You know, I didn’t ask for a sister. I open one eye, peering at the fat pillow with legs that I am forced to tolerate.

She could have been pretty but she always inhaled her food, and mine when I didn’t fight her off.

She could have been fun, if she didn’t have an obsession with biting to draw blood.

She could have been good, if she didn’t forget the rules when it suited her.

I remember the Christmas when mom first brought her home…

I glared at mom. What the hell is this?

The little thing gazed dazedly around at all the space and lights. She looked

like she had never seen so much of the world before. Where did she come

from? A cave?

When she finally laid eyes on me her eyes took on a curious glow and she

began to approach.

“Stop right there, I don’t want you anywhere near me,â€? I growled.

To her credit, she did stop. She didn’t, however, have the grace to look

offended or scared, she just kept peering at me with those curious eyes.

“Go back to whatever hole you crawled out of. You are not wanted here.â€?

It was my mom’s turn to glare, “Seven! Be nice! She is your sister now so

you better get used to it!�

Suddenly a devilish spark lit behind her eyes. In the next second she

crouched down and sprang at me, grabbing me around the neck.

I shoved her off and hissed, “How dare you touch me! Leave if you know

what’s best for you.â€?

I fled before mom could react and heard a deep sigh behind me, “He doesn’t

want to play right now Odette. Come here sweetie.� This was followed by

some of my mom’s usual nonsense.

Somehow hearing that was the worst part. She was my mom. I should be

the one being comforted.

Shameless from the start.

I knew what mom was trying to do at the time, but I was adamant that I didn’t need anyone else anymore. I had a brother you see. Well two, actually. I hardly remember my older brother; I was so small when I met him. Smaller, even, than Odette when she first arrived.

Opening my second eye, I turn my head a little so I can better gage her mood: bored. I can almost read her mind when she’s looking for something to do, it usually follows her eyes and she never stays bored for long. Quickly I snap my eyes shut so she won’t decide I’m a good target for her shenanigans.

For now I’d like to just lay here pondering.

What I do remember of my older brother is his patience with me and his air of adventure. He never gave me a harsh word. A patience that I have never shown Odette.

I shove the pang of guilt aside impatiently. She has never deserved my patience and I am no saint to give it freely.

My clearest memory of Purcy happened during our first Christmas together….

I was curled up on the couch with the family. The show on TV must have

been good because for once no one was paying attention to my brother and

I.

Above us on the railing was some garland with little elves, and boy did Purcy

love those elves.

I didn’t even see him sneak up the stairs.

The next thing we heard was crack of a falling elf.

The next thing we saw was a flying Purcy.

Amazingly he landed on his feet to a stunned silence. I think he was the

most stunned out of most of us; he just sat there.

Mom was the first to move; she stood to approach him. I reached him first

though, mom’s kind of slow. When I was sure he wasn’t injured, I couldn’t

hold it in anymore; I started rolling on the floor beside him, laughing.

Evidently laughter was finally enough to snap him to awareness because he

suddenly sprinted off crying as if it was the floor that had hit him and not the

other way around.

I laughed all the harder.

I often wish Odette would do the same. Maybe it would knock some sense into her highness.

A faint rustling begins somewhere to my left. That can mean only one thing: Odette decided the Christmas tree needs her attentions.

This will end badly and I don’t want to be anywhere nearby. God, she seriously never learns…

I push myself up and stretch casually.

Best to not draw attention to myself.

With as little noise as possible, I glide into the bedroom and onto the bed. Here I can resume my reminiscing in peace.

If Purcy was still here he would probably accept her as he did me, but he’s not and I’m not him. He disappeared one night when we were exploring outside. I kept waiting for him. Days and days passed. Instead Mom brought home another little boy: my little brother.

A frustrated sigh escapes my lips. I didn’t want him at first; I wanted Purcy. I still want Purcy but the little ball of energy that came in his shadow was so much like him that I warmed to him fairly quickly. His presence was almost enough to make up for my loss… almost.

Odette is different in every way, though, and our personalities interact in all the wrong ways. She will never be good enough to replace either of them. Where she wants to claim the world, my little brother just wanted to understand it….

I crouched down in the grass and pierced my prey with my gaze. There was

a good amount of meat on that bird, mom would be pleased.

My world closed in on the bird as I slowly inched forward. Every minute that

passed I was sure the thing would see me. The lights swaying in the trees

must have been casting their swirling shadows just right to cover my

approach.

“Whatcha doin?â€?

I nearly jumped as the words reached me. I was horrified, I didn’t even hear

him approach. My eyes flitted quickly between Snow and my prey. The bird

must have had a smaller brain than I thought because it didn’t react. I let out

a little sigh of relief.

“Shhhh, I’m hunting that bird. Watch and learn.â€?

“Ohhhh! A BIRD!â€? he nearly shouted and with three of his gangly kitten

springs he was between myself and the bird, which finally decided it was

time to go and flew off laughing.

I huffed my way over to Snow and just glared.

“I guess that wasn’t right was it?â€?

I just continued glaring.

“Brother? …Will you teach me?â€?

I couldn’t say no, and boy did he learn fast. Within a month he was a better hunter than even I.

The pride envelops my chest lessens somewhat when I hear a crash in the other room. Yep, there goes an ornament.

