Posts by BILLIE --

Dandelion for bee stings, who knew? That was an outrageously common flower and Billie knew it would be easy to have plenty of them in-stock. Nodding along she would drop the yellow flower into Sundance's basket. "Okay," she meowed in agreement. "I won't forget that!" There was a question on her mind now, a new one not directly related to herbs and training. Regarding the kitsune with a curious expression she would tilt her head and inquire, "When did you start learning. . . Well, all of this? You seem to know. . ." Billie Jean would pause to choose her next word, which came breathlessly. "Everything."

"Everything is a lot different than it used to be."

The grey-furred feline's small voice rang out then, the adults having interjected with an explanation as to where he was, delivering an answer to his question. It wouldn't be her responsibility to further handle manners of his induction into the clan, should he choose to stay, but she spoke anyway; her words laced with the faintest touch of sympathy. Not surprised was she that her guess was correct, as she knew confusion when she saw it - Heaven knows, she had felt it often enough. The world transition had been the most defining event of her life so far (maybe), and though she was mostly adjusted to it now, she easily recalled her fright and bewilderment as everything she had ever known was suddenly replaced. The desert was cold, not hot. Uncanny-valley, similar enough to remind her of what she lost, but too different for her to take comfort in the sameness.

Seeming to be earnest and unafraid of admitting to what could be construed as weakness - his getting lost - she found herself thinking quite highly of him. The young nurse wanted him to stay, but she didn't say this out loud; he would make that decision for himself, she knew, and then the older members, probably Petra, would guide him through the proper ceremonies to make him a true warrior of their clan. What she did say, however, was a simple introduction, a gentle smiling worming its way faintly onto her features, "I'm Billie Jean."

"Billie, you're going to end up just like those puppies."

If this was an attempt to silent her sobbing, well, it certainly backfired. This was a thought that had been lurking in the back of her mind since she stumbled upon the scene. The gruesome imagery, blood soaked pups with their innards strewn atop them - Their lives ripped prematurely away from them, the children surely having had died a painful and horrifying death. The kitten knew very well that she would never be able to defend herself against somebody bigger than her, and that should that Mingan character come back and find her alone - gulp , saliva mixed with acid reflux in the wake of her upset burned her throat as she swallowed hard - then she would surely be a goner.

He was not lying, and she was not so naive that she even needed to be told this. Reminded of her helplessness, she couldn't hold back what she had been fighting to hold back for so long. "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE."

The wail departed from her lips before she realized it was coming, a desperate and horrified sound that could not be contained. Ear-splitting and shrill, it sounded just about as unpleasant as she looked at the moment. Her face matted with drying tears, snot, and saliva, she sobbed even harder and threw herself onto the ground, unable to cope in the moment; in her own mind, she saw nothing but herself, a tattered grey kitten, torn beyond recognition, a bloody pulp on the edge of their territory. Choking, her stomach churned, and she vomited onto the sand, then finally began to quiet, trembling there.

His "chin up" comment was missed entirely, the delicate child too-far gone in her frightened breakdown to hear him. But she was beginning to tire, her body caving in on itself; a person, especially a little girl, could only handle so much emotional-and-physical strain. She was running out of tears and her sobs dwindled away as fast as they came, and she merely laid there, exhausted.

"If it makes you feel better, I love you too. Now stop crying."

But she heard that, clear as day from her crumbled up form on the cold landscape. Her verdant eyes opened and she gazed up at him from where she lay, and she believed him, even if nothing about their conversation gave any indication that he was speaking the truth. All she wanted was her brother to love her as she loved him, and this was the first time he had said it to her; that it was merely a tactic in manipulation to silence her was lost on the grey-and-white tabby. A smile made way onto her features, a smile of hope and radiating appreciation; that was all she wanted to hear.

Of course it made her feel better.

"Thank you, Eli."

Billie nodded eagerly and positioned herself in front of her herbs. Using her paw to hold open a large leaf, she would get started on the first bundle, then busying herself in tucking the herbs into it. Breathing in the scent of each new plant as she did so, she would attempt to memorize their shapes, colors, and spells. Most of them were new to her, though she had seen daisy before; it was a pretty flower, and she hadn't known that it possessed medicinal properties. It seemed like most plants had at least some quality or another to them, making them noteworthy. "And," she mewed as she fastened her first bundle closed and moved to grab another leaf. "These give the cats who eat them. . . Energy?"

