Resurface (Tagged)

[Lightningtrail]

Understand that if you're cold, I'll keep you warm.

((I want to get this started! Woo! Wolf with Finchsong(if you want to) ℓυиαя with Honeyclaw(if you want to) @snowykcnomre with Blossommist(because I asked you if you wanted to be part of this but you don't need to). Any of you guys are free to find her and we will see how things go!

Goldenstar woke up with a start, her eyes wide as she tried desperately to gasp for air. Her breath was shallow and she could hardly inhale without recoiling from the pain in her throat. The she-cat's claws raked down the stony den floor as she struggled, her body writhing as she tried to fill her belly with air. She knew this was going to happen. She had felt it ever since she had named Finchsong her deputy. The shakiness in her legs, the coughing fits, and the runny nose that she just could not shake all led to this. It had seemed to begin to go away, but then she began feeling feverish and weaker again. She did not want to let her clan know of the return of her illness, so she had simply retired for the night and hoped that it would go away in the morning. 

She finally caught her breath, but her breathing was still shallow and painful. Something tickled the back of her throat, and she erupted into a fit of coughing. She had been stupid to not see Nightpoppy when she had the chance. She should have seen her in order to get help with whatever illness she had caught. Somewhere, deep in her head, she knew that it could easily be greencough, but she would not admit it to herself or anyone else. No, greencough was what killed apprentices and elders, what took the lives of warriors and kits alike. She could not have greencough. If she was sick with the ruthless disease, how was she supposed to lead her clan properly during this epidemic?

She could hardly keep her eyes open at this point. I have to see Nightpoppy. The she-cat attempted to get to her feet, but she collapsed. She tried again, but was still unable to walk more than a few steps without falling back to the den floor. She desperately attempted to dig her claws into the stony floor, trying to heave herself across the ground and to the exit, but she could already feel herself fading. Am I going to die? She asked herself, her eyes closing. 

And besides, there is so much beauty in a storm.

[Wolf]

(Echo for Nightpoppy)

"Goldenstar? Are you here?" The deputy's voice called from outside of the leader's den and a white muzzle poked through into the entrance. The smell of sickness hit her like a wall the moment her muzzle was inside and Finchsong pushed herself the rest way into the den, gasping in shock and worry as she saw the leader sprawled on the floor of the den. "Oh Goldenstar, you're sick! Should I get Nightpoppy?" Finchsong ducked down and touched her nose to the golden cat's ear, suppressing the shudder that tried to follow when she felt the strong fever that had overtaken the she-cat.

"Stay with me, Goldenstar! Don't go to sleep!" The deputy urged. Her green eyes glowed with fear and concern in the dim light of the leader's den and she glanced over her shoulder, hoping another cat would come so there would be someone with Goldenstar at all times to keep watch over the sick cat in case she got worse. Turning her gaze back on Goldenstar, she gulped down a knot of anxiety that was welling in her chest. How many lives did the leader have left? How was StormClan going to get through the epidemic without the guidance of their wise leader if she had fallen victim to greencough's tight grip as well?

Questions began running through the deputy's mind and she ducked her head out of the den, yowling for the medicine cat before turning back into the den. "You're going to be okay, Nightpoppy will come and take care of you. You're going to be fine." She soothed, her voice suddenly gentle and soothing as Finchsong tried to force herself to be calm...well as calm as she could be in a situation like the one she was now faced with.

[Deleted]

"Poor cats! All these dead or sick cats! This greencough is a monster. It's so unfair! My dear Goldentiger is so sick but Nightpoppy won't let me help him because I might get greencough as well. As if! Goldentiger would get better quicker if I were around comforting him. This is so stupid. At least me and Jaggednight haven't gotten greencough. Yet. but there is so many more cats coughing!" Blossommist thought worriedly as she stood at the entrance to the medicine cats den, watching her son from afar diligently.

