could things get any worse?

[ogrins]

[glow=blue,2,300]/\/\/\[/glow]in a dizzy... everything is blue and nothing is right...[glow=blue,2,300]\/\/\/[/glow]

Reedtail sighed. His head ached. He could never see anything as brightly or as clearly anymore. He always felt dizzy, and could never make is go away. And it only got worse.

It had started out horribly. At first, he just grew tired really easily. He would stumble at the things he had seen just a few moments earlier. He would walk along the leaves so loudly, the Thunderclan cats across the lake could probably hear him. And so ended his hunting.

So he took to patrolling. During midday, if he was lucky enough to escape his tired, daydreaming position. But soon came the flashes of thoughts so clustered and confusing that he had to stop and just take it all in for a minute or two. And so ended his patrolling.

And so he sat at camp, trying to help by any means nessacary. But slowly, his nights had grown worse and worse. They became violent, sudden and unpredictably wild. And then every waking moment of his became shadowed, like a hazy dream. There were dark figures everywhere. And so he was haunted in the sunshine too. And so ended the resting.

Next up came the food. The last thing he could loose. But, sure enough, he began to feel, everytime he bit into a piece of prey, he felt the warm blood ooze up. His need to vomit would become immediately important. Sometimes he could avert the whole process though by not swallowing the food. But he grew hungry again, and would return to the pile slowly, determind to take one more bite.

[glow=blue,2,300]/\/\/\[/glow]there is another cat in the vauge blue mass of confusion. the cat is his mother, but he does not know that...[glow=blue,2,300]\/\/\/[/glow]

All his thoughts had been circulating on one event though... his birth. He didn't know how he could be sure that this was true, but he felt it was what was happening. It was the spookiest thing scince... well, nothing he could remember. He could barely controll his thoughts, for they all tied back to his birth in some sinister way. He had given up his ability to think to something he did not know.

[glow=blue,2,300]/\/\/\[/glow]the cat is wailing, but nothing is there. she looks perfectly fine, and yet she screams out in pain and agony... Reedtail wants to rush over and comfort her... he wants to help her...[glow=blue,2,300]\/\/\/[/glow]

He had thought about going to the medicine cat before, but he thought it would be silly. Serenechaos would probably just advise him to rest more. But that was where the second problem started.

it didn't end.

And so he had come to her finally. The 'dreams' had not ceaced for four days now. Hopefully Serenechaos would not kill him herself for being so stupid.

"Serenechaos?"

[glow=blue,2,300]/\/\/\[/glow]a black claw strikes out from behind, striking Reedtail on the back of his neck... blood immediately springs fourth from the wound... Reedtail faints. in the last few seconds of his consiousness, the she-cat runs over to him and... she strikes out at something behind Reedtail. and then everything else falls away and nothing can now be heard...[glow=blue,2,300]\/\/\/[/glow]

[rainbow-FiSHY]

"Ah, Reedtail..." Dawnbrook emerged from the den. "I assume you were expecting Serenechaos instead?" She flicked her tail, and then touched noses with him. "Serenechaos..." she paused, wondering about the absence of her clan's medicine cat. She took a deep breath and mewed, "Serenechaos doesn't appear to be here. I just came in a moment ago to let her check my wounds." Her eyes glowed brightly as she showed off her terrible scars. It was bleeding. Patches of red stained her pelt, but it wasn't too serious. Any medicine cat would know that a few cobwebs would do the trick, but Dawnbrook isn't a medicine cat.

She lashed her tail annoyingly as she growled grumpily, "Where is she?!" She seized the tom by her claws, sinking them into his fur, but not flesh. "Do you know where she is?!" she hissed, glaring at Reedtail, clinging on tighter and tighter as she waited impatiently for an answer.

