The lion cubs formed a cautious semicircle around Alex's lap, their tiny noses twitching as they processed the new scent layered over their mother's familiar milk-and-sanctuary smell.
Solara was the first to commit. She fixed Nyx with one golden eye and one blue, the heterochromia making her stare even more unnerving than usual for a three-week-old. The little black kitten stared back with solid charcoal-gray eyes that held the quiet patience of deep space. After a long moment, Solara leaned in, sniffed once, then delicately batted at Nyx's twitching ear with one oversized paw.
Nyx's ear flicked. "Soft," he observed in his small, precise voice.
Solara's mismatched eyes widened. She looked up at Alex as if demanding an explanation for why the new sibling could talk when she still mostly communicated through dignified squeaks and imperial glares.
"He's… special," Alex said, voice hoarse from the unexpected delivery. "Like how you're all special. Just in a different way."
