dizzy [closed]

The elder's den smelled of vomit and sickness.

Scorchbranch was gone from the den, leaving Poppysong alone for the moment. The elder had not left the den much during this Leafbare despite the warmth her long fur provided her. She had begun to feel old and creaky as she rested, and with this came a wave of tiredness and a general inability to rise from her nest. She wondered just how old she had become, but watching Crowstar move around camp with what looked like ease, the she-cat couldn't quite tell if it was age or something else. Although the black tom was leader, he was still older than her by quite a few moons. There was no way he could run around like a new warrior if her joints and body began to ache.

It wasn't until her legs faltered underneath her as she rose to grab prey that she suspected something was wrong. While the tri-coloured cat failed to mention it to her son as he came for his daily visit, she did ask him to fetch a meal for her.

A few sunrises had come and passed since the beginning of this strange weakness. Poppysong was aware that Leafbare always brought sickness, but she had never quite experienced it herself. A pain began to fill her stomach with each passing day, leaving her less and less hungry. Despite having little to no appetite, the elder forced herself to eat. It wasn't until early in the morning, after Scorchbranch had left for whatever reason he had, that her stomach finally rejected the food she gave it.

It was violent and struck her hard. Her fur was matted with sweat and mouth dirtied by her sickness. She could see pockets of blood in the mess and finally came to the conclusion that it wasn't just body aches. There was no strength in her body to call out for the medicine cat, let alone stand up and go to the herbalist's den, and her head spun with a dizziness she could barely comprehend. It made her feel sick again. Yet she couldn't move. She would have to wait for someone to find her.

Elmcloud no longer slept at night.

Ever since Poppysong had moved into the Elders den, the rapid decline in his seemingly healthy mother had robbed him of the little peace of mind that he managed to cling to. His days were spent pacing the clearing and his nights were spent huddled up in the snow outside of the sickness drenched den, his ears strained for...anything. He couldn't find it within him to care if Crowstar or Rippedsky disapproved with how he spent his time, all he truly cared about was the fact that something was wrong with his mother and there wasn't a thing he could do to help.

The snow that had fallen upon Elmcloud's crouched form during his routine nightly vigil was leeching away the limited warmth that he still possessed, but he made no move to find shelter. Instead he merely curled in upon himself more tightly, swallowing down a wince as the faint sounds of retching reached his ears. Pressing his ears tightly against his skull in misery, the ruddy young tom continued to wallow in his dark thoughts as he drown out the terrible sounds and scents that drifted from the Elder's den.

Only when the sound of the pained retching faded away did he force himself into the den, his whiskers twitching sharply at the sour stench that accompanied the exhausted form of Poppysong. "P-Poppysong?" Elmcloud forced out, the end of his shaky statement trailing off into a pitiful whimper, "I-I... do..do I need to get Oceanlight?"