Mistake. Mistake. Mistake.

The words were screeches of an unhappy chorus and no matter how much he plugged his ears, Arrow couldn't let them die. The wounds across his cheek continued to sting as Spring dressed the injuries with patches of herbs, the sound of her worried skittering being the harmony to the dreadful song. She was clumsy, unable to keep herself calm as she trembled like a sprout in the winds as she searched for the right herbs.

He bit his tongue to keep himself calm as she applied some kind of herb to his side, the stinging momentarily paralyzing him. It dwindled away little by little and soon, he was able to move his back legs without flinching. Arrow watched her as she handled herself with herbs, figuring watching her was the only option of company.

Flashes of Eagle's disapproving look came back along with the slashes and attacks he got from the mistake of leaving Serval for help and when he finally got a small group of cats together, Hurricane had fled back into Imperfect territory, his sister's scent following the hidden path. An outstretched paw and the blood flying out of his cheek raining on the ground, the realization coming to him after scorns. Arrow flattened his ears and let out a soft growl, pelt growing hot when he had to bow down and beg for forgiveness in front of the entire tribe.

"Hey," Spring called, stopping in front of him. "I'm really surprised Eagle let you stay in this tribe, you know. Not very many cats really stay in this tribe after a slip-up."

"I already know that," he hissed, trying to block away memories of chasing his own sister out while a crowd of angry cats chased Hurricane's striped tail. "It's disgusting that I have to stay here instead of trying to find Serval."

"But we already know where she is," Spring mentioned sadly. "She's in Imperfect territory. Eagle said there's no way she can be welcomed back..." Arrow stayed silent, wishing he stayed behind or did something to convince the hunter to stay in her nest. The healer twitched her whiskers and looked outside just as Eagle's furious shout rang overhead.

"Then that's her own fault for losing when she told me that she could handle it." Arrow unleashed his claws and dug them into the moss. "I guess she wasn't perfect after all."

"And you aren't?" Spring countered, seeming to be unaware of what she said. He shot her a look and she straightened up, eyes widening. She raised a paw as if she was going to cover her mouth but then she firmly placed it back on the ground, green eyes flashing. "Yeah... I said that out loud. I regret none of it."

"I could say the same thing to you, know you," Arrow spat, fur bristling as he pushed himself into a position to speak to the cream healer. "The top warrior after that battle ended. You were promoted to that position and could've easily become a beta. So why did you suddenly change positions to a healer?"

"The sun was getting too hot," she replied, flicking her ear as she tore a leaf to shreds. "If I got any closer, I'd burn."

It's hard to believe someone as young as her was already in that kind of spotlight. Even though she left four moons after Maple, she shouldn't have climbed her way up so high so quickly. Arrow scoffed and shook his head.

"How could you burn?" Arrow questioned, sighing. "Unless you found something worth more than it below."

"I didn't," she answered and went back to sorting herbs. "I didn't find anything better than the sun on the ground. That's where the Imperfects are, aren't they?" She said with a smug look, lashing her tail like an angry snake. "But I did learn that my fragile body couldn't stand."

"Spare me the history," he growled. "Can I at least walk around camp or do I seriously have to stay in this den for five days? I'm going to go crazy if I stay here any longer."

"How do you think I feel? I took a huge risk asking to be demoted to the lowest healer," Spring added, sweeping her paw across a pile of dried up herbs. "You're not the first cat who's asked me why I let myself fall to such a low position. The sun's great and all, but what if you can't withstand it? I've seen some things on land that I could never see in the sky."

Arrow snorted. "Name something that's better than perfection."

"Hating the Tribe of Shining Suns, obviously!" Spring noted like it was nothing.

The words came as a blow to him, knocking him off his paws. He sputtered and glared at her. "You? I didn't say name something ironic."

"Obviously, we can't become an Imperfect. The only thing we're really allowed to do is live by the rules imposed on us," Spring mentioned. "I never knew what an Imperfect was until I took my test. I saw a spotted time on the left side and we just kinda looked at each other. We didn't say anything, but I just felt something and that little seed grew into hate."

"And why are you telling me this? I hardly know you."

"You wanted some kind of entertainment." Spring twirled her tail in the air and began to clean herself, smoothing out the ruffles in her clean pelt. "The best I could do was that."

"But I actually have things to do than tell a life's story," fired Arrow. "My family isn't dead like yours - so don't even start talking about them and how tragic it was for you to lose them."

Spring stopped in her tracks and spun around, her emerald eyes enraged as her jaws twisted in a menacing snarl. Then his mind flashed back to the moments when the she-cat had fought, jumping off the back of cats to land critical blows, and then she let herself fall into a fantasy of mint. Arrow didn't back down as the cream she-cat flattened her ears, cursing his name.

I only have an older brother and sister, a mother, father, and one younger sister named Cardinal, he repeated, hoping that would settle the rage in him. Hurricane and Serval mean nothing to me.

Then the healer's shoulders rolled back and she let out a long sigh. Opening her hazy eyes, she revealed, "I think my family is more alive than yours."

