Stopping in the village, Fan backtracked to where Siao-Po sat, and spoke in a deep voice she couldn't believe was his. "If you see Mama, will you send her to the village?"
Siao-Po brandished a paw. "She's right there."
Fan turned his attention to his mother. "Sorry. So many faces," he said, then paused, hoping she would say something to fill the awkward silence. When it only grew longer, he tilted his head. "You frozen again?"
That question was perhaps the only one that could thaw her. "Do you have any idea how badly you hurt me?"
"Well, I guess I wasn't really thinking of you when I left."
"Why not?"
"Because I was thinking of me. With all due respect, Mama," he added, "Someone had to."
"Well, you sure know how to get our attention―"
"The same way you got theirs?" Fan asked abruptly, though his voice ended on an empty note. He looked around the bustling village with a strained sigh, then stepped closer, lowering his voice. "Song did what she wanted. Hard as it was for you, she got away with it. And I was jealous."
"Jealous?"
"Let's just say she wasn't the only one who wanted something better."
"Fan, I..." Sheegwa sighed, and shook her head, trying to get her bearings. But suddenly he was dipping down into a conclusive bow of dismissal.
"I have to get ready," he muttered, and brushed past. Sheegwa stood there, suddenly perfectly understanding the expressions her parents wore when she had bowed to them, at the camp. But that was different, she told herself. She had an image to uphold. What did Fan have? A little cluster of random carnie folk he never should have met in the first place.
A lion dance succeeded the wedding, during which lai see was given to the bride and groom. Ignoring the celebration, Sagwa trotted through the village, weaving herself through the crowd and finally finding Fan. Despite preparing for his own performance, he sat alone. She was most curious as to why. So she stepped forward, trying not to let her sudden glimpse of Siao-Po intimidate her. She had handled him before.
"Hey," she said. "You remember me, right?"
"Oh yes," he assured her. "It would be pretty hard to forget the time you saved my life."
"Would be?"
Fan tilted his head in acknowledgment. "Alright, has been." Then he suddenly started to backpedal, "Oh, um, I wasn't trying to forget you, of course... Being thrown into the water, in a bag―not exactly the greatest day of my life."
"It's okay, I get it. I was scared, too."
"Yeah?" Fan asked, with a smile.
"Fan, you have to know, your mother wanted to help you..." Sagwa hesitated, trying to assemble the proper words. He took the opportunity to share his opinion.
"Actions speak louder than wants, Aunt Sagwa. I'm just glad somebody was thinking that day."
"It's not that she wasn't thinking at all, Fan. It's that she was thinking too much."
Fan hesitated, then nodded, looking out into the crowd. "Yeah, I've done that."
"You have to remember, I have experience with taking care of kittens in a small group! She doesn't. Or at least," Sagwa added with finality, "She didn't."
Their eyes locked.
"What are you talking about?"
Sagwa smiled, daring to step a little closer. "Your uncle, had eight new kittens last night."
As Fan absorbed the news, his eyes shot past her shoulder as the lion dance ceased; and in the silence, one of the traveling entertainers announced his pending performance.
"Fan, if you leave today, you'll never get to meet them. Your father is here... Your sister is so close. You have everything I wanted when I was your age. And I thought I'd never have it again. But you, you don't need to be lost again..."
"I need to take my cue."
He brushed past her, and she turned around to watch him approach the platform. Sagwa sat on the ground, not bothering to stifle her sigh. Her eyes went to the human brandishing a hoop, and she gasped as he lit it on fire. With no hesitation, Fan raced towards the hoop and and sailed clean through, pulling off several flips in the process. The crowd was already applauding as Fan continued to impress and amaze. Every time Sagwa thought he would fail, Fan surprised them all. No obstacle was too challenging. And still, no other cats joined him. The stage was all his.
"He's really good," Sagwa said, to the lingering presence behind her.
It was Siao-Po's voice that replied. "They say he's incomparable."
She frowned, already taking less delight in the show. "You must be proud."
"I'd like to be, but I had nothing to do with it," he pointed out.
"Really? Something on the face of the earth can get in the way of your pride?" she asked, and tilted her head. "Now that's incomparable."
Siao-Po had just scoffed at her remark when suddenly, in the middle of his performance, Fan halted. With all eyes on him, he stood immobilized on the platform as if he hadn't practiced a single trick. Then, leaving his humans to splutter nonsensically in confusion, Fan escaped into the lonely confines of the caravan.
Sagwa looked over at Siao-Po. "Stage fright?" she asked hopefully.
"Never," he growled, and followed his son inside. Wondering if she was responsible for his incertitude, Sagwa stood up and began to cross the grounds to where her family waited; and looking over at the caravan, she happened to see, just for a moment, a pair of green eyes glinting back at her.
Figuring she had done enough for one night, and that Fan's performance had been cut short, Sagwa had snuck away to hunt in solitude. If he decided she was right, it wouldn't be the last time they saw each other. And if he decided that her words didn't matter...then she would always miss him.
Enough of that. There was a food shortage, and everyone else was enjoying a circus. Or they were babies. So there she was, in the dark and quiet, listening for the softest sound. And when she heard the rustle of grass blades when there was no wind at all, she leaped towards the movement and slammed her paws onto the dirt. And her effort to catch her prey was futile, confirmed by a squeal of terror. The little body began rushing through the still blades, making its location known by disturbing the grass. Sagwa pursued the creature, desperate to taste something besides fish. The mouse slipped into a tiny little tunnel just in time and her paws thudded uselessly at the entrance. She had begun digging when a shockingly familiar voice made her go still.
"Whoa, wait, w-what are you doing, Sagwa?"
Her large, luminous eye appeared at the mouth of the tunnel. "Shei-Hu?"
