Tattletail smiled with the full knowledge that she was the best. She knew this because her powers told her so, and they were never, ever wrong.

She grinned even wider when she prepared herself to speak her first sentence ever, the most important sentence ever. “Heya there, sis, I’m Tattletail.”

The name was perfect!

The surprise on Big Sis’ face lasted for a few more seconds, then softened into a gentle smile. “Well, at least finding a name won’t be a chore,” she said. “Welcome to the family, Tattletail.” Big Sis reached down, her hand growing bigger and bigger in Tattletail’s sight, then it rubbed against her ears on the way past them. She held her breath to stop from vibrating too hard.

Impact!

She felt her smile pulling so hard at her cheeks that it hurt. Her first pat! Leaning forwards, she pressed into the embrace and it only got better when she heard one of the other girls, one of her sisters, huff in displeasure.

“Now pat my tummy!” Tattletail demanded.

Big Sis laughed, which was the same as saying no but not as painful. “Maybe later,” she lied horribly. Tattletail didn’t mind. Her tummy was the most pattable, it would be rubbed, and her ears would be scritched and her tail floofed. Yes, with her awesome power she would have Big Sis wrapped around her pinky in no time. “Do you want to meet your sisters?” Big Sis asked.

The competition.

Like a fox scenting a mouse, she spun around and looked across the other girls in the room. Big Sis pointed to one of them, the only one with darker skin and animal features. Two cat ears poked out from under messy black hair and a tail was wiggling behind her. “That’s your oldest sibling, Cheshire.”

“Sup, foxy,” Cheshire said with a dismissive wave. She was, as far as Tattletail could tell, a little miffed that she wasn’t the only one that had animal features now. It was all pure jealousy, fear that the thing that made her special in Big Sis’ eyes was gone now.

Cheshire wanted more attention, but didn’t know how to get it. Worse, she knew that her normal personality wouldn’t get her the love she wanted but didn’t know how to even start to change. Hence, the cat parts.

The only thing bigger than Cheshire’s insecurities was her ego.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, kitty,” Tattletail said.

“And this,” Big Sis went on, oblivious to Tattletail’s dissection of Cheshire, “is your second oldest sister, Crochet.”

A girl was walking into the room carrying a tray. There were carefully laid out cups and a heavy kettle of steaming water for tea. “Ah, hello, new sister,” she said with genuine pleasure.

This one was interesting. She wasn’t there to hear Tattletail’s name, more concerned with being the perfect host than anything else. All because she knew that it was the best way to make Big Sis appreciate her.

No. Tattletail narrowed her eyes, then smiled back at Crochet before she could notice the expression. It wasn’t about being appreciated, it was about being useful to Big Sis. Crochet was playing the game too. “Hey there, Crochet. I’m Tattletail,” she said before waving.

Crochet removed one hand from the tray, revealing a tiny ribbon holding onto that end. She waved, but Tattletail was busier noticing all the tiny cords wrapped around each cup and the kettle. This sister was a subtle one. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

She started setting up the cups, only tiny clinks of porcelain telling the room that she was there. Tattletail idly noted that she filled a cup for Big Sis first and added sugar and milk without having to ask.

Competition indeed.

“And this is Pop,” Big Sis said, dragging Tattletail’s attention back around.

“Hello, Kitsune, I am Poppu,” Pop said with her voice. Her eyes, on the other hand, were telling Tattletail in no uncertain terms that if she hurt Big Sis, she would die.

“A ninja, huh?” Tattletail said. She would need to get on this one’s good side. “I hope you’re the honourable sort.”

“I am as honourable as our Onee-sama requires.”

So, she had to make sure she was included in that ‘our.’ Simple enough.

“And last but not least,” Big Sis said. “This is Remedy.”

“Hey,” Tattletail spoke when it was clear that Remedy wouldn’t be the first to do so. The girl gave her a small wave and a return ‘hey’ that was almost lost in the neck of her overly large robes.

It took Tattletail a bit of searching and some throbbing in the back of her head to pin Remedy down. The girl was the family’s healer. The more Tattletail looked, the more she realized that there was something terribly dark about Remedy. The healer could obviously do more than just heal, and she was the sort of girl to push boundaries when left unchecked.

Another one to watch out for. “Pleasure to meetcha,” Tattletail said.

“Likewise,” was Remedy’s reply.

“And then there’s me,” Big Sis said. “I’m Taylor, Taylor Hebert. Which makes you... Tattletail Hebert, I guess. But you can call me Big Sis.”

Tattletail grinned up at Big Sis, then, as if on the spur of the moment, wrapped her in a tight, tight hug. Even her tail came around to pat Big Sis behind the legs. “Thanks, Big Sis!” she said as she let go.

“You’re welcome,” Big Sis said over the rattle of a tea cup and the grinding of teeth. “So, I don’t actually know what tit-- er, your progenitor’s powers were. I’m sorry.”

“Ah, that’s fine!” Tattletail said. She winked at Big Sis and presented her with a V-is-for-Victory. “I know everything!”

“We’ll see about that,” Big Sis said.

“Don’t worry, Big Sis. I’ll solve all of your problems in a jiffy.” She looked past Big Sis and towards the others. “All of them.”