[Ghost the Undead Goddess]

A cough wracked the elder's thin form, a long tail wrapping tighter around the dilute molly in an attempt to keep some semblance of warmth within her core. She hated Leafbare - always had, but it was the first one in a long time that she had fallen ill with Greencough. She was irritated, more so at the fact that Ravenpaw had confined her to the solitude of her den where she couldn't be out doing something useful for her clan.

Of course, the old girl knew better than to argue with a healer, even if that healer happened to be a youngster.

There was an audible wheezing coming from the Oriental molly, her chest rising and falling in a very unsteady pattern as she struggled to breath comfortably. Another round of body wrenching coughs spasmed through the old leader of Galeclan before a deadly silence washed over the single nested warren. The scrawny gray feline was motionless within her nest as the movement of her breathing ceased.

Wide amber hues opened when Owlstar realized she was no longer shivering, nor could she feel the coldness of Leafbare creeping below her short, thin coat. However, instead of the underground familiarity of her den, she was welcomed to the shimmering sight of Starclan's forest - a place she had been not but a season ago when she had been attacked by that juvenile coyote.

This time, however, instead of Dovesong's pastel form Owlstar was greeted by the ancient tabby healer known as Grizzledclaw.

His body was so old that he was practically gray and his coat looked entirely unkept like a cranky elder. He was less solid than most of the cats who had given Owlstar her nine lives at the beginning of her reign, a sad sign that he was slowly fading from existence but - he seemed to be holding on for now. Grizzledclaw had been Owlstar's third life giver, the life of Skills it had been.

"You keep this up and you'll start to look like me." Grizzledclaw grumbled in a good-natured huff, lowering his old haunches in a sitting position as the elder molly stood to bow out of respect. "That's three now, and they don't give those things away like free prey."

Owlstar flicked a rather large ear atop her wedge-shaped face. "Yes, you'd think that with all my moons under a single life that I'd be able to hold onto nine a lot better." As she sat there, waiting for her body to heal itself of the infection in her lungs, she couldn't help but wrack her brain to find a solution to her current problem.

Grizzledclaw let out a loud noise, somewhere between that of a laugh and that of a scoft. "These lives are given with the cost of bigger risks you will face. There is a reason only one cat is given the role of leader and nine lives to guide them. No-cat is immortal." His star filled gaze shifted to watched Owlstar as she studied the old healer. She was not a cat who thought on things lightly, she was intense and strategic as she sorted out the words spoken to her.

Of course, she knew all this but perhaps she just didn't put enough true thought into what that meant. Owlstar had always lived her life as a general, but at the same time she had always been more of the strategic planner while it was her brother Redscar who had been the one to act out the plans they came up with together. He had been the brawn to her brain, and though she could be a handful in a battle she wasn't particularly big or strong, but quick and observant.

As a leader, she had now been putting herself in a higher risk position in an attempt to keep her clanmates protected and safe. The cost of protecting was the cost of her life, truly at the end of the day.

"And I would give every nine of them to protect Galeclan." Her rasp was solom and true as she responded to Grizzledclaw. The old tomcat nodded in head, as though he had been aware of the internal resolutions forming inside of Owlstar's head. She truly was a brilliant old cat, her hubris just happened to be a flaw she needed help seeing past at times - after all she wasn't perfect at everything.

"Mm." Grizzledclaw rose and stretched out his old body before flickering his tail, "Well, just three for now. We'll let you hold onto the other six for a tick longer I suppose." Owlstar watched as the edges of her vision grew blurry, Grizzledclaw's form floating away like dust on the wind as her body was reviving itself with another life. The greencough would be clear of her lungs when she awoke back in her den.

OWLSTAR

galeclan leader || 99 moons

807 WORDS

♛ 𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟

[♛ 𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟]

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RAVENPAW

medicine cat apprentice 8 he/him pronouns





Open your eyes, choking on his breath.

<sub>[attr="class","raven-content"]A cough wracked through Ravenpaw, much milder than the wheezing sounds emanating from the medicine cat's den. Still, he felt unsteady on his paws as he stepped unsteadily out of the enclosed, stuffy space. His pale green eyes were dark with worry. His hunched shoulders made him look many seasons older than he was, but he lacked the sense and experience to know what to do. GaleClan had only just been born. Surely StarClan couldn't let this sickness wipe them out? Flattening his ears to his head, he changed course and approached the newly-established den where Owlstar made her nest. He poked his head inside, unable to make her out in the gloomy shadows stretched across the floor.

"Can I talk to you?" He called softly, his voice cracking with sickness and anxiety. "Owlstar, I don't know what to do. Everyone is so sick, and Kindleflare-" He broke off, his shaking tone betraying his youth and lack of confidence. "I just... I know so little and there are so many sick cats." He stepped further into the den, unnerved by the silence that yawned menacingly after each sentence. "... Owlstar?"

