alright OKAY fine ☀︎ diagnosis

[Sunfreckle]

Sunfreckle didn't like bothering Berryheart, he had enough on his plate as is and with the clan lost in a haze of sickness and struggling to maintain the freshkill pile he felt bothersome as he stepped into the mouth of the den; if it were not because it was about one of his kits he wouldn't be here, if it were himself he would just grit his teeth and deal but Sunshinekit had not stopped being sickly since that first time he took them with a sniffly nose and breathing struggles. It wasn't Yellowcough, thankfully, at least it didn't seem to be but it was certainly something and it was delaying very important socializing and play that all kits undertook; most days they simply slept and he didn't have the heart to force them to do anything else. Surely something could be done, there had to be a fix? Several moons of sickness wasn't something he had expected to be dealing with and no amount of visits to this den had changed anything, his mind flashes back to Dovekit's crumpled white form in the middle of camp; dead in a pile of her own sick - he won't admit it but he's terrified.
"Berryheart, I'm sorry to bug you but....the kits are being apprenticed next moon and Sunshinekit is still...they still..." The red tabby trails off, unsure and frankly at his wits end with it, "...they still cough and rasp, nothing is helping."
He was already going to be in the nursery one more moon for Pigeonkit, so he wasn't particularly bothered at the idea of them being held back but he just wanted his kit to be okay..
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[Ooc]
@BERRYHEART
& tagging @HOWLINGSTAR to pop in whenever if desired!
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[BERRYHEART]

Berryheart, predictably, was oblivious to any matters of awkwardness, deaf to the possibility that Nifty might seem bothersome. He was of staunch belief that problems were best solved efficiently, especially in matters of illness, and would only be harmful to put off. Lopsided eyes slipped toward the entrance of his den, and he greeted his friend with the subtlest of smiles, a twinge on crooked lips that was tired and slight but sincere all the same.

He did not blame the tom for cautiousness. Though he would never have his own kittens, losing his niece and brother had been hard enough- to lose a kit had been even worse. Many cats he knew had encountered such a death- and he imagined it was harder when experience urged such horror not to repeat. Nothing is helping. A quiet sliver of a sigh slid between Berryheart's ajar fangs.

"Keeping an eye on them for a little longer might be best..." Berryheart mused, gaze gentle despite the relative directness of his words. Nifty did not need to know he was sorry for the child's illness- he could likely work it out. It was a tricky topic, and the solution was probably not one the kit wanted to deal with. However... "They may just be cold-prone... but more time to prepare for apprenticeship will do them no harm." Stars forbid it be a chronic illness- something caught too late. He would not forgive himself.​

PENNED BY PIN ☾​

 

[HOWLINGSTAR]

Howlingstar had already been within the den, deeper in the cave visiting those who had been plagued. She crouches by Duskpaw's sleeping form now, eyes downcast as murmured prayers leave her lips. She only pauses when she hears Sunfreckle enter the den, green gaze flitting up to see him speaking now with Berryheart. Her frown deepends; Sunshinekit continues to struggle with illness. Fortunately for everyone, it is not Yellowcough, but there is still reason for concern when a child will simply not get better. It's her son's next words that draw her closer, her tail sweeping across the ground as she approaches.

"You advise that they stay in the nursery longer then, push their apprentice ceremony back?" She asks to confirm, worry filling her gaze. The poor thing...It would be hard to watch their littermates be apprenticed in a quarter-moon when they are of proper age. At least Sunshinekit will have Pigeonkit - they won't be completely without siblings to play and sleep with. "How long, do you think? One moon? Two?" ​

 

[Sunfreckle]

"You think so?" He asks as he spots Howlingstar join the discussion and Sunfreckle listens with his ears pinned back, he was already there anyways so he would be more than happy to have Sunshinekit stay if it meant they would recover more easily and with the comfort of a parent. A small part of him worried Pigeonkit might get sick from them but Pigeonkit was not his by blood and probably didn't get ill as often as his other siblings would. He'd long since acknowledged it was probably something to do with him that made the kits prone to sickness. Rabbitnose and his family never had the issue, his siblings were strong, as was he. A tiny voice chides him over his weak kittypet blood and he brushes it away, more focused on his kit's wellbeing now.

"They seem in decent spirits, at least." He admits, it is a small consolation but it is better than when they had first gotten sick and were still wallowing about miserably in the nest. "...so I'm hoping its mostly past but it still worries me." Poor thing, he wonders if they will fight him on the decision to be held back. He worries they might take it personal and withdraw.
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