Tales of Woe - ThunderClan's Punishment

Willowpaw was startled awake in the middle of the night. She was still in the medicine cat den, recovering from her recent fight with a raccoon. The dark grey ball of fur who was Moonpaw was still sleeping. How could Moonpaw sleep? Willowpaw cringed as another yowl of pain sounded out. What is happening? Is it a sickness? Well I get it? She thought, panicking. She was in the most dangerous place in camp, the medicine cat den. Cats with the sickness would most likely pour into the den in no time. Oh, StarClan, what is happening?Willowpaw pleaded at the ancestors. If this is the doing of the Righteous Few, then I will do anything to help these poor, sick cats, then I will do everything I can to help them. Willowpaw vowed.

Daisybloom was stressed, to say the least. These cats had a sickness that neither she or Mossbloom could help. It seemed to affect the cats that had angered the Righteous Few, clan-hoppers, forbidden romances, anyone participated in something of the sort. It broke her heart to see the poor cats suffering.

The screaming howl of a dying fox tore through his ear fur, and scraps of moss flew around him as he jerked violently. Raw, gasping breaths panted in his ears, terror racing up and down his spine in cold waves as he struggled to get to his paws, to move, to race away from it. His body jerked and trembled, limbs flailing and half propelling him to his paws before collapsing. For a few panicked moments he lay there, rasping, scattered dream fragments flying into pieces in his mind as his paws struggled to grip something.

Pain still clawed at his chest and throat, and he could still feel the fox-cat’s teeth in his flesh. Fur bristling with fear, his paw trembling, he brushed it up against his throat, groggy brain expecting to feel warm wetness. No sticky liquid met his paw, and no stain marred the white as he looked at it.

A moment later a hacking cough tore through his chest, claws of pain gripping his rib-cage, and he gasped, curling in on himself, in the moss of his nest in the elder’s den.

What.... What’s going on? Other sounds rose in the night, from... from the ThunderClan camp. Or... was he still dreaming? His mind wasn’t working, just terror fogging every part of his shivering body. Fear that told him to run, to flee. But his paws couldn’t move. Something had happened, something bad.

A figure stared back at Cherryblossom as she stared into the murky water of the river. She didn't know who it was, but she knew it certainly wasn't her reflection. The gray tabby face that stared back at her had the cold eyes of a killer, and a grin split the reflection's maw as it lunged up at her. As the tan tabby recoiled, the reflection was now a cat that pinned her down, cruel fangs flashing in the sun as it prepared to kill her.
"Say hi to Dacedream for me."

As the cruel teeth met in her throat, she noticed that the water in the river was no longer water. It was blood.

Cherryblossom awoke with a start, gasping as she tried to get her bearings again. Fur on end, she scrambled to her paws and frantically looked around the den, searching for her dream-murderer. When she saw no cat that met the description, she felt her fur flatten, and fear set in again for a completely different reason. Coughing and groaning and sounds of suffering met her ears, and she felt her stomach drop as she realized what was happening. Without further hesitation, she turned tail and fled the den, making a beeline directly for the fern tunnel, and for Mossbloom.
"Mossbloom, Daisybloom, there's illness in the warrior's den! I don't know how many are affected, but I know at least that Minkstream and Batbite are affected..."

After a moment, she took a deep breath and tried to compose herself. "I think I'm okay. Is there anything I should do to help?"

Daisybloom heard the moans escaping, especially from the warrior’s den. Soon, she was joined by a frazzled Cherryblossom. ”I really don’t know how to fix this. We haven’t ver seen anything like this before. It seems to be affecting the cats that joined from being an outsider, or broke the code somehow, any of that sort of thing. But, I don’t be living it is affecting kits of these instances, so you and your littermates should be fine.” she reassured the she-cat. Daisybloom, although her father came from another clan, was also alright, so that proved the point. ”Actually, could you get the tally of infected cats?” she asked the warrior. She and Mossbloom would need to figure out a remedy, especially if a lot of cats were effected.

Willowpaw felt useless. She didn’t want to be useless. She forced herself to sit up. She gasped as she felt pain shoot through her body, but closed her eyes and sat up anyways. “Can I help too? Please, I can’t just lie here watching my Clanmates suffer. I want...to be...helpful...” With a grunt, she pushed herself onto her paws. “See? All fine...” Willowpaw stumbled a bit, then righted herself. “I’m fine! See, I can walk...” She demonstrated, slowly padding around the den. She turned her pleading gaze back to the two medicine cats. “Please...I can do anything, even just to fetch moss and water.”

Echofrost was in a dream. A horrible dream. He clung to a branch, water raging underneeth him. He looked down, and saw Lilyflower, the WindClan she-cat he had loved, struggling with the curent. Her head went under the water. It did not come back up.

No! Echofrost leaped down into the water, diving down, trying to save her. What was he thinking? He was no RiverClan cat! But neither was she... Echofrost's lungs burned inside him as he ran out of air. But he couldn't get back to the serface. Echofost sank down, water filling his lungs. The cold... Was gone? Suddenly, he burned with an intence heat, shocking him out of the dream.

