Powerless [O]

Subject: Powerless [O] Thu 7 Dec 2023 - 21:34

Wigglepaw

Gender: Male
Rank: Apprentice

("Feral Language")
("Forest Language")

Wigglepaw couldn't tell up from down or right from left. His entire chest and face burned despite violent shivers that wracked through his entire body and no matter what he did, he couldn't get comfortable. He'd maintained a strong facade throughout the journey - even when his head began to hurt, and he began to cough. Occasionally, he would lose his balance or stumble on weak legs, but he'd thought it was just fatigue or hunger. It had been a harrowing journey, after all.

However, even after Thunderclan settled down and began to search for a temporary place to camp out, he didn't feel better. What little prey he ate always came back up within the hour and now, several days into his sickness, Wigglepaw was gaunt and dehydrated. He'd always been strong and firm, capable of taking care of himself and others but now...it took all of his strength to simply breathe. Briefly, Wigglepaw wondered if it might be easier to stop when every breath brought fresh stabs of pain and forced his lungs to spasm violently.

Curled in on himself, Wigglepaw blinked his cloudy eyes open, squinting against the pale light of dawn. He wheezed quietly as he got to his paws, fighting waves of dizziness, and looked around slowly. Huh. Weird. Everything looked all fuzzy and delayed. As if he was seeing things in slow motion. Huffing, Wigglepaw scanned the open space, almost desperate for something - anything to drink to quench his thirst. Hopefully, drinking some water would soothe his throat, dry and inflamed as it was.

On unsteady paws, the brown tom staggered to a nearby puddle and, after a cursory glance to ensure it wasn't too dirty, began to lap frantically at the icy water. Each swallow burned but, after a short while, Wigglepaw's throat began to hurt a little less. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. So Wigglepaw drank and drank even as he felt his belly ache in protest. He was just so thirtsy. Why couldn't he stop? What was wrong? Distantly, he realized that he should stop, but he couldn't bring himself to. Not when the cool liquid felt so good on his sore throat.

Finally, though, when he was sure he couldn't stomach another sip, Wigglepaw collapsed at the edge of the puddle, chin resting in the cold mud. He felt so, so, so heavy. Something was wrong and yet he couldn't bring himself to visit Fawnshine. Not when so many of his clanmates were already sick. Wigglepaw panted, his mind fuzzy. He was too much of a drain on their resources as it was - Cloudychase was right. He didn't belong. He didn't deserve Thunderclan's kindness.

Subject: Re: Powerless [O] Sat 9 Dec 2023 - 2:36

Thrush
nose

"You're on your own, kid. You've always had been."

"You come away with a great little story of a mess of a dreamer with the nerve to adore you."

His head has throbbed ever since arriving to the lakes. For some reason, it pained more to know that there were plenty of others suffering just as severe symptoms as he was—he'd rather he be the only one with the sickest symptoms of all, not his clanmates. But whether they were that alarming of illness or not, he desperately wished he could just stop feeling so useless and beaten up; finding herbs for their medicine cats to provide a cure instead of just laying in one place all day.

With a deep exhale, Thrushnose barely was able to stabilize himself before his throat rasped out in a fit of coughs; blurry droplets of red dripping from his maw while he heaved to simply breathe. It felt more like a chore than when he'd been so strong before—he almost felt like a completely different cat. For the love of Stars, please don't let this be permanent, he prayed to himself.

Ears perking in alarm at the sight of another clanmate collapsing into a puddle, he forced himself up to stagger over to Wigglepaw. "Hey—" He tried to speak, but his throat felt as if there had been claws raking down it with relentless brute. Forcing himself to lap up some fresh water, he sighed after, gently nudging Wigglepaw. "...Are you alright?" Dear Stars, as if he was the one who should be asking that.

ft. Taylor Swift In
— Cold As You
powerless

Cactus

______________________________________

Powerless [O] Copper_drew_siggy3_20240107084231

Thrushnose │ ThunderClan │ Tier V Warrior │ 70HP / 160SP │ #7b675d
Fennelbreeze │ WindClan │ Tier IV Warrior│ 60HP / 140SP │ #88ab84
Fawnshine │ ThunderClan │ T4 Classic MC │ 25HP / 60SP │ #d1bea8
Harrierpaw (not pictured)│ SkyClan │ Apprentice │ 20HP / 60SP │ #944c3e

Art Requests │ Character Profiles │ Heart Chart

Subject: Re: Powerless [O] Tue 12 Dec 2023 - 10:15

Wigglepaw

Gender: Male
Rank: Apprentice

("Feral Language")
("Forest Language")

Wigglepaw panted, water dripping from his jaws as he sank into the cool mud, embracing the chill it sent through his otherwise scorching hot pelt. He didn't move - couldn't move, even as Thrushnose approached him. It was hard enough to remind himself that he still needed to breathe, how was he supposed to hold a conversation? He couldn't. Not when it felt like briars had been raked down the inside of his throat and throughout his chest. Words were a luxury he couldn't afford.

Thrushnose stopped briefly to drink some water, then nudged Wigglepaw's side, drawing him from his hazy stupor. Burrowing the side of his face further into the cold muck, Wigglepaw angled his head to peer up at Thrushnose with one bleary eye. His gaze caught on the red flecks on the warrior's lips, and he squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to see it. His cough hadn't progressed that far, but that's okay, he was doing horribly in every other aspect in exchange.

The warrior's words hung in the air for several long moments before Wigglepaw finally opened his jaws, deciding that it was simply rude to ignore him. "Y-Yes. Just..." He coughed, throat burning, and sighed. "Just resting for...for a moment." Right, he was just resting for a little while, that's all. The water and mud felt so good against his hot skin and, away from the majority of the clan, he didn't have to worry about getting them sick. That was the most important thing - their health.

Though, was it a good idea to lie in muddy water when leafbare was on the horizon and he was deathly ill? No, probably not, but if it made things even a little more bearable, Wigglepaw couldn't bring himself to care. If he died now, sick and weak, would anyone even miss him? So many had been lost already, what was one more?

Subject: Re: Powerless [O] Fri 15 Dec 2023 - 9:15

Sageroot had been searching for her apprentice, but she was not prepared for how she would find him. There was no mistaking his illness, and she dug her claws into the ground. She was sick too, but not this sick. He wasn’t even moving, and he could barely speak.

Thrushnose had found him first, lying half-dead in the puddle. Making her presence known (if involuntarily) with a fit of coughing, Sageroot stepped forward. ”No,” she rasped in his tongue, hoping to get his attention. He couldn’t stay here, he’d fall asleep and drown!

Sageroot steeled herself against her own dizziness. Wigglepaw couldn’t die here. He had so much left to do with his life! “Thrushnose, help me!” she mewed. Without waiting for an answer, the pale she-cat gripped the large tom’s scruff in her jaws and began pulling him out of the puddle.

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