"What should we do? It's been three days! She hasn't woken up!" A muffled voice echoed out of Wildflower's ear. Slowly, her mind was jostled back into the right place. "I don't want to wait! She's---"

     "Cut it out. She'll be fine," another voice hissed. "She could be listening to us now."

     "Well, that's some impressive skills there," another cat pointed out.

     "She was one of them." A familiar voice stirred her mind. Still, even with Blizzard's voice lingering around her ears all the time didn't cause her to wake up, she was content in whatever she was sleeping on, even if it meant surrounded by Imperfects.

     "Then why was she in our territory?" Another voice asked.

     "Come on, wake up already!" The first hyper voice became clearer. The fog evaporated in an instant and Wildfire's voice rang in her ears loudly. "Please? Don't die!"

     "We shouldn't rush," Tsunami stated. "She might be dead."

     "And the moving chest doesn't give you any clues?" Lightning growled.

     "Well, I'm sorry I'm tired. It's not sunhigh yet. I need my sleep," Tsunami fired back.

     "I wonder if Father would like her," Wildfire said.

     Can I not escape these cats for once? Being knocked out for what, three days? It's not like--- Snow!

     Immediately, partway through Blizzard's speech, she shot up a little too fast. All five cats jumped back - some crashing on their hinds. Wildflower whirled her head around for the three-legged kit. Wildfire was the first to recover, eyes sparkling.

     "You're awake! That's amazing!" she exclaimed, jumping up and down happily. 

     The scouter inched back from the wild burst of energy she received. "Where's Snow?" She demanded, locking eyes with Firestorm. "If she's hurt I'll fight you now...!" 

     Firestorm didn't believe her and said, "The kit Wasp dragged back with you is with Macaw." He pointed his tail outside of the leafy den. His eyes gleamed with a challenge. "But I'd love to see you fight me in your condition."

     Wildflower relaxed and looked around the den curiously. It wasn't like the dens that she was used to; there were nests lined up against each other in order. In this den, it seemed like there were about five nests and around the nests were collections of berries and leaves, decorating the den. More sun was able to shine in through the roof than she thought at first, being a painful yet friendly reminder of the new day.

     "Where am I?" she asked, directing her question at the five.

     "You're in the Storm Siblings hut," Tsunami answered, stepping forward. Her blue eyes glared at her through her friendly mask. "We figured you'd probably want to be here since you seemed to have bonded with Wildfire so much."

     "That's a horrible lie," Lightning snarled, whacking her with his paw. "If you were going to lie correctly, might as well make it more believable! Listen to your older brother for once!"

     "Listen, she believed me perfectly fine! And now that you blurted out it was a lie, she knows it was a lie!" Tsunami fired back. Lightning flattened his ears in annoyance, turning his back to her while giving her glares from over his shoulder. The calico didn't budge and rolled her eyes at him, scowling.

     "So, then why I am here? If that was a lie?" Wildflower asked.

     "Biggest den," Tsunami replied abruptly.

     "Father's den is bigger," Lightning countered with a sly look.

     "Warmest place."

     "Father's den."

     "Safest."

     "Father's den."

     "Would you shut up?!" Tsunami whirled around, tackling Lightning. Wildflower jumped back as the two collided with each other, wrestling like little kits. Blizzard slipped in the conversation, carefully avoiding the two cats as they fought, going for the other's throat.

     "Wildfire would be complaining all the time. She wanted to have you here." Wildfire tried to stand on her toes, making herself bigger.

     "Yeah! Besides, I owe you my life!"

     "Uh..." All she could think of were the three toms cornering her back in the forest. Then she realized she never told Origanum about them, leaving her with a small sense of guilt. Wildflower tried to shove them away. "Yeah, no problem." She tried to look outside of the den but Firestorm blocked the entrance. "Can someone explain what happened?"

     While Tsunami and Lightning still rolled around the den hissing at each other, Blizzard spoke up. Wildflower caught sight of the two roll closer to Firestorm. To her surprise, the orange tom stepped aside as the two rolled by. The she-cat was on the top, but her brother fought against her, using her weight to flip them over.

     Strange... If any of us would do that, Blaze would snap at us to shape up, Wildflower thought, eyeing the two cats she thought were high and arrogant. The two hit the wall of the den, causing them to stop for a brief second, only to get picked up back seconds later.

     "Wasp came into camp dragging you by the pelt and told us to heal you. You didn't have much to heal but worried most of us was you didn't get up after you were healed. He went back and retrieved a bloody piece of prey," Blizzard commented, then she shook her head after seeing Wildflower's frightened look. "Well, I thought it looked like one, instead, it was a little kit missing a leg. How sad." 

     Wildflower felt her gut twist at Blizzard's description of Snow's condition. I'm sorry Snow. I didn't mean for you to get messed up as I ran.  Wildflower gritted her teeth together as Blizzard pressed on.

     "So, we had no idea what the name was, so we just dumped the kit with Macaw. Thankfully, she accepted 'Snow'. Wildfire begged Father to let you live and he then dumped your life in her paws. So, since she wanted to keep you alive and now we're here."

