Disease. Death. Despair.

[Kenya]

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[atrb=width,400,true][atrb=background,http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g171/Sillvy/NEbg.png] N I G H T E Y E Nighteye lay curled and un-moving in her den. A few days had passed since her meeting with the loners and her fox attack. Nighteye craned her head to look at her leg, it was covered with marigold. Aching. Red. She shook her head, droplets of white foam that had formed onto her lips splattered the ground. She refused to stay with the medicine cat. She was young and healthy. Enthusiastic to help her clan. Everything a warrior guided by Starclan should be. Should be. She blinked her deep bright blue eyes. Every blink brought back a memory. Scuffling outside of the nursury, Her earliest memory. Her sister Darkkit was her sparring partner. Blink. Catching her first prey. A vole. Blink. Her warrior ceromoney. "From this moment you shall be known as Nighteye!" Blink. Darkflower. Vanishing from Westclan. Blink. Ismo and Quinn. Two unusual Loners. Blink. Nighteye's head shot up from her nest. She tried to force the saliva in her throat down but wouldn't swallow. Couldn't swallow. What was that noise? She sprang out of her nest into the camp. Was it camp? This wasn't her camp. Was it? She flung her head side to side. More droplets of foam escaping to the ground. A few landing on the fur of a nearby Queen. Her jaw dropped and hung open for a few long moments, then she snapped it shut before it fell again. Nighteye shook her head again. She didn't feel well, but she couldn't concentrate long enough to really understand what she was feeling. Everything around her distorted. A branch fluttered in a passing breeze. Nighteye spun around and hissed, facing the noise that awoke her from her rest. Whats wrong with me? She thought forming one of a very few coherent thoughts.

[Bloodpaw]

Thrushstar peered into the warriors den. Nighteye's tossing and turning had alerted her. Something was severely wrong with the warrior, that was easy to see for anyone, medicine cat or not. She wondered where Ravenspirit was. "Nighteye you need to be examined," she meowed. "If you've caught something serious, I can't have you staying around the rest of the warriors. You'll have to move to the medicine cat's den."

This wasn't like anything she'd seen before. This was some kind of illness that seemed serious but she didn't know how it could effect a cat. "Make sure you go and see Ravenspirit. I don't want this to get out of control."

[Kenya]

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[atrb=width,400,true][atrb=background,http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g171/Sillvy/NEbg.png] N I G H T E Y E Nighteye spun around and hissed at her leader. More drops of white foam escaped her jaws and landed among the walls of the warriors den. "Raven..Spirit?" She croaked, her voice as confused and twisted as she felt. She tried to swallow again, but it wasn't possible. Nighteye stepped back, bumping her irritated leg. She hissed again, Stupid Fox! Stupid cats! Nighteye shook her head again, once more allowing foam to cover the ground around her. What was she doing? Nighteye looked back to Thrushstar and nodded. Turning she faced the warriors den, confused again. Ravenspirit? She turned in the right direction and stalked to the medicine cat den. She opened her jaws to call out but there came no sound other than a rasping mew. Frustared and angered at the fox and her clanmates for not helping her and finding the problem, she hissed again. Extending a paw, Nighteye clawed at a lowered branch. Her patience was wearing thing, and her mind wasn't all there.

[h a r e . xxx]

Aspenfeather laid in her nest in the elder's den, unable to get herself to fall asleep. She wasn't exceptionally old, no she could have still been serving as a warrior, but her mind had begun to unwind slowly, causing her to have to retire. Her problems were not terribly bad, just some slight memory lapses and at times unusual behavior. She would still go out hunting or on patrol to help out the warriors that were still working so hard, some even older than herself. But it was serious enough to force her into the elder's den for the majority of the time. Her current state sent a shiver down her spine as she remembered what happened to her father.

Aspen covered her ears, trying to block out the incoherent mutters coming out of Silverstrike's voice. Her father was normally a very proud, strong cat that would never act like this. He was more or less losing his mind, and taking Aspen's with it. The she-cat was terrified to think that her father was going into this state. He wasn't even very old, according to him not even old enough to warrant retiring to become an elder.

