The mighty fall (closed)

Greenleaf, while it was the season of sun and warmth, sometimes revealed a cold and wet side. Marshstorm sat silently in-between high-rock and the warriors den. A sharp cough rattling his chest uncomfortably as he winced and tried to smother it with his paw. He couldn't be sick. He needed to be well. What if Leopardstar needed him? Wheezing breath was pulled through aching lungs as he laid down in one of the few dry places in camp that wasn't a den.

He refused to be near the kits in this state. Still, a part of him said not to be out in this state at all. That he should perhaps seek out Mapleleaf who was likely out on another long herb expedition. Especially since the rain brought about new growth. Did herbs grow that fast? He blinked and stared at the ground in front of him. It was strange how it seemed so different when sick. Less comforting and more smothering. He shuddered the thought away and winced as he sneezed loudly and abruptly. Sniffling and pawing back discharge with a grimace.

The past couple of nights his illness hadn't been this bad. A sniffle here, a cough there, but now it was evident as he sat up straight to get the illness out of his posture. To appear as strong and healthy as he should be.

As Leopardstar stepped out of his den into the re-emerging sunlight, small drops of cold rainwater fell from the hanging lichen that curtained the cave's entrance as he passed through it, landing on his golden pelt and causing his skin to shiver.  The clan had just endured a short bout of late green-leaf stormy weather, which the leader had sheltered from inside his warm cozy den.  Now that the clouds had passed through, there was work to be done.  Patrols needed to be sent out to hunt and re-mark the borders, apprentices needed to be trained...yet for a moment Leopardstar couldn't see the tom who usually organized all of that.  Where was Marshstorm?  The murky brown tabby deputy was almost always found in the clearing, doing his job with a speed and proficiency that could rival none.  His brow furrowed slightly, the spotted tabby tom's head swiveled back and forth for a moment before he caught sight of the tom, laying in a dry patch between his den and the warrior's residence.  A faint casual smile cracked his usual serious features as he began to stride over to where Marshstorm was resting, but as he grew closer he began to pick up on an odd scent, one he could barely place. Green-cough...we haven't had an outbreak of green-cough in camp for many moons...could it be...?  His face now greatly concerned, he drew within speaking distance of the deputy and meowed in a low, apprehensive voice; "Marshstorm...are you feeling alright?"

Marshstorm's head snapped to attention at Leopardstar's voice. He had begun staring off at somepoint and he shook himself awake abruptly.
"I'm fine!" He mewed, only to be betrayed as he looked away and coughed into his paw. He tried to hide the weezing breaths by shifting his weight against the bushes but the damage had already been done. "It's just a minor thing... it'll pass." He offered, trying to be comforting, but it was hard to do his job and not be in the middle of all the other cats. Even if he simply didn't wish to make them ill as well.

He wasn't foolhardy to completely deny being ill, but he refused to acknowledge the potential severity of it.
"Still... I must admit I've felt... better." He blinked his bleary eyes. Leopardstar's spots seemed to be blending into eachother.

Leopardstar lowered himself into a sitting position as Marshstorm spoke, his excuses and comforts marred by the blatant signs of illness the tom was trying hard to hide.  The leader waited patiently for him to pause, before meowing in a no-nonsense tone.  "I may not be a medicine cat Marshstorm, but I do have a nose.  You're sick."  Rising to his paws once again, he flicked the tabby tom's flank sharply with his tail as he hissed "Up, you need to let Mapleleaf check you over."  Despite his authoritative words though, his voice held a genuine note of worry and affection for the tom who he had come to consider a friend.  I'm not going to lose another cat to something that - for once - someone can control.

The dark tom had the decency to look abashed as he ducked his head and sighed. The sound wheezing from his throat.
"I suppose you're right... but there's so much to do." He muttered as his head lifted and he looked around "The patrols... there are ceremonies I need to prepare for... apprentices to-" He coughed abruptly, covering his mouth with his tail as he shook his head and stood on shaky paws. "Alright..." He conceeded as he slowly and shakily walked over to where the medicine den resided. Where Mapleleaf and herbs would be waiting.

Leopardstar stayed beside his deputy as he began to walk across the clearing, standing not too close to possibly catch the sickness but just close enough to be able to catch the warrior in case his legs failed him.  Despite his worries, a confident smile dawned across his face as he purred; "Don't worry about any of that, I might be getting up there in moons but I'm still plenty fit to organize patrols and apprentice kits."  Plus, it'll get me out of my den a bit more...  Stopping at the entrance to the herb-scented hollow, Leopardstar turned back towards the Highrock and before stepping away -confident that Mapleleaf would soon notice the deputy standing in the threshold- meowed in a warm, almost parental tone; "Just concentrate on healing up, you can't greet the stars before I do."