Not In Kansas Anymore (NIKA)

Breakout

This morning, the three of us were in the kitchen/dining room, having breakfast and whatnot. Elizabeth was standing by the sink, glanced outside and exclaimed that Cobalt was outside! The screen on our bedroom's small window was laying on the ground, so he presumably had pushed it out. Our cats are never allowed outside unless they're on a leash, and we weren't sure how he would react.

Elizabeth and I both scrambled, leaving Dorothy strapped in her high chair. I ran outside in my pajamas and stocking feet, and was able to get Cobalt without any trouble. I passed him back in through the window to Elizabeth, and then re-attached the screen. Elizabeth closed the window on the inside, and I called out for Rhodium. I didn't see her anywhere, so I went inside and both of us called for her and tried to find her. No luck. I threw on my shoes and went outside, calling for her and circling the house, worried that she may have darted off into the forest to be eaten by a coyote or cougar. I didn't see her anywhere. As I was just finishing my circuit of the house, Elizabeth called me - she saw Rhodium in the "courtyard" area. We started closing in, but Rhodium darted past. She then strolled halfway around the house, just keeping ahead of me (I did not try to run at her, since that would have scared her into running). Once she got to the front porch, under the trees where the birds all hang out, she paused and eventually consented to come near me to get some scritching. I picked her up and brought her back inside. Dorothy was still in her high chair, watching us, and then resumed eating her bagel.