“Odette!â€? Mom’s voice took one that dangerous tone that always makes me cringe. “Get AWAY from that TREE!â€? And there goes the warm feelings.

“Moooooom! Put meeeeee dowwwwwn!â€? came the usual elevated, whiny tones that follow Odette’s capture. If mom is picking her up I know she’s in trouble now.

“No mam! You KNOW better!â€? my eyes follow the receding tones as if I can see through the wall. It looks like someone gets time out.

Sure enough, the next thing I hear is the distant slamming of a door followed by long, stretching minutes of silence.

The silence is finally broken by the beginnings of what I knew to be long winded wails.

“Mooooooooooooom!â€?

It is pretty amazing, really, how loud she can be.

“Mooooooommyyyyyyyyy!â€?

My heart stops. I’ve heard this before. Snow….

“There’s one over here, I saw it move. I can smell it.â€?

I sniffed the air, “Don’t know what you smell, but I smell dog; probably the

neighbor’s.â€?

“We’re so close. I’m not quitting now. Just imagine what mom will say if we

bring a mouse in the house!�

“Yeah,â€? I sniggered. “I will be even better than the cicada you brought last

time. Just be quick about it.�

I settled down to watch his movements closely. Body lowered so close to the

ground he looked like embraced it and attention turned fully to his task, he

truly was a master of hunting. He had more than surpassed me.

I watched him disappear behind a bush, the darkness hiding him from me

completely.

Faintly at first but with increasing volume I began to hear rustling. Something

was wrong; Snow didn’t make noise!

“Snow something’s coming! Something’s here!â€?

I got up and moved toward the bush, no longer comfortable with our

distance.

Clearing the bush, I scanned my surroundings. He was there still hunting

and not paying attention.

“Snow, come on. We have to go.â€?

Suddenly the wind picked up and I received a face full of smell. Not dog….

coyote and not one, but three!

I sprang at the nearest tree, but Snow, … poor snow wasn’t fast enough.

They grabbed him just as he reached the bottom of the tree.

“Seven!â€? he yelped in surprise and fear. All I did was dig in my claws and

shake.

The Coyotes jumped into action immediately, biting, ripping, flinging.

“Moooooooom,â€? he was in so much pain. My world went white from strain. I

couldn’t help him but that was all I wanted in the world.

Frozen as I was, I barely saw them drag him off.

“Mooooommyyyyyyy,â€? I don’t think he even knew what he was screaming

anymore. It hit me that I was listening to him die, not just writhe in pain. My

world shrunk until all I knew was the pounding of my blood and the screams

of my brother. I was going insane.

The last thing I heard was a scream devoid of all sense and mind,

everything except pain. It was cut off suddenly with an auditable snap. The

coyotes had broken his neck.

I just crouched there afterwards, up in the tree and mind completely blank. It

barely registered when the Coyotes returned for me. They couldn’t reach

me, but the prowled below, waiting for my decent.

Nothing happened to bring me back until I heard the approaching calls of

mom. Her voice was like an elastic string, flinging me back into myself when

I had been stretched out. I had no idea how long I’d sat there.

At the sound of her voice only a few yards away, the coyotes scattered.

I jumped into action and down out of the tree. Mom was safety.

“Let me ooooooouuuuut!â€? the next holler breaks through my trance. Upon refocusing my eyes, I find myself in front of Odette’s prison. What could I do to free her?

“I’m soooooooorryyyyyyyyy!â€?

“Odette,â€? I begin in a soft reassuring voice. “Calm down a bit. If you stay quiet for a bit mom will let you out. It’s only for a few minutes.â€?

“You think so Seven? Why should I trust you?â€? That fiery temper of hers, always getting in the way.

“Because I’m all you have right now.â€? In an attempt to soften my harsh words and in a rare showing of kindness I slide my arm under the door to touch her.

For a long moment I feel nothing, then a faint tickling that means she is touching my paw.

“Will you stay with me? I don’t like being alone.â€?

“Yes, I will stay.â€?

With the silence and contact, we both relax a bit. I hush the sarcastic voice in my head that whispers about adverting the end of the world. She would only take the joke offensively.

I hear her shift on the other side of the door, probably laying down. I do the same and peer through the gap between us. One large gold eye meets my own.

“Why are you being nice to me?â€? a valid question. One I’m not sure I can answer satisfactorily.

Do I care for her? Perhaps.

Does her distress bother me? Probably.

Do I want her to pipe down? Definitely.

I guess the truth is a bit complicated. I decide to go with what I know definitely.

“You were offending my eardrums.â€? To explain any further would be beneath me. She is my sister and one just doesn’t say these kinds of things to her.

I see a glint in that large golden eye, but it doesn’t seem dangerous this time, just amused.

“I’m sorry, would you rather I wailed in a different key, oh so sophisticated one?â€?

“I’d rather you keep your wailing to yourself actually. You’d never be able to pull off wailing in tune.â€?

There is something here, in this exchange. I can’t tell what it is yet, but perhaps the two of us can make something work out someday. It will never be what I had with my brothers, but different isn’t necessarily bad is it?

I hear footsteps approaching behind me, but I don’t rise. It’s time to look as pitiful and adorable as possible. Mom won’t know what hit her.