-insert generic illness title here-

[Koisplash]

It had started that morning, when Koisplash had woken up with an achy throat and a raspy voice. Surprising, but insignificant enough to ignore. But it hadn't left her alone since then, leaving her now with a hoarse cough that reverberated through her chest and burst out at inopportune moments during hunting, scaring away prey. So, after missing a catch for the third time, the deputy had decided that a trip to the medicine den to sort it out and then get back to hunting would be sufficient.

The moment she stepped in, Koisplash felt odd. This was the first time she'd gotten a proper look at the medicine den, the new one after the old den had been destroyed with the rest of the camp in the TreeClan fire. The overwhelming smell of herbs was sharp and pungent, almost exactly the same as the one in the previous den had been. She coughed again, nearly doubling over at how severe it was.

"Hello, Waspwing," she managed to say, deadpan as usual--or as much as she could be at the moment. "Got anything for a cough?"

[Waspwing]

(Oh man, gonna actually attempt a /decent/ post. Lets see if I still have it. -cracks knuckles-)

There wasn't much in the world that could make Waspwing's skin crawl. In fact, the tabby-tom could count them all on one paw. Spiders, horrific injuries, and white/green cough. A lot of cats just assumed Waspwing was fine with seeing mauled cats, or horribly sick cats because he was a Medicine Cat. That, however, was indeed a big fat lie. Being a Med. Cat had never been his dream, and he had simply gotten used to seeing scratches and bellyaches. Broken bones, contagious diseases and whatnot still made him wrinkle his nose.

A lot of times he covered up his disgust, or fear, of those things with rude or sarcastic comments, unless it came to accidents, in which case he usually just remained silent. Sadly this time he could do neither of those things, as his patient today was the Clan's second in command, Koisplash. Out of all cats in the Clan, Koi was prroobbaabbllyyy one of the best. She had a kind heart, unquestionable loyalty, and unmatched bravery. So whenever she got sick or injured he didn't really mind, because it meant he'd have a chance to chat with her.

He hobbled over to her with a cheeky grin on his face. Well, technically it would be a cheeky grin if he could actually make that kind of facial expression. But we're just gonna pretend for that good ole VWW shine. "Ah, I see Leaf-Bare's 'gift' has gotten to you, as well. He purred sarcastically, brushing her shoulder with his tail.

[Koisplash]

It didn't take much for the cough to act up again, hacking its way out of her throat so hard that Koisplash thought it was a miracle there wasn't any blood coming out. She looked up as Waspwing made his way over, trying and failing to force a wry smile in response.

"I'm surprised it's so late this time," she replied, right before bursting out into a cough again and doubling over. At this rate, her coughing would worsen until her heart popped out. Okay, that wasn't possible, but it felt like it, and for Koisplash, that was just as bad. She hadn't had it this bad in moons, not since she'd been a newly made warrior.

[Waspwing]

Waspwing took a step back as the she-cat hacked away, sounding as though she was dying. "Well, first things first, you definitely need a temporary replacement, or two, while you recover. This cough isn't going to go away tonight." He said, padding over to his store of herbs. "If you want I'll tell Beechstar for you. Unless you want to be stupid and you'd rather just be a sick Deputy on a patrol in Leaf-Fall." He mused, grabbing several leaves of catmint and bringing them over to her.

"Alright, here you go." He mewed, setting the leaves in front of her. "That's basically the best I can do..For now. But I can prescribe lots of rest, a good meal, and lots of water." He declared, quickly hobbling back over to the mounds of leaves, seeds, roots and berries.

[Koisplash]

Temporary replacement? Koisplash thought. Who would that be? Almost everyone in this Clan is an idiot nowadays. But she was too busy continuing to suffer with her cough to think further on the matter.

"I...uh...sure, tell him," she mumbled in between coughs, nearly choking on her own spit in the process. She took a whiff of the catmint leaves. Well, at least it wasn't mixed with something else. She tentatively reached forward and picked them up in her mouth. Immediately, she found that they were tough to chew, but she was able to swallow them before she got into another fit.

"...How long, exactly, am I supposed to stay here?" Koisplash asked hoarsely. "Or just when do you expect this...this cough to stop?"

[Waspwing]

Waspwing decided not to comment on the slight tension, and instead fetched Koisplash some soaked moss, which he placed gently in front of her. When Sagefur had arrived to him with a cough about a quarter moon ago he had suggested she only stay for a couple of nights, but Koisplash sounded worse. Much worse. He tilted his head from side to side for a couple of moments, not entirely sure what to say to the older feline.

Eventually he decided on a set amount of days, and sighed. "Right now you are the worse sounding patient I've had in what may be my entire career as Medicine Cat, except maybe Harrowingpride. You're entirely unfit for almost anything involving physical movement or energy, and that is why I'm not giving you a set time to stay here." He explained, stepping back a bit, partly to avoid her coughs, and partly to avoid her sharp tongue.

"My..Suggestion.." He trailed off, not enjoying the fact that he was trying to order the Clan deputy around, which he would usually enjoy. "My suggestion is you stay here until I or Fernpelt deem you fit to return to your duties. Honestly I'm not even just asking you to stay in camp, I'm asking you to only stay in this den..." He trailed off yet again, staring at the ground.

[Koisplash]

Normally, if told that she had to stay in one spot and do nothing, Koisplash would object. A lot. She would put up an enormous fight and eventually end up having to stay anyway, but not without complaining all the while. Maybe with some sarcastic barbs thrown in for good measure, too.

But these were different circumstances. Circumstances that involved being too violently ill to really argue. That, and Koisplash had, like any other cat, changed since then. She knew what her responsibilities were, and doing them while sick, possibly spreading her cough if it was contagious, was not going to help her with them.

The calico looked up at Waspwing in mid-cough as he spoke. For a moment, she almost felt sorry for him. He looked as if he was waiting for her to explode at him in response. Was she really that intimidating?

She only sighed, still hacking up a little, and then flopped down onto the ground, stomach against the packed dirt. "Oh, alright," she replied, sounding both grouchy and resigned. "Whatever it takes to get this to stop. I can't very well do anything with a cough getting in the way."