“
What have you done to my cat?" Magnus demanded... "You drank his blood, didn't you? You said you weren't hungry!"
Simon was indignant. "I did not drink his blood. He's fine!" He poked the Chairman in the stomach. The cat yawned. "Second, you asked me if I was hungry when you were ordering pizza, so I said no, because I can't eat pizza. I was being polite."
"That doesn't get you the right to eat my cat."
"Your cat is fine!" Simon reached to pick up the tabby, who jumped indignantly to his feet and stalked off the table. "See?"
"Whatever.
”
”
Cassandra Clare (City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments, #5))
“
Grimalkin yawned and licked his whiskers. 'Not dead,' he replied. 'Hardly dead. But she changed her name and appearance so many times, even the oldest fey would hardly remember her. She likes to keep a low profile, you know.' Puck frowned, knitting his bows together. 'Then how is it you remember her?' he demanded, sounding indignant. 'I am a cat,' purred Grimalkin.
”
”
Julie Kagawa (The Iron King (The Iron Fey, #1))
“
Arise from sleep, old cat,
And with great yawns and stretchings...
Amble out for love
”
”
Kobayashi Issa (Japanese Haiku (Japanese Haiku Series I))
“
There can be many opinions on a thing, but there is only one truth."
Vashet smiled lazily. "And if the pursuit of the truth was my goal, that would concern me." She gave a long yawn, stretching like a happy cat. "Instead I will focus on the joy in my heart, [...}
”
”
Patrick Rothfuss (The Wise Man's Fear (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #2))
“
I situate myself, and seat myself,
And where you recline I shall recline,
For every armchair belonging to you as good as belongs to me.
I loaf and curl up my tail
I yawn and loaf at my ease after rolling in the catnip patch."
(From Meow of Myself, from LEAVES OF CATNIP)
”
”
Henry N. Beard (Poetry for Cats: The Definitive Anthology of Distinguished Feline Verse)
“
Cats liked to occupy liminal spaces: both inside and outside, both tame and wild, both yawn and meow.
”
”
Gail Carriger (Competence (The Custard Protocol, #3))
“
the knife cuts into the
sun.
the plate
breaks.
the cat yawns.
”
”
Charles Bukowski (The Continual Condition: Poems)
“
During the last few years of her life Mrs. Willowes grew continually more skilled in evading responsibilities, and her death seemed but the final perfected expression of this skill. It was as if she had said, yawning a delicate cat’s yawn, “I think I will go to my grave now,” and had left the room.
”
”
Sylvia Townsend Warner (Lolly Willowes)
“
Yawn. String-on-a-stick.
Fine. I'll come out and chase it
to make you happy.
”
”
Lee Wardlaw (Won-Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku)
“
I drive toward it not wanting it getting it getting it as the cat stretches yawns and rolls over into another dream.
”
”
Charles Bukowski (Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame)
“
Dorothy viewed my mother's propensity toward madness not as something to be afraid of, but rather as something to look forward to, like a movie or a newly released color of nail polish.
'Your mother is just expressing herself,' Dorothy would tell me when my mother stopped sleeping, started smoking the filters of her cigarettes and began writing backward with a glitter pen.
No, she's not,' I would say. 'She's going insane again.'
Don't be so mundane,' she would yawn, passing my mother a shoebox filled with cat vertebrae. 'She is a brilliant artist. If you want Hamburger Helper, go find some other mother.
”
”
Augusten Burroughs (Running with Scissors)
“
Curled up on one of her pillows a gray fluff of kitten yawned, showing its pink tongue, tucked its head under again, and went back to sleep.
”
”
Madeleine L'Engle (A Wrinkle in Time (Time Quintet, #1))
“
What have you done to my cat?” Magnus demanded, returning to the living room carrying a pot of coffee, with a circle of mugs floating around his head like a model of the planets rotating around the sun. “You drank his blood, didn’t you? You said you weren’t hungry!” Simon was indignant. “I did not drink his blood. He’s fine!” He poked the Chairman in the stomach. The cat yawned. “Second, you asked me if I was hungry when you were ordering pizza, so I said no, because I can’t eat pizza. I was being polite.” “That doesn’t give you the right to eat my cat.
”
”
Cassandra Clare (City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments, #5))
“
Yes, God is dangerous. He’s not a house cat; he’s a lion. You’re free to deny his existence or pretend that he’s harmless. Go ahead and pet him if you’d like; just don’t expect to get your arm back.
”
”
Drew Dyck (Yawning at Tigers: You Can't Tame God, So Stop Trying)
“
January?
The month is dumb.
It is fraudulent.
It does not cleanse itself.
The hens lay blood-stained eggs.
Do not lend your bread to anyone
lest it nevermore rise.
Do not eat lentils or your hair will fall out.
Do not rely on February
except when your cat has kittens,
throbbing into the snow.
Do not use knives and forks
unless there is a thaw,
like the yawn of a baby.
The sun in this month
begets a headache
like an angel slapping you in the face.
Earthquakes mean March.
The dragon will move,
and the earth will open like a wound.
There will be great rain or snow
so save some coal for your uncle.
The sun of this month cures all.
