The little white beast had already eaten. In fact, she had eaten enough that nobody in the room should have felt bad for her. Still, full stomach or not, Glimora remained Glimora. The mont she saw that thick piece of at still in Osiris’s hand, sothing inside her imdiately decided that it belonged to her.
At first, she only stared.
Then her ears lifted.
Then her tail twitched once.
Then twice.
Isabella saw it.
Of course she saw it.
She was sitting there with one hand resting over her stomach and her eyes half on the room, and the mont she noticed that familiar greedy look on Glimora’s face, she already knew sothing foolish was about to happen.
Still, she said nothing.
This was because a very small, very evil part of her wanted to see it.
And she was rewarded imdiately.
In one quick burst of white fur, Glimora launched herself forward, snatched the at cleanly right out of Osiris’s hand, and took off across the room like a thief who had already accepted that cri was worth it.
For one full second, Osiris only stared at his empty hand.
Then he shouted, "Hey!"
The room went silent.
Then laughter exploded.
Osiris jumped up at once. "That was mine!"
Glimora did not care.
She was already running around the room with the at in her mouth, her little paws moving so fast across the stone floor that she almost slipped once before catching herself and continuing with even more determination. Her whole body carried the wild joy of a beast who had committed a cri and felt absolutely no sha about it.
"Isabella!" Osiris turned at once. "Stop your beast!"
Isabella, who had already covered her mouth because she was trying not to laugh too hard, only looked at him with the most innocent face she could manage.
"My beast?" she repeated.
"Yes, your beast!"
At that mont, Osiris moved to chase Glimora, and because he was Osiris, he did not even think properly before trying to cut her off. Glimora saw him coming, made a sharp turn around one of the low stools, and darted past Shelia’s side like a tiny white arrow.
Osiris missed her completely.
His hand slapped against empty air.
That made the laughter even worse.
Zyran leaned back so hard in his seat that he looked close to falling over. "You cannot even guard your own at."
Osiris turned and glared at him. "Shut up."
Cyrus actually laughed softly this ti, and hearing that sound coming from him after how cold he had been earlier made the whole room feel brighter. Even Kian’s mouth moved slightly, though his version of amusent was still so small that another person might have missed it.
Glimora, anwhile, had stopped for half a second near Shelia.
That was a mistake.
This was because Shelia looked down at the little beast, saw the at, saw the guilty eyes, and then reached out to pet her head anyway.
The mont Shelia’s hand landed on her, Glimora lted.
Actually lted.
Her ears softened, her tail gave a pleased little shake, and she stood there for one breath with the at still in her mouth and the happiest face in the world, as if she had forgotten all about running.
Osiris saw his chance.
"You little thief," he said, lunging forward.
Glimora’s eyes widened.
Then, because she was a very experienced criminal, she grabbed the at more firmly and ran again.
Shelia laughed at once.
Even Ophelia covered her mouth because the whole thing had beco too ridiculous. Valen looked down and shook his head with quiet amusent, while Luca nearly choked on the last of his own food because he was laughing too hard.
Isabella sat there holding her stomach and trying to breathe through the laughter.
Honestly speaking, Osiris had eaten enough to feed two males already, yet here he was chasing a tiny beast over one stolen piece of at as if his life had been ruined.
"Isabella!" he said again, sounding truly wronged now. "She stole from !"
Glimora ran behind Isabella’s seat at once, clearly understanding that the safest place in the room was near her mama.
Then she peeked around one side of the chair with the at still hanging out of her mouth.
The sight was so shaless that Isabella had to touch her forehead with one hand.
"Seriously?" she muttered.
Still, she did not stop her.
That was the funniest part.
Osiris saw that too and looked even more betrayed.
"You are helping her!"
"No," Isabella said, still laughing. "I am letting nature take its course."
"That is not nature," Osiris replied. "That is robbery."
Glimora, hearing the noise, gave him a look full of complete disgust, then turned her face away and began chewing as if he no longer existed.
That made Osiris lose his mind even more.
"Look at her! She is mocking !"
Zyran wiped at the corner of his eye and said, "You are being bullied by a beast one-tenth your size. I will rember this forever."
Osiris lunged once more, but this ti Glimora jumped lightly onto the fur pile near Isabella, climbed partly behind her, and stayed there with the at held tightly between her paws. The whole posture was so proud and so defensive at once that even Kian finally let out the smallest breath of amusent through his nose.
Isabella saw it and laughed harder.
At this point, even the heaviness left behind by the talk of Zara had been pushed to the side by this stupid little scene. The room was full of firelight, beast laughter, warm food, and one furious phoenix who had just been robbed by a tiny white nace.
Finally, Osiris crossed his arms and said with deep suffering, "I am hated in this palace."
"No," Isabella said sweetly. "Only outsmarted."
That made the room erupt one last ti.
And Glimora, who had now clearly won, lowered herself proudly near Isabella’s side, let Shelia pet her once more, and chewed her stolen prize with the satisfied face of a beast who knew very well that no punishnt would be coming tonight.
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