Before he could fire an insult at her, Dandelion came into the den, causing the healer to switch personalities in a blink of an eye, a bright smile splitting her face. Energy surging forth in her cream paws, the she-cat bounced out of the way and landed perfectly in her nest, legs supporting her as she landed backward. Her tail swept behind her to hide the rest of the herbs out of his mother's view - not that she cared.

Dandelion nodded her head to Spring. "Thank you for putting up with him. You don't mind if I stay here and chat with him for a bit, do you?"

"Nope! Not at all!" Spring chirped like a happy little bird. She turned her head away from Dandelion and locked her lethal gaze on Arrow, making him freeze as she mouthed, "Tell anyone what I said about this tribe and you're dead."

"For being a warrior, I think she's fairly nice," Dandelion interrupted, unaware of the silent conversation. "Listen up, do you want to find a way out of this or not?"

"What?" Arrow said, returning his gaze to his mother just as Spring turned her back to them, focusing a little too much on the herbs in front of her. He shook her off like a fly and nodded, answering the question.

"There's recently been a conversation going around the tribe, reaching everyone's ears except for Eagle. I think you'll like it," Dandelion commented. Softer, she stated, "We're planning a rebellion to throw Eagle out of the position and appoint someone we find worthy of being the newest Alpha. Obviously, you can't compete in this since you've only stayed with a spy job, but Blaze can." Arrow glanced in Spring's direction, trying to figure out if she was listening.

He shook his head, refocusing. "You're suggesting I help Blaze so he can become the Alpha?" he answered, linking onto the idea. "How long is this going to take?"

"Nobody has an exact answer to that," his mother answered. "But it's not going to happen for a couple of moons."

His heart dropped to his stomach as the world under his paws twisted. "Oh no... oh no no no no," he sputtered, knowing what was coming. Dandelion smirked and brushed her tail across the wound on his cheek. Arrow didn't recoil in disgust as usual and only sat trembling, mind racing with possible solutions.

Stars above I thought I could avoid it, he growled. There's nobody in this tribe that I even remotely like. Even if I like this tribe... I'm not doing that revolting thing, he thought, grumbling. Seeing Maple in a broken and depressed state already took its toll on him and Blaze's mask continued to slip, knowing that the two brothers couldn't run anymore.

Serval's possible escape was the only thing that saved her in the end, somehow. He didn't exactly approve of her ways of evading the inevitable, even though he knew that the short-tempered hunter would've gladly birthed kits than sink low to an Imperfect. Arrow curled his tail around his paws, hoping that Dandelion wouldn't say anything about it.

There was a small chance that he could talk to Eagle about some kind of exchange, such as the one Serval had - had she not been defeated and taken hostage. If he could find something in exchange for time, then maybe the sky wouldn't be so dark. Arrow thumped his tail on his nest and groaned, keeping his head low.

"What's your choice now?" Dandelion prompted. "You've made one mistake and you're still here, so that's a miracle from the Tribe of Endless Stars. But now you have to find a she-cat yourself."

Spring's ear froze and instantly barged out of the den, giving Arrow some kind of satisfaction that the healer wouldn't step up.

Dandelion watched after the she-cat's trail and shrugged, dipping her head to her son. He looked up at her, waiting for her next lecture. Instead, the golden she-cat walked away and left him alone in the healer's den, as it was obvious Spring wasn't coming back anytime soon. Arrow didn't get up and protest, knowing that yowling after his mother would only make other cats think of him as some kind of kit. When he was sure she was out of ear-range, he yowled into his paws.

Why is Eagle so bent on having more kits? You can't just force a newborn kit to learn all of these skills perfectly. What's he so worried about, anyway? The Imperfects are no threat, so what's he running from? Arrow thought, sides heaving as his injuries came rushing back to him, stinging.

I'm not going to get with any she-cats in this tribe. I'll have to find some kind of excuse, but our mission still hasn't been completed and we didn't get anywhere with it. But I could go on leave for a few days, claiming that Serval escaped. Arrow smiled, shifting into a resting position. She's long gone, but nobody has to know that. If I could use her as an excuse to look for Magnolia and Leopard, that'd give me a few extra days.

Then he remembered the look on Serval's face when they woke up that day, the determination flaring through them like fire, refusing to accept defeat. Despite his best arguments on staying in his nest and waiting for a better day, he was dragged along with her adventures. Only to run into Hurricane and the other Imperfects - especially one that seemed to mimic and see through his every move. He'd just ran off for assistance when he should've stayed to avoid her capture.

And he split the bond between the two siblings with his own paws.

Arrow swallowed the lump in his throat and settled down, closing his eyes to dream of a perfect tribe. One where he stood in the distance as Imperfects fell down like flies, watching with a gleeful look in his amber eyes as their miserable spirits sunk to the ground with wretched and horrified screams. The thought of seeing them like that seemed better than the reality, knowing that there'd be one familiar pelt he'd watch burn.

"I'm going to be perfect and nobody can stop me," he promised through clenched teeth. "If I can be perfect, then I know that the sun will be brighter."