✩｡°°｡✩ he . . him ➔ massive white tom with black splotches and floppy ears. scars cover his neck. x-marks on his shoulders and his left hindleg is covered in burn scars
╭₊˚purrks﹕monkey's paw, the collector, herb knowledge, kitty softpaws ₊˚੭ ✦ . ⁺ . ✦ . ⁺ . ✦
disclaimer : any dialogue in italics is being communicated by sign language and body language. it is completely non-verbal.
⌦ .｡.:* ✮ @BEAR. @Moonraven @Dark @Alchemist Kitsune // mentioning those who he directly interacted with but cowtuft is addressing everyone!
A scream ripped through the camp, calling out the name of his previous patient. Cowtuft stiffened, his heart beginning to thump, thump, thump, thump erratically. Again. Again. Again. A beat. He threw his body into the storage, scrambling desperately to get ahold of the herb ThunderClan had given them. He hadn't gotten time to test it, he didn't think Leafspot could be poisoned. It was a cold. All it was a cold.
He stepped out of his den, everyone's voices were blended together. It was so loud, all he could focus on was the mist that lurked near the ground, near the limp body. There was no sign of life, he could see the crimson. The seventh had fallen. Seven. Snow Fever had also taken seven of their clanmates. Everyone was arguing, throwing out guesses on what could've unfolded. No one seemed to have registered the fact he was there. (he didn't want to be there, he wanted to be far, far away)
Someone was quick to defend him, stepping in front of the medicine cat. Firestorm. There was another cat nearby, Lightningstorm. He looked at her apologetically. Cowtuft did not have the answers this time. His legs were shaking, but he stepped up to Firestorm's side. He placed a paw on her shoulder, eyebrows furrowing together. "Please,, we do not need violence.." He signs slowly, a plea in his eyes. "Thank you .. for defending me.. but I'll be quite alright... " He pulled back, gently bumping his head against hers. Gratitude.
Twilightstar steps up, beginning to address the clan. Despite what ThunderClan had said, Cowtuft firmly believed it had to be a plague. Poison did not make sense, it couldn't make sense but this worldview was quick to come crashing down. Lightningstorm had found the cause of death. ThunderClan was correct.
He jerks back, any wits he might've gathered crumbled. What? What? What? whatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhat
The splotched tom shook his head back and forth in denial, his breathing beginning to pick up. He felt sick, incredibly sick. They were poisoned. His herbs were poisoned. He gave his helpers poisoned herbs. He hadn't - but how? When? Why? Who? Who would've done such a thing? A quiet whimper came from him, his paws stung from the aftermath of his experiments. Cowtuft had been struggling to discover a cure for a plague that didn't exist.
His fate depended on how well he could convince them. It was ironic, really. He's never been good with words but, his life depended on them. There was no doubt of it. He would no longer remain as WindClan's medicine cat and as far as he was concerned; he was already dead. He was not talented in hunting or fighting. He couldn't bare to see how his clanmates looked at him if he remained or came back to WindClan.
Cowtuft was either a medicine cat who poisoned his clanmates intentionally or without knowing. StarClan had succeeded. He had to be incredibly unaware or have malicious intent. (Briefly, he wonders if it was the latter. His memory was full of gaps, holes, events that became a blur. Could he have done it and simply forgot? How could he have not noticed? If he had done it in his sleep..)
Strangely enough, not all of his clanmates were quite processing the full information. Instead,, they were shifting the blame to Lightningstorm. Or, one was? He wasn't sure. Twilightstar wished to hear what he had to say. The medicine cat knew not how to defend himself, but he would tell the truth. It was all he had. All he could give.
He steps out from behind, lifting his head up and trying to ignore the knot in his throat while he approached Twilightstar. He hung his head low, unable to meet her gaze. "I'm sorry. There is nothing.. I can say to express my deep regret. I -- after twenty moons, I should have ... noticed. Anything, something .. but I firmly believed the cause of death was a sickness, perhaps a variation of snow fever ,, but nothing I can say can bring our clanmates back. This failure is my own,, and it will reside with me until the end of my days," He signed slowly, taking a deep, shuddering breath. A part of him wished to gravel at her paws, to bend his neck and expose the soft flesh; to beg for her to kill him there and now. He does not, if only for what little honor he had left. Cowtuft looks up to meet her gaze, wondering if there was disappointment, regret. She had said he was one of her best.
He shuts his eyes, opens then, and turns to address the rest of his clanmates. He stomps his paws loudly on the ground, trying to grab their attention. If they wanted to listen, that was. "The deathberries were brought in by me,, This was my act and my act alone. ...Lightningstorm only knows briefly what they are - until now.. I did not inform her of them. I did not inform anyone of this decision... After treating Russetpaw I had came to a conclusion... There may be times ,,where our clanmates are in dire suffering and where their ailment cannot be overcome,, In this situation, offering them a swift death would be a mercy.. Those were my intentions and have been my only intentions. I hid the deathberries away to keep them separated from my main supply." He looks at the singular rotten berry. The color of crimson mocking him. His ears pull back, tears forming in his waterline that he desperately started to blink away.
Cowtuft sucks in a breath. "Afterwards .. Lilypool came to me. She had the symptoms of a cold, perhaps the beginning of whitecough or greencough - that is what it appeared to be,,. She was sniffling and coughing. I fed her catmint and soon after, she was gone.,, Plagues are not something new to WindClan,, Poison was not an option.. I,, am still .. struggling to believe someone could do such a thing.,, but uhm, as a result.. I wanted to stop the sickness from spreading.." It feels foolish to talk about it now. If it was only poison then his efforts were for nothing. He was a fool.
"I ,,picked Firestorm, Fallownose, and Lightningstorm as my helpers. Any herbs they were given or any knowledge they had about them came from me,, My experience outweighs their own, no one had.. any reason to doubt otherwise,, Berryfrost presented with a headache and chills. Whiskerwing was coughing.. I gave Berryfrost feverfew and Whiskerwing tansy to ease their symptoms, " They likely knew some of the bits, but not the specifics. He would present the evidence. Every piece of the evidence. Then, they could decide.
"Foxkit was given burnet to treat her weakness,,, Stickpaw had similar symptoms to Lilypool but was much more visibly sicker.,, He was given tansy. All four of them died after.. being administered the herbs.,, Inspecting the bodies they all ..were in similar states; this only furthered my belief that it was a sickness,,, I searched, and searched for herbs that could help. "
"..Uhm,, the day of the Gathering I went into the nursery. Wispkit was coughing and in the midst of attempting to get her to come in for treatment, she collapsed,, I tried to give her catmint, but my efforts did not amount to anything.. I buried her alone as I did not know if the sickness could spread even through death,,.. The only cat I was able to tell was Twilightstar before we had to leave to the Gathering,," Cowtuft looks towards his leader, he wasn't sure if he should've brought this up but it seemed connected. Had to be, right? Maybe she wanted to reveal this, he hopes not.
