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He was lounging in his cage when the short, blonde man stopped in front of it. The man made a gesture to an unseen companion. "Now, here's the cat for you." He—they called him Midnight, but he didn't really think of himself that way—he preferred to think of himself as Lord Majestic, ruler of all he surveyed—looked disdainfully at the man in front of him. Cat? Who was he calling a cat?
A second, taller, dark-haired man appeared. He was sleek, with a regal bearing and barely contained power flowing under his muscles. He looked like he'd make an excellent cat. Midnight, if he must refer to himself as that, approved. He didn't let it show in his expression, though, continuing to look down his nose at the men.
One of the annoying ladies who fed him and picked him up and made funny noises at him came up to the men. "Would you like to hold him?"
The next thing he knew, Midnight was being lifted up and handed over to the dark-haired man. He glared at the volunteer, the men, and the world in general, but didn't protest. The man scratched Midnight's head, and he leaned into it, acting put-upon, but secretly enjoying it. He closed his eyes and began to purr.
Midnight sensed movement and opened one eye to see the blonde man reaching out a hand. Midnight could tell by the tentative nature of his gesture that he was not a cat person, unlike the man holding him. Midnight leveled another glare at the man and gave him a half-hearted swipe, but really, he was too comfortable to put much effort in it.
"I'll take him," the dark-haired man said.
"Excellent," the blonde replied. "Now to get you outfitted."
Midnight spent the next half hour being dragged around the store as the men got the gear necessary to keep him in the style befitting his station and Master of the Universe. The first stop was a carrier. Midnight looked on with disapproval as the dark-haired man—Steve, he learned—reached for one of the ugly, hard, plastic ones. The blonde—Danny-stopped him and reached for a comfy-looking canvas one adorned with moons and stars instead. The man may not be a cat person, but he had good taste.
They proceeded like that, with Steve reaching for the barest, most utilitarian of necessities, and Danny stopping him and picking out something much more suitable. Midnight highly approved of the large, plush bed Danny picked out, and the six foot tall cat tree would provide excellent hiding and vantage points. He had excellent taste in toys, too, Midnight thought, as Danny tossed mice and balls and feather toys into the cart. He did agree with Steve, though, that the battery-operated toy that waved a feather around was unnecessary. He'd much prefer to chase his prey across a wider area, thank you very much.
Finally, Danny (and Midnight) had deemed Steve adequately equipped for a cat. They drove away (and really, Midnight was starting to doubt his choice—did Steve really have to drive as though he were being chased by a rabid dog?) and after a bit pulled up in front of a house. Midnight felt himself being lifted out of the car and carried inside where he was set on the floor and his carrier opened. He cautiously stuck his nose out of the carrier, taking stock of his new surroundings.
He could see a room—probably small by human standards, but spacious for a cat—with Spartan furnishings, but it had a sofa, a chair, and a coffee table, which would provide adequate space for hiding and waiting for his prey. Midnight could also see another room beyond—probably a kitchen—and a stairway. Excellent. He could get lots of exercise racing up and down, preferably in the middle of the night while Steve was sleeping.
Midnight slowly crept out of the carrier and began exploring. He made his way under the coffee table and crouched there a minute, but he felt too exposed. Not the ideal place for an ambush. He continued his explorations while the men talked above him—something about a name. Really, Midnight could care less what they called him as long as he got fed and petted and had toys to play with.
Midnight crept under the sofa. Ah, this was much better. He watched Danny's shoelaces bobbing in front of him, his tail twitching. He bided his time—wait for it...wait for it...now!
"Hey!" Danny yelped when Midnight attacked his shoelaces. "Where'd you come from?"
Midnight looked up at him innocently and let out a "Mrrp," cat-speak for "Who, me?"
"I swear, you have ninja skills, just like SuperSeal over there," Danny ranted. Midnight lost interest and began grooming himself, turning his back on Danny and sticking a rear paw up in the air to let him know his opinion on the matter.
"That's it!" Steve said, "I'll call him Ninja."
The cat pondered that. He'd heard about ninjas, silent warriors who stalked their prey at night, then silently pounced and slit their throats. Ninja. He liked the sound of that. Yes, that would do. That would do very well indeed.
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A/N: I'll probably alternate Dragon!Danny and Ninja the cat for a while, since I've got more ideas for both. Dragon!Danny will have the dragon icon, and Ninja the Cat will have my beautiful, big, black boy (not named Ninja. ;) ).