Don't Leave Me Behind [Tagged]

[Rogue]

Heron

Ashfrost sat in the shadows of the medicine cat's den, watching the rest of the Clan going about their daily business with more than a little envy in his heart.  After he and Echopaw had gotten back from their little adventure a few days ago, he had woken up with a horrible, hacking cough and had found it difficult to breathe.  He had tried to brush it off, but when he could barely make it out of the warrior's den, he had had to face the awful truth: he had greencough.  And so he had been moved into medicine cat's den, with Nightpoppy, a StormClan cat of all things, to treat him, though the herbs didn't exactly seem to be helping.  Even now he could feel the energy draining out of his limbs, just from sitting up and watching the Clan for only a few minutes.  His emerald gaze searched for Echopaw's blue-striped pelt before he sank back down into his nest, disappointment filling his heart when he was unable to spot it.

Echopaw...


The grey warrior had had no contact with his apprentice since a few days ago, and whereas he thought he would be happy to finally be alone, he now found himself missing her clear voice and bright personality.  He was the only sick one in the medicine cat's den at the moment, and despite Nightpoppy constantly being there with herbs, he had this horrible recurring nightmare where he died alone in the darkness, with no one around to be with him in his final moments.  Stop it you mouse-brain, you aren't dying.  The greencough hasn't turned into whitecough yet.


Ashfrost sighed heavily and rested his head on his paws as another violent cough racked his body.  As much as he missed Echopaw, he knew that her being here would only put her at risk of catching greencough as well.  He was large and strong, and while he knew the blue-striped she-cat was strong as well, he wasn't so sure her body could fight off the disease, even with the help of the herbs.  It wasn't a risk he was willing to take, despite how badly he wanted to bury his face in her soft fur and inhale her sweet scent.

[Heron]

(White cough is the mild form and green cough is the bad form, actually)

Echopaw woke restless. She had heard the news of her
mentor's sickness yesterday, and was stopped by the Stormclan medicine cat, Nightpoppy, and several other warriors. Whenever she would try to sneak off to see Ashfrost, someone seemed to need her right there and then. Why were they keeping her away?

You know why. a voice hissed at her. Because green cough wasn't dangerous, and more importantly: deadly. It had fallen over the clans in the form of a plague, killing good cats left and right. She had mericfully been spared from the disease, and seeing Ashfrost no doubt would put her in high risk of seeing him. but for Echopaw, this was no excuse.

All she could think about was their adventure in the snow, where they laughed and tumbled. She had a horrible feeling she was the cause of this; whether by Starclan or her idea to tackle him on their patrol. It was all her fault!

She snuck away to the medicine cat den, and this time nobody stopped her. Inside it, it reeked of herbs and the smell of sickness. She would've been disgusted, or felt contaminated, if not for the fact that there was only one cat laying in the mostly vacant den. She would have recognized his spotted gray pelt and long fur anywhere. The young she -cat scrambled over to him and peered down, noticing he looked just as awful as he likely felt. "Ashfrost.." she whispered, settling down beside him. She gave his ears several comforting, furious licks.

His body was too warm, and inside the small den it was rather suffocating. She had once admired how warm he was with his thick fur, but now it seemed out of place and unnecessary. She felt herself purring at the fact that he was still alive. If not for her coolness and calamity embedded into her as a cat, she would've been shaking with anxiety and nervousness. "You'll be alright," she promised, to no one in particular. "I'm sorry."

[Rogue]

(*facepalm* I always get them mixed up. Thank you.)

The feeling of someone licking his ears caused Ashfrost to stir, and as he slowly freed himself from the dregs of sickness-infested sleep, he heard a very familiar voice say "I'm sorry". They grey-spotted warrior's green eyes flew open, and as he looked up at Echopaw, conflicting feelings of happiness and horror struck him at the same time. On the one hand, he was ecstatic to see her, but on the other hand the last thing he wanted was for her to get sick. He struggled to sit up in the nest, shaking his head furiously at his apprentice. "Echopaw! What are you doing here?" he hissed, trying to keep his voice low. He didn't want Echopaw to get in trouble with Nightpoppy. "It's dangerous! You could get sick!" He tried to scoot back as far as he could in his nest, trying to put some distance between them, despite how much he wanted to press up against her instead.

