The Mysterious Disease [Open, ShadowClan Mini-Plot]

Not long has passed since the patrol hunting at the Carrionplace returned, ignorant of the fact that their healthy prey was exchanged with ill rats before adding them to the fresh-kill pile. The dwindling amount of fresh kill to choose from was more than enough for cats to eat the infected meat thinking it was as good as the rest of the prey until all the evidence was gone. But now several cats are falling ill, from apprentices to elders and even some kits, the cause behind the illness unknown as any clue that could’ve revealed where it came from was gone with the rats the clan ate.

The illness isn’t strong enough to kill a cat, or at least that was the case with most cats so far, though it is more than enough to leave them weakened and give them all kinds of aches, nausea and other kinds of symptoms, and with Leafbare so close, having this many ill cats in your clan can’t be a good thing.




OOC: Also don’t wait for me to post, as I’m only making this Master-thread because Shadow allowed me to post it as the plot is related to Owlstrike’s doings. You can make your cats sick even if you didn’t sign up for it, but please state that you’re adding your cat to the plot here. Side-threads related to the plot are allowed and you can even make NPC family/friends for your cats if you want to be in the plot but don't want your cat to get sick, be a detective and try to find out what caused the illness or even be the hero and help the MC by gathering the herbs needed to save your clan. The illness, however, won’t stop your cats from getting ceremonies or advancing in ranks unless you want to. The same goes for killing cats, as the only intention of the illness is to be a way to distract and weaken the clan, but if you want to kill your cat through it, that’s up to you.

Darkpaw was coughing violently, ever since she came back from the patrol and ate the rat she had killed. She didn't feel sick when she with the patrol, and right now she was dizzy with every step. Maybe she had caught whitecough, worser, greencough. It could be possible this late in leaf-bare, as most of the other cats had already caught the sickness. The black cat stumbled to the medicine den awkwardly, and then it happened.

Darkpaw felled onto the ground. Perhaps she was too dizzy, or tripped over herself as she went towards the medicine den. She wasn't unconscious, but she had no strength to get up. Pain rippled through her body with every move. The fall couldn't hurt her this much. Maybe it's the greencough... She thought. And she lay on the ground, hoping someone would notice and take her to see Honeypaw.

OOC:Shush...ik but still...
Hazeflight had been enjoying being a warrior,she felt like she had so much more power now.The silver She-cat had been pacing until she heard a thud.Oh no,please not another cat I know dead.Hazeflight whipped around to see Darkpaw unconscious on the fllor.This was exactly what she was begging wouldn't happen.

In moments Hazeflight was by her friends side."It'll be okay,I hope."she meowed.Hazeflight gave symapathy but she never gave them false hopes.You can't tell someone they're gonna live when they could quite crealy die.Hazeflight was already looking her up and down trying to see what was wrong but she was no medicine cat and she was wasting precious moments.HONEYPAW!"she yowled louder than she expected."Darkpaw needs medical attention,now!"At least she should of got the medicine cats attention.

Honeypaw was going over her meager supply of herbs when a loud yowl startled her. She jumped about five feet in the air, knocking over a small pile of yarrow leaves. Why in StarClan's name would a cat yowl her name that loudly? Was someone dying? Was Thrushstar gone? What disaster was happening to ShadowClan now? Ohhh, she hated leaf-bare. The golden dappled she-cat rushed out of the medicine den to see Darkpaw lying on the ground and Hazeflight panicking above him. The apprentice looked sick. The medicine cat apprentice's heart sank. Not another sick cat.... Why, StarClan? Was it the food? The weather? A plant? Wet bedding? "Hazeflight," she snapped commandingly, "don't just stand there! I need some lavender and catmint, stat! I'm almost out of tansy and chickweed, too. Take a couple friends and go get me some herbs, please!" That said, the apprentice gripped Darkpaw by the scruff and dragged her into the medicine den, laying her down in one of the prepared nests, by two other cats who were in the den. Darkpaw was the third cat today to feel so sick. Oh, Alderheart, why did you leave me?

Shimmerheart lay lethargically in a mossy nest in the medicine cat den, feeling too sick and tired to move. Ever since eating the rat that Mousefang had brought, she had been weak and sickly and feeling like she had to throw up. Honeypaw had given her the last of the catmint and most of her chickweed, but it hadn't helped. However, the pain of sickness in her body wasn't as bad as the pain of her broken heart. Her son, Webtail, was gone, most likely frozen or starved to death by now. And her mate, Leopardfang, hated her. He had turned into a complete jerk, spending more and more time with Thrushstar and Mudfoot. There was something wrong with the tom- he must have found a different she-cat, or had his mind poisoned, to hate her and their children so completely as to publicly renounce them in front of the entire Clan. Lying sick in the medicine den, a thought crossed her mind that honestly, at this point, it might be better for everyone if she died. A tear dripped from one of her hazel eyes.

