Author's Note: This chapter didn't take me nearly as long as it has the past couple updates. And it's a bit longer than usual! It really doesn't take that long to write these things, I just have zero motivation. I started school again so hopefully that'll get me back in the groove of things. It's online but quarantine summer made me really lax when it came to writing.

Also I'm just outside the evacuation zone for the California fires. Chances are I'll be fine since the fires are getting under control but just in case, heads up.

Lionblaze didn't know why they were going to the twolegplace. Well, he knew why of course. They were going because Jayfeather told them to. But he didn't know why Jayfeather decided to do such a thing. It was the absolute last thing he expected of his brother.

Dovewing seemed to share his sentiments. The moment their first pawstep was placed on the strange, rock-like earth of this horrid place, Dovewing was shooting him confused, questioning looks. Jayfeather missed them completely, of course, but Lionblaze couldn't do much to avoid them so he just started making faces in response. Kit-like, he knew, but he had no idea what else to do. Did Dovewing really expect him to know what his brother was planning? Jayfeather was the mind-reader of the group, not him. He was just as lost as she was.

Dovewing seemed to get the message after Lionblaze had long since run out of faces to annoy her with. Tired of being kept in the dark, she spoke up. "Why are we here, Jayfeather?"

"I'm tired," the tom responded tonelessly, not even slowing.

"Yeah well, so are we," Dovewing snapped, speeding up a little to walk at his side.

"I know. That's why we're here."

"I don't follow," Lionblaze frowned. "If we wanted to rest, we wouldn't come to the twolegplace to do it."

"And why shouldn't we?" Jayfeather challenged, coming to a stop. He drew himself up, putting his muzzle in Lionblaze's face, but there wasn't any hostility in the motion. There was no drive behind it. Jayfeather, Lionblaze realized, truly did look tired. His blind eyes lacked their usual spark. It looked like the former medicine cat was ready to give up. "There's a reason twolegplace cats are so comfortable here."

"You want us to be kittypets?!" Dovewing practically screeched.

"Of course not!" Jayfeather hissed in response, as if offended she suggested such a thing. Then he hesitated. "I mean, I'd be lying if I said it hadn't crossed my mind…"

"Jayfeather!"

She slapped him with her tail. He swatted it away.

"Hey! I'm thinking things through! We have no clan, Dovewing. What are we supposed to do if we get injured? Or sick? You don't see a lot of old loners or rogues in the wild for a reason. At some point, the cold of leaf-bare gets to be too much for their joints and they can't fill their rumbling bellies so they turn to the twolegplace and crawl into a warm twoleg nest. It's not hard, they're everywhere."

"I can't believe you're considering becoming a kittypet!"

"I'm not!" Jayfeather growled. "I'm just saying it'd be stupid to forget it as a possibility entirely. What do you expect us to do when we're elders?"

Lionblaze swallowed. He hadn't considered that. What Jayfeather said about elderly loners and rogues was true. Cats just couldn't live that long in the wild without some kind of support system for long. There were three of them but if one of them went down, the other two were done for. Lionblaze knew they couldn't last forever.

"Firestar was born a kittypet and he is one of the greatest cats we know, right?" Jayfeather continued. "And Graystripe and Millie have told us some good stories. It's safe. And warm. And comfortable. And there's food."

Dovewing sighed. "I guess that's true but it'd be a really big risk. I mean, Firestar also told us twolegs take cats to the cutter. And Graystripe said twolegs usually only like having one or two cats in their nests. We'd probably get split up."

"I know," Jayfeather said, letting out a long breath. "I don't think we should turn to that yet. I'm just saying I'm tired. We're traveling but we have nowhere to go. We can't just keep moving and getting our hopes up. We're going to burn out sooner or later."

"So what are you suggesting?" Lionblaze questioned. "That we temporarily find some twolegs? I know you've got our best interests at heart but Firestar and Graystripe's stories are great and all but have you heard Purdy's? Twolegs do some pretty terrible things to cats."

"I know. That's why I didn't come here because of those stories. I'm actually thinking about a story Brambleclaw told us," Jayfeather responded.

"Brambleclaw?" Dovewing echoed. "But he was never a kittypet."

"He wasn't," Jayfeather confirmed, "but he was alive during the Great Battle."

"The what?"

"Back in the old forest, a group of cats from the twolegplace tried to drive out the clans," Lionblaze told her, recalling the stories his adoptive father told him and his littermakes as kits. "They called themselves BloodClan. Their leader, Scourge, killed Brambleclaw's father, Tigerstar."

