An Unending Headache

[KingHarry]

The pain in Rookstar's head was worse than it had ever been as he climbed onto the ledge upon which he held clan meetings. It was, in fact, so bad that he appeared to be having trouble speaking. The tom tried to call the clan for a meeting, but found himself constantly stuttering and stumbling over his words - every consonant seeming to send a violent jolt of pain through his head. After his third attempt to speak, he gave up and, instead, hopped back down to quickly talk to his brother, Foxfall.

"Can y-you- can you call- the clan for me?" IvyClan's leader asked. His voice sounded, as harsh as it was to admit it, pathetic. And to think that this cat had once held to much promise? Gone was the tom that had visited the Tribe - the one that Owlstar had chosen as her deputy. In his place stood a shadowy resemblance; a corrupted, unrecognisable figure.

Foxfall, of course, did as he asked, and soon the meeting had commenced. The clan gathered and Rookstar once again clambered back onto the ledge. "I- need to name- n-name warriors," the tom stated, keeping his quiet words as simple as possible in order to reduce the amount he had to say, and thus to avoid the pain that had become such a constant in his life.

Ears flat against his skull as he violently shook his head, an action he had become prone to as if it reduced the sensations of his headache (which it did not, but he did it anyway). "Dashpaw," he said as he did so. "Yo-you will be Dash- Dashnight. After the colour of the fur you- care so well- for."

His tail flicked and he turned his attention to the other two of Owlstar's children. "Prance- Prancepaw you are- g-graceful like a bird, so I name you- Pranceflight. B-Blitzbuck, you are strong, much like you're f-father. I name you Blitzbuck, after the m-might stag and all his strength."

Okay. That was half of it done. StarClan, his head hurt though. Why was it like this? That was a question he had asked himself many times over the past moons. What had he done to deserve this pain?

"Now I shall assign m- mentors to our eldest k-kits - Cricketjump and Cicadawish's del-delightful offspring."

The kids came forward and Rookstar turned his eye to them. "The five of you are now app-apprenticed. Skippaw, your mentor shall be Dusty- Dustytuft." Dustytuft to help her learn how to relax, and to calm her endless spirit to a manageable level.

"Hoppaw, your mentor shall be Heronfli- Heronflight." May they go on many wonderful adventures together.

"Flickerpaw, my be-beloved brother, Foxfall, shall mentor you." To perhaps contain a little of that boisterous energy.

"Fidgetpaw, you shall be mentored by Beeflower." A kind soul that would listen to the young tom's rapid conversations.

"And, finally, Twitchpaw, I shall-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Rookstar collapsed to the ground. The tom rapidly twitched and seized uncontrollably, his eyes panicked as he did so and spittle flying out of his mouth as he tried - and failed - to form words. This continued for a long moment before, finally, the tom fell still - dead.

Whereas a leader would usually quickly return to their body, this did not seem to happen in Rookstar's case. The leader's spirit found himself staring the body he was separated from, the shock of it causing him to not notice that his head did not hurt for the first time in so long.

He was dead? But... But he had nine lives and all of them left? Oh... His head, though. Rookstar knew that an injury too great to heal from could kill a leader no matter how many lives they had remaining, and his head really had hurt. Perhaps something had happened to it that just could not be fixed?

Before he could think any more, he noticed a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye. Owlstar. Had she come to collect him for StarClan?

Immediately, a great sense of shame overcame Rookstar. His posture seemed to shrink and his eyes fixed themselves to the floor. "I'm sorry for not being good enough," he apologised. "It's just... My head hurt."

[M'Lady]

The ceremonies were started by Foxfall. Well, no surprise there, Rookstar had been looking worse for wear in weeks. It seemed as though the busy pressure and stress that had worn down their previous leader in seasons, couldn't be handled by a leader who'd barely seen Leafbare more than twice. Firechaser scoffed softly under his breath as the actual ceremonies began. Rookstar really was a poor substitute for the smoky queen, if only he'd had another cycle of seasons, then he might've stood a chance. As the ceremonies progressed, however, he frowned at the leader that stood up before them, tilting his head. He was stammering. Stuttering? Despite all his misgivings about the young leader... Something seemed to be actually wrong. It was when Rookstar swayed and collapsed, body shaking violently in the middle of his sentence, that Firechaser started in shock, and then quickly made his way up to the High Ledge to peer at the leader with faint alarm in his yellow gaze. The tom had finally stilled, and he leaned down close to the leader's muzzle, and then jerked up violently to cast his gaze out to the clan.

