“So what’s your favorite animal?”

That makes Lou pause from doodling in her notebook. _Her favorite animal?_

“Just one?”

“If you had to give your all time favorite right here, right now, what would you say?” Roman asks.

The whole group, Lou, Roman, Jeremiah, Bell, Cross, Marta, and Amelie, are in Jeremiah’s living room. All lounging, not focusing on homework at all, even though Cross has been trying to encourage it.

“Mine’s a dog,” Jeremiah offers when she doesn’t answer. “Of course it is, Mister Golden Retriever,” Marta teases, punching him in the arm.

“I love arctic foxes,” Bell adds.

Lou half listens as she contemplates the question. It is supposed to be simple, but not with her.

Her power is talking to animals. Each animal has their own personality. Even two animals of the same breed are completely dofferent. How could she say her favorite one? That’s like ranking people! (And that would be easier than this).

“What about you Cross?” Amelie asks.

“I think monkeys are just funny little guys,” he answers.

Lou nods, that fits him.

“Roman?” Bell directs it to him.

“I’ll answer for him. He likes wolves like the lone wolf he is. And he might have had a Teen Wolf phase,” Jeremiah interrupts with a cheeky grin. Roman squawks at his secrets being spilled.

She would normally tease him about that, but the topic of the conversation still plagues her. Her favorite animal?

Marta makes a show of her answer. “I know what you’re all thinking, a cheetah, right? But no! My favorite is a hummingbird. They can flap their wings super duper fast! Like me!” She uses her speed to make her arms a blur.

“Amelie, do you have one?” Jeremiah looks curiously to one of the only ones who haven’t answered. “Quokka,” Amelie finally says.

“Ah-whatta?” Cross blurts out, surprised.

“Quokkas are small marsupials found mostly in Australia,” Lou finds herself replying before she even realizes. She is a whole host of animal facts. Those stick in her mind which is shocking considering she has a hard time remembering people’s birthdays.

Amelie’s eyes widen. “You know what they are? Wait…of course you do. Have you ever met one?” She leans forward. This is the most comfortable Lou has ever seen Amelie. Amelie almost never asks or says things unprompted.

“My parents and brother took me on a trip to Australia for my big birthday/Christmas gift last year. I did meet some. Ollie was the cutest little thing,” she gushes, remembering back to that magical vacation. It was the biggest gift they could have ever gotten for her.

“What’s your favorite animal? Was it any in Australia?”

Pausing to resume thinking, how can she pick? If she doesn’t say lizard, Greg would be so upset. But she has so many bunny friends! And what about her wild friends? She can’t weigh domestic animals higher than her forest friends!

“You can just say a general one,” Roman suggests, trying to help her out. “Yeah, you don’t even have to answer if you are so conflicted,” Bell adds.

Closing her eyes, she goes to the first animal that she can see, and the answer is suddenly so clear.

“All animals. But I have a great fondness for kitties.”

“That makes sense,” Roman comments, lifting up his green journal in which Lou has drawn cats on the cover. “Your notebook was so boring. It needed some cats to make it cuter,” she defends.

She looks down to see that she had been doodling kitties in her own notebook.

“Cats make everything better.”