Lionblaze lay in his nest trying to sleep like Cinderheart had suggested for him to do but his mind was in too much turmoil to let him drift off into slumber. He tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable, but he couldn't do it no matter how ever much he tried. Eventually he gave up and sat up in his nest.

As he did so, his eyes fell on Crane's Wing who was just entering the warrior's den to check on his friend.

"Oh sorry," Crane's Wing said. "Did I wake you?"

"No, I was already awake," Lionblaze said then paused for a moment. "You knew didn't you?"

"Knew what?"

"That Jayfeather was- is- Jay's Wing."

"Of course," Crane's Wing confirmed. "I didn't make that clear, did I?"

"Nope."

"So he told you?"

"Yeah. And something else." Lionblaze hesitated. Jayfeather said not to tell anyone but Crane's Wing already knows, right? He made up his mind quickly. "He said I was Lion's Roar and Dovewing was Dove's Wing."

"You're Lion's Roar?" Crane's Wing looked surprised. Lionblaze blinked. Guess he didn't know.

"Not the same way Jayfeather is Jay's Wing," Lionblaze said quickly. Crane's Wing looked confused. "Jayfeather says that he- like him, Jayfeather- walked with the Ancients. And he has some of Jay's Wing's memories. But neither Dovewing or I have experienced anything like that."

Crane's Wing nodded slowly. "Um, wow. I was not expecting that. I mean, I was kind of a bit. The names Dovewing and Dove's Wing are really similar. I know cats from the line of Lion's Roar; I never thought about it but some of them look like you. And you have 'lion' in your name."

"I think that's a coincidence," Lionblaze said.

"Is it really though?" Crane's Wing responded with an even tone. "A cat called Jay, a cat called Dove, and a cat called Lion all living in one place? And the three of you seem pretty close."

"Jayfeather is my brother," Lionblaze told him. "And Dovewing was my apprentice."

"See? You three are close."

Lionblaze was silent for a moment. What Crane's Wing was saying made sense. "Tell me about Lion's Roar."

"Alright." Crane's Wing looked surprised. "I don't know much about him. He lived a long time ago and he's not from my line."

"What do you mean by that?"

"The cats in my group focus on the sacred cats that they're descended from," Crane's Wing explained. "My ancestors all bore the blood of Jay's Wing and Dove's Wing. Jay's Wing is very well known as a great cat. I'm not really sure what Dove's Wing did, we just remember her as Jay's Wing's sister."

Lionblaze looked surprised. Dovewing was Jayfeather's sister? Then why am I his brother?

"My best friend Lynx's Roar is from Lion's Roar's line," Crane's Wing continued. "He tells me that he was confident, noble, and brave. Jay's Wing helped kit him, I think but I'm not totally sure. Lynx's Roar says Lion's Roar was close with Half Moon."

"What's a Lynx?" Lionblaze asked. "And who was Half Moon? Her name sounds familiar."

Crane's Wing looked thoughtful. "I don't really know. I think a lynx is like a lion. It's a great wild cat but smaller. And it doesn't have a mane. And I don't think it can really roar which is weird. I think one of my elders mentioned something about seeing one once."

Lionblaze didn't question this further. He didn't really care much about different kinds of cats. "So who's Half Moon?"

"She was Jay's-" Crane's Wing cut off suddenly.

"What?" Lionblaze asked. "She was Jay's Wing's what?"

Crane's Wing looked down at his paws. "You clan cats are strange. You have rules that did not exist in the ancient times, you may not like what I have to say."

"Did she kill Jay's Wing?" Lionblaze asked alarmed.

"No!" Crane's Wing shook his head quickly. "It was nothing like that."

"Then what?"

"It's not my place to tell you," Crane's Wing said.

Lionblaze sighed. "Why?"

"I just think that Jay's Wing- er, Jayfeather- would appreciate it very much," Crane's Wing said. "You should ask him some time, I'm sure he'd tell you. I just don't think he'd like it if I talked about something so personal. And I could be wrong, the legends have been passed for generations, since before your clans. At some point some of the truth must've fallen out of them."

Lionblaze was shocked that Crane's Wing would question something like this. If a clan cat questioned StarClan… He couldn't even think of a comparison. It was just wrong of cats to question their faith like that. But maybe things were just different for Crane's Wing's cats.

"So why did you come here?" Lionblaze asked. He'd asked this many times, he never really got a very good answer. Maybe now he could understand whatever Crane's Wing told him.

"In my group, there is a cat called a shama," Crane's Wing started.

"Shama?" Lionblaze echoed.

"Sort of like your medicine cat but they don't deal with herbs," Crane's Wing explained. "We don't really have one specific cat who heals, just a lot of cats who know herbs."

Lionblaze nodded and Crane's Wing continued. "Solar Sigil- that's our shama- received a sign or something. I don't know what it was but he he said that Jay's Wing had returned and that it was our duty as worshippers of the sacred cats to find him."

"But why?"

"... I don't know," Crane's Wing admitted. "It was an honor to be chosen, I didn't want to question Solar Sigil too much."

"That's a really strange name," Lionblaze said hoping that wasn't rude to say.

Crane's Wing purred in agreement. "I know, right? I asked Falling Falcon once as a kit, she said that the shamas had to have very specific names that represented spiritual power and the realm above."

Lionblaze didn't understand all of that. He realized he must sound like a kit begging his elders for a story but Crane's Wing's group sounded so interesting. "Who is Falling Falcon?"

"My mother."

"I thought your, uh, line used the names Bird's Wing," Lionblaze said recalling what Squirrelflight has said when she met the foreign tom.

Crane's Wing shook his head. "No, we use name to honor our ancestors. There are only so many kinds of birds, Lionblaze. My sister's name is Skua's Wing. And my brother is Kingfisher's Wing. That's kind of a mouthful and I don't even know what a skua is. I got lucky."

Lionblaze laughed. "I guess I should be grateful for the clans' naming system."

"I'm sure that at some point there have been some pretty weird names." Crane's Wing joined in on the joking. "Like Draftheart or... or Waspeye."

"Or Fluffears," Lionblaze snickered. "Or Muddypelt!"

"Or Mudface!" Crane's Wing laughed.

"I think there was actually a cat called that," Lionblaze wheezed.

"My point exactly!" Crane's Wing laughed. Lionblaze joined him and laughed harder. As the two continued to joke, Lionblaze realized that talking with Crane's Wing had distracted him from his earlier anxiety.

Crane's Wing is a good friend.

Author's Note: Some light has been shed on Crane's Wing's background. Reading it, it sounds like a cult. That wasn't my intention but you can chose to interpret it that way if you want. He's from a tribe of cats who, unlike the other tribe and the clans, remember their history and trace descent. Pretty much there are a bunch of small clans within the tribe called lines and the lines can trace descent from a specific cat that is important. Crane's Wing refers to these cats as sacred cats.

Reviews-

Darth Jay- Yeah, Jayfeather's gotta keep some secrets.