Coalpaw :: black furred male with yellow eyes :: OakClan

Aspenpaw :: white furred female with filmy blue eyes :: OakClan

Blackheart :: black furred male with red eyes and red stripes :: Rogue, formerly of OakClan

Warrior Cats belongs to Erin Hunter

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Some say dawn is the beginning. The central point where hope and love and life blossom. Where the tears of yesterday wither away into the laughter of tomorrow. But I don't believe that. I say that dawn is simply the beginning of the day.

People think too much nowadays, putting too much thought into things – material or natural. What if dawn is just that: dawn? What if death is just death, and hope is just hope? What if a red rose didn't symbolize love, or black cat didn't indicate death? Too much thought smothers this earth. Destroys it. Just like it did me.

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"Hey, Coalpaw!" a voice called.

The bundle of dark fur peacefully resting atop the grassy knoll did not twitch. One would think he was sleeping, or even dead, if not for the steady, rhythmic rise and fall of his body. But he was accustomed, or should one say 'self-trained', to assume a statue-esque position. This appropriately named Coalpaw was currently engaged in purging his mind of thoughts. In his eyes, thoughts are a sin not to be entangled with.

A pale she-cat struggled up to where Coalpaw was lying. She was a petite thing, with frosty fur and a creamy smile. She was regarded as the most beautiful of the Clan, OakClan, despite still being an apprentice. All in all, she looked perfect, too perfect.

"Aspenpaw?"

Coalpaw appeared surprised that the gorgeous diva seemed to want his attention. What could possibly warrant a visit to him? Here she was beautiful as an angel, and he was a mess of untidy fur and unattractive form. His hind paws had not been right ever since his birth, invoking an eternal limp that frustrated him to no end. It also hindered his abilities as an apprentice and potential warrior. He was lucky to be mentored at all.

"Yes it's me!" she laughed. "Are you… are you surprised? Do you not want me here?" She seemed a little hurt by his obvious shock.

"N-no, it's just…" he stammered, and hesitated. "Shouldn't you be back at camp? What with Blackheart on the loose and your being… being blind—"

"Are you saying that's a problem? Me being practically blind?" she hissed back at him, her filmy eyes narrowing.

The black cat winced, regretting his poor choice of words. He recalled the day Aspenpaw became nearly blind. She had apparently chanced upon a badger. Her daredevil attitude springing up, she attempted to ward the creature off, earning a vicious swipe at the eyes that wiped out most of her eyesight. All she could now see were hazy shapes, so she had to rely on her sense of smell, which was now far better than most of the Clan.

Coalpaw sighed and muttered, "No it's not. I'm sorry. So. What did you need me for?" Again, he winced as he realized how harsh that sounded.

Aspenpaw shot him a glare (although it was slightly misaligned with his eyes due to her poor eyesight) before speaking. "Look, I'm tired of this. All this death. Blackheart is going way too far. He is killing way too many! The leaders, the elders, the kits… my parents…

"Blackheart is like a spider, Coalpaw, weaving a web of terror and lies to trap us poor, helpless, defenseless flies! That's all we are to him! Just pawns in this game of madness. And this game? There's no objective! Why would he kill all those who could potentially serve him? Why? What has he to gain? What is power if there is no one left to wield it on?

"And you! You're supposed to do something about this! Coalpaw, we all know it's you who is mentioned in this stupid, mouse-brained prophecy! 'As the waves wash away the sorrow, so the coal will burn to blackness!' You are the 'coal' and he is the 'blackness'! So why don't you do anything about it!"

Aspenpaw's angry words whirled around his carefully emptied mind. His head hurt from her fury, and he trembled as he stood. "I… He's your uncle you know! And what can I do, hm? I'm just a stupid apprentice with next-to-nothing training and am just as defenseless as all of you!

"And there's too much guessing in this interpretation for me to be properly comforted. How do you know the prophecy means I'll finish Blackheart off? Suppose it means I will die, or we need to set him on fire or whatever? But anyway, there's too much thought put into this, and you know how destructive thoughts are!"

Aspenpaw gave him a dirty look, and turned to leave. "Guess we're all going to fall prey to him then. Since the hero seems to be too much of a coward…"

And she left him there: a broken cat with luck as bad as a criminal and no chance of ever living a peaceful dream.