Tess sat statue-like on Sasha’s bed facing the two girls with her tail curled around her feet. Her ears laid back against her skull and whiskers standing straight out exuded tension which was reflected in the girls’ posture. Arms wrapped tightly around each other, they appeared to be two halves of a single organism. Their tight grip on each other was the only thing stilling the trembling that was pushing Tess’s already sensitive nerves to the breaking point.

She experienced anothe...