost exactly the same. Reviews and accounts and publishing all works the same way - which is good, because I'm rather easily confused, haha. Hope to see you floating around in the future. :)

@Bookworm: Thanks! Hopefully Vulpine will go well. We'll see. The Epilogue won't skip tooo far in the future, so next gen kits prolly won't happen, but I imagine the Clan will be full of tiny black furballs someday, even if we don't get to see them. Who knows, ha. Thanks for your support. c:

@GinnyStar: Long time no see! I remember you from the TR days, man. Thanks for sticking around. Sadly, we won't see Sooty's trip in Chilled, but we might see some of her mountaineering days in a one-shot? Who knows what's in the cards. Just have to see what pops up!

@Woods Warriors: Aww, thanks. Imagery is always something I struggle with; there are plenty of authors better than me (cough Shimmertail & Shadesaurus cough), but I'm working on it. And you should definitely give a blind character a shot! The one Rumble chapter I did in Shattered was really fun, although it was also really difficult because I kept slipping in stuff he'd only know if he could actually see. Breaking myself of that habit was hard, but the experiment was definitely worthwhile. Go for it, if you have a good idea! I'll prolly post something here when Vulpine goes up (and random supplemental stuff), so keep an eye out. :)

@Juniper: Hey! Yeah, 1000+ was a crazy thing to see on my mobile. It was also really annoying, because the mobile version doesn't give exact numbers past 1000, so I couldn't see if I'd gotten a review unless I actually clicked it. First world problem, I know. Rook's accent is kinda complicated; when he didn't speak like a rogue, he was always speaking like a kittypet, because that was kinda his "true" self. We saw him try to suspend both for Soot when she was in distress, but if you've ever tried not speaking with an accent, you know that's basically impossible. Right now he's kinda blending the two, and it's not really on purpose anymore; he's not a kittypet anymore, but he's not exactly a hardened rogue, either, so when he's just speaking "normally," both parts tend to surface. Hence the bit about him being "pissed if we perish," and all. I like Carmelo too - a guilty pleasure, I suppose, since he was plotting Eaglestrike's murder and all (I remember when some of you guys thought Eagle was gonna turn evil ambitious deputy and ursup Silver. Good times, good times) - even tho he's pretty shady. He's prolly the only city boss to ever come out on top, too; he gets to rule part of the city & keep up with his colony project, which is what he really wanted in the first place. A+ job, Carm. And thanks! I'm excited for DB and Vulpine too. :D

@Mystic Cassandra: Thank you!

@Davidsmart: Aw, thanks. I'm amazed my story could have such an impact on you. Glad you've enjoyed it, even if it hurt. c:

@Annirosec: It's a little late in the game for a new pairing to spring up, doncha think?

Anyway, that's all for now, folks. Keep an eye out for the Epilogue, and updates for my original projects and such. Ciao!

Post-Chilled

Ah, the dreaded what-comes-next talk.

As you long-time readers know (if there are any of you left, considering how long Chilled's been xD), usually when I finish a story, I have another story right on its heels. I think the longest time between stories was like three days? Something like that. The reason behind this is that usually when I'm halfway through a story, I've already got a skeleton of the next one planned out, just because my brain's really hyperactive and enjoys plotting stuff a little too much.

Not so with this one, unfortunately. I do have an idea for the next story (it's even got a name) and I've mentioned it here a few times before, but unfortunately that idea keeps changing here and there, and I don't really want to rush into it until I've got a clear outline. That was a very big mistake that I made with Chilled, and is probably why it's so long and glacier-like. When I started Chilled, I had plenty of ideas for plot twists, most of which I've already mentioned (Bluepaw's a traitor! But who is she working for? Blight's Soot's dad! Why does that matter beyond it being amusing for me? Chilly needs Soot's help! But why? Spider has to stop Leopardpaw, cuz she's a traitor! But how is that going to demand half the story?) but no real basis for them, or way to tie them together. It ended up working out, because I'm really good at pulling things out of my arse, but overall the story has become much much much longer than it should have, and I'm kinda burnt out. I really don't want to do that again, and if I do write another story, it will hopefully be closer to Snatched's length than Shattered's.

Another factor is that I am really really really itchy to start writing some original pieces. Dragon's Bargain (a story I started a couple years back for NaNo, and wrote a bit more for last year) is begging me to be completed, and I have another story, Vulpine, that I want to start too. The Warriors scene is great, and the fandom and my readers are incredible, but I want to push beyond fanfiction, even if I don't get a big following there. I want to do some original projects, instead of just riding on the Erins' coattails.

Bottom line is that I do not have another Warriors story planned, or at least not one that will be released any time soon. Instead, once Chilled is completed, I'm going to do some editing/rehauling of everything that I wrote for Dragon's Bargain in November (it's about eighteen chapters, I think, 20-38), and then I am going to see if I can actually finish it (I'm about 3/4 of the way through the story at this point, give or take). After that, I plan to start on Vulpine, which I'm going to talk about further down. While this is going on, my FFN page is going to be pretty slim. Anything that I do on there is mostly going to be side projects - i.e. my one-shot challenge, and possibly the parody or that old Pokemon fic I haven't touched in awhile.

