******
Jade went into the park’s rec-center where food and drinks had been set up, and got tea and snacks for herself and Tally. She wandered back outside and sat on a bench under a tree to unwind for a few minutes.
She was so deep in thought that she nearly dropped her tea when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see her brother standing there with a huge grin on his dark brown face.
“Alex!” she squealed as she jumped up and threw her arms around him. She hadn’t seen him in seven months - since before she and Tally had finished their last assignment and were transferred back to their home village.
“When did you get here? I didn’t see you earlier, where were you? Oh! I was so hoping you could come!” She gave him another squeeze, grinning from ear to ear, almost dancing with pleasure.
Alex was three years older, and they were very close growing up. When she was a toddler, she would follow him everywhere, chattering a mile a minute. And where any other boy his age would have been annoyed by his pesky little sister, he always listened to her, picking her up when she fell down, slowing his steps so that her little legs could keep up with him, and if they walked too far and she got tired, he would pick her up and carry her piggy-back. After they lost their father, they became even closer.
They weren’t able to see each other often after he left for the Elvwist enclave but they remained close. There were no ’phones in any of the enclaves but Alex had gotten a good deal better with mind-speak after studying with the Elvwists and could hold a steady link up for the both of them when hers got a little wavy. They talked at least once a month.
“Hello, Little Sis,” he said in that deep voice he developed when he was fourteen. “It looks like you’ve hit the jackpot with this discovery of yours.” He hugged her back noting she’d gotten taller - taller than their mother now who was five-seven - and though still slender, was filling out, becoming a pretty young woman.
She barely resembled the little girl with skinny legs and bright beads in her hair she'd been when she left home. She was wearing a much longer tunic than she had the last time he saw her. Apparently she’d gotten tired of the thigh-high look, because this one was ankle length. And in a real departure, she was wearing make-up.
He chuckled, “Looking good, Jade, you look almost grown in that outfit. Should I be looking around for a stick so I can beat off all the boys?” He danced back laughing as she faked a punch at him. He’d always teased her about all the boys he would have to pound on to keep them in line, just to get a rise out of her.
She grinned up at him, shaking her head. “I can beat off the boys all by myself if I need to, thank you! And what makes you think I would want to beat them all off, hmmm?”
She thought of Reece with just a ghost of sadness. She had mentioned to Alex that she was dating him but knew better than to tell him how their last date had ended. He really would go look Reece up - and beat his toes off.
She studied him for a moment thinking how much he resembled their father. She was eight when their father’s expedition went missing and she remembered him vividly.
He had been tall - for a Human - six-five, with dark chocolate skin and a dazzling smile. She remembered his kindness, his air of confidence, and his abiding desire to find a way out of the Dome.
As she looked at Alex, she saw a lot of their father in him. He was already as tall as he had been. He had their mother’s dimples just as she did but he had the same deep brown, almost black eyes, and broad shoulders as their father. He was still leaner than she remembered their father being, but well-muscled. Alex had the same kindness and air of confidence.
Thinking about her father brought, as it always did, a flash of sadness at his absence. She shook those thoughts off.
“Seriously,” she started, “I don’t know how much of a jackpot this will turn out to be. I just want to go on the expedition, Alex -”
interrupted Tally crawling out from under the bench where Jade had been sitting.
He had been sneaking a…catnap. He stretched from front to back, claws extending and retracting as he stood up.
“Hey, Tally!” Alex squatted down and grabbed Tally’s right paw for a shake. “It’s great to see you, friend! I’ve missed you.”
Alex, Jade, and Tally, had been a tight threesome before Alex left home, and seeing him again made Alex remember just how much he’d missed the big silver Cat.
Other than Sparrow, Tally was the first non-Human Alex and Jade had used mind-speak with.
He had been with their family since Alex was seven and Jade was four. Their father brought him home as a tiny ball of furry silver kitten with bright, golden eyes, riding in his jacket pocket.
Alex still remembered his father shouting as he came into the house:
“Hey children, come see who I’ve brought home!” His father had gently reached into his pocket and set the kitten down on the family room floor.
Alex and Jade had flopped down on their bellies and stared, eyes wide with excitement, mouths open. The kitten had stared back. The three had become instant friends.
“Dad, where did you get it?” Alex remembered asking, and to his immense surprise, the kitten answered.
he’d said indignantly, drawing himself up to his full height of four inches, using mind-speak.
His father had laughed uproariously. “He’s right, you know. He’s definitely male. And I didn’t just “get” him, he chose to join our family so he will be living with us. He’ll help you with your mind-speak.”
“What’s your name, kitten?” Jade had asked - well, they couldn’t just keep calling him “kitten”, could they?
“Tally,” the kitten had answered in a tiny, high pitched, slightly hoarse voice.
They had gaped at him - they hadn’t realized he could vocalize too. Since the Change, all ex-pets could speak but this one had seemed too young to be able to. And of course, there were still some who chose not to.
“He named himself as Cat’s always do,” their father had said, smiling. “He was born in the 2nd Elvwist enclave in Sparrow’s household - which is where he heard the name and decided to appropriate it for himself.”
He had shaken his head at their question of “why”.
“I have no idea. You’ll have to ask him.” He chuckled, “I think you three will get along just fine.”
Tally never told them why he’d chosen that particular name.
For some reason, Tally had never called him “Alex”; it was always “Alexander” though he nearly always called his sister, “Jade”, and only rarely, “Jadewyn”.
Thinking about his father was casting a damper on his pleasure at seeing Jade and Tally again so he pushed the memory away and said, “Is there any more of that tea? I could sure use some after that session in there. Or some coffee if there’s any of that around.”
“Sit and talk to Tally while I make a snack run,” said Jade. “I’ll grab some of those sandwiches for you. Sorry, there’s no coffee here. It’ll have to be tea. I’ll bring some for you too, Tally.”
Growing up in their household, Tally had gotten hooked on tea. No honey though, just cream to cool it down.
She headed over to where the food and drinks were set up.