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Post by Amber on Feb 11, 2010 21:32:26 GMT -5
The shaky figure of a sleek gray cat slunk through Fossil Valley, steps not as careful as they normally would be. Eclipsewind's whole body was wracked with tremors as her breath came in shallow gasps. Moss-green optics were searching the stretch of territory for any sign of life.
She tottered on her paws, but managed to bite her tongue and send a renewed sense of clarity to her mind. The blood in her mouth did little for her condition, however. Aa.. The femme lifted her muzzle. Aa...! She twitched her nose.
T'nk! went her sneeze. She angled her head towards the ground and trudged on, gaze bleary. Eclipsewind certainly did NOT feel well. She was tired beyond belief - ready to collapse on the stone. In fact...
It took a moment for the realization to sink in: she had collapsed. She tried to get up, struggled, and then let herself go limp with a wail of dismay. "Wh-why can't I move?" she attempted to speak, but only her lips moved. Just when she had started to lose hope, she scented another cat coming closer. Smokestorm! She longed to call to him but could not so she simply lay there, fighting for each breath of air.
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Post by Brambles on Feb 11, 2010 21:43:39 GMT -5
...xx...I will leave with your heart on my sleeve my dear...xx...
[/b][/i] Paws scuffed carelessly against the dirt that composed of part of RageClan territory. Rocks were strewn about in endless piles and boulders. Blocking easy passage. However, the obstacles barely hindered the fresh young warrior. Black fur rustled in a stiff breeze that blew by. Nothing out of the ordinary. Spare for one detail. The scent the wind carried with it. Smokestorm paused, skull tilting back to raise his muzzle into the dusty air. He inhaled, drawing in the scent. 'Is it so?' Smokestorm inquired to himself. Taking in another whiff to confirm his thoughts, he scented a feline. Eclipsewind. But something about her all too familiar scent was wrong. It was...sickly. Alarm spiked in Smokestorm's heart as he pinpointed the direction she was in. Swiftly, the tom bounded over the rocks and boulders, muscles rippling beneath his sleek black fur. She was near. It was not long before the tom spotted a gray form laying prone on the ground. 'Eclipsewind!' Smokestorm called out her name, desperate to hear a response. How could one he cared for so much suffer without his knowledge? Mere moments later, the tom reached her side. Crouching beside her, Smokestorm stared with wide yellow optics at her, searching for some sort of response to his callings. 'Eclipsewind, talk to me please.' His voice was soft, full of worry and care for the female. He dare not think of what would happen if he lost her. ...xx...If you offer it so freely...xx... [/b][/i][/size][/blockquote] |
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Post by Amber on Feb 11, 2010 21:56:02 GMT -5
Her tired gaze directed itself onto him now instead of the all-too-interesting patterns of the rock. "Smokestorm.." The she-cat's mouth formed the words, but again all that she could manage was a rasp. But although she could not make herself speak, she soon found herself in a coughing fit, silent as it may have been. Silent pleas to DreamClan went up from the gray cat and her body twisted in pain.
Gradually it ebbed and Eclipsewind stilled again. She glanced upwards, meeting the tom's eyes, and in hers was desperation but also anger. "Contagious..?" she breathed, hoping with that word he would catch on. She didn't know if what she had was catchable, but it was painful enough she would not wish it on her worst enemy.
Then her eyes drifted away as she felt herself slipping. She clung desperately on - who knew if this doze would be her last? - and bit down hard on her tongue again. Her legs kicked as her face twisted in pain. At least they worked, even a little.
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Post by Brambles on Feb 12, 2010 0:05:03 GMT -5
...xx...Here we stand...xx...