Therefore, old women say:
Let the sun of March shine on my daughter,
but let the sun of February shine on my daughter-in-law.
However, if you go to a party
dressed as the anti-Christ
you will be frozen to death by morning.
During the rainstorms of April
the oyster rises from the sea
and opens its shell —
rain enters it —
when it sinks the raindrops
become the pearl.
So take a picnic,
open your body,
and give birth to pearls.
June and July?
These are the months
we call Boiling Water.
There is sweat on the cat but the grape
marries herself to the sun.
Hesitate in August.
Be shy.
Let your toes tremble in their sandals.
However, pick the grape
and eat with confidence.
The grape is the blood of God.
Watch out when holding a knife
or you will behead St. John the Baptist.
Touch the Cross in September,
knock on it three times
and say aloud the name of the Lord.
Put seven bowls of salt on the roof overnight and the next morning the damp one will foretell the month of rain.
Do not faint in September
or you will wake up in a dead city.
If someone dies in October
do not sweep the house for three days
or the rest of you will go.
Also do not step on a boy's head
for the devil will enter your ears
like music.
November?
Shave,
whether you have hair or not.
Hair is not good,
nothing is allowed to grow,
all is allowed to die.
Because nothing grows
you may be tempted to count the stars
but beware,
in November counting the stars
gives you boils.
Beware of tall people,
they will go mad.
Don't harm the turtle dove
because he is a great shoe
that has swallowed Christ's blood.
December?
On December fourth
water spurts out of the mouse.
Put herbs in its eyes and boil corn
and put the corn away for the night
so that the Lord may trample on it
and bring you luck.
For many days the Lord has been
shut up in the oven.
After that He is boiled,
but He never dies, never dies.
”
”
Anne Sexton
“
Please. What’s your name?’ Coraline asked the cat. ‘Look, I’m Coraline. Okay?’ The cat yawned slowly, carefully, revealing a mouth and tongue of astounding pinkness. ‘Cats don’t have names,’ it said. ‘No?’ said Coraline. ‘No,’ said the cat. ‘Now, you people have names. That’s because you don’t know who you are. We know who we are, so we don’t need names.
”
”
Neil Gaiman (Coraline)
“
Please. What’s your name?’ Coraline asked the cat. ‘Look, I’m Coraline. Okay?’ The cat yawned slowly, carefully, revealing a mouth and tongue of astounding pinkness. ‘Cats don’t have names,’ it said. ‘No?’ said Coraline. ‘No,’ said the cat. ‘Now, you people have names. That’s because you don’t know who you are. We know who we are, so we don’t need names.’ There
”
”
Neil Gaiman (Coraline)
“
You’re a projectionist and you’re tired and angry, but mostly you’re bored so you start by taking a single frame of pornography collected by some other projectionist that you find stashed away in the booth, and you splice this frame of a lunging red penis or a yawning wet vagina close-up into another feature movie. This is one of those pet adventures, when the dog and cat are left behind by a traveling family and must find their way home. In reel three, just after the dog and cat, who have human voices and talk to each other, have eaten out of a garbage can, there’s the flash of an erection. Tyler does this.
”
”
Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club)
“
Please. What’s your name?” Coraline asked the cat. “Look, I’m Coraline. Okay?”
The cat yawned slowly, carefully, revealing a mouth and tongue of astounding pinkness. “Cats don’t have names,” it said.
“No?” said Coraline.
“No,” said the cat. “Now, you people have names. That’s because you don’t know who you are. We know who we are, so we don’t need names.”
There was something irritatingly self-centered about the cat, Coraline decided. As if it were, in its opinion, the only thing in any world or place that could possibly be of any importance.
Half of her wanted to be very rude to it; the other half of her wanted to be polite and deferential. The polite half won.
”
”
Neil Gaiman (Coraline)
“
The silence between us was so profound I thought part of it must me my fault.
So I said, "Isn't it awful about the Rosenbergs?"
The Rosenbergs were to be electrocuted late that night.
"Yes!" Hilda said, and at last I felt I had touched a human string in the cat's cradle of her heart. It was only as the two of us waited for the others in that tomb-like morning gloom of the conference room that Hilda amplified that Yes of hers.
"It's awful such people should be alive."
She yawned then, and her pale orange mouth opened on a large darkness. Fascinated, I stared at the blind cave behind her face until the two lips met and moved and the dybbuk spoke out of its hiding place, "I'm so glad they're going to die.
”
”
Sylvia Plath (The Bell Jar)
“
Nick grinned, swooping in for another kiss and then leaning back and scruffing his hair up. “Harriet Manners, I’m about to give you six stamps. Then I’m going to write something on a piece of paper and put it in an envelope with your address on it.”
“OK …” “Then I’m going to put the envelope on the floor and spin us as fast as I can. As soon as either of us manage to stick a stamp on it, I’m going to race to the postbox and post it unless you can catch me first. If you win, you can read it.”
Nick was obviously faster than me, but he didn’t know where the nearest postbox was. “Deal,” I agreed, yawning and rubbing my eyes.
“But why six stamps?”
“Just wait and see.”
A few seconds later, I understood.
