<Episode 19>
I picked up the pencil again. Theo was just as kind to me as Deon, so I thought it was only fair to listen to Theo's request as well.
I hopped on the chair and started copying letters onto the paper.
"Theo... you're the best, big brother!"
"Kitty, a moment ago you were so quiet, just writing!"
Deon looked at Theo with envy. Theo shrugged and blew on the piece of paper I had given him to dry it.
"Kitty is good at copying. It's straighter than I expected!"
"I'll get better if I practice."
"Yes, you should. Your older brothers will be leaving on a long journey soon, so you need to know how to write letters."
Theo said that with a very sad face. Deon also looked at me with affectionate eyes and remained silent.
Are Theo and Deon going somewhere far away? I felt a prickling sensation at the tip of my nose and mumbled.
"Um, when are you leaving? Are you going far...?"
"Ugh, I'm already worried about leaving you behind."
"Wolves go to learn how to fight when they reach a certain age. It's still a long way off, though."
"......"
They looked at me so affectionately, like they were leaving tomorrow. I had thought they were leaving in a few days, but...
"I'll practice writing quickly. By the time you two leave, I'll be a grown-up too, so I'll be able to write weally long letters."
"And make sure you put your paw print on every letter, so no one thinks someone else sent it."
"That would be good. It will definitely look like a letter written by you."
They both smiled contentedly again. They weally like my soft paws.
Theo handed me a book he had brought.
[Learning Letters: For Baby Wolves]
From what he said, it seemed like he had treasured and kept it since he was young.
"I'll be weally careful with it and give it back."
The book had slightly more difficult words listed in large print than the ones Karis had written for me. I guess I'm supposed to learn letters by tracing these.
"Thank you, Older Brother Theo. First, I'll look at the letter Karis wrote and learn those letters. Den I'll copy the ones in here!"
"Okay. Be careful not to get calluses on your soft paws."
"It's good to work hard, but your health always comes first."
They both said that and stroked my head. I sat at the desk for a long time and traced the basic letters from beginning to end.
'I'm getting it!'
I can already hear and talk, so if I learn to read and write weally fast, I can write wunderful letters too!
"By the way, what do you do at a tea party?"
I suddenly became curious. What should I do there? Theo and Deon thought for a moment, "If it's a social tea party..." and then told me.
"We'll have tea in a place like a glass greenhouse. It will be decorated with lots of bright flowers."
"Since it's a place to introduce Kitty for the first time, I think we'll have dinner together too. After dinner, we might spontaneously dance."
"Dancing! I love dancing!"
My eyes sparkled, and I focused on the explanation that followed. Theo told me that since it's not a large-scale ball, we won't be dancing on the dance floor I saw before, but since there will be music, we might.
"If we dance, what kind of dance will we dance?"
"If we dance, waltz? For Kitty, maybe stomp."
"Waltz? Stomp?"
All the dances Deon mentioned were ones I didn't know. I felt sad at the thought that I wouldn't be able to dance the dance I liked and was best at.
'*I see. Wolves probably don't know the Meow Dance...*.'
Living as a wolf meant that I couldn't freely do the Meow Dance, which involves wagging my tail and shaking my body while showing my ears.
Even in my cat form, I can stand on two feet and do the Meow Dance for 6 seconds, but if I move around like that, anyone would know I'm a cat.
It couldn't be helped, so I said cheerfully.
"*Waltz* and Stomp must be weally fun dances too!"
"Waltz and Stomp. We'll teach you, so don't worry. Even if you don't dance them this time, you'll use them someday."
Theo said kindly. I quickly cheered up and kept scribbling letters, imagining the tea party.
"Don't we sing songs?"
"Kitty, are you good at singing?"
"A little bit. I used to sing whenever I was bored."
When I said that in a cute voice, Theo and Deon looked really excited. They asked, their eyes sparkling.
"You played while singing songs. You must be good at singing?"
"I like the song 'Silent Night, Holy Night' the best. When we sing together, we can even harmonize."
"Harmonize too?"
"Yes! We all sat on the wall and waited for our mommies."
Deon looked delighted. 'Sitting side by side? That's so cute, just imagining it.'"
"We used to sing songs together, keeping time with our tails. And when it was time for my friends' moms to come home, only my voice was left, so I could practice even more!"
"......"
"Mom always came home last with a tired face, but she said my song made her feel better."
It made me weally happy when we held hands and walked home. I smiled contentedly, but somehow the atmosphere became somber.
"Kitty. Let's sing songs with your older brothers later."
"Yes, Soft Paws. We're good at howling, so we can manage to harmonize too."
"That's a wonderful idea!"
It would be really happy if the three of us stood side by side, holding hands and singing songs. My big brothers will stay with me, even when it gets dark.
I imagined a fun tea party and continued to write letters.
