A rhythmic chant drew Siao-Po and Sheegwa from the water's edge. They walked around the wall to find Sagwa wrestling with Wu-Ming. The rest of the cats had gathered around and were watching with interest, yelling, "Fight! Fight! Fight!"
Even their father was yelling with the crowd. Watching. Not rushing to her aid when Wu-Ming slammed her onto her back on the wet ground.
"Get her, Wu-Ming!" someone yelled. In the darkness, Sheegwa couldn't determine who.
"Do to him what you did to me!" Siao-Po yelled, and Sheegwa looked at him in shock. The utter glee on his face goaded her to move to Baba's side.
"Why aren't you helping?" she demanded.
"Hasn't she proved it by now?" he chuckled. "She can take care of herself."
In looking back at the cat she had once chosen as her mate, Sheegwa caught a glimpse of the Magistrate's cats, standing there in beautiful regalia, watching the commotion. They reminded her so much of her and Dongwa that her vision blurred with tears. Having figured out the chaos interrupting their uppity, spoiled lives, the cats turned and went back through the gate. A cheer drew Sheegwa's eyes back to Wu-Ming, standing victorious over her sister's body. Eating up the glory, he stepped over her and retreated into fame.
Sagwa rolled over with a groan and accepted Jet-Jet's helpful paw, rising to all fours. "Hey, you win some, you lose some."
"I'll win eventually," she grumbled.
"Or you could back off," Sheegwa suggested.
"I took on a dog! I'm not letting a cat get away with it."
"I beg your pardon? When did you take on a dog?" Baba inquired.
But Sagwa scoffed, staring at him. "Yeah, now you care," she muttered, and walked towards the water.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded. "Sagwa!"
She kept going.
"Ignore her, dear," Mama said gently. "We have all earned a good night's rest."
"Ignore her? My beautiful Shao-Fun! She already thinks I don't care. I certainly can't prove her right." He stepped out of her loving reach and followed his daughter.
Mama, Hun-Hun, Dongwa, Yeh-Yeh, and the kittens began to settle in for the night. They were talking quietly when Sagwa and Baba returned, with a pile of fresh fish. They began eating; paying little mind to Siao-Po, who paced along the alley wall staring into the dark. After her meal, Sagwa went up to the alley wall. Siao-Po was still pacing, and she jumped directly into his path. He nearly slipped off the wall, and narrowed his eyes at the cats who laughed at him. "What do you want?" he greeted her.
"I just wanted to say thank you."
He nodded at her, unaccustomed to kindness. "You're welcome."
Baba got up early as usual, and cleaned up at the sea. He was about to try catching a fish for the first time in years, when he heard a slight presence behind him. He turned around to look at his grandson. "What are you doing up already?"
"Nightmare."
Baba watched him draw in the dirt with a tiny paw. "Do you think... Do you think Mama wants us to know each other?"
"Well, maybe. Yes, probably."
Fan looked up at his grandfather with his unique green eyes. "I thought maybe you could show me around."
"Why, so you'll know where to run?"
Fan looked down, focused on his abstract art. "Back at camp, I knew the safest places to hide. The tree houses were my favorite; I could see everything. Yesterday that thing, that creature came out of nowhere, and Mama...she just stood there, like—" He wiped his doodles away with a frustrated motion. "Like before."
Baba sighed, looking at his grumpy little grandson. "She didn't know what to do."
"I don't care what she does, as long as it's something. When I'm scared, I run—so yes, I need to know where to run. Because she can't protect me. Baba can, but he always tells me to be independent. And Aunt Sagwa can, but I'm not hers to take care of...and I'm already in her debt. I don't want to let Baba down again."
Baba nodded, absorbing the kitten's words. Then he turned his back to the wall and dipped his tail into a mud puddle. "I'll show you around, Fan, but I have to tell your parents."
Fan watched him write the message; then the pair of felines left the alley.
"That thing you did with your tail, what was that?"
"Calligraphy. I'm surprised you don't know."
"Mama never really talks about the past," Fan said, as they came to a pond with a large waterfall. "Maybe she will now."
Baba nodded, looking around the area.
"Please don't tell anyone I had a nightmare. I'm supposed to be tough."
"Everyone has nightmares."
"Please, Yeh-Yeh, just...don't tell anyone." Fan averted his eyes and seemed to be trying to hold it together. "My father is hard on me. Wu-Ming is hard on me. And now there's those alleycats. I just want them to leave me alone; and without a pack, I don't know how to tell them."
"We're not going to let them pick on you."
"I have to rely on you guys?" Fan groaned, and met his grandfather's insulted stare. "Sorry, but...what do you expect? In danger, Mama doesn't act. Baba would hide behind other cats who aren't here. Aunt Sagwa just got humiliated. And your father is ridiculously old; what could he do?"
"Well... You seem to be forgetting a few of us."
"Them? They tried to negotiate with the thing." Fan shook his head and chuckled humorlessly. As Baba tried to formulate a response, Fan began sniffing around the pond.
Their conversation was forgotten when Baba spotted the bull again, entering the clearing faraway. He grabbed Fan and waded backwards into the water; always keeping an eye on the bull. Reaching the waterfall, he stepped around the powerful rushing water and into a cave. It was elevated out of the water, and he deposited Fan on the floor.
"Why here?"
"The water got rid of our scent... And I don't know if those things can swim. Even if they do, it hasn't seen us," Baba murmured, as he tried peeking through the curtain of water. "What we need to do now, is—" His voice faded when Fan sat beside him, quietly.
"Pay attention," Fan concluded.
Grateful the boy understood, Baba looked ahead and watched the intimidatingly large speck moving in the distance. The bull wandered around the clearing before coming to the pond. Baba braced himself for the worst, as Fan turned his head into his grandfather's leg. He could feel him shaking in fear.
The bull scented the air, then submerged its muzzle and drank greedily. And walked back to the forest, disappearing in shadows.
"It's okay. He's gone."
Fan lifted his head. "Can we go back to the walls now?"
Instead of responding, Baba retrieved him from the floor and stepped out of the cave.