A shadow flickered over the walls of the den as a cat padded by outside, and Ashfrost froze until they had gone safely past. Then he turned back to Echopaw, remembering what she had said just as he was waking up. "What are you sorry for?" he asked quietly, settling back down in his nest and keeping a wary eye on her. If she came any closer, he would call out for Nightpoppy to have her removed from the den. Another awful cough racked his body, and he shuddered after it finally subsided, his thick fur suddenly seeming more like a hindrance than an advantage. The scar above his eye burned, just like it always seemed to do whenever he was stressed. He fixed his gaze weakly on Echopaw, though there was still a spark of strength in their emerald depths.

[Heron]

Echopaw was taken by surprise when he backed up away from her, hissing that it was dangerous for her to be there. She wanted to cry, and beg him to let her be near him. Instead, she merely kept her composure and shook her head stubbornly. "I know, I. ." she drifted off, attention turned to where he had been looking. Outside, cats passed, but never came in and for that she was thankful.

"I've been given a herb," she lied smoothly. "It'll help protect me from sickness. Thrushstar had one, too." She watched as he pushed himself back into the corner of his spot in the den. She felt like being angry at him for not knowing what she was sorry for. How couldn't it be obvious to him? She wasn't destined to be a warrior. This was Starclan's way of telling her to stop trying. First Stormfang grew sick and abandoned her, and Ashfrost was sick as well. Would he leave? Worse... would he die?

"This is my fault," she whispered, wincing as he leaned over to cough. Green cough was a nasty illness, and she wished she had been telling the truth when she said she'd been given a herb. There simply wasn't enough to go around, but Echopaw tried to make herself believable so he would at least let her stay. "I think Starclan is punishing me, and they are using you to do it." She said sadly.

[Rogue]

Ashfrost eyed his apprentice suspiciously. An herb to stop her from getting sick? Nonsense. but then she mentioned how Thrushstar had had one too, and a seed of doubt was planted in his heart. Maybe Echopaw was right. It wasn't exactly like he could just get up and stroll on over to the leader's den and ask him. Trying to hold back another cough, Ashfrost blinked in surprise at Echopaw's next words. StarClan punishing her? Using him? The grey warrior flattened his ears against his head at the thought. StarClan were their ancestors, why would they punish one of their own descendents? Still, as silly as it sounded, he could see that Echopaw was truly bothered by it.

Suddenly, Ashfrost remembered that Echopaw's former mentor, Stormfang, had also gotten sick with greencough. The warrior had up and left the Clan-and Echopaw-to try and escape the sickness, and had never returned. Did she think that he was going to do the same? The grey-spotted warrior wished that he could lick her cheek to soothe her fears.

"Echopaw," he said, his voice gentler than it had ever been before. "I'm not Stormfang. I'm not going to just up and leave you. I never will. I know what it's like to be abandoned."

[Heron]

Ashfrost's was gentler than Echopaw had ever experienced, but she could no longer bear to look at him. Instead she cast her gaze on the floor of the den, her ears pricked forward to show that she was still listening. "I'm not Stormfang." [/I]Yes, she wanted to tell him, she knew that. He wasn't Stormfang. A part of her didn't believe that Stormfang made the conscious decision to get sick and leave. She had believed that Starclan implanted it in him. Surely they were doing the same thing now, with Ashfrost. Why? Why can't I just be a warrior? Why do they keep getting taken away from me?

"Okay," she said quietly, getting to her full feet and turning around. It was clear he didn't want her here, and she *had* lied about receiving an herb to help prevent sickness. She knew her chances at catching green cough were now higher, but she no longer cared whether she caught it or not. Perhaps it would be Starclan's will. Somewhere inside her mind, Thrushstar's words echoed, about Starclan's will not being valid. Cats made their own decisions. No, not about this. I know they are doing this to me. Still facing away from her sick mentor, heart feeling like it fell into a pile of thorns, she whispered, "Is there anything you need? I'll fetch it for you.."