[ogrins]

[glow=red,2,300]>[/glow]
_{have you ever looked at a book through a glass?
have you ever tumbled down the stream, and yet have been able to walk the whole time?
have you ever seen the world without color, like the lost pages of the book of time?
have you ever found the answer to a question you never asked?
have you ever had this sickness, or am I the only one?
-Reedtail.}

[glow=red,2,300]<[/glow]

[/color]

"Ah, Reedtail... I assume you were expecting Serenechaos instead?"

Reedtail smiled, looking up as he heard another cats presence become known. But it wasn't Serenechaos. The sleek form of Dawnbrook entered instead, eagerly touching noses with Reedtail before speaking any further.

"Serenechaos... Serenechaos doesn't appear to be here. I just came in a moment ago to let her check my wounds."

Reedtail then noticed the patches of stained red that decorated the she-cat's coat quite elaborately. Her periwinkle eyes glinted eagerly as she watched him look her over. He stopped, satisfying his curiosity for the moment. Then it occurred to him that he had had no right to do so. After all, Serenechaos was the medicine cat. It was not his place to overlook Dawnbrook like a leader, getting ready to tell her where to go. Then he wondered what it must be like as leader. Confusing and crazy as everything. It must be like the world coming down on your shoulders...

"Where is she?! Do you know where she is?!"

Reedtail felt the she-cats claws, unsheathed, against the very edge of his flesh. Dawnbrook would never hurt him, but she did have her moment. And now she shook him, like the wind would do to a stick, or the water would do to a falling leaf. Suddenly his head rung out, the shape of Dawnbrook herself blurring and fading together in itself. Her dark coat blended together with the den, and Reedtail closed his pure blue eyes in terror.

[glow=red,2,300]

.........................

[/glow]

But the sudden ringing of his head cleared in a moment, and the black tom opened his eyes. There, still holding him, clutching tighter and tighter before him, was Dawnbrook. The den around them cleared and the details became clear to him again, the sun shining bright on his face and the slight breeze along his whiskers.

"I... I don't know. I don't know where she is Dawnbrook."

The tom's words stuttered and shook in the air. He was still shaken from his mini-faint scene there. His head spun slightly once again, and this slowly was becoming familiar to the strong black tom. But he didn't feel strong any more. He felt like a mushy mix of water and dirt... a sort of mud, had taken the place of his bones and muscles and that he had to over think everything in order to stand up, to move. And so the tom planted himself on the ground, sitting down, yet still being held by Dawnbrook's powerful grasp.

"Wh... er... Where did you get those scars from?"

[`` serene !]

she emerged from the riverside, a solemn look on her face from the discussion that occured with Rosestar; who seemed ever so troubled. she contemplated it for a moment, sitting there to think.

a random dizzy spell hit serenechaos as she tumbled over, but jumped up with embaressment before anyone saw. ever since about a moon ago, serenechaos couldn't get a wink of sleep. insomnia, maybe, but much worse and a lot more serious. she couldn't walk properly, talk without slurring her words, or even be a very good medicine cat. serenechaos felt oh-so horrible for that but there was nothing she could do. she neither felt an appitite of any sort. was starclan preparing her for some huge message that could sweep her away? that had to be it because none of her other conclusions seemed to make any more sense than this.

the medicine cat took a look down at her ragged pelt, rather ashamed. her ribs stuck out and her usually-neat pelt was unkept and dirty. she walked with a slight limp and her muzzle was a bit bloody. serenechaos took a look into a nearby puddle before jumping back, her eyes were irregularly bloodshot and malignant-looking.

"starclan, please, please just get this thing over with."

a small whimper escaped her lips, but she muffled the rest and braced herself for whatever crazy emotional attack might come next. regaining a clumsy stature, the femcat set off towards her den, staggering ever now and then along the way.

what met her was quite odd, and surprising. dawnbrook had her claws sunk into reedtail's fur. was she attacking him? but it came apparant she wasn't, maybe just playing or maybe just plain crazy. reedtail looked extremely stressed and exhausted. dawnbrook had a few serious wounds.

she opened her muzzle to speak, "may i ask what is going on?" the medicine cat's voice sounded tired and weak, but that slight hint of sarcasm was available. the sarcasm wasn't like her though, she felt oddly grumpy.

