Author's Note: I don't read Warriors fanfic anymore and I don't usually read OC stories but I've been reading The Odd Tale of Invisiblekit by MistFlame54. I have to say it's a phenomenal story and I encourage you to check it out!

TW: Non-graphic death of background characters.

"This is a bad idea," Jayfeather was hissing in Lionblaze's ear. The golden tom shouldered him, quieting him, and hissed something back but Dovewing ignored them. She was too focused on listening to be bothered by the brothers' antics.

Cold morning air nipped her nose as she tried scenting for a whiff of anything that smelled like other cats but came up blank. There were too many confusing trails and odd scents in the twolegplace for her nose to do much good. Luckily, she'd long since gotten used to navigating the twolegplace via her ears alone but even that wasn't doing much good. She knew where she wanted to go but not how to get there. All these thunderpaths and fences made this place like a maze.

The trio padded through the stone paths for the better part of the morning. Jayfeather and Lionblaze bit back their complaints and for that Dovewing was grateful. They all knew how serious their situation was and how dire it was to pick the right plan. They all had to stick together and Dovewing felt a flash of warmth for her kin knowing that they trusted her blindly like this. It was a bit intimidating having this kind of responsibility but Dovewing had faith that she could find the cats she'd heard the other night.

And for the first time in a while, her faith came through.

"Hey," a voice called. Three pairs of eyes, two sighted and one blind, drifted upward and fell upon a dark she-cat sitting atop a fence like a bird in a tree. "You three have been walking in circles for awhile. You lost?"

Dovewing glanced at Lionblaze. Lionblaze glanced at Dovewing. The tom tilted his head, telling Dovewing she should be the one to speak. Dovewing cleared her throat and faced the she-cat. "We're looking for a group of cats."

"SkyClan?" the she-cat questioned, tipping her head. Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly. Dovewing wasn't sure if she was imagining it or not. "They live in the gorge outside the twolegplace. You won't find them around here."

"No, no," Dovewing said with a shake of her head. "We're not looking for them. Not anymore at least, they drove us out. We know there's a group of cats who live here in the twolegplace. We were hoping we could talk to them."

The she-cat smirked and bunched up her muscles, leaping off the fence to land neatly in front of them. Dovewing suddenly realized this cat was no kittypet. She shook out her pelt, long fur catching the sunlight. It was clear she took care of herself but her pelt lacked the softness of a kittypet. Her muscles too. This cat was a fighter.

"Well then you're in luck," the she-cat replied. "The name's Raven. I'm one of the Kin."

"Kin?" Jayfeather echoed. "Are your clanmates all related?"

Raven turned to face him like she just noticed he was there. She opened her mouth to respond before pausing. "What's wrong with your eyes?"

"I'm blind," Jayfeather responded, sounding slightly annoyed. His tail tip twitched slightly and Dovewing wanted to apologize. Or sink into the ground and let the earth swallow her and her embarrassment. She hadn't done anything wrong but still, today wasn't quite turning out like she'd expected.

"What?"

"He can't see anything," Lionblaze answered and waved his tail, signaling that this wasn't what they were here to talk about. "So what's up with your, uh, kin?"

"We don't all share blood, if that's what you're asking," Raven told him. She drew herself up a bit, almost like she was proud. "We're not a clan. We're closer than that. The bonds we share are like those of kin."

"Um, okay," Lionblaze mumbled hesitantly and shared a look with Dovewing. He didn't seem all that confident and Dovewing couldn't blame him. The twolegplace cats weren't giving the best first impression but they were the best option at the moment. They couldn't afford to be picky.

"I'm Dovewing," Dovewing introduced. She nodded to each of her companions. "This is Lionblaze and his brother Jayfeather."

"Clan names? Those are clan names, right?"

"They are," Lionblaze confirmed.

"You don't smell like SkyClan cats," Raven murmured. She brightened a bit. "Darktail would like to meet you."

"Who?"

"Darktail. He's our leader. He's away right now so Rain's in charge. Come on, I'll take you to him." The dark she-cat turned away and took a few steps before realizing she wasn't being followed. "Well? You coming or not? You said you were looking for us."

"Um, right," Dovewing said and took a step after her. Jayfeather's face flashed with panic. Dovewing shot him a look, wishing he could see it. They really needed to talk about this before they made a decision but they didn't have the time. She hoped Jayfeather was picking up on her emotions or reading her mind. She had no idea how to convey her thoughts to him nonverbally without facial expressions.

"I think this is the right move," Lionblaze whispered to his brother, taking to his side to lead him in the right direction. "Even if we don't stay with these cats, maybe we can get a meal, some shelter for the night, and an idea where to go next."

"I suppose," Jayfeather muttered and began walking along with the group. "But we better not walk on any fences. I've hated it ever since that first time we did as apprentices."

