[ameko]

Goldenpaw | open @/x ghostie

It was cold. But not like leafbare cold—this was a chill that settled deep in his bones and made him think he would never warm up again. His short fur didn’t help much either. Goldenpaw wondered briefly about how nice a life with thick, long fur would be. And then that idea was whisked away quick as it came, as a head-to-toe shiver disrupted all his thoughts.

His stomach felt queasy. Maybe he should lay down. Actually, yeah, that was a good idea. Wheezing out a breath, the young apprentice sat down heavily. His heartbeat felt as fast as a rabbit, thumping away in his chest. He’d been able to ignore these odd symptoms for long enough, but he’d heard chatter about a particularly worrisome illness going around camp and Goldenpaw knew that sinking feeling in his gut wasn’t just from the nausea. He tried to take in a deep breath to calm himself but his breath caught, and he coughed a couple times.

Goldenpaw looked longingly out at the rest of the camp. He should just go back to his nest and sleep it off, pretend like nothing was wrong. No other sickness had been able to best him thus far, so surely this one was no different, right? But as he struggled to his paws, a stinging shiver racked his body and he trembled where he stood. No, he knew that this wasn’t something that he could overcome through sheer willpower. So Goldenpaw lingered at the entrance to Cowtuft’s den, peering inside. A withering seed of hope still believed that if he just stood and acted like everything was fine, then he would fix himself.