Blaze stepped in the sisterly conversation. They broke apart, each looking at the older tom with a straight face.

     "Sorry to intrude, but Maple is done hiding now, you may go look for her." Blaze stepped aside for all of them to pass by.

     "Blaze, we have to fi---"

     "Cherry, I know your tricks - unlike Maple. Go and find her." Blaze warmly smiled at his sisters' attempt. Cherry shyly smiled and hurried after a laughing Lark and Citrus.

     "We should all split up," Lark suggested.

     "Umm, I don't think that's a good idea," mumbled Cherry.

     "Maple will say this was supposed to be a team effort since the tribe deals with teamwork a lot," Citrus argued.

     Lark flattened her ears. "You guys are no fun what-so-ever. We'll do what we always do; go our own ways and then meet up with each other. Simple." Without another word, the brown she-cat darted from Cherry or Citrus' protests. The two sisters left alone to their own silence, stared at each other for suggestions.

     "I guess we'll go together?" Citrus suggested quietly, hiding the slight anger that Lark had dashed off, but at least they could follow her scent trail. Cherry's eyes flashed, her amber eyes watching a patch of rustling grass with keen interest. The patch of grass shuffled and Maple stepped out, shaking away leaves and blades that clung to her pelt. 

     It looks like Cherry's trap was enough to get Maple thinking, and Lark, out of all cats... Maple already expected them to know what she was going to say. Find Lark. Before another guardian finds her.

     "New test, find---"

     Citrus bounded off before hearing the rest of the words. She guessed that Cherry would attach herself to Maple like she was a tick since her other sibling left. She sniffed the air, welcoming everything she could, and searching for a particular mountain scent in the midst of the field. Breathing in the fresh scent of the territory always made her feel better and more relaxed, and she felt like if she could grow roots here, that would be enough. Rooted in this place, one in the sun surrounded by her home, that would be perfect. 

     The entire territory smelled like the tribe. The weak areas, like the tree bases and some rocks that lazily slumped in their spots, had to be checked soon. She didn't want to see any intruders creep up and enter their territory. Citrus knew there was a way for a scent to be marked perfectly, which did make her growl that she couldn't do it while looking for her sister. When the time came when she did learn everything, then she'd be able to juggle two tasks at once flawlessly.

     Lark's cavern scent was strong on her right. Citrus followed the path and kept her eyes wide open for any threats like foxes. Then the scent split in two directions, somehow. Puzzled, she looked both left and right, determining which path had the strongest scent. Both scents were just as strong, making it harder to decipher which one to take. 

     Which scent is fresh? Citrus took a step forward and touched her nose to the soil, breathing in the grass and dirt mixed with Lark's distinct scent. A tail touched her shoulder. She jumped up, hissing and unleashing her claws, ready to fight. 

     Maple didn't flinch. Only Cherry.

     Her fur evened out on her spine. "Sorry about the attack." She dipped her head as an apology. "Her scent seems to split off, and I was wondering---"

     "You know we were supposed to find Lark, not lose you," Maple said, "if we lost both Lark and you, who knows what Mother might do, or what Apple, Blaze, Cherry, or I would've done."

     "Yes, I understand, I'm sorry for my troubles," she apologized. Maple gave her a short nod. Citrus tried to let her shame wash down and into the roots under the dirt. That's what she imagined where mistakes went. All buried far below the surface and out of sight. 

     "Now, we'll all go the same way, since we don't want to lose any more siblings for stupid reasons," Maple said. "And we'll go right."

     "Why right?" Citrus questioned. "Why not left? Since Lark is searching for you, she'd think that you'd hid somewhere left, just to be a rule-breaker." Maple scowled at her. Cherry stopped dead, nearly bumping into her sister's back. Their older sister marched forward and after a few minutes of searching, Lark's scent was getting fainter and fainter. 