As we spun in circles with our hands stretched out, one of my stamps got stuck to the ground at least a metre away from the envelope. Another ended up on a daisy. A third somehow got stuck to the roundabout.
One of Nick’s ended up on his nose.
And every time we both missed, we laughed harder and harder and our kisses got dizzier and dizzier until the whole world was a giggling, kissing, spinning blur.
Finally, when we both had one stamp left, I stopped giggling. I had to win this.
So I swallowed, wiped my eyes and took a few deep breaths.
Then I reached out my hand.
“Too late!” Nick yelled as I opened my eyes again. “Got it, Manners!” And he jumped off the still-spinning roundabout with the envelope held high over his head.
So I promptly leapt off too.
Straight into a bush. Thanks to a destabilised vestibular system – which is the upper portion of the inner ear – the ground wasn’t where it was supposed to be.
Nick, in the meantime, had ended up flat on his back on the grass next to me.
With a small shout I leant down and kissed him hard on the lips. “HA!” I shouted, grabbing the envelope off him and trying to rip it open.
“I don’t think so,” he grinned, jumping up and wrapping one arm round my waist while he retrieved it again. Then he started running in a zigzag towards the postbox.
A few seconds later, I wobbled after him.
And we stumbled wonkily down the road, giggling and pulling at each other’s T-shirts and hanging on to tree trunks and kissing as we each fought for the prize.
Finally, he picked me up and, without any effort, popped me on top of a high wall.
Like Humpty Dumpty.
Or some kind of really unathletic cat.
“Hey!” I shouted as he whipped the envelope out of my hands and started sprinting towards the postbox at the bottom of the road. “That’s not fair!”
“Course it is,” he shouted back. “All’s fair in love and war.”
And Nick kissed the envelope then put it in the postbox with a flourish.
I had to wait three days.
Three days of lingering by the front door. Three days of lifting up the doormat, just in case it had accidentally slipped under there.
Finally, the letter arrived: crumpled and stained with grass.
Ha. Told you I was faster.
LBxx
”
”
Holly Smale (Picture Perfect (Geek Girl, #3))
“
Hamlet’s soliloquy, you know; the most celebrated thing in Shakespeare. Ah, it’s sublime, sublime! Always fetches the house. I haven’t got it in the book—I’ve only got one volume—but I reckon I can piece it out from memory. I’ll just walk up and down a minute, and see if I can call it back from recollection’s vaults.” So he went to marching up and down, thinking, and frowning horrible every now and then; then he would hoist up his eyebrows; next he would squeeze his hand on his forehead and stagger back and kind of moan; next he would sigh, and next he’d let on to drop a tear. It was beautiful to see him. By and by he got it. He told us to give attention. Then he strikes a most noble attitude, with one leg shoved forwards, and his arms stretched away up, and his head tilted back, looking up at the sky; and then he begins to rip and rave and grit his teeth; and after that, all through his speech, he howled, and spread around, and swelled up his chest, and just knocked the spots out of any acting ever I see before. This is the speech—I learned it, easy enough, while he was learning it to the king: To be, or not to be; that is the bare bodkin That makes calamity of so long life; For who would fardels bear, till Birnam Wood do come to Dunsinane, But that the fear of something after death Murders the innocent sleep, Great nature’s second course, And makes us rather sling the arrows of outrageous fortune Than fly to others that we know not of. There’s the respect must give us pause: Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou couldst; For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, The oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely, The law’s delay, and the quietus which his pangs might take, In the dead waste and middle of the night, when churchyards yawn In customary suits of solemn black, But that the undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveler returns, Breathes forth contagion on the world, And thus the native hue of resolution, like the poor cat i’ the adage, Is sicklied o’er with care, And all the clouds that lowered o’er our housetops, With this regard their currents turn awry, And lose the name of action. ’Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished. But soft you, the fair Ophelia: Ope not thy ponderous and marble jaws, But get thee to a nunnery—go! Well,
”
”
Mark Twain (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn)
“
The way to succeed on Tinder is, as everyone knows, to be a humorless narcissist with no personality because you spend all your time trying to look good and none at all cultivating a brain. You get two beauties together – a bimbo and a himbo – and all you have is a tumbleweed conversation. They don’t know anything, so they have nothing to talk about. Once the vacuous, vapid chat-up lines are exhausted – in five-seconds-flat – what’s left? They have to fuck because there’s nothing else for them to do, except go back to posting selfies and watching videos of cats. Yawn. What a non-life.
”
”
Adam Nostra (The Devil and Jesus Debate Tinder Strategies: How to Optimize Your Tinder Success)
“
Mr. Harrison is gallant, and he understands art. Deene says the menfolk chatted away an entire afternoon while Jenny eavesdropped, and Mr. Harrison had eyes only for her.” Maggie picked up Timothy, though how he’d gotten into the room was a mystery. “Mr. Harrison insisted Jenny be free to help him complete his commissions, though when I pop into the studio, Jenny’s always before her own easel, spattered in paint and looking…” “Happy,” Sophie said. “She looks happy when she paints.” The cat started purring in Maggie’s lap, loud enough for all to hear. “We’re agreed, then,” Louisa said. “Mr. Harrison makes Jenny happy, and Paris would make her miserable.” Eve yawned, Maggie stroked the cat, and Sophie picked up an embroidery hoop. “Paris would make her miserable, if she were allowed to go, which will never come to pass as long as Their Graces draw breath.
