{New Dawn}

[[Hea]ther[/sky]]

<sub>The dawn enveloped the horizon in a glorious, brilliant spray of color across the sky. It streaked as if it were lightning in the deep maelstrom of a storm, but far more settling, calm, peaceful. Almost as if StarClan was reposing in the sky, resting for the night and giving peace to its descendants below, dwelling on the ground and toiling for their lives. It all seemed just a little meaningless, just a little pointless, to always be fighting with nature for survival, but there it was.

The silvery she-cat trailed her tail along the reeds on the riverbank as she padded along the shore. The big brown hotdog-shaped things at the end of the twigs were always fascinating, but so bizarre, to behold as one would walk by. The medicine cat found that if she were to pierce one with her claws, tiny seeds would drift out onto the wind. And if ingested, these seeds could make one feel very depressed, so she steered as clear of the reed-seed-pods as she could.

Standing right next to the water and unsheathing her claws into the sand, she felt the grains grate against the keratin, filing it just slightly. It was good for them not to get too long. Some cats chewed their claws, but Heathersky found this to be much simpler and less painful. One couldn't accidentally pierce the quick this way. She knew all about that, having had torn claws and felt the throbbing, burning pain that accompanied the feeling of ripping a claw. What she usually applied as a salve was marigold to speed the process and plenty of water to keep infection from settling in.

Watching the dark quickly dissipate from the sky and the dawn set in, glowing in regality across the clouds and painting them soft goldenrod and magenta, the she-cat sat down, feeling the mist around her still remaining close to the ground. The moisture of it all cleared the lungs and mind, and she was completely relaxed, sitting there on that cool dawn and waiting for the day to take its course.</sub>

[shadow]

Scarclaw slid out from the brambles onto the shore beside the river. She was startled by the presence of heathersky, the medicine cat. I didn't expect there to be anyone else here. The ginger she-cat always came around here but usually there wasn't anyone else here.
Scarclaw wadded into the river anyway. She wasn't going to let this cat stop her from having some fun. The current tugged at her paws but she was strong enough to hold her own. She loved the feel of the waves flowing through her fur. She looked across the river to the Shoreclan territory and she let her thoughts wonder. I wonder if I could find a place to cross over there. I've always wondered what it was like over there. Scarclaw padded slowly further out into the river.