Chapter 3: Of Insecurities and Insistence

"What'th the matter with you, Mari?" The tawny tom-kit was beginning to be annoyed. His sister had, after all, dragged him away point-blank from a perfectly good game of hide and seek.

"Nothing. Now, have you talked to Jenny about the singing yet?" Rose asked, apparently deciding to ignore the absurdity of her recent actions.

"Mari, we've been through thith. I am not joining the choir."

"But Sable, everyone sings at the Ball! It's tradition!"

"Tradition…tradition!" Sable hummed without thinking, then caught himself and slapped a paw over his mouth.

"See, there you go," Rose told him. "You have a good voice, Sable, and you know it. The ensemble will be thrilled to have you."

"They don't need me! I'd meth up all the lyricth with thith thing." Sable waved his arms, frantic to emphasize this point. "Jutht lithen to me!"

"That's why it's singing," Rosemarine countered. "Held-out notes make this 'thing,' as you put it, less obvious. And anyway, I've found someone who can help you get rid of this lisp you hate so much."

Sableslink sighed. "You've told me that before, Rothe."

"I know, but this time I'm serious!" She seized his shoulders and looked him dead in the eyes. "This time, with this princess' help- we'll get rid of it, Sable. We will. She will, that is." Releasing him, she closed her eyes for a moment or two, then opened them again.

"And that wath what now?"

"Just sit down, you'll see."

In about three minutes, Rose stood up again. "She's here."

"Who'th here?"

"Look." Rose gestured a few feet before them. Coming in the siblings' direction was none other than the mysterious, aloof, unmistakable…

Sable blanched beneath his fur. "Oh no. Mari, you know I can't talk in front of her!"

But his sister just wasn't having any mercy today. "Hello, Tantomile, thanks for coming."

Tanto inclined her head in greeting. "Hello Rosemarine." She noticed the nerve-ridden tom beside Rose. "Your brother, I presume?"

"Yes." Rosie elbowed him.

"H-hi, Tanto." From bright white, Sableslink went completely red. His face now resembled any one of the rosy patches on his sister's coat.

"You said he had a speech problem?" Tantomile queried.

"Notice the conspicuous lack of s's in his sentences. He has a lisp, Tanto, and it's driving him crazy. Me too, actually, because he won't join the choir since he's so embarrassed about it. Can you help him at all?"

"I believe so." The black-and-white calico settled herself beside Sable, who almost fainted at such proximity to this of all princesses. "But if you wouldn't mind, I think we would work better alone."

"Of course, sure." Rosemarine stood. "Call me when you're done for today, all right?"

"Certainly." And with this reassurance the tawny princess moved off. She had to go find Jenny, anyway. She was already pretty late for kitten-watching duty…

Tantomile turned to her new pupil. "Now…Sableslink is it?"

"Mm-hmm."

"That isn't a word," she reproached him quietly. "Go on, say 'yes.'"

Sable squirmed, but eventually gave in under the princess's stern gaze. "Yeth."

"No, the word is yes . Now try it again."

"Yeth."

"Okay, just the letter then. Ess. Say it."

"Eth…" At Tanto's urging he repeated it eight more times. Then, on the ninth repetition… "Ess."

"Very good." For the first time since the start of the lesson, the calico actually smiled at him. "That'll do for today."

"Really?" Sableslink was suddenly unsure. How long would this last?

"Yes, really. Just keep practicing." Tantomile stood and closed her eyes a moment or two, presumably calling Rosemarine back. Then she looked at him again, adding, "Your sister should be back shortly. I will see you tomorrow." She started to walk off, but turned once more to leave a final note: "And no, this isn't a dream." With that, the black/white calico departed in full.

"Wow…" The tawny little tom could hardly believe what had just happened. A dreamy smile crept over his face as he watched his new tutor retreat. The fact that she had just literally read his mind only made her more amazing in his eyes. Nothing could wreck this moment- until-

"I know that look," said a smug voice from behind him. And then, mocking, "Thomeone'th got a crush."

Sable whirled. "Shut up Tugger," he snapped, as the tom with the unmistakable mane and leopard-spotted chest came swaggering down from behind a particular pile of junk topped with a teetering wooden chair. No doubt he had been lurking there the entire time Tanto had been coaching Sable on the letter 'S'.

"Getting speech lessons from the princess you like…now that's a new method." Rum Tum Tugger had a particularly wicked smirk on his face. "Maybe I should develop a lithp of my own, hmm?"

An equally vicious scowl now dominated the tom-kit's blue eyes. "I said shut UP!"

