I never realized that so many types of restraints for cats existed.

I was in a new one now - this one feeling smaller and more compact than the one I'd been carried to the animal shelter in, with only a few vertical holes for me to see out of, and caged bars only on one end of it. The bottom of it was cushioned, and I had to admit that it felt incredibly soft on my paws – maybe even a bit softer than grass or moss.

But of course, that didn't matter to me at all or bring me any comfort. The fact that I was in this confined space, being carried by two Twolegs that for some reason found it exciting to claim ownership of a cat that had been ripped away from its home and from its daughter, filled me with nothing but anger.

And for the second time that day, I'd had to endure another ride in a monster, luckily, this one a little less shaky, and not nearly as dark.

But of course, that didn't matter to me at all or bring me any comfort. The fact that I was in this confined space, being carried by two Twolegs that for some reason found it exciting to claim ownership of a cat that had been ripped away from its home and from its daughter, filled me with nothing but anger.

And luckily, just like last time, the monster had come to a stop, and I was exposed to small slits of a view of the outside once again, small streaks of sunlight breaking through them and lighting my small space.

But of course, that didn't matter to me at all or bring me any comfort. The fact that I was in this confined space, being carried by two Twolegs that for some reason found it exciting to claim ownership of a cat that had been ripped away from its home and from its daughter, filled me with nothing but anger.

Can you tell I'm losing my mind a little?

And all I felt I could do at this point was continue to spiral downward, back in my original, malicious state as I yowled within my small confinement, attempting to fill up every single part of that cage with my scratches. Sure, I was hoping that I could scare the Twolegs and annoy them to death, but I also was trying to do everything that I could to get them to hate me and to get rid of me.

I'm not sure if they were on a mission to try and fix the most demonic and aggressive cat that they could find in the shelter, or assumed that I was just being hostile for the time being, but either way, they were stupid as heck for picking me.

But I probably looked stupid as heck to anyone that could see the scene occurring as I was carried by one of the Twolegs out of the monster. As far as I could tell – to my complete annoyance – these two furless mouth-breathers didn't seem to care that I was going berserk for the hundredth time today.

And as they opened their front door to their Twoleg nest and brought me inside, I let out a yowl, surprised as the cage landed hard on the ground, causing me to land on my back on the plush flooring. It appeared as if I had been set down.

I quickly scrambled to my paws, and I actually let out a gasp when almost simultaneously, the cage's door opened – representing what was supposed to be freedom, for some reason.

Well, I suppose receiving free reign to rip two Twolegs to shreds and then leave their dumpster of a nest would eventually lead to freedom.

Suddenly being filled with determination and excitement, I burst out of the cage, my claws already unsheathed and my teeth barred as a growl was rising in my throat.

It was time for a heathen to outsmart two other heathens.

I blinked in surprise when I couldn't immediately see the two Twolegs in front of me. And after whipping my head from side to side, and still not seeing them, I practically threw myself to my side and pelted to the other end of the cage, assuming that they had been standing just behind my confinement.

So, one could imagine that I was immensely confused when I didn't see the two idiots on the other side either.

In fact, all I was able to spot was their front door, just before it shut all the way, and clicked closed.

And as the current situation hit me, I found myself trying to push down even more rising anger. And weirdly, this was the one instance where a Twoleg's absence infuriated me. So, they snatch me away from my home, take me to this place, and then leave me here? I thought with rage as my claws sank into the carpet below me. Are they out of their minds?

But luckily, it only took me a few heartbeats to calm down just a bit, take a deep breath, and realize what this situation actually meant. Well, I know they're out of their minds, I then told myself as I sniffed. But they're especially out of their minds if they think they'll still find me here when they get back.

Now, with a completely new mission, I whipped myself back around and flitted my eyes around the entirety of the room I was in – a living room, I could easily tell. Luckily my time in the Twolegplace had given me some idea of what was around me in a Twoleg nest – the large-looking fluffy cushions in the room, the carpet on my paws, and the weird, black box that was stuck to the wall made it obvious.

But all that mattered to me right now was the large window that was to the right of one of the large cushions.

And as I trotted excitedly over to where it was, I found that my gaze could now not look at anything else but this window – something that I knew could easily be my escape from this place.

With no problem at all, I was able to leap up to the window, which luckily had a wooden plank that jutted out from it that I could sit on. I then narrowed my eyes, now very intently looking for anything that even slightly resembled a shiny-looking hook.

This is unfortunately because I knew that this was what I was supposed to look for, unfortunately because this is one of the many things that Scourge had taught me when I lived in BloodClan. Opening windows could be either an easy in to any Twoleg building, or a perfect, quick escape out of one. And if I'm remembering correctly... ff any window has a hook in the middle of the pane, it should easily twist, and I can push the window pane up and slide through!

