[h2][center][b][color=917655]Hawkstar[/color][/b][/center][/h2]

Hawkstar listened to Mallownose closely, remembering the incident he described all too well. It was painful losing any clan-cat member and bouts of Greencough always brought along heaps of death. The worst thing of all was watching proud and strong Thunderclan cats breakdown at the sight of their loved ones dying. The look in a Queen’s eyes when their kits lay before them, suffering from this fatal illness, is something he hopes he’ll never see again. Hopes that’ll unfortunately not come true. Meadowheart was a prime example of this. Not even Puddlefoot could console her, nothing anyone tried could even help the she-cat with her grief. It was the same for Gingerflame, when her two died last new-leaf. It was hard for him to watch his Deputy go through that with her, the Leader’s own helplessly becoming so painfully evident since all he could do was stand and watch. 

Even himself was stricken with Greencough, many, many moons ago. It took one of his lives along with it, leaving him with but three lives left. He remembers that day, how the pain in his chest and fluid filled coughs tortured him for hours before Starclan took it away. Hawkstar wouldn’t wish that sort of suffering on anyone. 

The sudden voice of Redwhisker sounded through his ears, making him jolt to the side sightly. He hadn’t noticed the old cat’s presence until now, and wasn’t particularly happy that he’d overheard their conversation. All he needed right now was another Greencough scare, not with all the Queens and Elders that the clan had. Mosscoat’s kits were just a few weeks old now and it wouldn’t be wise to frighten the mother of something that hadn’t even been confirmed yet. He knew from experience that stress and fear can affect a cat’s ability to carry out their duty, so it was better to not bring this to everyone’s attention. Not until Mallownose knows for sure if it’s anything to worry about, that is. He trusted the Medicine Cat and valued his opinion highly. 

He was about to speak to Redwhisker himself, to sooth his fears about the possibility of Whitecough within the camp but stopped as Mallownose addressed his concerns. He stood there, looking at Redwhisker with a confident gleam as if to back up Mallownose’s words.  

As the Medicine Cat made his way out of the camp, his young Apprentice following him, he heard yet another voice. Hawkstar turned, scanning the direction he had heard his name being called from. It became apparent that the voice came from Duskclaw, who was trotting nearer to him. Hawkstar rose from where he was and moved away from the entrance of the Nursery and met him halfway. He’d just about caught what the tom had ask before he finally reached him in a slow, and carefully manner. Just then, he realised, Duskclaw must have overheard Gingerflame’s yowling. With a calm, and friendly smile and a twitch of his nose, he spoke, [color=917655] “Yes, Duskclaw, everything’s alright.”[/color] He nodded at the tom, and sat down. 

As soon as he did so, though,  a young voice caught his attention.[color=917655]  “Good morning, Honeypaw.”[/color] He replied, noticing her nervousness. Hawkstar was half expecting her to deliver him bad news, and was quietly relieved when she spoke about joining the next hunting party.[i] Where was Frostbite?[/i] He surveyed the camp but found not even a glimpse of the tom. Remembering Silverstorm and the border patrol that she’d organised earlier, he instantly assumed that Frostbite must have been on it. It was a bit strange that he didn’t bring his Apprentice along with him though, and would have to talk to him about it later. It was a waste of time leaving Apprentices with nothing to do especially with new kits coming. 

Hawkstar sighed, looking at the small she-cat in thought. [color=917655] “Why don’t you go and get some new bedding and moss for the Queens? If he comes back, I’ll tell him to come and find you.”[/color] He then switched his gaze towards Duskclaw. [color=917655] “Do you mind going with her? I’d like to have a fair amount of moss ready in case one of the Queens kit early.”[/color]