Lionblaze chuckled and Dovewing felt like she was missing out on something but she tried not to dwell on it. Raven was leading them away from the main thunderpath and into the shadows and through dozens of twists and turns that made Dovewing's head spin. But, it was clear the she-cat knew where she was leading them and before long they were approaching a twoleg nest that smelled strongly of cats coming and going.

"Rain!" Raven yowled as the group padded into the twoleg nest. "I have some cats here to see you!"

A big, long furred gray tom appeared out of nowhere, startling Dovewing, and slunk over. "You smell strange."

"We get that a lot," Jayfeather responded sarcastically. Dovewing hit him with her shoulder to get him to shut up. They couldn't afford for Jayfeather's attitude to ruin this for them.

"We're from far away," Dovewing explained before Jayfeather could complain. "We traveled a long time to get here."

"We're from the clans," Lionblaze added. "ThunderClan. But, um, we were driven out. We're looking for a place to stay."

Rain didn't blink. "Why didn't you go to SkyClan?"

"We did. They rejected us too."

Rain was silent for a heartbeat. Raven dipped her head slightly and padded to his side. "These cats are in need of a home, Rain. The Kin welcomes all."

Rain slowly nodded. "It does. Okay, you can stay. I'm sure Darktail will want to talk to you but I have no doubt he will accept you. Welcome to the Kin."

Life in the Kin was kind of nice, Lionblaze had to admit. It was nothing like a clan but it gave him a sense of community that he hadn't realized he'd been lacking. He had a home to return to after a hunt, he was surrounded by other cats' snores when he slept, and he had a leader to guide his pawsteps. So yeah, he was pretty happy that he'd listened to Dovewing and come here.

She was pretty happy about it as well. She and Raven seemed to be getting on well. She seemed to be getting on with everyone. Sometimes Lionblaze forgot how young she was. Unlike Lionblaze and Jayfeather who'd long since become reliant only on each other, she still needed the support of a clan behind her. Jayfeather had been trying to ease her out of it but now that they had a group to find belonging in, it didn't matter much.

Jayfeather didn't really like the Kin much but he was less grumpy now that they had long term shelter and he was slowly beginning to be less snappy whenever some cat bothered him. It was a hard adjustment for him, being blind and all. He couldn't hunt or fight which seemed to be the expectation. Jayfeather let all the judgmental looks and questioning roll off him though. When asked, Jayfeather told Lionblaze he'd done it before and Lionblaze wasn't really sure what he meant by that but within the quarter-moon, the Kin recognized his healing ability and he'd secured his place in the group as a healer.

As for Lionblaze… Deep down, he didn't really feel like anything had changed. Rain was their Brambleclaw, Raven was their Sandstorm, Roach was their Thornclaw, Nettle was their Dustpelt, and whoever this Darktail was, he was their Firestar. Cats could only be so different and Lionblaze just felt like the Kin was a clan full of unfamiliar pelts.

Rain seemed to like him. Lionblaze was physically very impressive, he knew that, and he had the skill to back it up. The Kin didn't really have patrols or regular chores, it was more voluntary than required, but Rain tasked Lionblaze with various duties which Lionblaze took up gladly. It wasn't all work though. He really felt like Rain valued and respected him as an individual.

That was until Darktail showed up.

He wouldn't realize it until he looked back on this day many seasons later that this was when Lionblaze lost a part of himself.

The Kin didn't have formal meetings like the clans. The Kin's inner circle just gathered up all the cats individually and yowled for everyone to be quiet. It wasn't the best system but it worked. The day the meeting was called was around a moon after the three had joined the Kin. They'd been to meetings before, always sitting together in the mass of cats, but today something felt different. There was a strange cat facing the group alongside Rain. It took a few heartbeats for Lionblaze to place him but he quickly realized it was the tom he'd run into while patrolling with SkyClan.

The tom seemed to recognize him too, blue eyes widening a bit at the sight of him. "What are you doing here?"

"I, um, joined," Lionblaze responded with a shrug. Uneasiness rolled in his belly but he forced it down.

Rain glanced between the two of them. "You two know each other?"

"We ran into each other briefly when I was scouting SkyClan," the tom replied smoothly. "I'm happy to see you joined the Kin. Your strengths are wasted on caring for a clan."

"Um…" Dovewing spoke up, looking uneasy.

"Dovewing, Lionblaze, and Jayfeather are former clan cats. From ThunderClan," Rain introduced before tipping his head in the tom's direction. "This is Darktail."

Dovewing and Lionblaze jolted in surprise while Jayfeather flicked his tail boredly. Darktail, on the other paw, leaned forward in interest. "ThunderClan? Did you know any cats in WindClan by any chance?"

