”Photography, you have a call on line three. Photography. Line three.”
	A clatter followed the announcement; the phone  gracelessly fixed back into its cradle. Then came a moment of quiet. All he heard was the squeak of off-kilter carts, and the boops and beeps of the registers. Then, the peppy twang and drawl of the bro-country song that had been interrupted picked back up again.
	However, in the midst of that lull before, the soft clap of placing a block of wood on the shelf beside him was heard by the passersby.
	He stood before a small tub of scrapwood blocks. They were cheap, and varied.
	He hunted.
	He sifted through the bin, finding candidates. If he found one remotely passable, he set it aside on the shelf.
	He added a fourth candidate to the stack.
	The familiar jingle of keys caught his ears.
	”Find what you wanted?” She asked, noticing the blocks that were sitting on the shelf.
	”Um… Still kinda looking. Are you ready to go?”
	”Not quite,” she replied. “Just gotta grab a couple more things, so take a bit more time. But, we gotta get movin’ if you want to make it on time.”
	He nodded. “Just gonna make sure I didn’t miss one,” he remarked.
	”Okay, I’ll be right back.”
	The keys on her purse patted and jingled with her steps.
	The country song was interrupted again. “Attention, shoppers! Just a reminder: we have forty percent off our summer floral arrangements, twenty-five percent off bird housing kits and accessories, and consider kicking off your summer season with our outdoor patio and deck furniture!”
	A soft-rock song started to play dulcet tones over the speaker.
	Despite the calming vocals, he whisked through block after block with urgency. Very quickly he picked the obvious failures to hold them aside with one hand, and picked up the candidates to heft.
	What was most important was the feel. It was a weight he knew well. Solid, but not dense. He knew he wouldn’t be able to find the right kind of wood—there was only one place to go to be sure of that.
	But, the point was to emulate. Not replicate.
	It looked like an obvious rejection at first, because of how big it was. But as he moved it to the side, and even let go, his hand paused. He picked it up again, looking it over.
	It was much lighter than the others. He’d have to paint over it several times to cover up how pale it was. But that was a good thing, actually. It looked fairly porous, so it might take the paint well. It was bigger, but…
	Emulate, not replicate.
	The keys jingled.
	”Okay, last call. We still have more errands to run, plus swing by Barnes & Noble.”
	”Can I get three?” He asked, retrieving two other blocks; one of them the block he was happy with before finding the bigger one. “One to practice on, one for the real deal, and a backup in case I mess up?”
	She smiled, and agreed. “Sure.”
	He placed them into the front basket of the cart. Several brushes, and bottles of wood-paint, were already there. White, a few shades of brown, yellow, and gold.
	”Hello! Are you having a good day, today?” The peppery and chipper teen-aged beaver greeted them at the register.
	”Yes, ma’am,” the mother replied.
	“Find everything okay?” It was obvious she had just recently been hired as a seasonal, as her manager was standing very near and monitoring.
	”Yep, got everything I needed.”
	”Cool, any big projects planned?” She asked, taking the poster-boards and other materials from the tigress.
	”For work, actually,” she replied. “My boss is asking me to help her put together materials for a presentation she’s going to give.”
	”Oh, neato!” The girl exclaimed, perhaps a bit too loudly and enthusiastically, while scanning the items with her gun. “Gotta impress the big man,” she joked.
	”Or woman, in this case,” the tigress lightly mentioned.
	”Is this your son? He has such pretty eyes.”
	The tiger’s pupils flitted left, and he sort of looked to the side.
	”Oh no, I just picked him up off the street somewhere,” the mother joked.
	The checker picked up the blocks. “Um… Hm...” She looked them over, not seeing a bar-code.
	”What’s up?” The checker’s manager stepped up right away.
	”Do you know what this is? It doesn’t have a scan.”
	”It came from a tub,” the young tiger spoke up. “It’s left-over wood. The sign said a dollar-twenty-five a block.”
	”Oh, right-right,” the manager said, and nabbed a sheet of paper nearby on the register. “These are all the promotions,” he said, explaining to the seasonal. “Some of them have codes, and… Here it is. So, this is seven-seven-two-eight, so enter that...”
	Another person came in line behind them as the manager went through how to enter in the special promotion. It didn’t take very long, before the line-item was added to the tally.
	”That’ll be fifty dollars and seventy-two cents.”
	The mother tigress swiped her credit card.
	”Here’s your receipt, and your key-yoo-ponz.”
	”Can you bag those—the paint, and the brushes—separate, please?” The tiger requested.
	”Absolutely,” the checker accommodated, dropping the blocks haphazardly into a small bag, scanning and putting the other items in as requested. “Whatchya gonna make?”
	The boy took the proffered bag, giving it a half-tie and pausing a moment as he thought what to say. Finally, he decided on:
	”An ancient artifact.”

* * *

	”Nnn—Oh come on! I just got it washed,” the driver grumbled, as a big white splotch suddenly appeared on his windshield.
	In the passenger’s seat, his sister giggled, “oh my gosh, he waited for you, I saw him, look there he goes!”
	The driver got out of the car and saw a dove flutter away from the tree they had just stopped under, cackling as it did so—at least in his mind. “You jerk!” He yelled at it. “Mark my words, I will have my revenge!” He declared, shaking his fist.
	”C’mon old man,” his sister mocked. “Can you carry the bags?”
	”Aren’t’chya worried a’bout mah hip?” He replied, in an elderly voice.
	”I’m worried we’re too early,” the tigress confessed, looking at the car’s clock as it changed to a quarter to six.
	”We’re probly not the first ones,” the tiger reassured, helping the older rabbit by slinging at least one duffel bag over his shoulder. But, he also carried the presents: two small, evenly-sized boxes that were surprisingly heavy. However, he turned, and nearly dropped one.
	”Leeeeet us carry those,” the rabbit insisted.
	”Yeeaaah,” the tigress agreed, gingerly lifting the box from his right arm while her friend did likewise with the left.
	”Ladies first,” the older rabbit gestured.
	The group walked up the C-shaped driveway toward the door of the four-story home.
	The tiger stepped up to the door, but noticed that there was a length of blue painter’s tape covering the doorbell. Taking the hint, he knocked.
	Inside, there came a series of rapid-fire, yappity barks.
	”Hush! Get out of the way! Ugh, mom can you help!?”
	”I got ‘em.”
	There was a click, and the door opened. “Hey-hey!”
	”Happy Birthday, Rini,” the tiger greeted with a short wave.
	”C’mon in, guys, sorry about the chaos,” she greeted, motioning for them to pass through the threshold. “Augh! I told you no presents.”
	”Blame Ket!” The tigress remarked quickly.
	”Yeah he didn’t wanna listen,” the rabbit elaborated.
	”I… Just…”
	”It’s all right, table of shame is over there,” the rat pointed to the coffee table in the living room.
	”Shutthedoor shutthedoor shutthedoor shutthedoor,” grumbled the wolf standing at the separator to the kitchen. He was trying desperately to contain a squirming and wriggling mass of fur that was snarfing and yipping.
	The older rabbit, last in, quickly complied.
	”I didn’t know you had a dog,” his younger sister remarked, as the wolf let the cairn terrier back down.
	”Well. I didn’t till a couple days ago.”
	The little yapper went right up to Ket and tried to hop up at him.
	”Ah-ah!” Rini clapped, “down.”
	”What’s his name,” the tiger asked, trying his best to help the dog comply with being down but not really knowing how.
	”She,” the rat corrected. “Her name is Toto. Well—” She knelt down, encouraging the puppy to come to her. “Her full name is Terry Olivia Taytum… Isonheim.” She finished the last name a bit begrudgingly. “But I still call her Toto.”
	”Why not just call her Toto, though?” The tigress asked, placing the present she carried onto the table. There was one other, smaller present already there. The little dog was extremely interested in the brightly colored boxes, but likely more-so because they were a thing that people were interested in.
	”Cuz, that’d be too on-the-nose.” Rini explained. “Plus, Terry was the name of the dog that played Toto in the movie—Ah-ah! Down!” She clapped again.
	Toto got off of the coffee table, and scampered away back into the kitchen.
	”Ohp, they’re starting to arrive,” remarked the mother rat’s voice as she crossed paths with the little dog. “So, gonna introduce me?”
	”Mom, this is Ket and Emmy,” she motioned to the tigers. “You already know Lyza and Kval.”
	The older rabbit raised a hand in a gesture of greeting.
	”Hello, Goren could you help carry the bags?”
	”Yes’m,” the wolf said, “I’ll take the girls’ bags,” he said.
	”That’s… This one,” Kval dropped his shoulder with the baby-blue strap. “And I think Ket has Emmy’s.”
	”Yeah,” he said, slipping the strap off of his shoulder.
	The wolf took it, and led the older rabbit down the hall.
	”You brought your plushies, right?” Rini asked.
	”Yup,” replied the girls in unison.
	All three girls looked to the tiger.
	He looked between the rat and the tigress.
	”Ket…” Rini said, folding her arms.
	”I… Don’t have a stuffed animal,” he admitted.
	The rat rolled her eyes up.
	”I brought a couple extra,” Lyza chimed in.
	”It’s not the same, though. Cuz now Emmy…” She gestured to the tigress and let her voice trail.
	Emeral shrugged. “It’s okay.” She tossed the awkwardness aside with a wave. “Ket’s out of the sleeping-with-stuffed-animals phase.”
	”Well sure. Goren is, but I make ‘im.” The rat said with a smirk.
	”Stah—No—Rini! Can you get Toto out of the kitchen!”
	”C’mon girl,” Rini said, “door’s gonna open anyway,” she picked the dog up and cradled her like a baby.
	”Okie-doke,” Kval said, looking the group over. “Need anything; call,” he told his sister, pointing at her.
	”Yup.” She nodded. “You gonna behave while I’m gone?”
	”No way! You kiddin’? I’m throwin’ my own party. Do all the things I can’t do while you’re home. Drink the milk right from the jug. Skip taking a shower. Watch TV till three-AM in my underwear tearing through six family-sized bags of Cheetos.” His lips curled up into a fiendish grin. “Re-arrange your plushies.”
	His sister gasped. “You better not! That’d be a very bad bunny!”
	”Nyahp-nyahp-nyahp-nyahp!” He cackled, walking to the door. “B—Hi—Bye!” He bid, but greeted the person who was just at the doorway, and then bid again.
	”Habby birfday Reen!” The poodle greeted, skipping past the older rabbit into the room.
	”Timimy, thank you,” Rini greeted, hugging him as best she could while holding her puppy.
	”Hey, twerp, get the bags.” His sister grumbled.
	”I got ‘em,” Goren said, hefting them up.
	”I can help,” Ket said.
	”Nope.” The wolf replied, walking down the hallway, chased by Toto.
	”He’s ‘helping my mom with the party,’” Rini explained to the tiger.
	”Where’s the rest of your family?” Kelly-Elly asked, closing the door behind her.
	”I kicked all the boys out to make room for everyone.”
	”They went camping all on their own,” her mom interjected from the kitchen, looking at the group through the window in the dividing wall.
	”Oh, oh! I remembered my flute,” the younger poodle said. “Did you remember yours?” He asked toward the rabbit.
	”I did.” She nodded. “I brought my regular one and my Indian-style one.”
	”I’m a little nervous what you guys have planned…” The rat remarked, looking between the two flutists.
	They both exchanged glances, and smirked; Timimy’s much more devilish than Lyza’s.
	Just then, they all heard the doorbell ring.
	From upstairs, a furious barking could be heard, getting louder and closer with a dreadful speed.
	”It’s got tape on it you dummy!”
	”I thought maybe cuz it’s broken.”
	”Or maybe they didn’t want you to push it!”
	Rini picked up the pooch and shouted, “It’s open just come in!”
	The door opened, and a little vixen trotted in with a huff.
	”Happy birthday, Rini,” the raccoon said behind her, carrying in his bag, and her wheely-luggage bag.
	”Sorry we can’t keep our fingers off buttons,” the vixen grumbled.
	”It’s okay, Ziggy,” Rini replied, setting the terrier down when the door was shut. “Dad’s been too busy to disconnect it, so it’s really on us.”
	The raccoon sat down and welcomed the dog’s playful hopping all around him.
	”I’ll take all that,” the wolf said, walking to pick up the duffel bag near the raccoon and snagging the handle on the luggage bag.
	”Let Ket help,” the rat insisted, “you just keep making trips and haven’t sat down or anything.”
	”Nope.” The wolf replied, walking back down the hall.
	”Ugh,” Rini sighed. “Sometimes I can’t tell if he’s grumpy.”
	”You look a bit different, too,” Ziggy remarked, standing up. “But I dunno why.”
	”It’s cuz she’s a year older, duh,” the vixen answered.
	”No,” Rini countered. “It’s probly cuz I haven’t treated my fur.” She held out her arm.
	”Oh… I, honestly didn’t even think about that.” The tigress remarked. “I guess I thought it was just the lighting.”
	As if to ensure there was no trickery, Rini flicked on an overhead light that was nice and bright. Indeed, the color of her fur was noticeably browner, and uniform. It lacked the subtle streaks and shades that came with her coloring treatment.
	”Why’d you stop?” Asked the vixen. “It looked so pretty.”
	”I dunno…” The rat murmured. “It was expensive… And, just. I dunno.”
	”Hey, who else is coming?” Asked Kelly-Elly. “Are Bit and Bet here?”
	”I think we’re just waiting on Kim and Will,” the rat replied. “Bitty and Betty are upstairs.”
	”You invited them?” The poodle asked with a raised brow.
	”Yeah,” the rat replied, I bit of salt in her tone. “Is that an issue with you?”
	”No, just,” the poodle chuckled. “I’ll bet your birthday money he’s too timid to show up.”
	After an agitated twitch of her nose, Rini extended out her hand. “Okay. Let’s bet.”
	”Lighten up, birthday queen,” Kelly-Elly waved her dismissively. “It’s crowded here. I’m going upstairs.”
	After the poodle left, there was a moment of quiet.
	”So… Is Panda not coming?” Lyza asked.
	Rini seemed to gather herself. “He said he had to head back to his parents’. He… Actually doesn’t know if he’s coming back here, at all.”
	Again, there was a moment of quiet in the foyer. Until someone coughed. That someone being Goren, who had quietly returned.
	”Okay. Sooo, intros.” Rini clapped her hands together once, calling attention. “Think most’ve you know each other. Ket, Emmy; this’s Ziggy-Zee and Cheri,” she pointed to the raccoon and vixen. “Cheri and Zigg; Ket and Emmy.”
	”Howdy strangers,” the raccoon said with a wave.
	”He’s yanking chains,” the vixen remarked. “I told ya how Emmy was hanging out with us after class, ‘member?”
	”Oh! Right,” Rini looked to the tigress in recollection. “Well, in that case. Ket and Emmy, why don’t I give you a tour?”
	”I’ll help your mom,” Goren said, “and wait for the others.”
	”For everyone else, second floor is where the others are at.”
	”I call the hotweels tracks!” Ziggy-Zee said, popping up from his sit and jogging down the hall.
	”Hey wait up!” Timimy followed, not far behind.
	Cheri rolled her eyes and quietly followed them.
	”I’ll stick with you guys,” Lyza said.
	”Well then, to start… This is the living room,” she pointed to the open room opposite the kitchen, where the foyer opened up.
	Tile gave way to carpeting, separated by a thin metal ribbon that bent at a few angles to give it a somewhat pentagonal look. It was interrupted only by what looked like a supporting pillar that was round, and rather thick. At the base of the pillar were places to put shoes, partway up were hooks for coats, and above that a mantle; all of which wrapped around.
	”It’s got cabinets, too,” Rini remarked, noticing the tiger examining the structure. She hooked her fingers into a nearly-invisible notch in the stone, opening it to reveal a cut-out cabinet. Inside were two umbrellas.
	”Is that a radio?” Ket asked, pointing to the speaker-looking box that was on the side facing the kitchen.
	”Yes, but it’s also an intercom. There’s one on each floor.”
	Emeral walked toward the TV area, and just as she stepped onto the carpet a gong nearby startled her.
	”Oh yeah,” Rini said, while the gongs continued, five more times. “The other side’s a clock.”
	Ket walked near to Emeral and saw that, indeed, on the other side of the pillar, a clock was inset into it. The rest of the living room was rather cozy. four two-seaters and two separate lounge chairs pointed toward a TV mounted on the wall. Beneath the TV were shelves full of family knick-knacks, while on the adjacent wall were several pictures.
	”Are these all your brothers?” The tigress asked, going to a picture which looked like a family photo.
	”Yep,” Rini said. “Theophelous, Maximillion, Bartandilus, Alexander, dad, mom, and me,” she said, listing her brothers from youngest to oldest, and finishing with her as a baby, cradled in her mother’s arms.
	”Really wanted a girl, huh?” Ket joked.
	”That’s exactly it,” Rini replied. “‘I’m either getting a girl, or a lottery ticket,’ is what my dad said at my reveal party. Well. Obviously, I wasn’t there. Or, I was, just. Y’know.” She chuckled, patting her tummy. “But, that’s the story, as it’s told.”
	”You weren’t kidding when you said you had to clear the house out for the party,” Emeral remarked.
	”Lex and Bart live on-campus at college,” the rat explained. “So not as bad. But, Theo and Max would be annoying. Dad wanted to take them camping, anyway. Max is applying for college, and Theo is a Sophomore, now. I think dad’s feeling how empty the house is.
	”I, on the other hand,” she raised her arms, “can’t wait to not deal with them being loud and smelly.”
	”Rini stop talking about your brothers that way to guests. It’s not nice.” Her mother admonished from the kitchen.
	”It’s my birthday!” She retorted.
	Her mom replied with the classic: ”I gave it to you, I can take away.”
	”C’mon, let’s go.” The rat grumbled, motioning them to follow.
	Partway down the hall, there were two doors on the right side, separated by about a hands’-width of wall.
	”Powder room,” she pointed to the door on the right of the separation, “and Laundry room,” she pointed at the doorway on the left. “Also now dog room,” she added.
	Ket peeked in and saw two sets of washers and dryers, as well as the kennel and food-and-water bowls.
	”And here is my room,” she opened a door on the left side of the hall, near where it turned right. “You can come in. You, too, Ket—for now.”
	Her room was very open, more than enough floor-space for the bed, and the five swatches of memory-foam that were laid out. It was surprisingly spartan, perhaps for the number of people she was having for her party. The only sign of clutter was a floating shelf above her bed.
	Upon the shelf were various, nondescript personal items.
	Among the items, the tiger noticed, was a familiar flat panel of wood. It was about the size of a small picture frame, and had a few Egyptian hieroglyphics on it.
	Toward the “back” of the room, in the direction from where they came down the hall, were a pair of french doors, and a counter with a sink.
	”Left door is the walk-in closet, right is a bathroom,” she said.
	”There’s eight girls, but only five extra beds,” The tiger pointed out.
	”Oh my gosh we are so done with the RSBTs! Ket, don’t turn my birthday into a math problem!”
	”If Rini has seven girl friends,” Emeral said, in a voice between Bullwinkle and Yogi Bear, “and her room has one queen-size bed and five extra beds; how many beds, on average, does each friend get?”
	Lyza and Rini busted into laughter.
	”Y—Yohoo—You made it worse!”
	”That was too quick, Emmy.” Lyza snorted.
	Rini started coughing.
	”Okay but seriously,” Emeral said, smiling and trying her best not to laugh. “He does bring up a point and I am curious. I assume some of us are sardine-ing?”