"Lilydawn!! Someone find Lilydawn, or Finchtuft! He isn't breathing!" His voice was loud and, despite the content of his words, remained steady. Rookstar... He had nine lives, didn't he? Firechaser had seen Owlstar lose a few of hers, and it never took her more than a few moments to blink open those yellow eyes again. The clan stood in shock, and Firechaser snarled at the warriors before him. "Move! Get some help!" He lashed his tail, and stood over Rookstar as if he could protect the still tom from whatever had taken him away.

---

Owleyes rose up from where she sat in the front row of the crowd, making her way up to the High Ledge where she ignored the shouting of the fiery deputy. She studied Rookstar for a moment, and then gave him a soft smile, reaching up to touch the top of his head with her nose.

"I've been here, the whole time." She spoke softly, her voice young, younger than his, and her warm eyes as bright as ever, dampened with only a hint of sorrow. "You did the best you could." Her voice was flickering and glowing, as if the stars themselves were behind her every word.

"Come on, now, I'll take you to a place where you'll never feel pain again."

[bits]

Well, that was - not what she had been expecting.

Swiftwing hadn't been prepared for much during this ceremony. Her exhaustion felt like a physical thing, like it clung onto her back and weighted her down. Maybe the ground was ready to swallow her up one of these days, and she'd find the relief she'd been waiting for for some time. Unfortunately, it seemed today was not her day to be eaten up by the unkind forces around them. Instead, it was their leader's turn.

It happened almost in slow-motion, and that was saying something considering that the signs had all been pointing to disaster for... moons now. Maybe it shouldn't have been surprising when Rookstar collapsed before them, but it still seemed otherworldly. It seemed wrong to watch someone crumple like that, it seemed sickening to watch the life leave someone so suddenly.

Swiftwing wasn't entirely sure what to do, but she didn't hesitate to make room for the medicine cat that was no doubt already on the way. She couldn't help but stare for a moment though, face unreadable - he wasn't getting up. She couldn't say that she'd seen a leader die, but shouldn't he be getting up? Shouldn't this not stick? Maybe there was something worse going on. 

[GnawingOnIce]

Timberheart was already in the clearing when Rookstar called- or tried to call- for a Clan meeting. The black and white tom’s fur bristled with anxiety at how much his leader’s voice trembled, and for perhaps the first time since Rookstar became leader, he felt sympathy for him. But it seemed like Rookstar had finally come to as well, giving reason and meaning with the apprentice’s warrior names.

Timberheart remembered being struck down just like Rookstar by the hail, but… he never considered the possibility that it could get this bad.

Anxiety twisted in Hickorysnap’s belly as well, worry for Rookstar clouding his ears from receiving what exactly he was saying.

It was a shock to Timberheart when the leader collapsed, lifeless. His eyes widened and he took a step back, fur bristling in alarm. He expected his eyes to open again several heartbeats later, but nothing was happening. He watched Firechaser run up to see if Rookstar was still breathing but it appeared he wasn’t when the red tom turned to his Clan and snarled to get the medicine cat and to not just stand there.

With his ears pinned to the back of his head, Timberheart recalled Firechaser being on the patrol that fought MothClan at the border when Timberheart had just been named a warrior and, he remembered bitterly, when Coppertuft died protecting him. He could understand Firechaser’s panic, remembering the anger he had felt toward Feathercrest when Coppertuft didn’t rise again.

Then, with some hesitance, he stepped toward Firechaser.

“Firechaser, please, take- take a breath.” Timberheart tried kept his voice steady and calm, attempting to comfort the older tom. He only allowed his eyes to glance once at Rookstar’s limp body, keeping eye contact with Firechaser.

