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   Once upon a time, there was a cat.

   Her name was Shore, for she came from a land of endless horizon and calm waves, from a life of frolicking in sand and watching the reflection of stars in the water. 

   No one knows what happened to take her away from such an existence; the chronicles of her life are recorded only in words, and those that told of who she was before she met the Clans have slowly disappeared, one by one, memories remembered only by bones. 

   Perhaps that knowledge would allow for us to judge her actions better, for us to understand more about how she thought and what she weighed in her mind, but it is useless reminiscing about the lost — our tale begins from the moment Shore stepped foot on RiverClan territory.

   Some say the very ground trembled, and leaves fluttered from the trees all around like wings. Others describe a whirlwind of air, one that lifted all the pinecones and needles from the forest floor whilst not a single hair from her pelt was disturbed. Still more speak of a sort of thrum that spread through the territory, as if the heartbeat of the forest had thumped erratically in response to its new inhabitant.

   Shore was discovered halfway through the territory by a hunting patrol. We know from the tales they told their kin that she was nothing like anything they'd ever seen before. Her creamy pelt was impossibly long, and it faded into pure fluffy white as it reached her underbelly. Dark tan flecks splattered her back and hind legs, and her oddly short tail was tipped the same color, creating a pattern that was unheard of amongst the Clans. Her eyes were a round but pointed, and her pupils were sharp black slits swimming in her irises, which were the color of a crisping leaf at the end of the green-leaf. 

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[ I was supposed to write this for a contest, but I ended up having to drop out, so all I've got is the cat's description — thought it came out pretty well, so ended up posting it. thanks for reading! ]