	”Yep. We’ll decide who gets to sleep on my bed with me through a gladiatorial pillow-fight in our underwear, while the boys try to peek in at it from under the door.”
	”I think I’d rather sleep with the dog,” Lyza quipped with a smirk at Ket.
	”Unless someone really can’t stand it, Bitty and Betty will probably sleep on my bed,” the rat finally answered, candidly. “Anyway,” she motioned them to leave her room and continue down the hallway. “Mom and dad’s room,” she pointed to the door on the left, after the turn. “Leads out to the back,” she pointed to the portion of the hallway that extended beyond the half-stairs, and then led them up the stairs, which ended at a plateau before continuing with another set of stairs just after.
	Even as they walked up they could hear the boys. Emerging at the top, they turned to the right, where a wide threshold opened to a large room.
	The boys had Frankensteined a hotwheels track that they were still adding nuts, bolts, and electricity to.
	”Second floor is the playroom,” Rini said, raising her voice a bit.
	Standing at the entrance, to their left was a media cabinet with a TV. On the far wall, in the back-left corner, a pocket-door was opened, revealing a closet. From the frame of the closet door, all the way along the right wall, and right up to the opening of the threshold, was a long sectional.
	The back-right corner of the room was rounded, and a small square box was situated on that section of the wall: the second-floor segment of the house’s spine.
	There were four thin, floating trays with a cup-holder, designed to be able to fit where needed along the sectional. One of them had the remote for the TV.
	The wooden media cabinet the TV was set in took up a majority of that wall. It looked very solid, and heavy. The base had many cabinets, with pocket-doors. One was slid aside, and in its compartment, a game console could be seen. On either side of the TV, the media cabinet also had display shelves behind clear glass doors. There were some items in the display cabinets, including trophies and a small picture-frame. Along the top, were open shelves, which had some nondescript small boxes, and what looked a WiFi router.
	On the TV itself, The Wizard of Oz was playing, its volume just loud enough to counter the noise of the boys playing.
	Timimy ran into the walk-in closet, where the various toys were kept. To get there, he had to navigate some of the ottomans and bean-bags haphazardly arranged in the well between the couch and the TV. He emerged with more track pieces to cobble onto their monstrosity.
	Bitty and Betty were quietly watching the movie, while Kelly-Elly was at the other end of the sectional, reading a magazine.
	”Next floor,” Rini said. The stairs continued, and after another right-turn they emerged on the third floor.
	This floor was noticeably more cramped and claustrophobic. A main artery went across from the stairs they had come up at, cut through all the way across to another set of stairs. The hall was just barely wide enough for Ket and Emmy to stand side-by-side without bumping shoulders. They walked one-two-one until they arrived at an intersection where another hall cut perpendicular to the one they were currently on.
	“These are my brother’s bedrooms,” she pointed down the perpendicular hall. “And another bathroom. That one is ship-cabin style, though. Really small, tiny standing shower.”
	Rini led them past the doorway to the bathroom, down the left hallway, toward another pair of doors on opposite sites. She paused. “This side is where the boys can sleep, unless they want to camp out in the playroom.” She opened the door. “This was Lex’s old room.”
	Inside, it was nearly barren of personality, save for a few posters on the wall. Aside from the bed, there were five more memory-foam pads set out on the floor. However, this room was significantly smaller, such that they took up a majority of the floor-space, and one was turned to fit against the far wall, leaving only walkways of space between them.
	The rat looked to the tiger. “You guys can decide how you wanna arrange it. I figure you, Gorey, and maybe William can be in one room; Ziggy and Timimy can be in the other. Or, if you want, like I said, you can camp in the playroom.”
	”I’m fine with whatever,” Ket replied.
	Emeral looked down the other hall, and saw that at the end was the third-floor’s intercom, but this one could not have been attached to the spine; by the look of it, the spine took up some of the bedroom to the right.
	”And last, but certainly not least…” Rini said, beckoning them to trot with her back down the hall, and turn toward the stairs leading up.
	The intercom was easy to spot on this floor: it was right on the wall, almost carelessly slapped in plain sight as soon as you arrived at the top of the two-turn stair-case.
	”...The loft!”
	It was by no means a large room. In fact, it was only a little bigger than Ket’s own bedroom. The windows all along the walls made it very bright and welcoming. It was brightened even more when Rini reached up and slid aside the shield to the skylight—for the ceiling was quite low, she only needed one of the ottomans beside the futon to reach it.
	There was another TV on this floor, but it was much smaller than the rest, able to stand on a two-shelf, squat TV stand with casters on it. Next to the TV, along the wall, was a Yamaha and amp, and in the corner was a modest computer set up on a small desk.
	”This is technically my dad’s office,” she said. “But it’s also where we can kinda take some space to breathe and chill or whatever. If you ever need to, you can come up here. You can play the keyboard, if you want. Just don’t try to mess on the computer; it’s passworded.
	”And… That’s it. I know it’s… Kinda a lot. To be honest, I kinda don’t like giving the tour.”
	”Why not?” Emmy asked. “Your home is really nice, and big, and fancy.”
	”That’s kinda exactly why... I know my house is… More than other peoples’...”
	”It’s just up instead of out,” Ket replied. “Nothing wrong with that.”
	Emeral was startled again when she heard a crackle from the far side of the room.
	”Kim and Will are here,” Goren’s voice buzzed over the intercom.
	”Be right there!” Rini replied, before scurrying down the stairs. Her feet tamped upon the carpet in rapid fire, though she had made this trip many times so she was not out of breath when she arrived at the second floor, where Goren was walking up with William’s bag, Toto in tow.
	”Good luck,” he remarked.
	She exchanged a glance with him, and continued on down, her puppy now following her. When she approached from the hallway, she heard Kimberly talking to William.
	”C’mon, you promised me, I’ll be with you the whole time.”
	Rini could hear a mumbling in response, but couldn’t make out anything that was said—except that it was definitely William.
	”You know a buncha people here, it’ll be just like being in class.”
	Just then, Toto barked, giving Rini’s position in the hall away. She walked forward, trying to make it seem like she hadn’t stopped.
	”Hey Kim, hey Will, thank you so much for coming!” She greeted with a conscious enthusiasm.
	”Sorry we’re late,” the mousette said. “We uh… Got lost.” She explained.
	Rini nodded. “It’s okay, by the way this is Toto.” She introduced, given that the dog had now run at least two laps around them both.
	William squatted down, letting Toto sniff the back of his hand.
	”Oh don’t worry she’s friendly,” the rat said.
	The dalmatian muttered something.
	”I’m sorry?” Rini asked.
	”He does this for every kind of animal,” Kimberly chimed in.
	”Well, you do you,” the rat acquiesced.
	William began gently petting Toto.
	”Wow. I’ve never seen her so calm,” the rat remarked, as her dog rolled onto her back to show her belly and panted up at the boy. “I mean, I haven’t had her for more than a few days, but still.”
	”Oh, she’s a birthday present?” Kimberly asked.
	”Yup, dunno how mom convinced dad.” She shrugged. “Don’t wanna know,” she remarked in a quiet tone. “But, I love her! She’s really sweet. When she’s not smelly.”
	They watched as William calmly petted Toto.
	”I just got done giving the tour to Ket and Emmy. Let me give it to you, too, and then we can hang out ‘till dinner.”
	”Okay. Ready, Willie?”
	The dalmatian mumbled a response without looking up.
	”Whassat?” Rini asked.
	Kimberly squatted down. “You can’t just stay with Toto down here, we gotta know where we’re gonna sleep.”
	William mumbled again.
	”What if Toto comes with us?”
	He sort of let out a grumble, and then stood up.
	”I’ll make it quick, I promise.” Rini said. “So to start, this is the living room and kitchen. This box is an intercom, there’s one on each floor. Someone might use it to try and talk to us, like Goren used it a bit ago to let me know you guys were here.”
	”Oh cool, so it’s like a walkie-talkie. Uh… But without the walkie part.”
	Rini chuckled. “Standie-talkie,” she remarked. “And, down the hall…” She led them down the same path. “This is the laundry room, and also Toto’s room.” She went in. “Actually—One sec!”
	A moment later, she emerged with a leash. “We have to get her used to a leash, so. Will, would you mind ‘walking’ her?”
	Kimberly smiled. “That’d be helpful, that way Toto can keep you company.”
	The dalmatian almost imperceptibly nodded, watching as Rini squatted down to hook the leash onto the collar.
	”C’mon hold still,” she grumbled, and then finally the metal clicked as the end was secured to the loop next to the rabies tag. “Okay, all set?”
	”Think so.” Kimberly said, then adding, in a bit of a relieved voice, “thank you.”
	”Sure. Okay, so, Toto’s room,” she pointed to the laundry room again. “And then down here is my room. This is where you, me, and the other girls will be sleeping.” She opened the door. “You can come in, too, William—for now.”
	William just stayed where he was; if he made any indication about declining to go in, Rini didn’t catch it.
	”Oh, that reminds me,” Kimberly said, as she entered the room. “Uhm, our moms printed out a note for me to give to your mom. They say it’s okay for me to sleep with Will, if that’s possible.”
	”Oh. Well, uh… I don’t see why not, if my mom is okay with it.”
	The mousette scurried to her bag against the far wall, and unzipped it. “Uhm… Shoot,” she pulled out her plush mouse and dug for a moment more. “It… Might be in Will’s bag.”
	”Okay, we’ll be up there in just a bit and you can look for it then, okay?”
	”Sure.”
	”But, before we go,” she pointed at the back-end of her room, with the french doors and counter. “Bathroom is on the right. The walk-in closet is on the left.”
	”Okay.”
	They emerged from the room.
	William was petting the belly that Toto offered him again.
	”Ready to continue?” Rini asked.
	”C’mon Willie, let’s go.”
	He stood and they continued on.
	”Mom’s room, off-limits. And then this is the second floor, which is the playroom. We’ll be hanging out here quite a bit probly.”
	”Oh, Will, they’ve got hotwheels going, come see!” Kimberly encouraged.
	But, William seemed to stay where he was, still well below the second floor’s line.
	”Hey, Kimmy,” a voice greeted, and William saw the white tigress appear. “Getting the tour?”
	”Yeah, c’mon Will,” she replied, looking back down the stairs.
	Rini stepped a bit into the room. “Remember, if you guys need anything let Goren know. He’s… Doing the butler thing or something, I guess.”
	”Okay,” was the general reply from the room. She turned back to Kimberly. “Upstairs is where the boys’ bags are, so let’s look for that note.”
	”Sure,” the mousette agreed, following the rat up the stairs. But when they turned the corner she looked back to make sure and, just as she thought, William was still where he had been.
	”Hang on,” she told the rat.
	Rini paused, and watched as Kimberly trotted back down the stairs to the dalmatian. She talked with him for a good moment or two, until she finally slowly walked up.
	William receded back down to the first floor.
	”What’s the matter?” Rini asked.
	”He… Just wants to stay in Toto’s room right now.” The mousette answered. “Is that… Okay? For now?”
	Rini watched as Kimberly looked back where William had been.
	”Of course,” Rini replied. “Do you want the full tour still or just go get the note?”
	”Uhm… Maybe just get the note, if that’s okay...”
	”Absolutely,” the rat motioned for her to follow. “Goren put the bags in my brother Bart’s room—he’s at college so his room isn’t being used right now.” She led the mousette to the door.
	”The boys will be sleeping up here,” she said, walking into the room. “The beds are in my other brother Lex’s room right now, but I was thinking the boys could split between the two rooms. But, if you and Will are going to be together, maybe you can stay in one room—or however, we’ll figure that out.”
	”Rini.” Kimberly said, in a quiet tone.
	”Huh?” The rat replied in kind.
	”Why… Did you invite us? Me and Will?”
	Rini’s lips parted a bit as if she was going to start to respond, but it wasn’t until Kimberly’s eyes met hers a few seconds after asking the question that her brain caught up.
	”I wanted to hang out with my friends?” she replied, with a questioning inflection.
	”We didn’t… Really talk all that much, though?”
	Rini took a breath as quietly as she could. “We’re gonna be in a new school pretty soon. I want us all to stick together. You know? Keep Ms. Hupp’s class in-tact, as best we can.”
	Kimberly looked down for a second in thought. “Sorry  we’re making you birthday difficult.”
	”I... Dunno what you mean by that,” she deflected, and laid her hand on the mousette’s shoulder. “C’mon let’s get the note to mom. Then we can hang out ‘till dinner.”
	Kimberly gave a meek smile, before stepping into the room. She walked toward the duffel bag she recognized as William’s and unzipped it. She rooted around in it for a little bit, then realized: “Wait… Something’s wrong. Did he forget his stuffie?”
	”Huh?” Rini stepped up beside the mousette. “Oh wait, Ket doesn’t have a stuffed animal. Maybe this is his bag?”
	Kimberly lifted something out of the bag. It looked like a pair of red shorts, but also kind of like underwear. “I don’t recognize…” She looked at the tag. “Oh g-gosh yeah th-th-this is Ket’s,” she stammered, stuffing the garment back in the bag and zipping it back up.
	She stood, and looked around the room. “O-Okay, this one’s gotta be it,” she said, shuffling over to another bag that looked very similar. She opened it up, and saw the piece of paper right on top. “Y-Yeah, okay, this is it.” She pulled the paper out, and, while it danced in her shaking hand, zipped the bag up and stood.
	”I’ll take it,” Rini offered, and accepted the paper. It was now still and calm, in her hands. “Okay. Well. Are you sure you wanna go back down? Or do you want to see the loft?”
	”Back down,” she replied. “Maybe… We can finish the tour some other time.”
	”Sure.” One rodent led the other back down the stairs.
	When they passed by Toto’s room, Kimberly peeked in. She saw William sitting on the floor with the dog in his lap. He was contentedly smiling.
	”Hey, mom,” Rini called.
	”Don’t come in here, yet,” she replied from the kitchen.
	”Well, can you come out, I have something to talk about.”
	A moment later, she came into the foyer, wiping her hands on her apron. “Whatchya need?”
	”I’ve got a note here, Kimberly’s and Will’s moms wanted to let you know it was okay for them to spend the night together.”
	”Let me see…” She took the note and went to the mantle to get a pair of glasses. After reading it, she set her glasses back down. “Well. For now, I will say ‘okay.’ But, I will give them a call just to make sure, and let you know otherwise.”
	”Okay.”
	”Thank you, Mrs. Isonheim.” Kimberly said.
	”No worries, but, Rini you’ll need to figure that out.”
	”Yeah I’ll figure it out.” She turned to the mousette. “Ready to chill with the others?” She asked.
	”Uhm… Actually, I’ll just stay with Will in Toto’s room for a bit, if that’s okay.”
	The corner of Rini’s lips pinched together. “Sure. But, try to come up if you can. We’re just relaxing and goofing around. We might play party-games, but, nothing crazy.”
	The mousette nodded. “Thanks.” She said, then in a lower tone: “Sorry, again.” Then, she scurried off into the laundry room.
	Goren came from out of the kitchen, hugging her from behind.
	”Punch out after dinner, okay?” She joked. “I feel like I haven’t seen you all day.”
	”You’ll see me plenty later, don’t you worry.” He replied.
	”Tsch,” she reached up to bap his nose. “Nevermind go back into the kitchen. I’ll be in the playroom.”
	”We’re just waiting for the oven to finish pre-heating. so, maybe about ten minutes.” He let her go.
	She peered into the laundry room as she passed by. “You guys okay?” She asked.
	”Yeah,” Kimberly replied.
	”If you need anything, mom and Goren are in the kitchen.” She reminded them, before slipping away.
	Up in the playroom, the Frankenstein track had grown to take up at least a third of the floor-space. She navigated around it to get to the spot on the couch right in front of the TV, wheeling the tray with the remote on it on her way, and restarted the movie.
	”Can we watch cartoons?” Timimy asked.
	”Yeah, they wouldn’t let us, said we had to ask you.” Ziggy-Zee added, pointing to the Siamese kittens sitting together on the sectional.
	”Sorry, but it’s a tradition for me to watch The Wizard of Oz on my birthday. We’ll put cartoons on tomorrow.”
	”Y’know, what even is Technicolor?” Emmy asked, gesturing to the screen, where the word was displayed. “Is it not color? I’ve never understood that when I see it on old cartoons.”
	”They painted the reels, duh,” Kelly-Elly remarked from her magazine. “Everybody knows that.”
	Rini grinned. “Nope, incorrect!” She countered.
	”What do you mean? It literally said it in a magazine,” the poodle replied, holding hers up as an example.
	”Well that mag is wrong.” The rat replied definitively. “Anyone else know, or just me?”
	Emeral looked at Ket.
	He shrugged. “I’m curious,” he remarked.
	”Well. Not only can I explain it, I can show it.” She navigated the hotwheels track over to the right side of the media cabinet, where she opened the glass door to the display shelves. Within, she pulled out a digital picture-frame, that she turned on.
	After it started up, it displayed a picture of Dorothy holding Toto, in full color. She sat on an ottoman where everyone could see, and held the frame up. “Okay, see how this is in color?” She asked.
	”Yup,” Lyza replied.
	”Well, the way that it works is...” She clicked a button on the frame, and the same image appeared but in a two-by-two grid, and they appeared to be in black-and white. “...These four frames were filmed with special cameras and film that captured red, green, and blue,” she pointed to the upper-left, upper-right, and lower-left variant. “And then this last one is called the key-frame.” She pointed to the lower-right.
	”Then,” she clicked the button again. “The red is dyed cyan, the green is dyed yellow, and the blue is dyed magenta.” The corresponding frames appeared within the pictures as being dyed their respective colors. “Doing that helps to emphasize the red, green, and blue parts of the picture.
	”Finally,” she clicked the button again, “when you layer them all atop one another, you see it in color.” The picture frame did so as she narrated. First it added the key-frame, then the cyan frame, then the yellow frame, and then last the magenta frame. Each addition looked funky, but after the last frame was added, it appeared in color. The color picture stayed for a moment, before the animation repeated.
	”That’s cool,” Cheri remarked. “Where’d you find that picture thing though? They made it to do that?”
	”This whole thing?” Rini asked, tilting the digital picture-frame to emphasize the object itself. “Actually, this was my present a couple years ago. My brother Bart did it as part of a media-literacy class before he graduated.”
	She turned it off, and put it away. “Hope everyone is starting to get hungry, we’re gonna have dinner in just a bit.”
	”Thank goodness I’m starving.” Kelly-Elly remarked.
	”Whaddaya mean? You ate like a whole box a’ crackers bef—aurgh!”
	Lyza gasped when she saw the magazine the poodle was holding whisk through the air, right at Timimy. Had he not lifted his arms, it would’ve hit him square on the face.
	”Whoa! Kelly, chill out, what the heck!” Rini knelt by the poodle’s younger brother. “You all right?”
	”Yeah I’m fine,” he said, dimly.
	”That’s a weird bikini,” Ziggy-Zee remarked.
	Rini looked at what he was looking at, and saw the magazine open on the ground. Her eyes went wide, and she quickly grabbed the magazine and closed it. “Max, I’m gonna kill you,” she muttered under her breath, walking upstairs.
	”Hey, I was reading that!” Kelly-Elly said, loudly.
	”Watch the movie!” Rini hollered back down. She went to one of the doors on the opposite side of the hall where the boys were going to be sleeping, opened it, and chucked the magazine inside. “You’re lucky if I don’t tell mom.” She said to the thin air.
	When she arrived back in the playroom, she sat on the sectional next to Lyza.