I will still be on FFN. If you guys want to talk to me or ask any questions, feel free to PM me. I role-play on the forums, so I'm definitely not disappearing from the site, and I'll probably have a ton of one-shots to publish. If you guys haven't read them yet, I'd definitely recommend checking them out, since about 60% of them deal with my other fanfiction pieces (basically helping to fill in the universe/look at characters that haven't had the spotlight). I plan to continue this after Chilled's over, as there are some Chilled-related one-shots coming up. This will be the bulk of my FFN activity for the next few months, but I'm definitely not disappearing. ;)

Now, the original pieces. Like I said, I've been working on Dragon's Bargain for a long time. It's kinda my pet story, but because I have my fanfiction obligations, it doesn't get worked on much outside of November (National Novel-Writing Month, for those who don't know!), so I'm excited to finally have some time to finish it. I'm going to be removing 20-38 so I can edit them, since they do need a lot of restructuring and stuff, and then after I upload them back I'll work on finishing the story.

Once that's done, I'm going to start Vulpine, which I'm pretty excited about! I think you guys will like it, if you feel like moseying over to FictionPress once Chilled's done. My username is Prin Pardus there as well, so I'll be easy to find.

Basically, Vulpine is about foxes. I've wanted to write about foxes for quite awhile, but never had a real plot until one popped into my head a few months ago, and then I went on a fox-planning-spree. It was pretty messy, and I'm sure the forums I frequent are sick of my babbling by now, haha. Anyway, Vulpine centers around a group of foxes that live together, known as a Skulk (skulk's a term for a group of foxes, no creativity points there xD). They have a very primitive society, and their lifestyle/training methods are both brutal and dangerous for all involved. I'll try not to go on a rant (because I definitely could), but basically when the fox kits are four months old, they're taken away to begin training. The females are taught how to hunt, and the males learn how to fight. There's usually 12+ kits that go out to train, but only seven (three males, four females) return every year. Unfortunately, the prior year was a disaster, as their usual training area was compromised, and most of the trainees died, leaving only one male and two females to return home. This means the Skulk had to find a new training ground for this year's kits, to ensure such a thing did not happen again.

It just so happens that there are already a pair of foxes living in the area: Sage and Sprite (amusingly, I've had these two characters for years and just never done with them; fox-Sage existed long before Chilled-Sage, and the two of them are quite different). Sage is an older fox (very old) and Sprite is a youngling that he ended up saving (backstory to be revealed later xD). Sprite's always been curious about other foxes, but since there aren't any besides Sage in the area, she has no one to ask. That all changes when the trainees come, along with their trainers. Sprite's consumed with curiosity about these strangers, and ends up getting in a huge heap of trouble.

The story is essentially one about self-discovery, I guess, namely where the characters fit into their world, and whose customs are right, if any are - since Sage and the Skulk have very different views. There are four main POVs, although I won't say much about them just yet.

The great thing about it is that it's completely in my Warriors comfort zone - wild animals living in a group and killing each other for survival? right on! - but the Skulk's customs are still vastly different from the Clan's, so it should be a really great experiment.

If you can't tell, I'm already pretty psyched for Vulpine, and have been for the past month or so. I already have a bunch of character bios made up, and a map for the territory, and I even wrote a sort of character-test piece just to get the feel of the main charries. Aah, it's just going to be so fun, and I really hope you guys are along for the ride!

For the lazy, my FP account is at http://www.fictionpress.com/~prinpardus. It'll be a few months before I can start actively working on Vulpine, but I will probably be filling up this blog with bios and stuff, as time goes on. If you have any questions about the story, please send them my way!

Anyway, this post is getting kinda long. To sum up:

• No new big Warriors story is on the way (although one might be in the far future, who knows)
• I will still be on FFN (role-playing and working on the oneshots, which you guys should definitely keep an eye on)
• I will be working on several original projects, starting with DB and then Vulpine
• Vulpine is gonna be hella tight, and I'll be updating the blog now and then with bios and all sorts of stuff (I could really talk forever about this, so please ask me questions so I can babble xD)

I love you guys so so so much. Thanks for sticking with me through all of Chilled's rollercoastyness, and I really hope to see you guys floating around my FictionPress account in the weeks to come. <3

71

Sorry! Meant to update this yesterday, but didn't have the time/my wifi started acting funky again. It's kinda driving me mad so far, but oh well. xD

Anyway, gonna do the usual review stuff in this post, and then in the next one, gonna explain what will happen post-Chilled. It might be a bit disappointing, and I'm sorry, but that's just how things are, yo.

Not much to say about this chapter other than hooray! It's all coasting from here. Still doesn't feel quite real that Chilled is gonna be over very soon, but I expect it will when I'm writing that final AN. xD

@Bookworm: Uh, sorry you threw up. That doesn't sound like fun at all. Glad you liked the chapter, though. xD

@Ranger of the Forest: Thanks! The Bullet chapter was probably one of my favorites, even if it took me forever to write. I liked how it turned out. C:

@Mallowfeather: Thank you! We'll get some sort of closure on Chilly, but what kind remains to be seen. c:

@Dracones: Can't help it, I do very much enjoy the "whole heroic rescue thing," haha. I think most of the revelations in this story are over (adoption? traitors? super evil secret ceremonies? what more do you want, man?), though, sorry to disappoint. :P

@Luna-Soul-Sky: Thanks!

@Sarnia Oblivion: It's probably been longer than you think, since most of these chapters take at least a week to get out. Thanks for sticking around! We'll have to wait and see regarding Chillpaw, and the rest will be explained in my next post. :)

@Petalfall: Thank you!

