Arrow kept the growl in his throat stuck in place, knowing that it would only make his sister break down further. His body had become stiff from sitting in one place for too long and his ears slowly became numb after hearing her scratchy voice on repeat since the sun rose. His only source of company had left on the hunt for herbs while the rest of the healers were in a meeting with Eagle.

     Spending an entire day with Maple bawling her eyes out and layering emotions on him would make the day fly by at an agonizing pace, but it was better than staring at the wall and contemplating his mistake and scorns. The only time he protested and pushed for her to stop sobbing was when another cat came into the den to fetch an herb or two.

     Looking at the she-cat he looked up to - even today - broken and acting like him made his fur tingle. As much as he tried to ignore the questioning stares from other cats that entered and exited, he couldn't help but feel their eyes burn into his back as they watched the two siblings switch roles.

     But a part of him was glad that it was finally his turn to act like the older one.

     "... and I don't think I can do it anymore!" Maple finished and looked up at him through puffy eyes. "And then you and Blaze have to find she-cats to mate with soon or I might end up losing both of you...!"

     "Hey, I'm not going anywhere," Arrow offered, hoping that would comfort her. "I won't be like our other siblings and leave you."

     "But you have to find a she-cat, Arrow," Maple insisted. "Don't you see how wrong that is?"

     "You were fine doing it," he whispered so she couldn't hear it. "But you never told Dandelion what you were going to do with the kits."

     "How should I know right now?! At least a tom doesn't have to walk around with them," Maple growled.

     "True, but I'm sure there's a bunch of toms in this tribe who don't want to do this," he countered. Arrow forced himself on his shaking legs and stretched, letting blood return to his heavy limbs. Maple sighed and rolled on her side, eyes locked on her stomach with frightened eyes. He snorted and shook his pelt, encouraging her to get back up.

     It's as if she was my older sister yesterday and now she's expecting kits. Arrow didn't let the thought show in his movements and went to the supplies and shoved his nose into the leaves, breathing in the scent to soothe him. Maple didn't follow and continued to sulk in place as he searched for a strong-smelling herb that made his fur stand on edge.

     Then he came across the scent and he recoiled, nose wrinkling in disgust. However, he held his breath as he reached forward, taking a hold of the stem of the purple flower. Trying not to gag as he approached his sister, his paws became light and flimsy, threatening to give way. Maple flicked her ear and looked up, confusion spreading on her face.

     Her eyes landed on the herb and she sighed, shaking her head. Maple got to her paws and took the flower from him, breathing in the unpleasant scent. Arrow shook his head, questioning how he was the only one in his family that didn't enjoy lavender's scent. The she-cat purred, smiling at him. He stayed put and watched her as she began to mess with the petals, poking the herb with her paws, eager.

     She opened her amber eyes and gave him a reassuring look, eyes swarming with thankfulness. Through the flower, she said, "Thank you, Arrow. Though you didn't have to look like it was killing you."

     "I helped you, didn't I?!" he protested, hissing through his teeth. "I have nothing else to do but sit in this den and waste the day away. You can at least walk or explore the territory."

     Maple rolled her eyes. "If I could do what I want, I'd find a way to get rid of these kits."

     He raised an eye at her. "But you were the one who said it was fine if you ever had them. Out of all of us, you were okay with having kits."

     "I didn't think the rush would hit me," Maple argued, unleashing her claws. "I'm scared for them and don't think I'd be able to handle the stress if they were struck down or deemed imperfect. And don't you understand anything about being an older sibling?!"

     "What's that got to do with anything?" Arrow asked, growing irritated. "I have younger siblings and I do lo- like them and feel the need to protect them. So?"

     "You can't show that you're worried or afraid in front of them, okay?" Maple expressed. "I'm not the oldest and Blaze doesn't seem to be that older brother figure, so I have to step up and do it myself. I have to watch and protect any of you when things get hard for you. You guys are all I have left and even though the tribe is family, I would feel nothing if all of you just died." She tossed her head aside and muttered, "You can hardly remember Father." The flower dropped out of her mouth and hit the ground like a tiny corpse.

     Arrow swallowed and looked behind his shoulder as a shout rang across the clearing, startling him. Maple's ears pressed behind her back as Eagle's voice rang out. And that was when his jaw dropped open at the mere thought.

     And when she looked at him again, the pieces fell into place.

     Endless Stars and Shadows, what did he do to you?! His claws slid out of place and dug into the flooring, rage starting to push forward. Arrow swung around, determined to march out regardless of the punishments that would follow when Maple sprung across, still capable of handling herself even with the extra weight.

     She landed in front of him and used her body as a barrier, pleading with silent words.