[rainbow-FiSHY]

Dawnbrook
It maybe impossible to have just the right amount (of confidence), but try your best and you'll succeed.

ooc: Quiet Before the Storm Hits/Serenechaos! You're finally back! :D

Dawnbrook immediately let go of Reedtail and sheathing her claws. She smiled brightly, "Serenechaos! Where have you been?" Then she noticed the grumpy face on the medicine cat. Her mood suddenly seemed angry as well. She growled, "Hey! What's the matter? And why're you so late?!" She rolled her eyes and confidently confronted the she-cat, leaving Reedtail behind. "I've been waiting for moon to get this scar checked, y'know! It has never stopped bleeding!"

She then turned to Reedtail and mewed, "Sorry, Reedtail. You know I just get over-excited every once in a while. But still, that helps my fighting skills a lot, and that's the reason for my scars, in which I don't get too many, but are big and bloody" Dawnbrook then laughed arrogantly, "You can't have better scars than me!" She then started licking and admiring her wounds as she waited for an answer.

[ogrins]

Reedtail: can you ask for something you dont need?

"may i ask what is going on?"

The scent of Serenechaos swiftly drifted to Reedtails nose. The black tom's eyes quickly searched and found the medicine cats slim frame. she looked quite uneasy, very tierd. Some bit of her muzzle was maroon with dried blood. All three of us could use a medicine cat! he thought playfully.
Though she looked just as bad as they did, Serenechaos still kept that sense of sarcasm that she always had, and it made him smile. Darwnbrook had released him from her grasp, sheathing her claws and turning to reply to Serenechaos as if nothing happened. Gosh, how that she-cat can change moods.

"Serenechaos! Where have you been? Hey! What's the matter? And why're you so late?! I've been waiting for moon to get this scar checked, y'know! It has never stopped bleeding!"

Reedtail rolled his eyes, picking himself up from the ground that Dawnbrook left him on. A quick shake of his body and the dust fell off, and he flicked his tail. His hed spun a little, but it cleared up as he listened to Dawnbrook speck to him.

"Sorry, Reedtail. You know I just get over-excited every once in a while. But still, that helps my fighting skills a lot, and that's the reason for my scars, in which I don't get too many, but are big and bloody. You can't have better scars than me!"

Reedtail nodded, sort of absent-mindedly and annoyed at the same time. His stomach sounded, and he thought of suddenly how hungry he had become. But then the aweful thoughts of blood and death ravaged his mind, and he closed his eyes once more. After a moment the thoughts cleared, and he opened his eye to see the two femmes standing in front of him, and the sunlight shining around the den, and he smiled. Serenechaos will help. he thought.

"Well, when you put it that way, Dawnbrook, it seems like I'm perfectly fine." He sounded slightly sarcastic, reminding him of Serenechaos when she was in a good mood. Turning to face the medicine cat, he added "I just can't sleep or eat well. It hurts to much."

Of course, he meant in a mental way, not a physical way of hurting. He smiled then, but it was suddenly a big effort, and so he sat down. Serenechaos would want to tend to Dawnbrook first, as she was physically hurt. In fact, what if Serenechaos couldn't help him after all? But she had to. She was his only hope, as the dreams didn't seem to drift away on their own. And so he waited.

[rainbow-FiSHY]

OOC: Such a short post...bad one too...>.<' Sorries!


IC:
"Hmf." Dawnbrook looked away from Reedtail, but still making sure her scars' crimson red color flashed in the cats' eyes at least once. She cocked her head and faced Serenechaos.

"I've got a couple wounds here and there," she mewed, pin-pointing the areas with her tail on each one. Then she relaxed as she waited the medicine cat to do her job.

