Imperfect

Chapter 2

"Jump, Lark!" Lark sprang into the air, her lean body twisting in the air. Citrus watched her sister, like a hawk in how swiftly she handled herself as she flew across the field. Her paws reached for the leaf pile they were using as the prey. Just like that, her sister crashed onto the pile, the leaves flying in her face. Opening her eyes, the blue pools landed on Blaze, and she sought recognition.

    Lark makes these jumps seem easy, Citrus thought, proud that Lark was making progress. She couldn't jump as far, even when she made sure to stretch out before training. Blaze gave her tips and pointers next time, and Lark caught onto them and used them, easily adding them into her leaps and bounds. She struggled to apply them, keep her posture up, and land gracefully.

    What other role would Lark choose, if she couldn't be a hunter? Although seeing Lark not achieve her dream of becoming a cat that could slip through trees and flow with the river was hard, for the past moon or two, Citrus had always seen Lark train herself harder when it came to hunting.

    "That's much better than the last time I saw you," Blaze noted, pointing to a small pebble. Lark and Citrus's eyes warmed at the sight of the gray rock, a marker to how far the brown she-cat could reach the last time she had seen him. Now, compared to where her sister landed, Citrus could've mistaken the jump for a kit's.

    "I'm always training and striving to be like you." Lark flicked her tail with her honest opinion. "Now that you're all fancy and a Beta, it means I have to try harder. I'm not going to be a drag on you or your reputation."

    "You won't be a drag unless you keep this up," Blaze growled. "If you keep comparing yourself to my skills, you'll find yourself making silly mistakes." Lark's eyes widened and she nodded. "I don't want to see you banished from the Tribe."

    "Right! No mistakes! Nothing! Bad mistakes will send me to the Tribe of Never-Ending Shadows where all those rotting Imperfects go when they die," Lark stated, her voice lowering and fur rising. Citrus nodded, making Blaze smile.

    Citrus couldn't remember a single day in her life that their guardians didn't remind them about the consequences of making mistakes and joining the Tribe of Endless Stars. Seeing the Imperfect cat already made her sick to her stomach. Apple claimed that imperfection could be a disease and made sure to clean himself thoroughly each day. She didn't want to join a tribe that had Imperfect cats.

    If imperfection was the stench of rotting animals and the bare tree branches in the cold wind, then perfection was the smell of daisies and the lush green forest with the branches reaching to the sun.

    I remember when I first learned about the difference between us and Imperfects and how the Tribe of Shining Suns refuses to deal with their suffering. How can they live their life suffering over and over, knowing that they risk failing and making mistakes? Do they not know about the Tribe of Endless Stars and Tribe of Never-Ending Shadows?

    However, there was one thought that had crossed her mind at the time, and she acted upon it. If they were suffering and the Tribe of Shining Suns wasn't going to help, then she would. There might've been a way to change the Imperfects, but they wouldn't truly be perfect. It could end their suffering, she argued. Changing a cat isn't easy, though. They're most likely going to fight against my plan.

    That was the only other option she had thought of and the latter seemed like the easiest plan. Eliminate all the Imperfects for good. Slaughter the kits and kill the parents. Make sure there weren't any other cats that bore the imperfection disease.

    If she was going to do that, she needed to train harder and improve her skills in combat. Citrus shook her head from her thoughts. She'd tell the others her plan later, and when they were older. Her plan would do nothing now when she hadn't even joined the Tribe of Shining Suns.