|
|
Post by Harrowingpride on Apr 3, 2012 22:30:52 GMT -6
Harrowingpride shook violently as she stood outside the medicine cats den. Her limbs ached, her head hurt, and she could hardly pull up the will to breath. Her face looked limp against her skull, as if it was held there by glue that was failing against the rain. Her fur was ragged and looked as if it hadn't had been groomed for days. It hasn't. Her ribs were protruding from her sides, even with clan well supplied with food. Her body rejected the food she ate, and she was losing the energy to groom herself. She almost looked like just some mangy rogue.
I can turn back now She thought. I don't have to go in, I can go back to the kits.
Everything in her bones told her to turn around. She didn't need the help, she was fine. She would be fine. She hoped she'd be fine.
She sighed
As much as her pride ached, her body was beginning to ache more, and she was becoming foolish. It was dangerous to expose the kits to her sickness. She needed the help.
She paused for another moment.
Swallowed her pride.
And nudged her way into the Medicine cats den.
|
|
|
|
Post by Waspwing on Apr 3, 2012 22:43:19 GMT -6
His ears flickered at the sound of another cat entering the den. Perhaps another brat wanting a thorn out of their paw. Or perhaps a troublesome kit that was too stupid to stay away from another kit's little claws. Either way, it was his duty to help anyone who entered the den. No matter how idiotic the injury or illness.
He was baffled when he saw the one cat he thought would never enter the den standing there. However, the way she looked was even more shocking. He had never seen such a terrible case of...There was no telling what she had managed to catch. He quickly scrambled to his paws, wincing as pain jolted up his front left leg. Still had to be a little careful on it, of course.
"Harrowingpride, what in the name of Cloudclan is wrong with you? You almost look like a badger hit you and then you survived Greencough!" He was almost frantic. If it were any other cat, except maybe Beechstar or Koisplash, he would be calm and try his best to keep anyone from getting worried. But this Queen had never, ever, come to his den. He was sure she would rather go through Greencough without herbs than come for help. She never was able to swallow her pride.
"Alright, alright, what are your symptoms? Other than a dirty pelt and lack of food." He meowed quietly, sniffing at her pelt. She didn't appear to have White or Greencough. Not even Blackcough. If she had any of those he would have heard her coughing ages before her current state. This was something new.
|
|
|
|
Post by Harrowingpride on Apr 3, 2012 22:53:47 GMT -6
There was no turning back now.
"I can't eat without getting extreme pains, and shortly after the food decides to leave my body the same way it came in" She laughed a bit, and winced as the vibration from the laughter hit at her sore limbs. A frown set across her face. It had been a long time since she was at the mercy of another cat like this. It wasn't something she enjoyed. It was almost as sickening as the ailment that grasped at her body.
" Walking, and moving I might add, has become such chore. The short walk from the nursery to here left me out f breath. And. " She hesitated. "I haven't been able to produce any milk for my kits." She admitted.
It was one thing to admit that she was at the mercy of another cat, but to admit that she could not take care of her own children. That was a blow the hit her hard enough that she had to restrain from sobbing.
|
|
|
|
Post by Waspwing on Apr 3, 2012 23:05:25 GMT -6
This had become more serious than he had thought. "Alright." A quick moment of thought. "I'm not giving you borage for your milk. You're too sick to be nursing right now. I'm sorry, but you need to stay away from the Nursery for a bit. Whatever you have a serious, and you already look like you're about to pass out. It could be much worse for a kit." He wouldn't lie to Harrowingpride. This she-cat deserved the entire truth, even if it wasn't what she wanted to hear. "I will give you burdock, because this might be an infection. If it is, burdock should majorly help out. I'll also give you chervil for bellyache. The last type of herb I'm giving you is Juniper Berries. Those also help bellyache, nerves and strength. Sorry, but you don't exactly look like a big strong warrior in your current state."
He was already preparing the herbs he had listed. He pushed a big leaf over to the brown tabby and then walked away again. "I'm going to go get you some water, you need to keep drinking right now. It'll help more than you think. If you're feeling better later then we can try to get some food into your belly, and make it stay there." He chuckled a little, hoping to keep the Queen in good spirits.
|
|
|
|
Post by Harrowingpride on Apr 3, 2012 23:15:57 GMT -6
She would have smiled if she wasn't so exhausted. Physically and emotionally. Not being able to be around her kits? Being a danger to her own kits? This was too much for her. She slowly slunk down to the floor, curling up as she did so. She was feeling cold. So very cold. She just wanted to wake up from this nightmare.