"Rita, how could I let you die? You should have come with me!" he would yowl toward Silverpelt, as if his mate could hear him. It tugged at the she-cat's heart.

"Silverstrike, you need to drink! If you don't, you will end up dying," she begged futily. Her father was dead. After so long of believing it was Rita's blood, he had died from dehydration.

"Father......"

Getting up and making sure not to wake her denmates, she noticed Thrushstar was out, trying to get Nighteye into the medicine den. That poor young warrior had gotten bit by a fox and fallen ill. She had seen it before but never really knew anything besides that without treatment, the victim would progress and deteriorate. None of the cats she met survived, but they didn't have access to or knowledge of herbs.

Walking over to Thrushstar, Aspenfeather asked solemnly. "Do you believe she will possibly spread it? I have met cats that have had similar conditions in my time before coming here." She did not mention that she knows it is contagious and that it is usually, no most of the time, fatal. She couldn't bring herself to. She watched the sick cat through sad orange eyes.

[Bloodpaw]

Thrushstar worriedly watched Nighteye stumble towards the medicine cat den. She wasn't acting right. She hoped that Ravenspirit could come up with a diagnoses. There was something very off about the way she was behaving, like something was inside of her mind. She was about to go and ask Ravenspirit about what could be done when Aspenfeather came up to her. She dipped her head with respect for the elder.

"What do you know about this illness?" she asked. She tilted her head, wondering if it could be something that could threaten the entire Clan. "If it is an illness that spreads, I fear I'll have to have Nighteye moved outside the camp for treatment. I will not have my warriors falling ill to this disease. Not in this day and age. We need all the strong and healthy cats we can get, in case of the threat of war. We've all heard what's happening between EastClan and NorthClan. We don't want that to happen here as well." Her tail swished back and forth and she watched Nighteye's struggle with concern.

[SWEET♥]

[bg=black][atrb=width,500,true][atrb=border,0,true] RAVENSPIRIT: WESTCLAN MEDICINE CAT The medicine cat watched as Ravenspirit made her way to the den. She could tell immediately that something was very, very wrong. She cast a concerned gaze in her leader's direction. "Nighteye, what's wrong?" she asked, shifting her weight back and forth from paw to paw. She was uncomfortable because the she-cat seemed very gone in the head. There was only one thing that could do this to a cat. The madness. It happened sometimes when a cat was bitten. "Were you injured by a predator? Nighteye, can you understand me?" she asked. She looked at her patient in the eyes but could see nothing but confusion. She did not know the cure for this illness, as her training had never been fully completed. There were so many things she had to learn to cure through trial and error. She'd heard about the tale of Whitestar, a former EastClan leader who caught the madness from a fox bite. Their medicine cat fed her deathberries to stop her before she could contaminate the rest of the Clan.

[h a r e . xxx]

Aspenfeather sighed as Thrushstar asked what the elder knew about this "madness", actually a disease in reality. She heard Ravenspirit ask Nighteye what was going on, if she even understood very clear simple statements. How could she bring herself to tell, even though it was her leader, the one who had been generous enough to let the former loner into WestClan.

"Where to begin? Well for starters, this is not quite a madness or an ordinary disease. The cats that are used to Twolegs call it a virus, which are extremely dangerous. This certain one is caused when an infected animal bites another animal, spreading the disease. Hence, it is considerably able to spread," the black and white she-cat paused, wondering if she had explained it properly. She continued anyhow, before her full memory of it lapses. Explainations can come later.

"They called it rabies, though only barn cats tend to call it by its name. I am deeply saddened to say it, but it almost always results in death in the end, whether from insanity like my own father Silverstrike, causing a cat to stop eating and drinking. Or the illness progresses to the point where they must be killed. Cats should avoid Nighteye, just so none of them come into contact with her saliva or get bitten on mistake."

She tilted her head and waited for the insanity remark, that she herself was losing her mind or reverting back to the barn cat she used to be. But this could possibly be helpful to the Clan, just simply knowing what the madness was and that spreading it can be avoided.