A half moon had lapsed since the girl had heard anything of this group — The natives to the land, bearer of all the secrets it contained. The Kinship Circle, a name that promised goodwill towards others and hospitality. Billie hoped that this was true, the child standing at the edge of their magnetic forest and staring into the unknown territory; she was young, not even four moons yet and already traveling on her own. It wasn't easy, nor was it really allowed at the moment, as kits were not supposed to leave without an adult present, this due to the threat that loomed over their lands. But the nurse, in all her fear, had not been able to shake away the thoughts of the trio who had visited them immediately after the world change. She had been very frightened of them then, hiding in the tail of her mother and staring up in the group in wonder-and-weariness mixed together; what of them had been a mythical creature, a horse so beautiful with a horn upon her head, an animal she had only heard of in stories. They had been kind, welcoming, but guarded, Dakota's nickered warning echoing in her head, "There are things about this world that you do not yet understand and perhaps, may never."

Billie had thought she understood what proper fear was then, but as the harsh realities of life began to reveal themselves to her, she realized that she hadn't had a clue as to what true terror was. Weariness of the kind-but-eccentric group of natives had been uncalled for, and now the ominous prose lingered in her mind. There were things that the domestic cat did not know, that much was true; her verdant gaze was still saucer-like, wide and soft with innocence — though with each day and each nasty run-in she had, this naivete was beginning to fade. Nevertheless, she had a precarious young mind, and there was still so much she did not yet understand. What she did comprehend was simple; she was in danger, as was the other children of her clan, and she knew not of how to stop it. Recalling the ghost of Mingan rising from her dead form, a threatening smile on her wicked, ghostly, features, the healer-in-training secretly theorized that nobody knew of what the solution was. It was a scary thought.

Maybe these creatures held the answer.

"Hello?"

The scene of the murdered puppies would haunt her with each paw-step back to camp.

It was with a heavy heart that the she-kit would trail back to their cluster of ice-pyramids, her toughening paws dragging slightly along the sand, leaving a narrow trench behind her. Putting on a brave face was hard — This was not the first time she was exposed to violence, the youth having witnessed spars between clan-mates and, notably, Mingan's torture. It wasn't as if she had watched those scenes with open arms, either, as there was always weariness and shock around such barbaric displays. But this was something different, something that went beyond simply shocking. It was a harrowing treachery, the worst crime that one could commit, only perpetuated by the lowest of the low.

Sick to her stomach was she, the nurse's head spinning, though her tears had dried; her face matted with the salty debris now drying — nay, freezing — onto her delicately structured features. There was no saving those pups, they never had a chance to live before they were unjustly torn from this planet. They probably had cried out, desperate for their mother, in a state of panic and confusion. There was no way they could have understood what was happening to them. Nobody did. It was done for petty vengeance, the work of a wicked woman in her effort to keep a rivalry going between her and the group who had seemingly bested her.

There was a tremble to her step as she would lead her elder sibling into one of the smaller pyramids, where she and Angelbeats made their den. The aroma of herbs thick in the air, she would immediately head to their stores and begin sifting about for a specific perennial. "Piratepaw," she would murmur as she took the green bundle into her mouth, turning to greet her shattered sibling. "This is thyme, it will help calm you. After you eat it. . . We can talk, like you wanted." Her voice was even softer than usual, small, though she spoke with conscious effort to keep it steady. That was something she was learning — The importance of being strong for others, especially for her patients. Especially for her family.

Her verdant eyes were wide and filled with sadness, grief for the lost souls that had met their twisted fate, and concern for her apprentice-aged older brother, who had taken their deaths harder than even she had.

Nightingale.`  

Her expression, filled with warmth and adoration, didn't falter as he spoke and she would duck her head in embarrassment at his words towards her. That he appreciated her being kind meant a lot to her, as deep inside she had always felt an ounce of hidden insecurity as to whether or not she was fierce enough to be a true Ruiner. In her heart, she knew that she belonged, but that did not stop her from noticing her differences from others; especially when she compared herself with Elian, who grew up so fast and had always been prone to bouts of frustration in her sensitive attitude.