"Great StarClan," Dovewing whispered. Lionblaze knew she heard the story, even if she was a couple generations after her mentor. She turned back to Jayfeather. "But I don't see what that has to do with us. There's no BloodClan here."

"There isn't but every twolegplace has gangs of crowfood eaters," Jayfeather pointed out. "They're not clans but I think they're the closest thing we'll find to one."

"Jayfeather, that's genius!" Lionblaze exclaimed. He paused and shook himself, giving his pelt a few embarrassed licks. He normally wasn't one for outbursts. "I mean, I'm not exactly thrilled about meeting a bunch of crowfood eaters or becoming one myself but being in a bigger group sounds amazing. I know it won't be like a clan and we'll probably still have to fend for ourselves but at least we won't be traveling and we won't be so alone anymore."

Dovewing gave him a look Lionblaze couldn't read, eyes filled with some unknown emotion. It was almost like she felt sorry for him but that couldn't be it, right? Before Lionblaze could question her, she looked away and sighed. "That plan is great and all but how are we supposed to find a group like that? We don't even know for sure if there's a group of twolegplace cats here, let alone if they're friendly."

One of Jayfeather's paws was suddenly in the air and Lionblaze watched with confusion as he blindly fumbled with it in the air. He wanted to ask what his brother was doing or if he had bees in his brain but Jayfeather looked like he knew what he was trying to do. After a few heartbeats, he managed to awkwardly cuff Dovewing over the ear.

"You have these things for a reason," Jayfeather responded and put his paw on the ground, glaring at it. "That was dumb, I'm never doing that again."

"Yeah, that was weird," Dovewing agreed, "but I'll let you know if I hear anything."

"That's all I ask," Jayfeather replied curtly with a nod.

Lionblaze shouldered him playfully, a light feeling overtaking his body. "What were you trying to do there? I don't think I've ever seen you cuff anyone's ear before. You looked so silly."

Jayfeather snorted and swatted his brother in the face with remarkable accuracy. "Let's just find somewhere to spend the night, alright? I think the sun's going down."

"Whatever you say," Lionblaze purred, amusement bubbling up in his chest. He fell in step beside his brother and former apprentice. Good things were coming. He could feel it.

Dovewing was lying on her back, legs sprawled out as she stared up at the sky. One advantage of leaving the clans, she supposed, was that she had the room to do this. No sleeping cats a couple mouselengths on either side of her nest, no den roof obstructing her view of the stars… Of course, it would be nice to have a nest to comfort her tired body and a den to protect her from the nipping cold but she was trying to see the positive right now.

Jayfeather and Lionblaze were curled up nearby on something Jayfeather called cardboard. Where he learned the word, she did not know but she didn't care. It was better than sleeping on the floor. The ground here was even more uncomfortable than the forest floor.

Dovewing let out a long breath, idly flailing her paws in the air. She felt silly but there was no one awake to comment on it and she just felt the need to get it out. Maybe that was why Jayfeather cuffed her earlier and why Lionblaze had been making faces at her. None of them had any shame left so they were free to indulge in all the odd behaviors they wanted to make themselves feel better. How the mighty had fallen.

She knew she shouldn't be giving up hope. Jayfeather had the semblance of a plan and Lionblaze had faith that it would come through but Dovewing just couldn't find it in her to feel the same way. It wasn't that she didn't trust Jayfeather. Of course she did, he was her medicine cat and one of her closest friends. It was just… She didn't know. She kind of felt like giving up. Despite her harsh hisses, she understood where Jayfeather was coming from when he mentioned becoming kittypets. She didn't want to by any means but like the silvery tom, she was tired.

She was so, so tired.

Tired of traveling to a destination that had no future for them, tired of going days without speaking to anyone except her two clanmates, tired of sleeping on the bare earth, tired of having to blot out the sounds of the entire world, tired of having to worry about the dangers of thirst when they hadn't seen water in awhile, tired of having to catch every meal she ate, tired of her battle strength wearing away only to be replaced by callouses paws and muscles built for walking, tired of turning her back on the stars-

There was just so, so much and she was so, so tired.

Monsters thundered in the distance, roars echoing off the thunderpaths.

Lying there, staring up at the stars, a rush of anger overwhelmed her. The stars… Why did the clans look to them for hope? They were just specks of light. Sure, medicine cats saw cats with stars in their pelts in their dreams and Dovewing wasn't about to doubt Jayfeather but it just seemed so… so… ugh. Her thoughts kept falling short before they could finish. She couldn't find the words to describe her feelings.