@Accalia: Thanks, glad you've enjoyed it. c:

@The Last Moongazer: Wow, a week's pretty quick for a story of this size. I was trying to reread it back during finals week, and I think I only got to like the 50's, ha. I'm always interested in guesses, so feel free to share any theories you might have! And yes yes yes, homophones are pretty much the bane of my existence. The problem is that when I'm in the "zone" my fingers just kinda do whatever they want, while my brain's occupied with big picture stuff, so that sort of thing happens all the time (even with uncommon words, like weight and wait, and once I think I even typed gamble instead of jingle? weird stuff). I try to catch it when I can, but I'm not very successful. Glad you've enjoyed the story, though. :D

@Mossystar: Maybe we will, maybe we won't. As for chapters, it usually takes about a week for me to get off my butt and write, ha. Just keep your eyes peeled. c:

@Lynxeye: Yeah, that's my bad. I keep saying I'll update the blog on a certain day and then I completely forget. Carmelo's grown on me too (but all my characters have a habit of worming their way into my heart, uff v_v), and like someone (can't remember who, gj prin) said, he's definitely not a saint, but he's not a totally bad guy. He wants what's best for the city, and is willing to do whatever it takes to improve their lives, even if it's at the expense of others. He's a "the ends justify the means" kinda guy. Hehe, yeah. I'm sure there are plenty of authors who can plan out every exquisite detail years ahead of time, but I'm def not one of them. xD

Second post coming up!

70

whoops. i keep forgetting this thing exists. silly me.

hmm, can't think of anything to say about this chapter other than it was a lot longer than it was supposed to be! i knew i wanted to chop it off after they rescued the prisoners, but i just didn't realize how much everyone had to say. they've all got a lot to catch up on! it was pretty fun to write, though, i will admit. :)

anyway, i'll skip some of the reviews that just mentioned they remembered the tom and stuff. a lot of you remembered him even though he was never shown and didn't even have a name, which kinda weirded me out. i guess forest did mention it a few times, though, especially when he ran into foxclaw by the river. good on ya, those that could recall him. :3

@Dracones: Yeeeep, kinda have an addiction to twisted families as well. But they just work out so nicely! Sorry to disappoint your escape plans, ha. Just your typical heroes-save-the-day thing. At least Spiderpaw had the ambush idea. It totes woulda come in handy if it had been actual rogues, instead of his friends. xD

@Jeepers: Yep! The last few glimpses of Sooty's dreams have really helped tie both her and Spidey's stories together, which makes me happy. Cloudpaw could just as easily be Bluepaw as Leopardpaw, since they were both traitors who turned the corner in the end. The prisoners could be Sooty's group when they were briefly trapped in the fridge, or they could be Spidey's. Oakclaw (tom who was injured in the escape, he got better) could be Thistlethorn (since he had to stay behind due to illness) or...? There are a lot of those sorts of parallels, and they're deliciously fun to explore, especially since our two storylines are finally coming to a head! Good stuff.

@Blood Red Mind: Thanks! I love exploring a lot of different characters, and I've always disliked how ThunderClan was the center of all the action, and they had a few very core characters who monopolized almost everything. It's must more interesting to have a combination of characters from various backgrounds/groups pull together to accomplish something, in my opinion. Glad you like the story. c:

@Woods Warrior: Gandhi was kinda creepy with the ladies, if that counts. I'm always happy to include a dose of Northy whenever I can. If there was a way to sneak him into every chapter, I totally would. Thank you. <3

@Lynxeye: Eh, it's really a combination of both! That's kinda always how it is, though. If you sprinkle enough loose ends throughout the story, eventually a way to tie them together will present itself, so long as you remember them. I feel like it always ends up making me look a lot better at planning than I am, though. Some of it's just luck/happy coincidence. xD You caught the rescue attempt, of course; it would be awfully hard to write another 7kish chapter with poor Spidey sitting in the dark. I think he'd be bored out of his mind, even with Carmelo and Northy to keep him company (and, as you said, Northy would prolly end up eating our poor city boss pal). Thanks as always. ^^

@Bookworm: As much fun as killing Spiderpaw would be, he at least has to live to the climax. It would have been terribly cruel of me to kill him before he got to see Sootpaw again...although now that he has, all bets are off. :3

@Silvershadow: Aww, thanks! I think the one-shots will keep you busy, though, if you choose to read them (I'd recommend it, as most of them are kinda supplemental material for my other stories!), since there are almost 50 posted. Should take you a day or two, at least. ;) The ceiling idea is a clever one, but alas we didn't get to put it to good use! Hope you don't mind waiting too much for chapters to come out now, haha. It's a grueling thing, waiting, especially when I'm slow. :c

Anyway, I think that's all! See you guys next time. :)

69

*insert perverse joke here*

Sorry the blog update's a bit late; finals week has me finishing up a lot of papers and stuff. But today's the last da for all that! In a few hours, my vacation will begin. :)

Chilled's two-year anniversary is in a week, though! Scary stuff. Hopefully I can crank out another chapter or two then. It would be fun to reach the climax on the anniversary, haha. We'll see!

Not much to say, other than I've really enjoyed the past few chapters. Getting the plot speeding right along is nice, of course, and Sooty's finally getting the hope she needed. Life is good. <3

@Mallowfeather: Thanks! Ah, if only, if only. Publishing something would be a dream, and I've already got you guys ready to prowl the shelves for me, haha. Maybe some day, with some original work.

