Lionblaze lay on his side near the elder's den dozing as Purdy was telling one of his famous stories.

"So there was this dog, see?" Purdy was saying. "Nasty little creature. Don't know why my housefolks put up with it with all its yappin' 'n such. So there I was…"

Lionblaze saw Snowpaw who was checking Purdy for ticks begin to nod off then shake herself to keep herself from doing so.

I'm not an apprentice. I can fall asleep to the elder's stories.

Next to him, Lionblaze heard Rosepetal yawn. Several cats who hadn't gone on the sunhigh patrols were lying around the elders den to catch some sun. Lionblaze closed his eyes and was just about to fall asleep when a voice pulled him out of it.

"Lionblaze?"

Lionblaze turned around to see Crane's Wing. A strange feeling spread through him. He didn't really know how to feel about this cat. He was strange and different. And he was somewhat responsible for Jayfeather's disappearance. He looked just like his brother too. It was unsettling.

"Can I talk to you?" Crane's Wing asked quietly, trying not to interrupt Purdy or wake any of the sleeping cats.

"Sure," Lionblaze said and got to his paws. "Let's head out of camp."

"This was is ShadowClan territory, right?" Crane's Wing asked. The two were standing on the strip of territory that ThunderClan and ShadowClan had fought over in the battle that caused the death of Russetfur.

"Right," Lionblaze confirmed. "You're getting a hang of this clan stuff?"

"Yeah," Crane's Wing said. "It's really different from what I'm used to with my cats but it's kind of the same too. Living in a large group I mean, not the territory thing. Squirrelflight sent me on patrol yesterday and Berrynose snapped at me for getting too close to the border."

"Don't mind him, he's a pain in the tail," Lionblaze told him. "Or at least he used to. He's getting less annoying."

"He's one of the weirder cats I've met," Crane's Wing said. "But I guess you guys think I'm pretty weird too."

Truth to that. "No, not really."

"Don't lie, I can see your faces whenever I try to explain myself to you."

"What?"

"Come on, you guys always ask me what my business is with Jay's Wing," Crane's Wing pointed out. "Or Jayfeather, I suppose. You guys keep asking and whenever I explain to anyone, they just end up looking confused and then they don't talk to me anymore."

Lionblaze hadn't realized that the rest of the clan had been questioning Crane's Wing. He himself had avoided him for the most part and he'd been too worried about his brother to think much about his look alike.

"Clan cats don't really handle outsiders very well," Lionblaze said. "Be glad another clan didn't find you, ThunderClan is the most accepting of us."

Crane's Wing nodded. "Yeah, I didn't expect you all to be so welcoming. I knew I'd find group cats but I didn't expect them to be anything like they are. You're so organized."

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Lionblaze asked.

"Oh right," Crane's Wing said. "I'm just curious about you. I didn't know Jay's Wing had a brother, just a sister."

"Our sister Hollyleaf died a few moons ago in battle," Lionblaze told him.

"I'm sorry," Crane's Wing murmured. "Wait, Hollyleaf? Jay's Wing's sister was named Dove's Wing."

"You mean Dovewing?" Lionblaze asked. "She's our kin but kind of distant."

Crane's Wing shook his head. "No, I didn't know anything about her. All I was told is that Jay's Wing has returned and is living in a group of cats. Though I suppose Jayfeather isn't really Jay's Wing, it makes sense that his kin is different."

What is this cat meowing about?

Crane's Wing seemed to notice Lionblaze's confused look. "I'm sorry. This is what I meant by cats asking me stuff and not understanding. It's really hard to explain if you're not part of the Line."

"The Line?" Lionblaze questioned.

"That's what my cats call cats who are directly related by blood to one of the ancients or sacred ancients," Crane's Wing said.

"What?"

"You know, ancestors?" Crane's Wing told him. "But not like your ...StarClan was it?"

"Okay…"

"I know, it's hard to understand the way of life different from your own."

"You're very wise," Lionblaze commented.

