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| - OA: 5SOS By Firey <3 Blackshadow stared down at Darkstar's limp form. "She hasn't gotten better, has she?" he asked, even though he knew the answer. Amberfrost shook her head, "She's getting worse now, Blackshadow, we must find that plague cure soon. Have you thought about who to send?" Blackshadow grimaced. He hadn't given it much thought since he had so many other things to deal with now that Darkstar was ill. Shifting from paw to paw, Blackshadow felt a slight wave of dizziness. I must not have slept well...I need to get more sleep to stay well. "I was thinking I might just go, after all the Clan is my responsibility," Blackshadow lied. He knew he shouldn't be the one to leave, but he couldn't think of anyone more appropriate. Well there was one she-cat he knew could handle it, but he didn't want her to get hurt. Amberfrost frowned, "That won't work, Blackshadow." The deputy blinked, "Why?" The medicine cat had a grim look on her face, "You must not know then? Have you had any recent dizziness or lack of concentration?" "Just right now, yeah," Blackshadow didn't like where this was going, "It's probably because I haven't got much rest, I'll rest more tonight." Amberfrost glanced over at where she had taken his blood test again, "I never told you the results for today, huh?" "No, not yet, though I'm just about to leave so you should." Amberfrost took a deep breath, and then sighed, "Blackshadow, you can't leave the camp." "Why?" A fearful note crept into his voice, "What's wrong?" "You...have the plague." For a moment, Blackshadow just stared at the medicine cat. Then another wave of pain washed over him and he stumbled slightly. "You have to be mistaken," Blackshadow gasped, grasping onto anything that would help him avoid reality, "I can't be sick, I have a Clan to look after! Check the test again, Amberfrost, you must have read it wrong. There's no way I have the plague." The medicine cat shook her head silently, "You probably should stay in my den, so I can keep an eye on you. You and Darkstar are the most important cats in the Clan, we can't have you dying." She frowned, "Are you alright?" I have the plague. Blackshadow felt panic creep up on him. I can't have the plague! What would the Clan do without me? I need to inform them somehow... "Blackshaodw, focus on me," Amberfrost's piercing blue eyes steadied him, "you're being affected a lot faster than the others. You must have gotten the plague a long time ago..." "Check on the healthy cats," he rasped, "If I had the plague before this, we need to make sure all of them are not sick too." Amberfrost nodded, "I'll go immediately, but lay down, okay? Don't move until I come back. I don't want you to be reckless, Blackshadow." Breathing heavily, Blackshadow managed a nod. Blackshadow couldn't remember much, but he had stumbled onto a nearby nest and curled up, trying to keep the pain at bay. His head was pounding with a monsterous headache and he was feeling light-headed. What's going on? Without knowing, Blackshadow was whisked away in a memory. "Blackpaw, if you don't concentrate, I'm going to put you on cleaning duty for the next moon!" his mentor hissed, "You've been so distant, staring at Applepaw." Blackshadow sighed as he woke up for the fifth time that night. He was feeling delirious, and he wished he could just zone out into his dreams forever. So far he hadn't had any nightmares like the others did, the only dreams he had were his memories of when he was an apprentice. Now that he thought about it, he had talked to Applebreeze a lot. She was apart of his life and he would never let her go. He wondered what she was doing right now, whether or not she had found out about his condition. Surely the Clan back at the mossy clearing would understand soon enough. If Blackshadow didn't return to their camp, they would realize something was wrong. Perhaps Amberfrost had already told them what had happened and how bad the plague was. Blackshadow hoped that Applebreeze wouldn't do something reckless. In the distance, he thought he heard some sort of shout, but he was already fading away back to sleep, his strength ebbing away. Blackshadow managed to slowly sit up in his nest. He heard rustling outside and got slightly worried. He had to be prepared to defend himself if necessary. It turned out it was just Amberfrost returning from her check up. (Apparently Blackshadow hadn't slept that long.) "Oh, you're awake," Amberfrost grunted, "Only one cat was found with the plague. Stormpaw." She nudged in the young apprentice. Applebreeze's lively apprentice looked subdued and she was swaying. "She can have my nest," Blackshadow croaked, realizing there was only one empty nest, which was the one he had been occupying. "I'll...sleep on the floor or something." Amberfrost looked like she wanted to protest but Stormpaw stumbled and collasped in the nest gratefully. "I'll live," Blackshadow waved his tail. The medicine cat sighed. "Here, I have extra moss for a new nest. You'll need somewhere comfortable if you want to sleep peacefully." Blackshadow sank down in relief but tried not to let it shown. He still had to be the tough deputy. "What's going on at the camp now? Did you tell them...?" "Yeah, I had to