@Dracones: Yep, it's been there awhile. Since the beginning of Chilled at least, I think - but don't quote me on that, because the genesis of ideas is really hard to pin down. xD I thought it was pretty funny how you picked up on "the dead one," since I was planning on bringing it into this chapter to begin with. Great minds think alike, I suppose! As for the journeying cats, it prolly is a bit confusing. They've been traveling back for about a half moon, at this point, maybe a little more - and making great time, at that. It helps when there aren't any traitors gimping around, I think. ;)

@Starshine: Thanks c:

@ty7769: Sorry for confusing you! I hope my PM cleared things up a bit. I'll post it here for anyone else still confused,

"Basically, cats from the original four Clans plus a bunch of Kestrel's prisoners joined together to make FogClan, with Fogstar as leader. He appointed Foxpaw his deputy (after Foxpaw was named a warrior and such). However, because the Clan was so large, divisons sprang up amongst them, and when Fogstar died, Foxstar made the decision to split the Clan up. He named his portion BirchClan, after his mate, and they took up most of the forest. Another Clan was ShellClan, who lived by the sea, and then there was MarshClan and an unknown Clan who lived in the hills/mountain area.

Eventually Twolegs started encroaching upon the territory, and the mountain Clan decided to leave. They became PeakClan. Along the way, one of their cats left to live in Twolegplace, and it's possible that she was Belladonna's ancestor.

The mountain Clan left a lot earlier than the other Clans; the others were determined to cling to their territory, and thus it was generations before they left, so few of them even remembered the mountain Clan had existed. They followed the Thundertracks (the bicycle trail where Bluepaw and Sootpaw found the juniper berries) until they reached Twolegplace/the lake, whereupon they went north. There they found the burnt forest, and ShellClan, BirchClan, and MarshClan settled down there, eventually clashing with the mountain cats and creating FrozenClan.

There was also Guppy, who might be Minnow's ancestor, or might not."

It's a big mess, but hopefully a coherent one! Everyone that didn't read Shattered is probably lost, though, I expect. I warned you! xD

@Woods Warrior: Hah, it's quite the challenge. Then again, I suppose summarizing any 450k+ novel would be. Yep, a lot of people suspected the journeying cats were their ancestors right from the beginning, which was nice. I do so love fan theories. Right now, I have no big plans for other fics, but I do have some original projects lined up. I'll probably outline everything after the climax is done, and we start getting into wrapping everything up (we're so close, I can't believe it!). It'll be kinda sad, since I won't be as active here, but hopefully interesting too, with my original projects. :)

@Appercot: Thanks!

@Luna-Soul-Sky: We have at least 1 more Sooty piece and then 1 Spider one that will tackle the climax, and then a few more chapters to wind everything down. I'm not exactly sure how many - we'll just have to see! And then the epilogue, of course, which I am excited for.

@Guest: Nope! Chilled's where this story ends, I'm afraid, although there will probably be plenty of one-shots springing up. I'm addicted to them. :p

@Bookworm: Thank you! Also, I love how you phrase your idea - "done it accidentally." I'm picturing one of them just like tripping onto the other or something, ick. But no, there were no ghost-love-times for Sooty and Chill, and I think ghost-babies would be more problematic than helpful. xD

@Purplemudkip: But what about the journeying cats she dreams of? Or deets on the sickness? Or the traitors lurking in the Clan, or the threat of Twolegplace? Kidding aside, that's a really succinct summary. I'd give you a prize, if I had one. :p

@NoReason2Care: Nope, when Chilled's over, it's over, although the one-shots will allow me to dig into a lot of POVs. I do really really miss them. Shattered was so much fun, in the non-Silver chapters. ;-;

@Lynxeye: Get on the ball, girlfriend! Rook's a pretty cool dude, I like him a lot (and wish we coulda seen more of him in earlier chapters, sigh). The combination of chapters recently has been interesting, with action-oriented ones and then feeelingsss chapters. The dynamic between the two has been really fun to play with. And I'm super-glad to have been able to help you! It's a beautiful symbiotic relationship we have going, haha. xD

@no: Ha, prolly not. Sooty doesn't feel like much of a leader - she just wants to go home and figure things out for herself. c:

@Mossystar: Thanks. :)

@Catlover: Not by a long shot!

@Swiftehstar: Ship whoever you like, haha. Interesting theory, but we'll just have to see. :3

Anyway, that's all for now. See you, ducklings! <3

68

Hello again! Short time no see, haha. Actually finished this chapter on the 28th, but decided to hold it back a bit. Didn't want to spam you guys. ;)

Can't promise the productive tide will continue to swell, but I hope it does! Aaand it was a big chapter, as we finally got some answers. A lot of you guys guessed the journey/BirchClanandsuch connections, so good on ya! Always lovely when you guys peek at plot twists. One of my peeves is when random Clans spring out of nowhere, so I finally got to address that, haha. Everyone has an origin, everything has a purpose!

Hmmhmm, can't think of much more to say, other than the climax is rapidly approaching, of course! The conflict with Twolegplace is literally about to come to a head, so I hope you guys will enjoy that. Mm, can't think of anything else, so onto the reviews! :3

@Mallowfeather: Thanks! Being in the flow of things is always crazy-lovely, so I'm happy about that. I just want to write everything, haha. Kinda in a manic period, I guess! It happens. And nope, no sequel. That'd turn this couple into a full-on trilogy, and I'm not prepared for that, haha. Hopefully the climax/falling action/epilogue will ease your mind...and then we'll have one-shots, of course! Who doesn't love those?

