Page 64 of Beasts of Mine

“You're joking,” I told Cat, watching him approach the steps while his nose lowered toward the ground.

Sometimes, Cat replied, smelling the patch of earth where Mara had stood before moving toward the nearest support. I couldn't decide whether that had answered my question.

“How did you even know I was here?” I asked Cat, resting one hand on my hip while he methodically inspected the base of the platform.

You are not difficult to find, Cat told me, his whiskers shifting as he drew in another breath near my pack.

“That sounds alarmingly like something a stalker would say,” I informed Cat, stepping down from the platform as he moved around the nearest post.

You make a lot of noise, Cat told me, glancing toward the marked path Mara and I had used before looking pointedly at the metal bottle hanging from my bag.

“I do not,” I told Cat, following him around the platform while indignation warmed my face. Cat looked at my equipment, then at me, then back at the metal bottle.

“Fine. Some noise,” I admitted to Cat, folding my arms as his tail moved once behind him in a way I was beginning to recognize as smugness. He completed an entire circuit of the platform before settling near the front steps with his body facing outward. His ears moved independently toward sounds I couldn't identify, and it took me a few seconds to understand what he was doing.

“You're inspecting my camp,” I told Cat, leaning one shoulder against the support post as I watched him scan the surrounding vegetation.

Yes, Cat replied, keeping his attention on the trees instead of me.

“For what?” I asked Cat, following the direction of his gaze and seeing nothing except trees and undergrowth.

Problems, Cat told me, turning his head toward the western edge of the clearing. I inspected the area again. The camp seemed exactly as it had five minutes earlier.

“You realize actual researchers built this, right? People who presumably considered the possibility that the forest contains things,” I asked Cat, gesturing toward the raised platform while he continued surveying the perimeter.

Humans miss things, Cat told me, finally meeting my eyes with enough calm certainty that arguing seemed pointless.

“Very flattering,” I informed Cat, although I couldn't entirely disagree with him. Leaves moved behind the platform before I could say anything else, and amber eyes appeared between two ferns.

“Oh no,” I muttered to the amber-eyed leopard, recognizing him as he pushed through the vegetation with his tail already moving.

You moved, the amber-eyed leopard told me, approaching with enough enthusiasm to suggest I'd deliberately hidden the camp from him.

“You too? Is there some sort of leopard group chat I don't know about?” I asked the amber-eyed leopard, watching him head directly toward the steps.

What is a group chat? the amber-eyed leopard asked me, immediately changing direction when he caught sight of my field pack.

Cat made a low warning sound.

The amber-eyed leopard stopped.

For approximately one second.

Then his neck stretched toward the bag.

“Absolutely not,” I told the amber-eyed leopard, stepping between him and my equipment while pointing firmly away from the zipper.

I remember the rule, the amber-eyed leopard assured me, sitting down even though his attention remained fixed on the bag behind my legs.

“No, you remember getting caught,” I corrected the amber-eyed leopard, folding my arms as his mouth opened slightly in unmistakable amusement. I still hadn't figured out what to call him. Annoying was accurate but lacked distinction. Menace had possibilities.

Before I could settle on anything, movement caught my attention along the far edge of the clearing. The darker leopard appeared almost silently and, unlike the other one, paused where the vegetation opened to survey the entire camp before coming closer.

“There he is. The civilized one,” I greeted the darker leopard, smiling as he crossed through a patch of filtered sunlight with considerably more dignity than his amber-eyed companion had managed.

You still think I'm the rude one? the amber-eyed leopard asked me, twisting toward me with an offended expression as though one afternoon should have completely changed my opinion of him.

“You've been here thirty seconds and already tried to get into my bag,” I reminded the amber-eyed leopard, pointing toward the evidence behind me while he sat straighter.