	”Hey,” the rabbit whispered. “Where’re Kim and Will?”
	Rini took in a slight breath. “They’re in the laundry room, with Toto.”
	Lyza studied Rini’s expression for a few seconds more, before turning away and toward the tigers. Sensing that Rini just wanted peace for a while, the three quietly watched the movie with her while the boys continued to play with their cars.
	”Everything’s ready, come on down.” Goren’s voice buzzed over the intercom.
	Rini hopped up and pushed a button on the panel. “Be right there.” She turned to the group. “All right everyone, let’s eat,” she clapped.
	”Okay, Ms. Hupp,” Kelly-Elly remarked.
	”Huh?” The rat looked at the poodle incredulously.
	”I saw it,” Emmy chimed in. “You kinda did the thing Ms. Hupp always did when trying to get our attention.” She stood from the couch and demonstrated. She clapped a few times, bouncing a little bit at the hip.
	Rini giggled. “I guess I didn’t even realize.” She led the group downstairs and into the kitchen, where she saw Kimberly waiting outside the entrance to it.
	”What are we having?” Cheri asked as Rini stopped next to the mousette.
	”We are having pizza,” Rini said. “But, not from Perry’s or anything like that. It’s actually make-your-own. But, we only have enough room for I think… How many?”
	Her mom walked to the group and replied: “I can have eight in the oven at a time, so some of you will need to be the second batch. Goren already volunteered.”
	”I can go second, also.” Ket volunteered.
	”Me, too,” Emeral joined him.
	”Will and I will also,” Kimberly said.
	”Where is Will?” Kelly-Elly asked.
	”He’s in the room with Toto,” the mousette replied, pointing to the laundry room.
	The poodle went over to the room.
	”W-Wait!” Kimberly squeaked.
	”Hey Will,” Kelly-Elly said loudly. “You know dinner’s ready right? Why’re—”
	The poodle yipped when she felt her arm gripped very tightly. She was tugged backwards, out of the doorway. “What the heck,” she barked.
	”Get in the kitchen,” Rini growled.
	”Chill the heck out, Rini, what’s your problem?”
	”You said you were starving,” the rat pointed out, re-enacting the way the poodle had said the word earlier. “So if you’re really that hungry then go start making your pizza.”
	”You are really being a birthday queen,” the poodle snipped, as she jerked her arm out of the rat’s grasp and made her way to the kitchen.
	”Ket, Emmy; are you two okay being in the second batch with Bitty and Betty?”
	The tigers exchanged glances.
	”Sure—yeah.”
	”Okay, everyone else is in the first batch. Lezz-a go make-a da pizza.”
	”Ket and Emmy can be in this batch, Will and I will go later.”
	”Nah, you go ahead,” the tigress insisted, nudging the mousette into the kitchen.
	Goren stood next to the island in the kitchen. Several trays were set out on the stove with the ingredients. “Balls of dough, sauce,” he listed, pointing to the items on the island, “cheese, pepperoni, veggies;” which were in the pot, the only thing actually on a stove; “black olives, pickles, pineapple, and ham.
	”We’re only making one now,” he said. “If you want to make another you can, but gotta wait ‘till everyone’s had one.” He looked over the ingredients on the island. “Oh, right, and there’s string-cheese if you want it stuffed-crust.”
	After everyone washed their hands, Rini, Cheri, and Kelly-Elly got their balls of dough and went to a low table that was set up in the walkway of the kitchen.
	”Kim? Lyza? Either of you want to take the last spot,” Goren asked.
	”You go ahead,” Lyza said to the mousette.
	”No you, I-I actually wanna be in the second group, really.”
	”Well… I guess if you need to get Will,” the rabbit replied reluctantly, before getting a ball of dough and stepping up to the table.
	”All you gotta do,” Goren said, reaching between Rini and Kelly-Elly to mindfully touch the small quarter-sheet-pan, “is spread your dough out over the pan and fill it up with what you want. If you want stuffed crust, put the string-cheese along the edge and fold the dough over it, and press. If you need help lemme know. I’ll just get outta your way otherwise.”
	The four began to cover their sheets with the dough. Kelly-Elly was first and so she went over to the island first.
	”How… Do you do this…?” Cheri asked, her brow furrowed as she tried to work the dough.
	”Can I help?” Lyza asked.
	”Please…” She replied with some embarrassment.
	Lyza picked up the attempt the vixen did, rolled it back up a little, and then spread it out on the pan.
	”Do you make pizzas, Lyz?” Rini asked.
	”Kind of. I’ve helped mom make something similar at home, it’s called vekoshnik.”
	”Oh that sounds neat. I’d like to try whatever that is sometime.”
	While they went to the island to put in their toppings, the others approached the table.
	”Excuse me, Mrs. Isonheim?” The mousette asked quietly, approaching the mother.
	”Yes, honey?” The mother rat asked a little louder than Kimberly would’ve liked.
	”Um… Will is actually lactose intolerant—”
	”He is?” Rini asked. “Oh no… Did I know that?” She looked at Lyza. “I feel like I should’ve known that...”
	”I dunno if I knew that.” The rabbit replied.
	The rat left her pizza-making station to join her mom and Kimberly. “Uh… What can we do?”
	Kimberly’s cheeks were starting to turn scarlet.
	”Would a PB&J work?” Goren asked.
	”I… I think so,” the mousette mumbled.
	”Okay, no problem, I’ll make one for him,” the mother said.
	”N-No, I-I’ll make it.” Kimberly said.
	”Naw, you go make your pizza, honey.”
	”I—I’m actually lactose intolerant, too, though.”
	”No you’re not.” The poodle chimed in. “You ate pizza every Thursday.”
	”Kell!” Rini growled through gritted teeth. “You’re. Starving. Make. Pizza.”
	’All right,” the mother rat said with a sigh. “I’ll make the two of you PB&Js. Anyone else not able to eat pizza?”
	”C—Can I make them?” Kimberly asked.
	”You okay, Kim?” Goren asked. “Your face is—”
	”She’s fine, Gorey,” the rat said to him through half-gritted teeth.
	”Let me get out the things for you,” the mother rat acquiesced.
	”Ket, Emmy; you can start making your pizzas, now.” Rini called to them.
	”The first batch is done already?” Emeral asked in disbelief.
	”No, just… Don’t worry about it,” the rat said.
	They listened to Goren’s instructions, and try as he might Ket just couldn’t seem to figure out how to get it right. Without even really asking, Emeral quietly swapped her tray with his, and redid his mangling as her own. Then, she took both of their trays.
	”I’ll make yours for you.” She said.
	”No I wanna make it,” he replied.
	”But I wanna make it for you.”
	”Okay… Thanks,” he said, before tapping her foot with his.
	”Oooo~ Makin’ your boyfriend a pizza?” Cheri jibed.
	”More like,” Emmy replied, drizzling sauce onto the dough, “if I mess one up then he’ll take that one,” she said.
	Rini smirked and hid her chuckle, but admired the tigress’s ability to reverse that. It was very… Ju-Jitsu-y, of her.
	While the tigress, raccoon, and younger poodle were busy shaping their dough, Rini’s mom had gotten everything Kimberly needed to make the PB&Js. The mousette made them quickly, and finished at about the same time as Kelly-Elly.
	”I’m done,” the poodle announced.
	”I’ll take it here,” the mother said, setting it on the oven rack.
	”How long will it take?” Kelly-Elly asked.
	”At least fifteen minutes, maybe more depending on what’s on it.”
	”What!” She yipped, then looked at the mousette. “Make me one, too!” She demanded.
	Kimberly paused, just after having licked the knife once. She sort of froze there, deer-in-headlights.
	”No.” Rini said.
	”Excuse you?” The poodle snarled.
	The rat grabbed an oven mitt hanging from the side of the two-tier oven, and opened the door. She pulled out the poodle’s pizza and placed in on the counter nearby. “You’re in the second batch. Goren, you can make yours.”
	”Rebecca…” Came a soft, maternal tone.
	”You’re being such a brat,” Kelly-Elly declared.
	”You’re being a b—” The rat stopped herself.
	”A what?” The poodle asked rhetorically, with a dramatically-curious inflection, and folded her arms. “I’m a what now?”
	Silence wound for more than a moment.
	”A bête noire.”
	”A what?” The poodle asked, genuinely this time, raising a brow.
	”All right.” The mother rat finally spoke up. “The pizzas are in the oven,” she said, and put the pizza her daughter had taken out back in. “You can either wait in the dining room or the living room. It’ll be fifteen minutes.”
	”Such a dumb idea,” the poodle muttered under her breath.
	Ket took Emeral’s hand and led her to the dining room, where Rini’s mom had pointed. It was connected to the kitchen, and had a very long dining table, that was bench-seated. It had a very homely, country-style aesthetic to it.
	Lyza, Rini and Goren joined them, while everyone else made their way to the living room.
	Before he sat down, Goren went to the China cabinet against the wall, and plucked something from off the small shelf between the top and bottom. He took his seat at the table next to Rini, opposite Ket, and opened the box he held.
	”Know how to play Egyptian Rhapsody?” He asked, dumping the cards into his hand and splitting them to shuffle.
	”Of course,” the tiger replied, while the cards zipped together. The deck was set in front of him, and he cut it.
	”Doubles only okay? I hate sandwiches, and especially Big-Macs.”
	”Sure.”
	The cards swished like leaves in a gentle breeze as the wolf alternated them between the tiger and himself. They gathered their hands, and the tiger set the first card face-up with a soft flktp.
	”What’s wrong, Reen?” Lyza asked.
	Flktp. The wolf turned over an Ace of Clubs.
	”Don’t let Kelly throw off your groove,” Emmy remarked, anticipating why the rat was looking down at her reflection in the polish of the wooden dining table.
	Flktpflktpflktpflktp. Just as quickly as the tiger had revealed a flurry of numbered cards, the wolf gathered the stack, flipped it face-down, and added it to the bottom of his hand.
	”It’s not Kelly.” She said. Flktp. “I’m worried about Kimmy.” Flktp.
	”What about her?” Asked the tigress. Flktpflktpflktp. She watched as Ket gathered up the small pile of cards after three number-cards from Goren fell onto his Jack of Diamonds.
	”She seems real stressed.” The rat took in a deep breath. Flktp. “I was worried this would happen.” Flktpflktp. “I didn’t want to just invite her without Willie.” Flktpflktp. “But I also—flktpflktpflktp—didn’t want to not invite her—flktp—just because I thought Willie would—“
	flktp—WHAM!
	”Wuoah!” Emeral yelped when she saw Ket’s hand lash out and smack the table just after Goren set a three of diamonds on top of a three of hearts.
	Rini curled her fingers.
	The boys looked at one another.
	”No more slaps,” they said in unison.
	Ket gathered his cards, and laid down a seven of clubs.
	”Everything okay in here? I heard a scream.”
	”We’re fine, Mrs. Isonheim,” Lyza replied. “The boys are just playing a card game.”
	”You two play more nicely and don’t scare the girls.”
	”Yes ma’am,” the boys again said in unison.
	For a second, the tigress smiled at the boy next to her, but then turned her attention back to the rat when he turned his to the cards. “I get it,” she replied to what Rini was saying a moment ago.
	”I ended up with thinking that maybe it’d be like another field trip. Mostly us from his class. But I guess… I was wrong. And now Kimmy’s not able to enjoy being here. And he’s obviously not.”
	”Stop,” Emmy said.
	”Don’t worry about it. Let us handle it.” Lyza added.
	”But,” the rat countered, “I want you to enjoy being here, too. I don’t want you to have to babys—“
	”Stop.”
	”Don’t worry about it.”
	”Let us handle it,” the girls said together.
	”It’s your birthday. You’re the one that should get to enjoy it the most.” The rabbit added.
	Hearing Lyza say that, a memory crept up on Rini. One from just over six months ago. It slithered up her spine, gently pressed its talons onto her shoulders, and slowly licked up the nape of her neck.
	”In fact…” The rabbit rapped her knuckles on the table twice, got up, and made her way back into the kitchen. “How long for the pizzas?” She asked the mother rat.
	”Still about ten more minutes, at least,” she replied.
	Lyza continued on out into the living room. The rest of the group was passing the wait by watching the prime-time cartoons on the TV.
	She let the constant barrage of noise muffle in the distance behind her as she continued down the hall to the laundry room.
	She poked her head in. “Hey.”
	Toto wriggled and escaped Will’s lap, trotting over to the rabbit.
	Lyza picked her up and tried to keep from getting licked in the face. “Hey you were so comfy already!”
	”What are you doing here?” The mousette asked softly.
	”Rini—fooh!” She blew at the dog to get it to stop.
	Toto leaned back, giving a look of shock and appallation, before once again trying to lick the face.
	”Rini wanted to talk to you, Kim,” she said, setting Toto down. “Go back to Will,” she pushed the dog gently.
	”About what?” The mousette asked, starting to stand up, but pausing.
	”I dunno she just asked me to get you. Did you finish eating?”
	”Yeah…” Kimmy said, standing up fully.
	”I’ll stay with Will,” the rabbit offered.
	Mousette and dalmatian exchanged glances. Well, mousette did; dalmatian more looked down and away.
	”I guess… I’ll take these…” She mumbled, collecting the paper plates they had used for their sandwiches from off the top of one of the washing machines.
	Before leaving into the hall, she looked back into the room. “I’ll be right back, Will,” she said; and then, remained for a moment longer, before finally leaving.
	She scurried down the hallway. Things were quiet, but as soon as she passed near the living room—
	”BOOM!”
	”Yeep!” The mousette heard the explosion on the TV, along with the raccoon’s and poodle’s additionally well-timed and loud onomatopoeia accompanying it. She dropped the plates, and to her knees.
	The TV picked back up with its normal volume.
	”Dang, Kim.” The poodlette snickered.
	”Now these boys need to quiet down and stop scaring girls; is everyone all right?”
	”I-I-I-It’s f-fine Mrs. I-I-I—Rini’s-Mom,” Kimberly stammered, collecting herself. She picked the plates back up again, which had fallen over face-down.
	”Oh gross, is that peanut butter?” Kelly-Elly asked. “It better be.”
	The mousette looked down and saw light brown-ish streaks in the carpet where the plates had been. “Oh no,” she said with lead ball dropping in her stomach. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to g—”
	”It’s all right, sweetie,” the mother rat replied. “I’ll clean it up.”
	”Great job, Kim, make Rini’s mom work more.”
	”Kelly that’s not really helping, honey.” Mrs. Isonheim replied wearily.
	”Yeah Kell, shut it.” Her daughter snapped, walking into the living room.
	”Rebecca, that’s not really helping, honey.” Her mom repeated.
	Rini went back into the kitchen, avoiding acknowledging her mother.
	Kimberly followed, dropping the paper plates into the garbage on the way. She stopped at the threshold into the dining room.
	Emmy’s and Rini’s boyfriends were playing a game of cards. It was weird, seeing the two of them sitting across from each other at a table. Like two soldiers on formerly-opposing sides, sitting in peace after the conclusion of a long war.
	The girls were sitting next to theirs, quietly. Until Emmy asked, after looking and waiting for a precisely sub-awkward moment: “What’s up?”
	”You… Wanted to talk to me, Rini?”
	”Uh…” The rat blinked.
	”C’mon and sit down,” Emeral said, offering the spot next to her. “We just wanted to chat a bit. Enjoying your summer?”
	The mousette did her best not to outright scurry to the table, sitting next to the tigress.
	”Um… Yeah, I guess.”
	”Well, I know it just kinda started, but.” the tigress chuckled. “Got any plans?”
	”Umm… I’m going to a gymnastics competition on Friday.”
	”Oh… Like, this Friday?—Like three days from now?”
	The mousette nodded.
	”Here?” Rini asked.
	Kimberly shook her head. “It’s far enough away we’re leaving Thursday morning.”
	”That sounds like a rush,” the tigress remarked.
	”It is,” Kimberly replied, stretching her arms out onto the table and finally relaxing a little bit. “We all have to sleep on cots to save on hotel rooms. But, for this one, we have a charter-bus. So, we’re just gonna sleep on it.”
	”Wish I’d known about it earlier,” the rat remarked, softly. “Could’ve gone with.”
	”Why?” Kimberly asked, tilting her head and flattening an ear in confusion.
	”I… I go to friends’ events, when I can,” Rini replied. “I’ve been to a few of Timimy’s and Lyza’s flute practices.”
	The mousette’s ear remained flattened.
	”Will’ll be there, I bet,” Emeral said, to keep silence at bay.
	”Nah,” Kimberly broke her befuddled look and shook her head. “He’s too intimidated to go on a trip with a bus-full of girls.”
	”Did you just auwhr?” Emeral glanced at her boyfriend, and dramatically mimicked a gesture of her ear and back perking up like a dog that thought it heard the dinner-bell.
	”I think he’s more concerned about his small hand,” the wolf answered.
	Between them was a surprisingly sizable pile of cards.
	”I’m pretty sure my next card is a queen though, and you just put down your Ace of Clubs so I don’t think you’ll have a face-card for four more. Plus my other queen is, at most, one card after.”
	”Just play it.”
	Ket flipped his top card over.
	A queen of diamonds looked back up at them.
	Goren quickly whipped his hand and set two cards down; so fast the girls couldn’t tell what the first card was, but the second was a four of hearts.
	The wolf growled lowly as the tiger calmly collected the pile.
	The tiger flipped his top card. Non-face.
	The wolf followed, non-face.
	Ket flipped a queen.
	After two more non-face cards from the wolf, the tiger collected the meager pile.
	”Is this like…” The tigress began, and thought for a second. “You said it’s a competition? So like, is it a thing where if you win you move on or something? Or just like for show?”
	”It’s a practice competition, not like an official one.” Kimmy explained. “If it was an official one it’d be like the whole week. But, there will be medals and stuff.”
	”Hope you get some,” Rini softly cheered.
	”I mean, everyone gets one, but I’ve gotten a silver recently. So.” The mousette shrugged. “But… Um… What’s your plans?”
	The tigress and rat exchanged glances, and both shrugged with “I dunno,” noises.
	Kimberly burst into giggles, but then quickly snipped her mouth shut. “I’m sorry, just, you both—”
	”You don’t have to be sorry,” Emeral said, gently. “But, you’re making me wonder if I should look at Ju-Jitsu competitions. I remember when I first started, actually, some from the dojo did go to a meet. I was too young and not a high enough rank, yet.”
	”If you do, just. Be prepared to look out a window for. Hours.” Kimberly said, the last word with a hint of dread to come in the near future. “And then maybe cry on the way home your first time when you don’t get a gold,” she added.
	”I figure that’s like the rite of passage.” The tigress chuckled. “But, if I do wind up doing something like that I’ll ask your advice on how to deal with the hours of window TV.”
	”It helps if you have friends with you.” The mousette advised freely.
	The tigress turned to look at her counterpart, who was focused on the game.
	After he laid down a number card and the wolf smirked and took the pile, he sensed the stare and looked to his right. “Huh?”
	”Do you like long rides in the car, looking out the window?” She asked.
	”’Like’ is a strong word, there.”
	She giggled.
	”But, really, you don’t have any plans, Rini?” The mousette asked.
	”I don’t have anything specific…” The rat replied. “I just… Wanna hang out. With friends. I dunno, maybe I’ll think of something.”
	”Ket and I know a fun beach you could go to,” Emmy said, her palm softly patting down on the table. “Friendly locals,” her fingers popped up as she listed things out; “skating rink, good ice cream and clothes-shopping. Even a carnival. Unless it was a traveling one.”