[/i][/center] 'Oh Eclipsewind...what's happened?' Smokestorm whispered, his voice taut with worry. The only cat he truly felt he would want to share his life with was broken, dying, at his paws. His only question was wondering what had fallen on her. Never before had the tom-cat seen such an illness. Even his aging father, the infamous Shadowtail, hadn't ever fallen ill to such a sickness. Hearing Eclipsewind's croaked word, Smokestorm smiled weakly and shook his black-furred skull. 'No, no. I'm sure I'll be safe from it. Don't worry about me.' The tom's voice was full of care for the femme, and he hoped she could hear it to let her know she wasn't alone. Eclipsewind began to slip away, he could see it, and panic gripped the toms heart. He searched her face frantically as it became twisted with pain. Legs kicked out as well, and Smokestorm was at a complete loss as to what to do. The tom stood and looked around, desperately searching for another cat. 'Someone! Anyone!' He called out, voice echoing eerily. Yellow optics continued to scan for some sign of a feline, But so far none had appeared. ...xx...Both of our hearts broken in two...xx... [/b][/i][/size][/blockquote] |
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Post by Amber on Feb 12, 2010 7:53:45 GMT -5
Eclipsewind's gaze travelled slowly until it rested on Smokestorm again. She had meant to catch his eye, try and reassure him, but he was looking somewhere else. "Someone! Anyone!" The words he spoke made the she-cat strangely sad. "No one comes here during this season." It took her a while to realize she had thought aloud, although her voice was cracked and in some places it dropped out completely so that it was more like "No one... here during.. eason".
Her ears flicked as she realized quite suddenly that she was wrong. With all of her other senses dimming, her nose, although ailing, was more sensitive than normal. The scent that drifted to it was one she had hoped never to catch again. Flightfoot... She whispered something that sounded a lot like "Oh, no" and closed her eyes briefly before remembering why she couldn't.
Flightfoot stalked towards the two cats in the distance, her cream-colored fur standing on end. "Hello, Prissy," she called with a scoff, "And one of your lackeys too. Oh, dear. Whatever could be the matter?" She was soon at Smokestorm's side, shooting him a wink before glaring down at Eclipsewind. Somehow the look in her eyes made Flightstep's hatred vanish for a second to be replaced with the familiarity they used to have when they were friends.
The femme heaved a sigh dramatically and then turned towards the tom. "What do you need?" she asked wryly.
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Post by Brambles on Feb 13, 2010 18:14:34 GMT -5
...xx...Stand my ground, I won't give in...xx...
[/b][/i] Eclipsewind spoke. Smokestorm whirled around to face her again, crouching at her side. He strained to understand her croaked words. Managing to discern most of it. 'No one...here during...eason.'[/i] Smokestorm shook his head in defiance. Surely there must be someone else nearby. If no one traveled this way at this time of year, then how come Eclipsewind and himself had? The tom just couldn't grasp her dying out here with no one close enough to help save her. 'Surely someone will come, Eclipsewind. Don't give up hope on me now...' Smokestorm murmured into her ear. Scent of another seeped into Smokestorm's nostrils. Excitement flared in his chest, and he leaped to his paws, looking over to see who approached. From the distance, it was hard to tell. But by scent, he came to the conclusion that it was Flightfoot. Hearing Eclipsewind's quiet words, Smokestorm's gut twisted with anxiety. Perhaps, the arrival of the femme was not a good thing at all. Yet someone was better than no one. And Smokestorm would accept help from anyone at this point. However, Flightfoot's first words caused the tom to begin to seethe with anger, only to be replaced with silent embarrassment at the wink she gave him. It was unexpected. 'What do you think I need? She's dying! We need to get her back to the camp where she can be helped!' Smokestorm exploded, yellow optics flashing with urgency and black tail lashing out behind him. He would not play this feline's games. ...xx...No more denying, I got to face it...xx... [/b][/i][/size][/blockquote] |
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Post by Amber on Feb 16, 2010 6:51:26 GMT -5
"Whatever," Flightfoot muttered quietly with an exaggerated eyeroll. She crouched low to inspect her fallen rival with a suddenly serious expression. Her chest heaved for brief and her eyes gazed dully out into the distance. But Flightfoot noticed something else - a very slight sheen around the corners of her eyes. Moisture of some sort?
"Hmm," she commented, a little too cheerfully, "I'm no medicine cat, but I've never seen something like this. Are you sure she can be helped?" The tabby paused briefly and then answered herself before Smokestorm could. "Never mind. It doesn't matter anyway." She grabbed at Eclipsewind's scruff, but couldn't manage to drag her more than a mouse-length or two. "Sheesh!" she murmured through the heap of gray fur, "Lay off on the pheasants..."
The gray she-cat grunted in response and Flightfoot nearly dropped her. Oh, she's awake.., was all she could think. Eclipsewind glared up at the tabby with an intensity in her gaze unmatched by many, at least when weakened as she was. The angry eyes turned themselves to focus on Smokestorm, although the emotion in them couldn't help but soften a bit, for it wasn't Smokestorm she was angry at.
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