DIVE [Daybreeze?]

[+ Mistheart +]

The sapphire steam glistened invitingly, with starlight seemingly pooled within its depths. It was hard to resist the temptation of the sparkling, sapphire stream – especially on this humid day, with the sweltering, hot sun smiling down upon the land. It wasn’t necessarily unpleasant; the older cats knew that the cold of Leaf-bare was a much crueler fate than a little humidity.

But still, the heat and the humidity was still stressful upon cats, and the cool waters that sloshed along seemed to be the perfect way to overcome the heat. But, then again, there was so much to do – so much more important work to be done rather than cooling down, relaxing…

… Or at least, that’s how Mistheart tried to convince himself. The tom-cat sat at the edge of the stream, his body tense and rigid as he did his best to keep his shadow out of the water (No reason to let the fish know he was there, after all). Mistheart was not talented when it came to fishing, he doubted that anyone in the Clan was good at it, actually. But still, the prey was much smarter than the silver-gray tom, who stared down into the water with his chin tucked into his chest so that he lost his usual, “elegant” appearance as he stared with grim concentration.

‘Blast, why am I doing this again?’ he silently asked himself as he stared into the shimmering depths. The stream looked very cool today, and he inwardly groaned as he remembered those times when he had complained about the temperature of the water.

How he wished he could simply throw himself into it, if that was going to cool him down!

But, no; he didn’t want to go back to Camp with empty paws. Pah on the silly little mice and rabbits who lazed about and slept during the hottest time of the day, they should be out and about – leaping and running so that he could give chase! Mistheart’s left ear twitched in slight irritation as he continued to stare down into the sapphire stream…

Green eyes darted about, helplessly, as Mistheart stared into the water for a silvery sign of fish, even a small one would do. But no, he could only see the brilliant blue water, with sunlight dancing upon its sleek surface...

'... You know... A swim wouldn't, wouldn't hurt right about now...'

[/color] He thought to himself, and he uncoiled from his rigid position - to lean foreward ever so slightly but...

No! Suddenly, Mistheart was back in his old position, ears flicked back against his head as he stared down into the stream once more.

He’d sit here as long as he had to for the cursed fish to reveal themselves – steaming and growing more irritated by the second as the tempting, cool water splashed about in front of him. In the end, however, Mistheart could not stand it anymore…

‘Oh, why bother any longer? There are no fish in this silly little river, and it'll only be for a short while!’ He thought to himself, his own brilliant green eyes narrowed to slits. The tip of his tail twitched in irritation – which would only last for a few seconds longer –

-- Because Mistheart threw caution, and whatever ounce of diligent-hard-working-ethic he had scraped up over the past few moves to dive into the stream with a very loud -splash-.
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[+ Moonie +]

It was way too hot. Beyond too hot -- deathly hot, and that was without factoring in the humidity. Walking through the forest, Daybreeze felt that he was at risk of dying of heatstroke simply because he was moving, even if it was in a leisurely way. Clearly, coming out in an attempt to hunt today had been complete and utter foolishness, even if the warrior wasn't making any pretense of attempting to catch food anymore. However, at least the Clan wasn't low on food as far as he knew, thanks to the dawn hunting patrol. His "hunting" had mainly been an attempt to escape the confines of the camp, anyway, where it seemed everyone was irritable, even the most easygoing of cats.

Suddenly, Daybreeze heard a large splash from up ahead. He sped up his pace somewhat, just in case it was intruders or something. After all, someone might be smart enough to realize that if they attacked on a day like today, everyone would be too worn out and fed up with the heat to care. If said attacker could actually motivate their fighters into an attack-ready mode, that was.

The warrior slowed down again when he saw that it was only Mistheart taking a dip, probably in a desperate attempt to cool off. It was actually a good idea, if one liked water. Daybreeze himself wasn't particularly fond of the substance -- especially swimming in it -- although he was okay at fishing. With a mental shrug, he padded up to the banks of the stream. "Hello, Mistheart," he said. "Interesting idea. Does it work?"

[+ Mistheart +]

The water felt good.

Mistheart slid his eyes closed as he let the cool water slosh over him. He dived down, but he didn’t dunk his head into the water – just so that it reached his chin and covered his chest and his back, his tail held high above the water as he dived down into it. The sapphire stream sparkled about him as he dipped into the water, only so that he could stand up and shake out his pelt. (Not like it would do much, he didn’t have the right kind of diet to allow water to slide off of his coat easily)

And, it was as he stood – nearly knee-deep in water – that a rather unwelcome guest seemed to arrive. He knew it was one of his Clanmates, the woody musk of the maple leaves was key to identifying an AutumnClan cat. And so he raised his head, his chin dripping with water and his ears pricked forward as he seemed eager to greet his Clanmate…

… But whatever “Hullo” he had on the tip of his tongue died the moment that he saw just who it was that stepped forth.

"Hello, Mistheart," Daybreeze said. "Interesting idea. Does it work?"

[/i]

Mistheart was still sore over their little squabble last Leaf-bare, so it took him a moment to respond. Yes, it was terribly immature for him to retain that little iota of resentment after their “fight”, but at the moment – he felt justified in disliking Daybreeze and so, he chose to ignore him for a moment longer.

Eventually, though, he was able to work his tongue after another shake of his pelt before he hauled himself out of the cool water.

“Hello, Daybreeze,”[/color] he greeted with the same courtesy. “It works fine, if you don’t mind the water. Better than sitting under a tree’s shadow, I’d think – since there’s no breeze today and all.”[/color]

Small talk, yes, but it was better than a lecture or something from the (slightly) older cat.
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[+ Moonie +]

Daybreeze had to admit, Mistheart did look extremely contented standing there with the water up to his chin. It was a look with enough happiness in it that Daybreeze was envious of the silver tom for a moment -- if only a moment, and then he pushed the feeling aside. Unlike the SummerClanners, Daybreeze had never liked water, and never seen reason to attempt to immerse himself in it, until now. He wasn't sure if that was because it had never been hotter or because he had never encountered a cat who swam for enjoyment rather than because they had to.

“Hello, Daybreeze. It works fine, if you don’t mind the water. Better than sitting under a tree’s shadow, I’d think – since there’s no breeze today and all.”

Daybreeze nodded at the last point, considering it probably more than was really necessary just to keep the conversation going. "You're probably right," he agreed, dipping a paw in the water. It was certainly much cooler than the air, but it was also a lot clingier, it seemed to him. Less comfortable -- even on a day as muggy as this one, and with only a paw in the water. Withdrawing his paw, he smiled wryly as he shook his head. "However, I think the closest I'm ever going to get to swimming is fishing, thanks."