Redsand Canyon Stars are born in litters.

Maxim hunkered down beside her and Towhee leaned into him slightly, trying to bear through the current wave of pain. It crescendoed on a ragged gasp. The moment it subsided, she began to climb back to her feet, determined to at least get out of the rain.

She made it to the edge of the trees and saw the sparring pit ahead, eyes slitted against the torrential downpour. She felt another rumble of thunder beneath her paws as she strode toward it, preparing to cross it to get to the married housing on the far side.

The soil at the arena was packed down by the passage of many feet. The rain made it muddy and slick. Halfway across, Towhee’s right foreleg slipped. She pitched forward, saved from faceplanting only by the weight in her midsection. She managed to overcorrect and sway backward instead, dropping onto a haunch just in time for a fresh contraction.