"Thanks," Crane's Wing purred. "But I don't feel very wise."

"Careful, we've reached the border," Lionblaze cautioned. Sure enough, looking over towards ShadowClan's part of the forest, a patrol was approaching.

The cats in the patrol were Scorchfur, Pinenose, Ferretclaw, Tawnypelt, and Grasspaw. They looked over the border at the ThunderClan warrior and the visitor.

"You found Jayfeather?" Tawnypelt asked looking at Crane's Wing. He looked back and she saw his sharp eyes. "Nevermind."

"I get that a lot," Crane's Wing smiled.

"ThunderClan taking in kittypets again?" Ferretclaw sneered.

"Hey! I'm no kittypet!" Crane's Wing hissed. "I am a group cat!"

"So not a clan cat," Scorchfur stated. "ThunderClan should really watch what cats they join the clan."

Crane's Wing hissed and unsheathed his claws. Lionblaze put his tail on his shoulder to remind him not to provoke a fight. Crane's Wing sat back on his haunches but his hostile look remained. "I'm not joining the clan, I'm leaving as soon as I'm done with what I need to do."

This was news to Lionblaze but he didn't say anything.

"This is that Crane's Wing cat that Bramblestar mentioned at the Gathering," Pinenose realized.

"Bramblestar mentioned me?"

"Yeah! It was the most interesting news at the Gathering, other than that Jayfeather is missing," Grasspaw said. "Rowanstar seemed pretty unhappy about that."

Tawnypelt cuffed Grasspaw over the ear to get her apprentice to shut up.

"Come on, we have better things to do than gossip with a ThunderClan cat and this foreigner," Tawnypelt said. "Such marking the borders like we're supposed to be doing?"

"You fleabags better not cross," Ferretclaw hissed.

"Watch yourself, mange-pelt," Lionblaze shot back. Crane's Wing looked at him in surprise.

"I thought we weren't supposed to be picking fights," Crane's Wing whispered.

"We're not," Lionblaze told him. "Try it, it's fun."

"At least I'm not some half-clan, quarter kittypet," Ferretclaw responded to Lionblaze's insult. Lionblaze rolled his eyes. Ferretclaw's remark was a mouthful, he was trying to hard. If his ruffled pelt didn't show how worked up the ShadowClan cat was, that insult did.

Crane's Wing opened his mouth then closed it and looked to Lionblaze. "I don't know how to respond to that," he whispered.

"Well, even a quarter of pure ThunderClan blood is better than whatever you are," Lionblaze quipped.

Ferretclaw scoffed. "As if."

"Yeah, great comeback, Ferretclaw," Scorchfur said, his voice dripping in sarcasm. "You really got him there."

"Whatever," Ferretclaw muttered. "Let's just mark our borders. Don't you dare cross."

"Wasn't planning on it," Lionblaze said.

"Yeah, no one would even want to get on your smelly territory," Crane's Wing added. "It's so nasty not even skunks would want to go over there."

"What's a skunk?" Grasspaw asked Tawnypelt. She shrugged.

"If you are done inviting them to insult us, Ferretclaw, let's go do our job," Tawnypelt said.

Grumbling, Scorchfur and Ferretclaw followed her and Grasspaw deeper into their own territory.

"What's a skunk?" Lionblaze asked once the ShadowClan cats were gone.

"It's kind of like a mix of a cat and a badger but it doesn't fight with claws or teeth. It sprays its scent markers at you. It smells so bad, you can't even lick the stuff out of your fur and it lasts for seasons," Crane's Wing explained. Lionblaze grimace. "That was fun, can we go over to the other border and do that?"

"WindClan cats have been more hostile lately and we're not supposed to get into insult fights."

"Oh."

"But other than that, I don't see why not," Lionblaze purred. Crane's Wing brightened. "Come on. Promise me this'll be the only time you do this and I'll give you some tips for WindClan."

Author's Note: Just some bonding between Crane's Wing and Lionblaze. Crane's Wing's been having a hard time living among the clan cats. He really needed a friend.