"There it was revealed StarClan had spoken to ThunderClan, giving them the cure... I have yelled at the stars to give the answers they hold captive many times throughout my lifetime... They are frustratingly vague, but they have always gone to one ..of our high ranks. Never.. have they expressed that they did not approve of my role.. I do not not understand it or trust their words,, but I have been trying to test the cure to see if it could truly help,, "
"Then,, Leafspot came into my den... He was coughing and weak. I gave him catmint and burnet,, Throughout all of this, supervising the deathberries became something that slipped my mind,, I had no use for them. They were not a major concern,,,, As far as I know, I have been the only cat who knew about them... " Cowtuft furrows his eyebrows, his tail swishing back and forth.
"Lilypool first passed away three moons ago,, I,, do not believe all our herbs are tainted.. I have successfully treated other cats in the span of three months without them having adverse effects,," (a memory flashes of scorchedfang curled up in his nest, refusing to move or accept help.)
"Herbs wither,, which means the culprit would've had to slipped into my herb storage on multiple occasions to replenish ,, the poisoned herbs. The den is rarely empty - if I am not there, then Lightningstorm is typically there. It is not uncommon for... there to be cats in my den. I,, struggle to believe the culprit would have managed to slip in so many times without someone noticing. If even a small detail, something they wouldn't focus on at first,," His signs trail off for a moment, it would be great if someone knew. Saw something. He doesn't think he'll be so lucky.
"It feels as if it would be more plausible if ,, the herbs were poisoned before they reached the herb storage .. or if it was me. I cannot fault you for believing the latter. The evidence is there, but at the same time I can tell you .. I have served as your medicine cat since I was eight moons old. More than half of my life has been as your medicine cat; I know nothing else. I have did my very best to serve you all. Every scar I have gotten has been for WindClan. I regret none of it, I would do it all again in every lifetime given the chance.." Cowtuft glances around, signing swiftly. He's suffered for them and along side them.
"But ,,my lack of supervision did lead to seven of our clanmates dying. To the ones ..who defend me wholeheartedly, I am sure you .. mean well.. but please understand I am not guiltless... Whether I am the culprit or not, I disturbed poisonous herbs. ..This should have been caught sooner, that fault lies with me,, However, I would never knowingly poison anyone. Especially not the children, or my own family. This is my truth, but that is all it is. It is my truth, it is my words. "
"I will let my actions speak for themselves... You all have known me. If you believe I was malicious in my actions, then you may sentence me to my death and I will accept it with a open mouth,,,. If you believe I was neglectful in my actions, then the result is the same.,, No punishment will be enough to bring back our clanmates and this sin will forever rest on my shoulders. "
Cowtuft sets his paws down onto the ground, tail tucked between his legs. He looks at the kits crying, the exhausted warriors, his apprentice. He thought he would be crying, shaking and a mess on the floor. His legs tremble, blood roar in his ears but he feels tired. An overwhelming sense of tiredness; was this surrender?
He looks up to the sky. Every sense he was little he was taught to worship their ancestors. They could do no wrong; they always had a plan. They always had the answers. Cowtuft looks for them, looks for the answers but they are silent.
He decided if this were their plan to get rid of him, truly, then he would follow them no longer. They turned a blind eye to WindClan's suffering again and again. They used it to benefit ThunderClan. The stars could've prevented this all, but they sat in silence. He will let them sit on their pillars of misconstruction. he simply had no interest in joining them when his time came. Solitude would be his prison. Maybe then he could rest.
__________________
❝ hold on tight to this time,
this place 'cause everything you know will be erased.
you were born inside your head.
and that is where you'll be when you are dead. ❞ -- currently on a hiatus until further notice --
꒰ pronouns.cc꒱
Last edited by wolfie; December 30th, 2023 at 02:53 PM.
✩｡°°｡✩ he . . him ➔ massive white tom with black splotches and floppy ears. scars cover his neck. x-marks on his shoulders and his left hindleg is covered in burn scars
╭₊˚purrks﹕monkey's paw, the collector, herb knowledge, kitty softpaws ₊˚੭ ✦ . ⁺ . ✦ . ⁺ . ✦
disclaimer : any dialogue in italics is being communicated by sign language and body language. it is completely non-verbal.
⌦ .｡.:* ✮ @BEAR. @Moonraven @Dark @Alchemist Kitsune // mentioning those who he directly interacted with but cowtuft is addressing everyone!
A scream ripped through the camp, calling out the name of his previous patient. Cowtuft stiffened, his heart beginning to thump, thump, thump, thump erratically. Again. Again. Again. A beat. He threw his body into the storage, scrambling desperately to get ahold of the herb ThunderClan had given them. He hadn't gotten time to test it, he didn't think Leafspot could be poisoned. It was a cold. All it was a cold.
He stepped out of his den, everyone's voices were blended together. It was so loud, all he could focus on was the mist that lurked near the ground, near the limp body. There was no sign of life, he could see the crimson. The seventh had fallen. Seven. Snow Fever had also taken seven of their clanmates. Everyone was arguing, throwing out guesses on what could've unfolded. No one seemed to have registered the fact he was there. (he didn't want to be there, he wanted to be far, far away)
Someone was quick to defend him, stepping in front of the medicine cat. Firestorm. There was another cat nearby, Lightningstorm. He looked at her apologetically. Cowtuft did not have the answers this time. His legs were shaking, but he stepped up to Firestorm's side. He placed a paw on her shoulder, eyebrows furrowing together. "Please,, we do not need violence.." He signs slowly, a plea in his eyes. "Thank you .. for defending me.. but I'll be quite alright... " He pulled back, gently bumping his head against hers. Gratitude.
Twilightstar steps up, beginning to address the clan. Despite what ThunderClan had said, Cowtuft firmly believed it had to be a plague. Poison did not make sense, it couldn't make sense but this worldview was quick to come crashing down. Lightningstorm had found the cause of death. ThunderClan was correct.
He jerks back, any wits he might've gathered crumbled. What? What? What? whatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhat
The splotched tom shook his head back and forth in denial, his breathing beginning to pick up. He felt sick, incredibly sick. They were poisoned. His herbs were poisoned. He gave his helpers poisoned herbs. He hadn't - but how? When? Why? Who? Who would've done such a thing? A quiet whimper came from him, his paws stung from the aftermath of his experiments. Cowtuft had been struggling to discover a cure for a plague that didn't exist.
His fate depended on how well he could convince them. It was ironic, really. He's never been good with words but, his life depended on them. There was no doubt of it. He would no longer remain as WindClan's medicine cat and as far as he was concerned; he was already dead. He was not talented in hunting or fighting. He couldn't bare to see how his clanmates looked at him if he remained or came back to WindClan.
Cowtuft was either a medicine cat who poisoned his clanmates intentionally or without knowing. StarClan had succeeded. He had to be incredibly unaware or have malicious intent. (Briefly, he wonders if it was the latter. His memory was full of gaps, holes, events that became a blur. Could he have done it and simply forgot? How could he have not noticed? If he had done it in his sleep..)
Strangely enough, not all of his clanmates were quite processing the full information. Instead,, they were shifting the blame to Lightningstorm. Or, one was? He wasn't sure. Twilightstar wished to hear what he had to say. The medicine cat knew not how to defend himself, but he would tell the truth. It was all he had. All he could give.