     Cherry was the first to squeak, noticing the mistake the quickest. Citrus and her shared a fearful look, and Maple's fur began to rise with annoyance. She knew perfectly well about her mistake but didn't admit to it. Silence hung over the three for the longest time, none of them saying a word. 

     "We aren't going to say anything about that, which was just a demonstration of what not to do." Maple lashed her tail. "Got it?" 

     "Yes, Maple," Cherry said quietly.

     "The right way is to perfection and the left, to failure."

     Failure. Failure - the strongest word she ever knew and haunted her nightmares with a slow pace and icy glower from its soulless. Making mistakes over little things such as tripping and improper battle moves. 

     Being perfect was the goal, if you weren't perfect, then, what were you? If you made a mistake, why bother to try it once again? You'll fail, embarrass yourself once again and cats will remember that forever. It's the opposite of being perfect. Citrus restated the words in her head proudly, knowing that she was on the right side. The left side was something she never wanted to set paw in. 

     It was imperfect, after all.

     "So? Do you want to check the left way now?"

     "No," Cherry and Citrus answered in sync, something the tribe wanted when the answer was unanimous.

     Maple nodded, and in a line, making sure the cat in front of them covered them, trotted forward. Copying the pace wasn't hard, but when her sister's patience and worry grew, that was when it became a struggle. She cast several looks to the ground, making sure her steps were even with her sisters. She tried her best to hide the fact she was ignoring Cherry's uneven steps, as she skipped a few beats. 

     Maple didn't look around to see if they kept up. Citrus was glad she wasn't like Hawk. Just like his name, he caught everything with his sharp eyesight. All of them, Citrus, Apple, Lark, and Cherry had all been punished for mistakes like that. If they protested, that resulted in another punishment to drill the idea in their head, erasing that little mistake. 

     Time had come and gone, and Citrus found herself getting better at her lessons. Tasks that seemed impossible became possible and long training days she dreaded became shorter and more enjoyable. Apple and Lark were tied, still a little behind her progress, but they stayed ahead of the game, proving their worth to their guardians. Cherry was the only one that fell behind. 

     "M-Maple?" Cherry called, too scared to say it loudly. Maple's ear flicked, signaling for her to talk. "I... uh, I think Lark went the other way..."

     Maple whirled around, shoulders sagging in defeat. Citrus stopped herself successfully and stepped aside, keeping her gaze on the ground. Cherry flinched at her sister's harsh gaze but stood her ground, even if she was trembling in her fur. 

     Anytime a patrol like this, the leader would flick his or her ear to signal permission to speak. The rest of the patrol had to step aside while the two cats conversed. All she had to do was pretend she wasn't here. Citrus found it awkward when her entire body was in the middle of the two, even if she was to the side. 

     "Umm, Lark's scent... it doesn't seem to be here," Cherry started out. "And if a scent is getting weaker, it means it hasn't been checked, or that the cat wasn't here, and this scent is just a dead-end..." Maple knew that Cherry was right, no matter how many counter statements she threw. 

     Two mistakes today. How much would that cost? If someone like Maple messes up like this, how is she even still there? Citrus wanted to lift her head to see Maple's face. However, she didn't need to look. All she had to do was listen, and by the silence filling the air, she could paint her older sister's face in her head.

     Embarrassment. Mistakes. Beaten by her youngest sibling. Oh, what would the tribe so if any cat found out? Maple and Cherry began to converse and their words faded out of her mind, becoming nothing more than jumbled sounds. Citrus narrowed her eyes, picking up a different scent far off. At first, she assumed it was some kind of prey that had rotten, but then multiple scents flooded in. Neither of her siblings noticed and continued their argument. 

     So what am I picking up? Citrus tilted her head, looking to the left; the road to failure. Scents that she never knew existed filled her nose. She could only smell those putrid scents, Maple and Cherry's scent vanishing after she found the other scents. A few seconds later, that's all she could smell and she wanted to lean over her shoulder and gag. 

