After a yelped ow!" I looedk at what poked me, which hapened to be dry piece of the moss making up my nest. "Time to change it I guess..." I think to my self, before rolling it into a small ball, which I discard next to the exit of my small room. After preparing the moss to be thrown, I headed ito the "moss room" that I keep warmer than the rest of my cave in order to have clean, fresh moss for my nest. I pick a green, springy looking patch of the stuff for the new bedding, which I claw up carefully and carry I to my room, gratefull to be out of the heat, then arrange the moss into a comfortable looking bed. As I look around my room, I take a kind of inventory of what's there, my nest, the tiny table next to it, which has Leah's picture on it, next to a vase full of her signiture light blue roses. This is the most decorated part of my room, as the only other thing inside is my bookshelf and door to my bathroom. I sniff the blue roses and then decide to go to the main cave.
As I walk into the cave the temperature drops to comfortable freezing. I stretch again sighing with contentment as the cold air envelops me, then head to my calander, and at that point dart back into my room, check that I'm at least presentable and then dash out of my icy cavern. The sun blinds me as I switch from feeble, reflected cavelight to full out shining sun. I stop a bit to let my eyes adjust to the brightness, thinking how I could have forgotten Leah's birthday. Now sprinting along the morning path I gather from the people I pass that its about 7:30, half an hour later then I ussually get up. After redoubling my speed I head into my shop, and franticly search for my gift that I planed to give to Leah.
"Aha!" I exclaim in triumph as I spot the small metal case containing a sculpture made of never-melt ice. Handling the case with the care as if it were a newborn child, I place it in a pack containing the other gifts for her, tie the pack to my side and set off for Leah's house. As I arrive at her house I notice the shades still pulled over the curtains and kick myself for not realizing that she never wakes up before 9:00. After sighing, I head down to a small café nearby, my stomache reminding me that I skipped breakfast, and take a seat as I wait for both a waiter and for Leah to wake.
"Glay! What are you doing up so early?" A voice calls from behind me. Turrning I see my sister, Espy, padding over to my table wearing her small, green-crystal pendant that our mom gave her when she was a kit.
"Espy! How are you sis? Oh, uhm I'm just waiting for Leah to wake up so I could give her the gifts for her birthday." I purr, greeting my sis by pressing my muzzle to hers.
"I'm good, and Leah? Hehe," a knowing smile spreads on her face, the same one that allways comes up when I say something about Leah and I getting together, "or, I would be good if my little brother would just visit every once and a while."
"Sorry sis, I just have so much to do at work... Why do you allways smile like that when I say I"m gonna spend time with Leah?" I look at her curiously.
She just smiles teasingly the way she allways does when I ask that question. "So little bro, what are you gonna order today?"
"Well, a good pecha jam with bread would be good, but what would you recomend?" I turn to my sis.
" well I'll make you some grepa flatcakes, you still haven't had right?" She pulls out a pad and the pencil jots tldown my order via tk.
"No. Wait you'll make? I thought you were just a waitress?" I look at her confused now.
"I was but now that the staff is spread thin, I work as a cook as we-" She started but I interrupt.
"That's not fair! Why should you have to work more?!" The anger at this begins to flare at the thought of my sister bieng taken advantage of.
"Glay. Stop it, I volenteered to do it, besides I get a better pay and regular hours." She explains.
"Oh, well, why didn't you say so?" The anger starts to fade from me.
"Because you didn't let me finish." She teased softly.
"Oh, Hehe." I blush at my assumption.
"Haha, ok lil brother I'll get it for you." As she passed by me to go to the kitchen, she flicked me with her forked tail.
"Hey!" Rolling my eyes in mocks annoyance, I smile and watch her dissapear behind the counter through two large revolving doors. I look at the steel-gray doors and begin to think what that smile of hers meant, that she knew I'd forgotten the day? No, she would tease me and remind me over and over if it were that.. Mabey that I'd spent nearly all week on the rose of ice? No, I had allready told her that I would spend all week on it. My thoughts then drifted to the rose. All week I'd spent on it, first two days to make the ice, another three to carefully carve the rose out and both of us at the bottom, and the final two to get the ice to change the colours to the right hues. The other gifts were just some baked goods (from my sister) and a few bottles of a type of plant food I saw her gazing at. My big sister came back out, but with some kind of pastry that she took to a Glicior. I looked at the clock which read 7:45, still enough time for me to eat and meet Leah for her birthday. I started to hum a song I knew by heart. I was so caught up in the song I didn't notice my sister coming till-
"Here you are lil brother." Her voice calm, as always.
"What the...?!" I nearly fell out of my chair and attracted alot of attention as I was taken by total surprise.
"Glay! Are you allright?!" My big sister then nudged me softly. "Sorry I didn't mean to scare you like that..."
"It's ok.." I sigh and I nudge her back before shaking of the lingering shock.
"Were you thinking about Leah?" Her gaze burned into me asking a question that I couldn't figure out.
"No... Why do you ask?" I look at her completely bemused.
"Well you were looking at her house."
"Huh?" I relized that I was, subconsciously, but still doing it. "Oh, no I was just humming.."
She gave me that smile again and then turned to leave. "Mhmm." Sarcasm... I rolled my eyes for real now and turned to eat the flat cakes, she had used pecha rather than greppa but I didn't mind as my thoughts turned to Leah for real, I thought if when we were kids, and all the hell we raised then. Laughing tomyself I finished my breakfast and left a tip for big sis before leaving to meet Leah. I walked up to her door and knocked on it, why she lived in a hut I'd never understand.