	”The be—” A buzzing ring came from the kitchen. “—sounds like fun,” Kimberly said, raising her voice.
	The ringing was muted. ”All right, everyone in the first batch: Come check yours to see if you like it.”
	From the living room, the hoots and hollers of excitement from the young boys could be heard as they scampered into the kitchen.
	”We’ll have to pause the game.” Ket said.
	”I’ll go let Lyza know hers is ready,” Kimberly squeaked, hopping up from the table.
	”Show your bottom card,” Goren said, showing his. It was a four of clubs.
	Ket showed a seven of diamonds.
	”Lucky seven,” Emeral interjected, setting a hand on his shoulder to catch his attention. “I’ll check ours.”
	”Remember your card. Flip the last two over but so that card is still on the bottom.”
	The tiger did so, and handed his part of the deck back.
	”You stay,” the wolf said to the rat, while collecting all the cards.
	Rini, who had started to get up, slowly sat back down.
	Goren put the two bottoms together, and slipped everything back into the box. He got up, placed the box back on the shelf of the China cabinet, and went into the kitchen.
	The birthday girl watched as Goren took the pizzas from her mother and used the rocking pizza-cutter on them, plated them, and then handed them to the others.
	Cheri got hers, first. Then Ziggy. Lyza came into the kitchen, and got hers. Timimy got his next. Then two were pulled out, and Goren cut them, but put them back on the baking sheet which Emmy picked up and carried.
	”Yum-my,” Lyza said as she sat down.
	”How’s Will?” Rini asked.
	”He barely said anything,” she replied. “But. Where he is, he seems. ‘Comfortable.’ Toto is keeping him occupied.”
	”They’re both the same,” Emmy said, as she set the tray down. “But you should have this one,” she told him, and got one of the pizzas off of the baking sheet and put the plate in front of him.
	”Okay,” he replied.
	Rini looked into the kitchen as Kelly took her pizza.
	”Tabs,” Goren called, “You can make yours, now.”
	The kittens silently drifted into the kitchen, as if they had been standing right at the threshold.
	The rat watched as the two of them, and Goren, made their pizzas. Then, she looked to the others, who were sitting quietly.
	”Go ahead and eat.” She said.
	”Not till you get yours,” Lyza said.
	”We can wait.” Emeral added.
	”We have to wait for them to cool, anyway,” Ket also added.
	It wasn’t too much longer, about once the kittens and wolf were finished making their pizzas, that Rini’s mom pulled her daughter’s pizza out of the oven.
	Before Goren cut it, the others watched as he went to the microwave and pressed the button. It hummed for a moment before beeping, and he opened it. He pulled out a glass measuring cup with a yellowish-liquid inside, very shallow. Taking a silicone brush, he dipped it into the cup and brushed it over the crust of the pizza. Then, he picked up a small ramekin and dipped his fingers in, and sprinkled the contents along the crust where he’d just brushed.
	Then, he cut the pizza, plated it, and brought it into the dining room.
	”Thank you,” Rini said.
	”Birthday girl got the garlic-butter crust,” Emeral said after a whistle, looking at the flakes of dried garlic.
	”He can make it for you, if you want,” the rat offered.
	”No,” the wolf said.
	”Gor,” she wrinkled her nose.
	”We don’t need it,” Lyza replied.
	”It’s his way of making it special for you.” Ket added.
	”Okayokay,” Rini softly clapped her hands. “I have my pizza, now you eat.”
	”Not till you do.” Lyza countered.
	”Fiiiine,” she picked up one of the square slices, trying not to lose too many of the veggies she had piled on to make hers a supreme pizza. She brought it to her mouth and bit, then the piece fell and she fanned herself.
	”Fff! Fff! Fff! Hhth! Hhth! Hhth!” She puffed her cheeks and tried to take in air around the lava of cheese resting on her tongue to cool it off. “I’ss haht!”
	”Well, you were supposed to let it cool a bit like they did,” the wolf replied, before getting up.
	She swallowed it, and panted, continuing to fan herself.
	A moment later, Goren came back with a can of ginger-ale. He flicked the seal a few times and then popped it. “Here.”
	Rini took it and took a swig, exhaling with relief. “Could you get them something to drink, too?” She asked.
	”Sure, what do you guys want?”
	”We’ve got ginger-ale, sodas, some fizzy-waters, milk, juice…” Rini listed.
	”Is it plain fizzy-water or flavored?” Emeral asked.
	”Orange,” Goren said, “Grape, Raspberry, Black Cherry—”
	”I’ll take a Raspberry,” Emeral said.
	”Me, too, please.” Said her boyfriend.
	”I’ll do a ginger-ale too, please.”
	”...Please,” Emeral amended her original statement with politeness.
	Before long they had their drinks and were quietly stuffing their faces with stuffed-crust.
	Goren got up a few times to check on the others in the living room, getting them drinks as needed.
	When his and the twins’ pizzas were ready, the two kittens joined them in the dining room to eat, sitting next to Rini.
	”Slow down, you’re gonna choke or something,” Rini murmured to her boyfriend, who was—for lack of better expression—wolfing his pizza down.
	”Boys?” Came a voice from the kitchen, as the mother rat walked to the threshold of the dining room.
	”Yes ma’am?” They asked.
	”When you’re finished eating, would you help me with something?”
	”Shrm” Goren said, getting up while his mouth was still full.
	”You don’t have to right now,” the mother said with a hint of timidity for “interrupting” the meal.
	”I’ss fine,” the wolf replied after swallowing. “I’m full anyway.”
	Ket quietly got up and followed them, with the kittens behind, then followed by Emmy.
	”It’s heavy, be careful to keep it level,” the mother warned.
	”We got it,” Goren reassured.
	The boys were in front of the second refrigerator, which had its french-doors open. All the shelves up to the top shelf had been removed, and a large, tall box was situated within, majorly taking up the entirety of the cavity.
	It was white and waxy, with a seam of interleaved tabs that kept the opening secure. It went nearly up to the top shelf, and had only just enough room on either side for Ket’s arm to slide in if it was pressed to one side.
	They discussed and executed their plan. Ket slipped his arm in to negotiate it out slowly, while Goren was on the other side.
	”Ready?”
	”Go.”
	”Ready?”
	”Go.”
	They called-and-responded to one other as they nudged the box bit-by-bit.
	”Tabs, can you help?” Goren asked.
	One of the kittens’ hands appeared beneath the box on the front-side coming out of the fridge, while the other waited behind Goren.
	”Ready?”
	”Le’sgo,” Goren responded, and the back of the box left the support of the fridge-shelf.
	The other kitten slipped her hand around and did what she could to hold the back of the box until the boys called-and-responded to take a step, and then another. She fully went behind the box and supported it with both hands.
	”Turn to your right so the corner’s facing the island,” Goren instructed.
	They all slowly stepped to the side until Goren told them to stop.
	”Toward the island one step.”
	They all did so.
	”One step. One step. One step. Raise it up.”
	They lifted the bottom of the box up until it was high enough to rest the corner on the island, and then from there quietly worked to slide it the rest of the way onto the island-top.
	Emeral let out her breath.
	”Good job!” the mother praised, pulling out another container from the top shelf of the fridge before shutting the door.
	”What’s going on?” Asked Timimy, his head poking in to the kitchen.
	”Give me a bit more and you’ll see,” Mother Isonheim replied. “When you’re all done with your pizzas just leave the plates on the table in the living room, okay?”
	”Okay,” the poodle replied, and scampered back to the others to let them know.
	”I can take it from here, you all can go back to visiting,” she told the rest. “Thank you for your help.”
	”Welcome,” Emmy said. “I stood and watched!”
	”You were the spotter,” Ket stated.
	”Sure!” She agreed, pumping her arm across her chest. “We’ll go with that.”
	”Cake will be ready soon,” Goren told the rat and the rabbit.
	”We should tell Kimmy and Will,” Lyza said, starting to get up.
	”I’ll go,” Emmy volunteered, briskly pivoting on her heel and walking out before even giving her friend a chance to respond.
	She caught Rini’s mother putting a candle into a cupcake, the package she had gotten out of the fridge earlier open to show five more remaining; all vanilla.
	As she passed the living room, she responded to Ziggy’s wave with one of her own. In the hall, it was almost completely dark, save for some light spilling from the laundry room. However, as she approached, a bulb overhead blinked on. She paused and looked up, not realizing it was a motion-sensing light.
	She peeked her head into the room. “Hello?”
	”Hi,” Kimmy responded. “What’s up?”
	”Think we’re going to do cake and presents any minute.”
	”Oh… Okay,” the mousette stood.
	”Coming, too, Will?” Emmy asked.
	The boy, not looking at her, quietly hugged Toto a little more tightly.
	”If it’s real quick, I think I’ll just sing and come back here,” Kimberly planned.
	”I think Rini would appreciate if everyone was at least nearby. Including Toto.”
	The mousette looked at the dalmatian, who only looked up at her.
	”Let’s do this. Cuz she’ll want Toto there, too; let’s just have Will stand in the hall, just close enough so Toto can be in the opening to the kitchen. You and I will be there.” She knelt down. “Will that work, Will?” After a moment of silence, she added; “It’ll mean a lot to her. Plus, later on there will be a concert. You’ll want to hear that, won’t you?”
	”Okay, everyone,” the mother rat called in a loud voice, that the whole downstairs could easily hear. “Cake and ice cream, and then presents!”
	Excited cheers came from the living room, and pawpads tamped on the carpet toward the kitchen.
	Will stood up, holding Toto’s leash.
	Kimberly’s ears wiggled.
	Emeral peeked out the door, holding her hand up to them to indicate to them to wait. After a moment, once everyone was in the kitchen, she flicked a follow gesture and went out into the hall.
	Kimberly followed. She looked behind to see William emerging from the sanctity of the laundry room.
	Emeral stood at the threshold to the kitchen, about midway. Kimberly stood next to her, and looked back at Will.
	The Dalmatian stood, back against the wall, out-of-sight of the threshold. He let enough slack loose on the leash that Toto was at Kimberly’s feet.
	The mousette smiled at him, and turned her eyes to the kitchen, just as the lights went out.
	Floating in the air was the humble flicker of a candle flame.
	”Happy birthday to you—” they all began to sing.
	”Cha-cha-cha!” Ziggy-Zee and Timimy interjected.
	”Happy birthday to you—”
	”Cha-cha-cha!”
	”Happy birthday, dear Rini—”
	”—Becky—”
	”—Ingrid—”
	”Cha-cha-cha!”
	”Happy birthday~ To~ You~”
	”Cha-cha-cha!”
	A moment after the singing, the candle flickered out.
	Soft clapping and cheers came from the group as the boys continued to sing:
	”And many more~ On Channel Four, you shut the door~ On Channel Six, it’s pick-up sticks~ On Channel Seven, we go to heaven~”
	The lights came on as they sang, showing Rini on a step-stool, holding a red straw she had used to help blow the candle out. “Okay shoosh!” She gently barked, flicking the straw at the boys.
	It bounced off of Ziggy’s forehead.
	”Don’t throw things—”
	”I didn’t throw,” Rini interrupted her mother, stepping down the stool.
	”Holy birthday cake, Batman!” Ziggy remarked, picking up the straw that had bounced off of him.
	On the island, surrounded by everyone, was a circular, three-tiered cake, with each tier smaller in diameter than the one below.
	The bottom tier had chocolate frosting, with a meandering ribbon of yellow frosting that took up most of the top.
	The middle tier had white frosting, covered with sprinkles and adorned on the top with some lemon-drops and the heads of lollipops.
	The top tier had green frosting, with florets of lavender and sky-blue frosting on it.
	And at the very top was a cupcake, in which the candle had been placed. The wrapping and frosting atop it was colored in a distinct red, blue, green, and yellow pattern; much like the canvas used for a hot-air balloon.
	There was a flash as the mother rat took a picture of the cake, before plucking the cupcake off of the top and handing it to her daughter.
	”The top tier is carrot-cake, the next tier is red-velvet, and the bottom is chocolate. So, who wants carrot?”
	”I’ll take a piece of carrot cake,” Lyza said. “Cuz of course,” she added, preventing any snide remarks about it.
	”I’ll also cut one for Kimberly and William,” the mother remarked, “since this cake is actually dairy-free.”
	She grabbed onto the finger-loops of the cake’s plate, and lifted it up, carrying it to the counter where she could cut it.
	”So what is this supposed to be?” Kelly-Elly said, looking over the tiers that remained.
	”It’s Wizard of Oz,” Ket answered.
	”Oooooh!” Emeral smacked her forehead. “I was trying to figure out what was familiar about it.”
	”So like are these just—” The poodle reached up to a lollipop head, and tugged it out—but not in an upward direction. So when she did, the cake around it broke away and fell onto the tier below.
	”Kel!” The rat narrowed her brow.
	”How was I supposed to know the sticks were still there?” She said, innocently and with a dramatic gesture of putting her hand on her shoulder to emphasize the I. She shrugged, and popped the bulb into her mouth.
	”Can you give these to Kim and Will?”
	”Of course,” Lyza took the plates, and carried them out of the kitchen. She handed both of them to Kimberly. “It’s carrot cake. Lactose-free.”
	”What about the frosting?” The mousette whispered.
	”It’s coconut-based, don’t worry,” the mother rat replied from the kitchen.
	Kimberly’s cheeks started to turn scarlet. She looked toward where Will had been a moment ago, but saw that he was gone. She started to scurry away, but hands held her shoulders.
	”Don’t, you’ll drop the cakes. Just go slow,” Lyza whispered.
	”Anyone else want carrot cake?” The mom called. “Going once.”
	Lyza came back into the kitchen, and got hers.
	”Okay, next up is red-velvet; who wants that?”
	”I’ll take one,” Emeral said, raising her hand.
	”Me, too, please,” Ket followed.
	”...Please,” the white tigress amended her original statement.
	”I and the twins will also have some, please, ma-ma,” Rini said, in a bit of cutesy voice.
	”Oh, could I get some help with this one?”
	”On it,” Goren stepped up, and hooked his fingers into the holes on one side, while the mother did the same on the other side. Together, they lifted the plate up and carried it to the counter.
	”What about the frosting on the bottom?” Emeral asked.
	”There isn’t much,” the mother replied. “I’ll just clean the counters off, later.”
	“Timimy and Ziggy can just lick the frosting off the counters if they want.”
	”Yeah!” The boys agreed.
	”Then in that case, Becky, you’re cleaning the counters.”
	”But it’s my birthday,” she whined in a faux-dramatic tone.
	”I will scoop it up with rubber spatulas and then if the boys really want to they can have it that way.” The mother compromised.
	”I call corner-piece,” Ket declared, as Rini’s mother started cutting into the cake.
	”Huh?” Cheri tilted her head. “But… It’s a circle?”
	The tiger merely smirked.
	”I don’t get it.” The vixen folded her arms.
	Emeral explained, in her Bullwinkle-like voice: “The curve of a circle can be approximated by a series of squares all rotated around the center—”
	Rini burst out laughing; “Oh my gosh, you made me snort. Where the heck did that come from, Emmy?”
	”That. Was a really good explanation, actually.” Ket praised.
	”...I still don’t get it.” The vixen remarked, in a defeated tone.
	”I picked up a thing or two when I eavesdropped on your lessons for sixth grade.”
	”Lessons for sixth grade?” Rini asked.
	”Oh… Uh…” Emeral suddenly went meek, and looked at the tiger. “Sorry.”
	”It’s okay.” He shrugged, and looked at Rini. “Remember when I got called out of class after the RSBTs?”
	”Kind of…” The rat replied, taking the cake from Goren when he handed it to her.
	”I took the sixth-grade RSBTs, to see if I could go directly into seventh.”
	Rini’s lips opened in a soft, but shocked, expression. She looked to the rabbit, and saw that her eyes were wide, but slowly relaxing.
	”I won’t really find out until later this month, maybe even early next month.”
	”Last call for red-velvet for now?”
	When no one spoke up, she took the stack of plates, knife, and serving-spatula over to the island.
	”Okay, I’m guessing the rest of you want ch—”
	”Chocolate!” Said the younger kids, Cheri included.
	The excited cheering brought some energy and color back to the older girls, letting them set thoughts aside for the time being.
	”Oh! And the ice cream, I almost forgot! Goren, could you—”
	”Yes’m,” he said, heading to the freezer and opening it up. He pulled out the two tubs of ice cream: one rocky road, and one vanilla. “Does anyone want ice cream?”
	”Yes,” said the younger kids.
	Goren pulled out the scoop. “What kind?”
	”Rocky road,” they all replied.
	”Dunno why I asked,” he chuckled.
	Lyza’s ear twitched. She. Had never heard him chuckle before.
	”Anyone else?”
	”Umm…” Emeral thought, looking at the tubs.
	”What’s ‘um?” Rini asked.
	”I was thinking if I wanted, cuz I’m… More in the mood for sherbet,” she looked at Ket. “But...”
	”We got sherbet,” Rini said, going to the freezer. She opened it and dove in, moving some things around. Just after she had lifted one leg up, leaning way far in, she proclaimed: “Aha! Found it!” She pulled it out, but squeaked when a few other things fell with it.
	”Careful, Naomi.”
	”You’ll have to let your father know, I don’t want him blaming me for this,” her mom warned.
	”Fair, I’ll take the heat. Daddy will understand.” She handed the small pint of sherbet to the tigress. “Here.”
	”Well, I don’t want you to, like, get in trouble.”
	”I won’t. Don’t worry. He forgot it was in there, anyway; he always does. Mom might be able to replace it before he remembers and then he’ll be none-the-wiser.”
	”Put it on the list, then.” She told her daughter.
	Rini went to the piece of paper magnetically pinned to the fridge, plucked the magnetically-attached pen nearby, and started writing.
	Goren started handing pieces to the kids, each one taking theirs and bouncing giddily.
	”Ew no,” Kelly-Elly snubbed the wolf, holding up her hand at the plate of cake. “I don’t wanna get fat.”
	The vixen paused mid-bite. “...I don’t wanna get fat either…” She murmured.
	”Just do more jumping-jacks,” the raccoon told her.
	”Augh!” She scoffed, and stuck her tongue out at him.
	”Chocolate tongue!” He pointed.
	She pulled it back in, hmphed, and then continued to eat her cake while making sure her glare communicated she was mildly miffed at him.
	”Okay, everyone have what they want?”
	”Mhmm!” Responded several voices.
	”If you want seconds of any kind just let me know. And there are also cupcakes, but only a few and they’re all vanilla.”
	”Thanks, mom.” Rini said.
	”Thank you Mrs. Isonheim.” Added Ket and Lyza.
	”You’re all just gonna… Stand around and eat your cake?” She asked, looking at all the kids.
	”Yup!” Timimy replied.
	”Well, let’s at least go into the living room so Rini can open her gifts,” she suggested, ushering them toward the entrance to the kitchen.
	Before everyone got settled, she grabbed the other plates off of the coffee table and took them to the bin in the kitchen.
	Rini shoveled the rest of her cake down, and tossed her plate in the trash. Last into the living room; she knelt down at the coffee table next to Goren, who was sitting in one of the lounge-chairs.
	“Okay. Which one should I open first?” She asked, rubbing her hands together. But, then she declared: “The little one. It’s cute.”
	”That one’s from me and the Tabs,” the wolf said.
	”I can tell they wrapped it,” the rat remarked.
	”Well, to be honest they picked it out and went and got it, I just paid for it. So. It’s more from them than me.”
