private ONE HAND CLAPPING ♱ [ MARBLEPAW ]

[SHARPSHADOW]

Just before Sharpshadow can convince himself that he's fine, actually; there's no need for him to continue his path to the medicine cat's den. He can go out! Be useful, or whatever. Go out on one of the very first days of Leaf-bare proper and marvel at the wonders of, mud-slush and no prey in sight, probably... Before he can do any of that, he breaks into a cough; not as bad as, but certainly reminiscent of Amberhaze's ugly hacking. Amberhaze.

He'd look more miserable than usual when Marblepaw saw him, and all things considered, that's pretty impressive. " Ffffh- Amberhaze got me sick. I kn-know it was him. Starlingheart couldn't keep his scrawny flank locked d-down? " She glances around in search of the Medicine Cat in question. She doesn't seem to be here. He guesses she's out... or maybe in her secret bunker that she retreats to when she gets sick of the coughing. Wherever she is, she's probably freezing her ass off too. A sigh flares through her nostrils. " I guess... she's pretty scrawny too. "

At this time of year, she'll be far from the only cat in here. It makes her grimace, the thought of just being another useless heap strewn across the floor. She wasn't ready to resign herself to it yet... No, she keeps upright, tired eyes peering at the Medicine Cat Apprentice in anticipation of her doing... whatever. He's weak in more ways than one. His legs feel way too flimsy for someone who's yet to hunt today. His mind... well, anyone would probably feeling similar when Leader number two has just vanished, and their replacement is a queen.

Marblepaw's news hasn't even gone cold yet... if this was the sort of news that could even draw to a lull like that... Maybe it'd be better if they both just pretended nothing's happened, for now. " How long... How long do I have to be here for? " Silver eyes squeeze shut.

OOC: @MARBLEPAW

​

 

[MARBLELEAF]

Marblepaw is so focused on scraping dried brown flakes from their storage that Sharpshadow's whine makes her jump from her fur. "Amberhaze got me sick," she complains, and the fawn tabby twists, blinking sympathetically. "Aw, you got it too, huh? Seems like the whole darn camp caught whitecough when I did." She covers her muzzle with a paw crusted with herb residue at the Amberhaze slander — she wants to make a quip about him, too, but she decides to be merciful to a tom who can't even defend himself at present time.

"You know how all the warriors in this Clan are. She can't keep anyone locked down. Everyone works themselves until they're half-dead," she scoffs, rolling her eyes. She'd have scolded Amberhaze if she'd caught him out of his sickbed, but Starlingheart keeps her busy — and besides, the catmint had only recently cured her of her symptoms, really.

Sharpshadow looks apprehensive on top of disease-ridden, though, and Marblepaw can only imagine it's because of her... her omen. Ternfrost will likely be leaving for Mothermouth with Starlingheart within a day or two's time, and the entire Clan is uneasy. Perhaps many of them questioned the validity of her sign, and she can't say she blames them too much for that. She was not Starlingheart; she does not have moons of experience interpreting signs from their warrior ancestors. Furthermore, for StarClan to choose a queen still coddling kits to lead ShadowClan over the healthy, strong deputy who stood in Mirestar's absence... it's baffling, even to her.

She does not bring this up, though — not yet. Sharpshadow looks miserable, and Marblepaw knows without asking that he's caught whitecough from Amberhaze and the other stubborn cats who wouldn't quarantine. "Just a moment. I'll get you a dose of catmint, and then you'll be down and out for a few days while it works its magic... but you'll be —" Her paw reaches for the miraculous herb and comes up empty.

Her eyes widen. Hadn't there been...? Six doses, right? But... Bloodwing, Shalestorm, Snowlark, Amberhaze, Batchaser... Marblepaw's teeth sink into her lower lip. She tastes blood. And me. Oh, StarClan, the catmint, their precious store — it's all gone! And she doesn't know where any grows in their territory, even without mounds of snow and frost...

