Wu-Ming was sitting on the wall overlooking the village when Sagwa returned. Seeing his shadow on the ground, she looked up at him as she came through the gate. Peace had been restored; which didn't stop Dongwa from giving her a dirty look. The last kitten awake drifted off to sleep and he finally stood up, turned around, and slunk off to where Hun-Hun rested.

Sagwa jumped onto the wall, causing Wu-Ming to barely stifle a sigh. "I guess we're stuck with each other."

"For the time being," he muttered.

"Are you planning to leave?"

"I'm hoping you will."

"Oh?"

"I got here first."

"Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I'm leaving last. I've got more reason to stay than you do."

He looked at her then, the scar above his right eye appearing more prominent under the full moon's light. "Yeah?" he grumped. As their eyes locked, she suddenly, finally deduced that he and Sheegwa were putting on the same show. "Think I have a reason to go anywhere?"

"I think you had a reason to join the pack, and that's why you hate me."

He didn't deny it. Sagwa eventually grew bored with his silence and left the alley wall, surprised to learn that somehow, Sheegwa had bypassed the superior night vision of the both of them. She had retreated to the bench and was resting underneath it, giving everyone a wide berth. Sagwa walked to where the majority of her family slept, and lay down among them. Sleep was incomplete, much like a scroll written by either sibling.


Sagwa woke up to the sensation of a little paw on her face. "Yímā?" a sweet, childish voice asked.

She opened her eyes and looked up into Yuri's worried face.

"Yímā—Fan isn't here."

That woke her up really fast. She sat up, eyes passing over the sleeping cats. "How long have you been up?"

"Not long. I looked for him a bit."

"Did you check outside the walls?"

"No."

Sagwa bounded to the gate and poked her head through the bars. "Fan?" she called, and behind her the family stirred. Realizing it was urgent, their irration didn't last long. "Fan!"

"Not again," Dongwa groaned.

Sagwa walked lethargically into the alley, then met her sister's eyes. "After you find him, you might want to put that boy of yours on a leash."

Sheegwa moved to the gate, then looked back at Sagwa; who shrugged and said, "He's not mine. You don't want me doing anything, right?"

The cats followed Sheegwa through the gate, and Dongwa looked back at Hun-Hun. "I'll stay here," she said, "With the girls."

"If...if we're not back by sunset—"

"I'll tell her."

Dongwa began to follow, and was surprised to see Sagwa pursuing him. "I thought you weren't helping."

"Of course I'm helping."

They clambered through the gate and were met with the sight of the cats parting ways. "He's most likely at the circus," Sagwa told him.

"It's a traveling circus."

His reminder had her counting the number of nights since they had bumped into Bei-Hu. He observed the worry in her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Today's their last day."

They bounded forward; ears pricked forward as they listened for the sound of music.


Meanwhile, Sheegwa and Siao-Po walked calmly; not suspecting where he went but wondering where he'd go.

"We need to fix this."

"I know what she's getting into, Siao-Po. This is what's best."

"You're letting a little girl win the argument?"

"Just for a couple of years. Then they'll kick her out and you can win the argument."

"You're seriously okay with it," Siao-Po said in disbelief. "What kind of family just...just separates?"

"Yours. Mine. Theirs, everybody's! Let me get this straight," she added, "You don't mind having her out on the street, around questionable characters; but she can't have a great life in a palace where she's safe?"

"You brought them to me because you didn't want a big, fancy house."

"She does. She's finally in a place she can appreciate. You heard what she said last night; she's not lost. We don't need to look for her, we just need to be there at sunset. If being there makes her happy, it's kind of a small price to pay."

"You say you don't want her around questionable characters. The way I see it, you have no clue what the Magistrate's cats are like."

"No, but I know what you're like."

"You think she's better off without me? Why'd you bring her to me in the first place?"

"Because I wanted to be right about you." Keeping a lookout for their son, she avoided looking at the perpetually dominant cat with whom she was stuck. "What happened to Song was an accident. This is the second time Fan has run away and I thought you could help me keep an eye on him. I was wrong."

They walked in silence, with Siao-Po considering the path their son was taking. "If every family separates, maybe this... Maybe this is our time. I can't accept it, but I'm not the leader. Apparently, she is."

"There's no leader."

"There should be. That's how you avoid drama like this. You'll notice Fan was in line until your sister destroyed the pack."

Sheegwa plodded alongside him, unable to refute his argument. She sighed, still peering into the dark. "He might be here now if Baba hadn't taken him out."

Siao-Po looked at her in shock. "Why would he do that?"


"He conned me!" Baba said.

"You can't dwell on it now," Mama answered gently. "Our biggest worry is finding Fan."

"It's our biggest priority," he corrected. "My biggest worry is how convincing he was."

"Look at who his influences are... Which brings me to your recent behavior."

He looked at her, wide-eyed.

"I do not approve of the way you handled Sagwa's fight. More precisely, the way you didn't handle the fight."

"She can take care of herself."

"That's beside the point. The alley may have gotten to your head, but it's not in your blood!"

"I adapted to survive, Shao-Fun. You will, too. You must."

"Then we will survive. But I insist you stop acting like a brute."

She pulled ahead of him, ignoring his stupefaction.