A gloomy light was leaking through the window of the guest room by the time that the door to it was finally opened, and Wendell and I were allowed to come out.

Of course, it had felt like the two of us had been in there for several eternities – scratching at the door, yowling at the top of our lungs to try and get someone's attention, trying to find a way out of the room, sitting in the middle of the room sharing our anger and sadness, and barely touching the food and water that the Twolegs would slip through the door.

And, at night, trying to sleep on the empty Twoleg bed that was in the room with each time the sun went down, darkening the room completely. This had only occurred a few times, and as we both had expected, neither of us had slept at all.

And I knew that I, as well as Wendell, was feeling a horrible, exhausting fatigue that weighed me down both physically and mentally as the both of us padded through the doorway.

Out in the hallway it was quiet and empty, and the latest scent of Oreo that I could catch was the same one from a few days ago, when Wendell had chased him out of the basement. No...

Neither me nor Wendell were going to waste our time searching the entire house, looking behind furniture and on top of tables and under beds to try and find our son. We were both smarter than that – we both knew that we might as well begin to cope with the fact that he was gone.

However, I did have the smallest bit of hope as I decided to peer into the living room ahead. But as I had worried there would be – there were our two Twolegs simply sitting on the couch, staring at the big bright screen in front of them like they'd just completed the most simple, mundane task ever.

They had no idea that they'd just taken a cats' entire world from them. It was horrible, especially when one of those cats already thought that they'd lost their world...

Overwhelmed with emotion for the hundredth time since Wendell and I had been shut away in that gosh-darned bedroom, I found I couldn't take another pawstep and had to sit down in my place, my head falling and looking down at my paws as if I couldn't carry the weight of it anymore.

I'd now lost both of my kits, and both of them to Twolegs.

And as familiar as this feeling of loss was – it never got better or got easier each time I experienced it. How much more is there?

Out of the corner of my eye, I could then see Wendell padding towards me. He seemed to have made a small attempt to see if Oreo was around by some miracle, but had quickly given up. I luckily managed to feel the smallest bit of comfort as Wendell stopped beside me, wrapping his tail around my back and resting his muzzle on my head.

And for a while, the two of us stood there in silence, the hallway looking especially gloomy despite the sun rays leaking through the window in the room behind us, and everything silent except for the birds chirping outside and the strange buzzing sound of the glowing box in the living room.

And I had no idea how much time had actually passed by the time I heard Wendell sigh, and I felt myself being pulled closer to Wendell with his tail.

I then found myself trying to meet his gaze as he let out another sigh almost immediately after, his eyes seeming to be glossed over with grief. "There really isn't much left here for you, is there?"

The words had barely been above a whisper, but ripped my heart in half as if he'd yowled them to me in rage. "Wendell, my gosh," I replied to the tom in shock as I wrapped my tail around his. "Please don't say that."

"But it's true," Wendell murmured a bit more loudly. And after he gave a shake of his head, I could hardly stand to look at his face when he finally lifted his head to meet my gaze. "Isn't it?"

I couldn't even answer for a moment, and even felt myself trying to push down frustration at the fact that my mate was bringing this up now. But it can't be avoided. "You're still here," I tried to tell myself as well as him.

Wendell then closed his eyes for a moment, giving another shake of his head. "But that's not enough," he sighed. And I couldn't even speak anymore as I then watched him shift his gaze towards the basement door down the hallway. "I don't expect it to be."

My heart felt as if it was sinking to the ground with Wendell's words, and at this point, a world that already felt split apart now felt as if it was being burned to ashes. Now that his son is gone... is Wendell fully giving up on me before I have the chance to leave?

Not being able to fathom that thought – being sent away from the cat I loved once again – I fully turned away from Wendell, having to pad away from the tabby tom to digest his words.

To my surprise, I heard his pawsteps immediately following behind me, and just a moment after that, he swiftly ran forward to intercept me and meet my gaze. To my relief, his pale blue eyes were soft. "Mistpelt, you know I love you more than anything," he reassured me, bringing me to look back at him with a weak warm gaze. "But as I've said before, I know where your heart truly lies."

I then raised my eyebrows in intrigue as he then let out a huff and looked off to the side. "And I love you enough to..."

"To what?" I pressed to the tom after I watched him hesitate for several moments.

After another few moments, Wendell took a deep breath and seemed to force himself to meet my gaze once again. "To send you away."

I found I could only stare at him with wide, dismayed, and shocked eyes as he began to shake his head yet again. "As much as I want you here with me for the rest of my life, in the place that I feel that I belong, and as much as it hurts me to know that you are leaving, it..." He then sat down, winding his tail around mine once again. "It hurts me even more to see you trapped here, and see these Twolegs take so much from you and make you live a life that you don't want to live."

