Swiftfire
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She wanted to ignore Crowtooth and his jabbering. So what if how she said it mattered? If cats got upset, then that spoke volumes of itself. About them. She had her fair share of loss too. But her ears flattened after a moment, and she turned her face over her shoulder, glaring at Crowtooth from the corner of a pale yellow eye.
"I didn't get angry until someone began hissing and spitting nonsense at anyone who spoke up." Swiftfire growled.
"Don't try and pretend I was the first and only cat there who spoke up or said something out of line." Swiftfire turned back to the crack in the stone, pulling out another wad of cobweb.
"So maybe I could have worded it a little better, but beating around the bush isn't my style; I'm not afraid to voice my raw thoughts, even if it isn't appreciated by those less comfortable with a blunt attitude." The cobweb was set beside the first bundle, and she eyed the crack for a moment, deciding that there wasn't much else to take.
The subject of the alliance came up, and Swiftfire sighed.
"Alliances shift and change like the wind depending on what interests the leaders decide to pursue. I don't trust any alliance, because it's never going to end well when it does. What does ShadowClan get out of it? We might not be ready to destroy each other, but I'm not a mousebrain; Anything they do to help us will have some cost...and what if that cost IS the lives we wanted to save from the minks?" Swiftfire looked at Crowtooth fully, her gaze clouded with worry and heavy thoughts.
"Cats in these Clans are far more likely to kill one of us than a bunch of swarming weasels....We've had...one death from minks, right? And how many were killed at the paws of Dawnstar alone. That's one cat...."
Swiftfire frowned deeply, idly pawing at the cobwebs.
"I'm not the most in touch with my heart and...sensitive side, I know. But no one has any right to say I don't care about the lives of my Clanmates. I would die for you, right here, right now, and I'd hope, no, I'd trust that you or any of my Clanmates would do the same if such a situation came up. It's not about being a martyr, or a mouse-brain. It's because I love WindClan, and I have cats I want to keep safe too, and I made a promise to StarClan that I would..."
Blue eyes flashed in her mind, and she squeezed her eyes shut to banish the image of the once-beautiful visage.
"One of them had half his face ripped off by those minks, but you don't see me going crazy and trying to take them all on by myself, do you? It's a lot easier to make a plan when there's support, and openness, but being shut down the way I was..."
Swiftfire took a slow, ragged breath,
"You don't know what my real idea or plan was. Should have given me a chance when it mattered. Now, all that matters is making sure we don't regret the course of action Twilightstar has chosen." Swiftfire swept her tail around, snatching up the bundles of cobweb into her fur.
"So in the mutual best interest of our differing opinions, we better get this back to Lightningstorm..." Swiftfire stalked past Crowtooth in the direction of camp.
[+2 Cobweb]
@
Rani