Copyright J.B. Norman
Not for the first time in her life — or even this week, for that matter — Matilda Lyte is awoken by her little sister kicking her in the face.
“Matilda!” Sally cries. “It’s my birthday! It’s my birthday!”
Matilda groans and rolls over.
Sally starts kicking Matilda’s back.
Matilda groans again and buries her face in her pillow.
“Come on, Matilda,” Sally says.
Matilda groans into her pillow again.
“Fine,” Sally says, scooping up her beloved rabbit doll. “Count Bunnyescu and I are going to go see somebody who’s happy for my birthday. Hmph. So there.”
She climbs across Matilda, jumps down from the bed and darts out of the room.
“Noooooooooooolan!” she calls storming into her brother’s room.
“Gah! Bears! Wolves! Bear-Wolves!”
“It’s my birthday! Hurry up! It’s my birthday! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!”
Matilda can hear her kicking Nolan from down the hall.
“It’s! My! Birth! Day!”
“Sally, why are you kicking me?”
“Because it’s my birthday! And when I’m kicking you, that means go fast! Seriously, Nolan, I’ll bite you if I have to.”
“Sally, don’t — Ow!”
A few hours later, with Sally bored of kicking people and placated with a first round of presents from her parents, Sally is waiting in the Lyte family’s pub for her guests to arrive.
“Happy birthday, Sally,” Annie Darkstone says. “I — Ah!”
Sally promptly snatches her best friend in a hug and starts hauling her around the room, holding Count Bunnyescu in her other hand.
“Nolan! Matilda! Look! Look! Annie’s here! Isn’t she the best?”
“I don’t think she can breathe, Sally,” Matilda notes.
“Oh no! Sorry, Annie!” Sally says, relinquishing her grip on Annie.
Annie takes a deep breath.
“We’ve talked about this, Sally,” Matilda continues. “You cannot just go around facelocking people and just dragging them around like that!”
“Thanks, Matilda,” Annie says. “I was getting — Ah!”
Taking her elder sister’s words to hard, Sally immediately takes Annie’s hand. And starts dragging her around by the arm.
Matilda wearily puts her hand over her face.
“Sally,” she says to herself. “You’re a menace.”
“Where’s my presents?” Sally asks as she storms around the dining room. “Where’s my presents? Where’s my presents?”
Soon, the other members of the Lyte Brigade arrive.
Her eyes go wide as she sees the presents being brought in by Amara, Falcata and Pela. Then, she grins like a Turboshark when she sees Tancred come through the door. She has already established that he’s the funnest one to bite, so she leaps at him, still channeling her inner Turboshark and clamps onto his arm with her teeth.
“Wow,” Pela says, watching Sally dangle from Tancred’s arm like a hooked fish. “She’s got him good, but he didn’t even flinch.”
“Hmm,” Falcata says thoughtfully, the Amazon rubbing her chin. “I wonder if he has some technique that improves his pain tolerance.”
Tancred heaves a heavy sigh.
“Happy birthday, Miss Sally,” he mutters.
“Thku,” Sally says through a mouthful of Tancred’s arm.
“I don’t suppose you’d consider this to be my present to you?” he asks.
“Nuh-uh.”
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