LIA-3

Lia pointed a finger at the cat.

"Whiskers is a girl? Then I have to change his name. "

" I don't think Whiskers is a name that belongs to boys, or girls, Lia, "Aramith muttered.

" shh. I'm thinking."Lia waved at him to shut up.

"Shouldn't we be"

"I know! I'll call her Whiskey!." Her face suddenly lit up. Aramith was startled at that. " Whiskey? That doesn't sound right. You can't call him, umm her that. Who names a cat whiskey?"

"I do. You talk too much even. Who cares if she's called whiskey? I don't see anything wrong with it. What if she's called whiskey? It sounds nice to me"

well, it sounds right in your ears alright. I wonder if it sounds right in your brain if you even have one that is-he thought to himself

" Look, Lia. You might think it's a nice name, but not everyone agrees with it. Anything but whiskey. That doesn't sound fitting for a name" "Fine then She's called barky and you're not objecting to that either"

"What kind of a cat name is barky?" "It's simple, dummy. Barky, dogs bark." "what? She's a cat. "

"Exactly! More reason for her to be called barky. The decision is final. From now on she's called barky." Aramith rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming up. He seriously felt like cracking open that skull of hers to see what nature had replaced her brain with.

"That doesn't even make any sense." Lia pouted at that

"You're the one to talk. You didn't even know she was a girl."

'Not like you even knew any better. You had no idea yourself." he added

"Who, me? I knew it all along. I only chose to pretend so you won't feel dumb. You nag too much." She spun and reached out to pet the cat again, but right at the moment when her finger brushed its luxurious fur, it leaped from Mozrael's hands and landed on the floor gracefully. It turned away from them and made its way toward the edge of the balcony, swishing its tail gleefully

"Wait!" Mozrael chased after it.

"Barky!" Lia was also on cue, and Aramith found himself following them.

The cat jumped onto the gold, vine-shaped railings at the edge of the balcony, and watched them approach it. It gave a soft meow, and just as the two girls got close enough to grab it, it leaped down, shredding their last hope of stopping it. They both leaned over the railing that was a little above their necks, craning to see Where she could have run off to.

"Maybe it's best if you two calm down, and move from your position. We all know she's not a normal cat. She can survive." They had not noticed Aramith as he appeared behind them, or when he placed his hand on their shoulders lightly to pull them back. [so they don't jump down, we all know that but are they that dumb?]

"I don't think I'll be able to understand what will happen to me if I watched my sisters jump after a cat, so do me a favor and step back will you?" They both did so and looked ahead at the beautiful scenery. Aramith looked at them to be sure they weren't tensed up before he also let his eyes drift to the scene before them all.[I can't believe they just ignored the fact that they just let a cat jump down to its death-He said it can survive, not it will survive-Poor barky :(]

The scene was indeed pleasing to the eye. The balcony was high above the ground and stretched far and wide. It was filled with flowers of every kind, neatly arranged in squares, and rows, a feat that could only be accomplished by very careful gardening. The pathways that divided the floor into squares were made of white marble. Aramith found himself staring farther off into the part where tall trees stood within the flowers like a forest of colorful trees. They covered a large area, and the sight of them reminded him of that night, the memory still fresh in his mind.

"Aren't these the best flowers!" Lia exclaimed, dramatically taking a deep breath with her eyes closed as if she could smell the flowers. Hearing her speak made his mind wander off again

He remembered very well, that night when he just woke up with his heart thumping wildly. Before his thoughts could settle, He dashed out already running towards this same balcony. What he saw made him freeze in his spot.

"Hey, are you even listening?" His thoughts were interrupted by Lia. He looked at her staring at him, and from the corner of his eye, saw Mozrael also staring at him. Lia smiled at him, and he found it awkward.

"I wish you were a girl, big brother." "You can't just go around saying stuff like that." she looked up at the sky dreamily. "If I see a shooting star one day, I'll wish you..." He ignored her, and turned to Mozrael, startling her.

"uhh... do you know where mom is?' He asked her and watched as she looked down seemingly thoughtful for some time before she pointed down the balcony without looking up. Aramith looked down at where she pointed and could see a figure clad in red, ambling through the garden.

"Hey, why aren't you listening?" Lia complained, sounding frustrated. She took a step forward to stand right before him and pointed an accusing finger right at his nose.

"If you joke I won't talk to you again" she threatened him but had no idea of what a relief Aramith saw that to be. He stared at the finger, then at the stubborn-looking Lia, and sighed. He brought her hand down and pointed down the balcony to a spot in the garden.

"Well, why don't you take a look at that first." She took a glance and looked back at him.

"What's with the plants?" Aramith realized from her question that she did not attempt to see. Her expression shifted into one of worry and she slowly reached her hand out to touch his forehead.

"Are you okay, big brother? He stopped her hand just as it got close, shaking his head.

"Just look at" "You're not okay? Does your head hurt? "Not that, just look there."

Lia made an offended look when he stopped her attempt and very reluctantly looked at what he'd been trying to make her see.

"But there's not-" "Are you even looking? Look there".

She peered down and Aramith stood behind, not saying a word. He saw Mozrael standing to the side with her head bowed rather nervously. She seemed detached, he noticed, also now noticing her green dress, its laced sleeves, and darkened hems. "Oh hey, it's a mom!"

Aramith had only a second to see Lia before she grabbed him to pull him away. He turned just in time to see Mozrael lift her head to look at them confusedly. Remembering how detached she looked earlier, he reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Ah" she stumbled forward and before she knew it, she was following him closely behind. She found herself staring at his back, the rhythmic movement of his shoulders, how straight his back was like nothing could make it bend. Her eyes traced his figure down to his arm that stretched out behind him, down to his palm that held hers tightly, like a hawk would its prey, not wanting to let go no matter what. A strange emotion flashed in her eyes, and she took her eyes off his hand, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks.

Lia had stopped pulling but he did not attempt to let go of Mozrael, afraid that once he did, she would disappear, blown away like a petal in a breeze. He felt that if he and Lia were to leave her she would be too lonely. The thought of her being isolated made him subconsciously knit his brows together. He looked over his shoulder to see if she were still there as if feeling her hand in his was not enough to assure him of her presence. She followed behind like a lamb to the slaughter with her eyes fixated on the floor they walked on. He turned to look at her now and then, but not once did he see her raise her head, not even the slightest, not even when they passed a maid or a guard who greeted them. She would stop when they did, turn when they did, but remained mute

"Hey Aramith" Aramith raised an eyebrow at her enthusiasm.

"You're not listening, are you?" she looked at him and saw him looking back at her.

"You didn't respond. were you even listening to me?"

"I did but you didn't see," he shrugged

"How am I supposed to see you respond?" Aramith again raised an eyebrow at that as well and Lia realized that was how he earlier responded to her

"That doesn't count as responding." "suit yourself" he shrugged "Whatever, which do you think is better, pink or purple? I honestly think pink is-"

"no" "Huh?"

"I said no. Purple has more meaning to it than pink. I don't think people wear pink. Maybe you girls and..." "and?" Lia grinned mischievously.

"Oh shut up" he waved at her.