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[color=a2d39c][h2]Mallownose.[/h2][/color]

"[color=a2d39c]Quite alright, in fact, I'm doing splendidly. I'm just disgruntled is all. Eheh, I don't mean to get my whiskers in a tangle but I'd rather leave rouge confrontations to warriors![/color]"

Whiskers quivering and fur slightly rumpled with displeasure, the young tom did seem to be in a bit of a tizzy from his wild, whirling mind. He had never been very well in handling his estranged anxieties and now was no different. It was as if a burning coal had dropped into his stomach and now he could feel it sizzling away a hole into his gut. He wondered who the vaguely familiar she-cat was and he wondered if her intentions went beyond helping his clan and he was reasonably worried for this reason. If this she-cat proved herself to be a problem for him or his clan mates then he might never forgive himself and he wasn't sure how well he would handle that. Thinking about dark intentions and horrible illness was setting his fur on end and making his paws tremble. He wanted to speak of it but he seemed to be biting his tongue despite himself because though Hawkstar was a fair leader, he would probably be less inclined to put the fate of his clan near the paws of a rouge. Mallownose had been taught to trust every cat, in even the slightest way. 

Trust was easy to give and easy to lose and Mallownose could handle both situations. Python was a player in another large game and where her piece moved would make all the difference and if he let her move carelessly then it might spell an even worse fate. If he guided her in the slightest then he might do himself and his clanmates a favor. She might have been a rouge but she also knew of the mysterious illness and he knew nothing of it beyond a small omen that could have meant anything. He knew that the lesser of two evils would be to trust her snake-tongued words and to give her an ear on what she knew. She spoke from experience and experience was more than what he had. He had never heard of an incurable illness beyond the strange fever that had taken Robinwing. She had later described those days to him as a few in a very stretched illness that had followed her through life but he had never quite believed it. Anything could be healed!

He had spent moons trying to be the perfect healer and even without her guidance, he'd saved as many lives as he possibly could. He'd saved cats that had looked so bleak that even he had doubted his abilities. He tried his best to never give up and each time he did, a growing cloud would smother his thoughts and he'd feel so sick with regret that he'd wish it was him bleeding out his life on the cold den floor. He didn't know why things had to happen like that sometimes and it drove him readily insane. Even thinking about it was making his nervousness grow in waves and he could feel his tail starting to puff up with his own nervousness. He could barely keep his thoughts from death long enough to focus on what his leader was saying to him.

A glance was spared to the sky for a moment, wishing idly that Robinwing could speak with him. She would know what to do, she always knew what to do. She had always been the more intelligent of the two medicine cats. Her death hadn't been fair and sometimes he cursed that last day with claws digging into the earth and fire burning under his fur. Sometimes he wanted to go back and find a way to save her from the fever that had taken her over and he knew that he couldn't and that was worse.

"[color=a2d39c]There's an illness that started just beyond the highstones,[/color]" spoke the white tom, his jade green eyes seeming distant once more with troubled thoughts. "[color=a2d39c]She came to taun-[i]warn[/i] me of the condition that it left the cats in when they become struck with it. I was sent an omen on Riverclan's territory and I can only decipher that it must mean a cough of some sort. What Python has told me, there is some kind of Death Cough with no clear cure.[/color]"

He spoke the words with worry causing a tremor in his tone and his could feel his ears flatten as he thought of the mysterious illness. He did force a smile however, a rakish laugh that only gave way to the turmoil in his chest when it all fell. "[color=a2d39c]The question though, Hawkstar, is whether I am right to believe a rouge or not. I-I have never heard of such an illness but it is not entirely uncommon for new things to surface. We [i]always[/i] find a cure. By Starclan, there [i]has[/i] to be a cure, doesn't there? I'll find the cure- I- I should speak with Starclan about this to be safe. Maybe Hollowthroat or Robinwing could assist me. I'm just prone to bouts of horrendous worrying but you know that.[/color]" a grimace and a shake of his bristled fur. "[color=a2d39c]I'll look into it. Hawkstar, this is Sketch and Coochie. A loner and a kittypet.[/color]" 

Glancing to the skinny brown rouge and the fluffy tuxedo kittypet, Mallownose smiled slightly despite himself. "[color=a2d39c]Sketch comes from the gorge beyond our territory, a Skyclan descendant. Coochie is from the Twoleg place, they seem to be friends because Coochie bravely challenged us when he assumed we were bullying Sketch. Bullying a loner! Imagine it.[/color]" a purr of amusement and a warm glance to the large kittypet. "[color=a2d39c]They're a pretty brave pair and Sketch wishes to join our clan. Coochie is still deciding but he has been a grand help in herb gathering today.[/color]" 

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