She picked up the notebook in front of her and turned to a new page.
Catching sight of Evie, who looked ready to burst with unspoken words, the corners of her lips curled up slightly, revealing a faint dimple on her cheek.
She pushed the notebook in front of Evie.
"Can you tell me about the old Wizard? Can he heal people?"
Evie was sprawled on the table, his head pillowed on his arms. He tilted his head to look at Holly. "Mr. Wizard can do many things: healing, prophesying, shapeshifting..."
Annie chimed in, "Mr. Wizard is amazing! My dad was on the brink of death, and Mr. Wizard saved him."
A glimmer appeared in Holly's eyes, and she quickly wrote, "So that 2% chance of being cured—does that mean it's possible, or not?"
"Of course it's possible!" Evie said firmly. "When Mr. Wizard saved my dad, he said there was only a 1% chance!"
"It was 10%!" Annie insisted.
"It was 1%!" Evie said with certainty. "You were little back then, so it's normal that you don't remember correctly!"
Annie pouted and said no more.
Holly was a bit confused. "Do you two have the same dad?"
"We do," Annie said, pointing at Evie. "Evie and I have the same mom and dad."
Holly blinked in confusion. 'Do Wolf Clan siblings just call each other by their names?'
As if he understood her confusion, Evie leaned in close and whispered, "Annie is a little tyrant. She wants to be the older sister, so she's never once called me 'big brother'!!"
Holly nodded.
Annie balled her small, fair fist and knocked it soundly on Evie's head. "You're the little tyrant! Your whole family are little tyrants!"
"AWOO~" Evie wailed, clutching his head and shrinking toward Holly's side. "You're part of my whole family! So you're still the little tyrant!"
Annie puffed out her cheeks and put her hands on her hips, her brows furrowed tightly. The red on the tips of her ears grew more vivid, and they twitched rapidly in anger.
Snowy, off to the side, pumped her little fists, cheering them on. Her white tail wagged happily from side to side, enjoying the drama. "Fight! Fight! Fight!"
The tips of Evie's ears twitched. He squeezed his eyes shut, dropped into a squat, and tried to hide under the table.
Holly's mouth fell open in surprise. She pulled her feet back and quickly reached out to pull him up, but she accidentally touched his ear.
That black-and-white mismatched ear immediately turned blood-red and stood on end in shock.
With a WHOOSH, he shot outside the pavilion. He clutched his ear, staring at Holly, looking like he wanted to say something but couldn't.
Holly fidgeted with her fingers helplessly and glanced at his ear.
She quickly waved her hands apologetically. She really hadn't meant to do it.
She had only wanted to stop Evie from crawling under the table so he wouldn't bump his head.
Annie looked at Evie's bright red ear and laughed so hard she could barely stand up straight.
Snowy, not understanding why, laughed along with her.
*
The roughhousing stopped.
Evie sat properly at the table, silently scooting his stool closer to Holly.
Looking at the barely restored calm, Holly secretly sighed in relief.
The little ones' thoughts were too scattered; they got off track at the slightest distraction.
She didn't dare ask any more tangential, irrelevant questions.
As Holly pushed the notebook in front of Evie, she realized he was very close to her, their arms touching.
She didn't think much of it, assuming Evie was just afraid Annie would hit him again.
Holly: "So the 2% cure rate, does that mean it's possible to be cured?"
Evie's expression was tense. He gave a reserved nod. "Yes."
'A jolt of joy went through my heart. That means my deafness and muteness can be cured.'
But when her gaze fell on Snowy's fluffy ears across from her, she hesitated.
'The old Wizard belongs to the Wolf Clan, and I'm human...'
'Could it be the same for me?'
Holly poked Evie with her fingertip. "Can the old Wizard treat humans?"
Evie seemed conflicted for a moment, then honestly shook his head. "I don't know. I've never seen the old Wizard treat a human."
Holly lowered her gaze, disappointed. 'It seems I still can't be sure if my deafness and muteness can really be cured.'
Not giving up, she continued to ask, "Is the old Wizard the only wolf in the Clan who can heal?"
"Mr. Wizard isn't a wolf, awoo~" Snowy finally found a question she could answer and jumped in. "He's a rabbit!"
Holly froze.
'A rab... a rabbit!?'
'A rabbit who's over four hundred years old, has the face of a high schooler, and lives among a pack of wolves!?!?'
Holly felt like her entire worldview had just been shattered.
'Can wolves and rabbits even coexist?!?'
Evie licked his lips and thoughtfully explained, "A long time ago, Mr. Wizard saved the current Lord of the Wolves' father—the previous Lord—so he was allowed to stay. Everyone respects him a lot. He's the oldest one in the Wolf Clan! Over four hundred years old! We in the Wolf Clan only live to be about five hundred on average."
Holly hesitantly tapped the tip of her pen on the spicy-snack-scented notebook.
'So... a 400-year-old Wizard really is a proper old man...'
Holly: "Then at what age are you considered adults?"
She had always been puzzled. She could understand Silas Thornton treating her like a cub, since he was ten years older than her.
But why did these three little ones around her also treat her like a cub?
Snowy was old enough to call her "Auntie."
"Twenty-five!" Across from Holly, Snowy held up her two small hands and, with unpracticed fingers, crooked them to form a two and a five.
Holly stared, stunned.
'Could she even say it? Snowy's strange gesture, combined with her serious expression right now...'
'...made her "twenty-five" look a bit like... "two-fifty."'
"Twenty-five is the age a wolf cub comes of age. They go into heat once a year," Evie explained helpfully, sitting primly beside her. "It means they can look for a mate."
After he said that, the tips of Evie's ears turned a little red, and the tip of his tail twitched sensitively.
Holly nodded in understanding.
'No wonder all the wolves see me as a cub. It's because I'm not twenty-five yet.'
'But I'm already an adult in the human world!!'
'By that logic, Silas Thornton has only been an adult for five years.'
'He's pretty young~'
WHOOSH~
A bush in the backyard suddenly rustled. Holly caught it in her peripheral vision but dismissed it as the wind.
Annie tugged on Holly's sleeve and pointed to the bush that had just rustled. "The Wolf Clan has a Ms. Wizard, too! Mr. Wizard retired a long time ago! Now when we get sick, we go to Ms. Wizard. Ms. Wizard is a wolf, awoo~ a red one!"
Holly followed Annie's finger with her gaze, but she could only see a fleeting glimpse of a red figure.
"Ms. Wizard is probably looking for medicinal herbs," Evie said, straightening his back as if trying to tower over Holly. Even sitting, though, he was still half a head shorter than her. "Ms. Wizard is always planting and gathering herbs all over the estate."
Holly nodded thoughtfully. "So between Ms. Wizard and Mr. Wizard, whose healing skills are better?"
"Mr. Wizard!" Snowy answered loudly, flopping onto the table.
The other two little ones nodded in agreement.
The light in Holly's eyes dimmed.
Snowy noticed her disappointment, hopped down from her chair, and rested her head on Holly's lap. Her bright, round eyes stared intently at her. "Holly, Holly, don't be sad."
Her red-tipped ears twitched in concert.
A warmth spread through Holly's heart. Staring at Snowy's soft, fluffy ears, she asked Evie, "Do you guys always have your ears and tails out? What if a human sees you?"