Prologue
"Rosepetal?" Rosepetal sighed as she heard her mother's shaky mew from behind her. What did she want now? She had heard from the medicine cats from before that had told her that when she-cats get older, they tend to become more forgetful, less attentive. More connected to Starclan, they told her. Rosepetal snorted. Just say it. I know my mother is dying. You don't have to taint it with your silly belief those cats up in the stars.
Of course, Rosepetal herself was getting older, too. She had lived for more seasons than she could count, watched her brothers and sisters die around her feet, listened to cats screech and perish in battle while she always came out alive. She was a survivor, no doubt, but for what? Her life was unnaturally long, like her mother's, but what did it give her? Just more pain.
"What is it, mother?" She turned around to face the creamy-colored she-cat who had nurtured her for all her life. Rosepetal could hardly recognize her now, she was so lacking life. The beautiful blue eyes that her late father had fallen in love with were so dull now, like her mother had nothing to share with the world anymore.
Daisy coughed slightly as she climbed the last small hill to the hiding place Leafpool had shown her so long ago. "I wanted to talk to you, Rosepetal."
"You can do that in the Elder's den, Daisy."
She glared at Rosepetal. "You know what I wanted to talk to you about. Something I can't share with the apprentices."
Rosepetal took in breath. She did know what Daisy was talking about.
"It seems you do," The ancient she-cat had sensed her daughter's discomfort and pounced on it, "the Battle."
The younger of the two stepped back slightly, not believing that her mother would bring that fatal night up once again. It was hard enough having to live through it, let alone analyze it like her mother seemed obsessed to do now. Rosepetal replied slowly, "Mother," she mewed cautiously, "don't do this."
"Why not?"
"You don't want to add additional stress on your body. Sagebrush says you're barely holding up as is." Rosepetal masked her fear with a concern about her mother's health.
"Oh, when hedgehogs fly." Daisy snorted, "You want me to die as much as I do." She looked down at her paws sadly. "I'm sick of this life. I want to go meet Spiderleg up there." The she-cat looked up longingly at the sky, with the stars shimmering down like faces.
"Oh, don't start that on me." Rosepetal snarled, getting to her feet. "I'm sick of this life? How about, 'I'm sick of hearing about that foxbrained Starclan'? Huh?"
"Wha...what do you mean?" Daisy's mewl was pitiful on the ear.
"I mean, what has Starclan ever done for us? When has Starclan ever come down from those skies and lent a helping paw? And yet, we still visit them in our sleep, a bunch of glorified daydreams!"
Daisy, although usually complacent and kind, reared up in fury, eyes glimmering with ferocity. "How dare you insult Starclan? Where do you think we'll go when we die?"
"I don't know!" Rosepelt nearly screeched. "But how can we trust and worship cats who didn't have the wits to keep themselves alive? Half of them died in battle!"
"Maybe...maybe you're right." The blue eyes admitted defeat as Daisy collapsed on the ground like a trapped bird that didn't want to fight the inevitable. "I...I just don't know. I want to believe that there's cats out there who are always watching out for us, but...as the time goes on, I can't believe that those kind, benevolent souls would take everyone I love from me, just like that. While I'm still here to endure all of it."
Rosepelt padded over to her mother, and laid down next to her, so close that their pelts were nearly intertwined. "I'm sorry, Daisy. That I hurt you. But I can't believe they would take Spiderleg and Berrynose and Hazelfur and Toadstep and... Bumblestripe from us, just like that. While we're forced to survive through it."
"And the Battle."
Rosepelt sucked in breath for a few seconds before answering. "Yes. And the Battle."
The younger she-cat could feel her mother fall asleep beside her, and soon the rhythmic breathing lulled her to sleep too.
Daisy and Rosepetal would never wake up.