“Stay back there,” the she-cat scolded her litter. “This isn’t for kits.”

“But we want to see!” Strong Pounce protested.

“No! Go over there and play, and don’t make too much noise. This is a hard time for Shy Fawn.”

Looking down at the pregnant she-cat, Jayfeather had to agree. Shy Fawn’s distended belly was huge for such a small cat, and he wondered how many kits she was carrying. Her eyes were wide and scared.

“Please help me,” she whispered. “I don’t know what to do.”

Anger clawed at Jayfeather as he realized how frightened she was. She should have given birth among the soft moss and bracken of a proper nursery, not here on this rocky floor without even the right herbs.

At least she’s got a medicine cat, he thought.

“Half Moon,” he began briskly, “you remember where we got the moss for Chasing Clouds? Can you get some more, and soak it with water so that Shy Fawn can have a drink?”

Half Moon nodded and sped off.

“Owl Feather, I need a stick. Something good and stout that Shy Fawn can bite down on when the pains come. You should find one by the bushes around the pool.”

Owl Feather blinked in surprise at being ordered around, but she didn’t protest, just called over her shoulder as she padded toward the entrance, “Make sure my kits don’t follow me out.”

Jayfeather turned his attention back to Shy Fawn. Powerful ripples were passing across her belly, and she gasped with pain.

“Relax as much as you can,” Jayfeather advised her. “It won’t be long now.”

Half Moon reappeared with a bundle of wet moss in her jaws and sat down beside Shy Fawn’s head, helping her to drink, then licking her ears gently to keep her calm.

Another ripple coursed over Shy Fawn’s belly, and she let out a sharp cry of pain as she began straining.

“That’s good,” Jayfeather reassured her. “You’re coming along nicely.”

Owl Feather bounded up with the stick Jayfeather had asked for, and dropped it on the ground so that Shy Fawn could grip it in her jaws. “How many kits, do you think?” she asked Jayfeather.

Jayfeather felt Shy Fawn’s belly with his forepaw. “Three, at least,” he replied, realizing how weird it was to be able to see as he delivered kits. “Hang on, I think the first one’s coming.”

Shy Fawn’s belly convulsed. Jayfeather heard the stick crack in her teeth, and a small bundle of wet fur slid out onto the cave floor. Half Moon cushioned it with her paws and nudged it over to Shy Fawn.

“It’s a little tom,” she mewed. “Isn’t he beautiful?”

Shy Fawn gazed down at her kit, all the fear gone from her eyes, swallowed up in overwhelming love. “He’s black, just like Dark Whiskers,” she murmured, bending her head to lick his fur.

Jayfeather gave her shoulder a prod with one paw. “Concentrate. There’s more to come.”

“Yes, I—oh!” Shy Fawn’s words ended in a yowl as the pain gripped her again.