@Shadough: It had to be done. Love you. <3

@Bookworm: Home by who? There are a lot of songs by that name, ha, but thanks. Spider/Black are a pretty cute couple it's true. c:

@Woods Warrior: Yes! The past few chapters have been extremely doom-and-gloomy (for good reason) but Spider's ended on a light note, and this most recent Sooty chapter is bittersweet, at least! The turn, as they say. Stop hinting at your theory, and just tell me, por favor. I love theories, and you're torturing me so. ;-;

@Luna-Soul-Sky: No worries, he's in StarClan now, watching over everyone. His family will miss him, though, poor things. Alas, sweet Robinpaw. Still, circle of life and all that. Better him than someone else, right? ;)

@Tufted: Nah, she can't tell them everything without looking a bit crazy! It's really only cats outside of the whole thing - like Sage and Rook - who can suspend their disbelief enough to listen. Clan cats wouldn't "get" it, I guess you could say, with their rigid definitions of right and wrong - the Dark Forest is definitely wrong. If she does tell any Clanners, it'll be those close to her, like her family, and of course she'll trust them to keep it on the down-low.

@Dracones: Hey, love. Your Mother-Duckery warms my heart, aha. Yep, Black and Spider had a lot of fights back in the day (I'm working on rereading Chilled so I don't forget any details for the end, ha), and it's kinda a relief that they've cooled down, even though it does lead to less drama (drama is always lovely). They're sweet peas, and provided neither of them dies horribly, I think they'll withstand the test of time just fine. Redpaw's a turd as usual, ehe, but at least he's learned a little - he did help Natasha, after all, and carrying a buncha mewling kits couldn't have been fun. Kits def aren't his thing. Newleaf is actually a pretty long way away still, believe it or not! Things started getting cold in leaf-fall, and the transition between leaf-fall and leaf-bare is kinda hazy, so it hasn't really been as long as we think. Many cold days await our heroes, sadly, even if Maggot does take a tumble. Reed's group is making good time, and the raid's still a few days away, but will they be there in time to help out...? Who knows. Guess we'll have to wait and see (my favorite phrase, ehehe).

That's all, loves! Seeya soon, with any luck. :]

67

Lookit me, updating in a timely fashion! Go, Prin, go. /pats back

Hmm, not much to say about this chapter, other than a bit of cackling over finally getting to kill someone else. Was a long-time coming, much like most of Chilled, haha. But the endgame's in sight! The journeying group is making their way back rather speedily, battle plans are being drafted, a cure is in sight...good stuff. Hope you're all as excite as I am. :3

Now reviews!:

@Sara Darkotter: Haha, sail whatever ship you like. Sooty's not really in the mood for love right now anyway, is she? I like Swanpaw quite a bit too, although tbh I have a hard-on for pretty much all my characters. If I could give them all their own chapters, I totes would (one-shots, maybe). Tubs and Fern have been especially weird growths in my hearts, it's kinda disconcerting since they def. weren't in Chilled's plans. Ah well. It happens. :3

@Lynxeye: Rook's a cool dude. It's nice to see more of him, since the bulk of the journey had him overshadowed by just about everyone else, plus Sooty's various dreams. The great thing about her spiritual castration (horrifying way to put it, but that's al my 2am brain has) is that we don't have those pesky things in our way anymore, aside from Nightingale's abridged versions! That saves us a ton of words, which is good, because the past three or four chapters have been monstrous, haha. Anyway, as for Kestrel, he's kinda a combination of loads of dudes. He has undeniable physical ties to Carmelo, what with his golden-ness and general creepy charisma, but he's also capturing intruders, like Blitz on Bullet's orders. The unnamed silver-and-white she-cat could be a bit like Bullet too, tho, since she's kinda taken charge of this ragtag bunch and seeing to ursup Kestrel/Carmelo. And then, Kestrel also represents the danger that Maggot poses. He's like a hodgepodge of evil, or something. I dunno. xD

Ack, departing. I really have no idea what that's going to be like. I mean, Chilled's kinda consumed my FFN self for the past two years, and while I have an idea for another project (Thin Ice), it's not really ready to be pursed yet. Not only that, but I have other projects I want to do that aren't necessarily FFN-related (Dragon's Bargain, my NaNo, is absolutely begging to be finished, and then I have this other idea called Vulpine that I'm eager to share with you guys in a bit). I might actually disappear from FFN (aside from one-shots) for awhile, which would be kinda sad...but change is good, I think. Rambling aside, thanks for the review, as always. c:

@Moonfeather: Of course the story isn't all about them, if they're even a pairing. Things are coming to a head now, and I assure you, Sooty's love life is going to be a very small part of that, if it even still exists. xD

@Mallowfeather: I do, or at least try! College life is pretty crazy, and a lot of the time I just end up burnt-out at the end of the day, but I write when I can. Mostly I've been consumed by papers/presentations/ideas for other non-fic stories, as of late, but I've tried to work on Chilled when I've got the time/motivation. Try not to go crazy, haha.