[`` serene !]

what a shame/
we all became, such fragile/
broken things/
the memory remains, just a tiny spark
~let the flames begin, paramore

she stood, slumped slightly, wishing to roll her eyes right back at dawnbrook. that she-cat had attitude, and obviosly she wasn't afraid to show it. rather than fighting back, which was defidently what she wanted to do, the femcat chose the alternitive answer. but why, why would she choose to the nice thing when others hadn't? oh, right, im a medicine cat and i have to 'set a good example' serenechaos thought rather grumpily to herself. but being nice made others nice as well; usually. "i was talking to our leader and deputy. serenechaos mewed as nonchalantly as possible, her tone neutral enough to not sound angry with the she-cat.

she attempted cheering herself up, closing her eyes for a second, yet barely aware that she was being watched by two curious felines. serenechaos remembered words her mentor used to say as clear as it was yesterday 'the first duty of love is to listen.' it was always annoying as she was a little headstrong as an apprentice but now serenechaos understood what the wise quote actually meant. she whispered it quietly to herself, "the first duty of love is to listen." with a slight nod of the head, she opened her eyes to return to the regular world; in quite a better mood. she could think a bit more logically now that her head was clear of negative thoughts. "im sorry, ill check those right away. though i would like to know how you recieved them."

all the while, serenechaos felt reedtail's gaze on her, he was probably waiting to be checked as well. but as she met his eyes for a moment, it became apparent to her this wasn't as much about a physical condition. she smiled encouragingly, as a smile had the power to make someone's day, then returned to dawnbrook. the medicine cat ran her tail along a few of the wounds, quite big and bloody they were, and with a slight nod to herself trotted clumsily to her store. crushed up, dry autumn leaves were balanced delicately onto a leaf, she grabbed those as well as a bit of cobweb.

as she spreak the crushed leaves onto the cobweb, serenechaos spoke to dawnbrook. "the wounds aren't deep, just quite bloody. they should probably stop bleeding before tonight after i put the cobwebs on, but i want to check you once more before the day starts tomorrow." by the time the medicine cat finished speaking, she was finishing up placing the cobweb softly on dawnbrooks pelt.

all the while, serenechaos heard reedtail's voice, and contemplated this for a moment. sounded a bit like herself, though maybe not the exact same. she glided until she was sitting a fox-tail away from the tom, dull eyes regaining a bit of their shine as she was doing something productive. "you sound actually, a lot like i'm feeling, she mewed, lowering her voice, "this is more of a mental problem, right?"

[/size][/blockquote]

[ogrins]

Reedtail: so you do understand?

"Hmf. I've got a couple wounds here and there,"

"i was talking to our leader and deputy. im sorry, ill check those right away. though i would like to know how you recieved them.

"the wounds aren't deep, just quite bloody. they should probably stop bleeding before tonight after i put the cobwebs on, but i want to check you once more before the day starts tomorrow."

The previous conversation had ensued between the two she-cats, with Serenechaos treating Dawnbrook all the while. After her comment Reedtail had looked away, holding back his annoyance with the head-strong she-cat. Watching Serenechaos was intruiging, just becuase the simple fact was that he didn't understand completely what she was doing, nor how it would help. Of course he had seen medicine cats, all medicine cats, use the same common things for small wounds. But in the back of his mind, he wondered whether any herb would assist him, or if it would take talking to cure him. That's the thing though. I'm not really sick. His eyes lit up and he returned out of thoughts as Serenechaos approached him, sitting down a fox-tail away.

"you sound actually, a lot like i'm feeling. this is more of a mental problem, right?"

Reedtail smiled. Believe it or not, he was excited. Finally, after three days, he might be able to get some peaceful feasting and soothing rest! He matched Serenechaos's tone of voice, which she had lowered so their conversation was only audible between them.

"Right. For example every time I close my eyes... I see shadows darker than night ready to attack me."

He paused, surpressing a shiver. If the day had not been so bright, he would have probably found the trees menecing and spooky, and that his own shadow was out to get him.

[`` serene !]

