"Mother, it's happened," a she-cat mumbled, stepping into the quiet den. Behind her, another she-cat followed, her pelt as dark as mud. Dandelion lifted her head, eyes landing on her two daughters. Sighing, the first cat sat down, leaning her muzzle closer to her mother while Serval looked to the side, uninterested.

     "I'm expecting kits," Maple whispered, worry lingering in her voice. "I don't know what to do anymore. I was ready to accept that, but now that it's happened, I don't want to do this anymore. I don't know what to do, please help me, somehow. I... I can't do this."

     "Well, isn't now a bit late?" Dandelion said, offering no support. Maple jerked her head up, rage rising. Before her daughter could say anything, she held up a paw, silencing the argument. The younger she-cat behind her didn't say a word, keeping her mouth shut to prevent any comments falling out of her jaws. She raised an eyebrow at her other daughter, inspecting her stomach. Noticing that, the brown she-cat dropped her tail around her stomach, guarding it with a small hiss filling the den.

     "I told you what I was going to do," she snapped. "I told you a moon ago that I wasn't going to be a mother to any kits. That's something I can't do and that's something I'll never do," Serval declared. "I only came because Maple wouldn't stop freaking out and crying over the fact it's happened."

     "You aren't much help! Mother, I can't do this! I can't give birth and then send them off to get killed or banished! What if I end up liking them and end up as another Fallen Hero? I just want to live a life here where everything's perfect already!" Maple insisted, looking at her stomach with horror. "I felt pain at first, and now I'm starving even after I eat and eat. I can't do this anymore!"

     "I can't help you right now," Dandelion replied sharply. "You know that we all agreed to keep quiet. We need to stay quiet and hope that your kits can last six moons. Once those six moons of training are over, then we need hope they can pass the Test."

     "And if they don't?" Maple protested. "What if they don't pass? I can't see them banished from this place, from their own mother."

     Serval coughed, grabbing their attention. "Mind me if I'm a horrible sister, but who's the fa---"

     "That isn't important!" Maple screeched like a little kit, slamming a paw against her sister's jaws. Serval tried not to laugh through the paw, the light in her eyes trying to stay positive while her older sister had a breakdown. Dandelion stifled the rising laugh in her throat, seeing how her eldest daughter acted more and more like her youngest. Little Cardinal came into her mind along with a stab to the heart.

     An entire moon has passed since you've left us, Cardinal, she thought gloomily. Dandelion found it hard to squeeze time in to think about both of her missing daughters when her remaining were with her, falling under circumstances that she thought were beyond ridiculous. This had been the first time Maple had raved about her kits and after raising the determined she-cat, she knew it wasn't long before her daughter would turn this into a daily thing.

     Not that she minded listening to her. With her old bones finally starting to ache and cry out each time she moved, Dandelion found it frustrating that she was only used for support, but at least Serval and Arrow came back to help her. There were very few days that Blaze would stop by, coming in to check on his mother with warmth flooding through his tired eyes. Seeing him work harder each day to reach this goal all of them shared gave her a spark in her body, but the moment she stepped out and finished her duties, it was gone like the wind.

     She felt the most remorse for Arrow, who had to dodge she-cats desperate to live. Each day when she'd rest in the sun, she'd see her son hide in the shadows or avoid talking to any other cats. With the exception of his family, the short-tempered tom hardly spoke to anyone other than them and Eagle.

     Where Blaze worked hard each night and day, trying to improve his strength to become strong enough to fight Eagle, his younger and more energetic sister, Serval, worked her hardest to avoid any lingering questions and to catch up with her older brother; going days and nights without food, constantly training in her free time, making sure each movement and attack was flawless. She would always run as fast as her legs could take her when questions rose around her about taking a mate or Eagle's incoming punishment for her.

     Dandelion worried for the day when her legs stopped working and her mud-colored daughter would tumble over her own feet, crashing onto the dark ground, facing the punishment that was twice as powerful against her.

     Then there was her other daughter, Hurricane, who was out of her sight. Out of sight, out of mind, no matter how much she tried to remember the ginger she-cat's strength and determination in her eyes. None of her siblings paid much attention to her or dwelled on the fact they had lost two sisters during that battle.

     To them, they had only lost Cardinal.

     There's only one more moon before Eagle forces the other she-cats to pair up with a tom. That puts Blaze, Arrow, and Serval all in danger. Unless Blaze found a she-cat and didn't say anything. I'm sure that Arrow and Serval won't be settling down anytime soon. Dandelion looked at the exit longingly, hoping to see him walk through and enter the Hunters' Den. She sighed and pushed herself on her feet, locking eyes with Maple.

     "There's been something I've been wondering, lately," she started, catching both of her daughter's attention. "You already know my past and the scars I've told you, but there might be some kind of chance that Magnolia and Leopard are still alive and out there. I know it's risky, but Serval, I need you to become either a spy or scouter."