@Dracones: Yep! There's not much they're going to run into on the way back, so we don't really need to see much of it, 'side a few bits and pieces. Soot's not as clever as Spider (but who is, really? xD), but she's determined to get the same results, even if it takes more work. She's pretty solid, in that respect. Good point about Rook; we know he's not the most sensitive guy. He does his best, but comforting is not his strong point, haha. He's great as a pillow, though.

Also, I demand to be called mother duck forever and ever. That is all. 

@Bookworm: Thanks! Glad you like the story. :)

@Luna-Soul-Sky: Yep! We haven't had a time-skip in a long time, so it's kinda exciting, I guess, even if it's just a few days. :p

@Woods Warrior: Wow, sounds tough. I know vulpes vulpes, and that's about it, pff. What class is it for, if I might ask? And yep, the climax is coming! I have some idea of what you're thinking, but I'll ask you to elaborate anyway, just outta curiosity. I love love love reading theories! :D

That's all! Seeya soon, hopefully, with Soot's adventures. :)

66

I neglected you again, dearest blog. So sorry. ;-;

My college semester is on the cusp of winding down; we've got about three weeks left, so everything's leading up to final papers/projects/presensations/finals themselves. That means I'll be hella busy this week, but hopefully after that things will relax and I can get down to finishing this darned story.

It's been almost two years, I realized that the other day. Chilled began in like mid-May, and it's sooner than I would have liked. I remember last year thinking I could finish it before school started...poor naive past!Prin. xD

But I guess the goal now is to finish before the 2-year anniversary. Prolly won't happen, but we can try! Things should go a bit faster now, since with the timeskip, certain things are going to heat up....

Anyway, I'll address the latest chapter's reviews, since there aren't as many to get through. Sorry to the people who reviewed the other ones; I read them all, I promise, but responding to them would take forever. I still appreciate you. <3

@Moonfeather: Yep, it's hard losing a character that you care about, but that pain means I'm doing my job well enough to make you care, haha. Sometimes characters die, that's just how it is. What'll happen with Chillpaw and his new life remains to be seen.

@Mallowfeather: Leopard's had a really rough time recently, ehe. Poor gal. Glad you like the story, though, thank you!

@Dracones: Yep! It's kinda crazy to read back over the older chapters and see how much Fire and Spider despised each other. Luckily, Leopard's given them some common ground; like Eaglestrike said, if the two of them can actually agree on something, he should pay attention. I really like shades of gray too; we've seen it a bit when Spider and Petal were looking over the battle at GreenRocks, and he imagines each of the rogues having their own story. It ties in nicely with Shattered, I think, and gray is always a theme I'd like to explore further. Maybe with my next project....;)

@Lynxeye: Yep, things in the Clan are looking pretty dark, and Eagle seems about to crumble under the pressure. In his defense, it's been longer than half a year that he's had to shoulder both leader & deputy duties, so he's really worn out. As for what you mentioned about Carmelo, I think I PM'd you about this, but I can't remember: I can't find the spot where he says the Twolegplace cats all know the cure very well. He knows it because he's the top dog now and it's an integral part of his plan. A few others - mostly high-rankers, or those that are just good at getting information - know it too, but your average-Joe-cat has no idea what causes it or makes it go away. He's definitely kept the cure away from Leopard, just in case something like this - with her turning traitor - happened. She was only in Twolegplace while she was a kit, remember.

@The Last Clan: Ehe, still sorry about your heart. As for Fire/Leopard, we'll see! Becoming mates probably wouldn't be a good strategic move on either of their parts at the moment, since she's a prisoner and all, but maybe later. I understand what you mean about Black/Spider; unlike a lot of my other pairings, there's no central conflict between them anymore (Tiger/Fox had Tigerstar's loathing of Foxfire's lineage, Snow/Frost had really obvious issues, Tiger/Ginger never really happened, Silver/Forest had the kidnapping/almost dying/declaring-love-is-hard thing) so there's not as much to get in their way. As for the longest novels, you're right, we're getting close! I kinda hope we don't actually get there (so many chapters to write v_v) but it's pretty cool nonetheless. I do remember that when I set out to write Chilled, I was hoping it'd be a bit bigger than Shattered, and it's certainly delivered on that, for better or worse. Still, there are some really long fics out there; mine's the longest Warriors one, but there are a few Pokemon ones that I know of with over a million words. We're never getting there, I'm sorry. xD

@Mistyheart: Technically, it was only Jaypaw's because he was carrying it. Both of the plants belong to Northstar, as he was the only one who knew where they were. He could have easily gone without AshClan and grabbed them if he'd wanted, but he decided to play nice. But, since the only reason they have even one snowberry plant is because Northstar let them have it, it technically belongs to him. They could claim it was Jaypaw's, but that would kinda make them look like jerks, if that makes sense. xD

@Luna-Soul-Sky: Thanks! There's the possibility, I guess, but it's really unlikely. She wasn't happy there, and her shenanigans have led to more than a few deaths; that's not something to be forgiven lightly. It's different from Leopardpaw, since even if Leopard had changed her mind earlier, she still doesn't know the secrets of the cure and couldn't save any lives, but Bluepaw did and just chose not to speak. In the Clan's eyes, that would actually make her guiltier, and they wouldn't be able to trust her again after all that mess.

Anyway, that's all for now. Until next time! :)

63

I haven't updated the blog in forever sfsdkhfdsjfshfsdkj
I really am the worst kinda person, I'm sorry guys
another 1. 5 month wait wasn't cool at all
I just had a lot of one-shots to push through for some RP things, but that obviously wasn't fair to you guys at all
you have my full attention now, though (I've decided I won't do the 50th oneshot until Chilled is over) so that's all well and good.