"Thank you Waspwing." She said lowly, barely able to muster her breath.
Curse Cloudclan for allowing this to happen to her. Curse them for separating her from her kits.
Curse herself for not swallowing her pride sooner.
She sighed, and covered her face with her paws.
|
|
|
|
Post by Waspwing on Apr 3, 2012 23:25:20 GMT -6
As he returned with some water he noticed the herbs were untouched. He gently placed the moss down next to Harrowingpride. However, he wasn't about to let those herbs go to waste. "You do realize that if you want to get healthy you should actually eat the herbs I gave you." he grumbled, pushing the leaf even closer to her. "Now, don't make me force these down your throat. Don't think for a second I won't, either." He snapped, sitting down. "I will now sit here and stare at you until you eat them. I will also wake you if you fall asleep, tackle you if you try to go away. I will make sure those herbs are swallowed." He usually didn't sound so grouchy. But now he had given her a few types of herbs, one of which he was already running low on. They would not go to waste.
|
|
|
|
Post by Quickfox on Apr 3, 2012 23:40:26 GMT -6
Koisplash hadn't assigned her any patrols that day .. So, she thought, why not give the medicine cat a visit? See if he needed anything. She didn't know him too well, but, if there were ever chance, it was today.
Peeking her head in a bit, she gently called, "Waspwing? H-hello?" she entered, her tail swinging carelessly. The strong smell of illness hit her sharply, and her ear f l i c k e d. As a kitten to an apprentice, she never really got sick .. Always sort of immune to it. Heh, she was sort of a clean freak to. Her pelt was always neat and her nest was always clean and fresh. It bothered her terribly if someone ever made a mess in the den. She'd wordlessly clean it.
There was no milk scent, so she would have never guessed it were a queen .. But when she spotted the familiar shecat curled up into a tight, pathetic ball, she expected the worse.
"Harrowingpride! I–is she dead?" her eyes flared with panic as she gazed back and forth between the light tabby and the queen .. But then she realized, there was no .. Death scent. She still remembered it from the DeathClan battle ..
Shaking her head, she rushed to the side of Harrowing, almost stepping on the herbs lying beside her. The tall she cat took a seat in front of her, and kneeled down. "H–Harrow .. Are you okay?" she asked quietly, not bothering to ask the medicine cat beside her. He looked sort of irritated, but Quickfox didn't care. Right now, she cared more about the health of this cat. It was odd enough to see her in here, but she looked absolutely miserable.
"Can I get you anything?" she asked her, but looked to Waspwing for an answer.
|
|
|
|
Post by Waspwing on Apr 3, 2012 23:48:45 GMT -6
He almost tackled Quickfox when she nearly stepped on the herbs. In fact, he totally would have if his leg wasn't so awkward. Instead he tried not to make a nasty remark at the senior warrior. "Does she look fine? No, of course not. Now get away from her before you catch it too. I can't just make herbs magically appear, you know." Before he tried to force her out, he realized he did need help. "You know what? You can actually help. Harrowingpride will need lots of water while in here, for now at least. Whenever I need it, you can go get it. You can also help me gather herbs when needed."
He would never let a regular cat help him with this, especially with how bad Harrow looked. But Fernpelt wasn't around at the moment, and he couldn't be rushing off to get water by himself. The chance of Harrowing get worse while away would still be there.
(Locking thread for the night since Harrow went to bed. I'll unlock it tomorrow.)
|
|
|
|
Post by Harrowingpride on Apr 4, 2012 16:45:31 GMT -6
Harrowingpride stared at the herbs, and sighed. She slowly began nibbling at the budrock. The taste was dreadful, and her face tensed up. She took a deep breath, and ate it as fast as she could, the herbs almost missing her tongue. Almost. Yuck.
She did the same with the chervil, although it was less rough on her tongue, and the juniper berries weren't bad at all.
She didn't feel any better, and she was being eaten by the fear that she would just puke the herbs up, like she had anything that passed through her mouth these passed few days.
She put her head back down, pulled the mossful of water towards her with her paw, and began sipping at it slowly. The water felt good against her parched throat.
She closed her eyes again, and tried to block out the other warrior that had just entered. She just wanted to sleep.
So she did.
|
|
|
|
Post by Quickfox on Apr 4, 2012 17:04:40 GMT -6
Quickfox's ear twitched, but she sat down obediently. She gazed carefully down at Harrowingpride, who was reluctantly chewing at the herbs.