[Kenya]

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[atrb=width,400,true][atrb=background,http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g171/Sillvy/NEbg.png] N I G H T E Y E Nighteye stared blankly at the creature in front of her. A cat? A cat she knows? No. Nighteye hissed. This creature, this thing. It was a threat! It would hurt her! Nighteye attempted a strangled hiss at Ravenspirit, and swiped a claw at her. More drops of white foam dripped from her paws. A trail of the vile stuff had been dropping since her sleep in the warriors den. Nighteye shook her head vigorously. Where was she? Who was she? She shook her head again. Ravenspirit? "Fox" she croaked, her breathing raspy with the effort. "Shared prey..with cat.. don't remember. Name." Her words distorted ending in only wheezing rasps."Fox" She mouthed stepped back with her head lowered and eyes squeezed shut. Pressure in her head made it spin. Her body trembled all over, her pelt clinging to her side like a dead cat waiting for vigil. She was gone again. Nighteye threw back her head in a silent cry. Why couldn't she escape? There were creatures everywhere! How did she get here? Where is here? She bared her teeth in a silent growl. No noise would come now. Nor would it come again. Her jaws dripped the white foam, her throat unable to swallow as the paralyzing illness spread.

[Toadie]

Fleetfoot as well hadn't been feeling well, though the fox had done far less damage to her she'd still been nipped. She had gone to see Ravenspirit earlier, but the medicine cat had fed her calming herbs to send her into sleep while she examined. The madness hadn't come upon Fleetfoot in full yet, but she found herself blacking out, waking up and not remembering where she was or what she was doing before.

She always felt anxious, and her body felt warm. There was also a perpetual drool coming from the side of her mouth. She heard voices outside and saw Nighteye, the warrior who'd help her fight the fox. Her eyes opened slightly but the herbs kept her too sedated to speak. Her mind slowly made the connection between the fox bites and the illnesses. But Nighteye seemed even worse than she was - it must have spread more quickly through her. But if she was turning mad, didn't that mean Fleetfoot was next?

She blacked out again and her head hit the mycelium on the ground.

[lolita]

Ravensun knew all the trouble her clanmates were in. They were sick and would likely never recover. She stayed as far away from all of them as she could. Even if she had to stay halfway across the camp from the medicine cat den at all times. "You really ought to quarantine them," she grumbled to no one in particular. "They'll spread the madness across the camp and soon WestClan will be nothing." She never looked at the bright side of anything. As far as she could tell there was no bright side to her Clan being infected with an uncurable disease.

Her short black fur bristled. She could smell death in the air before it even came. No hope and no believe in StarClan. There was nothing that could stop the entire Clan from being gone before they even knew it.

[Kenya]

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[atrb=width,400,true][atrb=background,http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g171/Sillvy/NEbg.png] N I G H T E Y E Nighteye turned to face Ravenspirit and her other clanmates. Her lips curled up in a furious snarl as she stepped towards them. To say she was out of her mind held more true then not. Nighteye advanced on her clan-mates hissing and spitting madness through choking silence. No sense would reach her now. She was not a warrior. Not even a cat. She was a monster, facing other monsters. her face twisted in rage as she took another uneven staggering step. No cat could reason with her now, she wouldn't even understand them if they tried. Claws unsheathed, Nighteye readied herself against the enemies attack. If her clanmates didn't do something, she would tear them apart. What she didn't kill would be infected with the disease. Without intervention Westclan would meet its end at the claws of a sick young warrior.

[Bloodpaw]

Thrushstar narrowed her eyes. Everything she was being told gave her indicated that she had no choice but to stop the infected warriors before the madness spread to her entire Clan. She left the elder and went to approach Ravenspirit, who was trying to speak to Nighteye. It was easy to see she was too far gone. "Enough of this," meowed Thrushstar. "Nighteye doesn't have a chance, Ravenspirit. Neither does Fleetfoot. I leave it up to you to peacefully end their lives."