Marblepaw withdraws her paw from the empty spot. She does not face Sharpshadow, but her voice is deadly calm. "So, you'll be here a little longer than I thought, actually. But, uh — don't worry. I'm going to... to fix this." A flash of spotted golden fur, of wildflowers scattered across a moorland hill, fills her vision. "You just pick a nest and get comfy, yeah? And I'll, uh... I'll find something to soothe your throat. I've got some honey you can have — that'll help some, right?"

She anticipates questions, yes. They know it's coming, and they dread telling him the awful truth — that unless WindClan has mercy on her, there will be no curing the sickness that plagues him.

Instead, she wets a mossball with thick, sticky liquid, and she presses it to Sharpshadow's muzzle. "Here. Lick." She smiles. It lacks even an ounce of confidence.

『 out of character. 』 ✧･ﾟ:* 『 about. 』

• ooc: —
• 
• Marblekit . Marblepaw, she/they w/ feminine and non-gendered terms.
  — "speech", thoughts, attack
  — 11 moons old, ages realistically on the 1st.
  — mentored by Starlingheart ; mentoring n/a ; previously mentored n/a
  — shadowclan medicine cat apprentice, formerly a rogue. siltcloud x lilacfur, gen 3.
  — currently mated to n/a.
  — penned by Marquette.
  
  
  sh fawn tabby with dull green eyes. courageous, curious, introspective, observant, judgmental, snarky.

​

 

[SHARPSHADOW]

She can't really remember when Marblepaw grew up right in front of her, but here they are trying not to laugh at his half-joke, and he feels a bit proud of it, he guesses. A grunt acknowledges what she says next... something about everyone in ShadowClan being insufferable. Though she's sure Marblepaw wouldn't put it that way herself... Half-dead, she says. It carefully skirts around every case of full death, wrought down on those stupid enough to go out alone when they knew they should have. Then again... disaster seemed to come for them regardless of anything they did right or wrong. It's a reminder, what she says, that not every incident was a matter of stupidity. Maybe some of them really did care as much as she did... Was that self aggrandizing to say?

Sharpshadow clears her throat. It doesn't seem to do much but jostle the phlegm around. Ugh. Catmint. She knows the word is usually uttered around this season... His whiskers twitch in acknowledgement. A few days didn't sound so awful... Well, it did, actually; but he tries to convince himself that it didn't. He glances toward the floor, feeling weird potentially boring holes in Marblepaw's back while she does... whatever. He doesn't bother dwelling on whatever it was Marble was actually doing, thinking, etcetera...

Not until she speaks again at least, and her voice is like, the complete opposite of comforting. Sudden nervousness makes her spine prickle, a namesake becoming even more obvious, however that was possible. " ...How much is a little to you? " she asks it as if she's afraid to. Probably because she definitely is.

The warrior is fully making a face now. She doesn't think it's the sickness making her nauseous... not yet, anyways. Her stomach churns as she does as she's told, trailing towards one of the free (shabby looking; thank you, Leaf-bare) nests nearby. That'll help some, right? Is she talking to him, or to herself? He isn't sure which possibility is worse. " What're you asking me for? "

Suddenly, she's pretty okay with trying to stare a hole through the back of Marblepaw's skull. But she's... still. A good patient, or whatever, even if she didn't necessarily feel like she owed them it at this point in time. Marblepaw tells her to lick. A slow blink, and she complies.

It's... better, he supposes, but in the way that he knew he'd probably be asking for more of it before the day is over. " W-what happened to catmint? "​

 

[MARBLELEAF]

Sharpshadow — unsurprisingly — is immediately on edge. Silver eyes squint in her direction. "...How much is a little to you?" Her voice is low and accusatory. Marblepaw runs her tongue around her lips; stars, when had they gotten so dry? "Um. Well. That just depends." She inclines her head, studying their forepaws for a moment, as if some catmint will start sprouting between them. "I, uh... I'm not sure where Starlingheart got that catmint from, but it's all gone, now."