She wasn't acknowledged the least bit by the ill queen, but Quickfox didn't give it a second thought. Instead she gazed cautiously at Waspwing.
"Anything she needs right now?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Waspwing on Apr 4, 2012 17:13:16 GMT -6
"Comforting, and lots of rest." He mumbled, getting up. "Once I'm done preparing more herbs for later I'm going to go get Gentleheart. I'm sure she'd like to know her daughter is very sick." He said quietly, reaching a paw into his herb storage. "I know what you can do, actually." He quickly glanced at Quick. "Take someone with you, probably another warrior, to get me some herbs. I'm running low on Juniper Berries and a few other things. I don't have the time to go get them myself, and I only have enough for another treatment." He slowly gathered the herbs that were running low. "Juniper Berries can be found near the Iceclan border. Poppy Seeds can be found all around the territory, so those will be the easiest to find. However, the chervil is a little trickier to get. Our territory generally doesn't have much of it growing. However I know a perfect spot near the river. You can't miss the chervil. Be careful, and if you drop any of these herbs on the way back I'll skin you and keep Harrowing warm with your own fur."
With that he walked away to fetch Gentleheart.
|
|
|
|
Post by Gentleheart on Apr 4, 2012 17:32:32 GMT -6
The elder moved surprisingly fast for a cat her age. Her daughter was sick? The old cat felt like a failure of a mother, she wasn't there for her little kit when she needed her. Gentleheart ran into the medicine cat's den, searching frantically for her Harrowingpride. She spotted her daughter, looking as old as the elder herself.
"Oh, my little kit, what's wrong with you?" Gentleheart moaned as she cuddled up to her daughter, beginning to groom her ears. "My poor baby is sicker than a dog," Suddenly, the old cat's mood changed. "Why didn't you come see Waspwing sooner? You know better!" She battled her daughter with her paw lightly before returning to groom Harrowingpride's ears again. The old cat felt like a young queen again, as if her daughter were still a small bundle of fur on the ground, reliant on her. Gentleheart couldn't quite grasp that her baby was a grown cat now, with babies of her own. The old cat purred softly to her kin. |
|
|
|
Post by Harrowingpride on Apr 4, 2012 17:45:30 GMT -6
She mustered a weak smile. If there was one thing that made her happy, it was the presence of her mother. "Hello mother." She said after the elder was done berating her. She didn't mind, her mother was right after all. This was her own undoing.
She purred, and turned to look at her mother. "Is it alright for you to be here? I don't want to get you sick."
|
|
|
|
Post by Waspwing on Apr 4, 2012 18:04:53 GMT -6
He watched as Gentle worried about her daughter. "Don't worry, Gentleheart. There has never been a case I've failed. I don't plan on starting with Harrowingpride." He mewed, pushing a few more herbs at Harrow. "Eat some more herbs, and drink some more water. The fact that you managed to keep the last herbs down is fantastic." He mewed, sitting down. "And this time, don't wait before you eat. I don't think your mother would be very happy with that."
|
|
|
|
Post by Quickfox on Apr 5, 2012 21:50:30 GMT -6
Quickfox nodded, and left the den silently. She had decided to go alone. Duskpaw was currently out with Poinsettialeaf, so it was pointless in looking for her.
She sprinted, wanting to get back to the clan. She stopped by the river first, taking a quick drink, then collecting as much chervil as she could. She wouldn't have gotten so much usually, because it would go bad not being in the ground if they didn't use it fast enough. But with Harrowingpride getting sick, a lot more cats might be soon, too. The IceClan border was pretty far, and her back leg hurt like usual, but she sighed and went on. Collecting the juniper berries quickly, before she noticed she was actually in IceClan's territory. She fled before a patrol came.
As she neared the campseveral minutes later, she collected somepoppy seeds by the camp enterance. With a mouth full of herbs, she entered the main TreeClan ground. She was limping now, but it didn't hurt that bad.
As she made her way across camp, and into the medicine den. "Back." she grunted, the herbs blocking out the sound of her voice. She continued down the den's hall and into the main part, where Harrowingpride would be staying.
She was surprised to see Gentleheart in there .. It would be no good for an elder to get sick. They were weaker then most warriors .. But it was her daughter, and she could understand. She dropped the herbs by Waspwing's tabby paws, then took a seat against the wall, shutting her blue gaze for a moment. It was nice to give her leg a break after all that. "Hello Gentleheart." she greeted quietly, not opening her eyes. She slinked down onto her back, with no moss beneath her. Just the hardpacked soil.
|
|
