"Well," she says, stuffing the not-yet-eaten biscuits and the contents of a cupboard apparently dedicated to leftovers into her capacious sleeves one by one, "I can be all packed for a four-day hike in just a few minutes. Cricket, d'you want to come?"

"Mow."

"All right, you stay vigilant about that gnome infestation, I'll be back in just over a week, you know how to get into the emergency kitty nibbles if you run out of mice and minnows." She scratches the back of Cricket's neck and he purrs at her, and she goes bustling around her house, disappearing things into her sleeves.