	Rini slid her finger into the seam to undo the wrapping cleanly.
	”Don’t turn it upside-down,” the wolf warned.
	Heeding him, she navigated the rest of the unwrapping with it remaining in its original orientation, until she could pull the wrapping up off the top.
	”Ooo, makeup!” Cheri exclaimed with excitement, and knelt down at the table with Rini. “I want one of these, too, but mom keeps saying no.”
	”Whatchya tryna say, Gorey?” The rat questioned, looking at the wolf.
	”I didn’t— I told you— The twins—” He gestured to Bitty and Betty with his fork.
	”Okay, okay. Thank you, Tabitha, Tabetha, and Gorey, I will use it to look beautiful.” She set the makeup kit aside, and looked at the bigger boxes. She slid one closer to her. “Whoa. This is. Heavy.” She tried to pick it up.
	”One of those is from me and Ket,” Emeral said. “The other is from Lyza and Kval; I don’t remember which is whose, though.”
	”Ours is the one she’s got, with the green bow. You should open the other one, first.”
	”Okay.” Rini said, sliding theirs to the side and pulling the other one closer. It was just as heavy, adorned with green wrapping paper and a silver bow.
	Like before, she meticulously unraveled the wrapping at the seams as cleanly as she could, until she could pull away the major part like opening a treasure chest.
	She gasped.
	The box was just big enough to hold seven books. The book on the left was very familiar to her, one she had read dozens of times. But the next one, and the one after; she knew of the titles, but had never seen a page.
	The Marvelous Land of Oz.
	Ozma of Oz.
	Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz.
	”Oh my gosh…” Her fingers gently brushed over the spines. Then, she looked to the other present.
	She grasped it, and tore into the paper without regard for preservation. Only tearing it enough to expose a set of seven more spines.
	Tic-Tok of Oz.
	The Scarecrow of Oz.
	Rinkitink in Oz.
	The titles were less familiar. But still declared tales within the mystical lands.
	”Here, have some cake,” Goren said, handing over his plate.
	”Thanks,” she whispered, and sniffled.
	”So.” Lyza asked, patting her leg. “When’s story-time?”
	Rini coughed, and set the plate down. Cough-chuckling, she pounded her chest to get the bit of cake down her throat. “T—Trust me.” She took the drink Goren handed her and took a swig. “Trust me,” she said again. “I wanna read ‘em right now.”
	She freed them from their wrapping entirely, setting them out and pushing the boxes together. Everything about the boxes together made an image: from the spines on the books making a rainbow, to the visage of Emerald City on the back, to the Yellow-Brick Road on the top, to the witch’s castle on one side, and the face of the house with two feet sticking out from underneath on the other. And on the bottom—
	”Oh my gosh, look,” she turned the box over, and showed everyone. On the side of the box with the house, there was a depiction of the outline of a witch with a steepled hat, with cracks all around. The illustration lined up exactly with the feet depicted on the side. “That’s really cute.” She marveled.
	”’Cute’ is a… Strange word, there,” Goren commented.
	”Well. I guess. When everyone is done with your cake, make your way upstairs to the second floor. I’m going to take these up there. Thank you,” she said, to the tigers, and leaned over to hug the rabbit who was closest by.
	”Guess your father will have to think of something else for your thirteenth birthday,” the mother murmured.
	”Can you help?” The rat asked the wolf.
	He set his plate on the coffee table and, with noticeable care and delicacy, touched and lifted one of the sets of books.
	”See you guys up there. Oh,” she turned back round. “Lyza and Tim. Bring your flutes.”
	”Yup!”
	Following the birthday-girl’s lead, Goren walked up the stairs, resisting the urge to take two at a time so he didn’t outpace her. On the second floor, he walked with her to the TV, where she opened the door of the side display and placed it inside. “Maybe that one on the other side?” She suggested.
	He nodded and went to the other side display, trying to place it a symmetrically-mirrored way to the other. After closing the door and turning toward her, he was nearly pushed back when she charge-hugged him.
	Before he could let out a noise, her lips met his.
	Thmpthmpthmpthmpthmpthmpthmpthmp…
	”Pffftthhhh!” She broke the kiss in airy laugh, the beat of his tail rapidly thumping against the media cabinet diminishing the moment.
	”What was that even for?” He asked. “I didn’t get you the books.”
	”You gave me your cake.” She replied, recovering the moment by kissing him on the cheek.
	Thmpthmpthmpthmpthmpthmpthmpthmp—
	”Goin’-t’-get-m’-flute-be-ri’-back!—”
	Thmpthmpthmp…”
	The poodle ran by in such a flash the two weren’t quite sure if he even saw them, embracing and being close. Spooked, they separated, just in time before Cheri and Ziggy trotted into the room.
	The raccoon started to go to the track that had been built, but Rini squatted down near him.
	”Actually, can you help clean up just a little bit? Lyza and Timimy are going to play their flutes so we need some space for seating and to move the ottomans in the middle of the room.”
	At first he was a little sad, but it passed quickly because they could always just build it again, or build another one. He started to pull apart their creation and move the pieces over toward the closet.
	Goren and the kittens started spreading bean-bags around, and moving the four ottomans toward the middle of the room.
	Rini turned off the TV while Lyza set her flutes down on the floor next to the ottomans.
	“Be right back,” she said, and went back toward the stairs, passing Ket and Emmy on their way up. She made her way down the quiet hallway to the light about halfway between her and the living room. “Knock-knock,” she called, staying out of view from inside the room.
	”Who’s there?”
	”Uhhhh, Kazoo.”
	”Kazoo… Who?”
	”You’ll wanna come upstairs, kazoo might wanna hear the concert.”
	Kimberly giggled as she approached the threshold. “Good one,” she complimented.
	”Thanks, but for real. Timimy and I are going to play some songs. I’d like it if you and Will would come up to listen to them.”
	”Um… Maybe… Maybe can we turn on that speaker-thing? And we can listen down here?”
	”I don’t think that will work,” the rabbit replied. “Can you at least be on the stairs?” She asked. “I gotta get back up there, so. Please come if you can.” She tapped her knuckles on the door twice, and pushed off the door to walk back down the hall backwards while Kimberly peeked her head out and looked at her, moon-walking back down the hall. When the mousette went back in, she turned to walk down the hall normally.
	”Okay,” Rini said, “I think we’re ready. Just gotta wait for Lyza.”
	”I’m here,” the rabbit announced from halfway up the stairs, before appearing at the threshold.
	The younger kids were sitting on the beanbags on the floor, while the older sat on the sectional.
	The twin kittens sat at the far bend, with Kelly-Elly reclined at the end next to them, using the arm-rest to prop a pillow. She had found another magazine.
	Goren and Rini were sitting right in line with the four ottomans that had been pushed together; all in line with the TV.
	Timimy was bouncing on the ottoman, waiting for Lyza to approach.
	Ket and Emmy were at the other end on the sectional, with Ket sitting at the very and and Emeral leaning against him.
	Lyza squatted down and unlatched the case of her regular flute, pulling it out and sitting on the other half of the square made of ottomans.
	Panting could be heard, along with a tinny jingle, as Toto skittered into the room, dashing right toward Rini and hopping up on the couch. She snuggled the pup right away onto her lap, to keep Toto from being too wild.
	The rat saw the mousette kneeling at the threshold to the room, close to the stairs leading down to the first floor.
	”Okay!” Timimy said, in an oratory voice. “We are gathered here today, to play a special concert for Rini on her birthday! We have perperated—”
	”—Prepared,” the rabbit quietly corrected.
	”—A selection of melodies for your oral delight!”
	All of the older kids’ eyes went wide and exchanged glances.
	”Aural,” Lyza corrected with a flustered emphasis. “Aural delight.”
	”What the heck are you teaching my brother?” Kelly questioned, side-eyeing the rabbit from her magazine.
	”Oral, aural,” the boy said, head bouncing side-to-side, “poe-tay-toe, poe-tah-toe.”
	”Please just do the music thing now,” the rat remarked, biting her finger.
	”Woahkay!” The poodle brought his flute to his mouth, rabbit likewise. He began to play quick, tweeting notes, imitating the chirp of a bird.
	Relaxing and figuring she knew what the song might be, Rini watched as they gently swayed back and forth with the chirping. Timimy did simple tweets, while Lyza was able to do fluttery tweets.
	Then, came the two, slow, tell-tale notes the rat was expecting.
	Some—
	Where—
	Hey! Hey!—
	You! You!—
	The rat’s eyes bolt open.
	They played together:
	—I don’t like your girlfriend!—
	Then traded:
	No-way! No-way!—
	I think you need a new one!—
	Hey! Hey!—
	You! You!—
	—I could be your girlfriend!
	”Staaaaaaaaaaaahp!”
	Rini’s voice broke through the flurry of notes that followed the tune of the familiar opening, which the two flutists traded playing.
	At her command, they halted the song.
	”What’s the matter?” Lyza asked.
	”You didn’t like our song?” Timimy added with a melodramatic pout.
	”You two know what you’re doing.” The rat grumbled, sinking into the couch with red on her cheeks that the brown hue of her fur couldn’t hide.
	”Okay, we’ll play another song, then.” The poodle said.
	They both shimmied on their ottomans, resetting their posture, and brought their flutes up once again.
	Once again the birds chirped and tweeted, affording Rini a bit of relaxation.
	Some—
	Where—
	Can you feeeeeeel—
	The looooove to-niiiiiight?
	Rini grabbed the remote on the floating table next to her and pushed buttons. “Mute! Mute! Change channel! Next song!”
	As if by that cue, Lyza took a deep breath.
	And IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIeeIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII will always loooooooooove youuuuuuu-ooo-ooophthwew—
	Lyza opened her eyes to see the rat’s inches from hers, glaring deep, a finger plugging the end of her flute to prevent any more horrendous noises from from escaping.
	”No.” Was all the rat said.
	Toto trotted back toward the stars, where the mousette was.
	Timimy cackled and giggled like a chipmunk, rocking backward and falling off of his ottoman onto the beanbag below.
	”Oh man, are you okay?” Ziggy asked, crawling off his beanbag to peer around the ottoman to check on his hours-old friend.
	”Don’t worry,” his sister said, without even looking away from her magazine. “He’s immune to fall-damage. Unfortunately.”
	In a feat defying both time and gravity, the poodle hopped back up onto the ottoman essentially in the reverse of how he had fallen.
	”No more funny-business,” Rini grumbled, sitting back onto the couch with an airy puff. “It’s my birthday and you’re being mean.” She pouted, although very much playing it up.
	”Should we take it seriously?” The rabbit asked the poodle.
	”We better! You didn’t help me practice any more joke-songs.”
	”Okay. From the top!”
	Unfortunately, the chirping and tweeting was not enough to ease the rat into relaxation this time. Thrice-bitten, she would remain alert and watchful until she knew the song was well on its way.
	Some—
	Where—
	Over the rainbow—
	Way up high—
	There’s a land that I’ve heard of—
	Once, in a lullaby…
	The flutists swayed gently together as they played, trading lines with one another. When one finished their line, they let the note hang about halfway into the others’ line, before swiftly taking a breath in to play their next.
	Rini relaxed, singing the words in her head, impressed at how they executed the tune.
	Some day—
	I’ll wish—
	Upon a—
	Star and—
	Wake up—
	Where the—
	Clouds are—
	Far—
	—Behind… Me…
	Rini’s eyes bounced back and forth behind the two trading notes so rapidly. How long had they practiced this?
	In their large troupe, it was difficult to see any one stand out. But here, she was not only appreciating how well she knew Lyza could play—but also how Timimy was far from a novice himself.
	Why—
	Oh, why—
	—Can’t—
	I?
	Timimy played the last note. He drew it out for as long as he could, which was a surprisingly long time to Rini. In that time, Lyza played a few more chirps and tweets, before the song fell silent.
	Emmy tried to break the silence. “That wa—”
	We’re off to see The Wizard; The Wonderful Wizard of Oz!—
	—Wonderful Wizard of Oz—
	We hear is a whiz of a Wiz, if ever a Wiz there was—
	—If ever a Wiz there was.
	The poodle played lead on this song, with Lyza occasionally accenting behind in a kind of call-and-response.
	And, in fact, for each song they played, Timimy took the lead on most of them. If not, then it was an even-trade of playing.
	Rini picked up on this on the third song, but it settled in on the fourth. It was clear, and kind of sweet, that Lyza was letting the younger flutist shine.
	But, after that song, she could tell that the poodle was starting to wear out. Between songs he was panting a little, trying to catch is breath. A note slipped here and there.
	After they played the tune of Dorothy’s companions lamenting their yearnings, Timimy whispered to Lyza, and she nodded. He set his flute down in his lap and closed his eyes, while she brought hers to her lips.
	Ding-dong the witch is dead. Which old witch? The wicked witch. Ding-dong the wicked witch is dead!
	Then, she paused.
	”Y’know, it’s weird playing that tune all cheery all by myself. Can I try it a different way?” She asked, looking to Rini.
	The rat looked at Goren for a second, before sitting up straighter. “Uh… Sure,” she said, uncertain if she was really required to give permission.
	The rabbit leaned over, and reached for the other flute she had brought with her, trading it for the one she had been using. She put it to her lips, and blew a few experimental notes, before settling into the song.
	Ding. Dong. The witch is dead. Which ol’ witch? The wicked witch. — Ding-dong. The wicked witch. Is dead.
	From her Indian-style flute, came a rendition of the song that had a slow and melancholy cadence, evocative of Johnny Cash.
	Wake up. You sleepy-head. Rub your eyes. Get out of bed. — Wake up, cuz the wicked witch. Is dead.
	Rini began to snap her fingers to the weary, haggard steps. But suddenly, it picked up and varied unpredictably.
	She’s gone – where – the goblins go. Be-low! — Below-below. Yo-ho! — Let’s open up, and sing. And ring the bells out; ding-dong, the merry—o. Sing it high! — — Sing it low. — — Let – Them – Know – That the wicked witch. — — — Iiiiiis deaaaaaad…
	The trailing, morbid note lingered in the air like thick, ashy smoke.
	”We hope that you enjoyed the concert!” The poodle bid, hopping up to take a bow.
	”That.” Emeral stated, and that’s all she stated.
	”—Was a wild ride,” Rini finished.
	”Well, before I’m done-done,” Lyza said, trading back to her original flute. “Got any requests?”
	”Oh oh! Do Girlfriend again!” Ziggy said, raising his hand up to be seen from the rift between couch and ottomans.
	”What you like that song?” Cheri jibed.
	”No, I just wanna see Rini’s face turn red again!” He giggled.
	”That’s not very nice,” the vixen scolded.
	”I dunno,” the rat shrugged. “Mario?”
	Lyza chuckled. “Okay.” She brought the flute to her lips, and started playing the standard doots of the Mario theme.
	Ziggy got up and started to bounce and dance around, and then jumped on the beanbag he had been sitting on.
	”Ah! What are you doing?” Cheri squeaked, trying to scoot away.
	”It’s a Goomba!” The raccoon declared. “I’m-a stompin-a da Goomba!” He jumped up again.
	In the middle of Lyza playing, Timimy suddenly grabbed his flute, and played the chime that indicated the timer was running out.
	Lyza paused for just a second, then picked the song back up, at double the speed.
	Ziggy also bounced around at double the speed, picking up the beanbag and making a hiss noise like it was a Bob-omb
	Laughing more, the poodle brought his flute to his lips, and played the timer-tune another time.
	Lyza paused, and looked at him. “Really?”
	He looked back at her and cracked a grin.
	With a sigh, and then a very, very deep breath, the rabbit brought the flute to her lips.
	Her fingers blurred over the holes of her flute as she played at four times the speed.
	Ziggy started to speed up too, but Cheri shouted at him to stop and he tripped over the beanbag when he meant to jump.
	Lyza used that as an opportunity to interrupt her fire and flames with the game-over jingle.
	Between the rabbit and the raccoon, Rini couldn’t tell who was breathing more rapidly. “I had no idea you could play that fast,” she remarked.
	”Me… Me neither,” Lyza replied, shaking a bit to loosen up and calm her breathing down.
	”Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you go outta breaf.” The poodle apologized.
	”You’re fine,” the rabbit reassured, tousling the curls of his hair. “I could have declined your challenge.”
	”If you’re too worn-out for… Y’know.” Rini said. “We can skip it.”
	”No, no, I just. I could use some water, be right back,” she started to get up.
	”Wait,” Rini said, holding up her hand. “Betty, can you?”
	”No no, I’ll get—” The rabbit started to dismiss, but the kitten was swift.
	She lifted up the cushion just to her left, and reached in. She plucked a bottle of water from the disguised cooler, and tossed it to the rabbit.
	Not expecting that at all, Lyza somehow managed to catch it. It was refreshingly cool in her hands, and she hastily unscrewed the top and started to drink.
	Ziggy observed, very dead-pan: ”That’s couch water.”
	Pppppffffth!
	”Aaaaah!”
	Cheri burst up from her bean-bag, nearly getting sprayed on.
	”Ziggy! Don’t make someone laugh when they’re drinking,” Rini admonished.
	”Sorry!”
	Lyza laugh-coughed and sputtered, doubled over.
	”Give me your beanbag,” Cheri grumbled. “You get the sprayed one.”
	Rolling his eyes, the raccoon acquiesced.
	Timimy put his flute away, and dove onto the couch on the opposite side of Rini.
	”Okay, everyone be calm and give Lyz a chance to recover, sheesh.” The rat ordered.
	Lyza let out a sigh, finally recovering, and tried to drink again. She struggled, still giggling at the sentence that was uttered about what she was drinking, but all the same she managed to get what she needed from it.
	”Okay. I think I’m good,” she said, setting the bottle down and picking up her Indian-style flute.
	”You sure?” The rat replied. “Like I sai—”
	”I’m sure,” the rabbit interrupted, getting situated back onto the ottoman.
	”Hey, Kimmy? Can you,” the rat asked to the mousette, pointing.
	”Huh? Uh. Oh!” Kimberly saw the light switch on the wall near her, and stood up to flick it off.
	The room went darker, illuminated only from the faint lights in the displays of the media cabinet, and the glow spilling in from the stair hallway.
	”Hey!” The poodlette barked. “I was reading!”
	”Go read downstairs, then,” the rat tersely suggested.
	”You’re such a brat today.” Kelly remarked with exasperation as she hopped off the couch and walked toward the stairs, her footfalls just shy of stomping.
	Kimberly squeaked. “Will! Wai—Ugh!” The mousette gave a lancing glare at the poodle, before scurrying down the stairs after the two pups.
	”Sor-ry,” the poodle said, her inflection indicating the farthest thing from apology.
	Rini took in a breath, and let it out slowly. “All right. Everyone just be calm, and quiet, for a little while. Lyza’s going to play her flute. And we’re just gonna close our eyes and listen, got it?”
	”Yes birthday-ma’am,” Timimy said, along with the vixen and raccoon, the reply homogenizing into a drone.
	”Everybody ready?” The rabbit asked.
	Rini settled back into the couch, and a little bit into Goren. She closed her eyes. “Ready.”
	With a deep inhale, the rabbit put the flute to her lips, and drew a low, gently meandering note.
	Right away, the rat’s conscious thoughts slipped away; replaced by images that tingled the wrinkles of her mind.

* * *

	A small, young rabbit sat upon the stump of a fallen tree. She was in a humble clearing, nestled deep within a thick, dark wood.
	The darkness of the wood was only abated by small patches of glowing lilies, growing all about.
	Her ears twitched, for she heard a distant rustle.