I already felt the emotion welling up in my eyes as I then felt him tighten his grip around my tail. "It's about time you went back to the place you belong," he then meowed huskily.

I slowly began to shake my head back at the tom. "But, Wendell..." my voice then broke, and I couldn't finish my words.

"I'm not wrong," Wendell immediately replied, his voice full of regret and sadness, but also full of certainty.

I gave the tom a shrug. "No, you're not, but..."

I then took in one of the shakiest inhales of my entire life as my gaze fell back down to my paws. "You've given me a reason to make it so much harder to leave."

"Well darn," Wendell then meowed, and I gave a sniff as he pressed his flank against mine and wrapped his tail around my back once again. "Should have held back the charm a bit."

I actually managed to let out a hoarse purr. I then let my eyes close in comfort as I felt him then lick my head. "And there's no way I can take that charm with me?" I asked Wendell, asking it as if I was presenting the most surface level question – I already knew what the answer was. But it doesn't hurt to try...

As I had expected, Wendell let out a longing sigh and gave a shake of his head. "Weirdly, I'd feel as trapped out there in the wild as you do in this house."

I had to let out another sigh. Spoken like a true housecat, I thought to myself sadly. It's like he said about me – I've always known that this is where he belongs, but I didn't want to believe it.

And now that I was facing the reality of it head-on, I was overwhelmed with the thought of it, and I found myself burying my head deep into Wendell's fur. "Ugh, I hate it."

"Trust me, I do too," Wendell then breathed as he ran his tail down my back.

"I really hate it," I then muttered.

"I know," Wendell murmured as he shook his head. "But I also know that you hate being away from the forest."

"I know," I then sighed, lifting my head from Wendell's fur and giving another shrug as if admitting defeat. "I really, really hate that too."

"Really?" Wendell then replied sarcastically, bringing me to let out another weak purr. And as our gazes met, his pale blue gaze began to glow with love.

I stared back at the handsome tom for several moments, likely for one of the final times as I then turned my head to look towards the window in the room we'd been held captive in.

Just seeing the sunlight leaking through it, and the leaves on the trees that shivered with the slight breeze, seemed to give me a rush of adrenaline, desire and excitement. Wendell was fully right.

In all of the places I had been in my life, the Clans were where I was the happiest. To be honest, it felt like the closest thing to my amazing, adventurous life as a kit – the place that made me feel most like myself aside from my life with my parents.

A place that made me feel like I belonged after I'd been in a place that had torn me to pieces, with cats that brought me up only to bring me down. After I'd been in a place where I relied on the love of and happiness from one cat, I'd found a place where I found happiness simply in the company of strong-willed and kind cats who stood proudly with everything they cared about.

The Clans were the first place that I never wanted to leave. As soon as I was put somewhere else after it, I wanted to leave it to go back.

It was a place that made me feel safe, and a part of my life that I didn't regret, and a place that didn't make me feel list. It was a place that even where I experienced sadness or loss, even when I knew that I wouldn't have my love or my kits with me, I felt that I still had so much.

And I had never, ever questioned if I wanted to return there. Even with the love that I had found here – real love – something that my thoughts hadn't wavered.

I knew it from the first day I'd been put in this house, and had known it every day leading up until now – I wanted to go back to ThunderClan. After all the time I had taken here, I was more than ready.

And somehow, I could immediately tell that Wendell saw this conclusion I had come to – I wasn't sure if it showed on my face, or if he just knew me that well.

Either way, he seemed to give an almost concluding nod. His eyes were solemn and regretful, but also full of determination. "Alright, then," he then sighed. I then watched as he closed his eyes for only a moment. "How strong are you feeling right now? Do you think you can drag and lift a few things back to back?"

"I absolutely can," I answered the tom as I stared at him curiously. "In fact..." I then looked to my side and let out a sigh myself. "I think I need to let out some pent up... energy. Why?"

I then raised my eyebrows in surprise as Wendell quickly stood up and began to pad away. "Because we've got some work to do in the basement."

He then paused for a moment to look back at me. "Think we can get a lot done with the window if we really give it some time and work together?"

I let out an exasperated sigh. "I can only hope..." I then narrowed my eyes, repeating my last question. "Why?"

"Because we can be in the home stretch of your escape plan, if you want to," Wendell then meowed softly. I then felt my heart melt with so much love, appreciation and tenderness as the tom then looked toward the same window I'd been looking at, his pale blue eyes glowing in the sunlight. "Hm... it hardly looks like sunhigh has even arrived. If we get started now, we can get you out of this house by tomorrow."