He steps out from behind, lifting his head up and trying to ignore the knot in his throat while he approached Twilightstar. He hung his head low, unable to meet her gaze. "I'm sorry. There is nothing.. I can say to express my deep regret. I -- after twenty moons, I should have ... noticed. Anything, something .. but I firmly believed the cause of death was a sickness, perhaps a variation of snow fever ,, but nothing I can say can bring our clanmates back. This failure is my own,, and it will reside with me until the end of my days," He signed slowly, taking a deep, shuddering breath. A part of him wished to gravel at her paws, to bend his neck and expose the soft flesh; to beg for her to kill him there and now. He does not, if only for what little honor he had left. Cowtuft looks up to meet her gaze, wondering if there was disappointment, regret. She had said he was one of her best.
He shuts his eyes, opens then, and turns to address the rest of his clanmates. He stomps his paws loudly on the ground, trying to grab their attention. If they wanted to listen, that was. "The deathberries were brought in by me,, This was my act and my act alone. ...Lightningstorm only knows briefly what they are - until now.. I did not inform her of them. I did not inform anyone of this decision... After treating Russetpaw I had came to a conclusion... There may be times ,,where our clanmates are in dire suffering and where their ailment cannot be overcome,, In this situation, offering them a swift death would be a mercy.. Those were my intentions and have been my only intentions. I hid the deathberries away to keep them separated from my main supply." He looks at the singular rotten berry. The color of crimson mocking him. His ears pull back, tears forming in his waterline that he desperately started to blink away.
Cowtuft sucks in a breath. "Afterwards .. Lilypool came to me. She had the symptoms of a cold, perhaps the beginning of whitecough or greencough - that is what it appeared to be,,. She was sniffling and coughing. I fed her catmint and soon after, she was gone.,, Plagues are not something new to WindClan,, Poison was not an option.. I,, am still .. struggling to believe someone could do such a thing.,, but uhm, as a result.. I wanted to stop the sickness from spreading.." It feels foolish to talk about it now. If it was only poison then his efforts were for nothing. He was a fool.
"I ,,picked Firestorm, Fallownose, and Lightningstorm as my helpers. Any herbs they were given or any knowledge they had about them came from me,, My experience outweighs their own, no one had.. any reason to doubt otherwise,, Berryfrost presented with a headache and chills. Whiskerwing was coughing.. I gave Berryfrost feverfew and Whiskerwing tansy to ease their symptoms, " They likely knew some of the bits, but not the specifics. He would present the evidence. Every piece of the evidence. Then, they could decide.
"Foxkit was given burnet to treat her weakness,,, Stickpaw had similar symptoms to Lilypool but was much more visibly sicker.,, He was given tansy. All four of them died after.. being administered the herbs.,, Inspecting the bodies they all ..were in similar states; this only furthered my belief that it was a sickness,,, I searched, and searched for herbs that could help. "
"..Uhm,, the day of the Gathering I went into the nursery. Wispkit was coughing and in the midst of attempting to get her to come in for treatment, she collapsed,, I tried to give her catmint, but my efforts did not amount to anything.. I buried her alone as I did not know if the sickness could spread even through death,,.. The only cat I was able to tell was Twilightstar before we had to leave to the Gathering,," Cowtuft looks towards his leader, he wasn't sure if he should've brought this up but it seemed connected. Had to be, right? Maybe she wanted to reveal this, he hopes not.
"There it was revealed StarClan had spoken to ThunderClan, giving them the cure... I have yelled at the stars to give the answers they hold captive many times throughout my lifetime... They are frustratingly vague, but they have always gone to one ..of our high ranks. Never.. have they expressed that they did not approve of my role.. I do not not understand it or trust their words,, but I have been trying to test the cure to see if it could truly help,, "
"Then,, Leafspot came into my den... He was coughing and weak. I gave him catmint and burnet,, Throughout all of this, supervising the deathberries became something that slipped my mind,, I had no use for them. They were not a major concern,,,, As far as I know, I have been the only cat who knew about them... " Cowtuft furrows his eyebrows, his tail swishing back and forth.
"Lilypool first passed away three moons ago,, I,, do not believe all our herbs are tainted.. I have successfully treated other cats in the span of three months without them having adverse effects,," (a memory flashes of scorchedfang curled up in his nest, refusing to move or accept help.)
"Herbs wither,, which means the culprit would've had to slipped into my herb storage on multiple occasions to replenish ,, the poisoned herbs. The den is rarely empty - if I am not there, then Lightningstorm is typically there. It is not uncommon for... there to be cats in my den. I,, struggle to believe the culprit would have managed to slip in so many times without someone noticing. If even a small detail, something they wouldn't focus on at first,," His signs trail off for a moment, it would be great if someone knew. Saw something. He doesn't think he'll be so lucky.
"It feels as if it would be more plausible if ,, the herbs were poisoned before they reached the herb storage .. or if it was me. I cannot fault you for believing the latter. The evidence is there, but at the same time I can tell you .. I have served as your medicine cat since I was eight moons old. More than half of my life has been as your medicine cat; I know nothing else. I have did my very best to serve you all. Every scar I have gotten has been for WindClan. I regret none of it, I would do it all again in every lifetime given the chance.." Cowtuft glances around, signing swiftly. He's suffered for them and along side them.
"But ,,my lack of supervision did lead to seven of our clanmates dying. To the ones ..who defend me wholeheartedly, I am sure you .. mean well.. but please understand I am not guiltless... Whether I am the culprit or not, I disturbed poisonous herbs. ..This should have been caught sooner, that fault lies with me,, However, I would never knowingly poison anyone. Especially not the children, or my own family. This is my truth, but that is all it is. It is my truth, it is my words. "
"I will let my actions speak for themselves... You all have known me. If you believe I was malicious in my actions, then you may sentence me to my death and I will accept it with a open mouth,,,. If you believe I was neglectful in my actions, then the result is the same.,, No punishment will be enough to bring back our clanmates and this sin will forever rest on my shoulders. "
Cowtuft sets his paws down onto the ground, tail tucked between his legs. He looks at the kits crying, the exhausted warriors, his apprentice. He thought he would be crying, shaking and a mess on the floor. His legs tremble, blood roar in his ears but he feels tired. An overwhelming sense of tiredness; was this surrender?
He looks up to the sky. Every sense he was little he was taught to worship their ancestors. They could do no wrong; they always had a plan. They always had the answers. Cowtuft looks for them, looks for the answers but they are silent.
He decided if this were their plan to get rid of him, truly, then he would follow them no longer. They turned a blind eye to WindClan's suffering again and again. They used it to benefit ThunderClan. The stars could've prevented this all, but they sat in silence. He will let them sit on their pillars of misconstruction. he simply had no interest in joining them when his time came. Solitude would be his prison. Maybe then he could rest.
Basilthroat
They/He~Windclan~24 Moons
"I don't need the world to see
That I've been the best I can be"
"No apology can fix the fact seven healthy cats are dead" he let out a low growl. "I say Cowtuft can't be our medic atleast for awhile". "Im not saying exile but are clan needs to heal from this news and to grief for Leafspot's death" Basilthroat growled. He's lying and I know it. Basi hissed "He is only saying what what we want to hear".
__________________
★☆"There is no show without an Audience!"☆★
Gentlecrab is Beachclan's Medicine cat, pearl has a semi-open den policy
Please use tone tags when speaking to me Character website Commisions
Last edited by Kieran.; December 30th, 2023 at 03:38 PM.
