Mason angrily trudged through the underbrush, scowling at everything. A tree limb swats him, and he sneers at it. A fuzzy head butts against his hand. He looks down, and soulful lavender eyes stare up at him.

"Stop it with that look! I'm supposed to be mad at you!" He snaps, throwing his hands up. The thing bumps against his right leg, looking unimpressed. He crouches down, and runs his hands across the flat head of the creature. Staring deeply into it's eyes, he sighs. "I know you're intelligent. Nod once if you understand that."

The creature dipped it's chin.

"Alright. Nod once for male, and twice for female."

One nod. Huh.

"One no, two yes. Do you have a name?"

One nod.

"Do you want a name?"

A hesitation, then two abrupt nods.

"Alright. Um, English doesn't feel right. Do you care if it's Arabian?"

He (the creature) did something surprising. He shifted his shoulders forward. Mason started.

"Did you just shrug at me?"

The thing's black lined lips parted, and it was obviously a smile. Or a smirk. Mason laughed, rocking back on his heels.

"Okay then. Well, how about Asad? It means lion."

He shook his head, not liking it. Lavender eyes blinked.

"Deneb?"

Shake.

"Asif?"

Shake.

"Azad?"

Shake.

"Bassam? Anwar? Aqil?" Mason was frustrated. He didn't know that many Arabic names.

Shake.

"Fine! Last one! Asim!" He cries, frustrated.

The cat-beast purred loudly, butting his head against Mason's chest.

"Asim? Really? Okay then." Mason blinked, surprised. Standing up, he turned and walked further into the wood. Looking back over his shoulder, he smiled.

"Come on, Asim! Let's go find you a home."

Asim stood, feeling pleased for some reason he couldn't define.

Padding through the rough pine needles, his heavy paws crunching the dry leaves, the newly named Asim ponders. He thinks about his life up until now, about all the cruel people who had mistreated him in the past. All the injuries he's had up until this point.

Asim thinks he likes Mason the best. The very best. He will do everything to protect him. He shrinks slightly, to a bit closer to his original size. His fur is a shade of burgundy, and a softer texture. His eyes are still lavander.

Wendy sighed. "Well, that was interesting!"

They stared at her. "Well, it was! I mean, who would have thought that Mason had it in him?" Mabel, Stan and Ford raised their eyebrows.

"Well, it was pretty surprising. Mason has shown no prior inclination of being able to perform such-"

"Yeah, yeah shut yer trap! We get it! No need to talk like that, Poindexter."

"I was merely implying that Mason may have hidden depths that we-"

They began bickering, as usual. Mabel giggled quietly to herself, but her mind was also on the topic. 'When did Dipper become so cool?'

Hot teeth pressed against her throat. Her eyes are wide, and she stares into the gaping maw of what she's sure is her death. Suddenly, the creature growls lightly. A shadow cast itself over Mabel, and her brother's arm stretched over the space she could see. She wished she could tell him to stop, to run far away. What he did was place his hand on the beast looming above her.

In a whirlwind of events, the thing was off and her brother was safe, and she was safe, and the thing was injured, then they were home and Mason was taking care of it and now, now their both gone.

Mabel was confused, and that was okay.

Mason stared at the upturned tree. It was huge. The roots formed a perfect cave-like structure, and with a little work, it would be waterproof. He grinned.

"Alright, Asim. There!" He pointed. Asim turned and stared at him, unimpressed. Mason violently gestured.

"Oh, come on! It's perfect! With a little work, it could become a great home for you! I mean, look at all the space! It has structure, and if we wove grass through it, it would have a roof! Laying pine needles on the ground will provide-" He froze. The world was bleeding of color, and only he and the large cat creature had any spark of life.

He knew what this meant.

Hi! I'm so so so very sorry for not publishing a chapter last week, but I was camping in Yosemite with my school.

For three. Days. *Sigh* Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the new character, Asim. All the names I mentioned are actual Arabic names. Can you guess what Asim means? Anyway, I decided that I would do a double update so that you still get your total chapters. Haha! Anyway, I want you all to know I don't actually have a plot in mind. I'm just winging it. Oh well. Maybe I'll come up with something?

Thank you to Bluefish, rwbygirl, and the guest for reviewing! Last chapter was 1016 words, and this one is 713, excluding the authors note. Sorry for the shortness, but it's the perfect ending! I wish I could draw Asim, but I'm not too good at animals.

Do svidanya,

~Rainy