Deren and I put down our pictures and stood up to leave my room. My parents had decided that the triplets would move up to the attic, while their former bedroom would become my room. The boys had fussed about it at first, but my parents were quick to turn the move into a positive thing. "You three are already seven!" Papa had said, "You're old enough now to sleep on a different floor. Pyra is only two. Your mama and I need to stay close to her. Plus, you get the whole attic all to yourselves! It's much bigger than your current room." Mama then added, "We also trust the three of you to be in your own space, since you're such good kids." This completely convinced the boys. They were also allowed to decorate the attic however they wanted. Soon, the attic had three beds, three mismatched bright green walls, and polka-dot curtains. I also got to decorate my new room. I choose lavender paint for the walls, light blue curtains, a dark purple rug, and multi-colored flying geese quilt. 

Deren and I left my room, while Marden and Callan clamored noisily up the stairs. Those stairs to our second floor apartment were located in the storage room, behind the shop on the first. Marden and Callan finished their ascent, bursting into the hallway. All four of us kids made our way into the kitchen. "What's the announcement?!" Marden blurted out. "Tell us!" Mama and Papa chuckled at his impatience. "You four have proven yourselves to be trustworthy and responsible." Papa began, "You behave well even when you're alone, and you take care of one another. So we have decided to...get a pet!" Marden, Deren, and I all cheered. But Callan was confused.

 "A pet? But we've already got Ronnie." Ronnie was our yarco, a beast of burden acquired a few months back to pull our cart around town.

 "Ronnie isn't exactly a pet, Callan." Mama explained. "He pulls the cart and stays outside. We are talking about a smaller animal, who will live inside. One you can pet and play with." 

"Ooo, ok!" Callan nodded in understanding. 

"I want a tiebell!" I eagerly exclaimed. 

Papa smiled. "You really liked Uncle Wally and Uncle Karse's tiebell, didn't you?" 

"Yeah!" I cheered. 

"A tiebell is certainly a possibility." Mama stated. "We'll head to the animal center in a bit. There will be a variety of animals, and we can only take home a pet who gets along with all of us." 

We all agreed, and got ready to go. We hooked the cart up to Ronnie and set off. "Ok," Papa explains "The animal center is just past the town market. The center takes in stray animals, for people to come and adopt. We will take a look around, and meet with various animals. If we meet one who likes us, we will take them home."

"If?" Deren asks, concerned. 

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find a good fit. If not, we will just have to come back!" Mama reassures him. 

Soon we arrive at the animal center. Different rooms contain different animals, with smaller rooms containing the less social animals. We make our way through several rooms, meeting a variety of animals. One room contains colorful birds, another has a variety of encounters containing rodents, and a third room contains canines. The dog-like creatures are called bineets and are about the size of beagles. They have long bodies and long snouts. They're very fluffy with large ears. They're mostly yellow, with red and brown spots. A few bineets catch the eyes of my brothers, but none seem too interested in us. Finally, we get to the tiebell room. The room is full of a dozen feline creatures, in a variety of colors and sizes. My eyes land on a particularly large tiebell with white and lavender fur. I make my way over to her and hold out my hand. My family follows behind. She comes right up to me and bonks her head against my hand. She weaves her way through my legs and inspects the rest of my family, giving everyone a good sniff and a head bonk. She accepts pets from those who offer, then comes back to me, flopping down beside me. We spend several minutes fawning over her, and soon we are signing the adoption papers. 

"Now I just need a name for her." The worker helping us with the paperwork explains.

"Helena!" I decree. Ms. Helena was the librarian who supplied me with many novels, including the one I'm currently in. Ms. Helena was a fellow cat person, who almost always wore purple. So the name seemed like a perfect fit to me. 

"I don't think I've ever heard of that name before!" The worker chuckles. 

"So we'll be the only ones with a pet named Helena?" Marden asks "I like that!" 

Callan and Deren agree, appreciating the unique nature of the name. With their children in agreement, our parents concede. And thus, Helena becomes the newest member of the family.