     He hesitated, gritting his teeth as he stared into her wide, amber eyes. Maple stood her ground and refused to move, sides heaving. Arrow didn't move and with much effort, turned around and threw himself back on the nest, his stomach yowling as the ground smacked it. His sister flinched as if she felt the pain herself and he groaned, fumbling with his paws.

     Eagle's voice died down and silence enveloped the den again.

     When they looked at each other, they didn't say anything. Maple titled her head, ashamed while he had several questions bubbling in his throat. Arrow stayed silent, letting the fury inside him die down itself without lashing out on a nest or cat.

     This tribe isn't my home anymore, he realized, knowing that he'd been running from it. This tribe wasn't the one he heard about for moons. The tribe he was standing in was an impostor of the real Tribe of Shining Suns.

     But he and his family were already caught by its web and hung loosely as they awaited the hungry spider to crawl closer to land the killing blow. And the poisonous bug had already begun its feast on Maple, and soon, the rest would follow.

     "This rebellion is happening very slowly," Maple whispered. "You and I share the same patience. We can't take change very well and want things back the way we knew it to be, but it's not happening fast enough."

     Flattening his ears, he snarled, "What can I do to help in this rebellion? Consider it done."

     "You know what you have to do."

     The words chilled him to the bone and invisible vines sprung out of the ground and wrapped themselves around him, keeping him down. No matter how hard he thrashed or used his claws to saw through them, they grew faster and suffocated the life out of him. Cries of desperate she-cats rang overhead, begging him to listen to them and go somewhere private. His strength left him and his body fell into the darkness, letting the sounds scar his ears.

     Arrow looked at his front paws and sighed, focusing on them to stop the trembling. They didn't stop and he growled, tail now starting to twitch. Maple held back a grunt of laughter, making him hiss at her.

     I need to get out of here, so badly, he prayed to the Tribe of Endless Stars.

     Maple sighed and sat beside him like Dandelion would when she comforted any of her kits. "Listen... I know there's a low chance that assassinating Eagle would work, but I'm sure if any cat were to do so, it would go unpunished and you wouldn't be remembered as a Fallen Hero."

     "Why are you telling me this?" Arrow hissed, leaning away. "Shouldn't you tell Blaze? The true son of Sabertooth and Dandelion?"

     "What makes you say that?" Maple demanded, inching closer until brother and sister leaned against each other. For some reason, he didn't back away and sunk into her warm pelt, trying not to worry about a possible cat or cats with them.

     "If you want someone to kill Eagle, then make Blaze do it. He's had the strength Father had. He's reliable and brave, able to charge into battles without a single worry." Then Arrow flicked his tail at her. "You've always been caring and bold, able to hide away your worries and concerns yet you still pull through as if it were nothing - except when you break down it annoys all of us."

     "Hey now---"

     "Serval is- was the best hunter, able to stalk prey for hours and successfully come down and go for another victim. Cardinal had extraordinary healing skills that put most healers to shame since she could tell where each injury was with a single look, even if it was a mile away." He hissed at the next sentence that came out of his mouth.

     "And Hurricane was naturally gifted at anything she tried. I've always raced against her, hoping that there would be one day I could reach her level. Now she's an Imperfect yet she's still alive." Arrow's eyes flashed and he glared at Maple, who shook her head, letting him continue his rant. "But me? I have nothing. I'm nobody special."

     Maple shook her head and rested her head against his shoulder, purring. Despite her being older, he couldn't deny the beating of his heart and the sense of safety he got any time he was with her. If another cat would've waltzed in, Arrow would've jumped up but the guardian placed her paw on his tail, keeping him in place even if somecat should walk in.

     But sitting next to her, he felt rather warm.

     "You've always been so competitive, it really worries me," she murmured, closing her eyes. "It hurts hearing you pronounce Serval gone, but I can't do anything about that. Arrow, you really need to stop doubting yourself. If you didn't have any skills that stood out, how are you even in this tribe?"

     "That's because I barely squeezed by," he snapped. "Do you still consider Hurricane and Serval a part of our family?"

     "I've never once considered Hurricane or Serval no longer a sister." Maple shifted, digging her shoulder into his back painfully. "Imperfect or not, something tells me that we've accepted having an Imperfect in our lives way before Blaze was born."

     This is going to be the death of you, Maple, Arrow growled. You need to know when to accept that some cats aren't meant to be welcomed, especially if they're Imperfect. Any cat with Imperfect blood in him is beyond saving.

     Instead, he tried to make his voice calmer. "What makes you say that?"

     "Because I don't have any memories of seeing you, Hurricane, Serval, or Cardinal being born." Maple sighed, curling and uncurling her tail. "It's like you guys appeared out of thin air."