"Thank you for giving me the treasure," she meowed after a moment, humor lighting up her gaze as she leaned in, verdant gaze twinkling. "The truth is. . . There is no real treasure, it is just pretend," she said lightly, as if this were a groundbreaking secret. Of course, this was a joke, they had been playing pretend all along, but this kind of pseudo-conspiring comedy was not uncommon with her. Giving a small giggle before her expression turned serious, she would confess, "I promise to try to stay the same, though. Sometimes I feel. . . Different, but I don't really want to change. I like who I am, I think, even if some people don't."

White downy chest fur would puff out with enthusiasm and pride. "That's why I'm training to be a healer, because I want to help others no matter what."

// here (: VISIONARY — piratepaw

Billie Jean had learned the secret to Angelbeats' indoor garden, and it had to do with a superpower which the physician possessed that allowed her to conjure plants at will. Therefore, the nurse was not going to be able to start her own garden within an ice pyramid — Instead, she would have to do it the old fashioned way and she had decided that the best idea was for her to simply settle for a small patch right outside of their den, where she would grow only the toughest of herbs best suited for their harsh, cold, climate. Every day she would tend to them with water and fertilizer, and at night she would cover them with a blanket (as per Petra's suggestion). The kit figured that it would be a fun and useful project for her to have and keep her busy during idle periods of the day, especially now that she would seemingly be confined to camp unless with an adult.

Presently, she was settled just outside of the healers' den, examining the sand and mentally trying to plot out her future garden. "Okay," she thought to herself as she drew lines in the grainy soil with a single white - though quickly dirtying - paw. "I can put tormentil here and sweet-sedge here," she muttered aloud, mostly to herself, concentration evident by the creases in her expression - maw pressed into an uncharacteristically firm line, eyebrow-like whiskers furrowing. Once she thought she had it all mapped out she decided to start looking for a warrior or two who would help her — She would need to journey away from their usual territory to find rich soil, after all, among a few other supplies.

"Excuse me?"

"Ahoy, matey!" Grinning did she reply to the older apprentice-aged kit, laughter twinkling in her verdant gaze. Piratepaw and her had jousted, pretending to be pirates scuffling over treasure, and it had been fun. Though the doubloons were just make-belief, the joy she had felt, as well as the exhilaration, had been genuine, and the youthful nurse would forever cherish the experience and continue to look forward to further endeavors between them, where she would continue to learn more about being a pirate.

Just as she parted her maw to explain what she was doing did she find herself interjected by her grumpier littermate. Her ears would go back a little, an instinctive defensive posture, but she would force them to perk up again. She couldn't let her brother get her down all the time, even if his eternally-sour mood did bother, offend, and hurt her. From their recent discussion, she understood that there was no changing for him, so she needed to get used to it without being so quick to upset. "You didn't have to come over here, Eli," she replied to his first question, about the 'game', with a sigh. "But, I guess I was drawing in the dirt a little, not pictures though I'm -"

Cutting herself off as the serval-caracal hybrid of Akuma, Yuu's father, strode over, she would duck her head in acknowledgement to the cat who she recognized as her grandfather. Billie knew very little about him other than that, but it was nice to have him there, with her siblings. They were all a family, after all. "Hello," she greeted, a bit shyly, blinking up at him with her eyes wide. "Yes - See, I was over here planning my garden, and I need a warrior and maybe a few others to help me go out of the territory and gather supplies I need, like better soil."

Recognition lit up her iridescent gaze instantly, pupils wide and irises shining as she regarded the mare. This was exactly who she had hoped to find, the native creature who had spoke so seriously of secrets of this new world, unknown to the Earthlings. Now that she was faced with the familiar mare from weeks prior, she found herself suddenly nervous — What could she say, what would make the other take her seriously? Billie knew that she had been very shy the last time that they visited, weary of the strangers and clinging to her mother's side, but she had been listening. To every word. Hopefully it would be observed that this was not an idle visit, not an adventurous kit roaming the world without permission.

The kit ducked her head in greeting, a slight tremor to her body as she did this, the faintest of shakes. How nervous she was would be visible to even the most slightly observant, but she would never admit it aloud, and as she went on to speak she chose her words carefully; conscious effort going into her vocabulary selection, straining to force confidence into her soft, respectful, tone. "Hi, my name is Billie Jean, and you're right — I'm from the Sanguine Ruins. I remembered your visit from a half-moon ago and I remembered you, specifically."

