[BlooRey DVD]

The quiet stillness of the morning was disturbed by a cacophony of coughs from the medicine cat's den. Currently housing Sharpfang and Wrencry alongside its usual inhabitant, the medicine cat's den seemed almost cramped. Or perhaps that was because all three occupants were wracked by greencough. Disturbed by the sounds of someone struggling, the ginger and white she-cat's amber eyes cracked open. Flinching at the bright light filtering in from the entrance, Kindleflare didn't accomplish much more than shifting her paws beneath her before she dissolved into a fit of coughs. Each wet bark carved agony through her throat, forcing her to collapse until it had passed. Throat still stinging in the aftermath of the coughs, Kindleflare blinked back the tears threatening her as she slowly rolled to her paws. Wrencry's choked whimpering was the only thing that kept her going, the LightingClan healer staggering to the calico she-cat's side. Even without pressing her nose into the warrior's fur, Kindleflare could feel the heat coming off of her in waves. Frowning through her bleary-eyed stupor, Kindleflare plodded back to the herbs store on leaden paws and aching joints. Collecting a stash of lavender, feverfew and borage as quickly as she could manage given her own state, Kindleflare fought through her haze to sort out what else she could give Wrencry. A combination of chickweed and catmint came next, for obvious reason. It was through a wheezing breath that another idea popped into her sluggish mind. J-Juniper... And Coltsfoot... She reminded herself, moving to pull some of that from the stores. Ensuring she had enough for all three of them, the ill healer slunk back to Wrencry's side first. "Wrenc-" Losing her voice to a terrible cough, Kindleflare turned away from her two patients until she could breathe again. Praying to StarClan that someone would bring water, the ginger tabby medicine tried once more. "W-Wrencry, wake up.. It's K-Kindleflare. I ha-" Another cough. "Have s-some herbs for you..." She rasped, gently prodding the other she-cat with her paw. She could see Wrencry's body tremble and shiver as the fever ripped through her, no doubt putting images behind her eyes too. After several failed attempts, Wrencry finally started from her horrible slumber, eyes stretching wide before she succumbed to a fit of coughing. Doing her best to calm Wrencry, Kindleflare crouched at the she-cat's side. When the fit ebbed, Kindleflare divided her herb bundle, pushing a fair portion of it to the she-cat. "Ch-Chew those..." She instructed, waiting until understanding filtered through Wrencry's eyes. And then she moved to her other patient. Sharpfang was awake, draped over his nest and coughing every now and again. The glassy look in his eyes worried her, her only consolation being the recognition that lit in them as she stepped into his line of sight. Helping him into a position more conducive to eating herbs, Kindleflare divided her remaining herbs and pushed two-thirds of them to the senior warrior. He croaked a thank you before bending to lap them up. Only after ensuring both the other ill cats had successfully swallowed their herbs did Kindleflare eat her own. It took a pawful of tries, her burning throat making it difficult to swallow anything. And her lungs, oh StarClan, her lungs. Every breath felt as though her chest were being torn apart, the ginger and white she-cat forced to stifle cough after cough. They needed water, all three of them. Half-padding, half-dragging herself to the entrance of the den, Kindleflare peered outside for any signs of warriors nearby. She'd warn them not too come too close, but... None of them would survive if they didn't get water somehow.

Note: 43 moons old

[Deleted]

They can't break me as long as I know who I am. They can't see me, but I'm still here.
They can't tell me who to be cause I'm not what they see.

---

Being an elder was... just as boring as Blazefang had expected. How did any warrior suffer through this fate? Dying of old age in his nest was NOT the way Blazefang wanted to join StarClan at all. And he was ages away from old age. How long would he live, doing next to nothing every day for the rest of his likely very long life. It had only been a couple days, but whenever an apprentice tried to bring him prey or change his bedding, he spat at them and swatted them away, making it clear that he could accomplish these most simple of tasks HIMSELF thank you very much. He may be too crippled for warrior duties but he wasn't helpless. They were lucky that he at least kept his claws sheathed, he'd hit a couple of them. A couple days and a few whacks to the face and the apprentices already knew better than to treat him like any other elder.

He was heading for the freshkill pile when ginger fur caught his attention from the corner of his eye. He paused, gaze narrowed slightly at Kindleflare's face poking from her den like she was looking for something. His tail flicked and he nearly continued on to the freshkill pile, but then he remembered Kindleflare was kin. With a low growl, he turned toward her. He was aware she was sick, and that she had a few sick Clanmates staying with her as well. He supposed it was difficult trying to treat sick cats while you yourself were also sick. If she was looking for help then... he supposed he might be able to do it. Everyone was supposed to stay away from the medicine den if they could help it to reduce the risk of getting sick, but what did it matter if he caught it?

His gait was actually fairly normal as he approached her. A few days just laying around camp had done his leg a lot of good, and he certainly hadn't done anything to strain it since his last, failed hunt. He looked a bit more determined by the time he reached her. He could still be useful, even if it was doing boring tasks that would normally be delegating to apprentices. And if he died of sickness it would only prevent the Clan from wasting prey on his useless belly. Besides, he'd survived worse than greencough. Raising his tail in greeting, he wrinkled his nose at the blast of bitter sickness that struck him as he came to a stop in front of the den, but he shook it off, “You need something Kindleflare? I can get it.” His voice betrayed his eagerness to be doing something, to be useful.

---

Yeah, the world is still sleeping while I keep on dreaming for me,
And their words are just whispers and lies that I'll never believe.

[BlooRey DVD]

Approaching pawsteps caused her ears to rotate atop her head. Amber eyes narrowed, struggling to focus on the coming warrior. Although... The warrior turned out to be not a warrior at all. Blazefang moved toward her, and had she not been so delirious from the greencough ripping through her body, she might have noticed how smooth his gait was all things considered. Turning away fractionally to cough behind her paw, Kindleflare winced at the sharpness of the air as it clawed through her throat. Holding up her tail as a warning for him not to step any closer, Kindleflare returned her exhausted gaze back to her kin. With a slight wheeze accenting her inhale, the ginger and white medicine cat rasped. "W-Water... We all n-need water..." The pawful of words she managed to push out of her lungs left her feeling exhausted. Suddenly, she wasn't sure how she would make it back into her den under her own power. "P-Please... Wrencry and S-Sharpfang are s-struggling to breathe." Of course, the catch in her throat betrayed how much she needed that water too. Blazefang seemed to understand, or he was driven by his desire to do something no matter how mundane the task. Either way, he turned away, heading toward the entrance. As he disappeared from her view, Kindleflare struggled to her paws once more. Maneuvering herself so that she was facing her den once more, the LightningClan healer stumbled forward on heavy paws. Struggling to remember whether she'd given her two patients their herbs (she was fairly certain she had, but had to be certain), she staggered to Wrencry's side, listening to the labored breathing. The scent of herbs, fresher than the always present one, told her that she had indeed. There also seemed to be a slight tang in her mouth, corroborating her inner questioning. Dragging herself back to the entrance, she flopped down to await Blazefang's return. She would get him to deposit it a few tail lengths away, and then she would go and get it from there. She didn't want to expose him to the sickness. N-No m-more victims...

@zen

Note: 43 moons old