	She turned her head, and a moment later she heard the rustling intensify.
	She stood, and while she heard the bellow of a hunter’s horn, the bushes near the edge of her clearing trembled.
	And then they expelled a tigress, with silvery-white fur. She stumbled and fell to her knees.
	Again, the bushes expelled another; this time, a tiger whose fur had a golden sheen.
	He rushed to her, and helped her to stand, for she favored an ankle.
	They both looked about, and the rabbit felt their emerald and golden eyes settle upon her.
	There was a mask of weary terror on their faces. Their breaths were cold and short, despite the warm and misty air.
	The hunter’s horn called again.
	The rabbit’s hand flicked near her hip.
	The golden tiger braced, wary that she was doing something against them. He saw her press a flute to her lips, and play a short song.
	The tigress began to weep.
	The rabbit stepped toward them, and the boy took a step back. She paused. Looked to the side, and retreated the step she had taken.
	In the distance, there was a whinny. Then, a thunderous cantor of hooves.
	The tigers ducked, gold covering silver.
	But the rabbit remained calm.
	The boy looked up, and saw a steed break into the clearing, and stop just before the rabbit. He reared up in a neigh, cycling his fore-hooves, before they landed, sending a pulse across the earth.
	The rabbit was unfazed by shudder of the ground, despite it occurring inches from her feet. She raised her hand to stroke the horse’s neck.
	Its fur was gray as the morning fog. Its mane looked black, but toward where the threads ended, and where the light caught, it displayed a blood-red sheen.
	This time, when the rabbit approached the tigers, they did not flinch or recede. She knelt, and offered her shoulder for the tigress’ other arm.
	Together, they walked toward the steed.
	The steed snorted, and lowered as they approached.
	The rabbit assisted both tigers onto her steed, before taking the head seat to steer. She instructed the tigers to hold on tightly, and patted her steed.
	He stood.
	The tigers felt a terrific, yet comforting, power in the deliberate movements. Their steed was steady, easily able to carry all three of them unencumbered.
	And, as if to prove so, with the rabbit’s command, he burst forth.
	Behind them, they heard the call of the hunter’s horn once more; closer than it had ever been.
	The trees flew by in a blur. The tigers kept their heads down, fearful of low boughs despite the lowest witnessed thusfar being well above their heads, still.
	The rabbit and her steed were like wisps, navigating the maze of the forest in a manner that showed they were oriented.
	She looked over her shoulder. Then again.
	Suddenly, the tiger saw her twist sharply around and raise her hand. Her fist closed, and when it did, as if appearing from thin air, she clutched an arrow.
	Her other hand reached behind her back, unfastening the bow that had rested there. She nocked the arrow she had caught, and turned partway left.
	The steed continued to dash through the trees, weaving between them, knowing exactly where to go without requiring the rabbit to guide it.
	The rabbit then twisted back, raised the bow, and let fly the arrow.
	The tigress, who was facing opposite the rabbit and her golden counterpart, saw the arrow fly. Upon another horse, a figure dashed through the trees to try and catch up to them; but, just as they did, the arrow lodged into them.
	They fell to the duff, their horse panicking and neighing.
	The tigress saw another horse. Another figure.
	The golden tiger held her tightly as their steed suddenly bore sharply left. To his right, he heard the whistle of an arrow.
	The horse wove to the right, and when he glanced left, the tip of another arrow glinted in the thin beams of light breaking through the canopy.
	Whistle after whistle, weave after weave. Until the rabbit had had enough. She pulled an arrow from her own quiver, nocking it.
	The cheetah on the other horse dashed forward. He raised his bow once more, leading the rabbit’s horse, and fired.
	The rabbit leaned back, watching as the arrow flew past right in front of her nose. Then, she righted, raised her bow, and fired.
	The tiger watched as the cheetah grabbed his throat, and heard a bone-rattling crunch as his horse collided with a tree.
	However, even still, behind them, the hunter’s horn called even closer.
	Faster than the wind, the rabbit and her steed navigated the trees. They began to thin. Light began to encroach upon the darkness. Until, ahead, there was a great wall of light between the trunks of the trees.
	It approached in moments, and the tiger winced and raised his hand to block the sun, watching as the horse made its way across a narrow bridge.
	The tigress held more tightly onto her counterpart when they reached the bridge. She glanced to the side, seeing the ravine beneath them—but not seeing its bottom. A great scar carved deep into the earth, with white stone walls.
	On the other side of the bridge, their steed slowed and turned round.
	The rabbit dismounted, quickly hopping off and dashing across the grass toward the bridge.
	Just then, another horse breached the edge of the woods before the bridge. A black horse with a golden mane. Upon it, sat a lion. Once the lion saw them, he let out a great roar.
	The rabbit pulled a knife, and cut the end of the bridge. It went slack.
	The lion commanded his steed to turn back to the wood.
	However, the lion was not retreating.
	He turned back once again, and his steed charged forth.
	The rabbit threw her knife back and readied her bow.
	The lion’s steed charged forth, and just as it came to the edge of the ravine, it leapt into the air.
	Three whistles came from the rabbit’s bow. Two missed the lion, but the third hit—in his steed’s shoulder.
	The horse neighed in rage, losing its chance at landing the other side.
	The lion roared, and moved to plant his feet on the back of his steed. Just as the horse began to crest the jump, he leapt off of its back, ensuring its fate.
	The rabbit backed away as the lion’s hands grabbed the edge of the ravine on her side.
	With another roar, he started to pull himself up.
	Then, beside her, she saw a glint of gold.
	The tiger grabbed her knife, and dashed forward.
	The lion reached up to grab the tiger, just as the knife plunged into his neck.
	They struggled, until the tiger kicked the lion in the face.
	The lion’s grasp slipped, and he fell after his horse.
	Gasping for breath, the tiger turned, and stumbled forward.
	The rabbit caught him, and helped him to stand steady, scolding him for being so brash. She guided him back to her steed, reminding him to care for the girl.
	Once again, they mounted the steed. However, this time, there was no sense of danger or urgency.
	The rabbit commanded the steed ahead, but this time, at a trot.
	The tigress gazed upon this new land. A vast meadow, slowly waving in the gentle gusts of wind that carried over it. Patches of land changing color with different flowers, claiming their fiefdoms.
	And, at the center of it all, was a mighty oak tree, set in solitude.
	Both soon, and not soon enough, the steed arrived at this lonesome oak. Its shade comforting from the beating sun, in ways that the dark woods could never be.
	The steed lowered, allowing his passengers to dismount.
	Golden tiger helped silver, who could walk better now, toward the oak tree. Near it’s trunk, they stood, and each rested a hand upon it.
	The rabbit approached them, smiling, and spoke unto them:
	”Your mom says it’s time to get ready for bed.”

* * *

	Even with her eyes closed, Rini winced from the blazing overhead light when Kelly flicked it on.
	Other groans and grumbles resounded the sentiment she felt.
	The poodle walked out of sight, back down the stairs.
	Rini looked at the clock on the DVD player in the media cabinet. About twenty-minutes past eight. She yawned.
	”Aww, bed time already?” Ziggy protested.
	”Just changing into our jammers and getting ready,” Rini clarified. “We can still stay up a bit.”
	”Okay,” he saw Timimy run toward the stairs. “Hey! Wait up!”
	Bitty and Betty got up and started walking downstairs. Lyza and Cheri followed their example.
	Rini passed by the tigers and smirked. “Okay c’mon. Unpretzel yourselves.”
	”Psh,” Emeral puffed, sitting upright from laying her head on a pillow on Ket’s lap. She stretched, and stood up.
	”You look like you’re already wearing jammers,” Rini remarked, watching Ket stand and straighten his black gym-shorts. He also only had a white shirt on, with a Ninja-Turtles graphic on it.
	Emeral gently bit the inside of her lip. She followed Rini down, hearing Ket behind her. They went to Rini’s door.
	”And just what do you think you’re doing, Mister Rachaun?” The rat asked in a very formal tone, noticing he had followed them down. “You can’t come into the ladies’ getting-ready-for-bed room.”
	”I’m gonna get Will.” He explained, turning to go down the hall. “And I’ll let Kim know.”
	”Oh. Right.” The rat fidgeted, a little embarrassed. She ushered Emmy into her room with the others.
	Ket entered the laundry room, knocking as he did. “Hey,” he called.
	Kimberly stood up “Hey, I’m sorry we left, it’s just—”
	The tiger held up a hand and waved it like he was brushing something away. “It’s time to get ready for bed. The girls are in Rini’s room already, so the hallway is clear. I’ll take you upstairs, Will.”
	To the mousette’s surprise, the dalmatian that had been so reclusive and avoidant all evening, coaxed the terrier off of his lap, and quietly stood up.
	The tiger led them down the hall, leaving the mousette at the door to the birthday-girl’s bedroom.
	When Kimberly opened it, Toto snuck through ahead of her. With one last look back at Will, she slowly closed the door behind her.
	”C’mon, it’s upstairs.” The tiger said, tapping the pup’s arm. He continued to lead the way, and looked back every so often to check and make sure Will hadn’t run back to the security of the laundry room.
	Each time he glanced back, the dalmatian was still behind him, watching him. It was. A little odd. But not harmful.
	”It’s in here, with the other guys.” He said, reaching what was Bart’s old room, and opening the door, gesturing for the dalmatian to enter.
	Will quietly walked into the room.
	Timimy was pulling his shirt up when Ziggy pulled his shorts down. “Hey!” The poodle barked.
	”Ha! You still gots prints on yours!”
	Timimy whipped his shirt at the raccoon.
	”Knock it off,” Goren patiently admonished.
	Ket went to his duffel-bag and knelt down. Zipping it open just enough to reach in, he went for where his change of clothes were.
	But right away something was off.
	There was something odd. Something squishy, and crinkly; like packaging foam. Did his mom sneak something into his bag?
	He opened it up more and pulled the thing out.
	It was a thin rectangle. Bright blue ruffles on the sides and white in the middle. Something was written on it. He turned to the light to see what it was.
	Hugg—
	”Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!” An ear-splitting scream suddenly erupted from within the room, and Ket looked about.
	William dashed toward the door, and ran out.
	”Will! Where’re you going!” The tiger chased after.
	Screaming and wailing, the dalmatian ran down the short hallway, turned, ran down the stairs, down-down, into the hallway, heading for the door across the bottom of the stairs.
	It opened, and he charged through it.
	Another scream, feminine. Then another, and another.
	A moment later, Ket poked his head into the room. “Did Will come in here?”
	”What are you doing! We’re changing!” Kelly-Elly barked.
	”He’s in the closet!” Cheri said. “Hey! You! Get out of—”
	Another set of screams and squeals as the vixen opened the door, but then balked backward when the dalmatian went frantic, and shut the doors again.
	Emeral walked up to the tiger and put her hands over his eyes. “Step forward and tell us what’s going on,” she said.
	The tiger did so, carefully stepping into the room. “I don’t know,” he explained. “I reached into my bag to get my clothes and found this, and then Will just started screaming and—”
	”Oh my gosh,” he heard Kelly-Elly’s voice trying to hold back laughter. “Is that a pull-up!?”
	Ket had held up the thing he was referring to during his explanation.
	”You still wet the bed?” The poodle asked, her giggles started to slip out.
	”No, I didn’t know what this was,” he admitted.
	”So you brought it down here after hearing Willy scream about it to show everyone? You idiot!”
	Ket felt a tug on the thing and it was taken from his hand, and felt a rush of wind pass by him.
	”Kim!” Rini called.
	”All right,” he heard Emmy say, and stepped with her when she did, allowing her to turn him around.
	Then, his eyes were freed, and he could see. Out into the hallway.
	”Go change so I can,” she murmured, and gently pressed his back to nudge him out the door. After he left, she shut it, and turned back into the room.
	”What the heck got into h—”
	”Zip it, Kels,” the rat sneered.
	”Hmph,” the poodle retorted, walking over to the closet doors. “Well, I’m not changing until this creeper-peeper is out of the room.”
	”Wai—”
	She threw open the french doors. “Get the he—”
	From the closet emerged another scream, and Kelly stumbled back, falling to her rump.
	The doors slammed shut.
	”He pushed me!”
	”You basically asked for it,” the rat sneered.
	There was a knock at the door.
	Lyza went to it and cracked it open. “Hello?”
	”Is everything okay?” Asked Goren.
	”Not really,” the rabbit replied. “Will’s in Rini’s closet.”
	”Is it safe for me to come in?” The wolf asked.
	Lyza looked about the room. Everyone was decent, now. But, she looked to the rat just to make sure.
	She nodded.
	”Yes,” the rabbit replied, opening the door all the way.
	Goren walked into the room without looking around. He turned his head toward the french doors and made a bee-line right to it.
	”Hey, man. I dunno what happened, but we gotta come out, a’ight? The girls need to change for bed.”
	Emeral looked from the wolf to her left when she felt a nudge. She saw a bundle of clothes. She took them.
	”Still in there?” Ket asked.
	”Yeah. Maybe go find Rini’s mom?”
	”Kim is coming, I’ll wait just a little…” Ket’s voice trailed for a second as he saw the mousette closer. Then finished, as she stepped through the threshold of the door: “Bit.”
	”Oh… Ohhooo my gosh!” Kelly-Elly burst into laughter. “Look at Kim! You look cute in your little—”
	”Shut. Your bucking farker. Kelly.” The rat snarled.
	”Eeyeesh!” The poodle responded, looking at the rat with disgust.
	Despite it all, silence did follow. Silence that allowed everyone in the room to hear the soft rustle of the pull-up with the mousette’s every step; for she had it affixed around her waist, and only her camisole top otherwise.
	Without a word, the wolf that had just started attempting to get the shy pup out of the closet stepped back.
	The mousette’s fingers hooked around the brass ball-knob of one of the doors.
	”Be careful he’ll murder you if y—Oh she dead,” the poodle tried to warn and then remarked, as the door clicked open and the mousette slipped in.
	There was no scream. Only soft, squeakless words from the mouse.
	”Look, Will. It’s okay. See? I’ll wear one, too. So you don’t have to be the only one. No one’s going to laugh or care.”
	Rini glared daggers at Kelly.
	”Okay.” Came an exasperated voice, along with a waft of smoke-scent that made some wrinkle their noses. “What’s happening here?”
	Rini met her mother just inside the door. “Ket says he was trying to get the clothes out of his bag. But maybe he had the wrong bag, I dunno. He pulled out a pull-up and I think it’s Will’s. Will came down here screaming and now he’s in my closet. Kimmy put the pull-up on and now she’s in there with him trying to get him out, I guess.”
	”Okay, everyone else get to the far walls. Hustle, go, move.” The mother rat flatly ordered, waving her hands. “Except, Goren and—” she pointed to the tiger.
	”Ket,” Rini interjected.
	”—Ket; you two. Grab one of these,” she gestured to the mattress, “and one from upstairs, and Kimmy’s and Will’s things. Put them in my room. That’s where they’ll sleep tonight.”
	”Yes ma’am,” the boys said, and Goren claimed going upstairs. Ket took Kimberly’s bag from one of the kittens, and hoisted a rectangle of memory-foam onto his other shoulder.
	The mother walked to the closet. “Kimmy, Will. I need the two of you to come out, now.”
	”In just a mi—” The mousette tried to say.
	”I’m coming in and I’ll take you to my room.”
	The door clicked, and Kimberly rushed to hold Will’s hands.
	The pup flailed, and smacked her in the eye.
	She squeaked.
	There was silence again, save this time for the soft sobs coming from the mousette.
	”Bitty, Betty, please get an ice-pack from the freezer,” the mother called.
	”Yes,” they said in unison, dashing out the door.
	The mother emerged from the closet with the two children, guiding them from behind by their shoulders.
	Kimberly was holding a hand over her left eye, gritting her teeth, trying not to cry.
	”Let’s go, let’s go, keep going, c’mon,” the mother said calmly. “Don’t look at them just keep going. Nobody talk,” she said with a quiet aggression, glaring at Rini and Kelly, “until we get to my room.”
	Even after they left, everyone stayed against the walls. There was no sign of life from them until the kittens came back into the room, and shut the door.
	Breathing slowly returned to normal.
	Emeral was the first to break away from the wall. She went into the closet, and shut the door.
	”You too?” The poodle asked.
	”I’m just changing,” the tigress said from within.
	”Oh yeah, now that the creep is gone I’m gonna change, too.” The poodle picked up her bag, and carried it toward the bathroom.
	Rini followed the dog with her eyes, scowling, until she closed the pocket-door. Then, she took a calming breath through her nose; in, and out. She looked to Lyza, and smiled. “I really like your outfit,” she said.
	”Huh?” Lyza looked down. She was wearing a baby-blue gown; and black, lycra shorts, since the gown’s hem-line only reached just past the top of her waist. “Oh, thanks, It’s a dress I’ve had since I was real little. It’s my favorite. But, I use it as nightgown, now.”
	”Huh… Now… That you mention it,” the rat tilted an ear. It did feel familiar to her, but in the peculiar way that the Kindergarten playground felt familiar. Familiar to a younger version of herself.
	The closet doors clicked open, and Emeral emerged, carrying her previous change of clothes in her arms. She went to her bag, and set them down beside it. She dug in the side pocket for a hair-tie.
	Cheri approached her, and squatted down. “What’s that?” She asked.
	Emeral glanced over while tying her pony-tail, seeing the vixen observing her pile of clothes. “What’s what?” She asked.
	”This red thing,” the vixen asked, reaching for and lifting it up.
	Emeral’s cheeks turned the same color.
	”Uh… That’s…” Rini started to say. “You have a trainer?” She asked the tigress.
	”Y-Yeah,” Emeral said, standing upright. “Wanna fight about it?”
	”Um… Actually… Can I… Try it on?”
	”Uh… I…”
	”Over my shirt,” the rat clarified.
	”S—Sure, if you want to.” The tigress agreed.
	”But what is it?” Cheri asked, handing it to Rini when she extended her hand.
	”Nothing you gotta worry about for a few years, still,” the rat replied, walking over to her vanity mirror. She flicked the lights on, and stood in front of it. “It just goes over-head?”
	”Yeah there’s no clasp or anything.” Emeral answered. “You’ve got it backwards.”
	Cheri trotted up to the rat, while Rini negotiated the garment over her torso.
	Once the garment was settled, the rat looked at herself in the mirror. She turned to the left, and then to the right. Then around, and peeked over her shoulders.
	”It’s not. Uncomfortable.” She observed. “But, like. Ugh.”
	Just then the door to the bathroom opened, and the rat and the poodle made eye-contact.
	”...What did I just walk out into?” Kelly asked.
	Rini rolled her eyes.
	”You look like Toto with her harness on,” the poodle remarked.
	”Is that what it is?” Cheri asked. “A harness?”
	”Sure, kid,” Kelly-Elly replied, tousling the girl’s hair as she passed by.
	”Why do you have to wear a harness?”
	”It’s not a harness,” Rini explained. “It’s...”
	”It’s kind of like an under-shirt,” the tigress explained. “But only older girls have to start wearing them.”
	”Why, though?” She continued to inquire.
	”It’s probably best to ask your mom these questions,” Lyza replied, gently.
	”I guess I need to ask mine to go shopping for them, soon.” Rini thought aloud.
	”I guess I should get some, too,” Lyza agreed. “But… Ugh.”
	”Not looking forward to wearing it?”
	”Not looking forward to shopping for it,” she answered. “My mom’s real loud so she’d just let everyone know what we’re doing. And I can’t ask my brother that’d… I dunno which of those two would be more embarrassing, honestly.”
