Tulia PoV
I smiled as Takeshi nibbled on his warm cinnamon crunch cookie. His sister bit down on hers with far less patience. The crunch echoed off the kitchen walls as she devoured half of it in a single enthusiastic snap, her puppy ears flopping forward and her tail thumping a frantic, happy rhythm against her raised chair.
Takeshi blinked, his cat ears flattening back for a split second at the racket before flicking forward again. He held his own cookie with both hands, taking deliberate, tiny nibbles as if trying to make the sugar last until sunset. Sel was already licking cinnamon sugar off her snout, her dark puppy eyes locked onto Takeshi's hands with shameless optimism.
Shi frowned. "You still have your last half, greedy puppy," he murmured, shifting his hands to tuck the treat an inch closer to his chest.
