Citrus padded into the trail with a total of two mice in her jaws. Blaze and Maple looked up at her the moment she approached them, with Cloud and Dusk coming back a few moments later. They greeted each other and admired the prey the group caught.

     Then Maple's eyes landed on her injuries. "Citrus..." She mewed cautiously, eyeing her. Citrus used her tail, vainly hiding her scars. Blaze noticed right away and tipped his head, the wounds standing out like silhouettes. 

     "What happened?" Blaze said, looking at her leg. 

     "I was on the left side of the territory, and I don't want imperfect herbs. I wanted perfect ones" She snorted in her mind. This is stupid; I'd rather use those herbs than not use anything, honestly. If I did, maybe I wouldn't get infected or something. I didn't have enough time... "So, I was going to search for some, do I have permission?" she asked, keeping her head up.

     Blaze nodded, proud of her. The guardians exchanged glances and Maple whispered something in her brother's ear, making Citrus weary. However, she set off, letting it fall behind her. Taking a stroll would make her feel better.

     Citrus closed her eyes, opening her mouth to let scents roll in like moths to a light. Cobwebs. Marigold. Chew the marigold up into a paste and smear it on the infection. Use the juice you can manage to squeeze out as well. Then wrap it up in cobwebs. 

     She spotted a nearby patch of cobwebs located high up in a tree. She climbed up on the tree, reaching her right paw forward to grab the silky thread. Triumphantly, she fell back and twisted around, landing on three paws while her other held the fragile object. With one down, all she needed was the next one - easy and flawless.

     Citrus scanned the area for the yellow herb. Nothing popped up and her heart fell to her stomach. Get your brain together, Citrus. Look for a river or something around here! That herb grows nearby water! She opened her mouth to draw more scents in.

     The water scent never came to her, making her frown. Come on, think. If marigold isn't around, what's another herb used? Chervil root. Luck is on my side today then! The sun peeked through the leaves and sprinkled down on her like raindrops. It's not hard to find chervil root in a forest. 

     Underneath a dark shade of rocks lay a speck of green. Her heart flared and Citrus padded forward, brushing her paw against the delicate herb. She pulled one leaf back, forcing it from the comfort of the shade and into the harsh sun. The green leaf was long and had a few bits of the leaf chewed off by some critter.

     Sweet. Citrus' mouth watered but she began to dig around the fern under the shade. Soon enough, she kicked up enough dirt and gently took the herb out of the ground. Its roots were large and bulky, jutting out in each way like the top of a twisted tree. After a quick smile, she swallowed the herb and started to chew.

     She chewed it up to a pulp and then applied the herb on her wound. It stung for the first few seconds, causing Citrus to stop smearing it on. The throbbing ended just as quickly as it came. She smoothed her fur down, attempting to cover the wound's existence. A small spark of sensation came over her when she finished.

     Citrus titled her head up and faced the bright sun. The rays basked on her back and painted the forest with hints of sunshine. The air was clean and fresh like newleaf when life flourished and rose back from its long slumber. She let out a sigh and then huffed her breath in, enjoying the territory for a few more seconds. 

     It was time to move on, Citrus declared.

     With her wound somewhat healed, traveling was much easier for her. Citrus remained calm, should anything come out from the dense forest and ambush her. Nerves would only bring destruction and failure to her.

     The grass shifted around as she passed through and onto the path. As soon as her eyes adjusted, her paw steps stopped cold. The silence that Citrus never paid attention to was now an eerie fog that wouldn't go away.

     The clearing was empty.

     Don't panic. Citrus narrowed her eyes down the trail. Is this a test? Hide and seek? She didn't have any familiar memories of playing such a foolish game with them, especially when it came to the tribe matters. Blaze and Maple weren't around, neither were the guardians.

     It didn't matter. Citrus knew the difference between north and south like telling the difference between a fly and a gnat. It would make sense to first check around for her acquaintances, but she also wanted to finish the test before nightfall. She didn't want the entire tribe asleep when she finally arrived and ruin their sleep schedule. If Blaze and Maple decided to ditch her, she'd just hunt them down.

     I was taught to take pride over family.

     Citrus turned her head to the right and smiled to herself. The rest of her body slithered out of the tall grass in the same path. Guessing from the distance she had left to travel, she'd arrive at the mountain at star-high - if nothing came in her way. 

     She set a foot forward, one paw after enough at an even pace, counting each step. One, two, three, four! One, two, three, four! Citrus marched forward, keeping her head up high. Her tail swished in rhythm to her steps. 

     The ground crunched under her paws. Rocks shifted position when she stepped on them. Keeping her head up high, enjoying the sun, imagining fate was on her. On the way to the tribe. Into the gates of the Tribe of Endless Stars. How the doors would burst open and she'd be able to jump in and live a perfect world for the rest of her life, even after death. 

     The sun shone brighter in Citrus' mind, seeming to understand her determination to join. No troubles or concerns popped up like pesky flies. Her injuries stung but she didn't let that slow her down. Looking perfect on the outside was important, probably just as important as the desire to be perfect on the inside. 

     She felt her paws bound a few paces before returning to its rhyme dance.

