"For Endless Star's sake! I do not sleepwalk anymore!" Tsunami hissed at Blizzard. "I was a kit---"

     "Another point for Blizzard!" Hurricane said, nudging Tsunami's side. The black and white she-cat flattened her ears at her. 

     "Come now, dear sister," Lightning mimicked Blizzard's tone which caused Tsunami to whirl around and lash out with a clawed paw. He avoided the blow and set his own paw on hers, pushing it down. "All is fair in love and war."

     "We aren't even in war right now! Now every cat just shut up! We're at the tree now!" Tsunami snarled, silencing her brother and sister. In the back, Firestorm and Blizzard stood together and looked at each other, sharing a conversation. Hurricane snickered as Wildfire sprang behind her older sister, catching the calico by surprise as Lightning turned the other way. 

     Hurricane stared at the Fallen Tree. It had more moss growing on it, but it was still the same old tree that she had seen. For a short second, Hurricane thought she could see a faint outline of her younger self standing beside her, examining the tree with keen interest. When she looked right, the outline was gone, and something else caught her eye.

     A flash of amber in the forest ran across the trees, their pelt standing out like a crow against a cloud. Hurricane shook her head and the amber pelt had vanished.

     I'm going crazy.

     "You're already crazy."

     I'm gonna have to agree with that for once...

     "So..." Lightning didn't look impressed with the tree. "What now? Was there a reason we crossed into the Tribe of Shining Suns for this?"

     The five of them sat together not saying a word. Hurricane turned to look at Blizzard, the cat who had suggested they come here. The she-cat shrugged and Wildfire pressed her nose against the tree, sniffing it. Tsunami looked disgusted and reached her paw forward, taking her sister's head and dragged her away.

     Then Hurricane broke the silence. "Do you guys know what happened with this tree? I know you said that Cinder tried to figure out the answer." 

     "It's quite simple, really," Firestorm answered. "The Fallen Tree was a mark of an escaping caregiver and her young."

     Dandelion. She recalled her mother easily, remembering the tale Origanum told her about her mother's escape from the tribe. The roots of the old tree finally giving in and breaking, allowing her to escape with the price of losing one of her kits. Hurricane shuddered. 

     "No cat knows how the tree fell," Firestorm replied. "No cat also knows where the caregiver went; all that we know is that the story has been a fable."

     "Do you guys ever wonder why we have perfection?" Hurricane asked, looking at the ground. "I mean, I was practically brainwashed to believe it was the way to live. Do you know why?"

     "We know as much as you," Firestorm said, "you guys just think of yourselves better than us."

     "I can't change that," Hurricane said. "I wish I could save my family."

     "We are your family," Wildfire said firmly, turning. "Even if you may not be blood-related, I see you as an older sister. I don't know if the others see you as a part of our family, but I do! I don't want anyone to take you away, even if it's Cher---"

     "A border patrol is happening," Lightning snapped, jumping on his paws, his pelt spiked out. His eyes scanned for a nearby hiding place "Get away! Other side! Now!"

     The five of them all scrambled over each other, reaching for the other side of the path as fast as they could. After fighting each other, they dove into a nearby bush, hiding from the patrol that came across the path. Hurricane darted her tail under the bush and a clump of cats pushed against her, preventing any movement. She tried to shift around so she could see the border patrol, but with Lightning in the way, that was impossible.

     "Shh," Lightning demanded, lowering himself to the ground.

     "I swear I heard a voice around here," a voice that Hurricane didn't recognize said. "I've got the best hearing out of all of us, right?"

     "Hush, Quail." Hurricane froze as she heard the deep growl of Crow. "Relax already."

     "Why am I here?" Hurricane thought this voice sounded familiar somewhere, but her mind was clouded. "I'm a hunter, not a scouter."

     "Well, Origanum instructed that you join us." The last cat spoke and Hurricane felt tears coming to her eyes. To her surprise, Blizzard's tail curled around her paw softly, sensing the motherly love coming from her. "So you'll do it, Serval."

     "Fine," the she-cat growled.

     "I swear I heard something," Quail protested. Hurricane nearly blew her cover.

     Speck! She wanted to turn around and see how her friend was doing. Blizzard softly growled to make her stop. All five cats crowded into the bush didn't make things any better. Hurricane detested that she had to rely on her ears.

     "Let's just finish this," the other cat, Serval, said.

     "Don't need to be so snappy," Dandelion growled. "We just need to finish this before the cold wind comes."

     Hurricane still couldn't identify the new cat. It obviously was a cat from the Training Den, no doubt about that. Maybe it was Quail's sibling, Pebble, or maybe it was Lark. Just thinking of her made Hurricane want to see her younger sibling. 