&& the sun still shines on a cloudy day !!

she returned the smile, relieved that she hadn't sounded like some dope and he felt the same that she did. it also meant that the medicine cat could get right down to the core of the problem and she could skip the oberservations and such. this was intriguing! as he spoke, serenechaos pondered the words. shadows attacking..... what if; maybe for some reason starclan was speaking to him? or maybe it relates to something that's happened in the past.

"hmm..." serenechaos thought aloud, "could it be that starclan is speaking to you? or maybe something from your past?" she mewed in a hushed tone, already guessing inwardly what else this could be. maybe someone, or something wanted his help.

but why could he eat? it seemed the exact same as serenechaos felt, but she didn't see shadows coming to attack her. "could that shadows by interpreted into something else...?" the she-cat thought aloud.

she returned her clear, blue gaze to reedtail, focusing her full attention on the tom. serenechaos felt; knew that somehow everything would be okay in the end, even if the road was hard right now.

ooc; sorry! so short!

[/size][/blockquote]

[ogrins]

Reedtail: finally! a fellow friend!

ooc: oops! i forgot to add in, its alright serene! no worries.

"hmm... "

Reedtail looked down. Not to escape Serenechaos's gaze, which was both relieved and focused. What she could be relieved about Reedtail could only guess. Perhaps she was happy that she understood his level of confusion? Reedtail blinked, and that seemed to help the suddenly steady storm that was growing in his mind recede for a moment. Now, what about Starclan and such? Reedtail looked up again to watch Serenechaos.

"could it be that starclan is speaking to you? or maybe something from your past?"

Serenechaos's words were hushed again, but Reedtail understood why. He wouldn't trust just any old cat to help him handle this. Reedtail's eyes clouded with thought as the question echoed inside his head. could it have to do... with my past? Reedtail instinctively thought harder about his past, but the only things that came up were two dark, tall shadows. Twisting aroudn each other; hissing and clawing. Two cats shadows. But who were those two cats? His parents? No. They couldn't be. His father was a gentle clan cat, and helped to raise him. He knew nothing of his mother. He assumed that she had died giving birth, or else by over-exahustion.

Then there was Starclan. Starclan could be another reason for this. But, why would they torture him with visions of blood so imense he couldn't eat food pleasantly? Why would they weaken him, starve him, haunt him, scare him? Starclan was supposed to be there to help and support the clans! To point the right way for them! To help them see the light in complete darkness! Why would they do this?

"could that shadows by interpreted into something else...?"

Reedtail looked up, into Serenechaos's mixed feeling glance. She still looked excited and hopeful, while also alert and focused. Reedtail's glance must have been cheery too, because his heart lifted then and he smiled. It was true. He had only interpreted the shadows as dark, evil things. Thigns meant for harm. But what if they were not meant as so? What could they mean?

"Your right!" Reedtail exclaimed, then bowed his head from the exploding pain that resulted from the rather quickly spoken words. But giving his head a quick toss to clear it, he looked back up again. "What if they stand for mystery or unsolved questions instead?"

[rainbow-FiSHY]

Dawnbrook

.:Confidence fuels my soul:.

ooc: Sorry for the delay >_<'

"You're right! What if they stand for mystery or unsolved answers instead?"

"That could be true," Dawnbrook mewed in a wistful voice. "Perhaps it's calling on you to do something, or fulfill something that is just waiting to be fulfilled."

[/color] Dawnbrook paused for a moment to think, licked the scar and resumed. "Perhaps Starclan's wanting something to you, or they're calling on you to follow your destiny or something..."[/color]

Dawnbrook laid down on her paws, and rested her head on them, feeling her soft fur brush her chin. She looked up with her eyes, waiting for a reply as she rested.

"Serenechaos,"[/color] she began as she started to sit up again. "Thank you for checking my wound. I ought to do something for the clan, like hunting."[/color] She awaited Serenechaos's approval. After all, her scar hasn't completely healed yet, and she was the medicine cat.[/blockquote][/size]