Hawkfur
WindClan
he/him | 45 moons
[Deep russet tabby with blue eyes and white chest, muzzle and paws]
---------------
[Bravebird - @tallulah ] [Lichenpaw - @FrostyGalaxy ] [Cowtuft - @wolfie ] [Twilightstar - @Moonraven ] [Lightningstorm - @Alchemist Kitsune ]
---------------
Quote:
Originally Posted by tallulah
Bravebird
She/her | 41 moons | Beefed Up T3 • One with the Warren
There was much erupting around her, but Bravebird kept her steady gaze on Hawkfur. She didn't like the way her heart was pounding and the way she felt as if ants were crawling through her fur. Feeling doubtful and second-guessing herself was not something she ever did - she was a warrior for stars sake! Not some fresh out of the nursery apprentice!
Taking a breath to steady herself she closed her eyes as her Clanmate approached, his nose to her cheek acting as a grounding of sorts. Brave let herself fall back into taking a seat, leaning against Hawkfur. Confusion warped her thoughts and twisted any words that had the chance of being spoken. Peachfrost flashed across her mind, followed by anger and confusion. She had known her sister to be a good and loyal warrior, but her accusations... Now though, as Twilightstar revealed that deathberries had been found in the medicine den...
"I feel like everything that I knew growing up in WindClan just got flipped on its head," she murmured to Hawkfur as she opened her eyes, looking out at the crowd. Loud voices and accusations flew across, and for once in a rare moment Brave had no desire to join in. Instead she kept her gaze trained on her leader, the one cat who her trust in would never waver. She had found that whenever her head floated too far up into the clouds of misjudgment, Twilightstar was there to speak anchoring words of reason. And she did, what she said made sense.
Eyes flickered to Firestorm, who stood valiantly by the entrance. She admired her tenacity and spark, the willingness to defend her love friend from personal insecurities masquerading as accusations from the majority of WindClan. A few others proposed that Cowtuft shouldn't be punished, but the rest of it fell to deaf ears. She knew she should speak up, offer her opinion like Hawkfur and Poppysong and Firestorm and Scorchedfang and Crowtooth and several others but...
For once, the normally outspoken warrior had nothing to say.
But that wouldn't do as a seasoned warrior. With no will left to argue, Bravebird leaned against Hawkfur and let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. There was nothing left to say as they all waited for Cowtuft to appear, to explain why in the stars another cat was dead. She was holding onto the hope that in a last ditch effort the true culprit would reveal themselves and she could stop this festering hate she felt in her gut towards the senior medicine cat.
There was something she could do for her Clan though, while they all sat around and debated the innocence of a cat Brave never thought would be on trial, let alone for this. Standing on shaky paws, she called, "I can take Leafspots body to be buried." to Twilightstar. In the midst of this chaos, she didn't want the fallen warrior to be forgotten. Whatever would happen to Cowtuft would not be up to her to decide; making sure a Clanmate was put in their final resting place, however, was something she could control.
Hawkfur felt his heart crack when Bravebird slumped against his side, and he brought his tail up and around to curl soothingly against her back. For a moment, all the voices and accusations and defenses, all the nonsense and reason, faded into the background as two warriors previously unshakeable in their loyalty witnessed their faith dissipate like morning mist.
When Bravebird stood, offering to bury Leafspot, he rose to his paws as well. He did not offer to bury the body, as someone else had quickly offered, and instead looked around at the clanmates that were still gathered near Twilightstar. His gaze caught on another familiar face, and he noticed panic beginning to set in it. He brushed his tail once more over Bravebird's spine, reassuring her that he would be back, and padded over to Lichenpaw.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FrostyGalaxy
*-Lichenpaw-* 101/100
she/her || 11moons small and scruffy calico with one blinding eye CW: brief discussion of panic attack like symptoms
Happily carrying her catch back into camp, Lichenpaw is momentarily curious about the shouting and raised voices she can hear even before she pokes her way back into the clearing. Did something happen while she was hunting? Weird. Anyway... keeping her ear perked to listen, the apprentice wanders her way over to the prey pile and deposits her rabbit there.
Someone died? Just keeled over dead after going to see Cowtuft... huh. That was... unsettling. How many deaths was this now that had something to do with the senior medicine cat? Six? Seven? Anxiety ripples its way up her spine and it's uncomfortable - she's not used to feeling anxious. But - the medicine cats wouldn't do something like this on purpose... would they? It doesn't make sense, doesn't slot neatly into her brain like the things she knows are true - a square peg shoved into a round hole, so to speak.
Part of her, a dangerous, angry and violent part, wants to sink claws into the medicine cats and demand answers, demand an explanation for all this death and not let go until they tell her the truth, because they have to know something about it, right? ...right? 'Death berries...' she hears someone whisper and sucks in a breath because why would there be a supply of death berries in WindClan's herb stores? Ears flat, blue eye drifting to Cowtuft in the crowd, she tries to search his face for an explanation, anything he has to say that would be a good answer, anything that would absolve him and Lightningstorm of any and all blame.
'Are these deaths targeted? Do they want me dead too?' Her brain wonders, and, oh, there's the bone chilling shiver up her spine again and it's not the chill or the snow anymore, it's an emotion she isn't very well acquainted with. It's fear. Cold, unfeeling, oppressive, fear. Skeletal paws gripping at her neck, trying to stop her from breathing. She's lightheaded and it takes a minute for her to get a grip over herself again. She's done nothing to warrant the ire of either medicine cat, she tries to remind herself, pleading with her mind to think this through rationally, and, slowly, the cold skeletal paws of fear recede and she can breathe again.
"Surely Cowtuft didn't do this on purpose!" Lichen says, unsure who she's really talking to, more-so just speaking into the mass of cats, "he would have known poisoning the herbs in his own stores would lead the blame right to him and Lightningstorm! Sure, punish him for his negligence, for not realizing sooner, for the fact that they kept death berries in the first place - but this isn't- he wouldn't- this isn't his fault! Surely... surely it's not their fault... right?"
Please someone tell her she's right and they didn't do this on purpose... please anyone say she's right!
A warm presence came up beside Lichenpaw, blocking her view of the medicine cats and the body. "Hey," Hawkfur murmured, his red fur and blue eyes familiar from the border tour he had taken her on not too long ago. "Deep breaths. There is an explanation for this." Whether it involved Cowtuft and Lightningstorm confessing to a crime, or being found innocent... well, that would be up to them. "This is the first time Cowtuft has given us a reason to doubt him." He said quietly, but loud enough for those who wanted to listen to hear. "Lightningstorm, too. It is possible this was set up against them." Even then, it felt unlikely. He kept that to himself however, and focused on Lichenpaw. He waited for them to calm, remaining a steady presence through the storm that was the gathering of cats.
That was, until Cowtuft approached.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wolfie
✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚ [ COWTUFT ‼ ] ˚｡⋆ ༘˚✧
┆彡 THE GENTLE GIANT
| WINDCLAN'S MEDICINE CAT | 28 MOONS ✮✮✮
✩｡°°｡✩ he . . him ➔ massive white tom with black splotches and floppy ears. scars cover his neck. x-marks on his shoulders and his left hindleg is covered in burn scars
╭₊˚purrks﹕monkey's paw, the collector, herb knowledge, kitty softpaws ₊˚੭ ✦ . ⁺ . ✦ . ⁺ . ✦
disclaimer : any dialogue in italics is being communicated by sign language and body language. it is completely non-verbal.