     The trail to perfection was her stage and performance to the Tribe of Endless Stars. Obviously, she had to shine her brightest and hardest. Each step made her confidence rise, rising to the sky like a butterfly.

     Citrus remembered one guardian once told her that a kit's growth was a caterpillar's stages of turning into a butterfly. Hatching out of its safe cocoon to survive. Then it'd eat and eat everything and anything it could find, learning all it could before it had to seal itself. Finally, they'd wait to immerge as a beautiful and colorful butterfly, facing the dangers of the world bravely.

     She liked the cocoon comparison and hoped if she were ever to become a butterfly, she'd be a dazzling orange one with striking, jet-black stripes. 

     My wish besides joining the Tribe of Shining Suns is to ride into the sky like a butterfly. Free and pretty but poisonous to others or those who try to eat or destroy it.

~~~oOo~~~

     The horizon now shined a bright, pumpkin orange with splashes of rose pink that blended together well like a rose. White, fluffy clouds streaked across the sky like a cat had kicked them, scattering them amongst the sky's pelt. Half of the clouds had dulled to a gray color and cascaded down the mountain. Her goal.

     Her paws ached but she was now in the shadow of the towering yet perfect mountain.

     I haven't seen Blaze or Maple anywhere. Where are they? Now was the worst possible time to wonder where they went. Citrus shook her head and a growl from underneath her startled her. The growl from her stomach was a painful reminder of her hunger and the fact she hadn't stopped and hunted once on her journey.

     How did I miss that...? Citrus bit her lip, glancing up at the mountain. She had no idea where the tribe lived - only that they resided somewhere in the mountain. She couldn't tell if there were stories of dangerous beasts such as foxes, badgers, or eagles that rested in the mountaintop as well. If she walked in thinking that she already won, then that would surely be some kind of mistake. 

     But I have to tell the Alpha about those three toms that ganged up against that Imperfect. I know their concern won't go to the Imperfect, but those toms would surely go down as Fallen Heroes or something worse. Citrus growled and forced her own paws to move forward. Up the stony trail and to her goal. 

     "Come on, just a little bit more," Citrus whispered to herself for encouragement. "One, two, three, four!"

     "You made it!" some cat said from behind her.

     Everything inside of her turned on like an enraged bear. Citrus whirled around, balancing herself as she went. Her paws touched the ground and her back arched, ready to attack. Her eyes flashed but then softened when she saw the speaker - and held her laughter at the shocked expression plastered on her face.

     "Wow, reflects are good too!" Maple noted, purring at her little sister. "Congrats, Citrus. You've made it to the Tribe of Shining Suns!" Behind her, Blaze stepped out to the right, followed by Cloud's silky white pelt and Dusk's burnt amber and black pelt.

     "You all were watching me?" Citrus questioned. "Or did you somehow get here before me?"

     "We followed you," Blaze explained in Maple's place. Her older brother came up and touched his tail on her shoulder. "It was a test to see your tracking skills."

     "Tracking skills? All you had to do was head towards the mountain. That path was open though," Citrus pointed out.

     "No," Dusk said. "Do you remember running into a rotten scent on the way here?"

     Her mind was already turning gears as soon as Dusk said "rotten scent". Her memories of walking down the trail, stopping once in a while to groom herself, hearing birds fly and sing overhead, and then a rotten scent near the tribe's territory made her stop for a brief moment. 

     "...Yes, what about it? I was able to figure out where it was---"

     "Where then?" Cloud challenged.

     "Hmm..." Once again, her mind was tracing back. Reaching deep into her memory for hidden, little, details. "Under a fallen tree, buried and seemed like it was there for a while now."

     Expressions of pride warmed her; how their eyes shined at her accomplishment. She couldn't stop herself for smiling just this once to congratulate herself on her journey. 

     "Just a little bit further, promise," Maple whispered, locking her eyes onto Citrus'. 

     Citrus saw a ledge now that connected to the path up on the mountain. As soon as she set paw on the ledge, cats began to pour out of dens, each a different size and color. Her heart fluttered and she captured the moment, never seeing anything as grand before. Cats jumped down from rocks in sync and all landed together in harmony before they ran to congratulate the kit. 

     They approached her marching together evenly and a short moment, she felt as if she was the Alpha and they were all under her paws. Citrus looked around at each cat, determined to remember each and their names, but all she could identify was their eye color and the excitement flooding through them. 

     Then cats parted for a certain cat to approach, catching her attention. Her breath stopped at a single look, making Citrus' legs weak. Her heart thudded, soon growing as loud as a drum. The rest of the tribe faded away as the she-cat came closer, the time it took for the two to reunite seeming to take forever. 

     Citrus struggled to talk, but the she-cat came closer, saying nothing yet knowing what was going on in her mind. When she got closer, the she-cat nuzzled her and she didn't do anything, frozen in place. Finally, she relaxed, letting her shoulders roll down, and nuzzle her back. 

     "Citrus..." she whispered in her ear, voice raspy. The cat pulled back, letting her warm eyes land on her daughter. The two cats stared at each other as the other cats padded up eagerly to meet their new member. 

     "Welcome to the Tribe of Shining Suns, Citrus," Dandelion purred.