Hesitating briefly she would continue, "You talked about things in this world that we, my clan and I, didn't understand and might never. Something terrible has happened — Somebody is terrorizing our clan, they killed a litter of our puppies and left them at our border. This woman, she is bad, and. . ." Trailing off, she wondered if she should talk about her execution. How she came back to life. But she decided it would be best to leave that aspect alone, so she kept the details vague as she went on. "And, I think she might be. . . Immortal. I think she'll continue to harm my clan and our children through however many lives she lives. It — It was horrible, she didn't just kill the puppies, they were. . ."

No, she couldn't describe it. Wouldn't. Her eyes squeezed shut to prevent the waterworks from starting, her grassy hued gaze becoming wet with tears preparing to fall.

"I just need to know if you know how we can stop here, since you guys were here before us and. . . You know all the secrets of this world."

Although she already recognized the gravity of the situation, a grim feeling in the pit of her stomach and the horrific imagery of the slain youth cemented into her memory, the tone of her brother's voice made her sure that this was a most serious topic. His words, too, making it clear that this was a secret for only the two of them, solidified this fact — The traumatized apprentice was not one to make a mountain out of a molehill, at least not from what she had seen of him before, and she knew right then and there that it was imperative she listen, close, and not utter a word of it to anyone. As true as the sky was blue, the nurse felt that he needed her then, and she vowed to be there for him.

"I won't tell anyone, ever. I promise."

With secrecy sworn, she fell silent once again, listening to him speak with wide eyes and weariness to her gaze. Impossibly wide already, they continued to broaden, saucer-like with shock and concern, her irises impossible to see by the side of her pupils. The tale was not one that she had anticipated, the tom starting with a story of his trip to the Exiles. . . Where he had met Mingan. An involuntary gasp departed her maw at this and she trembled slightly as she sat, though her gaze didn't waver. The three-and-a-half moon old watched and listened. Carefully.

By the end of it, she was without words, not knowing immediately what the proper response was. In truth, it took several long heart-beats for it to process, his tale seeming to echo countless times before she finally got her head around it — He had met Mingan, taunted her with the death of her daughter, and then their own puppies had been murdered and left strewn at the border. That was a horrific series of events and she was able to comprehend now how shattered he was, why he seemed to be the most broken out of anyone. He blamed himself.

"Piratepaw. . ." She ventured, moving to sit beside him now, pressing her fur against his in an effort to comfort him as he sobbed, her own expression still a mix of shock and sadness. "It isn't your fault. Nobody will blame you, I promise. Mingan, she made her own evil choices. . . She was making evil choices long before you encountered her." She believed vehemently that the half-tailed tom could not be at fault for what he occurred. It was not his claws that tore into the pups, ending their life; he never would have taunted her if he had known what she would do.

Mingan was wrong to slaughter an entire litter, regardless of what she had been told by the male.

Billie Jean swallowed hard. "I won't tell anyone. . . But, I think you need to tell Mom, it's important that she knows that Mingan might have thought she was acting vengefully. She needs to know the whole story, Piratepaw," this came out as a whisper, soft and spoken near his ear, the hint of a plea laced in her tone.

". . . Piratepaw?"

The kit had watched the scene unfold from the safety of a collapsed pile of rock-rubble, pressing herself as low as she could to the frozen ground and peering around the jagged corners of stone to observe. Wide eyes stared aghast as she watched her brother threaten the strangers with their lives, she wondered what crimes they could have committed. They looked like a harmless duo of travelers from her perspective, but appearances could be deceptive. As he chased them away, she would breathe a sigh of relief and pull herself out from her hiding spot.

Bewildered and a bit worried was she as she approached the older apprentice, the grey-and-white tabby's fur bristling slightly. She felt a bit cowardly for hiding when her brother could have needed her help, a bit guilty for doing so. As brave as she was getting, day-by-day, she was still rather afraid of confrontation, but she knew she would have to get over it eventually. Nervously regarding the scene left behind, she took in the sight of their scattered, abandoned, belongings. "Who were they?"

The kitten listened, unable to prevent herself from feeling a flush of disappointment at the news. On her journey to the Kinship Circle's lands, she had tried to keep her expectations reasonable, but it had been hard. She was only a child, and from their first — albeit brief — meeting, they had struck her as being all-knowing. There was a quality of mystique surrounding them, the natives to the land which her and the rest of the Earthlings had been transported to in the midst of one, fateful, night. They understood what her and her clan didn't, even warning them as much, cautionary tones informing them that there were secrets that they did not know of. Now, she was being told that these secrets did not hold the answers that she so desperately needed.