She backed up as he emerged. "Uh, sorry. How've you been?"
Brushing himself off, he looked up at her. "Terrible. I am so tired of being on the menu!" he exclaimed. "I just want nothing to do with cats."
"But we're friends..."
"Are we?" he responded. "You nearly eat me up for dinner, you disappear... You didn't even say goodbye," he added. "You showed up two years ago with a favor to ask, and I didn't hear from you again."
"I'm really sorry," she insisted. "But things were so chaotic―"
"I don't want to hear it. Okay, I can't even trust you anymore."
"Why not? I'm not attacking you now."
"But you're still looking at me with your dinner face," he said sadly, and she quickly schooled her expression. "I just can't be friends with wild cats. To show you how sorry I am," he added, upon seeing her face, "I will help you look."
"Oh. Uh, good news; we already found Sheegwa. She's actually in the alley, if you want to say hello," she pressed, hoping to convince him to change his mind.
"But you don't know where your grandfather is. I do. Just saying, in case you want to say hello," he echoed, as he began to walk away.
"I want to, I want to!" she exclaimed, and began trotting after him.
Shei-Hu led her to a house in close proximity to the village. "A family pulled him out of the water and took him in," he reported.
"How can I ever repay you?"
"Well, if you insist on eating mice, I insist you hunt them a long way from here...and leave us alone. See ya," he added, and began running towards the village.
"See you," she echoed, and turned her attention to the windowsill. Gosh, it was narrow. They all were. Groaning in displeasure, she leaped up and banged on the window, rattling the thin glass. A woman strode into the room and located the guest, opening the window just to end the noise. She stepped back as Sagwa jumped down onto the floor. She moved quickly to avoid being picked up. "Yeh-Yeh!"
She found him quickly in the small house, and it looked as though they were taking good care of him. He stood between a fluffy pillow and a bowl of cream, watching his granddaughter rush forward, eager to embrace him. "Yeh-Yeh!" she exclaimed. "We've been so worried!"
"There's no need for that." He pulled away then and asked, "You tell your Nai-Nai I'm just fine. And tell her to join me here."
"Oh. Um..." She sighed, looking into his contented face. "There's something you need to know. Nai-Nai...uh, went back to Lord Vu's palace after you went missing. Uh, but they increased security after a, um, cat burglar incident, so I-I don't think you can see her again."
"Oh. I understand," he grumbled. "Thank you for your honesty, Sagwa."
She gave a half-hearted nod, feeling like the most rotten coward to ever exist. "So! Uh, will you be coming back to the alley with me?"
"Thank you, but I'm happy here."
"Your family is worried," she pressed. "And, it grew."
By mentioning Dongwa's eight new kittens, she managed to persuade him to at least visit the alley from time to time; and returned to her family with slightly higher hopes. Crawling through the gates, she was met with her family's surprised and disappointed stares. "Uh, what's wrong?" she asked.
"Well, dear, it seems to me you forgot to go hunting," Mama said politely.
"Oh! That. Yeah..." Sagwa smiled apologetically and offered, "But I know where Yeh-Yeh is."
"What?" Baba barked. "Where?"
"Actually, he's pretty much across the street," she grumbled. "He's not coming back, Baba... But I managed to convince him to check in."
With everyone she expected to see standing before her, Sagwa's eyes were drawn to movement inside one of the boxes. Then Fan stepped out into the moonlight. Sheegwa tore her eyes away from Siao-Po, approaching her sister with a defeated sigh. "You've already helped us so much," she admitted begrudgingly. "But how do you feel about helping me one last time?"
"Us," Siao-Po said, before she could answer, "Helping us."
Sagwa looked at him inquisitively. "Helping you with what?"
Stepping through the gate, Sagwa hesitated, waiting for Sheegwa and Siao-Po to join her on the other side. The side where they were trespassers...intruders. Sagwa knew she wasn't, but standing there without invitation made her feel like a cat burglar. Even if they were just taking back what was theirs...taken from them without invitation.
"You sure you want to follow my lead into a palace?" Sagwa asked edgily.
"I was actually thinking of splitting up."
Their eyes locked.
"We'd find her faster and get out sooner," Sheegwa insisted.
"I hope you trust yourself," Sagwa muttered, and began walking towards the palace. As they circled the pond, Sagwa happened to look over at the tree and could have sworn she glimpsed the darkened figure of a bat hanging off one of the branches. With Siao-Po and Sheegwa in hot pursuit, she snuck into the palace. Siao-Po stopped beside her with a bitter chuckle. "Do these humans know how easy it is to break in? I had more security living in the woods."
Sagwa rolled her eyes. "Not everyone is a cat," she whispered.
The trio broke up, searching in different directions. Sagwa eventually located her in the bedroom, resting beside Huang-Do. The triplet appeared to be sound asleep, and she was likely accustomed to having feline visitors. Even still, Sagwa was careful to avoid touching the human-shaped lump under the covers as she crawled up to Song, batting her with a tentative paw. "Psst."
Song opened her eyes and jerked back, squinting at her as she distinguished her from the felines with whom she lived. Song jumped to the floor and guided Sagwa into the hallway. "What are you doing back?"
"Choosing to leave will be easier than getting kicked out. But―you're running out of time to make the choice!"
"I told you. I'm happy here."
But Sagwa had been working on her angle since the day Song had been catnapped.
"I thought you said family mattered to you. But you don't even know how many sisters you have... Do you?"
Song gazed at her, seriously weighing her aunt's words.
But suddenly a hulking, terrifying presence behind Sagwa fractured her attention. A deep, throaty growl sent shivers up her spine. And just when she thought the worst had happened, she heard a second dog.
She turned around and found herself looking between the dog's legs.
