You Can't Teach Loyalty

Swiftheart had been feeling awful lately.  Her mate was dead and ever since then she had been not feeling like herself at all. She had been cooped up in her nest alot more than usual and she no longer was her happy self anymore. Duskflight her mate was her best friend in the whole world and finding him gone without even getting to say goodbye had really shaken her badly.  They had been happy together and even in his older age she had never thought of leaving his side.  Now that he was gone she felt utterly devastated to the point where she was barely getting out of her nest for anything other than her required tasks.

Then on top of all that, the brother she looked up to so much had been drug through the mud publicly at a gathering and then at a clan meeting too.  She had tried her absolute hardest to defend him from their own clan who was so critical of his mistakes but in the end she had not been able to stop what she considered to be a way overly harsh sentence from being carried out on him.  An apprentice... That was ridiculous, and to think that they had not even given it more time to think over such a big decision.  She pawed at the flooring of the warriors den very upset a mixture of all sorts of icky emotions that she was not used to at all.

She had been sad before when other family had died... and angry before at the dark forest sure.  But these feelings were somehow worse, they were angry, sad but something else too that she didnt know what it was.  It was a sharp pain of what felt like betrayal.  How did her clanmates have so little faith in her brother after everything he had done for them?  How did starclan let all that happen at a gathering!?


Putting her head down on her front paws she sighed sadly looking around the mostly empty camp.  Movement caught her eye however and she saw her brother a little distance away.

She had wanted to try and give him as much support as possible after all that had happened but lately she was feeling so terrible with her own losses that she had barely been able to maintain herself either.

Slowly forcing herself to her paws she made the short walk over to sit by his side.

"Night?"  Leopardsun could say whatever she wanted but Swiftheart for one would not be calling him Nightpaw.  Night would do just fine for herself.  She had tried to be as diplamatic as she could be with the deputy but belived strongly that this punishment was way to severe.  Still, swiftheart wanted to keep the clan together so when Leopardsun and what felt like everyone else as well had gone against her she didnt have much of a choice but to back off and agree to Leopardsun's call.

"I'm sorry this has happened to you" she said quietly.  Her voice no longer had the excited peppy optimism it once did.  It just sounded broken and defeated.

"I want you to know, this doesn't change anything to me.  I am always going to be right by your side and have your back no matter what."

She got up and motioned him to follow if he wanted to.

She led to just outside of camp where the burials were done.

She had been here just earlier to say her final goodbye to Duskflight.  This time however she led to Murkystars marker.  

"I came here on mothers day and ... I just broke down Night. I dont know why it hit so hard but it did, she's been gone for a long while but every once in awhile I still really get hit by it." She wasnt sure why she was telling him all that but she had to tell someone... It used to have been Duskflight she would tell of such things.

She rested a paw gently and carefully on their mom's resting place.

"she died to save us and the clan Night.  And I know you have died to save others before too.  I watched as you saved a clanmate from a falling tree."

She slowly met his gaze looking him in the eyes.  Her once bright blue eyes that held such cheer now were a harder gaze of ice and seriousness.

"The clan earlier questioned your loyalty.  They don't remember what you have done for them, they don't know loyalty at all."

she shifted closer to him.

"Loyalty is dying for those you care about or being willing to do that.  Just like mom did.  Just cause you had some kits off in thunderclan doesnt mean anything about what you have here.  It's said leaders have 9 lives... Well, maybe you have 10 because I would die for you" she said quietly.

(OOC: WOAHH thats pretty metal for our sweet swiftheart... eek ... well she is in a pretty bad spot right now... will we see an unhinged swiftheart for the wc/sc war?? idk but that would be pretty cool I think.  Who knows.  I dont think I will keep her this way for very long though because I like my happy and joy filled swift too much to make it a permanent change but it was kinda fun to write a more serious/dark topic for her)

Nightpaw was silent, rage and anxiety simmering just under the surface, mixing into a toxic sludge that threatened to coat Nightpaw's tongue in poison. Nightpaw couldn't lash out at his sister, but he feared that he'd attack her verbally, that he'd choke the life out of her if he opened his mouth. He looked away from her - shame making his skin crawl. He let her ramble, just as he always did, he let her lead him to where they buried their dead. She spoke about how she died to save Shadowclan, how he was doing the same but Shadowclan didn't seem to see that was what he had been doing. They had no loyalty, they ate themselves full but did not think to stop and help the cat that was keeping them fat.

Nightpaw's eyes flashed to look at Swiftheart as she declared she'd sacrifice herself for him, and some selfish, ugly creature that he hardly knew reared its ugly head and said 'you better'. Nightpaw's face softened slightly, even if he found himself disturbed by it all.

Swiftheart felt very uneasy about the look that crossed her brothers face. She blinked unsure of it all. He had been dragged through the mud and most of their clan had been against him.


It had only been herself and sort of Echo who had defended him during the clan meeting. Was he angry at the clan still? Angry at her? She didnt know and the silence of him saying nothing was uncomfortable at the least and was nearly driving her crazy.

"Night? Please say something? Anything?"