She meets his gaze sheepishly, but sheepish doesn't really cover it, does it? Her paw pads feel searing hot, but the rest of her body is cold and stiff from the realization. She doesn't know what else treats whitecough — she knows really very little about the disease. Catmint had been what had cured the other cats, including herself... and Starlingheart hadn't shown her anything else that worked.

The pale tabby swallows. "Don't worry. I won't let anything bad happen to you. There has to be something else I can do." She begins to pace, her eyes scraping over the herb stores, neatly rolled. Marigold — no, no, that's for outer infections... Comfrey? She remembers the way she'd tucked it into Sneezeduck's nest to ease his joint pain, but... Horsetail? No, no, no...

Marblepaw's breath mists in front of her. She does not turn to Sharpshadow as she reassures him, again: "I won't let anything happen to you." Where did catmint grow? She'd never seen it in ShadowClan territory — but did it grow in WindClan? She doesn't know; she can only hope...

『 out of character. 』 ✧･ﾟ:* 『 about. 』

• ooc: —
• 
• Marblekit . Marblepaw, she/they w/ feminine and non-gendered terms.
  — "speech", thoughts, attack
  — 11 moons old, ages realistically on the 1st.
  — mentored by Starlingheart ; mentoring n/a ; previously mentored n/a
  — shadowclan medicine cat apprentice, formerly a rogue. siltcloud x lilacfur, gen 3.
  — currently mated to n/a.
  — penned by Marquette.
  
  
  sh fawn tabby with dull green eyes. courageous, curious, introspective, observant, judgmental, snarky.

​

 

[SHARPSHADOW]

It depends, is her answer uttered with a downcast gaze; uh'd and um'd along in this way that made his skin crawl ( It was the same way he spoke. That was it ). The catmint— whatever that was... With the knowledge between them, essentially a miracle— was gone, spent on the likes of Amberhaze and whoever else he's coughed on, she's sure. Sharpshadow wears acute horror about as well as he always has. An ugly pinching of the forehead, a jaw parted, and the show of fangs.

There's a wordless slide into a dry nest, this wretched slump of her body as if she may as well give up and die now. That's essentially what Marblepaw is telling her, isn't it? That they're devoid of a cure. That she doesn't even know where Starlingheart got it from. Surely not ShadowClan, this rotting excuse of a territory that breathes smog on anything foolish enough to try and thrive here.

It's useless to listen to them, she knows. Still, the pin of night-slick ears swivels in search of something like, eureka! But they're clueless. Clueless as Starlingheart had been the day her mentor left her. Sharpshadow matches her pacing in mind only. Silver eyes keep up a contest with nothing but the ground. He isn't sure at what point his breath began to rustle his own fur.

Medicine Cats were different, weren't they? Vital. Not a cog in the machine; not another set of claws to mindlessly trace borders... What he was. What Forestshade had been— But Marblepaw isn't much better than him now. And it's- it isn't her fault. It isn't her fault that she's uselessly normal now. Marblepaw had the benefit of knowing there was more waiting for her, at least. " Y-you can't do anything, " he heaves it between panting breaths. " You can't. " He needed Starlingheart. But even if he had her...

His head slumps with the rest of him then, falling between his paws. How lucky had he been a few moments ago, to only be annoyed by his sniffles. Some stupid proclamation dredges its way from his throat, half-wheezed, " I can't die here. " And what would happen if he didn't? He'd wake up to mark the borders every day, he'd hunt until he aches, he'd fluff this mangy coat of his against the cold, against the heat, over and over again... Ternstar would vanish, and whoever came after that, whoever came after that, and Marblepaw would see ghosts again. A trail of stones intent on leading them to a cliff.

If he did die... it wouldn't make a difference at all, really. He'd just like to believe that it would, one day.

Marblepaw doesn't look at her when they say what they say. Sharpshadow's eyes fall shut. He doesn't believe her. " I can't... "​