“It is getting colder, Sora,” Sayuri declared, taking a break from licking her thigh to look at the kitten sitting next to her doing the same thing. “We do not like the cold. We will have to find somewhere warmer to stay. On the roof it is cold. There are many warm alleys by the big houses. Do you like alleys?”

“Mew,” Sora answered after a moment’s hesitation, as if considering what the white-haired girl had said.

“Sayuri does not care for them, either.” Sayuri brought her leg up higher than before, her rough tongue turning her pearly skin red. “But if we find a nice warm alley near a baker, we can have cakes if they throw them away. We like cakes.”

“Mew,” Sora replied quickly, switching legs.

“After our bath we should go look for baker places with room in the alley we can sleep in,” Sayuri suggested. Sora continued bathing herself and Sayuri followed suit. She shuddered as her tongue brushed against the apex of her thighs. She turned to Sora, cheeks blazing slightly in excitement. “Do you feel good when you lick there?” Sayuri pointed.

“Mew,” Sora seemed indifferent.

“Maybe Sayuri is doing it wrong, her family did not teach her much.”

“Mew?” Sayuri cocked her head to the side, thinking.

“Sayuri doesn’t know,” she finally answered. “She doesn’t remember much before coming here. Only that she and her family traveled far to get here. Across wide plains and tall mountains and wet rivers. When we reached here it was supposed to be the forever home. That is what Sayuri was told.”

“Mew?”

“The forever home is where we all want to be. It is a place we can be without having to move ever again. A place where we are loved and have tasty food and even snacks. A place we are accepted. Sayuri is not sure if it is one place for us all or the forever home is different for each of us. Sayuri has never seen others like her, except her family. She has a mother and father and smaller brother and older sister, but…they are gone, now.”

“Meow.”

“She doesn’t know. Sayuri woke one morning and was alone. There had been all of us when she went to sleep and there was only Sayuri when she awoke. It has been a long time, but Sayuri still hopes she will find her family or, at least, others like her.” Sayuri paused for a long moment, staring into the distance, a line of bleak clouds crouched low on the western horizon beyond the massive curtain wall surrounding Arkbridge.

“Mew?” Sora’s pink tongue flicked out curiously.

“Nonono! Sayuri is glad to be with Sora! Is Sora glad to be with Sayuri?”

“Mew!”

“It looks like it will get cold and rainy tonight,” Sayuri lowered her leg and sat forward, stretching lazily. Let’s go find a nice alley to sleep in, ok?”

“Mew,” Sora uncurled herself and waited patiently for Sayuri to pick her up.

“And one time when I was looking for food I tripped over a big block and fell down and when I looked back to get mad at the block for tripping me someone had moved it! There was nothing there!” Sayuri shuddered. “I think it was a ghost.”

“Mew?”

“No, Sayuri wouldn’t have tripped over her own feet. I’m sure it was a big block or a basket or a sarcophagus or something,” Sayuri shook her head. “So Sayuri ran away from there very fast because she does not like ghosts. Especially ones that move things right after they trip her. Then there was another time when-“

“Bark! Bark! Bark!”

“Aieeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!” Sayuri shrieked, leaping straight into the air nearly three meters and grabbing desperately onto a balcony overlooking the alley her and Sora had been walking down. Sayuri clambered over the railing, her heart pounding in her chest as she held Sora close to her.

“Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark!” The mottled black and tan dog yapped at her, staring upward, teeth bared angrily.

“B-Bad dog!” Sayuri squeaked fearfully. “Go home! Go away!”

“Bark! Bark!” The dog replied. Sayuri shrunk back against the wall and sunk onto her haunches, tail fluffed out and frizzy, knees shaking.

“T-There shouldn’t have been a d-dog here,” Sayuri stammered, reaching into the ratty burlap sack she carried and pulling out a tattered sheet of papyrus. She opened the paper and traced the poorly drawn lines scribbled on it. “No, there wasn’t a dog the last time I was here.” She pulled a chunk of charcoal from her sack and, setting Sora between her still shaking knees scrawled a stick figure dog on the paper, making certain the jagged teeth were extra-large.

“Mew,” Sora shivered in fear against Sayuri’s chest.

“Sayuri was scared, too. Why do they have to be so loud and angry? This makes-“Sayuri counted on her fingers the angry charcoal dogs drawn on her map. She quickly ran out of fingers and paused in thought, staring up at the glowering clouds gathering over the city, the light of the setting sun reflecting against the roiling, turbulent bottoms. “A hundred million, I think. I’m not sure, but there are a lot of dogs.”

“Mew.” Sora agreed.

“It’s ok,” Sayuri folded the paper and put it and the chunk of charcoal carefully back into her sack and snuggled Sora tight. “We’ll be over near the big houses soon and Sayuri knows there will be bakeries with cakes to share and no dogs.”

“Mew!” Sora purred.

“Yep! Yep! It sounds like paradise to me, too!” The first drops of cold rain fell from the leaden sky and Sayuri leapt up. She took Sora up gently and leapt from the balcony, over the wildly barking dog and onto the newly wet roof across the alley. “Let’s goooo!”