⌦ .｡.:* ✮ @BEAR. @Moonraven @Dark @Alchemist Kitsune // mentioning those who he directly interacted with but cowtuft is addressing everyone!
A scream ripped through the camp, calling out the name of his previous patient. Cowtuft stiffened, his heart beginning to thump, thump, thump, thump erratically. Again. Again. Again. A beat. He threw his body into the storage, scrambling desperately to get ahold of the herb ThunderClan had given them. He hadn't gotten time to test it, he didn't think Leafspot could be poisoned. It was a cold. All it was a cold.
He stepped out of his den, everyone's voices were blended together. It was so loud, all he could focus on was the mist that lurked near the ground, near the limp body. There was no sign of life, he could see the crimson. The seventh had fallen. Seven. Snow Fever had also taken seven of their clanmates. Everyone was arguing, throwing out guesses on what could've unfolded. No one seemed to have registered the fact he was there. (he didn't want to be there, he wanted to be far, far away)
Someone was quick to defend him, stepping in front of the medicine cat. Firestorm. There was another cat nearby, Lightningstorm. He looked at her apologetically. Cowtuft did not have the answers this time. His legs were shaking, but he stepped up to Firestorm's side. He placed a paw on her shoulder, eyebrows furrowing together. "Please,, we do not need violence.." He signs slowly, a plea in his eyes. "Thank you .. for defending me.. but I'll be quite alright... " He pulled back, gently bumping his head against hers. Gratitude.
Twilightstar steps up, beginning to address the clan. Despite what ThunderClan had said, Cowtuft firmly believed it had to be a plague. Poison did not make sense, it couldn't make sense but this worldview was quick to come crashing down. Lightningstorm had found the cause of death. ThunderClan was correct.
He jerks back, any wits he might've gathered crumbled. What? What? What? whatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhat
The splotched tom shook his head back and forth in denial, his breathing beginning to pick up. He felt sick, incredibly sick. They were poisoned. His herbs were poisoned. He gave his helpers poisoned herbs. He hadn't - but how? When? Why? Who? Who would've done such a thing? A quiet whimper came from him, his paws stung from the aftermath of his experiments. Cowtuft had been struggling to discover a cure for a plague that didn't exist.
His fate depended on how well he could convince them. It was ironic, really. He's never been good with words but, his life depended on them. There was no doubt of it. He would no longer remain as WindClan's medicine cat and as far as he was concerned; he was already dead. He was not talented in hunting or fighting. He couldn't bare to see how his clanmates looked at him if he remained or came back to WindClan.
Cowtuft was either a medicine cat who poisoned his clanmates intentionally or without knowing. StarClan had succeeded. He had to be incredibly unaware or have malicious intent. (Briefly, he wonders if it was the latter. His memory was full of gaps, holes, events that became a blur. Could he have done it and simply forgot? How could he have not noticed? If he had done it in his sleep..)
Strangely enough, not all of his clanmates were quite processing the full information. Instead,, they were shifting the blame to Lightningstorm. Or, one was? He wasn't sure. Twilightstar wished to hear what he had to say. The medicine cat knew not how to defend himself, but he would tell the truth. It was all he had. All he could give.
He steps out from behind, lifting his head up and trying to ignore the knot in his throat while he approached Twilightstar. He hung his head low, unable to meet her gaze. "I'm sorry. There is nothing.. I can say to express my deep regret. I -- after twenty moons, I should have ... noticed. Anything, something .. but I firmly believed the cause of death was a sickness, perhaps a variation of snow fever ,, but nothing I can say can bring our clanmates back. This failure is my own,, and it will reside with me until the end of my days," He signed slowly, taking a deep, shuddering breath. A part of him wished to gravel at her paws, to bend his neck and expose the soft flesh; to beg for her to kill him there and now. He does not, if only for what little honor he had left. Cowtuft looks up to meet her gaze, wondering if there was disappointment, regret. She had said he was one of her best.
He shuts his eyes, opens then, and turns to address the rest of his clanmates. He stomps his paws loudly on the ground, trying to grab their attention. If they wanted to listen, that was. "The deathberries were brought in by me,, This was my act and my act alone. ...Lightningstorm only knows briefly what they are - until now.. I did not inform her of them. I did not inform anyone of this decision... After treating Russetpaw I had came to a conclusion... There may be times ,,where our clanmates are in dire suffering and where their ailment cannot be overcome,, In this situation, offering them a swift death would be a mercy.. Those were my intentions and have been my only intentions. I hid the deathberries away to keep them separated from my main supply." He looks at the singular rotten berry. The color of crimson mocking him. His ears pull back, tears forming in his waterline that he desperately started to blink away.
Cowtuft sucks in a breath. "Afterwards .. Lilypool came to me. She had the symptoms of a cold, perhaps the beginning of whitecough or greencough - that is what it appeared to be,,. She was sniffling and coughing. I fed her catmint and soon after, she was gone.,, Plagues are not something new to WindClan,, Poison was not an option.. I,, am still .. struggling to believe someone could do such a thing.,, but uhm, as a result.. I wanted to stop the sickness from spreading.." It feels foolish to talk about it now. If it was only poison then his efforts were for nothing. He was a fool.
"I ,,picked Firestorm, Fallownose, and Lightningstorm as my helpers. Any herbs they were given or any knowledge they had about them came from me,, My experience outweighs their own, no one had.. any reason to doubt otherwise,, Berryfrost presented with a headache and chills. Whiskerwing was coughing.. I gave Berryfrost feverfew and Whiskerwing tansy to ease their symptoms, " They likely knew some of the bits, but not the specifics. He would present the evidence. Every piece of the evidence. Then, they could decide.
"Foxkit was given burnet to treat her weakness,,, Stickpaw had similar symptoms to Lilypool but was much more visibly sicker.,, He was given tansy. All four of them died after.. being administered the herbs.,, Inspecting the bodies they all ..were in similar states; this only furthered my belief that it was a sickness,,, I searched, and searched for herbs that could help. "
"..Uhm,, the day of the Gathering I went into the nursery. Wispkit was coughing and in the midst of attempting to get her to come in for treatment, she collapsed,, I tried to give her catmint, but my efforts did not amount to anything.. I buried her alone as I did not know if the sickness could spread even through death,,.. The only cat I was able to tell was Twilightstar before we had to leave to the Gathering,," Cowtuft looks towards his leader, he wasn't sure if he should've brought this up but it seemed connected. Had to be, right? Maybe she wanted to reveal this, he hopes not.
"There it was revealed StarClan had spoken to ThunderClan, giving them the cure... I have yelled at the stars to give the answers they hold captive many times throughout my lifetime... They are frustratingly vague, but they have always gone to one ..of our high ranks. Never.. have they expressed that they did not approve of my role.. I do not not understand it or trust their words,, but I have been trying to test the cure to see if it could truly help,, "
"Then,, Leafspot came into my den... He was coughing and weak. I gave him catmint and burnet,, Throughout all of this, supervising the deathberries became something that slipped my mind,, I had no use for them. They were not a major concern,,,, As far as I know, I have been the only cat who knew about them... " Cowtuft furrows his eyebrows, his tail swishing back and forth.
