"I'm starting to think the only way to make us all live in peace is to eliminate both tribes," Hurricane said as she walked down the path. "Serval and I prove that nobody from the tribe is willing to listen to us and patience doesn't seem to be a common trait amongst the Imperfects."

Lightning snorted and swept his tail across the path, sending a shower of dust forward. Hurricane held her breath as she passed through the brown cloud and coughed as she exited. The tom said nothing, continuing forward, and she narrowed her eyes, waiting a few moments. After he was a few feet away, she bunched her muscles together and lunged, paws reaching for him.

But he sensed her and quickly side-stepped away, leaving her with an open space. Hurricane hit the ground and her back legs came up, another jump following her previous one. That one he didn't see and she hit him, sending them both to the ground as she pinned him down, green eyes flashing triumphantly.

"I still remember my training, don't forget that," she teased, getting off.

Lightning scrambled up and cuffed her in the ear, making her whirl around but he jumped away, preparing himself. "And I'm still an Imperfect. I'll try until I succeed, even through failure." Then his gaze hardened and he looked at the Training Den and just by his facial expression, Hurricane could tell he was concocting a plan.

A part of her knew what it was and her heart shattered at the mere thought of sneaking into the Training Den and abducting the kits inside.

There has to be some way. Teaching our cats tactics and battle moves from the tribe isn't going to help in the long run, kidnapping kits will only cause the fire to spread faster, and sitting back and waiting for either tribe to attack could result in failure. Hurricane bit her tongue and glanced at the mountaintop, questioning what was going on in that nightmare.

Her partner let out a hiss, telling her that he was thinking something and whatever the plan was had ended in defeat. She didn't do anything to comfort or support him, trying to think on her own without running to him for everything.

Eagle's the new Alpha, but revenge has never been a thing for the tribe. They're not going to attack the Tribe of Roaming Spirits unless they were to provoke them. There's no way, so the best guess is they're trying to isolate themselves and build up their tribe again. Hurricane slipped away from Lightning and crossed into the right side of the territory, knowing she was walking under a spotlight.

She examined the territory, taking in the scents and markings on trees. Their patrols were still consistent, making sneaking around a hard task. But she pushed forward, making her way back to the spot where she ran into Arrow and Serval, jumping over bushes and stumps that blocked her way. Her claws scraped the rocks as she bounded forward, leaving traces for any cat to come up and follow.

If she ran into a patrol, perhaps she could try to reason with him - but that was simply shoving a full-grown rabbit down a kit's throat. Hurricane didn't worry about it and burst into the open clearing, scents of her siblings still lingering in the air like a cloud.

Think for a moment before jumping in, she told herself. We weren't exactly trying to find any of my siblings that day but ran into two of them. We really just wanted to find any stray cats and hopefully lead them to safety away from both tribes. Hurricane stepped closer to the tree Arrow had bashed Wildfire's head against and pressed a paw against the surface, grimacing as the image of the golden she-cat's head hitting the tree appeared in her head.

Near the bush was where Hurricane had pinned Serval down as she put up a fight, a time when she had forced any emotions or regrets behind weak doors that threatened to break out. When she finally knocked the she-cat out, the monster opened its jaws and swallowed her, shouting and singing about the actions she did against her own kin.

Hurricane snarled a little too loudly and startled a bird from its resting spot up in a tree. It took to the air and flapped away frantically and she watched as its silhouette melted into the sky. She growled and sat down, curling herself in a tiny ball, trying to pick out her sibling's intentions for traveling this far into their territory.

Serval mentioned looking for something but never bothered telling me. Arrow ran before I could ask, but there is one cat I could ask. Hurricane opened her eyes and swallowed, ear flicking as the sounds of an incoming cat approached her. Not wasting time, she sprung to her paws and leapt, keeping herself silent as she slithered through the forest, keeping an eye on her surroundings.

I'm going to have to sneak into the camp, aren't I? Or I could stand on the edge of Imperfect territory like Wasp did when I talked to him, she considered grimly. They won't cross into that territory, so that makes me safe. Hurricane looked behind her once, relieved that whoever was following her had left.

Odd enough, she didn't recognize the scent.

She shrugged it off, determining that if it were a cat from the Tribe of Shining Suns, they'd still be hunting her down. Hurricane snickered to herself and wove through the forest, memories swarming back with each step.

Times when she had joked around with Arrow before that embarrassed warmth in his eyes morphed into pure rage and hatred popped into her head, wishing nothing but her death for turning into the one thing he hated most of all. When Maple's mask crumbled around her and the two sisters ran into each other followed after, the idea of the orange she-cat being the oldest and mature fading away as they laughed and joked. Blaze coming to her and instructed her when she finally caught a mouse or mastered a skill joined the other memories, constantly keeping an eye on her even when she fell or had to hide behind him when the guardians scolded her.

While faint memories of Serval and Cardinal existed in her mind, she couldn't find any pleasant ones that didn't lead into the events of the past where a set of blank amber eyes stared into the sky or where a muddy she-cat with the strength of a lion at her side came down and shredded the fragments away with a single slice. In response, the scar over her right eye began to throb.