It frustrated the motherly she-cat that she could not help nurse her son, new warrior. He had only contracted greencough yesterday but he looked and sounded so horrible today. Blossommist feared for her son's life exceedingly, wondering over and over and over whether he would live or not. That of course depended on StarClan, as many cats, trying to calm the poor mother, pointed out. While this calmed Blossommist, she was still very concerned for her dear son. Trying to cling on to the hopes that StarClan would spare Goldentiger, she also attempted to remain optimistic about the future and what it held. However, this was not an easy task, especially for Blossommist, a caring, motherly, but over emotional she-cat.

The thought about other cats coughing, it seemed to trigger a memory which she found hard to grasp. The striped and spotted she-cat attempted to wrap her mind around it, but the memory slipped away easily. Frowning, giving up, Blossommist padded towards the warriors den unconsciously. She did not notice the snow which crunched under her delicate paws. Though it stung her paws, too deep in thought, Blossommist barely noticed. It was the hard voice of a familiar cat which snapped Blossommist out of her deep thoughts. The tan she-cat turned her head, directing it towards the source of the noise. She spotted her mate talking to his apprentice, looking fairly displeased. Shaking her head, the troubled she-cat looked around for a second, trying to deliberate upon how she ended up outside, in the snow of leafbare. Unable to figure out, Blossommist turned to trudge through the snow, and back to the medicine cats den.

Blossommist's eyes brightened up, her ears perked, and a certain fear in her eyes lit. Suddenly and most unexpectedly, the former queen bolted from her path, heading towards the leaders den, almost crashing with many cats who were passing by her. "Oh no! What if I'm too late! What if she's already dead! What if this is all my fault? What if, what if, what if?" She thought worriedly to herself. Blossommist's movements quaked with fear and worry as she rushed speedily into the leader's den, barging in without notice. She scanned the den rapidly. Dread filled her eyes when they rested upon Goldenstar. She told herself that the StormClan leader was only sleeping but really, she doubted herself. Approaching the leader with sudden fear, she confirmed that Goldenstar was not breathing, or breathing very faintly, barely alive. Not wanting to believe what she saw, Blossommist called out Goldenstar's name softly.

Blossommist suddenly became aware of the deputy, Finchsong. She swiveled her head around, demanding that Finchsong tell her how she might help.

[Lightningtrail]

Understand that if you are cold, I'll keep you warm.

Goldenstar was hardly conscious by the time she heard a voice above her. She almost automatically assumed that it was StarClan, calling her to loose yet another life. but the voice was too familiar to be StarClan. Finchsong. Goldenstar gave her ear a flick, and then pulled her eyes open. Keeping her eyes open felt like holding up a tree, but she managed to at least squint while Finchsong spoke.

I'll stay right here, Finchsong. She mouthed, but no sound came out. She wanted to go back to sleep. Yes, sleep sounded rather nice at the moment. She imagined herself curling up in her nest, falling into a deep slumber, but she noticed that her eyes were closing again and she fluttered them open. I can sleep later, she thought.

Goldenstar watched through blurry, teary eyes as her deputy ran to the den entrance and back. Meanwhile, she pondered how many lives she had left. I know that I lost one against that rogue, and I think I lost another, but when was that? Finchsong returned to her and talked more, but Goldenstar wasn't paying too much attention at this point. So I have 7? Yeah, that has to be right.

A different voice filled her ears, this one faint and hardly audible at all, so she turned her head to see one of her warriors. Embarrassment rushed through the she-cat. She had not wanted any of her warriors to see her like this. The golden she-cat closed her eyes for a moment, hoping that Blossommist would be the only warrior to find her like this. She closed her eyes for a moment, but opened them again as she looked up at Finchsong. I really hope that Nightpoppy is around here and not off helping WhisperClan she growled in her head. Thrushstar was a good tom, but WhisperClan should have been more careful when finding a medicine cat in the first place. She would hate to see StormClan suffer because of WhisperClan's mistakes.

And besides, there is so much beauty in a storm.

[ℓυиαя]

A sharp yowl across the camp drew forest green eyes straight to his sister's den just in time to see the worried Deputy shove her nose out into the camp. Mind triggered muscle instantly and the strong warrior changed course, large paws taking him to the leaders den where he strode right on inside.