”
”
Grace Burrowes (Lady Jenny's Christmas Portrait (The Duke's Daughters, #5; Windham, #8))
“
To be, or not to be; that is the bare bodkin That makes calamity of so long life; For who would fardels bear, till Birnam Wood do come to Dunsinane, But that the fear of something after death Murders the innocent sleep, Great nature’s second course, And makes us rather sling the arrows of outrageous fortune Than fly to others that we know not of. There’s the respect must give us pause: Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou couldst; For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, The oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely, The law’s delay, and the quietus which his pangs might take, In the dead waste and middle of the night, when churchyards yawn In customary suits of solemn black, But that the undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveler returns, Breathes forth contagion on the world, And thus the native hue of resolution, like the poor cat i’ the adage, Is sicklied o’er with care, And all the clouds that lowered o’er our housetops, With this regard their currents turn awry, And lose the name of action. ’Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished. But soft you, the fair Ophelia: Ope not thy ponderous and marble jaws, But get thee to a nunnery — go!
”
”
Mark Twain (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn)
“
For Agnes, the walk to the graveyard is both too slow and too fast. She cannot bear the rows and rows of peering eyes, raking over them, sealing an image of her son’s shrouded body inside their lids, thieving that essence of him. These are people who saw him every day, passing by their doors, below their windows. They exchanged words with him, ruffled his hair, exhorted him to hurry if he was late for the school bell. He played with their children, darted in and out of their houses and shops. He carried messages for them, petted their dogs, stroked the backs of their cats as they slept on sunny windowsills. And now their lives are carrying on, unchanged, their dogs still yawning by the fireplaces, their children still whining for supper, while he is no more. So she cannot bear their gaze, cannot meet their eyes. She doesn’t want their sympathy and their prayers and their murmured words. She hates the way the people part to let them past and then, behind them, regroup, erasing their passage, as if it were nothing, as if it never were. She wishes to scratch the ground, perhaps with a hoe, to score the streets beneath her, so that there will forever be a mark, for it always to be known that this way Hamnet came. He was here.
”
”
Maggie O'Farrell (Hamnet)
“
You’re a talking cat?” Endora asked with a look of disbelief on her face.
“My, my, my, aren’t you the bright bulb of the bunch,” he replied with a bit of snarky smugness. “Tell me then, bright-bulb, do you suppose that I need your permission to talk just because I’m a cat?” He raised his paw to his face, admiring his newly gnawed manicure. After he observed the last nail, he slapped his paw down on the floorboards, making a low thud sound. “Because I don’t,” he smirked.
Endora was taken by surprise at his rudeness. She stared back at him, speechless and not quite sure how to respond.
“Are you a magic cat?” Mila busted in with a question that seemed as silly to her as to the cat.
He glared and narrowed his eyes at her. “A magic cat,” he said, standing up to arch his furry back. “Is my talking some sort of magic to you? If it is… then I am.” He stretched his back higher and let out a long purr that turned into, “Purrhaps, you four little witchy girls should clearly refine your meaning of magic so you know what it means before you say the word magic.”
“I rather am quite fond of talking cats,” Selena said with a big smile. “Of course, you’re the first one I’ve ever seen.”
The cat narrowed its eyes tighter. “Indeed,” he said, letting out a yawn as if the whole conversation were a bore. He leapt off the porch and dash away, mumbling and grumbling his way down the corridor.
Selena looked over at Endora. “Rude little snot, isn’t he?” she said.
”
”
Sophie Palmer (Abracadabra: Witchy Poo U)
“
You’re awfully quiet,” Travis said, glancing up from the road. “Are you falling asleep on me?”
“Not yet.” Cat swallowed a yawn. “Just thinking.”
“About what?”
“This and that. Mostly that.”
Travis smiled. “Sounds important.”
Cat gave up and yawned openly. “Nope. You’ve unraveled my brain.”
He changed lanes to pass a huge motor home that belonged on the multilane interstate highway, not on Laguna’s crowded street.
She enjoyed watching him control the car with ease and precision. When he downshifted, sunlight ran like gold water over the tawny hair on his arm. As he transferred his grip from gearshift to steering wheel, the tendons on the back of his hand moved beneath tanned skin. His fingers closed firmly over the leather-sheathed wheel.
Cat remembered the intense pleasure Travis could give to her with a simple caress. Sudden, stark need coursed through her, leaving her shaken. She wanted to touch him, taste him, take him so deeply into her body that she could feel every wild pulse of his release.
“If you keep looking at me like that,” Travis said, “I’m going to pull over to the side of the road and do things to you that will get us arrested.”
His husky drawl did nothing to cool Cat’s blood. She looked away from his knowing hands to his lips smiling beneath his tawny mustache. She remembered the feel of his beard sliding down her skin, the exciting silky roughness against her neck, her breasts, her stomach. She wondered what it would be like to feel him . . . everywhere.