She pushed through and arrived at the base of the mountain and looked up, hoping to feel something else other than dread and fear pulse through her heart. The mountain sneered and grew larger, drowning her out as taunting words swirled around her like the wind, making her want to barf.

"Hear that song? It's the one melody you loved," her mind taunted, joining the wind's ridicule. "It's a shame you never want to hear it again."

Stop... I thought I told you to back off now, Hurricane pressed her ears flat against her skull, vainly attempting to block their voices.

"I'll always be with you to the end. Whatever side you take..."

Then can you pick a side? Either be nice or mean, she pleaded. And you tell me I'm useless as if I don't already know that.

"Useless has different meanings to you and I."

Explain your definition, smart one.

"I've already done so, so many times."

"Hurricane?" A new voice asked, scattering her thoughts away as they hissed, fleeing from the light. Hurricane turned around and forced the fear down her throat, smiling wide at the newcomer, as a set of worried, gray eyes planted on her.

"Y-yes?" she replied, attempting to make her voice come out steady. "What are you doing out here?"

"What are you doing out here?" countered the tom, eyeing the mountain. "You aren't considering going in there alone, right?"

"No way, that's asking for death," she promised. "I just needed some time alone and to breathe, that's all."

"You've been having those kinds of nights for a long time," muttered Wasp, trailing off. "It makes me think something's up - not that every cat knows you have absolutely no plan or idea how to set this idea in action."

"H-hey! If you're so smart, tell me what to do then!" Hurricane fired back, flicking her tail at the Tribe of Shining Suns. "That doesn't involve any tribe's death."

"I have no plan then," Wasp answered, bowing his head.

"The best thing I have that doesn't involve death to either tribe is somehow make Firestorm and Blaze the leaders of each tribe. Then, somehow gather them in one spot to make a truce," Hurricane explained.

"Okay, that solves the fighting," Wasp added, playing with a pebble he found between his paws. "But that doesn't solve the beliefs."

"Beliefs? As long as everyone gets along it should be fine," Hurricane sputtered, fur bristling.

"You said it yourself: nobody from the Tribe of Shining Suns is ever going to suddenly say, 'Hey, perfection sucks, you hear me?! Let's just abandon our stepping stone we've had since birth and leap head-first into the unknown! I get first dibs on dying!'" Wasp mocked, puffing his chest out a little too much to let the sun shower on his pelt through the leaves. Hurricane snorted and pushed him over but he caught himself, eyes gleaming.

So he can learn things, she thought with amusement. Hurricane let out an angered huff and glared at him.

"I'm not trying to make you mad or anything," Wasp said, this time more truthfully as he got into a sitting position. "Words and agreements aren't the same as actions and history."

"But at least there's a seed. The Tribe of Shining Suns won't accept anyone deemed Imperfect and the Imperfects aren't going to force themselves to be perfect just to be on equal footing - not like they're going to respect them for trying," Hurricane pushed, unleashing her claws as she dug them into the dirt beneath them.

The tom leaned over and watched as she made out a poor sketch of each side. Amused, he added his own drawing, creating a strange assortment of scribbles and odd clumps of dirt.

She didn't need to ask him what the poor self-portrait of himself was supposed to represent. Hurricane placed her paw on the drawing and locked eyes with him.

"Listen - if we could create our own system of beliefs, then that would solve it. I know Lightning was planning on the Training Den, taking down the younger kits since they're in harm's way, but the Tribe of Shining Suns knows the existence of the Tribe of Roaming Spirits and believe me when I say that they won't hesitate to cross into Imperfect territory if it means killing us.

"I don't want that to happen because Blizzard and Firestorm are still over there and I'd prefer them not to die. A full-out war isn't the answer to everything, as much as history wants to tell us." Hurricane whisked her tail toward the tribe. "But if I could talk to some cats that I know are willing to listen, then that could be a start."

"It almost sounds like you want the Tribe of Shining Suns to die but you also don't," Wasp pointed out, frowning. "Besides, who over there is willing to listen to you?"

"I can think of two: my mother and Maple," Hurricane answered. Then she blinked sadly and nodded to Wasp's comment. "But it's true that I really don't want to see the Tribe of Shining Suns fall. I'd love for it to stand and stand with the sun's warm rays, but..."

Hurricane looked up into the sunset sky as gray clouds floated across the orange dress, almost as if it was a large cat shifting sleeping positions. She let her eyes follow the light and soon, the blinding white light made her lower her head and look away, leaving splotches of green across her eyes. Blinking repeatedly, they finally dissolved and the gray cloud drifted across the sun, proving some kind of cover for her.

Wasp looked up as well and the two Imperfects stared at the dull sun, their attention directed on the impossible orb. She felt her heart elevate and twist as adrenaline surged to her in waves, watching as the tiny seed she planted and neglected for the longest time finally sprouted a black leaf. Hurricane finally let out a breath, the darkened path before her finally shedding some kind of light with the humorous tom beside her.

She hoped her little sister was watching her from somewhere in the clouds.

"There's always been a sun even if dark clouds surround it."