"Lilypool first passed away three moons ago,, I,, do not believe all our herbs are tainted.. I have successfully treated other cats in the span of three months without them having adverse effects,," (a memory flashes of scorchedfang curled up in his nest, refusing to move or accept help.)
"Herbs wither,, which means the culprit would've had to slipped into my herb storage on multiple occasions to replenish ,, the poisoned herbs. The den is rarely empty - if I am not there, then Lightningstorm is typically there. It is not uncommon for... there to be cats in my den. I,, struggle to believe the culprit would have managed to slip in so many times without someone noticing. If even a small detail, something they wouldn't focus on at first,," His signs trail off for a moment, it would be great if someone knew. Saw something. He doesn't think he'll be so lucky.
"It feels as if it would be more plausible if ,, the herbs were poisoned before they reached the herb storage .. or if it was me. I cannot fault you for believing the latter. The evidence is there, but at the same time I can tell you .. I have served as your medicine cat since I was eight moons old. More than half of my life has been as your medicine cat; I know nothing else. I have did my very best to serve you all. Every scar I have gotten has been for WindClan. I regret none of it, I would do it all again in every lifetime given the chance.." Cowtuft glances around, signing swiftly. He's suffered for them and along side them.
"But ,,my lack of supervision did lead to seven of our clanmates dying. To the ones ..who defend me wholeheartedly, I am sure you .. mean well.. but please understand I am not guiltless... Whether I am the culprit or not, I disturbed poisonous herbs. ..This should have been caught sooner, that fault lies with me,, However, I would never knowingly poison anyone. Especially not the children, or my own family. This is my truth, but that is all it is. It is my truth, it is my words. "
"I will let my actions speak for themselves... You all have known me. If you believe I was malicious in my actions, then you may sentence me to my death and I will accept it with a open mouth,,,. If you believe I was neglectful in my actions, then the result is the same.,, No punishment will be enough to bring back our clanmates and this sin will forever rest on my shoulders. "
Cowtuft sets his paws down onto the ground, tail tucked between his legs. He looks at the kits crying, the exhausted warriors, his apprentice. He thought he would be crying, shaking and a mess on the floor. His legs tremble, blood roar in his ears but he feels tired. An overwhelming sense of tiredness; was this surrender?
He looks up to the sky. Every sense he was little he was taught to worship their ancestors. They could do no wrong; they always had a plan. They always had the answers. Cowtuft looks for them, looks for the answers but they are silent.
He decided if this were their plan to get rid of him, truly, then he would follow them no longer. They turned a blind eye to WindClan's suffering again and again. They used it to benefit ThunderClan. The stars could've prevented this all, but they sat in silence. He will let them sit on their pillars of misconstruction. he simply had no interest in joining them when his time came. Solitude would be his prison. Maybe then he could rest.
Hawkfur watched intently as Cowtuft explained himself, Mortification clawing its way up his throat with every sign and gesture. Cowtuft had brought the deathberries to camp. He had left them in the storage, with the other plants. Separated, yes, but within easy access of someone with bad intentions.
With each excuse and explanation the large white tom provided, Hawkfur only grew more and more conflicted. The use of deathberries to prevent cats from suffering longer than they had to made sense to him. He would much rather die quickly and quietly from poison than suffer in pain for moons until a sickness or injury strangled the final remnants of life from his body. But with every excuse, Cowtuft only seemed to dig his grave deeper and deeper. He admitted to being negligent, to being careless, to putting his clanmates at risk and then forgetting about it.
Forgetting about it. That piece of information stuck in Hawkfur's side like a thorn, and he found himself frowning thoughtfully at the medicine cat. Cowtuft was right; if the death berries had been in the storage for as long as cats had been mysteriously dying, they would have had to be replaced. Deathberries were common knowledge amongst clan cats--every warrior pointed out their crimson berries and sickly sweet smell to their apprentices to ensure they avoided accidentally stepping in them and licking the juices off their fur. Because of this, it was possible that someone who wasn't knowledgeable in herbs could have easily picked deathberries and hidden them away. Relief warred with his fear, and Hawkfur felt his stomach twist painfully. Cowtuft hadn't done it. It wasn't on purpose. But it still happened, and now seven cats were dead at Cowtuft's paws.
He pushed himself to his paws, approaching Cowtuft and Lightningstorm slowly, betrayal mixed with relief and guilt and sorrow. He eyed Firestorm warily, hoping she gathered that he wasn't a threat to the medicine cats. "Cowtuft, when you healed my sister of greencough when we were kits, you mere meticulous with your herbs. You never would have poisoned us, never would have tainted herbs. You were always so careful... why now?"
It was akin to a shot in the gut that all became clear and any last hopes of a mistake were gone.
There'd be no tests to clear names, no reasons that did not come with pain, and no more Cowtuft, smiling in the medicine cats den with kind paws.
Crowtooth wished to throw up.
The tom rasped out the facts, more for himself than for others. "Death berries 'n the med cat den, brought 'n by Cowtuft, poisoned herbs, by who we don' know, and so many dead clanmates. How? How could 't come ta this?" The tunneler heaved in a couple of breaths, labored and pained from the lump in his throat and the effort of fighting down distraught tears. It was a fight to keep breathing steady to not throw himself into an asthma attack (a bad idea given the clan had no clue how many herbs were tainted, herbs he relied on when his breathing failed) but it still hurt.
Crowtooth couldnt remember bad emotions physically hurting this much except for.... Ah, Creekdash's death, now that was a wonderful memory to regain right now.
Still he shook it off and continued to gratingly wheeze. "I don' believe you mean' fer this Cowtuft. I really don' this was an accident or sabotage or somethin' but not you." Hetrochromatic eyes plead for the other tom to believe him "Yer a good cat, a good medicine cat from before I disappeared ta when I got home, all that time. But..... So many deaths an' we don' even know how many there were. How can we be sure? I believe you an' ya admit your follies which 's admirable but......"
Once again the tom was more talking to himself. "Unsecured deathberries, because they had ta be ta be used without you noticin'.
Left the den unguarded because someone got 'n ta do this. Anyone who tries to say Lighteningstorm did this 's an idiot but fault still lays 'n part wit' Cowtuft, 'ts lead medicine cats job ta mind the store. Didn' check said deathberries, or the herbs fer damage or use. Even 'f tamperin' was outta mind at first once thin's went wrong why not check that? Lighteningstorm found the tamperin', so 't was detectable. An' that leads ta not investigatin', why was this not investigated?"
Finally a plea to Cowtuft. "There was a common thread. All ate herbs soon before, even thinkin' this was a plague why wasnt this noticed by the medicine cat an' looked into? 't was yer job, all of this was as head medicine cat? Yer normally so mindful, what happened?" It was an honest question not even meant as an accusation but still the tom flinched at his own words, eyes guilty as he looked at Cowtuft for even asking it.
All fight fled and a single tear fell before it was disguised by the coughing fit from minor hyperventilation. Which was soon brought under control. Be strong, be strong, be strong..... But it was so tiring... So it was sad and quiet that he spoke again. "I-I don' think this 's yer fault Cow.... 'ts whatever monster decided ta taint the thin' that was meant ta save lives. But.... Responsibility nets takin' responsibility."
