A cat's particular and dignified name is supposed to be a secret to all other living beings. So what happens when a simple teenage girl from America guesses them on the first try? The worst part is, she doesn't know what she's doing until it's too late.

[A/N] to save confusion, the first person bits are from Cassie's point of view, and third person bits are from the cats'. Yes, this is the Cassie mentioned in A Thief and a Warrior.

[=^..^= point of view change]

[… time cut in same POV]

…

I strolled along the darkened street, heading to the neighbor's house to pick up my brother from a birthday party. It was only about seven o'clock at night, but the sun had set almost two hours ago. Oh, the joys of winter.

A movement ahead of me caught my eye, and I saw a black and white cat darting along the bushes. He looked young, and was moving as if he were hunting for his supper. I took a few steps towards the cat, and he froze, staring at me; probably deciding whether I was friend or foe.

"Hey there," I called, and the cat darted away. "Wait!" I followed after, even though I knew he was startled by my approach. I wanted to get a closer look at this cat.

He was running along the wall of a building when a name popped into my head. "Alonzo!" I hissed; I could hear some people nearby, and I didn't want to be caught talking to a cat. The cat froze again, watching me. "Alonzo, come here!" Trembling, the cat shot off into the darkness.

I shrugged, continuing on my way to get my brother.

=^..^=

Alonzo arrived at the junkyard, truly shaken. He immediately sought out Munkustrap.

"We have a problem," he said to the silver tabby.

Munkustrap took in the serious expression on Alonzo's face. "What happened? And why did you come back so soon? I thought you were hunting."

"I was," Alonzo rolled his eyes. "That's when I saw a human girl. She was just walking, and tried to get closer when she saw me."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Munkustrap mused. "It's the natural reaction whenever a cat-person sees a cat."

"Do they guess our names on the first try?"

Munkustrap frowned at his friend. "I'm sure you were hearing things; Humans can't guess our names."

"She did." Alonzo said firmly. "I specifically heard her say 'Alonzo'. She wanted me to come to her! It took all my willpower to run away!"

Munkustrap's frown deepened. "This is a problem. For now, tell everyone to stay in the junkyard, and to avoid humans as much as possible." He started off, but turned back to the black and white tom. "Was there anything particular you noticed about her?"

Alonzo nodded. "She was American."

…

Taylor walked along the curb ahead of me, stretching out his arms to keep his balance. I smiled as he rambled on and on about the birthday party.

"And we played freeze tag, and pin the tail on the donkey, and duck, duck, goose, and we had chocolate ice cream and vanilla cake, but I didn't like the frosting very much, and after that Kaiden opened presents," he stopped, and turned to me. "He got twelve Bakugan. Isn't that cool?"

I nodded, having no clue whatsoever what a Bakugan was. "Come on, dinner was hot on the table when I left."

"What is it?"

I smiled. "Mom's macaroni, and steamed broccoli."

"YAY!!" Taylor ran down the sidewalk, forgetting his balancing act completely.

"Watch out for ice!" I called, not wanting to quicken my pace. But as I said it, I watched him drop to the ground.

"Taylor…" I sighed as I caught up to him. He was examining the snow by the sidewalk, ignoring his now wet rear to poke his finger at something.

"Look, Cassie," he said, pointing. "Cat tracks."

I bent down to see what he was pointing to. There was a neat row of tracks in the snow, spaced as though the owner had been running.

"I think I saw that cat," I said. Taylor looked up at me.

"What did it look like?"

"Well," I pictured the cat in my mind. "He was black and white, and really skinny."

Taylor laughed. "Not like beaver?"

I laughed at our own cat's nick-name. "Not at all like beaver."

We hurried home, our stomachs rumbling for our favorite meal.

=^..^=

Samuel flopped down on his favorite blanket, which happened to belong to one of the children in his family. His arthritis had been hurting him all day, and he was glad to finally be back next to the furnace—the warmest place in the house. Within minutes he was dozing lightly; he never really slept these days, because the children in the house insisted on hugging him like a teddy bear whenever they saw him. Jacob was the worst.

"Kitty!"

Samuel resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Jacob was a teenager, almost a grown human, but he still acted like he was five.

"Do you mind? I'm napping here." Samuel complained to the human boy. All Jacob heard, however, was a disgruntled meow as he picked up the cat and snuggled him, kissing him several times on the forehead. "Oh, the humiliation…" Samuel muttered, glad his friend Allie had gone to Heaviside several years before. He was beginning to understand why she'd run into the road in front of a truck.

He sighed, knowing the boy would eventually let him down by his food dish. That was the only reason he put up with it, as his sore joints, coupled with his enormous girth, made it nearly impossible to move anywhere easily.