Tags;; M'Lady
Notes;; n/a

[Miss Tactical]

The brown tabby raised his head slowly as it was Foxfall who called the clan. How odd…He had been in the nursery with his kits Violetkit quietly mumbling some words to herself, she did that often as she was curled up next to vervainkit and their mother. However a light twitch from Violetkits eyes caught his attention as she stood up briefly. He watched her for just a moment before giving her a light touch with his tail. ”It’s not quite your turn yet miss. Here sit down with me we can watch from here.” He mewed firmly. There was a light sigh, before his daughter sat down next to him.

Her blue eyes seemed to stare off into the distance as she watched the ceremonies with an odd look in her eyes. Rookstar appeared to be stuttering as things went on even more so. She narrowed her eyes slightly her tail tip twitching as an odd form seemed to come forward, and her eyes fell on the spirit of Owlstar. She gave a slight twitch of her whiskers in greeting before looking to her dad. ”You’re mom Is watching the ceremonies again.” She mewed softly.

Her connection to the stars was something she was just learning about, how nice it was to go to sleep and run through the fields of all the clans, a warm purr hummed in her throat but it stopped ever so suddenly when Rookstar dropped, frantically the cats seemed to be calling for lilydawn, it was then a small faint wisp of light left the black and white toms body and Violetkit winced, a heavy pain in her heart. She looked to her father and shook her head. ”Don’t bother fetching lilydawn dad.” She saw her fathers disgruntled expressions and she shook her head. Nine lives or not, what ever had happened to Rookstar took all 9.

She stood to her paws and looked back her siblings and mother, her worried expression would probably be contagious to Vervainkit so she did her best to hide it. ”Let’s…play catch the mossball.” She whispered softly. She did everything she could to hide her own thoughts, but knew very well Vervainkit probably already knew. It was something special they shared….

Mudjaw watched Violetkit take her sister and brother towards the back of the nursery, after what seemed like forever he walked towards the clearing watching despite his daughters warning, his booming voice echoed across the clearing. ”If you can’t find Lilydawn get Finchtuft!” He pushed his way towards the front, if what Violetkit had told him was true….his eyes fell on Firechaser, then Foxfall, then Dustytuft, heronflight and then looked at his own paws…then who would lead IvyClan?

[Broadwaykat]

Despite the unorthodox situation, it felt to Dustytuft that things were finally putting themselves into a sort of order in Ivyclan - as ordered as it could possibly in their situation, with Rookstar so out of sorts. Their leader, while distracted, was doing the best he clearly could; and although he fumbled and often left work to others, he was trying - an Dustytuft, who had apprenticed many young cats in her years, knew that was all you could ask for sometimes. As Foxfall called everyone to order, she couldn't help but feel a little flicker of hope as Rookstar seemed to stand beside his brother this time, and at least tried to address the clan - in a haulting, stumbling way, but he was clearly making the effort. 

Pushing past the unease in her own belly, she did her best to remain a solid backing for the gathered cats - if only because she knew a hint of some discussions some of what her tasks for that meeting was intended to be. She cheered softly for the newest warriors, and - when time was made to announce Cricket and Cicada's latest brood as apprentices, gamely stepped forward to greet Skippaw.

"We'll have a wonderful time, don't you worry." She whispered, as they greeted each other in the typical fashion for apprentices. Such a happy, well-known ritual was soon interrupted however by a sudden, sharp movement that Dustytuft only just caught out of the corner of her vision as it seemed so - so bizarre.

Rookstar was - flailing, thrashing, as if he was in a fight with the very air. It was horrifying to witness, and even as the older cat's eyes widened in fright, she stepped back and out as if to shelter those others closest to her from the sight of their leader brought so low. But what could be worse than such unnatural movements? The terrible, quiet stillness that followed. 

"Oh sweet Starclan, no." She whispered, her voice high and almost kitlike as she took in the situation before them. Firechaser's immediate approach to sense their leaders lack of movement, and the demand for Lilydawn, someone...anyone!

But she felt as if her own body was betraying her, keeping her out of the way and guarding the others, such as the new apprentices, the new warriors, from this scene. As much as they may have lamented his choices in the past, they're weren't ready for him to be...be...gone.

Because he...he just couldn't be!

---

Another Ceremony, another show - and as it had nothing to do with him, Martentooth barely lifted from his spot beside the fresh kill pile. He was busy with important things; trying to get rid of a burr that had lodged itself firmly in the longer fur of his chest. Grooming, if done properly, would take several hours, he knew. 