With a small groan Cat closed her eyes. “What am I going to do with you?”
“I’ll pull over so we can find out.”
“Not a good idea.”
“Chicken.”
“Cluck cluck. I can’t afford bail.”
“I can.”
“They’ll put us in separate cells.”
“Damn. I didn’t think of that.
”
”
Elizabeth Lowell (To the Ends of the Earth)
“
After what felt like eternity, the white paw retracted. Melvin, the mouse waited for ten, fifteen, and then thirty minutes. He poked his head back out of the hole and glanced around the room. Quietness had settled over the house and as he sniffed the air, the scent of cat was gone. Melvin scrambled onto the kitchen counter his nose to the air, whiskers working. At last he was rewarded with an open bag of animal crackers. Scooping one out with his tiny claws, he sat munching the vanilla cookie while watching for the hated cat. ***** Piggy curled up on her human’s bed. Distressed over the filthy little mouse, she vowed to find him later. Nobody steals Matt’s food. Her human, Matt, who was oblivious to the scenario which had just gone on, spun around from his computer and scratched Piggy under her chin. Piggy closed her eyes as she enjoyed the attention. She began to purr, and drifted off to sleep. Her last thought was: I’m coming for you mousy. Just see if I don’t. Piggy awoke the next morning, forgetting all about the mouse. The one thought, above all else, her most favorite in the world: food. She stretched her body and a yawn escaped her. Matt was still asleep, his arm flung across his face. Piggy prodded at her human to try and annoy him into waking, but to no avail. Her stomach gave a rumble, and she tried harder, pawing at feet this time. Matt rolled over, and one eye opened peering at her.
”
”
Karen Malena (Piggy)
“
Young Tom Joad and the preacher watched the turtle go—waving its legs and boosting its heavy, highdomed shell along toward the southwest. The cat crept along behind for a while, but in a dozen yards it arched its back to a strong taut bow and yawned, and came stealthily back toward the seated men.
“Where the hell you s’pose he’s goin’?” said Joad. “I seen turtles all my life. They’re always goin’ someplace. They always seem to want to get there.”
The gray cat seated itself between and behind them again. It blinked slowly. The skin over its shoulders jerked forward under a flea, and then slipped slowly
back. The cat lifted a paw and inspected it, flicked its claws out and in again experimentally, and licked its pads with a shell-pink tongue
”
”
John Steinbeck (The Grapes of Wrath)
“
High King Cardan smiles down the table indulgently and yawns like a cat. His hair is messy, as though he did no more than finger-comb it since rising from my bed. Our eyes meet, and I am the one who looks away, my face hot.
Kiss me until I am sick of it.
”
”
Holly Black
“
I stand, my cat stretches himself, ready for the plod around the perimeter. His creaky yawn tells me that he doesn’t have a care in the world except his supper – lucky little rascal.
”
”
Tish Delaney (Before My Actual Heart Breaks)
“
Well, I just thought … maybe … it was something to do with … you know … her lot.’ Mrs Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he’d heard the name ‘Potter’. He decided he didn’t dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, ‘Their son – he’d be about Dudley’s age now, wouldn’t he?’ ‘I suppose so,’ said Mrs Dursley stiffly. ‘What’s his name again? Howard, isn’t it?’ ‘Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me.’ ‘Oh, yes,’ said Mr Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. ‘Yes, I quite agree.’ He didn’t say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it was waiting for something. Was he imagining things? Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did … if it got out that they were related to a pair of – well, he didn’t think he could bear it. The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters were involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs Dursley. The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind … He couldn’t see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on. He yawned and turned over. It couldn’t affect them … How very wrong he was. Mr Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness. It was sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn’t so much as quiver when a car door slammed in the next
”
”
J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter, #1))
“
Rubbing her forehead Cat forced back a yawn, suddenly struck by tiredness. She’d been here twenty-four seven for the past couple days. “Why don’t you go back to your hotel and chill for a while?” Cat looked at him in surprise. Even unsighted he had the sharpest senses she’d ever seen. “I think I may. I’ll be back in the morning.” Then came the awkward point when she didn’t know how to say goodbye. Did she kiss him? Squeeze his hand? Fuck it. Leaning down, she pressed a kiss to a clear spot on his cheek. “If you need anything the nurses have my number.” He nodded and clutched her hand. For a moment it felt like he wasn’t going to let her go, then, abruptly, he did. “I’ll be fine.” And she knew he would be. It was just so natural for her to worry about him. “I’ll stick around for a few hours.” Cat gave Duncan an appreciative look. “Thank you. I thought you might.” Chad stepped forward to take her hand. “I have to go back to Denver for a while, but I’ll be back in a few days if he’s still here.” “You people are talking about me as if I’m not even here. I don’t need babysitters.” Cat shared a wince with the other men. “Quit it,” Harper snapped. Cat laughed and turned to leave the room. “I’ll be back tomorrow, big guy.” Harper mumbled a goodbye. She
”
”
J.M. Madden (Embattled SEAL (Lost and Found #4))
“
Dogs yawn … and cats and monkeys … and even three-month-old fetuses (but not chickens).