"What in Starclan's name, is going on here?" he growled, eyeing his sister lying on the floor and hardly responding. Somewhere beneath the golden exterior, panic took flight however its departure was blurred with the frenzied arrival of the knowledge he had seen this coming and she had been too stubborn to listen. Trust her to try and be strong when she wasn't strong enough. Flicking his tail in his irritation, Honeyclaw pushed his way around the worried deputy to stand nearer his sister, face carved from stone as his jaw clenched.

"You're going to be okay, Nightpoppy will come and take care of you. You're going to be fine." 

The irritating grind of Finchsong's voice flooded his ears even though she had lowered it to a more soothing tone. Green eyes cut to her and he almost snarled. Her, coupled with the situation at hand ground his gears and stormed his mind. Dipping his head to nudge at his sister, eyes dropped from the deputy and onto the cat with the golden fur beneath him. "Dammit, Goldenstar - get up." Tail snapped again, not caring if he hit Finchsong in the process and then he was off, out the entrance and calling across camp. Goldenstar might have brought this upon herself by being stubborn but they could butt heads about it after.

"Nightpoppy - get your rear end out here lest I drag you."

[Echo]

Nightpoppy was resting inside her den when she heard a commotion start outside. Tired green eyes opened slowly. She had been working so hard the past moon, the stress and lack of sleep was catching up to her. She closed her eyes, hoping she didn't need to become involved.

Her eyes shot open and a frown crawled on to her face when she heard he name called in an extremely rude manor. "Excuse me?" She called out, angrily. "That is no way to address your medicine cat." She growled. The grey she-cat exited her den and walked straight up to the warrior who had threatened to drag her. She glared at the opposing cat.
"What do you want?" She said in a low, butter tone.

[Deleted]

"No, Goldenstar! Hang in there! We'll find Nightpoppy! Don't worry! Oh no! Goldenstar!" Blossommist mewed frantically, eyes widened with fear. She clutched tightly into her current goal: keep Goldenstar from losing a life, though for now, it seemed as if all her efforts would be in vain. Legs shaking, her mind whizzing with activity, the poor she-cat felt extremely overwhelmed. She mewed in alarm, redirecting her attention towards Goldenstar's situation, though that only seemed to overwhelm Blossommist even more so. The tan tabby she-cat slowly, with a shaky paw, prodded Goldenstar slightly. "Oh no no! Why hadn't I noticed Goldenstar's shape earlier! Why didn't I see it? Why is she dying now? What's going on? Why is everything so confusing? Where's any cat? Why is it just me and Finchskng. Hasn't anyone noticed the commotion? Isn't anyone concerned about Goldenstar's health? Why didn't anyone notice her conditions before?" Blossommist thought, tears starting to run. She felt useless and stupid as well. The doubting she-cat couldn't ignore the fact that if she'd been more concerned about Goldenstar, rather than her own son, who had the care of Nightpoppy, than she might have been able to tell Nightpoppy.

The light golden tabby yowled in surprise and spun around, spotting a masculine tom bursting in. She quickly scurried away from his path as he approached Goldenstar with a rapid pace. Still a little shaken, Blossommist opened her mouth to ask a question but the barging tom asked it first. Only, he seemed to direct the question to the ill Goldenstar. Blossommist gave an uncomfortable glance at him, identifying him to be Honeyclaw, the StormClan leader`s brother. She dipped her head as a respectful greeting to the experienced warrior, but he seemed to have not noticed, as the tom was too focused upon his sister. Blossommist watched the tom with much focus that she was surprised by his sudden jolt of movement, running out of the leaders den. Blossommist watched him from inside, impressed at the speeds which Honeyclaw was going at. Then again, Blossommist wasn`t very fast so she would probably be impressed if any cat could run.

"Nightpoppy - get your rear end out here lest I drag you."

Blossommist groaned loudly when she heard Honeyclaw again. Afraid of the wrath of Nightpoppy, the former queen quickly darted to the side of Finchsong.