The jingle of a bell collar- a cat was padding along the top of a fence.

StarClan didn't really do much, did it? It gave the clans hope and faith, culture and unity, but what did it really do? It didn't protect them when the clans turned against them. It wasn't giving them any signs as to what to do next. It wasn't watching over her anymore. StarClan really didn't deserve her faith, did it?

"Rain! Get over here."

And the clans weren't worthy of her respect, were they? What right did she have to look down upon kittypets? Or loners or rouges for that matter? She wasn't better than them just because she was born in a group. There really wasn't anything that set the clans apart from any other group of cats, aside from their faith and values but that was just piles of fox dung. They did her no good.

"What is it, Darktail?"

Wait, Darktail? That was a clan name. There wasn't any cat in SkyClan with that name though.

Her far-ranged hearing activated without her realizing it. Briefly, she was thankful she hadn't gotten trapped in her senses and fallen into the world-wide web of sound. It felt like her hearing was still centered in the twolegplace. But who was she listening to? This sounded interesting.

"How has your scouting been going?"

"Fine."

"Just fine? Nothing to report? The whole point of you going to the border is to get information, Rain."

"I know, I know. I'm getting there. I saw a new cat the other day, this massive tom who didn't smell like SkyClan. I only saw him once but I'm pretty sure he was a new warrior. SkyClan might be recruiting. We might be able to get a cat on the inside."

"Interesting."

"Yeah. I think the attack would go a lot easier if we got some cat in to soften them up."

Wait, attack? Dovewing's heart froze for a heartbeat. The twolegplace cats were planning on attacking SkyClan? She wasn't exactly friends with SkyClan and she wanted to find a group to accept her and her friends but SkyClan didn't deserve to be-

"If we got a cat in, maybe we wouldn't even have to attack. We want the clans to change their ways. If a cat got in and was able to show them their flaws…"

"No offense, Darktail, but that's stupid. You know they won't change. That's why we started this. Living in a group works but if what you told me is true, clan life has to be reformed. They're strong but broken. I think your ideas can help a lot of cats but you have to actually be in the position to implement them if they're going to do anything. We've got to stick to the plan."

Dovewing blinked up at the sky and rolled into her side, mulling over the cat's words. Strong but broken… That described the clans quite well actually. They were strong and that was why their way of life survived for so long but it was hopelessly flawed. The rejection of anything different, that was a problem and Dovewing didn't know how to fix it.

"We don't really have a plan. We attack and then what? No clan will listen to us and they definitely won't be receptive if we attack them."

"But what are we supposed to do?"

"I don't know, Rain. I don't know. But I think you're right that we still have to go through with the attack. At the very least, I know they need to be broken down to be built back up again."

Dovewing's mind went to the night the three were driven out of the clans. Then the day the three, the farmcats, and Riley and Bella were denied a place in SkyClan. These two cats were right. The clans were strong but imperfect and that did more harm than good. Things needed to change. These cats seemed extreme but their words rang with truth. Maybe it would be worth it to give them a chance...

Taking a deep breath, Dovewing rolled to her paws and jostled her friends awake to share her findings.

Jayfeather was sleeping pretty soundly for once when a paw jostled his shoulder, waking him.

"Wha-?" he grumbled before realizing who it was. "Oh, it's just you."

"Who else would it be?" Dovewing deadpanned. "Now come on, get up, mousebrain."

"Is it morning?"

"No."

"Then it can wait."

Dovewing sighed and boxed him in the shoulder.
"Ow!"

"I can't believe you of all cats is being lazy right now," she sighed before swatting his brother. "You too Lionblaze! This is important!"

Lionblaze groaned and Jayfeather heard the cardboard shift under his weight as he stretched. "What is it? It's barely past moonhigh."

"I heard something," Dovewing told them.

That got Jayfeather's attention. "Like what? Dogs? Foxes? Coyotes?"

"No, nothing dangerous. And what's a coyote? Where are you learning all these new words? Nevermind, that's not important."

Jayfeather could argue it was kind of important. He assumed it had something to do with his powers and being in a new environment. It was kind of concerning, actually, how his mind was picking up these new words. He didn't understand how or why. Was it a sign he was losing his grip on his powers? He usually skimmed cats' minds and dreams subconsciously but he hadn't been around any other cats in a bit. Was his range increasing? Were his powers changing? Jayfeather thought that was important but he supposed that was something for him to deal with, not Dovewing or Lionblaze. Right now, their focus had to be on what concerned the group.