”
”
Harvey Karp (The Happiest Baby Guide to Great Sleep: Simple Solutions for Kids from Birth to 5 Years)
“
And yet, and yet… the cat yawned, eyes closed, and the twitching of its ears resumed. But they did not loop. Not right away. The cat’s data stream was ongoing, and it was a rich seam of data. For a quantified family, being able to slip on a sensesuit and experience what their cat had been up to that day was a selling point of the technology. The mother and daughter were hidden from him. But the cat – white whiskers, tiger-striping, green iris and sharp oval pupils – the cat was open source.
”
”
Matthew De Abaitua (The Destructives (The Seizure Trilogy Book 3))
“
To my dearest friend,
I stood by your bed last night, I came to have a peep.
I could see that you were crying, you found it hard to sleep.
I spoke to you softly as you brushed away a tear,
"Its me, I haven't left, I'm well, I'm fine, I'm here."
I was close to you at breakfast, Iwatched you pour the tea.
You were thinking of the many times your hands reached down to me.
I was with you at the shops; your arms were getting sore.
I longed to take your parcels, I wish I could do more.
I was with you at my grave today; you tend it with such care.
I want to reassure you, that I am not lying there.
I walked with you towards the house, as you fumbled for the key.
I gently put my paw on you; I smiled and said ''its me''.
You looked so very tired, and sank into a chair.
I tried so hard to let you know, that I was standing there.
Its possible for me to be so near you everyday.
To say with certainty, "I never went away".
You sat there very quietly, then smiled, I think you knew
in the stillness of the evening, I was very close to you.
The day is over..... I smile and watch you yawning, and say "goodnight, God bless, I'll see you in the morning."
And when the time is right for you to cross the brief divide,
I'll rush across to greet you and we'll stand, side by side.
I have so many things to show you, there is so much for you to see. Be patient, live your journey out..... then come home to me.
”
”
Colleen Fitzgerald
“
What a waste,” Hecate said, and Hades wondered if she was more upset that there was no particular drama to this case. Then she yawned. “But you know I do not go out in the daylight.” “Are you saying you would forgo the chance to punish a false oracle who sacrifices cats for divine favor?” Hecate cringed noticeably. “How criminal. I’ll be ready in ten minutes.
”
”
Scarlett St. Clair (A Game of Retribution (Hades Saga, #2))
“
Bruce grabbed the rotten flesh with his teeth, tossed it into the air, then snatched it up and gobbled the whole thing down happily, his tail swishing. He didn’t look back at Mom as he began cleaning his paws. “Darn cat!” Mom yelled. Chapter 5 Mom’s yelling had woken up the entire village and everyone came out of their homes, yawns on their faces. “KITTY!” Elijah shouted
”
”
Pixel Ate (The Accidental Minecraft Family: Book 15)
“
A lot of people died,” Ithan growled. “Children died.” “And more will soon die in this war,” Aidas countered coolly. “Hel’s armies shall strike at your command, Bryce Quinlan.” The words dropped like a bomb. “Bullshit,” Ruhn said, face crinkling as he snarled. “You’re waiting for the right moment when we’re all at war with each other, so you’ll be able to find a way into this world at last.” “Not at all,” Aidas said. “I already know the way into this world.” He pointed with a paw to Bryce and inclined his head. “Through my lovely Bryce and the Horn on her back.” Hunt suppressed a growl at the word my as all of them looked to her. Her eyes remained fixed on Aidas, her lips a thin line. The Prince of the Chasm said, “It’s your choice in the end. It has always been your choice.” Bryce shook her head. “Allow me to get this straight: You’re here to convince me to rebel against the Asteri in front of all these people? And what—sign up with Ophion? No, thank you.” Aidas only chuckled. “You should have looked more carefully at the cats picking through the trash in the alley of Ink Street this morning. Should have picked a more discreet location to discuss the rebellion with Fury Axtar.” Bryce hissed, but said nothing as Aidas went on, “But yes—by all means, turn rebel. Help Ophion, if you need some authority to answer to. I can tell you before you undoubtedly ask, I have no information about the connection between Danika Fendyr and Sofie Renast.” Bryce growled, “I don’t even know any Ophion rebels.” Aidas stretched out his front paws, back arching. “That’s not true.” Hunt stilled as the demon yawned. “There’s one right behind you.” Bryce whirled, Hunt with her, lightning poised to strike. Cormac Donnall stood in the doorway, shadows fading from his shoulders. “Hello, Agent Silverbow,” Aidas crooned, then vanished.
