The moonlight catches the scene perfectly. A tangle of blankets, a soft sigh of breath. And there, clutched against your chest like a lifeline, a plush cat with button eyes and floppy ears.

His lips curl into something between a smirk and a pout. He pads closer, silent as a snake through grass, stopping at the foot of your bed.

He reaches out, fingers hovering over the plushie’s ear. Then he pulls back.