S.H.H.A.

So Much For Best Friend

Imagine every dark chocolate you can possibly think of. All those various shades of dark brown mixed together into a chocolaty wonderland. Now imagine that chocolaty wonderland is a cat, and that cat's name is Pudding. That's my sister! Loving and warm and -unlike Ilene- always by your side. It's hard not to trust those sweet, warm, hazel eyes and that playful smile.

Marshmallow and Ninja gave the two of us identical looks of confusion. Noticing, Pudding smiled and introduced herself in a light, singsong voice. "The two of ya must be Marshmallow and Ninja. My name's Pudding, Misha's sister."

Marshmallow nodded, but Ninja kept looking between the two of us. "Not to point out the obvious or anything, but neither of you look anything alike."

"Pudding's adopted," explained Ilene who had sat down, her tail wrapped around her petite frame. Ninja let out an "ah" and nodded her head as Marshmallow had. She muttered something that sounded similar to, "makes sense".

Mabel gave a farewell before wobbling back to where she came from, threatening anything that got in her way with her walking stick. Hopping behind her was Moose with a bright smile, waving her hand at the four of us to say goodbye.

Ilene continued speaking once they walked out of sight, this time to me, "Somehow you managed to pull this mess off on your own. Well done I suppose."

"You suppose? He was trying to kill me," I emphasized on the 'kill', trying to get it through her stubborn head."If Moose hadn't saved me then I'd be halfway to heaven by now."

Ilene rolled her eyes at me, and even my dear loving sister showed little concern. Instead, she gave a light-hearted laugh and replied, "Zeal wouldn't have killed you, now. Sorry we missed it, but I'm sure ya could've fended yerself long enough for us to reach ya."

"But since you've finished early," said Ilene with the ends of her lips turned up just enough to let me know she had done something to get on my nerves again, "I can fill you in on your next mission."

"I've already told mom we won't be coming home till the end of the weekend," Pudding said to me before cracking a smile, "She seemed relieved for whatever reason."

Marshmallow cut Ilene off before she could start talking again, "My sister and I would be happy to help out, but only after we meet our siblings again."

Without skipping a beat, Ilene replied, "I assumed as much. Which is why I called in someone else to help out Misha and Pudding. While they're off taking care of their mission, I'll help you locate your siblings. Well, technically I already have located them, but if you do need anything, I'll be here for you."

"Who did you call to work with me and what exactly are we doing?" I asked. Between me and my sister, we should have been able to take care of anything small. Maybe she was just downgrading me because of the shark incident. Look, water wasn't my strong suit and she was the one who sent me on that mission!

"You'll find out who soon," replied Ilene with a smirk. 

Now I'm scared.

Ilene continued, "And for the mission, find out the cause behind a recent chain of robberies. Our usual suspect, Hydel Triant, is hiding somewhere, but we aren't for sure it's him again."

Hydel Triant, our infamous alligator semi-human drug dealer. Wouldn't be my first mission involving him. Hiring thieves seemed to be his favorite past time. As if he didn't already get enough money from selling illegal drugs. Hopefully, I wouldn't have to chase him down the sewers. Fighting an alligator in the dark and soaked in stinky water was right under 'Fight a Robotic Shark in the Middle of an Ocean' on my Not-To-Do list.

"So catch him stealing red-handed? Easy-peasy," I replied with a confident smirk. Hydel Triant wouldn't even know what hit him -after I got the proper evidence to confirm he was guilty, of course. "So when will our partner be getting here?"

"Soon," replied Ilene without even glancing my way. Instead, she looked at Marshmallow and Ninja. I totally didn't feel replaced... not at all. "I left a couple watches sitting on my desk. They don't have as many functions as Misha's, but they'll do for communication purposes. You two can leave whenever you wish -it won't take long. Just tell me when you're leaving so I can send you directions."

Marshmallow replied as soon as Ilene stopped talking, "Then we'll go now." She hurriedly brushed past me and Pudding, leaving Ninja behind. Disgruntled, I glared at her striped back.

"She doesn't mean to be rude," explained Ninja who followed leisurely, in no rush to keep up. "That's just her way of showing excitement."

"Interesting way of showing excitement," I muttered as the sisters retreated through the forest, earning me an eye-roll from Pudding. What? It is! Maybe a, "Please excuse me," or a, "Good luck on your mission," would have been nice before she stalked off. 

Ilene stood up and stretched. "Unfortunately, that's my cue to leave. I'll keep in contact with you while you're on your mission. And by the way, your partner's here." My eyes followed Ilene and moved further up the path where a grey cat walked towards us.

Her petite body swayed towards the shadows of the trees as if she were fighting the instinct to hide within them. Tufts of eigengrau, the color of a dark night, fur sprinkled over the rest of her smoky grey coat, converging on her head.

Don't be fooled by her small frame because she was none other than Echo, my arch-nemesis. As Ilene walked away, she could hear me disheartedly calling her name. She didn't look back because if she did, I would have seen her victorious smile. So much for best friend.