"His name is Maharib," Sara insisted.

"And since I don't speak whatever language that is, I'll just go right on calling him Cat," Snart replied, taking another card.

As usual, the beast in question had situated himself between her and Snart. The grey cat slitted his one eye to glare menacingly at the former crook, then hoisted a rear leg and began to groom himself.

"Definitely a he," Sara muttered.

"Did you have Gideon check him out?"

"No. I can tell from his manners," Sara replied sweetly.

***

"Snart! Hey, Snart - you in there?" Mick Rory yelled from the corridor outside Sara's quarters.

"Come in, already…just keep it down, will you?"

"Snart!" Sara hissed warningly, but it was too late.

He glanced an apology as Mick strode into the room.

"Was I innarupting something?" he demanded lasciviously.

"None of your business," Sara informed him.

"Hey - you guys got a cat!" Mick said, eyes alight as he approached the bunk.

"Careful -" Snart warned as the big man reached out a beefy hand.

"I love cats!"

To Snart and Sara's mutual surprise, Maharib sniffed Mick's hand, then rubbed his head against the outstretched fingers.

"Cool! He likes me! What's his name?"

Sara told him.

"Huh?"

"I just call him Cat," Snart supplied. "And you might want to be a little careful," he added, gesturing to a couple of nasty scratches on the back of his hand.

Maharib jumped lightly into Mick's arms, much to his delight.

"Hey…is this why Haircut's suddenly allergic to the two of you?" Mick demanded gleefully.

***

"There ya go, Buddy. I knew you'd like that!" Kendra heard Mick say…almost croon, actually.

She entered the galley and blinked in disbelief. Mick Rory was seated at the counter, fist wrapped around an enormous, dripping cheeseburger. Perched on the countertop was a raggedy grey cat, enjoying its own bowl of mashed-up burger.

"Where did he come from?" she asked curiously.

"Sara found him. Or maybe he found Sara. He's really smart. Tough, too."

"I can see that," Kendra replied, as the cat looked up from his meal. "What's his name?"

"Sara calls him somethin' I can't pronounce - means 'warrior.' Snart just calls him Cat."

Kendra leaned forward and spoke to the cat in yet another language Mick didn't understand.

"Were you talkin' cat?" he asked, a bit suspiciously. "You said meow."

"Mao," Kendra corrected gently. "It's Egyptian for cat. I remember when cats were thought to be gods, and lived in temples. And people who hurt them could be put to death," she added, noting the cat's old injuries.

"I usta feed the ones that hung around the prison yard," Mick admitted. "I like the way they don't take any crap from anyone. If a cat don't like you, you find out real fast."

"Does Rip know about him?" Kendra asked, having gained the cat's approval to stroke his back.

"No," Snart drawled from the doorway where he was leaning. "And we'd like to keep it that way."

***