"When you two were sleeping, I overheard these two cats talking," Dovewing explained. She paused. Waves of nervousness were rolling off her but she was completely still. No nervous paw shuffles or shoulder licks. Jayfeather could picture her biting her lip though. He wished he wasn't blind right now. These silences were horrible. He just had to sit there and wait until she decided to speak again.

"And?" he prompted impatiently when the silence stretched too long for his liking.

"They're planning to attack SkyClan!" Dovewing blurted out.

"What?" Lionblaze nearly fell over but recovered and jumped to his paws. "That's horrible! We have to warn them."

"No, I-" Dovewing cut off and took a deep breath. "I actually kind of agree with what they were saying."

"You think we should attack SkyClan?!" Lionblaze screeched. His tail lashes, brushing against Jayfeather's hip.

"No! I mean, maybe?" There was doubt in her voice.

"Dovewing…" Jayfeather said warningly. A thousand thoughts were flying through his mind and he wasn't entirely sure whose they were. He just had to wait to find out, he supposed.

"I don't think they deserve to be attacked exactly," Dovewing recovered quickly, "but I was, um, thinking and the clans are really messed up, you know? We were driven out, Riley and Bella were rejected, we put our faith in dead cats who don't do anything, we think we're better than everyone else… I- I dunno. These cats don't sound bad. They don't really seem hostile either. They want change and they think that attacking is the only way to bring that change. I think we should join them."

"You want us, the three, to join a ragtag group of rogues that want to attack SkyClan?"

"No! Yes! I don't know!" Dovewing practically shouted and Jayfeather could feel the frusteration rolling off her. "I think we should talk to them. Not help them necessarily but maybe we'll change their minds or maybe they'll show us something we never thought of. Just… be open minded?"

"I can't believe you're considering this!" Lionblaze protested.

"They have a pretty good sized group of cats and they have a nice den with a lot of nests."

"Okay, let's go," Lionblaze said, easily swayed. Jayfeather wanted to laugh. Lionblaze knew where his priorities were.

"What do you think?" Dovewing asked, looking at Jayfeather.

"I think… I think we should wait until morning," Jayfeather responded. "It's the middle of the night and I think we all need to sleep on this."

Lionblaze let out a breath through his nose. "Yeah, I agree. That makes sense. You think you can contact StarClan?"

"StarClan turned their tails on us," Dovewing hissed. Jayfeather took a step back, surprised by the ferocity in her mew. She was the last of their little group to still cling to her faith. Jayfeather wasn't expecting this sudden change in attitude. She must've done some deep thinking. Or she was more affected by the rejection from SkyClan than he thought. Maybe a bit of both.

"The clans abandoned a few elders in the forest when they left. I've been talking to them a bit," Jayfeather told her. If she was surprised, he couldn't tell. "I think we should go check out those cats you heard but I'm still going to talk to Frostfur, Speckletail, Loudbelly, and Shadepelt. Maybe they'll help me find my place all this."

Jayfeather felt guilt waft off Dovewing. "I'm sorry. I guess I got kind of worked up there. Lionblaze and I are warriors but you…"

"Are a medicine cat," Lionblaze finished. "You heal cats. Not hurt them."

"A medicine cat isn't just a healer. We guide. And I need to know I'm guiding us in the right direction," Jayfeather told them as he curled up next to his brother. "We need to make the right choice here. If we make the wrong one…"

"I know," Dovewing whispered. She butted his shoulder softly. "We'll talk about this more in the morning. For now, just get some sleep, you two."

Author's Note: I was trying to stick with the original "protagonists as antagonists" plan but I just can't make anyone evil. Honestly, I really liked Darktail and the Kin.

I respond to most reviews (unless they're guest reviews because I can't PM you guys) but just getting this out there for those of you who I have not messaged. A lot of people have asked me to write Fallen Leaves/ Hollyleaf and/ or Ravenpaw/ Barley. Not surprising considering the fanfic community is very amatonormative. I like both pairs so they've been somewhat implied here and there but I'm not going to force them into the story. I don't think romance would add anything to this story and I don't think it would do the pairings justice. They deserve their own stories. I may write them in the future considering how much you guys asked for them but don't get your hopes up.

Edited 5/1/2021: Minor edits, a few fixes and added sentences.