When me and Katie get up for the day, it's obvious that Zaphia's upset. With ears and a tail like that her body language is incredibly easy to read. Something has her tense, irritable, to the point that we're glad when we get back from class to find her asleep. Late that night I see her finally wake up, so I go over to where she's groggily rubbing her eyes.
"Zaph, do you want to go out for a walk tonight?" I ask.
"No."
I sit beside her and find she's instantly in my lap, desperately pushing her head against my hands. "Okay, okay" I giggle, rubbing her playfully. She doesn't smile.
"Zaphia? You wanna talk about it?"
"No." She looks up at me, then back down. "No…just…sit with me. Please." I don't argue but just pet her fur, waiting for her to start purring. It feels so funny when a cat this big starts purring against you. But she doesn't, she just drifts back to sleep. Katie walks by me on her way to bed, raising her eyebrows at me. I just shrug, then gently move Zaphia off my lap so I can go catch some sleep myself.
With all of us sound asleep, nobody notices the smell of smoke until the fire alarm goes off.