Little Whiskers Daycare (The Night Before)
If the Debutante Ball was a war, then the night before was the logistical nightmare where everyone realizes they lost their socks.
The capital city was awake. Lanterns burned in every window. Carriages rattled over the cobblestones. The air buzzed with the frenetic energy of a thousand nobles trying to squeeze into corsets and polish their family jewels.
Inside Little Whiskers Daycare, the panic was less about jewelry and more about hygiene.
"Vali, stop licking your suit!" I shouted, chasing the Wolf Cub with a lint roller. "Saliva is not a cleaning product!"
"It is natural polish!" Vali argued, trying to chew on his red bow tie. "It adds shine!"
"It adds smell!" Jasper (Snake) critiqued, carefully ironing a tiny handkerchief on a stack of books. "And you smell like wet dog."
"I am a wet dog! I took a bath!"
