#he‘s also weird about pupil i think

[upon-deaf-ears]

also been seeing sm mlp infected au and i CANNOT stop thinking about that in warrior cats (old territory tho, not new)

cw: death, gore, self mutilation

the outbreak starts in thunderclan first because they’re closest to the twoleg place, right? one day firestar is leading a border patrol w/ cloudtail, thornclaw & shrewpaw because apparently kittypet scent has been all over the border and there have been really weird noises. they’re approaching and they see this kittypet, maybe apprentice-aged — not even an adult yet, collapsed at the border in what looks like a bear trap.

this rancid scent is in the air, like blood but somehow wrong. firestar is obviously cautious but they approach because its clearly dead.

it’s completely disfigured. fresh blood is coating its face, paws and chest, but even worse it’s eyes are stretched so wide and freakishly that it looks like the cat has gone completely blind. it’s bones look almost out of place, fur ragged and, upon closer inspection, seems to be completely rotting off in some places, but theres no way its veen dead for even 24 hours because they have regular patrols.

the whole patrol is put off, and firestar sends shrewpaw to fetch cinderpelt to figure out what the fuck happened.

thornclaw, squinting at the dead kittypet: "hey, uh.. firestar, i think hes still alive. can you hear us, kittypet?"

they all gather around it, and sure enough, its paws started to twitch. unnaturally, though, bending the wrong way. thornclaw prods it with a claw and it blinks.

it doesnt do anything at first, but its jaw cracks open wide and starts to let out the most blood-freezing noise, almost clicking and groaning noise that should be impossible for a cat.

they all back the fuck up, and it starts writhing. doesn’t even notice the teeth of the trap ripping and shredding its skin, bones cracking beneath the strength of it. the groaning noise is louder, almost like a scream, but still so un-catlike that the three are all frozen staring at this kittypet literally rip itself apart trying to get out.

cinderpelt can’t figure out what the fuck is wrong with it because none of them want to go anywhere near that thing, so she organizes an emergency meeting with the other clans' medicine cats and

firestar posts a guard— thornclaw— to watch it, only telling him to not touch it under any circumstances (per cinderpelts demand). he also informs the rest of the clan to keep an eye out and be extra cautious.

things get weirder. not even three days later, sandstorm and sorrelpaw come back early from training, reporting that there was another foreign cat walking just outside the border and making that same sound.

"firestar.. it was wrong. you should’ve seen it. it’s legs were freakishly long, and it’s back seemed to be permanently hunched. it was walking like it was.. i dunno, i can’t even explain it."

"and the smell was awful, like it'd been dead for weeks. we weren’t close, but i swear it’s skin was rotting off, and it’s jaw was completely broken."

thornclaw comes back from his post because he can’t seem to stay on his feet. tells firestar he’s exhausted and needs a break; plus, the kittypet stopped moving. firestar of course agrees and has him rest in the medicine cat den for some peace and quiet, but in the next few days cinderpelt tells firestar that thornclaw has been completely restless at night. she can see the bags under his eyes, and his pupils seem to be… smaller? it’s unlike anything she’s ever seen.

out of precaution, she quarantines him in the old twoleg nest. her reports get increasingly concerning.

first, it’s that he seems like he’s.. almost growing? hes been complaining and writhing at night, his legs apparently aching so bad he can’t sit still, even poppy seeds don’t help, but there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong. he‘s also been anxious. there have been times cinderpelt comes to check on him and he whips around, claws out, fur bristling. she catches him staring at the doorway all night, barely blinking, hunched over himself. on multiple occasions.

things start happening quickly. thornclaw ms ribs started showing, and he began getting snappy with cinderpelt. she also tells firestar he’s been scratching and biting his legs to the point of self mutilation, but when she tries to get him to stop, he flips out.

she doesn’t know what to do. he’s definitely taller now, and his fur seems patchy. thornclaw began coughing up blood, and his paranoia intensified, making it unsafe for cinderpelt to even be there. his weightless was even more rapid, despite eating far more than normal.

the second night, she wakes up to shrieking. she finds thornclaw writhing on the ground, screaming to make it stop, that his body is on fire. his eyes are glazed wide, just like the kittypet they found, and she can hear his this gut wrenching cracking sound. blood is leaking out of his eyes and jaw. he lashes out, and she’s forced to flee, alerting the clan.

they come as soon as they can with warriors, but thornclaw vanished.

MORE ON THIS LATER WHEN ITS NOT THREE IN THE MORNING… warriors cat brainrot has me in a chokehold.