”
”
Sarah J. Maas (House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City, #2))
“
Arise from sleep, old cat,
And with great yawns
and stretchings—
Amble out for love
”
”
Kobayashi Issa (Japanese Haiku (Peter Pauper Press Vintage Editions))
“
fiercest and the winds were at their worst, no one ever came for me. I didn’t like the thunder and lightning any better than Madam did. It sounded as if the mansion was collapsing around me. It sounded like the end of the world. The best I could do was hide under the chaise lounge. By myself. Shaking. I don’t like those memories. I’m not sure why I would bring them up right now. Hmm. Maybe because it was the day after a particularly bad storm that I remember most vividly. A dreadful day I will never forget. I had slept in. With a big yawn, I meandered my way down to the dining room. No Madam. I moseyed into the reading room, and then the east study. No Madam. Was she sleeping in late
”
”
Rob Baddorf (Spoiled (Kimberly the Cat Series. Funny Christian Adventure, for kids ages 8 to 12. Book 1))
“
Naah.” The cat yawns, yet again, and curls up on the floor next to the 3D printer. “It’s some kinda dodgy business model to get you out of hock to your mom. Better be careful, though—he says its legality is narrowly scoped jurisdiction-wise. Your mom might be able to undermine it if she learns about how it works.” “Wow. Like, how totally cool.” In truth, Amber is delighted because it is her birthday, but Mom’s at work, and Amber’s home alone, with just the TV in moral majority mode for company.
”
”
Charles Stross (Accelerando)
“
The clouds yawn, and rain spills from their mouths.
”
”
H.D. Carlton (Haunting Adeline (Cat and Mouse, #1))
“
Hey … you need to quit hanging out in the middle of the road. It’s dangerous.” The cat yawned.
”
”
Eryn Scott (A Stoneybrook Mystery Collection: A Cozy Mystery Box Set Books 1-3)
“
There can be many opinions on a thing, but there is only one truth.” Vashet smiled lazily. “And if the pursuit of truth was my goal, that would concern me.” She gave a long yawn, stretching like a happy cat. “Instead I will focus on the joy in my heart, the prosperity of the school, and understanding the Lethani. If I have time left after that, I will put it toward worrying on the truth.
”
”
Patrick Rothfuss (The Wise Man's Fear (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #2))
“
And if the pursuit of the truth was my goal, that would concern me." She gave a long yawn, stretching like a happy cat. "Instead I will focus on the joy in my heart...
”
”
Patrick Rothfuss (The Wise Man's Fear (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #2))
“
Dragons’ sleep schedules are not like humans’.” Ffamran shrugged. “Sometimes, I do not require more than a short eighteen to twenty-hour nap. Other times, I can sleep for days at a time. My record is eighteen days by the way.” He yawned. “Perhaps I shall try to beat my record with a truly glorious nap.” “So, you’re basically a fire-breathing cat with scales,” I commented.
”
”
Simon Archer (Dragon Collector (Dragon Collector, #1))
“
Kevin Swift woke up to a series of unusual sounds. The first, not to mention easiest, for him to identify was crying—no, not just crying. Sobbing. It was the sound of someone sobbing manly tears, though they did not sound sad. The second sound was, strangely enough, a word: kawaii. Just what the heck someone was doing speaking Japanese was beyond him. It was the third sound, however, that caused him to open his eyes—namely because it was right next to his ear. “Nya.” Cracking a single eye open, Kevin first saw nothing but red. It was hair. Lilian’s hair. A million strands of silk that tickled his nose. The familiar scent of strawberries and vanilla lulled his mind into a sense of contentment. He must have buried his face in her hair sometime during the night. “Nya.” Something swatted at his ear, sharp and hard. It kind of hurt. Unburying his face and turning his head, Kevin met the large yellow orbs of a black cat. “Nya.” “Morning.” He yawned. “Nya.” “Did you sleep well?” “Nya.” “Good to know.” “Nya.” “… You don’t really say anything other than ‘nya’ do you? Shouldn’t you be ‘meowing’ instead? You know, like a cat should?” The cat tilted her head. “Nya?” “… Never mind.
”
”
Brandon Varnell (A Fox's Vacation (American Kitsune, #5))
“
Vashet made an amused huffing sound that wasn't quite a laugh. "He was so sure he was right. Nothing could sway him. Years ago I decided arguing such things with a barbarian is a long, weary waste of my time." She shrugged.
"Think what you want about making babies. Believe in demons. Pray to a goat. So long as it doesn't bruise me, why should I bother myself?"
I chewed it over for a moment. "There's wisdom in that," I said.
She nodded.
"But either a man helps with a baby or he does not," I pointed out. There can be many opinions on a thing, but there is only one truth."
Vashet smiled lazily. "And if the pursuit of truth was my goal, that would concern me." She gave a long yawn, stretching like a happy cat."Instead I will focus on the joy in my heart, the prosperity of the school, and understanding the Lethani. If I have time left after that, I will put it toward worrying on the truth.
”
”
Patrick Rothfuss
“
There can be many opinions on a thing, but there is only one truth.' Vashet smiled lazily. 'And if the pursuit of truth was my goal, that would concern me.' She gave a long yawn, stretching like a happy cat. 'Instead I will focus on the joy in my heart, the prosperity of the school, and understanding the Lethani. If I have time left after that, I will put it toward worrying on the truth.
”
”
Patrick Rothfuss (The Wise Man's Fear (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #2))
“
He studied it for a moment, yawned, and stretched, and said, “A cat did it, probably.”
“Oh, really? A cat? That was a cat? Well, I’d just like to see the cat that broke that branch—that’s all I can say.”
“That branch could have gotten broken any time, you know. It didn’t have to be last night. Could have been days ago. You’re always jumping to conclusions.”