     What came as a slash to the face was they were distinctly different. At least all of the kits' scents were cavern-like. This scent wasn't anything she had tasted before. Citrus couldn't help herself anymore and put her spy skills to a test. She inched away slowly, keeping her gaze down as Cherry continued to talk to Maple.

     Now hidden in the tall grass, she backed away, keeping herself level with the ground and her paws light. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Citrus turned and ran toward the scents with one last look at her sisters. Past the trail. Citrus could smell that their scents were getting closer. 

     Lark's scent appeared again, still faint and distant, but stronger than where she left Maple and Cherry. If I had to guess. Citrus narrowed her eyes at some taller grass near Blaze and Apple. Lark is with them, supposedly looking, but she probably wanted to train more.

     Citrus set one paw on the soft dirt, heart fluttering. The thought that cats like her walk this path every day made her heart elevate and her paws soar. Cats that are heroes walked this path, her ancestors walked this path, her family. She found it silly that a dirt path as messy as this one had grand cats treading on it every second. 

     Citrus, too caught up in her awe, hardly realized that she was on the other side already until her paws touched the soft grass blades. "That was... quick," she muttered, looking at the forest stretched before her eyes. The forest of imperfects. She gulped, making sure nobody was following her. Lark's scent caught her attention again and she held her breath as she entered the thicket, eyeing each left and pebble suspiciously. 

     She rolled in the grass, hoping to collect anything to hide her real scent, even if it was a disgusting scent of imperfection. The closer she got, the easier the scents were able to identify. These cats weren't very smart. Citrus frowned, wanting to see how blind these cats were. 

     She stopped and peeked out from the grass. Three cats, each a different color pelt were sitting in the opening, each scent completely different than the other. Citrus thought she'd never see cats like this before, lazying around without a clue that a cat could easily come up and attack them. The cats laughed and one of them jumped around like his fur was on fire, to which edged the other two to snicker. She could barely tell if they were waiting for another cat to show up or just playing. 

     How is this possible? Citrus wondered. She had heard stories of patrols taking a short break to goof off, but it never lasted more than five minutes. Perhaps they were just waiting for a cat to show up and were thinking of ways to pass time. If the Tribe of Shining Suns suddenly decided to take over Imperfect territory, then that was even better. 

     "Some cat's here," the tan-colored tom noted, causing the others around him to tense up. The tom looked covered in a coat of dust, a tactic Citrus found interesting for hunting or spying, if she ever found the patience. "By the bushes, tall grass." His tail flicked towards her.

     Citrus' heart stopped as the other two cats turned to face her but instead of running like a coward, she gambled and decided to take the time to study them carefully. Then she would run away before they could catch her.

     One of the she-cats reminded her of snow with her bright, silver coating. Her blue eyes sent chills down her spine. The remaining tom's blazing coat reminded her of the shining sun, firey and bright. The third cat stepped closer and looked in the same direction, and eventually, he was the first to spot her bright, yellow pelt in the sea of green. 

     They've spotted me. I've got the information I need, time to go. Citrus started making plans in her head for the worst case. The tan-colored tom was walking towards her. The rest of the patrol stayed put, watching him as he made his way up to her.

     She backed away but heard another set of paw steps coming up from behind her. Citrus gasped, whirling around to see the incomers. Two she-cats, one drastically smaller than the other. A pure golden she-cat with amber eyes and a black and white calico cat with light, blue eyes. The calico she-cat was the first to jump and let out a yowl, placing herself in front of the golden she-cat.

     "Stay away!" Citrus hissed as the cats crept closer, surrounding her on all sides. Soon enough, she found herself surrounded in seconds. 

     Cats that had expressions ranging from anger, spite, surprise, joy, danger, and untrusting. Cats that didn't capture her in a perfect circle and left multiple openings for her to escape. Cats that weren't a patrol from the tribe, a mistake on her part that she vowed not to share. 

     Cats that were imperfect.