The old, grey cat had lived a long life. He remembered being a tiny helpless ball of fluff, doted on by a pair of humans. That didn't last long. Once they had their own litter, they decided that he was no longer 'cute' enough, so they put him out. He survived the seasons, and the other tomcats, and the humans.

Over time he lost an ear, and an eye, and gained a slight limp, particularly when the weather was damp. Today though, he'd been just a bit too slow, dodging one of those smelly metal beasts that the humans rode in. He lacked the strength to drag himself from the gutter in which he lay. He saw human feet approaching, and tried to prepare himself for the worst.

To his great surprise, this human spoke softly, and reached out with gentle hands. She lifted him carefully and took him to a strange place, full of shining lights and odd smells. The human spoke to someone he could not see or smell, and there were more strange lights…and then he felt better. Weak as a newborn kitten, but much, much better.

The human took him to another cave, and laid him down on something that felt heavenly soft to his old bones. She told him to rest, and that he was safe. The cat was much too drowsy at this point to do anything butsleep.

When he awoke, the first thing he noticed was that the human was seated on the other end of the soft-thing. He studied her curiously. She had golden fur, and shining eyes, and smelled clean and pleasant. She spoke to him in a low voice. She explained that she'd been unable to heal all his hurts, and thought he should stay here, in her cave.

The old cat stretched, and hopped down to the floor. He stopped to shake himself, then took a good, long look around. The human watched as he investigated the sand box and bowl of clean water. There was also a bowl of something that smelled quite delicious, which he was happy to sample, after giving it a thorough sniff.

The human smiled, and told him that her name was Sara. It took her a while, but eventually, she told him that his name was Maharib. Normally, this wouldn't interest him at all. Humans were always giving his kind the most insipid names, which they were happy to ignore, but then she told him that his name meant 'warrior.'

Like all cats, the old grey had a secret name - a true name - if you will. Never, in all his years, had he heard of a human learning a cat's true name. But since Sara had guessed his, he knew she was the human he was destined to be with.

For a long time, Maharib though that he and Sara-human were alone in the strange cave. When she left the cave, Sara would speak to the voice that Maharib could never see. That voice would somehow see to all his needs, but if he attempted to follow Sara from the cave, a strange wall of swirling lights would appear. It never hurt him, but after a while, he grew bored playing with it, and would hop up on the soft-thing to sleep until his human returned.

Then one day, Maharib discovered that Sara-human had a mate - of sorts. Maharib didn't really think he was a good mate. For one thing, the new human never brought Sara dead fish or mice, as was proper courtship ritual. He only ever brought small bits of paper that he and Sara played some sort of game with, or bottles of strange water that smelled like they had gone bad. Occasionally, the old cat would try to snatch one of those bits of paper, so he could investigate. Sara-human laughed and petted him when he did this. The other human would glare at him, but never, ever tried to hurt him.

The most infuriating thing the new human did was to refuse to use Maharib's proper name, instead insisting on calling him 'Cat.' After a time, he became convinced that the new human was simply quite confused. After all, Sara-human sometimes called him 'Leonard,' in gentle tones, and other times 'Snart,' in quite a different voice. Leonard-Snart-human did take proper care of Sara when she was injured, so Maharib supposed he really should learn to tolerate the creature.

Gradually, Maharib learned that there was much more to his new home than just Sara-human's cave, and that there was a whole pack of humans inhabiting it.

There was Mick-human. He was battered and scarred like Maharib, and the cat had taken an instant shine to him, even if Mick did insist on calling him 'Buddy.' Mick always knew where to find good things to eat, and was happy to share them.

Then there was Kendra-human. She had intriguing curly fur and smelled like a flower garden. (Sometimes that made him sneeze a little, but he didn't really mind.) She spoke to him in a language that tickled at the edges of his memory.

Gray-Martin-Stein-human delighted in telling Maharib of the adventures of a cat called Growltiger. Privately, Maharib thought the other cat quite foolish. He would never be caught and forced to walk the plank! But the old human had gentle hands and a soft lap that was always good for a nap.

There was another human in the strange network of caves - a pack leader, of sorts. The humans seemed determined to keep Maharib away from him, but like all cats since the dawn of time, Maharib was curious. So one day, he set out to find this pack leader.

The voice-without-a-scent guided Maharib on his quest. Eventually, he wandered into the largest cave he'd found yet. There were lots of flickering lights, and a flat table that projected fun colored objects for him to bat at when he walked on it.

"No, my little friend," an odd sounding voice informed him, lifting him from the table with a firm grip. This human had brown fur on its face, and spoke with the authority of a pack leader. Maharib knew the human was much too large for him to fight it for dominance, and relaxed in its grip.

"That's better." He sat down in a chair that spun around delightfully. Maharib was content to look around the bright, open space from the relative safety of the human's lap. "I always thought a pet on board would be more trouble than it was worth, but you've given this lot something to focus on…something that makes them more of a family than a team, which I suppose is better for my ship…and my sanity. So thank you, little one."

The cat gave him a ferocious, one-eyed glare for that last comment.

"What do you think Graymalkin? Should we let them know you're safe?"

Another foolish name? Well, he supposed it was better than 'little one.'

"Yes, Rip. We should," Leonard-Snart-human drawled. "And his name is Maharib."

Rip-Pack-Leader-human spun his chair around, so Leonard-Snart-human could see him. Maharib was casually washing one paw, while the pack leader stroked his fur absently. At the sound of Snart finally using his correct name, he hopped down and ran to him, twining around his ankles.

Snart eyed the cat cautiously, then bent and picked him up. Sara smiled when she saw them, and walked over to scratch Maharib behind his ear, while her mate held him. There was more human talk, but he paid it no mind, secure in the arms of his humans.

*~*~*~*~*