Here's a big ole shout out to all those who picked me up and dusted me off! You guys are great! I'm in a bit of pain because I got a little crazy with high-kicking a piñata, and landing on the ground… anyway! I'm glad I'm back in front of my computer, and have been typing like crazy (also using the backspace key like crazy… yeah). So after the craziness of landing on my rear in a parking lot and rehearsals all weekend, I am happy I can take a moment to relax and update my stories!

I tossed blankets down into the wooden box Cassandra and I had found to be our temporary home. It wasn't far from the junkyard, just in case we needed help later on, and it was in a hidden corner of the city, so we were unlikely to be disturbed by humans. I reached down to the pile I was grabbing from, but stopped. Cassandra was supposed to be back by now… where was she? I sighed, and darted off to look for her.

=^..^=

"Isn't she pretty?"

Cassandra wriggled in the child's arms, trying to get herself free. A small boy had picked her up almost out of nowhere, and was now parading around his home with her in his arms. Five other children were crowded around, all of them patting and scratching in random places. Cassandra rolled her eyes as she felt one of them scratching her rump. Didn't humans know anything about boundaries?

One of the parents walked into the room and shrieked when she saw the slim Burmese queen. "We don't need another cat!" It was then Cassandra noticed a fat brown cat, and recognized him as Samuel. He looked rather surprised to see her there.

"Put that cat down," the parent said sternly. "I don't want you getting attached."

"But mo-om!"

"Look, another one!" the younger girl cried, pointing towards the door. Ears was there, trying to figure out how to get in the house to save her friend. Before she could dart away, the patchy queen was scooped up by the oldest boy, and he was snuggling her. Cassandra tried not to laugh at the expression on Ears' face.

"Can't… breath…" she muttered. All the humans heard, however, was a meow. This time, the dad came into the room.

"Put both of those cats outside, right now!"

To back up what he was saying, Samuel sauntered up to the two queens, hissing. "This is my home," he said smugly. "I'm not sharing it with any street cats."

The children, seeing their own cat's hostile nature, dropped the two queens out the open door, and they shot off through the yard, glad to be away.

…

"Do I know that tom from somewhere?" Ears asked. She had a very perplexed expression on her face as she stared at her paws.

Cassandra shook her head. "Probably not," she knew the truth, however… but even as she tried to recall the memory of that night, it wasn't there. Then how did she know that Ears and Samuel knew each other? She frowned and shoved the discomfort away.

…

Alonzo padded through the junkyard, keeping his eyes peeled for Cassandra. She hadn't been in her den, and no one had seen her—or the new queen, for that matter—for nearly a day. He saw Jennyanydots watching the younger kittens play, and decided to ask her.

"Good afternoon," he said, sitting beside her. Jenny glanced at the black and white tom.

"Looking for Cassandra?"

Alonzo smiled and nodded. He liked that Jenny always seemed to know what was bothering others.

"She's on a sort of vacation," Jenny explained, taking her eyes off the kittens for a moment. "She wanted to show the new queen around London."

Alonzo raised his eyebrows. "How long will they be gone?"

"Oh," Jenny pressed her lips into a tight line. "Until they are ready to come back, I suppose." She turned back to watching the kittens, leaving a very disappointed Alonzo alone with his thoughts.

…

Thanks to the word of Jenny, nobody went searching for the two missing queens… although Alonzo couldn't stop himself from exploring the nearby towns on his own. One day, almost two weeks later, a small slip of paper appeared in the junkyard, addressed to Alonzo.

He unfolded the paper, staring at the lines on the page. He'd never learned to read and write; he was always the one to slack off in Jenny's lessons. After frustrating himself into a headache, he sought out Munkustrap.

"You can read, right?" Alonzo asked the silver tabby.

Munkustrap nodded. "Can't you? I thought you had classes with Jenny when you were younger,"

Alonzo scuffed his paws in the dirt. "I didn't pay enough attention."

Munkustrap rolled his eyes, but took the paper from Alonzo, scanning it quickly. Alonzo leaned over Munk's shoulder, urging him to read out loud. "'Alonzo,'" Munkustrap read, "'I am safe and well-looked after. Please don't worry about me. Cassandra.'"

Alonzo seized the paper, trying to decipher the worm-like scribbles. Was that really all it said? Munkustrap folded his arms disapprovingly.

"'Lonz, if you don't stop searching for her, I'm going to have to do something about it." He gripped the black-and-white tom's shoulders. "She's fine. There's no need to worry."

"If you say so…" Alonzo was still unsure, but he let the matter rest… for the time being.

Ok, that was short. Psh. There will be some juicy stuff coming up, although I'm not exactly sure when.