UMMM. there were things I wanted to discuss and now I can't remember most of them.

I guess we'll start with Chillpaw, since all the other cats got a lil paragraph about their sin and whatnot. Chillpaw was Wrath (obviously, as it was the last one left). Wrath is usually connected to anger, which is strange for a cat like him, but it doesn't have to be emotional. Wrath is mainly concerned with destruction, namely for revenge, and as we knew, Chillpaw was alllll about revenge, for real. His obsessive balancing act meant that he really didn't care who he had to off, so long as it kept things in check, but even that idea was just a way to ensure that revenge could sit easily on his conscience.

It was the putting aside of his wrath - in this case, rescuing Sootpaw - that allowed him to grasp at redemption. All the kitties that rebelled against Blight did, in a way; Swiftshade took something into his own paws, against Sloth's better instincts (someone else had to start it, of course, since he still has issues to work through, but still), Shrew gave up the portion of Sootpaw's soul he had taken, resisting Gluttony (esp. fitting since they basically ate it), and Nettle obviously resisted Greed in giving up what she had taken and, in the end, giving up her life.

Okay, those are two things...hmm. I feel like there was more, but mrrfff I can't remember. I really am the worst. :/

I don't think I'll answer reviews this time around (since there are so many which is really really awesome but I'm also lazy). Next time fo sho, tho, so if you have any lingering questions, make sure to pop them in before the next chapter.

I think that's all for now. Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon! Thanks for being patient. :)

59

Procrastinating Prin strikes again. Sorry for my slowness with the blog update, derp. Also, I guess I never posted for 58, since it was right up there at the beginning of NaNo, so we have two in one to do? Lots of reviews for me to...review?

Again, sorry for the long lull. DB and Chilled are too very different worlds, so moving over was hard, and then there for awhile everything I was writing felt like poo. Still kinda feels like poo, but I'm moving ahead anyway. xD

Trying to move more quickly this month; my goal is to reach 430k, I guess (we'll see how much plot that gets us through - hopefully a lot!) and if I can go over that, it's icing on the cake. :)

Now, reviews for 57 and 58!

@Sara Darkotter: Shimmer's kind of a dark force to Spidey, since the medicine cat position is rather hallowed, and she's pretty scary.  He sees her as having life and death in her paws (which technically she does) and since he's really only ever seen her bad side, it seems possible to him that she could consider "silencing" somebody if she needed to. Really it's quite unlikely, but the goob doesn't know that like we do. ;)

@Galaxy: Thank you, I'm glad I could make her motivations more clear. Mean as I am to Shimmer, I do like her, and while all of the decisions she's made have been terrible, I think it's important to know where she's comin' from.

@TheVioletGleek: Eee, big ol' review from you. You know how I love them. And of course I love your theory, you sneaky devil. Figurin' things out right before I reveal them. I like how you mentioned Lion being our connecting thread; he was a kind of out-of-nowhere villain (had so much fun setting up Northy and Slaughter to take the lead on that, only to tear them down!) but still was crazy important in binding all the action together. And that idea led you right to Bluepaw, of course, so kudos. The linking wasn't exactly right - Bluey was our tie to Twolegplace, or at least one of them, and had no relation to the DF at all - but you still pinned her. I can't remember if I pm'd you about NaNo or not. Basically NaNoWriMo (National Novel-Writing Month) is when you try to write a 50k novel in a month. It's pretty fun, and a good opportunity to try something different than what I write the other 11 months of the year. As for all the pregger ladies, wait and see??? o:

And I'm proud to be your momma duck. ;3

@Jack Holmes: Fireblaze has a brain after all, even though he usually hides it underneath his turdishness, haha. Sorry you've been getting some flack about your name?

@Lunasky: Thanks!

@Cinderfire: The chilling disease is a sickness believed to come from the old forest, believed to have developed from their old forest sickness thing. The kits Shimmerfrost was talking about are Silverstar's; she was pregnant with four baboos when Chilly took her life, and the kits died as a result. Shimmer turned on StarClan because she feels they betrayed the Clan by not warning them about the coming disease (they did, but Rumble didn't tell her), and Chillpaw's plans. Hope that helps!

@Ty: Of course your opinion matters, and you're entitled to it. Spidey has changed quite a bit compared to who he was before, and I'm glad that you like that about him. ^^

@Lynxeye: He actually has friends and isn't a social failure, yay! Although Jag is still his main bro, I guess. Leopard continues her enigma streak - although that might not last much longer. Who knows?? As for PeakClan, they are kind of screwed. Extremely screwed, really. They are not the best allies to have, but AshClan feels guilty, and they don't really need any more enemies at this point. PeakClan could still give out information to Twolegplace in exchange for protection, or something like that.

@Lightthorn: Thank you! I too am glad that Shimmer/Golden has been sunk. :)

@Justsmile: Yup, poor girl. ;c

@Ranger: Thank you, NaNo went very well indeed. It was good to have Spider not leaping down someone's throat for once, I agree. And any screentime for Shimmer is screentime well-spent. I'm glad you liked Swanpaw's speech, too. :D

@Royal: Thanks, baboo. I could prolly use a beta, but when I finish a chapter I always feel like I gotta post it right that second, especially with how late I've been lately. ;-;

@Cinderstar: Thank you! Who knows how long it'll last, considering their past. o:

And now we're in 58, huzzah!