When his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Ravenpaw let out a shrill cry of alarm, his fur bristling. Owlstar's sightless eyes stared at him blankly from the edge of her nest, with not a hint of Owlstar's intelligence behind them. "N-No!" He yelped, rushing frantically to her side. He shook her with his small white paws, frightened by the lack of breath or life in the elderly grey molly. I have to get Kindleflare. He thought, blood roaring in his ears. She can't be dead!

But just before the young cat made his frenzied retreat, his ears flicked back to capture the tiniest rustling of sound. He bent close to his leader, eyes watering. "Owlstar?" He whispered, consoled to feel the slightest breath stirring his whiskers once more.</sub>

You grimace, then smile.

318 words Ghost the Undead Goddess

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[Ghost the Undead Goddess]

It took a second, the stillness seeming to stretch on between the time that the old molly faded from Starclan's shimmering forest to returning to the familiar space of her scrawny body. Her heart slowly stuttered back to life, a low ha-rump within the cavity of her chest before a shallow breath caused life to revive within the Oriental leader. 

Somehow, she was still freezing.

Faintly, she could hear the sound of a voice whimpering near her but more strongly she could make out the distinct scent of Ravenpaw's fear as the young tom crouched next to her once dead form. Her mind felt like it was churning in thick mud, but within a few seconds the rumbling of her raspy tone broke through from her whitening muzzle. 

"I'm here Ravenpaw..." It was a soft whisper of comfort for the youngster who's heart was bigger than his entire body. Had it been Kindleflare who had found her perhaps there would have been less worry coming from the elder healer but Owlstar knew to ease his worries the second her consciousness returned.

A leader should know each of her cats, and how to ease them when they needed that moment. 

"Do not worry young one." Owlstar's mew grew a little stronger, though she stayed quiet within the confines of her underground den. The sharp scent of Greencough still lingered, but the sharper scent of herbs upon Ravenpaw's pelt was oddly soothing as those wide, amber hues blinked away the void of lifelessness. Almost immediately that light of intelligence and wisdom flooded into the ancient leader once more.  "I still have a few moons and lives yet to spare." 

Lifting that wedge shaped head of hers, Owlstar stretched ever so slightly - the small amount of time she lay deceased within the chilliness of her den had really done a number on her joints. The stiffness in her old injured shoulder throbbing with an annoyance that she once again chose to ignore. 

Flickering a large ear atop her head, the old gray queen twisted her lanky form to curl up comfortably within her nest. Tomorrow she'd send for an apprentice to fetch her fresh bedding, but for now it was somewhat warm enough to keep her body temperature from dropping as she recovered through the remainder of the night. Finally after readjusting her long tail around her body, that wide gaze settled upon the chocolate and white healer apprentice who sat next to her.

"Are you worried Starclan is testing the strength of the new Galeclan?" Owlstar asked after a moment of studying Ravenpaw, her gaze gave nothing away but it was obvious in that moment that she was picking the brain of the gifted tomcat. Greencough during the colder moons were not unheard of; but between the earthquake, the struggles to complete the camp and now the raging sickness within the cats of the moorlands it seemed almost like a trial from their ancestors.

Survive, or dissolve into history with that of the fate of the former five clans.  

OWLSTAR

galeclan leader || 99 moons

507 WORDS

♛ 𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟

[♛ 𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟]

[googlefont=Xanh Mono][googlefont=Dosis]

RAVENPAW

medicine cat apprentice 8 he/him pronouns





Open your eyes, choking on his breath.

<sub>[attr="class","raven-content"]It was the first time Ravenpaw had ever seen death up close. Every hair on his pelt trembled even as the breath and warmth returned to Owlstar. He curled up nearby, his heart still pumping blood desperately out to his shaking toes. “I-I’m sorry.” He managed to whisper, embarrassed by his panicked state. “… I thought you were gone.” He watched in silent amazement as the old leader stretched out her limbs as though she had awoken from a particular deep nap. A newfound respect for his leader washed over him, and he privately wondered if it was scary or painful to die so many times. Did the promise of re-awakening remove the terror of succumbing to the enticing darkness?

He was surprised when Owlstar deferred to him. He still felt so young and knowledgeless, overcome by the responsibility of supporting Kindleflare through this terrible time of illness and suffering. His ears flattened back to his head, eyes flicking away from Owlstar’s intense stare. “I’m… I’m worried that maybe… Maybe StarClan made a mistake.” He mumbled, as though uncertain if Owlstar would be disappointed to hear him speaking out against his own ancestors. “I thought that the new Clans were supposed to help us survive… but all that’s happened in GaleClan is sickness and… so many cats are dying, Owlstar.” His eyes were dark, and sad. “I’m scared that maybe StarClan were wrong about the new Clans, and that maybe they were wrong about me, too.” He let out a breath. “If I can’t save them, what kind of medicine cat am I?”</sub>

You grimace, then smile.

264 words Ghost the Undead Goddess

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