Margaret said, “I would have seen it!” but she felt the ground under the case she was building begin to slip away.
”
”
Alison Smith (A Stranger in the Dark)
“
Where is everyone?” Cat asked, looking around the deserted ship.
“Shore leave,” he said laconically.
“What about us?”
“If it’s urgent, we’ll just have to swim.”
Cat yawned and stretched languidly, feeling boneless from Travis’s loving and a long, wonderful nap. “Swim? Ha. I’d go down like a brick. Looks like you’re stuck with me.”
Travis tilted her face up and kissed her swiftly. “Remember that, witch. You’re mine.”
Her eyes widened into misty silver pools. She looked up at him through dense lashes that glinted red and gold.
He smiled.
“You really are a pirate, aren’t you?” Cat muttered.
“Where you’re concerned, yes.”
The sensual rasp in Travis’s voice sent echoes of ecstasy shimmering through her. His smile was rakish and utterly male, reminding her of what it was like to have him deep inside her.
It was all Cat could do not to simply stand and stare at her lover. In the slanting afternoon light his eyes had a jewel-like purity of color. His skin was taught, deeply bronzed, and his beard was spun from dark gold. Beneath his faded black T-shirt and casual shorts, his body radiated ease and power.
“Don’t move,” Cat ordered, heading back to the cabin.
“Where are you going?”
“Don’t move!”
She raced below deck, grabbed the two camera cases she used most often, and ran back on deck. While Travis watched her with a lazy, sexy gleam in his eyes, she pulled out a camera and a small telephoto lens. When she retreated a few feet back along the deck, he moved as though to follow.
“No,” she said. “Stay right where you are. You’re perfect.”
“Cat,” he said, amusement curling in his voice, “what are you doing?”
“Taking pictures of an off-duty buccaneer.”
The motor drive surged quickly, pulling frame after frame of film through the camera.
“You’re supposed to be taking pictures of the Wind Warrior,” Travis pointed out.
“I am. You’re part of the ship. The most important part. Creator, owner, soul.”
She caught the sudden intensity of his expression, an elemental recognition of her words. The motor drive whirred in response to her command. After a few more frames she lowered the camera and walked back to him.
“Get used to looking into a camera lens.” Cat warned Travis. “I’ve been itching to photograph you since the first time I looked into those gorgeous, sea-colored eyes of yours.”
Laughing softly, he snaked one arm around her and pulled her snugly against his side.
”
”
Elizabeth Lowell (To the Ends of the Earth)
“
She must have drifted off, because when she opened her eyes again, he was gone and Phil was sitting in the chair instead. “Rough day?” asked the cat. “Terrible,” she replied. “I can catch you a mouse if you like,” he offered. “Protein is good for you.” “I’m good,” she said, closing her eyes again. The cat watched her face and yawned. “Liar,” he said.
”
”
Abbi Waxman (The Bookish Life of Nina Hill)
“
That’s the spot…” he drawled as he quickly whipped around for another round of pets. “For a talking cat, you’re easy to please,” I joked as I scratched under his chin. “I’m sorry, I can’t hear you over this amazing pat-down,” he purred louder. I laughed as I shook my head. “I wish I could give you more, but I have to get ready.” Buttons yawned and gave me a lazy stink eye before flopping down in the middle of my bed and rolling around. “Fine, fine. I guess I can wait until you come back to get more.” “Oh, don’t be so dramatic,” I snorted as I climbed out of bed and padded into the bathroom. “It’s not like I’m never coming back.” “Hey, don’t forget that we both nearly died after you got up and left me to have breakfast,” he pointed out with a sad tone in his deep voice.
”
”
Simon Archer (On Thin Ice (Super Hero Academy, #4))
“
Three things are abhorrent above all: The world, the man, and the soul. Why doth it turn so speedily around a glaring sun? How can he sit so smooth and sturdily in his slippery grave? Why can it not shut up? Your thoughts will mean less than you think, for a sneer is a higher truth than a wail and the Cat on His stump just yawns. Let not your sneer turn into a smile.
”
”
Andre Solnikkar (Tirnancait)
“
I dropped the bomb. "I'm a PI."
Colin burst out laughing and when my silence said it all, he choked out. "Oh! Shit! You're serious?"
I pinched the bridge of my nose, counted like I always when I was stressed, and said, "Yes. Dead serious. His wife is having him investigated and i'm meeting with her in a few hours and I have no dirt on him! I need more info than what I currently have, which is that he hates cats and danced like the Beebs!"
"The man has hips."
"Right!?"
"Your lack of focus is extremely disappointing. He can dance. So what?" Colin sounded like he was yawning.
”
”
Rachel Van Dyken (Dirty Exes (Liars, Inc., #1))
“
The sound of a huge yawn came close to Jaypaw’s ear, and Cloudtail’s scent wafted over him. “Why don’t you get moving?” he mumbled. “Then every cat can get a bit more sleep.” “No chance.” Dustpelt spoke sharply nearby. “You’re coming with me and Sandstorm on the dawn patrol.” “Mouse dung!” Cloudtail muttered.
”
”
Erin Hunter (Outcast (Warriors: Power of Three, #3))