When Siao-Po woke up, he was curious why Song was sitting motionless, staring at the alley wall. She looked grumpy at first, but as he drew closer, he saw that she was trying to understand the message someone had left.

She looked up at him. "Baba? What's it say?"

He had looked at her when she spoke, and now turned his eyes back to the wall. "'Took Fan exploring. Wim-Bao.'"

Song stood up and toddled off as her mother approached. Siao-Po turned to his former mate. "Do you see this? We just had a close encounter with that monster, and he didn't even ask."

"I trust him."

"I don't. I can't."

She just gave a slight scoff, knowing very well his limits. "They'll be back."

"Don't tell me that, Sheegwa," he said in disgust. "They barely found you."

"But they did," she said simply.

He nodded, scrutinizing her and finally asking, "Why are you here? Last time I saw you, it was over. You ended it, and you were glad."

"It still is over."

"We had a life together."

"Well, now all we have is a common interest. Until you change, nothing will. And I don't think you can, Siao-Po... Not out here." She turned around and walked after Song, who had resorted to sitting at the gate, waiting for her brother to return. Sheegwa hadn't approached her when Fan crawled through the ornate design, followed closely by his grandfather. Seeing their wet, matted fur, Sheegwa moved closer to where they stood. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine," Fan said. He turned his startling eyes up to her. "We saw the beast again."

Before she could stop herself, she had reached out to groom his messy fur; stopping when the independent boy withdrew from her care. Feeling foolish, she dropped her foot. Of course he didn't want her ministration. She backed away and sighed, wondering what kind of individual they had made. "Well," she said lamely. "You're safe now."

He nodded and left her side, chasing Song through the alley. Alone with her father, Sheegwa looked at him. "That creature is nowhere near here."

"Well, we wandered."

"Do me a favor and don't." Sheegwa spared Siao-Po a discreet glance as he paced, fuming in the distance. "He's enough of a nuisance on a good day."

"Are you giving me an order?"

She looked at him, and her words, albeit spoken slowly and gently, hit him hard. "Maybe I don't want to know the pain of losing a child and parent."

She walked past him, leaving him there to dwell on the past. When common sense returned to him, he walked to the wall, sat back on his haunches and wiped the words away. The stone was almost bare when he felt a fleeting presence behind him, as paws relentlessly pummeled the dirt. He looked over his shoulder as Sagwa knocked Wu-Ming to the ground. Again, the clowder gathered to watch the fight. Sheegwa looked at her mother's disapproving face, then scoffed at her father's captive interest and retreated to the water. She may have been less than happy with the tangent their lives had taken; but that didn't stop her from turning her head when a cheer interrupted her morose thoughts. And she saw Sagwa licking her wounds, Wu-Ming laying unconscious in the dirt. The alleycats began clustering around her to congratulate her victory. And feeling totally accountable for the changes in her family's thinking, Sheegwa turned her head back to the sparkling sea and wished she could take it all back.


The Miao cats were resting again, tired from their long and treacherous journey when the peace was broken by the sweet sound of the gate at the front of the palace coming open with a familiar creak. Dongwa was on his feet in a flash, clambering through the gate with his sisters. Together they raced alongside the continuation of the stone wall to the open gate, and sat in a tidy row across the street. It was so beautiful, ghostly in its familiarity.

"It...still feels like home," Sagwa mused.

"Yeah. It does."

"Not to me," Sheegwa said softly, and her siblings looked at her.

"Do you remember what it's like?" Sagwa asked.

"I do. But I made a new home since then."

"Did you ever remember the falls?"

"No."

They sat in silence, enjoying the view. Tai-Tai stood in the yard, waving as unfamiliar men carried the Magistrate in on his sedan. He got out wearing unusually dark robes. If the siblings wanted to hear his booming laugh, they were to be disappointed.

Sheegwa stood up and turned back to the alley gate; stopping when she saw her daughter trotting towards them. Remembering what it was to be an adventurous youth, Sheegwa's only request was, "You listen to them and you don't leave their sight."

"I will, and I won't." Song turned with a grace and then plopped down on the grass, staring into the courtyard with her sapphire-colored eyes. "Wow! It's so big and pretty! You really lived here?"

"Yeah, as kittens."

Song tilted her head, screwing up her sweet little face. "Mama was a kitten once?"

"Yeah. And she was a lot like you," Dongwa told her.

Song smiled and turned her attention to the pristine palace yard. The humans were going inside; and wanting a better look, she stood and slowly crept closer. Knowing she was in their care, Sagwa and Dongwa followed closely, listening as Song sighed in happiness. "Amazing," she murmured. "Were you caphillagers, too?"

"Calligraphers," Sagwa said sternly. "Yes."

"And your aunt was really good at it, too," Dongwa informed his little niece. "I was always jealous."

She looked at him. "Really?"

"Yeah, I mean...I was older." He shrugged.

Song's eyes were fixated on the immaculate beauty of the lifestyles of the privileged. Right up until a young woman suddenly stepped out from behind the wall and directly in front of Song. Huang-Do smiled, knelt and scooped Song up into her arms. And carried her swiftly across the courtyard as the doors began to close. Sagwa and Dongwa turned their attention back to the courtyard as the gate slid closed. Not seeing their niece anywhere, Sagwa and Dongwa got nervously to all fours.

"Uh, Song?" Sagwa called.

But only Huang-Do's voice followed her own. "Baba, look! She's just the right age."

"Ooh," Tai-Tai squealed, "Where did you find this precious thing?"

Scaring her brother, Sagwa took off like a shot, racing to the alley.