He only looked up when there seemed to be some sort of terrible commotion, and he shot shakily to his legs not seconds later when the realization of what the crumbled mass of fur was, eyes widening. "Rookstar?!" He choked. For all their leader's crazy ideas as of late, Martentooth may have been one of the few cats who supported every harebrained scheme wholeheartedly. Now, though - even he could tell that something was wrong.

---

Sandhawk was anxious before the meeting had begun. The climate in Ivyclan hardly lead for relaxing moments, when it came to high-strung attitudes such as Sandhawk's. She was a cat who believed in order above all else, and Ivyclan under Rookstar was nothing if not a circus. 

Somewhat guiltily, she found herself dreaming of the day when someone would put their paw down and say something. After all, they had five deputies - and not one of them thought to do some damage control and tell their leader what was right. Well...seeing as she personally thought he'd gone a bit madder than a foaming fox she supposed she could understand their reluctance. But still...she didn't want to see the tom dead. Just...put out of commission until he regained his senses, perhaps. 

But just moments into what was a routine ceremony (which, she noted drily, he couldn't even manage given his stuttering-stopping speech) - he had collapsed. And he wasn't getting up. Sandhawk felt her own chest grow tight as she tried in vain to catch a glimpse of the crumpled form. He was a young leader - had many lives to give. But was it just her, or did it look like he had already, somehow, given them all up?

[Bumblebee]

Everyone knew Rookstar hadn't felt well the last several moons, but no one had thought too much of it outside of rolling their eyes at the leader. Today, though, when Rookstar was hunched and quiet as he spoke to his clan, everyone could sense something was wrong. Slowly, the clan gathered together, apprentices bouncing excitedly and kits mewing in anticipation as they knew some of them were now old enough to become apprentices.

Worry flicked over Beeflower's face as she watched and listened to her leader. True she hadn't been the most supportive warrior under him, but something was wrong and seeing any cat struggling was worry enough for her. Her thoughts were derailed as she heard her name slip from the leaders lips. A new apprentice! It had been many moons since sh had trained a new warrior, so the prospect was thrilling!

Fidgetpaw would take careful guidance, but Beeflower felt sure she could give him that. He was a sweet kit, one she had played with in the camp since he was barely larger than her paws. I kind ear and a bit of help would set his paws onto a path to being a wonderful warrior.

The tan warrior barely had time to greet her new apprentice when Rookstar collapsed. She froze, watching in horror as her leader thrashed in front of her. After a heartbeat her instincts jumped in and she helped the queens herd the younger kits, and the brand new apprentices if she could, away from the frightening sight. She calmed the questions that came soon after, assuring them that as scary as that seemed, Rookstar was a leader and had nine lived, this was just one.

This, however, proved itself wrong as Firechaser's voice rang across the clearing.

He wasn't breathing... Beeflower froze. How could that be? He should be back by now. Sure one life less, but back none the less. But no, panic slowly set into the warrior's stomach. If Rookstar had suddenly lost all nine lives then that meant they had no leader. And five deputies. How would they decide who would travel and receive the nine lives and be the new leader? How would Starclan let them know who was their chosen one?

She shook her head, attempting to clear it. Starclan had always been faithful to Ivyclan and she knew they would pull through again in leading them on from this unprecedented situation. They had to. She glanced back at her young apprentice. They had to or the clan would surely fall apart

[LupTacco]

Foxfall had felt utterly alien as the familiar words that called the clan together barked from his own jaws, almost as though he was watching himself through someone else's eyes and thinking, What did he do to deserve to be saying that? The relief he felt when Rookstar took his place was brief- something was wrong. Something was wrong. He was stuttering almost past the point of understanding, and speaking so softly it was a wonder the clan could hear him at all. But what was wrong? A growing irritation suddenly overboiled in the quiet ginger tom, his tail lashing nervously with the agitation. Why couldn't he tell what was happening? He felt like he had somehow failed his brother to let him get this bad, even though he had no power over any affliction, be it a sickness or a wound. He was so caught in his own head that the names all blurred past him as he stared with rapt attention at the black and white leader- until everything seemed to stand still for a second.