@Sara Darkotter: From the beginning, love. This is Blue's entire reason for existing, really. Glad I could surprise you. :D

@Dawnshine: Don't cry! D:

@Guest: We don't know if Hawktalon's death, Sooty was just hypothesizing because Blue's actions very well could have led to his death and others. We'll know when they get home, I guess. o:

@Ty: Haha, thank you!

@Lunasky: Thank you! Glad you're still holding on. :D

@Cinderstar: Thanks. :3

@Justsmile: Interesting point, with the gods thing. The views the Clans have kinda vary from time to time, I guess; I think that they might have become more godlike for AshClan, because they've been so distant recently, working in unseen ways. Like the dreams Sooty receives; she doesn't know who is sending them, only that they're a part of StarClan and have decided it's a good idea for some reason? Maybe they're more like ancestors with godly fortune-telling power. I dunno. Good point either way. :)

@Dracones: You're spot-on with Fern. Choice is very important to the Twolegplace cats; most of them never had any real choices before Carmelo rose to power, because they were either pushed to Cane or Amber based on their gender. They saw him as a good leader because he was willing to empower those below him, to try and spread everyone out to make life better for every kitty, but most of the rogues have no idea that he's willing to use some rather brutal forces when necessary. Eee, and thank you for christening Spiderpaw as a dude, because that sounds pretty legit. I'm glad he's won your favor. You've found yourself in good company if you shipped North/Silver, haha; plenty of awesome people that I know shipped that. Glad you've liked the story so far, and I hope you'll stick with us. :)

@Guest: Thank you! I'm really glad you enjoyed it all, even though I'm sorry for breaking your heart. D:

@Rosenose: Are you the guest, or someone else? Either way, thank you. Spiderpaw does have a ref somewhere; I think if you look underneath May 2011, there's a section called "Bios" or something, and most of the major characters are there. Lemme know if you draw him, I'd love to see it.

@Sunspirit: Good to see you again, love. I'm glad I was able to ensnare you yet again. ;) Good idea with the Chilly stuff, we'll have to see what happens there.

Don't disappear on me again, y'hear? :)

@Ranger: Yep. It takes a lot for Sooty to get angry, but she can be scary when she does. I wonder what the "in safe paws" things reeeeally means, hmmmm. :33

@Shadesaurus, my love: I think I already replied to this review, but I'll just thank you again, kk? Thank you so much for it, and for reading my junk. I love you. <3

@Samredlamb: She's not dead yet! There's still time for her to worry about StarClan, if they ever get over her betraying-them-thing. xD

@TheVioletGleek: Love you too. :D

@Clint Westwood: Maybe she'll get a one-shot, who knows? Gingerpaw did, after all. As for pregnant she-cats, there's plenty of time for that still. :3

@WildheartTheWarrior: Twists are what I doooo. And yes, Sooty is crushed forever. And ever. Hooray!

@Amanda: It was mostly a tongue-in-cheek joke, buuuut who knows how many pregnant she-cats we'll end up with? Babies for everyone. c:

@BlacknessAvenged: Thank you very much! I understand leaving the Pokemon fic alone, it's not really for my audience haha. I'm glad you like the other stories, though, and that I'm able to surprise you still. Surprising readers is one of my favorite things.

@Kiizmit: Redpaw might have thought his sister was acting strangely recently, but I'm not sure he would make a leap to thinking she was a traitor. I'm sorry I kinda shattered (heehee) you there, love. But I guess it's a good thing, if I can make you feel that strongly, right? Thanks for reading, and I hope you feel better. ;-;

@TheGhost: o:

@Snowlight: Don't feel bad! You're not obligated to read, or anything, but I'm glad to have you back. :)

@KittyKyoto: Care to clarify more? The only skanky ones that I can think of are Frosty and Shim, and they've both settled down. Well, Dapple was kinda skanky too, but she's dead. xD

@Reenakitty: It's okaaay, I understand. I think I will supply just enough fluffs for you with the coming chapters. Maybe. c:

@The Last Clan: Excellent analysis of Leopard and Blue, I think. They're very different, but also very much the same in a buncha ways. Interesting idea about Chilly. Poor Silver in that scenario, though. ;-;

@Guest: There weren't any cats free to be her mental, at that time.

@Huntress: Sorry! My brain was farting all over itself and stuff. D: But I'm glad you enjoyed the stories during the lull!

@Guest: Thanks!

@Dracones: Whoops, I should prolly look at that again. Sometimes I mix up details like that, with my derpy brain. Thanks for pointing it out.

@Snowlight: No, that's exactly right (referring to Blue's motivation). She felt confused and neglected and frightened by things she didn't really understand, and she was under a lot of pressure to help the Clan in its time of need, so she ended up crumpling. As for your recap, Silverstar wouldn't die (too many lives left) but she would be very weak, and Eaglestrike would hopefully be sick/desperate by that time too enough to consider Carmelo's aid. Other than that, the recaps' good. As for Bluepaw, whoooo knows? o:

@Dracones: Good idea with Swiftshade. We'll see. c:

And then the reviews after that were mostly lack-of-update sadness, so I'll just go ahead and apologize again. Don't hate me. ;-;

And that's it for 57 and 58! Thanks for waiting out November and December, guys. I should have another present for you soon. :D