     "But what is this place? What did you call it?"

     "You're in the Storm Siblings' hut." Firestorm answered this time. "This is the top team that Father has. So, naturally, we got the longest time to build this den."

     "Longest time to build the den?" Wildflower questioned.

     "In our tribe, the Tribe of Roaming Spirits." Wildflower felt a stab of guilt at once teasing it. Now, it might be her only home now. The Tribe of Shining Suns was no longer her home. 

     She looked at shaking paws. I'm not even a scouter now.

     "Instead of having those ranks you have, we have teams. We can hunt, battle, patrol, and heal. We are divided up into the teams with a few other cats coming to help us. Usually, when we are sent out for missions, Father usually just says, 'Team Firestorm, hunt.'"

     "Why do you have to build your den? Don't you already have the dens needed?"

     "We do, but they need repair, and our Father, Python, only gives us a set time to build before he becomes impatient. He let us take longer because of our standing."

     Sounds harsh. In the Tribe of Shining Suns, they just have dens for certain ranks. Wildflower looked over at her leg, seeing that it was wrapped with cobwebs. "So does this mean I'm part of your new tribe?"

     "That's the question," Wildfire spoke up. "I want you to stay, but getting Father to do what I want is hard."

     "Shouldn't he at least listen to your requests?"

     "Oh, he does," Wildfire giggled. "But I never get what I want. Keeping you in our den is a miracle from the Tribe of Endless Stars."

     Tribe of Endless... Stars? Like us? Wildflower found it hard to find her breath, let alone talk. "You have the Tribe of Endless Stars as well?" The three cats looked confused at her question.

     "Why wouldn't we?" Wildfire asked. "We all go somewhere when we die and that place is our goal!"

     "They only accept perfect cats."

     Lightning snorted from underneath Tsunami. "You think they want the perfect cats? No, they'll accept anyone who has tried. It doesn't matter if you're perfect or not." His sister groaned and got off, allowing the tom to get up and brushing his pelt clean. 

     "Then do you believe in the Tribe of Never-Ending Shadows?" Wildflower asked.

     "Yeah, we go there if we are selfish or do really bad things," Tsunami said grimly. "Not all of us 'Imperfects' are going to go there. That's a promise."

     "And then you'll be disappointed to know you'll meet shadows," Wildflower sighed and Blizzard fought to keep her snarl inside her. The sound still sent shivers down the golden she-cats spine and she tried to look brave as she faced the Imperfect. 

     "I thought you'd be more grateful at us for saving your life and the kit's. Looks like I was wrong." She approached Wildflower, towering over her angrily. Her calm blue eyes now an actual blizzard. "You have two choices now. Either die here and now, but don't worry, we'll give you the choice on which one of us will kill you."

     I'd rather go with Wildfire, Wildflower answered in her head. 

     "Or you can join us."

     "What?" Wildflower asked, thinking of the other times Wildfire had begged and screamed at her to join the Imperfects.

     "Join the Tribe of Roaming Spirits," Wildfire urged again, locking eyes. "You need a home and we can provide it! You'll be safe. Trust me!"

     "I'm in Imperfect territory."

     "The sun may be your world, but there will always be shadows, and sometimes, you need to be alone," Tsunami explained, an unreadable look on her face. "Listen, she's giving you the chance to live. I'd take it."

     "I rarely know any cat here. Plus, I don't know about this tribe at all," Wildflower pointed out.

     "Well, we can always teach you." Wildfire said, rolling her head. "How do you think we learned? Out of thin air?" The golden she-cat giggled and trotted next to Firestorm's side, purring as he touched her forehead with his tail. 

     "Just say yes, I'm getting hungry now," Lightning groaned. "We may not be on good terms or anything, but don't be a jerk and die selfishly. Swallow your pride for once. And I'm opposed to letting someone like you who has cursed us join the Storm Siblings." His eyes sent daggers her way. He let out a huff. "But just know you and I aren't going to get along."

     "You can say that again," she mumbled and smirked at the dirty look she received. 

     "Insufferable," he snipped. 

     "Says the cat that wouldn't stop fighting last battle until Blizzard had to practically drag you back herself," Tsunami joked and Lightning sprang at her. The two siblings rolled around the den once again, scattering the decorations around aimlessly.

     "Well? Do you want it?" Firestorm asked. "I'm with Lightning on this, but I also know Wildfire gets really loud and won't stop until she gets what she wants..."

     "Then stop treating her like a spoiled kit," she commented bluntly, letting the angered looks of Blizzard, Lightning, Tsunami, and Firestorm bounce off her pelt.

     "Decide now," Blizzard demanded, the fur along her spine rising. Wildflower assumed her chances of victory were low against the powerful she-cat, but even if she managed to defeat her, there would be four other cats she'd have to fight. She gulped, wishing she could've stayed asleep.

     "You're standing in Imperfect territory! What are you doing!?!" Her mind hissed at her, waking up.

     "Get up and try again. You went through a year's worth of training, and you messed up, but you got up and tried again. So what makes this time different?"

