"You know, Avon. It's not going to work," said Vila. "You might as well give up before you start."
"You might," said Avon with his characteristic snarl, which these days was more out of habit than with any real intent.
Vila said, "Suit yourself. You don't mind if I watch, do you? I mean, it might be…"
Avon finished the sentence for him with a glare.
Vila was about to say 'amusing' but he suddenly found a need to cough and said instead, "Educational."
The smell of a half-finished plate of breakfast was making Vila hungry but watching Avon making a fool of himself trying to train something that, in his experience, was untrainable was more interesting than meeting the needs of his stomach.
Avon said with a dryness that only he could master, "No doubt." He took up the plate and absently picked up a half-eaten piece of toast with marmalade and butter.
These days Avon and Vila were trying to rebuild a relationship that had barely been half of one to begin with. Both had done things to each other for the sake of survival that were hard to reconcile, but they were determined to build a real friendship this time. But that didn't mean that they had completely broken out of their old habit of rivalry and one-upsmanship.
The object of both their attentions meowed quizzically and cocked her head to the side. Little Anna the kitten was sitting on a table in Avon's workshop. Her ears were pricked up with interest as she listened to Avon.
To little Anna, Avon was her entire world. He was the most important person in her life. That suited Avon just fine, especially since she also thought that Avon should be the most important person in everyone's life and she actively encouraged this by glaring at anyone who did something Avon didn't like.
That glare unnerved Vila at times, it looked just like Avon's.
Anna was larger now than when they had first rescued her from death. Avon decided that she was old enough to be trained. Everyone else was sceptical, especially, Vila. Avon was determined to prove that an application of logic was all that was needed, and superior intelligence, of course.
At the end of the table was a small line of tools that Avon normally used. Small ones, each with a string tied to the end.
Avon asked, "Are you ready, Anna?"
The Kitten looked at him and meowed confidently.
**********
Vila came onto the flight deck for his shift. He was muttering to himself.
Cally was just finishing off her shift but was busy looking at daily maintenance reports on the condition of the ship. She looked up as Vila came in. "You're early."
Vila's muttering became more comprehensible. "It's unnatural."
Cally said with amusement, "You mean Avon or the kitten?"
"Both of them," said Vila.
Cally straightened up and stretched her tired back. "What did they do now?"
"He has her identifying tools in his workshop and bringing them to him. I tell you Cally, it's unnatural. Cats don't do that. At least, not the ones I've seen."
"Perhaps Anna is a special kitten. We don't know where she came from, only where we found her."
**********
Avon fed Anna a small morsel from the partially finished plate. "You did very well, Anna." There was just the hint of a smile at the corner of his lips. He patted her briefly on the head. "Yes, very well indeed."
The look of astonishment and consternation on Vila's face had been priceless as Anna successfully identified each tool and brought it to Avon. Anna purred and butted her head against Avon's hand, wanting a bit more of his stingily apportioned pats.
Avon asked, "You want more?" Anna purred in agreement.
"Very well just a little more but not until you identify the molecular welder and bring it to me." He speared a piece of ham from his plate and held it out to her. "You were a little hesitant about this one."
Anna sniffed it briefly and managed to meow in consternation. Avon said, "Yes, I don't know how you nearly missed that one." Anna padded softly to the tools at the end of the table. She sniffed until she came to one in the middle and then grasped the string with her teeth and dragged the molecular welder behind her.
The kitten stood tall and proud as Avon took the tool from her. "That's very good, Anna." This time he gave her a more prolonged pat on the head. Anna purred with pleasure.
The corner of Avon's lips curled in a satisfied smirk, "This will be our little secret."