Hazelkit was laying quietly a small whimper. The white light she patches she kit wasn't feeling too great. She weakly opened her eyes a little and tried to get up.

Hazeflight nodded and darted off to get the precious herbs.She wasn't going to waste time her time getting cats to go with her.Hazeflight had to go now!

She eventually found all the needed herbs.Her sides ached and her lungs were heaving.The She-cat took a sharp intake of air and darted inside the medicine cat den"Here,Honeypaw,this all I could fine.I hope it's enough."she gasped.

Hazeflight dropped the herbs and then was by Darkpaw's side.Don't die,please don't.Her ice blue eyes were wide,hoping she'd survive.Why were all friends dying?What had she done to StarClan to deserve this?

Laying on his side in the warrior's den, Mudfoot let out a wheeze, clenching his jaw and flexing his paws so that his claws dug into the moss of the nest. For some unknown reason, him and some clan-meats had begun to not feel so well and laying in his nest, saying he was alright would have been a lie. Every movement sent a horrible aching pain through his muscles and every sound was like the high pitched screech of a hawk. The warrior knew he probably should've moved himself to the medicine cat by now, but the feeling he had wasn't something that seemed contagious. Maybe it was food poisoning? No, it couldn't be, the freshkill pile only had good prey, right?

Not able to think too much without his headache growing out of control, Mudfoot dropped that idea and let out a slow yowl of pain, laying his head on the ground and breathing heavily, wanting to vomit.

Hazelkit whimpered and sneezed a tiny bit. She couldn't move much. So she closed her eyes quietly curling into a right ball. Though Amberkit snatched her sister concerned and scampered from the nursery.

Darkpaw open her eyes to see their medicine cat, Honeypaw. What have happened? And right at that moment he coughed up some blood. He was feeling terribly ill and couldn't see straight at all. I can't die, not when my clan needs more warriors... Her breathing was uneven now, Starclan can't do this! And then she remembered.

The smell, when she was digging up the rat she had buried. It smelled strange, but she didn't feel suspicious. She had thought that it was the scent from the twolegplace that the smell was. No! It was the rat, it was poisoned. And she had ate it. But then her thoughts drifted to the time she attacked the rat. She must of been to busy killing the rat to notice the smell. It must of been poisoned already, why didn't I sniffed it out?

I have to tell Honeypaw about it! But the damage was done, her body was overheated and she knew it was the choice of Starclan now to decide her fate. And Starclan couldn't help. She gasped one last time, the last breath. Her muzzle wasn't moving, and she wasn't breathing anymore.

Darkpaw was dead.

Hazeflight stook close to Darkpaw's side.The moment her breathing became shallow Hazeflight knew it was too late."No,C'mon fight it.Fight it,Darkpaw.I know you can do this."she mewed.

She was wrong.Darkpaw's breathing became more ragged and uneven.No,no...Don't dieWhy StarClan do you do this to me?Then Darkpaw was gone.Her last true friend dead."No!Honeypaw,Honeypaw,come quick!"Hazeflight yowled.Darkpaw can't be dead!She can't be.pStarClan wouldn't do this to Hazeflight,would they?The silver She-cat placed a paw on Darkpaw's flank.There was no pulse.Darkpaw really was dead,her friend dead.

Hazeflight nuzzled the corpse turned back to Honeypaw."It doesn't matter,she's gone.I'm no medicine cat but there's no pulse."she muttered.Hazeflight's heart hammered against her chest as the grief began to settle in.She really was gone.Physically hardly any part of Hazeflight showed emotion but on the inside she was screaming and her heart tearing apart.

What had she done to deserve this?Why did StarClan hate her?How had she angered them?Maybe she was jus a failure that didn't belong.Maybe Tigerflower was wrong for taking her in.Maybe Hazeflight was always meant to be a rogue like her father.Maybe StarClan just really hated her.That sounded about right.

Blazekit laid outside the nursery, feeling dizzy, she stumbled a little closer to the nursery. Not long after, she collapsed under her feet and closed her eyes, not able to bear the pain. She sneezed and her body pulsed with pain, and she clenched her paws with every beat of her heart, the poison filling her entire body.