[Rogue]

The dejection in Echopaw's voice made his heart break, and he desperately wished that he could go over to her and cover her ears with licks. He let out a hacking cough, squeezing his eyes shut tightly. "Echopaw," he called after her. "Wait." As much as he wanted her out of the greencough-infested den, he couldn't let her leave thinking that he didn't want her here.

Lifting his head from the nest, Ashfrost fixed his emerald gaze on the blue-striped apprentice. "Listen to me very closely," he rasped, voice hoarse from coughing so much. "It's not that I don't want you here. I do, more than you know. I just don't want you to get sick, because if something were to happen to you, it would rip me apart." He thought about his mother and his mentor, and how their deaths had nearly destroyed him. Echopaw dying would cause him to completely unravel at the seams. Losing her would be like losing what little hope he still had left in his heart.

Knowing that his apprentice felt abandoned by StarClan, he gave her one of his rare smiles, his eyes glittering in the dark. "Don't worry about me, I'll get better and then we'll continue your training and you'll be a warrior in no time," he told her, warmth in his voice. "Nothing, not even StarClan, could impel me to leave you."

Heron

[Heron]

Echopaw kept her gaze avoided, wincing when he started to break off into a series of coughs. Dejected, she couldn't dare look back at him when he said her name."..because if something were to happen to you, it would rip me apart." Rip him apart? Because she was his apprentice? She wanted to tell him that she wouldn't get sick- that sickness was above her. Starclan couldn't - wouldn't - take her out that easily. They wanted her to suffer. Yes, yes. That must be it.

She turned to look at him just in time to see him flashing a dazzled smile at her, one of his rarities. If it were another time, place, and situation she would have captured the moment in a strong, happy memory. Now, she felt frightened and defeated. She simply nodded her head, concentrating on him speaking to her with comforting, warm words. It was the warm parts of him that hurt her the most, for reasons almost completely unknown. "Nothing, not even StarClan, could impel me to leave you." She wanted to tell him how much those words meant to her; how scared she was that Starclan was plotting her demise. She'd be a warrior? Would she? Echopaw didn't know. She merely dipped her head and feigned a small smile, her cool exterior an expert at protecting her panic-ridden thoughts. "Thank you, Ashfrost. Get well soon." The apprentice turned quickly and high-tailed out of the front of the medicine cat's den, breathing in the fresh, non-ill air. It was chilly and cold, but Echopaw was warm in her skin.

(Sorry for the wait! College started back up and I got busy!)

[Rogue]

Thank you, Ashfrost. Get well soon.

The grey-spotted warrior watched Echopaw slip out of the den, his heart cold and hard. Her words were so flat, so emotionless. It wasn't like her at all. She was usually so bright, so full of energy and determination. His mind went back to a few days ago, when he had taught her how to use her hearing problem to her advantage in a fight, instead of it being a hindrance. Her eyes had lit up with such hope that it had made him genuinely happy, something that he hadn't felt in a long, long time. Now, seeing her so numb inside, made him extremely uncomfortable.

She reminded him of himself.

Sighing to himself, Ashfrost shifted around in his nest so he was more comfortable, and he closed his eyes as he tried to chase sleep. He would rest and he would overcome this greencough, and then he and Echopaw would get right back to training. She was close to being caught up with the other apprentices, and he was going to make sure she would become a warrior. StarClan is trying to stop her from becoming a warrior, huh? Well, they're going to have to try harder if they want to kill me.

(No problem! ^.^ How's college so far? And should we end this thread and start a new one? )

[Heron]

(It's good! I like my professors at least but I can already tell I'm going to have a lot on my plate, you know? :c And sure thing, we can end this one here and pick back up maybe on their first training session back?? I'd think it would take more than a week to get back to whitecough, then eliminate the cough completely.)

[Rogue]

(Yeah I'm kinda afraid for when I start college in the spring. It sounds like a lot to do. X.X And sure, sounds good! I would say probably a week too, meaning that Echopaw probably fell behind the other apprentices again, dang it. XD Would you like me to start it? )

[Heron]

(Yes please!!)