His stomach twisted with a mix panic, revulsion, and terror as Rookstar fell and writhed on the ground, settling down to a knowing dread as the tom's body stilled and the seconds stretched into minutes. He couldn't figure out how to make his legs move, but his jaw finally unclenched to whisper, "He's not coming back, then." Blinking, he stared moon-eyed at Firechaser, then Mudjaw and the other deputies, "What do we do? What can we do, now?" Foxfall felt utterly lost in this moment, still so confused and shocked by the suddenness of it that he couldn't even fully comprehend the loss of his own blood brother. His mind was fixated on the practicality- who would be leader now? Would he be free of the stress of deputyhood? Was he going to make a bad impression on his new apprentice? "I... I don't want to- I can't lead. Please, let me be just a warrior again," he croaked, his voice suddenly hoarse, averting his gaze.

-

=-

-

Vervainkit's fur stood on end as the situation came to a halt and then escalated, but there was a calmness that occupied part of her mind- Violetkit. She leaned into her father for support for a moment before standing to follow her sister, murmuring quietly, "So he's really all gone, then?" She knew the answer already just by the wisps of thought she shared with her sister, so she didn't wait for an answer, moving on to how they'd keep busy for the day. "Yeah, mossball sounds fine. Um, Volekit, you can come too," she paused, meowing over her shoulder. She was concerned for her parents- Mudjaw seemed to still think he could help, and he might feel terrible after. He must have so much to consider, with the other deputies, and all. And Mumblesong was still sitting in place, her brow furrowed in disbelief and her front legs wrapped protectively around her youngest son. Too bad nobody else can see the wisps, she thought, or they might not be so troubled.

-

=-

-

Hop-paw wriggled in place as he was named, trying to peer over the heads of others to make eye contact with his mentor, but was shoved back as the crowd of cats scrambled away from the front. "Wha-what's-" his disgruntled grumbling broke off into a harsh yowl as he spotted the leader's dead body. Fur standing on end, he looked around for his siblings, then his parents, then shook his head as his ears flattened to his head. His heart pounding faster and faster every second it seemed, he pushed past the few cats that hadn't scattered yet and darted out of camp. I need to think- I need to not think! His paws carried up away from the camp quickly until he collapsed, breathless, by a tree and realized he wasn't entirely sure where he was. "I- someone...," the newly named apprentice panted as he tried to regain his breath, looking around wild-eyed at the forest and spinning in a circle backwards until he felt even more unsure of what direction he came from.

[Mama]

Lilydawn had been increasingly suspicious of Rookstar, trying more then once to get his attention but it always seemed to fail. She'd even sent Finchtuft to try and help, but that didn't seem to work as planned. The deputies, they tried themselves, or at least, she hoped.

Sitting by her den, sharp, narrowed eyes as the black and white tom stumbled with his words and acted as a fool, the signs were only growing so much worse and worse. Then... the unexpected happened. He dropped limp, unmoving and completely still.

Panic naturally followed, and Lilydawn heard angered cries from all directions, some yelling for her, other confused and most of all, the scared feeling like a wave of water pushing over their heads. "Move!" She demanded to a cat in the way, stumbling up the ledge which was a much too difficult climb for a cat that could hardly walk. {Lilydawn, you need to get up there!} She told herself angrily, claws digging into the stones as she hauled herself up with a final shove.

Moving around the bodies of felines trying to see the leader, she got as close as she could, and lowered her head towards his own face. Spit was everywhere, but there was no sign of breathing. Paws shaking, she lifted his head and rolled him over in attempt to clear his throat, incase that was stopping his lives from coming back. Nothing seemed to be stuck, and the leader was still.. dead.

It was a horrible scene, something she'd only think of in nightmares. Did she fail as a medicine cat? If she couldn't even save her own leader, who had all his lives.. could she save others? Her own mother, blinded, a queen losing a whole litter, and sickness.. she blamed it on Rookstar, but maybe... she should have blamed it on herself.

Later, she'd have to ask Starclan, but for now, things were... hectic. Too much chaos, and it would only get worse as time passed on.