tell the camp about your condition or else they'd have no leader. I had Willowfur take over. That she-cat is smart enough to lead a Clan." The deputy nodded, agreeing that the gray she-cat was a perfect candidate to lead the Clan. If Darkstar doesn't make it, she'll be my deputy for sure. "Is Applebreeze alright?" Amberfrost muttered something incoherant then waved her tail around her. "Did you hear anything I said earlier? Do you see her around?" "No," Blackshadow blinked. "So is she sick?" "I just wanted to know if she was alright, not if she was sick," Blackshadow looked away uncomfortably, not used to having someone ordering him around. Only Darkstar did it, and she was enough. Amberfrost was usually kind, but she must have been stressed. "She's fine," Amberfrost waved her tail for Blackshadow to rest, "She's worried about you and blew off my ears with her persistance about seeing you." Blackshadow laid his head down, the pounding in his head getting louder and louder. "Thanks, Amberfrost," was all he could mutter. He knew he couldn't lose Applebreeze, especially not to the plague. He had to keep her safe, and the best way was to... The last thing Blackshadow thought or heard before he passed out again was Amberfrost muttering. "Don't thank me, I haven't healed you yet." I'm dying just to see you again The shimmery image of Applebreeze took over Blackshadow's dream. Instead of dreaming of an occasion with her, he only saw her face. She was as gorgeous as ever. Her beautiful green eyes sparkle in the faint light in the dream landscape. Blackshadow wanted to reach out, but he was cemeneted to the ground. Her pelt glowed and everything about her seemed to shine. Come closer, Blackshadow willed, admiring her sleek fur and the way her differnet cur colors blended together to form the perfect shade of orange that decorated her pelt. She stood with in a haughty matter that makes Blackshadow breathe in deeply. He could tell she was the one in control, not him. She controlled his mind, his thoughts, and his feelings. She was the one who rendered him useless when around. Blackshadow knew he loved her. Finally, he could move. He raced forward, reaching out with his tail to entwine it with hers. His nose came from, wanting to breathe in her scent and feel her cool nose connect with his. He passed right through her. That was when Blackshadow remembered that this was only an image, a dream. His sorrow was immediate. He crumpled to the ground, everything fading. He let out a small cry as he watched Applebreeze fade into the inky darkness, her beautiful features withering and turning into dust. He wanted to see her again so badly. Blackshadow jerked awake again and sat up slowly panting. Amberfrost was sorting herbs. "What time is it?" Blackshadow croaked out, trying to shake away the fog in his head. There were other patients around him, Blackshadow realized, as he tried to focus on the den around himi. "It's dawn," Amberfrost mewed, "Are you feeling better?" "Not really," Blackshadow muttered, "More like extremely tired and my brain feels like it's drowning or something." The medicine cat trotted over and pressed a paw to his forehead. She pulled it away and muttered, "Your fever has gone down a bit, Blackshadow, but I suggest staying in your nest." Blackshadow grunted him assent because he felt too weak to stand up and move around anyways. "Aren't you afraid you'll get sick too? It can't be good for you to be treating all of us. I mean, I got sick because I came to visit, didn't I?" Amberfrost grimaced. "No, actually, Blackshadow." "What?" "I found out how this disease came to be. Yes, it's been 'passed around', but it stopped after Stormpaw. Stormpaw was the last victim. I actually had the plague before you did, Blackshadow...but it disappeared. The plague has stopped spreading pretty much, and given a long time, you'll recover. But I cannot guarentee you'll live to...recover." "Wait," Blackshadow felt dizzy again, "You had the plague and lived?" The medicine cat nodded. "I must have been the first to have it," she admitted, "Perhaps that's how it spread. But it stopped spreading for sure, and now it's just for you all to recover." "How come you recovered so fast?" Blackshadow muttered, sitting back down and attempting to digest all this information, "Does this mean Darkstar will recover pretty soon?" The hopes of having his leader up and fighting again cheered the deputy up a little bit. LeafClan needed their leader. "I don't know," Amberfrost sighed, "I think I've been more immune to the sickness because I have the herbs here to use. I wasn't rendered useless when I had the plague. In fact I noticed I had some kind of fever, so I ate feverfew and managed to get rid of the sickness." Blackshadow opened his mouth, but Amberfrost interrupted him, "Yeah, I've tried feeding you all feverfew but it's not working and I don't know why. I must have a different immune system due to me being in contact with herbs everyday." The deputy sighed in defeat and curled up. "Get some sleep," Amberfrost urged, "You'll need it to fight the plague, Blackshadow. Let me lead the Clan today." Blackshadow's last thoughts were: Appleshadow just don't leave me...Don't say goodbye...
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