* * *
The next morning, Theo and Deon came to me as I was practicing my letters early in the morning.
"Older brothers, aren't you studying today? What about training at the training grounds?"
When I asked, Theo and Deon slightly raised their chins as if they had been waiting for this and said confidently.
"We did that quickly while you were still asleep, Kitty."
"But you're always sleepyheads, big brothers."
"Ahem. We were sleepyheads. But not today! We got up early to spend the day with you, Kitty."
They said that and stared at me intently. They had faces as if they were asking to be praised. I said I was happy and took each of their hands in mine.
They purred softly...
They were satisfied and led me somewhere.
"Let's practice for the tea party today."
"We ordered a lot of snacks too."
"Yay—! I like that!"
As we headed to the glass greenhouse, they lifted their arms together sometimes, and I held their hands and jumped weally high!
After jumping a few more times, we arrived at the glass greenhouse.
If you looked up at the ceiling, you could see the blue sky and clouds floating leisurely, and the surroundings were filled with brightly blooming flowers.
The tea set for three on the table was neatly arranged, and there were three trays filled with pretty desserts, as if my big brothers had ordered them way ahead of time.
"A true wolf knows how to enjoy tea time."
Theo said that and sat me down in my seat. The chair legs were long, so my feet didn't touch the ground.
I could jump up easy because I'm a cat, but wolves need a boost! That made me giggle.
'*Wolves are kinda cute too.*'
When Theo and Deon sat down in the remaining seats, the tea table prepared for three finally felt like it had found its owners.
My gaze naturally went to the trays filled with sparkling desserts.
"Ahem, Lady Kittia. You're not supposed to stare at the snacks like that at a real tea party."
Theo said with a smile. It seemed like they were planning to train me as if it were the real thing. Deon, who was always slouching, was also sitting up straight.
"Even if they smell weally good?"
"Yes, you do. Snacks are just a simple accompaniment to tea, and tea is prepared for conversation."
"So talking is the most important thing?"
"That's right. Now you try."
A world where you can't eat snacks if you don't have a conversation. Is a tea party a scarier place than I thought?
Theo and Deon looked at me and waited like prim noble ladies. I thought of a conversation topic that wolves could relate to, and soon my eyes sparkled, and I spoke like a lady.
"It's almost shedding season, with fur flying everywhere. Are you all brushing lots?"
"Pfft! Ah, sorry. It's too cute. Keep going."
Deon said, swallowing his laughter. I made a sulky face and said to Deon.
"Lady Deon, you shouldn't laugh at another lady at a tea party."
"Lady? Oh, I'm a lady now? Okay. Sorry, Lady Kittia. It is rude to laugh at a cute little wolf."
"And you can't call Kitty little at a tea party!"
"But you're too cute not to!"
"Then you can't touch my paws!"
"Ah, I understand. I'm sorry. Don't be angry."
Deon quickly changed his tune. Theo chuckled softly and looked back and forth between us, then said in a high voice.
"Lady Kittia. Thank you for arranging this meeting today. The invitation was very beautiful, by the way? Did you write the invitation yourself?"
It was a very thoughtful question that recognized that I was practicing writing hard.
In that instant, I became happy and smiled brightly without even realizing my cat ears had popped out.
"Yes! I wrote it myself. Did you see the soft paw print inside too? I put nice-smelling oil on my paws every night to make a pretty print, and I'm weally glad you liked it!"
When I got all excited, Theo chuckled. Ah, right. We're in the middle of a tea party.
"Lady Kittia. You shouldn't get excited or speak quickly when drinking tea."
"Hmph... But, Big Brother Theo, what if my wolf ears pop out at the real tea party?"
"Hmm...."
Theo looked at Deon for a moment, looking troubled. Deon also tapped the table with his fingertips and then opened his mouth.
"You're a baby wolf, Kitty, so it might happen... Maybe you should wear a hat, just in case?"
"But if my ears suddenly pop out, the hat will wobble. Everyone will think I have a bird's nest under my hat!"
It would be very nerve-wracking if only my ears popped out.
"Um, but won't the other wolves show their ears?"
"Probably? Really good wolves only show their wolf ears when they're super emotional."
Theo and Deon smiled proudly as they said that.
"That's right. They say that when you meet the wolf you want to spend your life with, your ears pop out whether you want them to or not!"
"Ah...!"
That's right. Wolves live with one person for their whole lives, they said. I imagined wolves falling in love at first sight and smiled faintly.
"That'll be sooo cute! Will someone fall in love with me too?"
When I said that, Theo and Deon's expressions suddenly darkened. They both said almost simultaneously with determined faces.
"Fall for you? That's a really serious thing for a wolf..."
"We have to make sure that doesn't happen. Especially not with Ethan Weavers, absolutely not!"
They both got grumpy faces, thinking about someone.
