“Dearest?” Avalon called to her son as she approached him.

Startled by his mother’s sudden appearance, Arjuna straightened himself up with formal rigidity. “Mother.” he said, as pleasantly as he could. “Oh, who is this little one?” he asked, upon seeing the girl in his mother’s arms.

“Her name is, Petunia and we are trying to locate her relatives.” the empress explained.

“I see.” he said. “Hello there.” he greeted.

The kitten turned her head to look at the boy that was speaking to her, but said nothing.

“Little one,” Avalon cooed, “this is my son. His name is, Arjuna.”

With her comforter giving her approval of the strange boy before her, Petunia waved at him, but still remained silent.

“She’s just like Palm was when he was her age.” Avalon said. “When he was tired, he was so grumpy. He didn’t want to be around anyone except for you, your brother and me. Even Artemis was unwelcome company.” she said, running her fingers through the girl’s bright hair. “You, on the other hand, when you were tired, you tried to stay awake. You would say, I’m okay, I can stay awake. I would have to hold you and pat your back until you fell asleep, which was almost instantly.”

Arjuna smiled at the memory his mother shared. “What about Alder?”

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