With Claire’s help, Emilia had fully recovered and was no longer sad.
The young lady of the Silvervein Clan then spent the next hour playing with her Noctifelis. Laughter and light giggles filled the air, mixing with Claire’s soft, playful meows.
The two of them rolled across the bed, chased each other around the room, and knocked over at least two pillows in their fun. For a while, the world outside didn’t matter—there was only the girl and the cat, and the sound of joy.
Halfway through the play...
Wait... why the fuck am I doing this???
Claire suddenly froze mid-pounce, her eyes narrowing in disbelief. She realized she had been chasing a single feather tied to the end of a stick for almost an hour now...
Claire plopped down onto the bed and hugged her head with her paws, letting out the most pitiful, drawn-out meow she could manage.
Nuuu! These cat genetics are really getting to me!!!
"Eh? What’s wrong?" Emilia asked, her eyes widening in concern when she saw Claire suddenly stop playing.
Alright. No more playing! I need to get serious!
Claire made up her mind right there.
"Pet me now!" she demanded, trotting over to Emilia and planting herself right in front of her. She stared expectantly, tail flicking.
Emilia chuckled, then reached out and began to stroke her back again, her delicate fingers gliding over the soft fur. She scratched just the right spots, especially the one just above the base of the tail. That made Claire’s tail shoot up stiffly as a wave of pleasure washed over her.
Gods... it feel so good!
The noctifelis then melted in her arms, eye fluttering, purring like a tiny engine.
I guess... being a cat isn’t too bad. I could get used to this.
"Oh wait!" Emilia said, her eyes lighting up as if she had just remembered something important. "I still haven’t given you a name yet!"
Claire perked up instantly.
A name! She needed a new name too!
Now... what pretty and cute name is Emilia going to give me? Claire wondered, her little heart thumping with excitement.
Claire sat on the floor, staring at her master with an unblinking, unimpressed expression. Her tail swayed slowly, almost like a metronome, as if saying, Come on, you can do better than that.
"What about... Nyannyan?"
[Ding! Your master wants to give you a name: Nyannyan. Do you accept?]
A glowing system message popped up in Claire’s vision, hovering there like it was mocking her, waiting for her approval.
[You have rejected the name!]
"Awwh! Then... Fluffykins?"
[You have rejected the name!]
"Oh! Oh! Or maybe... Snugglemuffin!"
Oh god... it’s getting worse!
Claire groaned and buried her face in her paws.
Just as I thought... this girl’s naming sense is terrible!!!
"Oh? What about Fuzzybottom?" Emilia asked innocently.
Claire jumped back as if she’d been electrocuted, fur puffing up, and hissed.
[You have rejected the name!]
She couldn’t believe it...
Fuzzybottom? What the fuck is that?!
Well... okay, maybe if it were any other cat, that name might work—because normal cats don’t give a damn about their names. You could call them Poopalot or Toilet and they’d still strut around like it was the best name ever.
But this cat—this noctifelis—was a human in her past life!
There was no way Claire could walk around with her master calling her Purrypaws or Fuzzybottom! It sounded so cringy and absolutely not cool!
Please... please think of something cool and badass!
Claire begged in her mind.
Like... ShadowKiller. Or Destroyer of Night. Or The Clawing Chaos, Nyanlathotep!
Something with power!
"AAaaaaa! I can’t think of any names!!!!" Emilia groaned, throwing her head back in defeat. She flopped onto the bed like a starfish and grabbed Claire in both hands.
Rolling onto her back, she lifted Claire high above her face. From this angle, the little black cat looked impossibly cute, her tail dangling and paws twitching slightly in the air.
Actually, to Emilia, Claire looked cute from every single angle.
"Ahhh... I wish you could talk... or that I could understand you..." she sighed wistfully.
"Meow..." Claire replied, agreeing wholeheartedly.
Because, she too, wished that her thoughts could somehow reach her master.
That would make life so, so much easier.
"Wait!" Emilia’s eyes widened. "Did you... just meow in response to what I just said?"