My fur now tingling with excitement, I immediately gripped the hook with my teeth and began to tug it in my direction, like I had been taught. Up until this point, this had worked for me without fail.

So why the hook wasn't moving, I wasn't sure.

I found myself having to step away for a moment as my teeth began to ache. I then closed my eyes, lifted my head towards the ceiling, and let out a sigh. And the hits just keep on coming.

And after I took another moment to question StarClan and their choices, I gave a shake of my fur and then attempted to give it another go, but sadly, my hope was already swindling down fast.

And I gave up once again only after a few more moments, with me coming out of it this time hissing in frustration. Goodness gracious, what is the deal?

"Nice try. There's no way you're getting that window open."

I then let out another hiss, this time, in alarm at the lower voice that I heard behind me. I whipped myself around, easily being able to find my footing despite the small amount of space, my claws unsheathed and my heart racing as I watched a larger figure pad up to me from the floor below.

It was a cat, thank goodness, and it appeared to be a tom. He was a dark brown tabby with fur as long as mine, with ice blue eyes that seemed glitter with smugness and amusement.

I stared back at him through my own narrowed ice blue eyes. "Excuse me?" I called out to him, my fur slightly bristling at the sight of the stranger.

"That window isn't going to open," the tom repeated to me, his head shaking back and forth slowly. "Trust me, others have tried."

I simply stared back at the tom for a moment in bewilderment as I placed one of my paws on top of the metal hook. "I'm sorry, is this not the way to open a window?"

"It would be if it hadn't been fused shut."

I stared back at the tom in silence once again, this time, a little longer. "Fused shut?"

The dark brown tabby gave me a single nod. "You've got it."

"And why would anyone do that?" I then asked, my claws on that same paw unsheathing and wrapping themselves around the hook.

The stranger then let out a sniff. "Well, probably to try and avoid exactly what you're doing right now." I then rolled my eyes and held back a growl as he then sat down, wrapping his thick tail around his front paws. "Well, I think. I'm assuming you're trying to escape?"

I then let out a sigh through barred teeth. "You're so wise," I then muttered as I leapt down from the window, brushing past the tom and deeper into the Twoleg nest as soon as I made my landing.

I could feel the tom's gaze still on me as I then tried to take a peek into what I assumed was the kitchen. "Hm, so what's your next game plan?" he called out to me.

Even though he was behind me, I found myself lashing my tail back towards him dismissively. "Just give me a moment," I hissed back at him before deciding to pad quickly back over to the front door that I'd first been brought back in – my eyes immediately falling on its copper-colored knob. "Does this open?"

"Nope."

"Why?"

"It locks from the inside," the tom replied as I heard his pawsteps begin to follow behind me.

"Geez," I growled in frustration as I then wandered around the living room frantically. I then took one last glance back at the door. "Maybe I can squeeze past the Twolegs when they come back and open the door?"

The tabby tom then let out a snort. "Good luck getting them not to notice that."

I then felt my eyes narrowing. "Well, they're clearly a little dense." Then, as I heard the tom purr with amusement, I looked back at the window I'd been at earlier.

My eyes further narrowed, and my tail began to lash with eagerness and curiosity. "Think I could smash that open with something?"

"Sure," the tom replied in a surprisingly nonchalant tone. I found out why just a heartbeat later – "If the glass was breakable."

You've got to be kidding me.

I slowly turned my head and looked over my shoulder, staring back at the tom even longer this time. I'm going to lose my mind. "There's glass that isn't breakable?"

"There is if you don't want anyone to break it."

I then proceeded to glare at the tom for a few moments, wondering if StarClan was just trying to humor me by spawning in a random cat who was just meant to make my life and my situation even more difficult than it already was. "I'm sorry – who are you?"

The tom purred as he sat down once again. "I'm surprised you want to know," he then meowed. "I've just been crushing your fun."

You've got that right. "Well, yeah, you have," I then said out loud. I then narrowed my eyes and gave a lash of my tail. "But I'm polite and ask for names."

The tom let out yet another mrrow of laughter as he shook his head. While he obviously wasn't in my situation, it for some reason infuriated me that he could possibly be so happy go-lucky right now. "I'm Wendell. If you couldn't tell, I live here and I know this house pretty well."

I simply gave him a nod before simply passing by him once again and continuing in my search, his gaze still on me. "Are you going to continue your politeness and introduce yourself?"

I only stopped in my pawsteps for a moment to sigh and roll my eyes. "Mistpelt."