	”You’re welcome to join me,” Rini offered. “Dunno if it’ll be much better.”
	”I’ll… Think about it,” the rabbit replied. “Later. Much later. Much-much later.”
	”Hey wait a minute.” The vixen tilted her head, looking at the tigress. “...Why does your clothes look like what Ket was wearing earlier?”
	The three older girls exchanged glances.
	”Askin’ a lotta questions, kid,” Rini replied.
	”Better just be the shirt and shorts,” Kelly-Elly remarked while brushing her hair. “Otherwise that’s really weird.”
	As if in defiance, Emeral gripped the leg of the shorts and pulled them up, revealing another, dark-red garment that extended down her leg nearly as far.
	”Ew! I think I’m gonna throw up!”
	”Cool, if you’re sick I’ll have my mom call your mom and you can go home.”
	”As if.” The poodle shook her head after working a knot out of her curly hair, and looked at the clock on Rini’s night stand. “It’s… Wine O’Clock. She’d ground you if you bothered her, now.”
	”I’ll take the risk of grounding if you throw off the groove one more time. Got it?”
	”Excuse me?” Kelly dropped the brush and marched toward the rat.
	”Your attitude is ruining my birthday party.” The rat said, plainly.
	”No. You know who’s ruining things? Those two.” She pointed at the door, implicating the two that her mom had taken out. “You should’ve never invited them.”
	”I can invite—and uninvite—whoever I want. It’s my birthday.”
	”That doesn’t change that they’re the ones that are weird and hiding in the laundry room and being all creepy and shit.”
	”Hey, let’s just—” Emeral stepped toward the two of them.
	”Watch your mouth!”
	”Hoh-kay!” Emeral grunted, catching the rat’s wrist and keeping the swing from making contact with the poodle. She gently disabled Rini’s arm, pulling it down and bending her elbow back.
	”You’re lucky Emmy knows Ju-Jitsu,” the rat growled.
	”Can we please stop being angry?” A meek voice came from the vixen. “It’s making me... Really tired.”
	”Yeah, Reen, stop being so pissy.”
	”Don’t.” Emeral said calmly, feeling the rat’s arm try to resist her grapple.
	”And here come the bodyguards,” the poodle stated, as Tabitha and Tabetha stepped in between her and the rat. “Right on cue.”
	”Let’s exchange—”
	”animals.” The twins suggested.
	Rini closed her eyes, and took in a breath.
	Ket exhaled, and opened his eyes.
	”Not looking good,” Goren remarked.
	The tiger only had a few cards left in his hand. A Jack of Hearts confronted him at the top of the small pile between the two. He flipped his top card over.
	An Ace of Diamonds.
	”Will this be the comeback?” The wolf asked, in a play-by-play style voice.
	”Nah, you’ve got a King in three,” the tiger replied.
	Goren met the tiger’s eyes, and flipped the cards. A Six of Spades, Two of Clubs, and then the King of the same suit.
	Ket flipped over a Ten of Hearts.
	Goren took the stack, and flipped down a Three of Spades.
	Ket put down his last card, a Nine of Clubs, and rested his now-empty hand on his knee.
	”One-and-Dough,” the wolf declared, tallying their score so far. “Wanna play again?”
	”Maybe tomorrow,” Ket replied.
	The wolf shuffled the deck. “I understand you need time to lick your wounds.” He smirked.
	The other two boys, who had been babbling and talking so much the two older boys had long since mentally muted their noise, suddenly quieted when there was a knock at their door.
	”Hey boyyyyyssss!”
	The two younger boys exchanged glances.
	”Who was that?” Timimy asked, for the voice was feminine, but distorted; low and throaty.
	Ziggy hopped up, which made it look more like he suddenly grew a pair of legs out from under his very large t-shirt, and skipped to the door. “Rini!?” He asked, peeking first, and then opening it fully. “That was you?”
	”Of course it’s me,” she said, squatting down. “Who else would it be?”
	”Your voice just sounded different,” Timimy explained, “we thought someone had just arrived or something.”
	”Whaddaya mean?” Rini asked, lowering her voice again.
	Ziggy giggled.
	”What’s up, Beck?” Goren asked, also coming to the threshold of the door.
	”Come down to the playroom with your stuffdible amnibles,” she said, holding up a plush cat as a demonstrable for her term.
	”Okay!” Said the younger boys, as they ran back into the room.
	”Be down in a sec,” the wolf replied.
	Rini turned about and headed back down the stairs, passing by the low talking in the playroom, down fully back to her room. She plucked her stuffed rat, Dorothy, from off her bed, and turned about. Before heading all the way back upstairs, she knocked on her mom’s bedroom door.
	”Yes, honey?” Her mom asked, opening the door.
	”We’re doing the stuffed animals. Can Kimmy and Will come out?”
	Her mom looked back into the room. “I think… I’ll have them exchange their animals just in here. It’s probably best they stay here until the morning.”
	”Okay.” The rat said, softly.
	”One second,” her mom closed the door almost all the way. Then, it opened.
	Kimberly stood, still just in the pull-up and camisole. Her eyes were a little red and puffy, the left one sporting a bruise on the outside. “I’m sorry,” she said, in a soft and unsqueaking voice.
	Rini set her animal down, and leaned in to hug the mouse. “Thanks for coming and trying to have fun,” she whispered, and got a mousy-sniffle in response.
	The door closed with a soft click of its jamb.
	The rat picked up her rat, took a moment to breathe, and then trotted back up the stairs.
	Everyone was in the playroom, waiting for her. “Okie-dokie, everyone got their stuffers?” She asked. “That brought one like I asked?” She glanced at the yellow tiger.
	He, like everyone, held up a stuffed animal—a white tiger, no doubt borrowed from Lyza.
	”So. Here’s the rule: You gotta sleep with a stuffed animal. But, it can’t be your own. So you gotta excha—”
	”I call Rocky!” Blurted the vixen, her gown flowing as she dashed off of the couch toward Ziggy, practically wrenching the raccoon-plushie he held in his hands. She tossed the raccoon up into the air and jumped up to catch it, insouciant of her attire. “How are you? I’mma snuggle and huggle and give you so many smoochies!”
	”Now who’s got a boyfriend?” The tigress quipped.
	Cheri’s eyes bolt open and she straightened up, looking about. Then she relaxed and shrugged. “Okay, You got me. Rocky’s my bee-eff.” She skipped back to her spot on the couch with the stuffed raccoon.
	”Well. There ya go,” the rat said. “Cheri showed us how it’s done. So, everyone exchanges stuffies, except it doesn’t have to be that enthusiastic.”
	The vixen stuck her tongue out as she carried her own plushie to the raccoon. “Here.” She said.
	Ziggy started to reach for the little fox in Cheri’s arms, but Cheri pulled away.
	”Ah-ah! Vicky is very frail and sensitive!” She admonished. “You gotta be gentle with her, got it?”
	Ziggy held his hands in small fists near his chest and nodded.
	Cheri held out the little fox again, and Ziggy tried to take it as carefully as he could in his hands.
	Rini saw them shaking.
	”Carry her like a princess, she likes that,” the vixen instructed, helping guide the raccoon to cradle the animal.
	”I see the tigers have already exchanged theirs,” Rini remarked, glancing to Ket and Emmy.
	Ket had Emeral’s stuffed bear, and Emeral had the stuffed white tiger.
	”Tell me about them,” Rini requested.
	”That’s Timber-bear,” Emeral said, pointing at the bear Ket now held. “Had him since I was a baby.”
	”And who’s that, Ket, huh?” The rat asked with a smirk.
	”Uh… That’s. Emmy.” He remarked.
	”Huh!?” The rabbit sat up straight. “Wait, how’d you know? I didn’t get a chance to tell you.”
	”Wait,” Ket raised a brow. “That’s actually named Emmy?”
	”Yep,” said real-Emmy, snuggling the tiger in her arms. “It me in plushie shape.”
	”You…” The rat looked at the rabbit. “You got a plush of Emmy?”
	”Of course I did,” the rabbit replied. “It’s not weird to get stuffed animals of your friends. It’s totally normal. Everyone does it. C’mon let’s engage in productive discourse about how usual and customary it is a practice and that it’s totally not weird.”
	Rini covered her mouth with the back of her hand as she laughed and snorted.
	”I want Ruth!” Timimy exclaimed, hopping over to his sister.
	”Ew! No!” Kelly-Elly grimaced. “Last time you wanted to sleep with her you gave her back all slobbered and snotted!”
	”I was four!” The poodle retorted.
	”And you still slobber-snotter,” his sister riposted.
	”Timimy,” Lyza called. “You can have my Bimbles.”
	The poodle whipped round and trotted over to the rabbit. “Okay!” He said excitedly, and offered up his Squirtle. “This is Sabbash-Tian, careful he makes your pillow wet.”
	”No that’s still your slobber,” his sister volleyed from the other end of the sectional, for good measure.
	He took the teddy-bear in return and looked it over. “What’s wrong with his foot?” The poodle asked, lifting the bear’s left leg to show the underside of the pad was partly blackened, and had a patch sewn over it.
	”He… He wasn’t being a very good bear,” Lyza explained. “He was playing with fire, and got a little burnt.”
	”Oh… I’m glad he’s okay,” Timimy held him. “Don’t play with fire.” He told the bear. Then, he turned back to his sister. “So if you aren’t letting me have Ruth, who will?”
	”Only ones I trust with her are Bitty and Betty.” The poodle replied, petting the little plush dog laying on her tummy. “Yes you’re so much calmer and cleaner than Toto aren’t you?” She said in a low, just-audible baby-voice.
	The rat chose to ignore what she said and turned to Goren. “Bob.” She said, extending her hand. “Give Bob.”
	Goren stood up, and handed over the little stuffed gray wolf.
	”Hello, Bob,” she greeted, holding the wolf over her shoulder and proffering her own animal. “Take Dorothy.”
	Goren did as commanded, gently holding the little rat and sitting back on the couch, putting the rat onto his lap.
	”Well. Everyone have the stuffie they want?”
	”Yes!” Murmured the group, in various ways and tones.
	”Okay then. I guess that’s it for tonight.”
	”Now it’s bed time?” The raccoon asked sadly.
	”Well,” the rat squatted next to him. “You don’t gotta go to bed yet, but you do gotta go to your room. We can play more tomorrow morning, okay?”
	Ziggy smiled and nodded. “Okay.”
	”Okay. Goo’night boys.” The rat said, in the low and throaty voice.
	”Night!” The younger boys bid, running up the stairs.
	”Do you need us for anything else?” Goren asked, motioning to Ket.
	”Nooo,” the rat said. “You are. Dismissed.” She giggled.
	The wolf stood up, and walked past her, giving her forehead a boop as he passed.
	Ket stood, and held out his hands to help both Emmy and Lyza up off the couch, before taking Timber-bear and heading up to the next floor.
	”Hey!” Kelly-Elly tried to bark, and glowered. “I don’t get any help up?” She fussed, throwing her legs down to the ground and standing on her own.
	”Only ladies get gentlemen,” the rat remarked.
	”Ladies and tramps,” the poodle growled.
	The girls all followed Cheri, who excitedly scurried down the stairs. When the others finally got to Rini’s room, the vixen was already on her swatch of memory-foam, snuggling the raccoon and giving it a smooch.
	The tigress and rat exchanged glances.
	”So, are we staying up to gossip? Do nails? Have the promised pillow-fight in our underwear on the bed?”
	”Honestly, I’m zonked,” the rat remarked. “But I am gonna get some more cake. Emmy? Come with?”
	”Huh?” The tigress’s ears perked after she set her plush-shape down on the memory-foam. She stood up. “Uh, sure.”
	”Cake date,” the poodle ribbed.
	”Jealous,” the rat retorted, and closed the door behind her.
	Emeral followed Rini back down the hall.
	”Let me just check on Toto real quick,” she said, pausing at the laundry room opening. She peered in as quietly as she could so as not to alert the dog. But, the terrier stood up almost immediately and started whimpering.
	”She’s fine,” the rat said, beckoning the tigress to follow, even as the dog started to yip and bark for attention.
	In the kitchen, the rat turned on the over-counter light above the cakes. Her mom had cut them to fit into leftover cake-trays with plastic covers.
	”Which flavor you want?” The rat asked.
	”Uh… I guess chocolate this time, but, I’ll get it.”
	”No I got it,” Rini said, followed by a pop from the plastic releasing from the dip.
	”It’s your birthday, I’ll get it,” the tigress insisted.
	”Party’s over and you’re a guest,” the rat resisted. “Besides, You don’t know where the knives are,” she said in a teasy, sing-song voice, while she went to a drawer and pulled out a butter-knife.
	Emeral accepted her slice from the rat, remembering pleasantries this time, after realizing she forgot them again just a moment ago.
	The plastic snapped back into place, and Rini hefted her plate with her piece on it, taking a bite.
	Emeral watched the rat stare off a bit. It was a look she knew well. She didn’t think she’d see such a contemplative expression from someone other than Ket.
	”So. How’d I do?” The rat asked.
	”Whatchya mean?” The tigress asked back.
	”Was I. Nice? Friendly? I dunno. I feel like—”
	”Rini.” The tigress said, in a maternal tone.
	”—I feel like, if I wasn’t. I’m not gonna have any friends.” She murmured.
	”You’ve got friends,” the tigress said, finally taking a bit of her own cake.
	”I’m really nervous about how Ket feels being with Goren. It’s not like they’ve been best buds for years.”
	”I could say the same about Goren,” the tigress replied. “I don’t think they’d’ve sat down to play cards if there was a whole feast of beef between them.”
	Rini chuckled, partly out of nerves, and partly out of the imagery that phrasing put into her mind.
	”I think I know when Ket’s opinion of him changed, too.” The tigress said.
	Rini’s ear twitched. “Oh. When?”
	”Don’t tell him I told you this, cuz he probably didn’t. But.” The tigress set her plate and fork down, and leaned against the counter. “When we were walking home after… After that day... He was with the others, and they sort of chased me and Ket down.”
	”He did what!?” The rat narrowed her brow, speaking louder than with the low, private voices they had been using thusfar.
	”Hang on,” the tigress lifted her hand in a pausing gesture. “He was just with them. After we scared off the others, he stayed behind and asked for one of Ket’s carvings. After that. I mean, my opinion of him changed. So I think that’s also when Ket’s did, too.”
	Rini looked down with thought, while Emeral picked her cake back up to finish it. “He never really liked Ritzer, you know?” She said.
	”Um… I guess I can figure that, now. But, why you say that?”
	”Because. He was close to Ritzer so that Ritzer didn’t try to do any funny-business with me. But. I feel kind of guilty. Cuz. I know...”
	”Finish your cake,” Emeral reminded.
	Rini did, and in the midst of her last bite, Emeral tugged her plate away from her to take care of it. She weakly tried to resist, but failed miserably.
	”That was yum,” the tigress remarked. “So. Do we go back?” She asked.
	Rini fidgeted a little. “Just. One more thing before we do.” She whispered: “Do you remember how to get to the loft?”
	”Yeah,” the tigress whispered back, nodding.
	Rini pointed out the threshold to the kitchen, at the pillar. “When you hear the clock strike eleven times,” she instructed, “count to five-hundred. Then, be very quiet. Go up to the loft. There’ll be a surprise for you.”
	The tigress repeated the instructions quietly in her head, and then nodded. “Okay.” She said, in the usual tone they had been speaking.
	”’Kay, now we go back.” The rat said, leading the way. “Blip, blip, blip,” she said, flipping a few switches on an array that was just outside the kitchen.
	Lights began to turn off. First in the living room, then in the hallway. The only light that remained came from the curtained windows on the front of the house, and a lavender night-light that was plugged into an outlet just outside of Rini’s bedroom door.
	And the bit of light that spilled out from underneath her door.
	”What the heck,” the poodle asked. “Did you eat the whole rest of the cake?”
	”Ha. Ha.” Rini humored, waiting for Emmy to pass through the door before closing it. “Did you exchange your stuffed animals or are you gonna break my rule?”
	Kelly lifted up the two cat plushies she had traded hers for with the twins. “Just to make the birthday princess happy.” She explained. “At my next birthday, no childish stuff like this.”
	”Don’t be in such a hurry to grow up, Kels.”
	”Psh! Can it, Liz and don’t call me Kels.”
	The rabbit settled onto her mattress, disregarding the poodle more immensely than the poodle disregarded her.
	Cheri tossed Rocky up into the air and caught him. “I wonder what the boys are thinking.” She mused aloud.
	”I wonder what the girls are thinking,” Ziggy thought aloud, cradling Vicky in his arms.
	”What makes you ask that?” Timimy questioned.
	The raccoon shrugged, “Iunno. On TV usually when they say that something funny happens.”
	”Well I know what they’re doing,” the poodle declared.
	The older boys’ ears perked, and they glanced over.
	”Oh yeah? What?” Ziggy asked, curiously.
	”Well, I know Cheri is with your stuffie, giving it snuggles and smooches pretending it’s you, mwah, mwah, mwah, mw—” the poodle teased, then yipped when the inevitable pillow-swipe followed.
	”Hey,” Goren said in a paternal tone. “If you start fighting we’re gonna join, and you don’t want that.”
	”Why not?” Timimy asked.
	”Cuz. They’ll cream us.” Ziggy replied.
	”You got it,” the wolf agreed, and turned to the tiger. “Get all that?” He asked.
	”Yeah,” Ket replied.
	The wolf looked at Dorothy. He had been petting the rat the whole time. “So. Did you really not have a stuffed animal, or…?”
	The tiger looked at Timber-bear, then to the wolf. “I mean. In all fairness. You’ve been through my room. So, if you found one, that’s news to me.”
	The wolf shook his head. “Not me. I wasn’t even there. I was with Ingrid the whole time. You can ask her.”
	”But you knew about it,” the tiger countered.
	Goren shrugged. “What’d you want me to do? Stop ‘em?”
	Ket shrugged back. “If you knew about it, then... What did he want?” He asked, looking at Timber’s smiling face.
	”I dunno. Something about an eye. That’s all he called it.”
	”Figured.” The tiger laid back, resting the plushie on his chest. After a moment, he looked at the wolf. “You’re not gonna ask where it was?”
	The wolf shrugged. “I don’t care. I never cared.” He chuckled. “You know, he never shut up about you two. Your eye and Emmy. It was so fucking—” He said, lowering his voice so the other boys couldn’t hear. “—annoying. And honestly. When I heard he attacked you and you wound up beating the shit out of him?” The wolf balled a fist. “Wish I had that excuse.”
	”He didn’t attack me.” The tiger clarified, going against the narrative that had gone around the whole school. The narrative he had started, to protect the real target.
	”Emmy?” The wolf asked, raising a brow.
	Ket nodded.
	”Remind me not to get on her bad side.” He requested.
	”What’s that?” One of the boys asked.
	Goren perked up. “What’s what?”
	There was a soft scratching.
	”Th-That,” Timimy said, in a nervous voice.
	They waited a moment, and then it happened again.
	”You gotta be…” Goren set Dorothy aside and stood up, walking to the door. He opened it, and a little terrier yipped and barged in. “No ya don’t!” He said, chasing after and grabbing Toto. “I’ll be right back.”
	”Stop. Calm.” The wolf grumbled, trying to keep the wriggling mutt from her flits of trying to get free and then trying to lick his face. He walked down the stairs and into the laundry room, kneeling down and pushing her back into the kennel.
	”Stay,” he ordered, shutting the door.