"Um, yeah. Jayfeather and I, our father is WindClan," Lionblaze responded, a bit thrown off by the question. The gorge and the twolegplace were nowhere near the lake or the forest. How did-?

"Interesting. Mine is too."

Before Lionblaze could wrap his head around the meaning behind Darktail's words, the tom was yowling for the Kin's attention. "My Kin! Your leader has returned!"

The Kin yowled in celebration. Jayfeather hunched over a bit, looking overwhelmed. At first, Lionblaze thought it was thanks to the noise but Dovewing seemed fine so that wasn't it. Maybe it was his powers? Lionblaze never quite understood how they worked but maybe there was a lot of emotion right now. Either way, he let his brother lean against him as Darktail went on.

"As you know, I have spent the last moon trying to extend a proposition to our SkyClan neighbors," Darktail began. He looked down from his perch, eyes blazing. "They responded by driving me out. Peace has failed, my Kin. Now is the time for retaliation."

"Wait, what?"

Lionblaze didn't even realize the words had escaped his mouth until two dozen pairs of eyes were on him. He tried best not to shrink back but he also didn't want to seem like he was being defiant. He was sure Darktail had his reasons for… whatever this was.

"Lionblaze, you of all cats should know how systematically flawed the clans' way of life is," Darktail purred, sickeningly sweet. Lionblaze hated that he was right. "They drive out cats like you and me, they hold themselves above any cat who doesn't share their way of life, and they weaken themselves with their faith and reliance on each other. No respect for what's different, no self-reliance, no real will- They cannot grow and they are toxic to anyone they touch."

"Lionblaze!" Jayfeather hissed in his ear and Lionblaze flinched. He hadn't noticed that he was nodding along until Darktail was finished.

"Then it's decided. We attack at dawn."

Jayfeather wanted no part in this.

His blind eyes drifted to the sky and he asked Half Moon if he was doing the right thing but, of course, he got no answer so he kept walking, trailing after the dozens of cats prowling toward the Gorge. All of them were battle ready except for him. Well, he'd brought his claws but he didn't really think he'd have much to contribute unless they were fighting in the dead of night on a claw-moon. His blindness rarely felt like a burden these days but right now, it felt like a blessing. He didn't have to fight but that didn't mean his job would be easy. His role tonight would be the one of a healer. A healer to a group that didn't really understand a healer's role. That was frustrating. He had no help carrying his herbs and he was fairly certain cats would refuse his aid when he found them injured.

Cats were going to die tonight and there was little he could do about it.

He could probably convince Lionblaze or Dovewing to back out of it but he didn't have the heart to. It was clear they were both incredibly conflicted over this. He didn't think anything he could say would push them in either direction. It seemed they were going to go through with this.

The fighting was difficult to witness. Jayfeather was kind of glad he couldn't see it because he really didn't want to watch cats he knew equally well shedding each other's blood. He was pretty sure Lionblaze was grappling with Billystorm at the moment. The betrayal in his mew was almost too much. Jayfeather really didn't want to see it in his eyes.

He crossed paths with Echosong briefly. They exchanged no words but she gave him some herbs and he silently promised to pick no sides tonight. He hadn't so far, not really. No cats were quite injured enough for him to step in so he stuck to the sidelines, tail curled around the precious herbs until the time came to use them.

Surprisingly, the first time he was called into action was by Darktail. Jayfeather was too disoriented to tell where in the camp they were but he was pretty sure Plumwillow was there… Oh by the stars, was she dead?

"Here," Darktail grunted and something was suddenly thrust into Jayfeather's paws. He wasn't really prepared so whatever it was fell immediately but it didn't take him long to identify what it was.

"What in the name of StarClan, Darktail?!" Jayfeather hissed, horrified.

"I didn't know she was a queen, okay?!" Darktail snapped, voice hollow and panicked. Jayfeather realized he was equally horrified, if not more, and self-disgust was rolling off him in waves. It was jarring. Darktail had been so certain earlier but now… "I- I didn't know why she was fighting so hard. I didn't know she was protecting kits. She- She had me pinned and I just struck out blindly-"

Jayfeather sniffed the air and suddenly became aware of the injuries littered on both cats' pelts and the scent of panic surrounding Darktail. He was telling the truth. No cat could fake… this.

"Come on," Jayfeather growled, picking up a kit. "We're getting out of here."

"I'll call off the attack…"

"I doubt you can," Jayfeather snorted as he shoved another kit's scruff into Darktail's teeth. The tom nearly fell over and Jayfeather realized he needed to examine his injuries quickly. "Your cats are out of control."

"I know…" Darktail replied softly, mew full of regret, and helped Jayfeather get the third and final kit onto his back before fleeing the camp.

Edited 5/13/2021: A few lines added, partial AN removed.