Chapter 418: A Name for a Cat

Chapter 417: A Name for a Cat

Lyria’s POV

"It is my o-own bed," I said. "Of c-course it carries m-my scent."

He gave a soft chuckle.

"That is true enough," he said, and then he closed his eyes.

I rose and returned the chair I had brought to its place by the window, taking care to move it with some quietness, that I might not disturb him. Its legs scraped faintly against the floor, and yet he did not stir.

When the chair was settled, I crossed to the reading table and seated myself.

I had intended, after all, to write my letters. There was a great deal to be done. A great deal to be planned. I did not doubt the others would lend me their aid, for they had said as much already but still, I had need to inform them properly.

Yet just as I reached for the pen, I heard a soft meow.

I turned towards the corner where the cat had lain. It had risen from his place and regarded me now with those golden eyes, his tail flicking idly.

I narrowed my eyes at him.

Then I rose and crossed to him, gathering him into my arms. He settled against me at once, purring softly, as though my hands were heaven itself.

I spoke softly, that I might not disturb Duke Valenridge.

"Just w-what sex a-are you?" I asked it.

Behind me came a low chuckle, and I turned at once towards the bed.

"Do you truly suppose, curious wolf, that the creature shall answer you?" he asked, his eyes yet closed.

"A-are you not s-supposed to be s-sleeping?" I asked him. "You a-are taking an uncommonly l-long while before g-getting the r-rest you c-claimed to have n-need of."

He chuckled again.

Then he turned upon his side and opened his eyes, regarding me with amusement.

"The cat is male," he said, in place of answering my question.

"H-how do you k-know that, Your Grace?"

"It is a supposition merely," he said. "Though should you wish to confirm it, there exists a method by which you might."

"A m-method?"

"Indeed." He shifted somewhat, propping himself upon one elbow. "You have only to examine beneath the tail. A male of the species carries certain features which a female does not. It is not a delicate procedure, but it is, I assure you, a reliable one."

I made a face.

"I-is that not a matter of i-invading upon the c-cat’s own privacy?"

Duke Valenridge only laughed.

"You may continue, if you wish, to call him gender-neutral," he said, "or you may perform the examination and satisfy your curiosity upon the matter. The choice, curious wolf, is entirely your own."

I narrowed my eyes at him.

Then I sighed.

Very well.

I did as he had suggested.

The creature, for his own part, did not appear particularly troubled by the examination. He merely regarded me with an expression I could not quite read.

And, as Duke Valenridge had supposed, the cat was indeed male.

"Well?" he asked.

His voice had grown softer now, drowsier. He had lain back upon the bed and closed his eyes once more.

"Your g-guess was c-correct, Your Grace," I said. "He i-is male."

Duke Valenridge chuckled once more.

I set the cat down upon the floor and regarded him a moment.

"I intend to c-consider a proper name for you," I informed him. "And n-not a gender-neutral one, either."

I turned, expecting some reply from Duke Valenridge, but none came. I observed that his breathing, too, had grown slow and even.

He had need of the rest, and so I resolved not to disturb him, turning my attention instead back to the cat.

"H-how does Alphonsus s-suit you?" I asked, and at once the creature very nearly scratched me.

His claws extended, his paw rose, and he gave a loud meow of protest. It was plain enough that he did not approve.

I laughed softly.

"Very w-well," I said. "Not Alphonsus, t-then."

"P-perhaps Jasper?"

He responded in like manner, and I confess this was the first occasion upon which he had shown me any such offence.

"J-John, then?"

The cat merely regarded me. There was something in his look that suggested he sat now in judgement of my choices, and, I daresay, of my very character. I suspected the matter ran that deep.

I released a long breath.

"It i-is hardly my f-fault that you approve of n-none of the n-names I propose," I told him, but he only continued to stare.

I fell silent, and tilted my head in thought. I had no wish to bestow upon him a name unsuited to his character, nor one he should dislike.

I wondered what name might serve. Then, quite of a sudden, one came to me.

"Zephyr."

The cat grew still a moment, and I was certain I had imagined it, but Zephyr appeared, in that instant, almost to smile upon me.

He seated himself and placed his paws neatly together before him, as though in perfect agreement.

I stared at him.

I could not even recall where I had first heard such a name. It had simply presented itself, entire, as though it had been waiting all this while for me to discover it.

But if the creature approved of it, then I should use it. There was no need to trouble myself further over the matter, for it was only a name, and one I had, perhaps, heard somewhere before.

"Zephyr, then," I said.

I lifted the cat and settled him against my shoulder, where he purred most contentedly.

I turned towards Duke Valenridge, who had remained remarkably quiet throughout.

His eyes were closed. His breathing slow and even.

I approached the bed and regarded him.

"Your G-grace?" I called softly.

He made no reply.

"Your G-grace," I tried again, somewhat louder.

He did not stir.

I turned to Zephyr.

"It would seem the d-duke has f-fallen properly asleep," I said. "Which m-means I have w-work yet before me."

The cat only meowed.

I returned to the reading table. Zephyr, in my arms, remained perfectly content, and I set him down upon the floor near my feet, where he settled himself, tail curling about him, watching me.

I took up the pen.

Then I began to write.

The first letter was addressed to Lucian.

My hand was not a fine one. It wavered yet in places. The letters sat unevenly, and the lines slanted somewhat upon the page. But it was legible, at the least to myself, if to no other.