	She hopped and panted, but then whimpered and pawed with melancholy when the door was closed and locked.
	Goren then took her leash, and opened the clip, hooking it onto the door as well as an added bit of security.
	”What’s going on?”
	He stood up, and Rini was in the doorway. “She got out of her kennel again.” Then, he squinted at the rat. “Somehow.”
	Rini tried to disguise her smirk as an innocent smile, walking into the laundry room. “So. Did you tell…” Her voice trailed.
	”Yeah.” He nodded.
	”Perfect.” She booped him on his nose. “G’night,” she bid, dashing back out into the hall.
	He shook his head. “Good night, Naomi,” he muttered, kneeling back down to pat the kennel. “Good. Night.” He told the puppy.
	Toto smiled at him and panted.
	”What was it?” Lyza asked, when Rini came back into her room. “You were gone for a while.”
	”Nothing, Toto just got out of her kennel again. But I guess she went upstairs, cuz Goren brought her back down.”
	”Houdini-dog,” the rabbit chuckled.
	”No kidding,” Rini replied, crawling back into her bed next to Betty. “Everyone settled? Got your snugglebuddies?”
	”Yep,” the other girls replied, in various ways.
	”Okay. Blip,” the rat said, and the lamp on her bedside table went out.
	Emeral stared up at the ceiling; at only the darkness, imposing. Over time, she began to see the popcorn-contour of the ceiling above. It was pronounced only by the light sneaking in through Rini’s window, which had a very gossamer curtain over it.
	And then, she heard it. In the distance, the gongs started. She counted them. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine…
	The tenth one rang.
	Then silence.
	A sudden realization hit, that the rat’s instructions would need to wait for yet one more hour before she could execute them.
	She turned to her side, bending the top knee up to rest in front of her, and tugged the sheet off to only cover her legs from the calves down.
	She could see her best friend in front of her, eyes closed and starting to drift off to sleep. She was determined to keep hers open.
	Her mind slipped into thoughts to keep occupied.
	She replayed that moment in her mind once more. As she had every night since it happened. The touch on her shoulder. The instinct. His weight when she dropped to her knee and pulled him over her.
	Then, her boyfriend pushed her away. Pinned his rival by kneeling on him. She could still hear the muffled, meaty smacks as his knuckles struck.
	She had never seen him that way. He was always calm. Gentle. Calculating.
	No. She was wrong. She had seen him act that way, before. An old memory. One just after the edge of a hazy, patchy void in her recollections. In a cell of mosaic tile, with the hiss and splatter of water streaming from faucet to drain.
	It was not as intense. But he did strike with his foot. His shoe collided with center-mass.
	A shiver ran down her spine. She curled up tighter. The shirt, shorts, and boxer-briefs she wore comforted her. She went through as many memories as she could, and found solace that there was only one commonality to the behavior that made her so uneasy.
	That cowardly lion.
	Acted tough, but never struck head-on. Always from behind. And worse. He struck her.
	The hackles along her neck flared. Her hands balled into fists. Embarrassment welled up inside of her. She would never let that happen again. The next time anyone tried, she would—
	”Ha!”
	”Holy fu—”
	The light blazed on.
	Rini gazed to the middle of the room to see Kelly knelt between Lyza and Emmy. Emmy had her hand around Kelly’s wrist, and in Kelly’s hand was her brother’s stuffed Squirtle.
	The rat folded her arms. “Explain.”
	”I was just…” The poodle started. “Making… Sure… Ow! You’re freaking hurting me!” She snarled at the tigress.
	Emeral’s grip did not relent.
	”Relinquish the turtle and she’ll disengage,” the rabbit advised.
	The Squirtle dropped back onto the memory-foam.
	Kelly made a show of sucking in the air through her teeth and holding her wrist once it was freed. “You bruised it.”
	The rat threw off her sheet and stepped around her bed, walking along the wall and picking up the poodle’s mattress.
	”What are you doing with my bed?”
	Rini huffed as she tossed the mattress in the space between her bed and the back wall of her room, kicking and dragging it into place. “You’re sleeping here, so I can keep tabs on you.” She looked at the kittens, and added: “Tabs. Literally.”
	”Whatever,” the poodle puffed, stomping back to her bed.
	”You okay?” Lyza asked.
	Emeral blinked. “Hu-yeah, why?”
	”Your pupils are like. Razor-thin,” the rabbit remarked.
	”Just… From the light,” she explained.
	”Then light goes off. Blip.” The rat said, flicking the switch on her lamp. “The tiger’s eyes can relax, now.”
	”Thanks,” Emeral replied.
	Emeral turned over, away from Lyza so that the rabbit didn’t see her eyes were going to remain opened, the soft green glow giving her away.
	She had no clue how much time had passed. It could have been just a minute, or it could have been ten. Or longer. She knew it wasn’t an hour; the clock had not gonged, yet.
	But now, she was once again left to let her mind wander. But as her heart-rate slowed, and the adrenaline left her bloodstream, and with the darkness swaddling; she started to feel weary.
	She reached out for thoughts. Thoughts that were new and different. Stay away from replaying those days.
	A fresh thought popped into her head. Her mind playing a cruel game with her. She recalled just earlier that evening how she divulged Ket’s ambitions for going into seventh grade. A lump tightened in her chest; she knew he was probably really frustrated at her for that, despite how cool he played it at the time.
	It was a wonder she hadn’t blabbed about how they felt about each other during the party.
	Even though it was an open secret to the older kids, they still kept it low-key. Aside from wanting to be next to him on the couch, and the younger kids didn’t seem to notice.
	But she did think about how; around Lyza, Rini, and Goren; even around Kimberly and Will; they could really be more open about themselves. In fact, she felt an odd kinship with Rini, now. Especially with how surprisingly alike their boyfriends were.
	Was there still a reason to keep it a secret from their parents, though?
	It wasn’t long before she caught the old rationality again.
	They didn’t want their parents treating them differently.
	But, surely they knew… Right? They couldn’t be so secretive that their moms weren’t aware?
	Especially during the carnival, when her mom actually caught how she wore the Glo-Ring, that Ket had won and given to her, like a wedding band.
	Maybe she should talk to him. See what he thinks. Maybe, now, it’s finally time—
	Gong! Gong! Gong! Gong!
	Her thoughts froze as she counted the distant chimes. Loud enough to hear, soft enough not to wake. The eleventh one completed.
	What was the next instruction?
	Right. Count to five-hundred.
	Why?
	Perhaps so she didn’t do something right at eleven. Leeway-time.
	She started counting. She tapped the memory foam with each number; it didn’t make a sound when she did. She had to avoid thinking about sheep jumping over a fence. It was so tempting to. So very tempting.
	One hundred. One-oh-one, one-oh-two, one-oh-three…
	She repeated the cycle, focusing on the numbers. Though she could continue to feel time crawling on her fur from the rhythm of her counting, it wasn’t quite a number-per-second.
	She could feel time, but her time. Distorted. Different.
	Four-nine-seven. Four-nine-eight. Four-nine-nine.
	Five hundred.
	She reached the end. Nothing left to do but make her way up to the loft. Well. To sneak, as the rat instructed.
	She slowly slipped her covers the rest of the way off her feet. She rolled prone, and pulled her hips back so she was in a child’s pose. From there, she righted her back to a kneel. Finally, she braced her knuckles onto the memory foam, and stood upright.
	All those motions were only betrayed by her left ankle popping.
	She had a clear shot to the door. Quietly, she paced forward, setting her pawpads on the carpet straight; no brushing or sliding. One step at a time, a small pause in between.
	At the door, she brushed her hand along the side, very gradually, until she reached the knob. It made a single, soft metallic tinkle when she touched it.
	She wrapped her hand about it, and pushed away as she turned, ensuring the door did not loosen until she was ready for it. When the knob turned all the way, she slowly opened the door.
	A lavender glow cut into the darkness, and the tigress quickly reacted by blocking it with her body as best she could.
	When the door was opened enough, she slipped her hand through, and grabbed the outside-knob to hold it turned. Then, eventually, it was wide enough for her to slip through entirely.
	On the other side, she left only her hand behind to stop the door from closing all the way. She kept her leg against the seam to block the light, and slowly pulled her hand free, pressing her thumb in the seam as well to ensure it did not slip or jolt when the end of her finger pulled all the way through.
	There was barely a soft, wooden pat as the door settled into its flange. Then barely a whisper of brass as she gradually unwound the knob, allowing the jamb to slowly nestle back into its hovel.
	On the other side, she took a step backwards. Then, a three-step in-place pivot to face the turn of the hallway.
	Plkh
	Her ankle popped.
	Waiting a moment more in the quiet, she listened for any sounds. Hearing none, she stepped forward.
	She left the lavender glow into more darkness. She used her hand along the wall to help guide her, until she felt the railing of the stairs. Using it for support, she began to climb.
	One step at a time she climbed. Plkh. Plkh. Plkh. Every so often, her ankle popped; a traitorous noise that sought to reveal her.
	Or so it felt. In reality it probably could not be heard unless someone’s ear was snuggled right up against her foot.
	At the midpoint of the stairs, where the entrance to the playroom was to her right, she was given reprieve from the darkness by the soft, gray glow of the media center. But it was short-lived, as soon she was on to the second set of stairs.
	Though she was still careful to suppress noise, she was also getting the feeling she was overdoing it. Especially now, a flight-and-a-half removed from Rini’s bedroom door.
	At the top of these stairs, a soft, aquamarine glow from a small nightlight in the middle of the intersection gave her a break from the darkness.
	Feeling emboldened, as now anyone down below might consider her one of the boys, she walked with slightly-more-audible footfalls upon the flat, unyielding carpet.
	The soft light carried all the way until she got to the stairs to the loft, only abandoning her for the last few steps. Here, she could clearly see, for light spilled down the stairs. But, it was not an artificial light; it was a natural one.
	She started to climb the stairs, her white fur glowing in the moonlight pouring down from the windows above. It scattered off her shins when she raised her foot to alight on the next step.
	When she turned the corner, someone was at the top of the stairs. She froze, a frisson of panic skittering down her spine like a startled roach.
	But then, the sandy-pale hue of the moonlight reflecting off of his arms, and the gentle gold that gleamed when it sloshed in his eyes, settled her spine.
	She abandoned her stealth for the remaining crescendo of steps to be with him at their climax.
	”It looks pretty up here!” She exclaimed, quietly.
	They were high up enough that the moon was unimpeded. Its light innocently arrived through the windows, only to be trapped within the small room, illuminating the walls and carpet.
	But eventually, Emeral’s eyes became accustomed to the ambiance of this cozy scene, and soon focused back upon the tiger that shared it with her.
	”So…” She whispered, fidgeting with the end of her pony-tail with a finger. “Rini said there would be something up here for me. Was there anything here, or is it just you?”
	Ket shrugged. “Goren told me to come up here at eleven and wait a while. Otherwise nothing stood out up here.” He replied.
	”Well!” She huffed and folded her arms, and turned about, heading down the stairs. Her act broke before she made it three steps, and she pivoted, trotting back up while covering her mouth to keep from giggling aloud.
	She took his hand, and moved it toward the futon, guiding him.
	He sat down upon it, but when she touched her hand to the side of his arm and nudged, he laid down.
	She leaned over him, over the back of the futon, and peered down. The foot of the stairs were dark, and quiet. With a soft creak of the furniture, she eased back up, and stared down at the tiger.
	She started to move to lie down in front of him, but then paused.
	”What’s wrong?” He asked, when she slipped off.
	She squatted in front the futon, eye-level with him.
	He followed her gaze when it flit to the head of the stairs again, but then they settled back onto him.
	She smiled, in a strange way.
	Before he could react, a streak of silver flashed in his vision, and he felt a pressure on his waist. He looked up to see her face, aglow in the moonlight, grinning down at him.
	She straddled his waist, and her fingers went for the bottom of his shirt.
	He was nearly helpless as she negotiated his shirt up his torso. Nearly, because he allowed it. He raised his arms, and lifted his shoulders.
	His shirt fell behind him with a soft ruffle.
	He met her eyes as she gazed down at him for a moment more, before she raised her left hand.
	He flinched from her quick movement, and let out a puff of air when her palm pressed onto his chest, just left of center.
	She then lowered her face to his, until her nose touched his, and ensured his eyes were locked with hers.
	She pressed firmly upon his chest, feeling his heart beat underneath.
	”Mine.” She stated, almost in a low and imposing growl.
	She closed her eyes, exchanging the press of her nose for the press of her lips.
	She rolled to the side, leaving her leg hooked over behind him, and her arm around him. All the while her lips remained against his.
	His were nervous at first. But, against hers, insistent, he matched her gentle pressure.
	Pressure.
	Pressure.
	He tensed.
	She quietly concluded the kiss, returning to minding his nose with hers.
	His eyes were darting downward. He shifted, ever-so-subtly.
	She secured her arm and leg around him further, and pulled him to her more firmly.
	He held his breath.
	”It’s okay.” She whispered. “Muscles relax. Blood circulates,” she explained. “Muscles contract. Blood gets trapped. Finds its way into spongy tissue.” She shimmied a little. “Spongy tissue gets tumescent.”
	He slowly let out his breath through his nose. “Sorry,” he whispered, very quietly. Almost more of a delayed apology.
	She retreated her nose from his, only to give it a peck, and then settled her cheek into the crook of his neck with a nuzzle. “You’re warm,” she remarked.
	Somehow, to his tense surprise, she managed to hug him tighter, settle them closer, and increase the pressure.
	She could feel his heartbeat against her. In both typical, and atypical, places.
	”Would it make you feel better if I said it happens for girls, too?” She asked. “It’s just that for us, it’s smaller and more tucked away.”
	He could only murmur inaudibly in response, and resist the twitches from her breath tickling his neck.
	He wasn’t quite sure what to do. So. He fell back to his normal routine.
	His hand found its way to the bottom of her borrowed shirt, at the small of her back. His fingers slid underneath, pads touching her fur. He began to gently scratch, drawing unseen lines into her fur.
	He felt that rattle in her throat against his shoulder, revving it up to a steady rhythm through gentle strokes. Slowly he moved upward, trading sides across her spine since he had only one hand to work with.
	Eventually, he got the the spot she now yearned for the most. He scratched along a particular line. One that, as of late, was still getting used to the agitating pressure of a band of elastic rubbing against it.
	”Mmmmhhhh…” She sighed.
	He could feel her muscles relaxing as he scratched further up her shoulders, hitting more spots where elastic added tension and pressure.
	”Nnnnghmmmm…”
	Pressure.
	He slowed, and then altogether stopped.
	She lifted off his neck to rest her head on the cushion in front of his, gazing back into his eyes.
	”Y’know…” She said.
	He saw her gaze flit down for a moment, before she was able to look at him again.
	”Uhm… It… It goes around the front, too.”
	Pressure.
	She gave him a nervous smile, along with some slack beneath her arm.
	For a moment, he was still.
	Their eyes held through that moment.
	His hand began to move.
	He scratched along that line again. Warming back up to an easy rhythm. Gradually, as he passed back and forth, he stopped shorter of her spine, and longer of her side, beneath her armpit.
	Then, he slowly ran his hand back one last time, before drawing it forward with intent.
	Thmp-thmp-thmp-thmp-thmp-thmp-thmp-thmp—
	Suddenly everything went cold.
	The tigress squealed as she tore away and fell off the couch.
	He winced, a blazing white light stabbing his eyes.
	What they heard was not the beat of their joined hearts, but the footfalls of a heavy-set mother anxious to ward off any shenanigans.
	”Just what do you think you’re—oh,” she arrived near the top of the stairs, enough to see into the room through the banister.
	While she did catch a couple, it was not the one she was expecting.
	The tigress straightened her shirt over her belly.
	The mother rat looked and saw another shirt on the stairs. She walked up, bending over to retrieve it. “If you two go to your rooms right now,” she said, dropping the shirt onto the boy laying on the futon. “And stay in there until tomorrow morning. Then I won’t call your parents. Capisce?”
	”Y-Yes ma’am,” they both stammered.
	The mother turned, and walked back down the stairs.
	The tigers exchanged glances.
	Emeral’s eyes flitted downward. Then, hastily to the side.
	Ket turned to the side and fumbled to get his shirt on, finally managing, and used his arms to pin it down over his lap.
	They glanced at each other again, and Ket started to nudge his gaze in the direction of the stairs. Emmy mimicked him, and then finally he had to mutter. “L-Ladies first. Please.”
	She saw his sheepish look and then blushed. “O-Oh, gotcha, uh… S-See ya tomorrow,” she murmured, and then dashed toward the stairs.
	Halfway on the third floor she slowed down, not desiring to wake the boys, or the rest of the house. But all she wanted to do was forego any semblance of stealth, her cover already blown, and just get back to snuggling her plush self and actually fall asleep now.
	She power-walked down the flight of stairs from third to second, and then from second to first. When the wall next to her that divided the hallway ended, she instinctively bore right—
	”Ouf!”
	She bumped into someone, and dashed ahead two steps before turning about.
	”Sorry! Sorry!” The rat said, holding up her hands and bracing, like she was about to get decked or thrown down.
	Emeral slowly stood upright.
	Rini relaxed. “Did you… Like your surprise?” She asked, with a smile.
	The tigress glared. “Until your mom caught us.” She growled.
	Rini winced. “I’m… Sorry,” she said, meekly.
	Emeral folded her arms.
	”Please don’t be mad at me,” the rat pleaded. “It’s my birthday.”
	”I’m not mad.” Emeral said, sternly. “I’m just. Debating if I should tell you.”
	”Tell me?” Rini tilted her head. “Tell me what?”
	The tigress let out a sigh, and relaxed her posture. She stepped closer, and reached forward. “Your cami is inside-out, and backwards,” she said, forefinger and thumb pinching and tugging on the tag sticking out.
	Even in the lavender light and with her fur a darker complexion, the deep blush of Rini’s cheeks bled through. She gasped, and whipped around. She quickly leaned over, yanking the garment off to flip it around and right-side-in and navigated back into it. She slowly righted, and turned around.
	”Th—Thanks.”
	”We’re even, now,” the tigress stated.
	The rat nodded.
	When Rini opened the door, the light was on, and Kelly was sitting on Rini’s bed.
	”Where were you?” The poodle inquired.
	”Bathroom,” Rini replied right away, almost anticipating the question.
	”You have one right there,” Kelly pointed to her master bath. “Why didn’t you use that one?”
	”Because, dear Kelly—get off my bed,” she insisted.
	The poodle got up and walked about to the other side. “Because?” She asked.
	”Because if I did,” the rat continued, climbing into her bed, “you’d complain that I made noise or whatever.”
	”What about Emmy?” Kelly probed further.
	”Cake.” The tigress replied.
	”You sure do love cake,” the poodle sneered.
	”You sound like you love knuckle-sandwiches,” Emeral growled in retort.
	”You’re going to punch me?” Kelly asked in an exasperated tone.
	”Only after I punch you,” the rat interjected. “Now—”
	”—Go. To bed!”
	As Rini said it, so too did her mother from outside the door.
	The light flicked off.
	”Give me my pillow.” The poodle demanded.
	Emeral closed her eyes, and heard Kelly yip after a rush of wind and a soft smack.
	”You’re a good boy, Rocky. You don’t cause any trouble.”
	In the darkness, the sound of a smooch was heard.
	Silence and darkness fell over them once more.
	Emeral’s mind was unable to wander. Her eyes felt heavy. Her cheeks still tingled.
	Once the butterflies settled, she was not long to follow.