     Not too sure if Tsunami would like that, as Lark is the counterpart of her in the Tribe of Shining Suns. Hurricane looked at Tsunami who stared out a hole in the bush with an emotionless expression. Her lips pulled back in a sight snarl and she assumed it was just because of the patrol.

     "Yeah, Serval," Quail hissed. Hurricane's fur settled down along with her heart. It couldn't be Lark; Speck was always harsh on Pebble any time she talked to the siblings. Lightning looked over at her, sensing her relax. He rolled his eyes and returned back to spying on the other cats.

     "It's done," Serval asked, obviously annoyed. "Now can we go back home? It's freezing out here."

     "It's not even the middle of the cool wind!" Quail protested. "Since when did you get so complainy?"

     "Since I decided it was cold out here," Serval insisted. Hurricane heard the growl of the siblings rise. "Why does it matter?"

     "Enough!" Crow snapped over the two. "You two have been here long enough to know we don't screw around. Let's go home now."

     "Thank you," Serval growled. Hurricane heard their footsteps march away, allowing her to breathe again. The cats around her began to uncurl themselves from the tight positions they were in, still struggling to break free with little noise as the bush trembled. She held her breath just as Wildfire's foot jabbed into her side and Firestorm tried to move out of the way for Blizzard to slither out. 

     Stop moving so much...! Hurricane thought, her face bushed in the ground by Tsunami. 

     "All right, come out," Dandelion said, clearly unamused at them and judging by her voice, she was standing at the border.

     "What?" Lightning hissed. "Stop escaping and pretend we aren't here!" He demanded silently, body turning to stone.

     Tsunami rolled her eyes at him, holding herself up with one paw with her other front paw on her brother's pelt and her back legs caught in the bush, tucked in. Unbalanced, she hissed, "What can we do, then?! We're all stuck here!"

     "Do you seriously think talking to each other is going to fool her?!" Hurricane hissed back softly, hoping her mother wouldn't hear her. "At least talk softer!" 

     "Come out, I know you're there," Dandelion repeated, louder this time. 

     No cat moved a muscle. They all remained silent as they looked at each other for advice, eyes flashing with panic. Most of them looked at Hurricane, who signaled them with tail twitches she didn't want to go out and talk to her mother. Wildfire looked ready to explode. Tsunami was looking at her to do something, getting impatient. Firestorm focused on staying upright and not crashing onto his siblings. Blizzard was still, holding her little sister's tail in her jaws, and Lightning looked paranoid with a paw jabbing him in the side.

     Hurricane could think of one thing that could cause the group to break. Dandelion didn't look like she was leaving until they came out. She narrowed her eyes and snaked her tail around her paws, heading toward a certain she-cat. Tsunami's eyes were instantly alright with fear, understanding what was about to happen.

     "Don't you---!" Her hiss was cut off and Hurricane tapped Wildfire on the shoulder.

     "Eep!" She yelped, jerking just the slightest, but it was enough to cause Firestorm to fall over on his right shoulder. As he caught himself, Lightning's fur spiked out in alert and Blizzard jolted backward, Wildfire's tail yanking out of her jaws and Tsunami fell on top of Hurricane. 

     The she-cat broke free of the bush and raced out. Hurricane finally forced her legs to move, lifting her weight and Tsunami up and twisting around. Her legs ached from sitting, they still lingered with weakness, but she managed to burst her head out. Lightning rolled out from under the bush and Blizzard crawled out from the back. Firestorm was the last to leave and the orange tabby shook his head, looking for Wildfire. The frightened she-cat ran into Dandelion, who recoiled with the impact.

     "Get over here, Wildfire!" Lightning hissed, flicking his tail to his left. Wildfire shook her head, still trying to recover from her crash. Hurricane watched as Dandelion leaned down and gave her a swift brush with her tail along her head. The golden she-cat smiled in thanks and then bounded over to her brother. He immediately stood in front of her, glaring at the hunter.

     "Hello, Hurricane," Dandelion meowed, dipping her head, her eyes trailed to the rest of the group. "Are these your new friends?"

     When Dandelion didn't get a response, her head went back towards the Fallen Tree. "You still intrigued by that?" She sounded amused. "My daughter still fas---"

     "Hi, Mother," Hurricane said, finally acknowledging her presence. "I'm curious," she mumbled, stepping on the trail. She was about Dandelion's size now, maybe a few inches shorter, but she wasn't as small as before. "Know that tree?"

     "Hurricane...?" Lightning said cautiously. He acted as if Dandelion was hiding a whole group of cats behind her. 

     Dandelion swept her gaze across the Storm Siblings. "Is this---"

     "No!" Both Hurricane and Lightning spat, their fur spiking out angrily. Wildfire was confused while Tsunami snickered.

     "Well..." Blizzard looked at Firestorm. "Maybe, I could see it," she pointed out.