     Arrow's breath hitched in his throat as he traveled through his head, searching for the earliest memories he had. He rushed past times when Serval cried anytime she didn't get her way and times when Cardinal dedicated an entire day protecting and sheltering a weed. Blurry images of a younger Blaze and Maple hovered over his eyes, the two seemed to be having some kind of mock dual as he and his other siblings sat behind and watched with Dandelion. There was a vague memory of an older tom standing over him, watching him proudly.

     Then he hit a wall and stumbled back, catching himself before the memory could disappear. He squinted and tried to pick out the tom's features, no doubt that it was his father's warm gaze. But when he couldn't see anything else except the blurry outline of his father through the thick fog, it was impossible to go any further. Arrow shook his head and resurfaced, coming back to Maple at his side.

     Come to think of it, I don't remember seeing Cardinal's birth. Plus... Father died before she was born. Serval---

     "Maple," he said before his thoughts could take him somewhere else. "Tell me how old Hurricane was when you first met her."

     "Where's this coming from?" she questioned. Nevertheless, she answered, "I think she was at least two moons?"

     "Why didn't you meet her before she was that age?" Arrow prompted. "And what about me, Serval, or Cardinal? How old were you then?"

     "I don't remember... you might've been two moons... actually, you all might've been two moons when I first saw you for the first time. Then we had to leave and Cardinal had to stay behind, that's about it," Maple described, frowning. "Our group was Blaze, Spring, me, Hurricane, you, Serval, Quail, Moor, Serval, and then Cardinal."

     "Blaze is two moons older than you, you're four moons older than Hurricane, Hurricane's older than me by a moon, Serval's younger than me by a moon, and Cardinal was younger than Serval by two moons," he explained, drawing lines on the dirt impatiently to show his siblings - or, what was left of them. "Father died before Cardinal was born."

     "That's where you got it wrong," Maple interrupted. "Father died before Serval was born. Perhaps the day or the day before she was born."

     "Okay, then explain Cardinal?" Arrow challenged and his sister was silent, confusion spreading across her face as her mouth hung open. The den was enveloped in silence as the two of them waited for the other to answer, causing Maple to hiss through her teeth.

     And the answer came to Arrow minutes later.

     Dandelion swore to all of them that Sabertooth was the only tom meant for her and she'd rather die than give birth to other kits with a tom that wasn't him. Even now, she refused to birth another set of kits, which her only leeway was the fact she was getting older and Eagle didn't want to have any defects. Anytime any of his siblings had brought up the slightest recommendation to their mother about taking another mate, they were shoved down with a series of shouts claiming she couldn't betray the tom.

     At first, Arrow assumed she was still grieving, knowing that he was struck down in a fight with the Imperfects. The night where he vaguely remembered seeing her bent over in her nest crying had been forgotten, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized Dandelion shifted moods.

     And a few moons later, Cardinal was with them. The excuse was their mother went through a long labor, but he never questioned the age difference between her and Serval. Arrow's strength gave out and he froze, heart skipping a beat.

     He could hear Maple call his name out in the distance but he didn't respond. The throbbing pain didn't bother him as his mind began to race forward, grabbing chunks of hidden information that was laying at his paws for moons.

     Jumping and twirling around, the rest of the information locked into place and he stared with wide eyes at the words written before him. Dread came rushing up his throat and an invisible force knocked the wind out of him, causing Maple to shuffle and cry out. Her voice was distant and barely audible, and when he finally came back, he let out a gasp, lungs begging for oxygen.

     "What's gotten into you?!" Maple asked worriedly. "Don't tell me you've caught something."

     "Imperfect..." he mumbled, voice no longer his.

     "...What?"

     "Imperfect... she's..."

     "Who?"

     "Cardinal," he spat, glaring at her with a raging fire at his side. "Endless Stars above Cardinal never had pure blood... There's no way she's related to us!"

     "What?!" retorted Maple, getting up and into a defensive crouch. "What are you saying, Arrow?! Cardinal is our little sister---"

     "Then explain how in the world Dandelion gave birth to Serval and then Cardinal two moons later?!" He lashed out, stomping around the den as words flew out uncontrollably. "Even if Mother did have to wait that long for her, how am I a moon older than Serval? There's no way she could ever give birth to Hurricane, me, and Serval a moon apart!"

     Maple said nothing, mouth sealed shut with dread. Arrow's sides heaved as if he just ran a mile, unable to stay calm. His voice rose as panic and rage surged through his body, fueling each word and action, shutting him away from his mind.

     "What are you saying?!"

     "Think about it," he said, trying his best to ignore the flashes of pain in her amber eyes. "Are we really brother and sister?"