ill and diseased [c]

The sound of pawsteps approaching drew Rookflight’s attention away from dragging their paw repeatedly across their ears. They recognized the gait before they even glanced the figure. They paused in their repetitive motions, placing their paw back on the ground, and turned to blink toward Larkspring. He’d curiously stopped a few paces away. Rookflight blinked again and tipped their head to the side curiously. As always, Larkspring was direct, getting straight to the point of his approach as soon as Rookflight sought his eyes.

”Ill?” They echoed, head tilting a little further. ”For weeks now? But...” Rookflight did not want to dismiss his brother’s concerns, but… they hadn’t noticed any sickly behavior in him. There was nothing wrong with them, save for the lingering threads of grief, so that could not be the cause either. ”Do you think you ate something sour?” The thought of the river being poisoned again made Rookflight shudder. They shook the thought away and continued, ”You said that it comes and goes--have you noticed any patterns? When it comes?”

Rookflight nodded slowly as their brother spoke. ”It does not sound like you are sick,” they said when Larkspring was finished. ”Or at least… not physically. It sounds like something is bothering you. The same way I will get sick when I am stressed.” Rookflight blinked sympathetically. These were the most peaceful moons RiverClan had seen in a long time, excepting the loss of their great leader… and Larkspring had not spoken to them about any trouble he was having. He had been doing much better in many regards than during their apprenticeship. Was it something to do with his apprentices? They had all disappeared or passed before warriorhood. Rookflight sat for a moment, trying to think of anything else. Eventually, they shook their head and decided just to ask. ”Do you know when it started? Had anything happened when you began to notice it? Do you think of anything in particular during your patrols or mealtimes? I fixate on subjects when something affects me to this degree. Thinking of the problem invokes the physical symptoms… but it is hard to banish the thoughts.”