It was at this point that Rosemarine arrived. Seeing that her brother's eyebrows were almost meeting in the middle and Tugger was looking somewhere between his usual arrogance and actual shock, she knew this could not be good. "What's going on here?"

Instantly Rum Tum's conflicting emotions evaporated. A female had entered his immediate vicinity. Automatically, his smile grew seductive. "Hey, Rosie."

"'Hey' nothing," Rose retorted. "If you're bothering my brother-"

"Rothe, I can handle it." Sable had begun the sentence with confidence, but as soon as his traitor tongue mangled the 'S' he began to wilt again.

"So much for those lessons, hmm, Thable?" Tugger snickered. "You're right back to hiding behind your 'thithter.'"

"I don't need to hide behind anyone," Sable muttered, in a voice that now lacked any conviction.

The Maine coon simply laughed again and swaggered off. Rose stuck out her tongue at his retreating tail, held perfectly perpendicular, then turned to her now deflated brother. "Sabe, come on. You know better than to listen to a jerk like him."

"But he's right," the little tom-kit murmured. "I can't thay words with eth to save my life…"

"Hold on." Rose's ears pricked up. "Say the word 'save' again."

"What?"

"Just do it!"

"Save," Sable repeated. Then his eyes grew wide. "Holy catnip, it worked! I thaid-" At the missed 's,' he drooped once more.

"No, you did say it! Tanto's helping you!" Rosemarine's eyes danced and a gleeful smile spread over her face. "See, I told you!"

Her brother sighed. "Were you even listening to-"

"Ha-HA! You did it again!"

Sableslink considered this and realized she was right. "I…I did, didn't I?"

"Yep!" A giddy giggle escaped Rose's delighted lips.

"Rosemarine?" A certain marmalade queen's voice was suddenly heard calling for the tawny princess, who turned at the sound of her name. "Rose?"

The giddiness slid off Rosie's face in an instant. "Oh catnip. I have to go. I kinda ditched kitten duty when Tanto called me back…" She hugged her brother quickly. "Keep practicing, Sabe!" And with that she was off, calling, "Coming Jenny!"

Across the junkyard, beneath the TSE1, Tantomile sat lost in thought. This in itself was not unusual, except that she normally meditated on, well, more mature things than the current subject that was now dominating her mind. That Sableslink, she mused. There is something about him. She just wasn't sure what. Perhaps it was his eyes, huge, trusting and blue as the heavens at dusk.

But why should his eyes make their owner fill Tanto's head? No, it couldn't be that. Perhaps it was his new role as her student of sorts. She had read in a psychology book once (there was a veritable library in a well-insulated trunk near the northern edge of the junkyard) about teacher-student complexes. That could well be her problem.

The problem with this theory was that it was usually the student who developed romantic feelings for his teacher, not the other way around…

Wait just one moment, the black and white calico thought, frowning. Did I just reason that I was- am- having romantic feelings about Sableslink?

Yes, sister mine, you did. The mental voice was not hers. Tantomile turned to see her twin brother padding his way over to her. "Coricopat," she greeted him briefly.

"Tantomile," he responded in kind. The twins proceeded to sit side by side as they often did, communicating via telepathy in perfect harmony.

So, this Sableslink, Coricopat began. How long have you been harboring these feelings you were just contemplating?

If they had been talking the way the other kits did- if they were more like the others, in general- Tantomile would most likely have stammered, avoided her twin's eyes, refused to tell. But the siblings knew each other's thoughts, and so avoidance of the issue was useless. Since last week, actually, she confessed. But I do not know why.

Well, our first Ball is approaching. At this stage of development, attraction to one's peers of the opposite gender is normal, Cori pointed out matter-of-factly. And this paramour of yours-

He is not yet my paramour, brother.

True, the calico tom-kit conceded. But my point was that he is fairly sensitive. And not bad-looking either. You could do worse.

And just what do you mean by that?

Coricopat grinned. Well, for him, it was a grin. On anyone else it would be a pretty small smile. Aha, defensiveness. You are more attached to him than I had thought.

As are you to his sister Rosemarine, Tantomile countered. She felt her brother tense beside her at this.

…Touché.

A/N: Phew. I thought my own pre-planned OC personalities were going to run away from me, but they came back. Good little brainchildren.

On a separate note, this seems to be my least-reviewed story. Come on guys, this is what reviews are for: tell me what I'm doing wrong so I can fix it. Please? I would love some constructive criticism. Thank Heaviside one of you is giving me reviewness. Queen-Em gets cookies.

Queen-Em: Yes, I realize Tugger's being a little harsh. But I'll make him apologize. Or technically, someone else will. I just need to figure out who I'll use as my puppet for that purpose...