The tom turned to Twilightstar and choked out. "He aint a threat. He don' deserve ta die or feel pain fer this, he's already feelin' enough. But he can' be medicine cat. 't aint his fault but trust 's gone." The simple truth. "Demotion maybe, ta the warrior track. Or exile. Fer as many lives were lost an' until the herb store 's restocked. Because how can we be sure whats safe? Everythin' must be tossed an' replaced ta make sure." A suggestion but little else and, seemingly silenced with his own words Crowtooth hauled himself over to Bravebird and a leaving Hawkfur and collapsed in Bravebirds side. Sorry Hawkfur, youve been replaced. At the moment Bravebird was the toms longest known friend (and at this point she was his closest friend) and he needed the comfort of burying his face in her fur to not have to see the pain on Cowtufts face.
The apprentice looked from Cowtuft to Basilthroat, her walls of confidence starting to break down. She looked toward Crowtooth, he made great points but there was still something worrying the young apprentice.
Slowly she approached the tunneler, her head slightly lowered and her voice a hushed whisper "But if it was sabotage doesn't that mean it was some cat in the camp? Will the herbs ever be safe with that cat still around?"
It was all so... intensely overwhelming. For his entire life, Curlypaw had been under the impression that the camp was the one place in the world where he could be safe. He always trusted that his Clanmates were good, in a world with so many bad, bloodthirsty cats.
Now, it felt like that was being flipped on its head. Herbs poisoned with deathberries? The idea of Cowtuft, who Curlypaw genuinely believed to be a kind and hardworking medicine cat, deliberately poisoning his Clanmates was just... hard to believe. Granted, Curlypaw didn't know the medicine cat personally, but Twilightstar raised a good point- why would he wait all this time to try something?
The curly-furred apprentice hung to the edges of the crowd, flattening his ears against his head as chaos began to erupt. Cats were throwing their thoughts left and right, some reasonable, some not. Eventually, Cowtuft stepped forward to speak. It was then that Curlypaw dared to raise his ears again, forcing himself to rise momentarily above his anxiety to hear what the accused had to say.
...
...
...
It didn't make any sense. No, it just didn't- from either side. It didn't make sense that Cowtuft would poison his own Clan, but it seemed a reach that someone would go to such lengths to frame him... It all made Curlypaw's head hurt. He didn't know which way to think, or who to trust. What if it was Lightningstorm setting Cowtuft up? What if the medicine cat apprentice wanted Cowtuft gone? Was that realistic? He just didn't know.
Amidst all of the confusion raging in his head, his belief in Cowtuft started to emerge above his doubt. Someone as important as a high rank, as long-serving as Cowtuft... they owed it to him to give him the benefit of the doubt, didn't they? He'd worked so hard (at least from what his parents had told him when he was a kit) to keep WindClan safe and healthy.
Curlypaw didn't know what made him step forward. He didn't know where the sudden burst of courage came from, or where he found the ability to raise his voice loud enough to be heard. "I think Cowtuft is innocent!" He flattened his ears briefly against his head before perking them up again. "Well, not totally innocent! But I don't think he tried to hurt anyone. I think if we don't believe in him, we might as well not believe in anyone here! He's.... he's been a good medicine cat, right? Maybe he's slipping, but he's not a bad cat! We don't have any reason to think he is!"
His legs were beginning to shake a little, but he wasn't about to let this moment slip by. "I think maybe... maybe Lightningstorm should take over the medicine den for a while. Switch their ranks, make Cowtuft a medicine cat apprentice again. If he isn't a bad cat, then he's..." What was that word Cowtuft had used? "Neglectful. But maybe he can become a better medicine cat again, with time! He's given a lot to WindClan, so I think we should give him another chance."
Would anyone listen to him? He was just an apprentice, after all. Maybe this was all dumb of him to say. Maybe he really was just too naïve. But... if he didn't say anything, deep down he knew he'd regret it.
( Open to whoever wants to react but I'm pretty busy this weekend so I won't guarantee a speedy response )
__________________
Fadingsun is currently RiverClan's leader. He has an open den policy. If you have any questions or concerns about RiverClan, or any plots to propose, feel free to leave me a VM or DM! Please do not take my characters' IC opinions as reflective of my own.
| Lightningstorm |
Flock Together [Tier 3] - Inactive
A blur of white, black and ginger, Lightningstorm had followed swiftly after Twilightstar as chaos broke out, her dark limbs stopping at the sight. Unbeknownst to her, her mouth lay agape for a few moments before it begun opening and closing, resembling a fish out of water. What... no. No no no, this couldn't be happening. She had just gone to StarClan. Had just spoken to them. Even they couldn't be so pitifully worthless as to not warn her about this.
The she-cat was deaf to the insults thrown her way. WindClan could think whatever they wanted of her. She didn't think very highly of most of them, it would be a hypocrisy to ask them to see her in any better a light. Her fur did bristle at the one foxheart who dared insinuate that she had done this to get rid of Cowtuft, however. Because... how dare he?! She loved Cowtuft. Was loyal to him. Would die for him. Wouldn't know what to do without him. He was her hero and her light, no matter how often they disagreed on their views.
He was too soft. Too naive. Too kind. And yet here were the cats of the clan, showing their true colors and turning on him. But how could anyone truly believe it? That he had done this! She had found the bloody berry, and yet even she thought it was impossible. Damn the facts, her heart told her it was impossible, and it had to be! The cat who had taught her how to use her paws not for hunting or killing, but for saving lives... he would never do something like this.
Lapis hues turned to her mentor, pleading for him to say something - anything - to the contrary. Something that let her know that it was all a misunderstanding. That she was being silly. That it wasn't even deathberries. That yes, deathberries were of course red, but that didn't mean all red berries were deadly, and that these were just some sort of new herb he was testing. Something he wasn't sure of yet so he hadn't told her about it yet. And that was alright! Fair, even! She hadn't told him about her findings until she was sure. Didn't want to get his hopes up. He was just sparing her feelings and she was making a huge deal about the fact that that berry had the same scent that had been on that tansy, and on those rotten herbs she had thrown out... Oh stars, she was going to be sick again.
Cats were dubious now. Wondering if maybe someone else had brought deathberries to camp. If someone else was poisoning them. But how would they know? Cowtuft didn't know what deathberries were. He had told her himself. Had never even seen one. So how was everyone else suddenly an expert? Why had no one said a damn thing until now? While they were breaking their heads finding a cure in bloody ignorance! If they had suspected as much, why had no one said anything?! It was the only logical explanation, however. If these were indeed deathberries - and Twilightstar had certainly seemed sure of it - then obviously someone else had to have brought them in... somehow. Cowtuft just let any old cat walk in and out of the herb storage - much to her chagrin - when they were bringing in herbs from patrols. They just had to cross check. See if there was any cat who had been in a good portion of these patrols! It made sense... right?
Instead of comfort and security in those heterochromatic orbs, Lightningstorm found... guilt. Apologies. And a fluttering of her heart. She could feel the bile once more. The dark spots returning... because... why was Cowtuft looking at her like that? What did he know? Her paranoia kept yelling at her. Telling her she was being blind and moss brained. That the culprit was clear. Her heart steadied her... but just barely as it too began to fester in doubt.
