"I'm so worried," Mama confided. "I know they're not my own, but..."
"I understand," Baba answered. Then they were silent, watching the jagged bolt of lightning slice through the sky. A resonating boom of thunder quickly followed.
"What do you think, Shao Fun?" Yeh-Yeh asked.
"I don't want to stay here. We need walls."
"Agreed," Nai-Nai said, "I am chilled already."
"What if you lived with Hui-An and me?" Yeh-Yeh asked. "It would be great fun."
Nai-Nai nodded in concord.
"And what of the 'experienced' alleycats?" Baba inquired. "Is it really the pets' decision to take in eight new cats?"
"Tsu-Wen and Lord Vu will happily take in our own," Yeh-Yeh assured him. "If the alleycats are rejected, they are already used to living outside."
"True..." Mama wondered why she suddenly felt so protective of Jet-Jet, Lik-Lik and especially Hun-Hun. Perhaps it was because Hun-Hun had always been so kind, Jet-Jet and Sagwa were seeing one another, and Lik-Lik...well, he was just part of the package.
"We do indeed have a big day ahead," Nai-Nai was saying, "I wonder what's taking those boys so long."
Suddenly Dongwa's voice floated from the darkness. "Want me to find them?"
He sauntered out of the shadows and into the rectangle of moonlight.
"No," Baba said dismissively, "Go back to sleep."
"I can find them! Honest I can. I'm smart."
"We know," Mama said soothingly. "But you need your rest."
Dongwa turned and obediently padded back into the dark comfort of the pagoda. As he sat, a familiar voice from above snagged his attention. "I can go," Fu-Fu offered.
"Would you? That'd be great!"
Fu-Fu saluted him before detaching from the roof and flying out into the storm.
-0-0-0-0-
Author's Note: Sorry for the very long wait. I had no idea where to go with this. I still don't. But, I guess I'll keep going, somehow.
