Days later?
The full moon emerged, bathing the backyard and the ravine bordering it in a soft glow. Sitting in the window seat, which spanned the length of the bay window in the family room, Jiao stared mournfully outside, but not as sadly as her cat.
"Why can't we go out?" she asked for the hundredth time, unable to mask the plaintive tone. The yard and the shadowy woods edging them looked so tempting. So perfect. The temperature crisp. The smells inviting. The chirrups of night birds taunting. Oh how she twitched to get out and stretch. Run a little. Chase something up a tree. Find some soft grass to roll in.
"I've told you a hundred times. We can't let anyone see our felines. If word gets back to Kaleb?"
"Yeah. Yeah. Everyone is a spy. Blah. Blah. Blah. We'll get kidnapped. Or stuck in a zoo. Or become the main act in a three ring circus. Hey, wait, that's happened to us before and we survived," she said sarcastically.