She turned around, solid in her decision. There was no way she was going to let WestClan fall to a disease. Where was the dignity in that? WestClan taken down by madness passed on from a fox. No, she couldn't let that happen.

[SWEET♥]

[bg=black][atrb=width,500,true][atrb=border,0,true] RAVENSPIRIT: WESTCLAN MEDICINE CAT The order to end the lives of Nighteye and Fleetfoot made Ravenspirit's heart pound so loud she swore she could hear it in her ears. She'd never been ordered something like this before, to kill two cats who were her very own clanmates before they infected the rest of them. She fell into slow acceptance and nodded her head. She'd never done something like this, but it was obvious that they didn't have a choice. "I'll prepare some deathberries," she meowed quietly. She looked over at the black she-cat and the tabby she-cat. Nighteye seemed to be getting worse with every passing second. Obviously she'd hit the point of no return, now a victim of the madness. But she noticed that Fleetfoot was still somewhat coherent though it was leaving quickly. It'd be harder to end the life of a cat who was more aware, but Ravenspirit knew what she had to do.

[Durango]

[bg=2B2821][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=width,400,true] viperstrike Viperstrike entered the camp just in time to hear what was going on, and catch that her sister Fleetfoot was going to be killed. She let out a furious hiss and marched up to Ravenspirit. She couldn't stop herself from unsheathing her claws and striking the medicine cat on the shoulder with malice. "Leave my sister alone!" she spat angrily. "There's nothing wrong with her." Her heart was pounding. She knew it was taboo to attack a fellow clan member, and even moreso if the clan member was the medicine cat. But she wasn't about to let Ravenspirit put Fleetfoot down without having her try to do something else for her. "Treat her with your stupid herbs!" she hissed.

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[Kenya]

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[atrb=width,400,true][atrb=background,http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g171/Sillvy/NEbg.png] N I G H T E Y E Nighteye pulled in ragged breaths as she stared with distorted vision around Westclan. Cats she’d always known but seemed to never see surrounded her. Trees bent in obscure ways and black smoky light dripped off the fur of the cats in front of her. She backed away from them, these shadow creatures. She was a warrior. A warrior with a name she didn’t remember, but one she had earned. Not even her sharp claws and quick wit could keep these cats away. Some moved towards her, screeching in a language she no longer understood. Nighteye searched for an escape and found it. Darting the shadow cats she bolting into the medicine cat den. The dens shadows took on their own shapes. Their faces twisted in grimaces, but it was safer then out there with the shadow cats. The den scented of herbs, some sweet. Some bitter. Most of the colors were earth brown, or the deep green of the forest. Few of these herbs held anything else. Except one. Bright red circles caught her eye. They reminded her of a fierce fire, or the color of a robin’s breast. Intrigued by them, she sniffed one, then another, and another. Something in the back of her mind found them perplexing. Like there was something she should of known about them. It pricked at the back of her mind, just out of reach from her curiosity. Saliva dripped from her hanging jaw as she attempted to scoop one into her mouth. Would it taste of prey? Sweet herbs? Bitter ones? Would it taste like nothing at all? She found the taste interesting, and struggled to eat another through her swinging jaws. A strange feeling pitted in her stomach, her confused mind unable to comprehend what was occurring. Sickness overwhelmed her, and she vomited on the ground. The shadow cats, they tricked her. Nighteye staggered a few paces before collapsing. The dust swirled her pelt and marked her sleek black frame. Nighteye found her mind clearing in those last few moments. The dark shadow dripping cats melting into her clan mates. The red enticing death berries lay at her paws. She remembered now. She was Nighteye. Named for her pelt and skills. She was a warrior of Westclan. She caused sickness in her camp. The sickening feeling ate away at her, until she felt almost nothing. She expected to see starry cats from Starclan here to welcome her. None came, and she could not move her body to seek them. Nighteye rested her head on her paws. If any clan mates dared to come close enough, they would arrive just in time to see a fierce blue fire dying from her eyes. The wind howled its mourning through the dark branches of the swamp. Nighteye was lost forever to the shadows.