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“AMY? You look totally haggard. Has that kitten not gotten better yet?” asked Letizia.
“Oh, Letty… The kitten is doing much better, but…”
Amy had been looking after Misty for the past ten days.
She was sitting with Letizia and Rosalind in the school lounge room. It was the first time in a while they had been able to sit down with one another and catch up, but Amy was so exhausted she hadn’t even touched her favorite tart yet. Amy’s face looked pale and drained—it was no wonder Letizia was concerned.
“Someone as talented as you shouldn’t be this worn out from just using healing magic on a kitten,” Letizia continued.
“Letty…” Rosalind cut in on Amy’s behalf, grinning. “This isn’t magic exhaustion—it’s sleep deprivation.”
Letizia’s eyes widened.
“Sleep deprivation?”
That’s right, thought Amy.
Thanks to the vet’s treatments and Amy’s healing magic, the kitten had been able to drink a small amount of milk the day after she took her home. When the Northland family heard Misty’s faint purr and weak meow, their chests swelled to the bursting point with emotion.
The day after that, the eye medicine had kicked in, and Misty was able to open her eyes, revealing beautiful eyes that were the typical deep blue color of young kittens.
After Amy decided Misty had regained enough strength for a bath, her freshly clean, soft, light-gray fur shimmered in the light. Misty’s own remarkable powers of recovery helped her get back to normal in almost no time, and she transformed into an amazingly cute kitten right before their eyes.
The time we all smiled and watched her innocently bat at Tigger’s tail seems like just a fleeting memory now…
Amy looked up, closed her eyes as if the lounge lights were too harsh for her, and put a hand on her forehead.
“Misty gets so hyper in the middle of the night.”
Rosalind looked on sympathetically. It seemed like the more the kitten regained her spirits, the more Amy withered away.
“Portia gets quite active at night, too, but Misty’s hyperactivity must be on an entirely different level, huh?”
“I thought I was prepared, but I had no idea the circus she would hold every night would be so wild…”
Amy sighed and looked out at the sky, remembering the wild commotion that had become a part of Misty’s nightly routine.
Misty, who had been docile and quiet while she was sick, would spontaneously and wildly dart around the room in the middle of the night or at the crack of dawn.
But she didn’t just run around—she also jumped around the room like she was pouncing on invisible prey. Amy called the nightly uproar Misty’s Circus.
Misty was so immersed in her pursuit of running wildly all over the room, she would trample over Amy as she slept over and over—she would even pounce on Amy’s face.
Cats were predators by nature, but pet cats didn’t need to catch prey. Domestic cats would therefore release their pent-up hunting drive at night, their normal period of activity as nocturnal animals.
Tigger was an adult when Amy adopted him, so he was more relaxed at night, but energetic kittens and young cats were often very active at night.
“What about Mimi, Letty?” Amy asked. “Does she run around?”
“She goes with the servants when I sleep, so I don’t know what she’s like at night.”
Amy stared at her, envious of their pampered royal lifestyle. Letizia quietly cleared her throat.
“Why don’t you just sleep in another room, then?”
“That’s the thing, Letty. Misty loves Tigger so much, she can’t stand to be apart from him!”
And Tigger loved Amy so much, he always wanted to sleep right by her side. If Amy had to choose between Tigger or sleep, the answer was obvious—Tigger.
That was why, despite her exhaustion, Amy attended Misty’s Circus every night.
“Th-That’s tough…” Letizia said.
“Plus, it would be terrible if she got hurt or something going wild at night where I couldn’t keep an eye on her. And I really am happy—her nighttime craziness is also evidence she’s feeling better, after all.”
It may be hard on Amy physically, but she wasn’t going to change their sleeping arrangements.
Her friends looked at her with a mixture of support and pity.
“Why don’t you have a chiffon cake with your tart?” suggested Rosalind.
“I’ll order a hot cocoa for you too, okay?” said Letizia. “Good luck tonight, Amy.”
Amy swallowed hard.
“You guys… Thank you!”
The outer corners of Amy’s eyes grew warm as she looked at her two friends, who hoped at the very least to cheer her up with delicious treats.
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WHEN Amy went home later that day, she steeled herself for the night ahead.
“Shhh! Amy, come over here!” Isabelle immediately hissed at her from the entrance hall.
“Huh? Wh-What is it, Mom?”
After telling Amy not to make a sound, Isabelle led her to the main staircase, one of Tigger’s favorite napping spots. Tigger, unsurprisingly, was tucked into the corner of one of the stairs, his body rising and falling slowly and comfortably in his sleep.
“Look closer,” Isabelle whispered, giggling quietly and pointing at Tigger’s belly.
A small, light-gray furball nestled snugly against the ocean of Tigger’s long, black and orange fur.
Amy held her breath. A sleeping kitten snuggled up against—and nearly swallowed up by—a large cat!
How adorable! How precious!
Amy somehow managed to stifle her voice upon witnessing the scene, which was as angelic as any chapel ceiling painting. With her hands clutched together over her chest, Amy couldn’t take her eyes away from them, totally enchanted.
“It’s— It’s so cute… Now that I’ve seen this, I’ll let you do whatever you want, Misty…! That’s right… You can have as many circus nights as you want!”
“Oh, Amy…” Isabelle said, chuckling.
Unsurprisingly, Amy spent most of that night awake with Misty, who had once again transformed into a savage nocturnal warrior, and she greeted the morning with a huge yawn.