"Oh. . ." Trailing off she would take a moment to consider the implications of what was being said, her gaze fluttering from the mare to the — well, to Eiva, who was of a species Billie had not seen before. Normally, she would have been fascinated upon meeting a new kind of animal, but for now she could only think of the unfortunate words that they were saying. "I don't understand," she would hesitate to ask this, as she tried to tie together the meaning behind their words, their inexperience with violence. "Did we bring. . . Bad things into your world?"

Although it was not her doing, she felt a bit guilty. She had had difficulty transitioning to the cold of the Harrow Desert at first, but now that she was there? She was quite happy, it felt like home. But it had not been at first, none of it had. It had been theirs and, in a way, she supposed they were invaders. Suddenly feeling very uncomfortable, as well as crestfallen, she would lower her gaze to the ground and scuffle her paws, not knowing what to say. Her verdant gaze revealed her shame and her upset, a storm of turmoil and quiet sullenness. This was the only thing she had thought of, the only idea, and now. . . Well, now she was feeling bad for another reason, in addition to the one which brought her there.

Nevertheless, she recognized that she needed to answer the second one to speak to her. "I. . . Can't stay tonight, thank you though." It was a kind offer and she was, admittedly, tired from her travels. But she had to return to camp before she was missed. And besides, she thought before explaining, "I am learning to heal and I don't want to be away in case something bad happens again. My family, they need me. I will be okay traveling on my own, don't worry. I've visited both Blizzardclan and the Rift on my own and I'm good at remembering my way." She could also shapeshift, and transforming into a bird helped her splendidly when she took on long distances.

"Um. . . Anyway, thank you, I know you both said you don't know anything that would help, but — Well, thank you for talking with me and offering me a place to stay for the night. Be careful of your own babies, the one who hurt ours is named Mingan so. . . Just be careful." Now she fumbled over her words, something she often did when she was out of her element; this had not gone over the way she thought it would, and she didn't know what the correct course of action was. It was time she took her leave, but she did not want to do so impolitely. Furthermore, she was left with even more questions than answers. And though it was time to bite her tongue and hurry home, she couldn't resist asking just one.

"Can you tell me something about this world? Anything. Even if it won't help me now, maybe it will help me later."

Billie considered this as she focused on finishing up her second bundle, settling in the different concoction of herbs with well-orchestrated precision. Carefully, as if she were tucking newborn kittens into bed. Once she tied that, she would look to her mentor as she reached for yet another large leaf and inquired, "What do the herbs do when they're used individually? I mean — Do they only do all of that when they're used together?" In other words, was it something special about the mixture, or could daisy do all of that on its own — Stave off hunger, give energy, and so on?

"I'm sorry," the child responded, feeling a rush of sympathy for the medic trainee. Her eyes would lower, their verdant depths brimming with solicitude. Billie Jean couldn't imagine coming from such a bad background — She loved her family dearly, and although her brother, Eli, wasn't always kind to her, she knew that she was well looked after by her mother. In truth, the idea of a tormented childhood was quite foreign to her, and she was at a loss for words as she tried to imagine Sundance, feeling alone in the world and afraid, with only her book of herblore to take solace in. "I am glad that you were able to leave them, and that you found a home in Blizzardclan." That seemed like the right thing to say, as it was what she felt was true in her heart.

"Great, thank you!" She chirped to her elder sibling, the one who had called her "miserable" before. It was a comment that she remembered, but she was mostly over it now, determined to let bygones be bygones. That he was willing to help her now was what counted, and her expression was clearly appreciative.

The grey furred child was unable to prevent an amused smile from curving way across her features, Garrus' comment catching her off-guard in the best way possible. Billie was often quickly riled up by her littermate's grumpy nature, and she often worried of how Elian viewed her. Now even more so, as he had confessed the truth to his behavior to her; his eyes would never sparkle, and though he claimed to love her (and she chose to believe him), she hated how angry his expression grew when she did the wrong thing in his presence. It was nice, for a moment, to have another person standing up for her before the situation spiraled out of control. It wasn't true, she wouldn't believe that he was jealous of her for a moment, but it was a good way of looking at the situation and a funny joke.