Following him with her gaze as she remained behind the ginger tabby that had leaped to the medicine cat's entrance in their defense, the youngest of the WindClan healers shook her head, pleading for him to not say what she dreaded most. That it had all been him. That he had somehow fallen to darkness. That Peachfrost had been right. That he was evil. But that couldn't be true. Because if Cowtuft was a lie... then everything else surely was. He had been her rock. The one thing in this horrible world that made the pain and toil of being not get dashed against the rocks. Worth it.
Once more the tom apologized. Not with his gaze this time, but with his signs. For all cats to see. She could feel her breathing get erratic as she struggled to control herself like Twilightstar had asked of her. Now was not the time to lose it. She had to remain calm and collected so she could defend Cowtuft. Remind everyone of what an amazing cat he was. Of how lost WindClan would be without him. An act that she hadn't need worry about as she soon found herself without breath, his words striking at her as a desperate, horrified whine escaped her.
He... he had brought the deathberries to camp? He... he knew what they were? When? How? Why?! Who taught him? Had... had he just tested on random cats then? No. No no no no no. Not her Tufty. He would never, ever, ever do that! This was... oh stars she really was going to be sick. She needed to leave. To run away and deny this was happening. Yet she was stuck. Her paws rooted to the ground as her horrified gaze remained on the spotted tom.
It was an accident. Per his words... nothing was planned. But... how could he not tell? Why had it been only herbs he had used? Had he not noticed anything off? Even she had thrown away herbs that had that sickly, sweet scent on them. That off smell that wasn't right. And she hadn't known. Oh why had he not told her? She would have kept an eye out on them. Kept them away from the other herbs. Hidden them better. Known how to identify them if something like this happened. Instead she was left in the dark. Left to test the unknown tansy - which had been tainted and she simply hadn't had the knowledge to see it - on Stickpaw, and he had paid the price. Lightningstorm was torn. She knew if this was any other cat, she would be shredding their ears. Asking them how hare brained they could be. But Cowtuft... gentle, ever caring Cowtuft... Why had he not trusted her with this?
She didn't know when she started crying. Probably when her vision had gotten blurry and wet. His signs were getting harder to see, but gratefully it wasn't long before he stopped, hushed voices accompanying his admission of guilt. The young calico didn't hear what they were saying. The blood was roaring in her ears too much to tell. Instead, she got to her paws, oddly calm as she approached her mentor. There was still that small glimmer of hope in her eyes. The one were he admitted to having just lied. To covering up for someone else. Hell, to believing it had been her and that he was just trying to cover for her. She would take the hit. Would gladly be executed if it kept him here, were he belonged. Now that he knew, he could better defend the den. Protect the herbs. He would get a new apprentice. A better one. But he would not pay the price for something he hadn't done.
All she got was exhaustion. A dullness in his eyes that she had never seen before. A watery breath caught in her throat, and she raised a dainty paw in an attempt to place it on the black and white tom's leg. It's not true. Please tell me it isn't true. She wanted to say this. Plead to him, but she knew it was for naught. It would be asking him to lie, and she could never ask that of any cat.
"Why, Tufty?" she finally asked, her voice crackling with despair, growing higher in pitch and sorrow the longer she went on. "Why didn't you tell me? I could have helped. I could have... I wouldn't have... They died Tufty! They died and I didn't even know! Why didn't you tell me?"
Basilthroat
They/He~Windclan~24 Moons
"I don't need the world to see
That I've been the best I can be"
"We need to have some sort of tracker or log to know who has been in the medicine den" he offered the idea up. Still shooting a glare at the white-and-black medicine cat.
[OPEN]
__________________
★☆"There is no show without an Audience!"☆★
Gentlecrab is Beachclan's Medicine cat, pearl has a semi-open den policy
Please use tone tags when speaking to me Character website Commisions
From where she was crouched, she listened. The medicine cat's...confession? She would call it a testimony at this time, did not bode very well, and she could feel the tension among the prickling fur and hostile glares and tones. Swiftfire took a moment to ponder what had been said.
She wasn't the most sociable cat, but from what she could gather in just these few interactions...it just felt wrong to think a medicine cat would purposefully kill his own clanmates. Poisoning another Clan's medicine stores...well, that wasn't off the table in terms of warfare, right?
But this wasn't warfare. This was becoming a murder case, and whether it was on purpose or not...Cowtuft was going to be held responsible. But then she shot a look at Basilthroat, looking thoughtful. "If we're going to be that obsessive with keeping inventory, then we should do the same for prey. If the herbs themselves have been tainted, what's going to stop someone from trying to kill cats with our own food?"
She raised her voice a little louder, "What's going to happen when we can't trust the herbs that are supposed to heal us and maybe even the prey that is supposed to feed us?" She paused, considering her words carefully before she went on, "If Cowtuft's negligence is the cause for these deaths, we have to consider that perhaps....someone took advantage of that." She swept her gaze around the clearing, "The motivations may never be known, we may not ever know if it was intentional...that doesn't mean blindly throw accusations...but Basilthroat does have a fine idea. Better inventory, and no more 'secret stashes'...we have to be able to trust our own supplies..."
@Wordle
Last edited by Tiabirb; December 30th, 2023 at 06:58 PM.
From where she was crouched, she listened. The medicine cat's...confession? She would call it a testimony at this time, did not bode very well, and she could feel the tension among the prickling fur and hostile glares and tones. Swiftfire took a moment to ponder what had been said.
She wasn't the most sociable cat, but from what she could gather in just these few interactions...it just felt wrong to think a medicine cat would purposefully kill his own clanmates. Poisoning another Clan's medicine stores...well, that wasn't off the table in terms of warfare, right?
But this wasn't warfare. This was becoming a murder case, and whether it was on purpose or not...Cowtuft was going to be held responsible. But then she shot a look at Basilthroat, looking thoughtful. "If we're going to be that obsessive with keeping inventory, then we should do the same for prey. If the herbs themselves have been tainted, what's going to stop someone from trying to kill cats with our own food?"
She raised her voice a little louder, "What's going to happen when we can't trust the herbs that are supposed to heal us and maybe even the prey that is supposed to feed us?" She paused, considering her words carefully before she went on, "If Cowtuft's negligence is the cause for these deaths, we have to consider that perhaps....someone took advantage of that." She swept her gaze around the clearing, "The motivations may never be known, we may not ever know if it was intentional...that doesn't mean blindly throw accusations...but Basilthroat does have a fine idea. Better inventory, and no more 'secret stashes'...we have to be able to trust our own supplies..."
@Wordle
Basilthroat
They/He~Windclan~24 Moons
"I don't need the world to see
That I've been the best I can be"
They nodded to the she-cat "We need to be keeping a closer eye on everything, I have a feeling this is gonna happen again if we don't" Basilthroat told Swiftfire. "I know of cats who would definitely take this chance" he said worriedly.
@Tiabirb
[OPEN]
__________________
★☆"There is no show without an Audience!"☆★
Gentlecrab is Beachclan's Medicine cat, pearl has a semi-open den policy
Please use tone tags when speaking to me Character website Commisions
home-made culprit