"Hi Jake," Cassie came over to her brother, watching the computer screen. "Those look cool," she said, pointing to some drawings he'd been working on. Jacob glanced at the screen.

"Thanks," he said. Cassie scratched under Samuel's chin, making him purr loudly. "You want some food Sam?" She asked. Samuel meowed gladly, thanking Everlasting Cat that she could always guess what he wanted. The large tom turned to Jacob, who was still smothering him with his arms.

"Please let me go," Samuel said. Jacob sighed and let him down on the carpet, and Sam waddled after Cassie into the next room. She was standing next to the food bag with her hands on her hips, staring at him.

"There is food in your bowl," she said, pointing. "I don't need to put any more in."

"It doesn't go bad…" he grumbled. He sniffed at the dry cat food and began crunching it down.

…

Samuel hoisted himself up the stairs, listening to Cassie's footsteps as she followed him out of the basement. She opened the back door for him and let him outside. Samuel felt alive with energy; they'd been in London for nearly a week, and it was time to explore.

"I'll be back in the morning," he meowed at the girl.

…

He was walking along a less used road, sniffing along when he noticed the scent of at least two dozen other cats. He cocked his head, curious. Bent as low as he could with his arthritic paws, he followed the trail.

It led him to a junkyard, and just from the smell of it, he knew all the cats he smelled before lived there. Strays… What heathens. He thought. Well, not all of them. His mind turned towards Kaela, a young queen from back home that had actually been very sweet. Too bad the parents had vowed not to have another pet.

He entered the junkyard, still curious about the inhabitants, when he heard a giggle from one of the junk piles.

"He looks like he's fatter than Bustopher," A tiny voice said. It was followed by several more giggles.

"Excuse me," Samuel said, staring towards the pile. "But I believe that, me being fourteen years of age and an educated cat, I am your superior, and therefore deserve some respect."

Three young kittens, two queens and a tom, jumped down from the pile looking slightly sheepish. If there was one thing they'd been taught, it was to respect their elders.

"Are you like Old Deuteronomy?" The tom asked.

Samuel frowned. "I'm not sure who that is, as I am a stranger to these parts. Tell me your names, and I shall tell you mine."

"I'm Etcetera!" One of the queens piped up.

"Jemima," said the other queen.

"Mistoffelees," The tom said.

Samuel smiled at the young kittens. "My name is Samuel. My family moved here from America just a short while ago."

"Where's America?" Etcetera asked.

"It's across the ocean," Samuel said, receiving blank stares from the kittens. "A long way from here."

The three kittens looked at him in awe. Jemima smiled. "Do you want to meet everyone else?"

Samuel nodded. "Thank you," he said. The three kittens bounded off through the junkyard with surprising grace. "Wait," he called. "I have arthritis in my joints, and I cannot walk as fast as you!"

…

Munkustrap and Demeter were sitting in the center clearing, talking about the upcoming ball when Etcetera, Mistoffelees, and Jemima tumbled in, with an older tom following behind them. He was a very dark brown, and had markings like a Siamese… but was waddling from his enormous girth. The silver tabby strode over to introduce himself.

"Welcome to the junkyard," he said. "I am Munkustrap, second in command. Old Deuteronomy is our leader."

"I am Samuel," said the tom, resting back on his haunches. "My humans recently moved here, and I had a desire to familiarize myself with the community."

Munkustrap exchanged glances with Alonzo. This cat had an American accent. "Who are your humans?"

"Their last name is Adams," Samuel said. He began ticking numbers off on his paws. "There's Naunie, and Mike; the parents, and then theirs three girls, Jennie, Cassie, and Marie, and four boys, Jake, Jimmy, Bobby, and Taylor. I have lived with them for most of my life; they found me when I was only a few weeks old."

A housecat, Munkustrap thought. "Where's your collar?"

Samuel chuckled. "They know I don't like them. Occasionally the girls will put a bracelet or scarf around my neck, but they always take it off after a few minutes."

"So what's your dignified name?" Alonzo asked.

"Pardon?" Samuel frowned at the tom.

"If your everyday name is Samuel, what is your own name?"

"Samuel," he said hesitantly. "The girl Cassie was the one who discovered it. Albeit she thought I was a queen when they first took me in and thought my name to be Samantha, but she soon corrected her mistake." He looked at Munkustrap. "I have hardly known her to be wrong since."

Munkustrap was silent for a moment. Demeter rubbed his shoulder, sensing his worry.

"Bring her here," Munkustrap said finally. A gasp ran through the cats present. "Tonight."