"Lovely to meet you, Mistpelt," Wendell then purred, his head seeming to shake in amazement as I then continued to look at every single nook and cranny around me. "Now, why are you trying to get out of here?"

I paused once again, genuinely shocked as I turned around and faced the tabby tom. "Why are you not?"

Wendell shrugged as he gave a lash of his tail. "A roof on my head... food in my belly," he then meowed with laughter in his voice. "That's about all I need to keep me somewhere."

I sighed once again, closing my eyes for a moment. Considering some of the cats I've known and met in the past, I should have anticipated that answer. "To each their own," I breathed.

I then forced myself to sit down, taking a moment as I flicked my tail back towards the front door. "Did these idiots get you from a shelter too?"

"Sure did. Just a few seasons ago," Wendell replied, his gaze then quickly wiping over with intrigue. "So you came from the shelter?"

"Unfortunately," I muttered, physically shaking my head as I tried to get rid of the thoughts of it. "I was there for one night."

"Geez, only one night?" Wendell asked with wide eyes. "Impressive."

I let out another sigh. "I guess somehow Twolegs were still able to see a pretty cat beyond its fit of rage."

I then cocked an eyebrow as Wendell let out a snort, and he looked at me from head to paws. "Well, I can't blame them for that." And after I let out a disgusted hiss and turned away from him once again, I then heard him meow, "Where were you before the shelter?"

I then couldn't help but longingly look back at the window that I now knew was... unbreakable – the window that should have led me back out to my home. "I come from the forest," I then sighed as I shook my head slowly. "If it wasn't obvious enough already, I was brought here against my will."

"Nah, really?" Wendell meowed to me, his eyes mockingly wide and his tone sarcastic. And after I rolled my eyes back at him, his eyes grew curious once again. "Wait, so you're one of those wild cats?"

"Definitely wanting to go a little wild right now..." I muttered.

Wendell then let out an amused purr, and then let out a fascinated grunt as he padded up closer to me. "So, are you one of those cats that lives in one of the big groups? That are vicious to any intruders and eat their prey whole?"

I couldn't help but let out a purr myself at the tabby tom's idea of what Clan cats were. That's certainly not the picture Barley first painted for me... I then had to shut my eyes for a moment as I had to fight back grief. Gosh, I miss Barley already...

I then shook my head quickly, pulling myself back to the present as I once again thought about Wendell's latest comment. "Goodness gracious. You're right about the first part... but I chew my food." After Wendell and I then managed to exchange a purr, I shook my head again and scanned my gaze around the living room. "But anyway, I want to get back to my group more than anything right now."

I then shut my eyes once again as an even bigger wave of grief hit me like a monster going at full speed. "Well, I want to once I find my daughter..."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Wendell's eyes widen and his ears flick. "You have a daughter?" he asked me, sounding genuinely shocked. "What happened to her?"

I took a moment to take a deep breath and try to keep calm before answering the tom. "She was taken away when I was, but then we were separated," I eventually forced out as my eyes screwed shut. "Great StarClan, I hope she's okay..."

Then, as a growl began to rise in my throat and anger began to bubble up inside of me all over again, I found myself looking at that darned-window all over again. "And I hope that these Twolegs are prepared for their unbreakable glass to break."

My growl then released from my throat when Wendell grabbed my tail with his, stopping me from jumping back up to the window. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" he called to me in alarm. "Even if you did end up breaking that glass and escaping, you'll do so looking like a bloody mess!"

I then let out a frustrated sigh as I begrudgingly internally agreed with Wendell, and had to admit to myself that my grief and determination really was driving me mad. "Well then, Wendell, can you help me, for StarClan's sake?" I exasperatedly asked the tom. "Seriously, I've got a two moon old kit out there on her own, and every moment that I'm not with her is another moment that she has to be scared, trapped, and alone."

I then let my claws unsheathe and sink into the carpet once again. "I'd live my whole life that way myself if it meant I knew she was okay, but I don't," I then continued, my voice now hoarse with emotion. "So, for the love of everything, help me find a way out of here."

Wendell practically looked helpless as he gave me a shrug. "I'm sorry, Mistpelt. I can't."

With those words, I sunk my claws deeper into the floor and let my eyes narrow. "Okay, the jokes can stop now, Wendell."

"I wish I was joking," Wendell then sighed, giving another shrug as he then began to scan his blue eyes around the room. "But remember what I said earlier? Do you really think you're the first cat that's tried to get out of here? For whatever reason, these housefolk love their cats, and have taken any means possible to keep them from getting out anymore."

I then felt my heart sink as his solemn gaze met mine once again. "I hate to say it, but I think you're meant to be here for the long haul."