Page 78 of Beasts of Mine

Good, the darker leopard agreed from beside the steps, his quieter response accompanied by a subtle loosening through his shoulders that I might not have noticed several days earlier. Cat didn't say anything. He simply watched me from beside the platform, but his ears settled forward and some of the tension disappeared from his posture that I hadn't realized was there until it was gone.

That reaction was harder to ignore than I wanted it to be.

“Don't make this weird,” I told Cat, pointing at him while he continued watching me with infuriating calm.

You are the one making it weird, Cat replied, lowering himself beside the steps as though he'd been accused unfairly.

“I changed my work schedule. That's all,” I informed Cat, although I wasn't completely certain whether I was explaining it to him or myself as I adjusted the flowers inside the mug.

Of course, Cat told me, his voice so blandly agreeable that the amber-eyed leopard made a rough, amused sound beside me. I turned toward him, and the solution to a completely separate problem occurred to me while I was already glaring at his face.

“And you. I've decided something,” I told the amber-eyed leopard, pointing directly at him as his expression shifted from smugness to immediate curiosity.

What? the amber-eyed leopard asked me, sitting down and tipping both ears forward.

“You need a name,” I told him, watching his ears come even farther forward while Cat very deliberately looked away and the darker leopard became suspiciously still.

All three reactions made me pause.

“I cannot keep calling you the amber-eyed leopard in my head, and you're significantly too irritating to get something elegant,” I continued, pacing once in front of him while his tail moved across the boards.

You think about what to call me? the amber-eyed leopard asked me, sounding entirely too pleased by that particular part of the conversation.

“That is not what you should be focusing on,” I told him, stopping directly in front of him while he waited with enough expectation to make me regret starting this. Trouble was too obvious. Thief was unfair, technically, because he'd only stolen things twice, and Gremlin felt disrespectful to the entire species. Then I remembered the word I'd already used for him more than once.

“Menace. You're Menace,” I decided, pointing one finger toward his nose while his head tilted slightly.

Menace? the leopard repeated thoughtfully, testing the word with obvious interest rather than offense.

“Yes, because you're a menace,” I told Menace, lowering my hand as his tail lifted higher behind him.

I like it, Menace announced, turning toward Cat with visible satisfaction as though I'd bestowed an honor rather than an insult.

“Of course you do,” I told Menace, unsurprised by this development while Cat lowered his head, amusement visible in his eyes. I turned toward the darker leopard, who immediately looked wary.

“Oh no, you're not escaping. You need one too,” I told the darker leopard, shifting my attention fully onto him while Menace looked delighted that someone else was about to become involved.

I did nothing, the darker leopard told me, sitting straighter as though several days of good behavior should exempt him from consequences.

“Exactly. That's basically your defining characteristic compared to these two,” I told the darker leopard, waving one hand toward Cat and Menace while Menace made an offended sound and Cat ignored the insult entirely. I'd been calling him civilized, polite, and the nice one for several days, and only one option seemed remotely usable as something resembling a name.

“Gentleman,” I decided, watching the darker leopard's green-gold eyes settle on me while Menace's ears shot forward and Cat finally lifted his head.

Gentleman, the darker leopard repeated, seeming to consider the word as his tail curled neatly beside his paws.

“You don't like it?” I asked Gentleman, suddenly less confident when he continued regarding me in silence.

I think it suits me, Gentleman told me, dipping his head with such ridiculous dignity that a laugh escaped before I could stop it.

“Oh God. You're confident too,” I told Gentleman, shaking my head while warmth entered his green-gold eyes.

Do I get another name? Cat asked from beside the steps, drawing my attention back toward him.

“No,” I told Cat immediately, turning toward him while he lifted his head.

Why? Cat asked me, one ear moving as he regarded me with what looked suspiciously like genuine offense.

“Because you refused to give me one when I asked. You created this problem, so you're Cat forever,” I reminded Cat, planting both hands on my hips while Menace made a chuffing sound beside me and Gentleman very deliberately turned his head toward the trees.