     "Maybe? Do they see each other as brother and sister?" Firestorm questioned, a hint of amusement flashing through his eyes.

     "Who knows?"

     "No," Lightning declared.

     "Huh?" Wildfire questioned.

     "What's the story behind it?" Hurricane asked, advancing. "You should know, after all." She let her tail unroll and point to each of the Storm Siblings. "Your mother was the one who escaped."

     They remained silent. Firestorm looked back and forth between Dandelion and Hurricane, almost as if he was trying to pick out differences between them. Blizzard looked mildly puzzled and Lightning shrugged. Tsunami kept her gaze on the Fallen Tree, her lips moving and Wildfire was full of excitement.  

     Dandelion raised her eyebrow at her daughter. "What's with the new attitude?" she demanded.

     "I'm just asking, not being pushy," Hurricane claimed. "But we haven't seen each other in so long. Maybe I've changed."

     Then the silver Storm Sibling spoke up. "She's from that...?" Blizzard repeated, still doubtful of her voice.

     "Does the name Magnolia strike any kind of bells?" Dandelion asked. Hurricane stopped as an image of Cinder flashed through her mind. Her mother continued. "She's probably still alive. Why are you so interested in this story?"

     "Cinder!" Wildfire blurred out. "The cat! Her name was Magnolia! She brought Cinder to us!"

     "Yes, Magnolia was a very sympathetic cat. One that even forgave me for killing Otter and blinding Falcon," Dandelion replied and glanced at Hurricane. "I just hoped that I could've repaid for my sins by raising you guys."

     "How are... Lark and Cherry?" She asked shakily as if just mentioning their names would make her break. Tsunami and Wildfire scoffed and turned their backs, going to Lightning for support. 

     "They're doing just fine," she purred. "I'm sure one of them would be very happy to see you again while the other one would cry and break down one spot." Hurricane let out a sigh of relief, knowing her sisters were happy and safe.

     "What is with this tree? You should know the story," Firestorm growled, keeping his voice calm."I know that---"

     "Hush," Blizzard said, nudging her brother. "Let her speak. Or I'll kill her."

     "No!" Hurricane hissed, whirling around to face the silver she-cat. "Don't kill her...!"

     "The story behind this tree?" Dandelion frowned. "Magnolia lived in the Tribe of Shining Suns. She was happy but couldn't stay. Otter had a disability problem; a lame leg like Snow." Hurricane thought of the runt, who now trained alongside the rest of her new friends. At least she wasn't dead and slaughtered, as she would've if she stayed behind.

     "My mother couldn't see him getting killed and decided to run. The Alpha at the time wanted her dead for that. A patrol was sent and a battle happened at the tree. I was told that the Fallen Tree had nothing to do with her escape. The tree might've fallen after Magnolia escaped, but it never fell on us. Apparently, I was kidnapped and raised in the Tribe of Shining Suns." Dandelion eyed the Storm Siblings. "Happy?"

     "Wait, Magnolia is alive?" Lightning repeated for clarification. 

     "I would think so, but then again, maybe not. I know that Leopard should be alive," she answered.

     "We'll find her!" Wildfire declared. "Maybe she knows what happened to Cinder!"

     "Don't you already know that she died by ice?" Lightning muttered, slapping Wildfire with his tail.

     "You never know!"

     "I'm pretty sure she died by ice," Firestorm commented, "but finding Magnolia serves no purpose to us, why should we?"

     "Cinder," Wildfire repeated.

     "She's my kin," Hurricane replied firmly.

     "So we're going on a family reunion for Hurricane," Tsunami growled. "Why do we have to go too?"

     "Because she's part of our family now," Blizzard answered respectfully and Hurricane noticed Dandelion look at the silver she-cat with keen interest. "Besides, maybe there is something we'll learn if we go."

     "Am I the only one who is thinking reasonably?" Lightning said, pinning his ears to his head and narrowing his pale eyes. "We don't know where to even start looking!"

     "Up by the Training Den, I know that is where Otter and Falcon kept trying to get me there," Dandelion pointed out, helping them. 

     "Would Father let us?" Wildfire whimpered. "We're in the middle of Claw Season, letting us leave for how long?"

     "Only about a day, it's not even sunhigh, Wildfire, we should be safe," Blizzard reassured.

     "Will you kill Father if he yells at us?"

     "We'll see," Blizzard said with a soft chuckle, making Wildfire smile. Hurricane dipped her head and looked toward the mountain where the Training Den rested. She let out a sigh and the little Wildfire came up to the she-cat.

     "I know we can find her, we just gotta go now!" Wildfire's eyes shined brightly.

     "Yes," Hurricane purred, licking her head and embraced her mother before she departed with the rest of the Imperfects. "Let's go there."