     "What? Mother, you know the moment I speak up during an Assembly, Eagle's going to question me about kits. If I tell him that I plan to take on a different job, is he going to stop? Could I just sneak out? They shouldn't question if I leave, right?" Serval protested, listing off all the possibilities of the outcome. The brown she-cat frowned, turning her back toward Dandelion and Maple, eyeing the exit.

     "Unless I send Arrow out," Dandelion muttered, a new idea growing its roots. "Serval, can you fetch your brother, Arrow?"

     The she-cat nodded firmly and slipped out of the den. The moment her little sister was out of ear-range, Maple collapsed on her knees, throwing herself on her mother, and letting out the hidden worry. Dandelion didn't move or budge, absorbing each moan and protest that tumbled out of her loving daughter's mouth. Her tail touched her stomach and she tried not to show any kind of expression at the small, but the very faint heartbeat of a kit. From where she was, she couldn't tell if there was more than one kit in her daughter's stomach, but that wasn't a concern.

     My brave daughter, she thought, licking Maple across the forehead just like she had done many moons ago. You acted so brave the past moon, telling us there wasn't anything to worry about. You claimed you'd always wanted to be a mother, but now you're nothing more than the same kit I found all those moons ago.

     Dandelion nudged Maple aside, a soft purr escaping her. "Maple, have you always put up this kind of shield? Did you ever want to be a mother of your very own kits?" Their eyes locked, seeking for an answer. "Or did you say that just to protect your sister?"

     "I wanted to protect them!" Maple shouted, burying herself into the nest. She threw all of her sanity away, reverting back into the little kit that stayed near her side. The she-cat sobbed, claws unleashing into the nest, tearing it away bit by bit. "I loved watching over them and helping them grow - that's why I wanted to be a guardian! I thought I was ready to be a mother to my very own kits."

     "And it's not what you expected, is it? The moment you get what you tell yourself what you want, you don't want it anymore," she replied, giving Maple another lick across the forehead. The gesture remained silent and the guardian stayed where she was, sobs slowing into a quiet moan. Dandelion curled her tail around her daughter's, squeezing it with affection.

     "You're worried about their safety, aren't you? Whether they'll pass the Test or if they'll die of some unknown thing and you're not there for them. You don't know what they look like, but you're already fearing for them, afraid that they'll become an Imperfect and you'll never see them," she explained, rubbing against the warm scruff. "That's what being a mother is, Maple. You worry about their safety all the time because you don't know what will happen."

     "I... I just want the tribe to go back to what it was. Perfection, Mother. Why is that so hard to ask for?" cried Maple, dropping her head to her stomach. She touched a single paw to it, eyes a battle between love and fear. Dandelion smirked.

     "Perfection and imperfection are two things that rule this world," she murmured. "It depends on what you look at, my dear."

     "Why can't we all just look at perfection? Why are there cats who make mistakes and cause the world to go into a war? If we all can just believe in one thing, then the world would be perfect."

     "Now you're starting to sound like Hurricane," she answered and Maple's breath hitched. "Yes, I know you have mixed feelings about her. Maybe after she made her mistake or sometime earlier, she was complaining that this tribe was feather-brained, but she claimed that perfection was the key."

     "I'm not saying this tribe is feather-brained," Maple growled, fur rising. "I never said that this tribe was useless, all I said was I wanted it to go back to the tribe I called home."

     If only that could happen, Dandelion thought, not replying to her daughter's comment.

     "Mother?"

     At the entrance, a tom and a she-cat came through, scents of forest flooding the den. Another set of footsteps followed, and Serval came back, curling her tail around her paws. Dandelion lifted her head and smiled at the sight of Arrow while Maple struggled to wipe away the sadness covering her face like a mask. The tom crept closer and sat next to his older sister, giving her a warm smile, brushing aside the fact her amber eyes were full of worry.

     Serval didn't say anything and kept her head low, eyes occasionally peeking to see the conversation. Maple got back up and stretched, shaking her head to hide the fact she recently broke down. The two sisters grouped together and they shut their mouths, waiting to hear the conversation. Dandelion swallowed the lump in her throat, eyeing her hot-tempered son. Arrow blinked, confused.

     "Is something wrong?" he asked worriedly.

     "What I'm about to tell you, you have to promise not to act like some kind of kit," she stated. Arrow reeled away, raising an eyebrow at her. Dandelion averted her gaze from him, as she waited to hear his response. The tom glanced at his sisters, who shrugged and avoided eye contact, turning their heads in opposite directions.

     He eyed his mother carefully, doubt lingering in his mind.

     "What is it?"

     "Do you promise?" countered Dandelion, standing up to his height. Despite the fact he was taller than her, she didn't back down. "Arrow, promise me."

     "It depends—"

     "Do you promise?" she repeated, adamant.

     Arrow hesitated, eyes drifting to the ground. By now, Dandelion guessed he had a small clue as to what she was going to propose. The tom shuffled, fighting to keep his fur down along his spine. He let out a soft growl, unleashing his claws into the ground. Then he lifted his head and nodded, a glare flashing through him.

     "All right, I promise," he growled, impatient. "What is it you wanted to tell me?"