"Cats of Ivyclan!" Lilydawn started, trying to hide the emotions of horror, fear.. sadness, in her gaze. "This is no time.. this is no time to panic. However... I've come to believe that Rookstar has joined Starclan." The medicine cat bluntly announced, sending a look back down at the tom next to her. He hadn't revived by now, and... it didn't seem like he would. "We need to be.. we need to be strong. Deputies, I hope you're ready for the next step, one of you. In the meantime... I'm going to prepare for the burial."

Cautiously, she descended from the ledge, her face low with shame, guilty for his death. Her words were fueled with false hope for her clan, and she didn't know if they'd trust her enough with trying to calm everycat down.. so it was just handed off to the five deputies. The small tabby wobbled into her den, to prepare for the burial, and finding herbs to hide the vivid scent of death.

[Storm]

Twitchpaw
Ivyclan | Apprentice | Tom | 6 Moons | Heterosexual

The chocolate mink had noticed the ceremonies would start soon, even before Foxfall called the clan.  Twitchkit had been waiting anxiously for this day, his first step towards being a warrior- he was SO excited!  The tom pranced to his place at the front and sat before the others fell in behind him.  He shifted his weight back and forth to contain himself and behave while Rookstar began.  Sure, something seemed wrong but it was his day it was probably fine.  As the leader went on Twitchkit became more concerned, but it faded when it was finally his turn.  Rookstar had saved the best for last...

Just as the kit stood the leader fell.  He twitched wildly- just like Twitchkit did.  His jowl hung open, blue eyes wide with terror as he stood frozen.  The leader seized and died right after he called on Twitchkit... This was his fault, the condition that affected him had cursed his leader on the day he was to be named and apprenticed beneath Rookstars own watch.  His breath fell shallow until Owleyes made her way to where the tom still lay dead.  Twitchkit's expression wrinkled with guilt, holding back his pain as Owleyes seemed to speak to someone whom he couldn't see.

Rookstar hadn't finished naming him an apprentice before he collapsed, was he not fit to be one?  Was this a sign that he would never become a warrior? Or that Rookstar died because he was going to train him himself?  His wet gaze met Owleyes as she seemed to finish with whoever she was talking to.  The starry she-cat smiled softly at the distressed kit and moved to stand between him and his sightline to Rookstars body.  "Twitchkit, until you grow to a warrior to fight and hunt and live alongside the best of your friends, I name you Twitchpaw." She dipped her nose to touch his forehead, then her kind words said the starry leader and his good friend faded from his sight.  Twitchpaw, an apprentice named by IvyClans leader before Rookstar, was too old to see the StarClan cat who hung around anymore.  The last thing to leave was her kind smile and brilliant warm eyes, leaving Twitchpaw to see Rookstar lying there again.  He was sure she was still there watching over him, he offered the smallest of smiles- his worries that he was cursed gone leaving only the tinge of losing his clans leader.

His pains eased a bit the tom turned to find comfort from his brothers or sister and parents who would be grieving the loss.  



Finchtuft
IvyClan | Medicine Cat Apprentice | She-Cat | 59 Moons | Heterosexual

The she-cat had been in her den while the ceremonies occurred, but the commotion had stirred her immediately.  She was getting used to responding when Lilydawn was called as if it was her own name.  When the calico stepped out she couldn't see what the fuss was about.  No one stood up on the ledge, but she couldn't see through the crowd.  The continued shouts for a medicine cat finally drove her forward.  Finchtuft pushed through the crowd anytime someone failed to step from her path and as she found her place in the tightest circle she was a bit taken back.  Rookstar was in a heap there, drool from his lips.  Lilydawn had beat her there and she watched the she-cat work.  She placed her big paw on his rib cage to feel for the rise and fall of a breath but it never came and she almost suspected it not too.  Lilydawn and her had feared that whatever had caused his changes in judgement would weaken him to the point he couldn't recover, even with all his lives.  There was nothing for her to do, no bleeding to stop or breaks to splint.  Maybe this was StarClans punishment for breaking the ways of naming deputies, she could only mourn the leader and hope StarClan would send a sign for who was to lead Ivyclan next.

Her blue eyes lifted to the cats surrounding her and the leader and only offered a single shake of her skull. She looked to Lilydawn as she spoke and then left to prepare as she needed too.  She would join her soon to help, but for now she remained with the tom.  She was a warrior beneath him for a short time, she would pay her respects then leave it to the rest of the clan.