     "I..." Wildflower let herself fall into her mind. Am I willing to start over? Choosing possible friends over blood family? And becoming an Imperfect, out of all things? A real one, that is. She looked at each of the Storm Siblings carefully. Firestorm, Blizzard, Lightning, Tsunami, and Wildfire...

     For some reason, she felt tears trying to spring from her eyes. Wildflower bit her tongue and forced the tears to retreat back. Still, the quivering feeling still lingered around her eyes. She took a deep breath, letting her mind switch frames, despite the two sides of her screaming and yowling as they withered in pain, the fire burning the views away with an agonizing pace. 

     Into a new world. A new life. A new adventure. Exploring the shadows without thinking about the cost of it. Becoming herself. Endless Stars, evening playfully jumping on one of them and not get scolded at. The thought sacred and thrilled her at the same time, the sun and moon fighting inside her. Wildflower gulped, her paws starting to tingle, almost as if they wanted to get up and fall back down. 

     "Wildflower?" Wildfire asked, softly, staying by Firestorm's side. "So? Will you join us?"

     Wildflower swallowed the lump in her throat and looked up at them, and when she looked up at the Imperfect, the shadow over her ears lightened just the slightest. She hesitated, staring at Wildfire, words unable to form correctly. Then her face softened and with a weak grin, she spoke.

     "Yes." 

     Wildfire's eyes lit up happily. "Yes!" She threw herself into the nest and nearly caused her to fall over. Wildflower's back legs shot out instinctively, but in a short time, she relaxed. She forced her back legs to lower and fell on her back, the tiny bundle of energy coming down on her like a boulder.

     Falling on rock bottom had never felt so good and so exposing at the same time. Wildflower gritted her teeth and froze with her back pressed against the ground with a purring Wildfire over her. Every hair on her pelt tingled and quivered as her heart tightened again, paws slowly making their way around to lift herself back up unexpectantly. She stopped and stared at her paws, body trembling and the Imperfect giggled.

     "You're so tight and scared, it's kinda funny," joked Wildfire, looking at one paw. She frowned and set both of her front paws on it, holding it down so it couldn't move. Wildflower raised an eye at her and the Imperfect shook her head. "No way! Just relax!"

     Her muscles refused to relax when she had put herself in a vulnerable position. With enough strength and will-power, she managed to sink a little bit further, noticing that she was using more energy to try to relax rather than hold Wildfire up. She stared at the rest of the Storm Siblings and they looked away, trying to look uninterested. Stuck with their littlest sister, Wildflower gulped, the shaking still lingering in her nerves. 

     "You can't even relax, can you?" whispered the softer part of her mind. "Look... you can now trip over your paws, fail to catch a piece of prey, don't have to march in sync, and even more. What are you so afraid of?"

     Everything but... Wildflower swallowed a purr down her throat and gently pushed Wildfire off, still stiff and tense as she rose. "I don't know---"

     "There's one last thing..." Wildfire said shyly, talking over her. "I want you to join us, the Storm Siblings. You can have another team, but I want you on our team. Do you remember me asking you all the time now?" she laughed.

     The Storm Siblings... It has a nice ring to it. She looked at Firestorm for an answer and the tom pointed to Blizzard, who barred her teeth at him before tossing the choice on Lightning and the tom shoved Tsunami forward and the she-cat snatched Wildfire, pushing her before Wildflower's paws. Her amber eyes shined brightly, waiting for the answer. 

     "Come on, do it!" Wildfire urged. "All I want to do is to get to know you because you seem like a really cool cat, even when we fought each other all those moons ago!" Wildflower stopped short, eyes widening at the tiny she-cat. "But I promise to always try my best! I can do this!"

     "Come on, please help!" begged Cherry. "All I want to do is have you at my side because you're my b-big sister... even if we get into a disagreement, I don't ever want to lose you!" Then the cream she-cat smiled sweetly, afraid. "B-but I promise to help out in any way I can! Wait for me!"

     Wildflower tried to keep the faint silhouette of Cherry out of the picture, trying to only see the rambunctious and joyful Wildfire and not her sweet sister. Then she lifted her head and swept her gaze across the Storm Siblings, images of her siblings bleeding over them. She blinked and they were back to normal, thankfully. 

     Firestorm stepped in. "You need a new name. It was a little vow all of us promised when we first made the Storm Siblings."

     Wildflower's mind raced through memory lane, the faces of her family becoming distant figures, no matter how hard she wanted to remember them and push them away. When she first joined the Tribe of Shining Suns, becoming Wildflower from Citrus, starting anew. Now, standing in front of the rest of the Storm Siblings, her heart fluttered like a butterfly, fighting the strong winds that whipped past with little strength, staying above the ground despite the chances.

     I guess I could get rid of Wildflower... I did change my name when I entered a new life... Maybe it'd be better if I did that, she thought with a soft grunt. 

     "Ooh! I wanna choose it! Please, Wildflower?! Please?" Wildfire begged.

     "Thank you, but I think I have one," Wildflower commented. "My name is Hurricane, a new member to the Tribe of Roaming Spirits and Storm Sibling."