" Mia."
No reply.
" Mia!"
" Hmmmm!"
" Mi-"
" WHAT?!" Mia snapped, spitting the pen out from her mouth and turning to Annie.
Annie pointed up to the sky. " ... We might wanna hide Morro."
Mia raised a brow. " Why?"
" Because... his friends..."
Emma, who was painting, looked up. " Which friends?"
" His old ones...?"
Emma's eyes widened.
Then she THREW her palate into the air ( sorry, Blackie) and ran to the window. " WHAT?!"
The now rainbow cat let out a sigh. " I'm too old for this..."
Mia blinked, eyes still half-lidded from the nap she'd just taken. "His old ones?" she repeated, clearly not following. "Who even—"
Annie quickly grabbed her by the arm and pulled her toward the window. "Morro's old friends," she said, her voice now a bit more urgent.
Emma was already standing at the window, her face pale as she gazed out. "This is bad," she muttered under her breath.
Mia finally caught on, a smirk tugging at her lips. "Okay, now you're gonna explain why this is bad?"
Annie clenched her fists. "Morro was part of a team. A team we don't want to meet. They're, uh, dangerous."
Emma turned to face them, eyes wide and panicked. "You don't understand. If they find out Morro's still alive..."
"Then they'll come after him," Mia finished, her expression hardening. "And if they come after him... they're coming after all of us."
Emma nodded, pacing. "Exactly. And you know what that means, right?"
Blackie, who had been lounging lazily on the windowsill, gave an exaggerated yawn, then looked over at Emma. "I don't know, but I'll be hiding somewhere safe with my naps if it all goes south."
"Don't be like that, Blackie!" Emma shot back, but the cat had already curled into a ball, unimpressed by the current crisis.
Mia, still holding the bow she hadn't yet put down, glanced around. "Alright, we need to figure out how to hide Morro—" She cut herself off as she heard something from outside. A faint whistle of wind, almost like a warning.
"Too late," she muttered.
Annie's eyes flickered nervously. "They're here."
Mia clenched her fists, her usual playful demeanor now gone. "Alright, everyone get ready. This is gonna get ugly."
Emma, still frazzled, took a deep breath. "You know, I'm seriously starting to regret not asking Morro for more details on who his old friends were."
Mia smirked. "Too bad. Now it's time to meet them."
Blackie, without so much as lifting his head, muttered, "Honestly, this could have waited till tomorrow."
Mia was standing in the middle of the room, a weapon strapped to her body like she was preparing for war. She had a knife in one boot, a couple of throwing stars tucked into her jacket, a crossbow slung over her shoulder, and—just for good measure—a huge gun strapped to her back.
"Really?" Emma asked, her voice a mix of disbelief and awe. "You're bringing everything?"
Mia grinned, her expression all fire and determination. "If I'm gonna fight, I'm doing it right."
