The she-cat placed each paw delicately as she crossed the muddy ground. It was dark, the earth beneath her paws was slippery, and she was weighed down by her rounded belly. Slipping now would be the worst thing that could happen. She couldn't fall now, not when she was so close. She had meant to travel further, of course, before the birth, but you couldn't always choose your time. Sun had carried enough litters to know that when the first pains began, there wasn't long before the kits followed. "She's kitting!" she called. "Now!" "I agree," a brown tabby decided.