Her grassy-hued gaze still twinkled with residual humor as she regarded the crowd before her. Elian, Piratepaw, Akuma, Garrus, and now Petra. Eli might not want to help, she recognized, but everyone else seemed willing to venture out of camp with her and gather the necessary materials — The nurse was in awe of how quickly they assembled, how they rallied without hesitation. A purr rose in her throat as she recognized the importance of not only kinship, but clan-ship. Now that she was growing older and exercising her own independence, she could see how great being a member of the Sanguine Ruins was. She had been shy in the early moons of her kit-hood, but she wasn't anymore and vowed to never be again.

With gratitude, she would duck her head to Akuma as he responded to Piratepaw's suggestion that he play the role of childcare provider, "Thank you for offering to look after us. I hope you are right — I really want to plant herbs that grow in a cold climate, that way we can have them right outside of mine and Angelbeats' den whenever we need some. She already has a lot growing inside, believe it or not, and she has a pet spider who I named Legs." But she was getting off-track, though it was difficult not to when this was her first opportunity to talk with her grandfather. Never mind that, though, there was gardening to be done!

To Petra, she would nod to the snow leopard and say with a toothy grin, "I'm taking your advice and starting a garden! We need all the paws we can get to carry dirt, too."

"Oh, Piratepaw," she would say with an affectionate giggle, the grey-furred kitten stepping forward with a swathe of cobwebs wrapped around her foreleg. Though this would certainly be an interesting spectacle, she was a bit weary at the idea of her older sibling challenging an infinite number of animals for purposes of training. While he stipulated that they ought not to harm him seriously, the nurse recognized that accidents did happen and she wanted to be ready in case her received a serious cut. Her tone, exasperatedly amused, conflicted with her expression somewhat — A smile danced across her features, lightly bringing to life her youthful air, but her grassy-hued irises carried within them hints of shadowy worry. "Ye can consider me a spectator, matey. If you or anyone fighting gets a scrape, scratch, or bite that even might be hazardous, I will be right here to look over it." That was a promise.

With a sigh, Billie Jean settled outside of the den she shared with Angelbeats. It was early morning, and the grey kitten was just in time to see the sun rise. Magnificent colors swirled in the horizon, the great orb of light creating a mixture of pinks and oranges in the sky to the East. It was beautiful and held with it many promises yet to be revealed — As the dawn of a new day always did. In silence did she observe this natural spectacle of beauty, her pelt ruffled to provide insulation from the exceptionally low temperature of their frozen landscape.

// hey guys! the purpose of this thread is to basically provide a burn-out free space for idle posting. no pressure, no expectations. just post and have fun, and write as much or as little as you feel compelled to. one liner friendly! the emphasis will likely be largely on character dynamics and natural interaction between sanguine ruiners rather than focused on any particularly plot or theme.

Blinking at his thanks, she would merely nose his shoulder, a gentle, encouraging, motion.

Gently would a reassuring smile work to make its way onto her features, pulling the corners of her maw upward slightly. There was so much that had happened that night, so much had changed — The images would never leave her head, not completely, and there was so much that she needed to process. But she knew that with family like Piratepaw and Always Dead, she would be okay, and she believed in her shell-shocked brother's recovery from it as well. If it were hard for her, well, she knew it was worse for him, with how he beat himself up over what happened, blaming himself where blame couldn't possibly lie.

"It will be okay, Piratepaw," she insisted quietly as he spoke of telling their mother, and having to do it alone. She would never blame him for taunting Mingan, she believed, as she were an outlaw, exiled from their clan for crimes perpetuated against children. Perhaps she would criticize how he had taunted her, but no more than that. There would be no blame placed. The actions of a violate villain could not have been foreseen, after all. "Don't be afraid. She will appreciate you telling her, and then everyone can focus on figuring out. . . Well, how to stop her. Once and for all."

Her eyes were bloodshot from her tears and she was tired, but she spoke vehemently. Mingan was a scourge to the Earth and could not continue preying on kits and pups, that much was for certain.

// ahh sorry for my last post, i only just now saw how weird it was formatted and how some of the speech hadn't been bolded :(

Billie bounded towards Piratepaw and Angelbeats, an amused smile playing at her expression. "We also have a spider who lives in our den," she said this to her older brother, iridescent eyes twinkling with playfulness. "If you ever want to meet him, too."