Echofrost awoke with a start. The heat had not left, it had only intenceafied. His head pounded and his lungs burned. The pain worsend any time he moved, even just a turn of his head. He slumped back down in his nest, moaning and closing his eyes. This must be his punishment. It wasn't fair! She was the only cat who had ever loved him, cared about him. Even Echofrost's own father hadn't wanted him enught to care for him once his mother died! Why did they even care?! She was dead. They'd never had the chance to have kits! He only met with her a few times, because the flood came... Then she'd left him too.

Batbite had felt a little more tired than usual the night before, but now, as she woke from a dream of hunting with her family in her apprentice days, she felt a pain like nothing she'd ever experienced before. She was used to being quiet when she was sick, but her violent coughing fits weren't exactly silent. Every time she managed to choke out a breath without coughing, they returned with a vengeance. It was almost impossible to think through the pain, but she managed to process the sounds of others around her after a short while - she wasn't the only one, then.

Somehow that wasn't exactly comforting, as she closed her eyes tightly in anticipation of another cough.

Mossbloom emerged from the crack that stored the herbs, chamomile, mallow leaves, and ragweed in her jaws. Hearing the tail-end of Daisybloom's instructions, she nodded in agreement. Setting down her herbs, she mewed as she placed her tail on her apprentice's shoulder. "Good idea, if we know how many we have on our paws we can better come up with a plan. For now...." She separated the herbs into small piles bit by bit, creating five to start and setting two in front of Daisybloom. "For now let's give these out to who we find. We can get them moved to the elder's den, to keep them separated from the rest of the clan, just in case it's contagious. I have a feeling that your theory is along the right line, Daisybloom, but I want to be safe just in case." Turning to Willowpaw, she winced in sympathy as she saw the she-cat struggling, and recognized the tone of her voice. She wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Alright, Willowpaw, then I want you to take some of the moss in the den and soak it in water. Get Moonpaw to help you, and bring it to the elder den for the sick to drink. I want you to stay as far away from them as you can, in your state we can't risk you getting this too." Content that Willowpaw would be kept busy with a fairly harmless task, she picked up three of the bundles, she made her way into the camp. Her eyes found Batbite first, then just beyond her lay Minkstream. Rushing over to the two, she motioned to Echofrost with her tail, aiming her ears towards him as she silently gestured for Daisybloom to look him over. Opening two of her herb bundles, she nosed the herbs in front of the two warriors. "Here, eat these. I don't know they'll help, but they should at least lessen your pain. Please do your best, and once you're finished we'll work on getting you to the elder's den to rest."

Willowpaw attempted to grin, but it came out as a grimace of pain. She kicked at Moonpaw. “Wake up, lazy fur ball. We need to get water.” She slowly padded out of camp, trying her best not to show her pain. When she was sure that she could walk properly, she tried to run, but almost fell on her face. Her paws felt slightly numb, but she didn’t care. Taking some moss in her jaws, Willowpaw waited for her friend, who was likely still sleeping or was awake, but still confused.

Daisybloom swiftly picked up the bundle and headed into the clearing, looking for someone in need of it. She saw her mentor tend to two of the Warriors affected. Hopefully there weren’t many more. Thunderclan needed strength now, more than ever with the rising tension associate with the Righteous Few.

Moonpaw blinked open her eyes. Where was she? Oh, right, the medicine den... Memories of the past day flooded her mind. The badger, Willowpaw's wound... She yelped in pain when something jabbed her in the flank and someone told her to wake up. Grumbling, she sat up and her eyes widened. Multiple cats were coughing, seeming to be in pain. She dashed to Willowpaw's side and asked, "What's going on?" Her eyes widened again as the realization struck her. "It's the plague, isn't it?" she whispered, horrified. Shaking her head, she gently picked up some moss in her jaws and padded to the water source, soaking the moss until it was dripping. Then she zoomed to the elder's den, the sound of sick cats reaching her ears. Dropping the wet moss near one of the ill cats, she racerback to the medicine den. "Is there anything else i can do?" she offered to Mossbloom from the entrance.

As Moonpaw dashed towards the water source, Willowpaw rolled her eyes. “Some cats can’t run so fast!” She yowled. She padded towards a small creek and soaked the moss in the water. Making sure that every single fiber of moss was soaked in water, she padded towards the elders den, placing the soaking pile of moss in the middle of the sick cats “Here’s the water. Ill go collect more.” She reassured the sick cats. Then, she followed Moonpaw into the medicine cat den. “How much water do they need? Do they need any prey to eat?” She asked Mossbloom. “I could collect herbs too, if Daisybloom or you could show me.”  Willowpaw said. If she could fetch moss and water, then picking herbs would be no problem.

Dawngaze crashed into the dust outside of the warrior's den. She'd woken up feeling like the whole world was spinning around her and feeling an intense heat building up in her head. The she-cat desperately sought air and space from the other warriors, some of which seemed to also be suffering the way she was, but her weakened limbs couldn't carry her more than a few steps, just barely out of the way of the entrance to the warrior's den. Dawngaze's stomach flipped, her head spun, and her lungs burned with every gasp of air. A sharp, involuntary yowl filled the air. She covered her eyes with her forepaws, still having difficulty breathing, and fearfully wondered if her dear brother Burntstag had the right idea by dying at his companion's claws rather than being taken by something as underwhelming as a mystery sickness. "M-Mossbloom..." She managed to moan in pain, a strange, gargled shadow of her strong and icy voice.