Minha hadn't thought she'd had any expectations as to what the little animal would do, but then it went and hopped into her lap.  "Aren't you a friendly one!" she mused, delighted and confused at the same time as her fingers immediately went to pet the kitty.  Such pretty fur... such a strange pattern.  She'd never seen a feline with that pattern and coloration, but the remnants of a Dynast's menagerie were always unusual.  "You are either an excellent judge of character," she continued, thinking to herself in the same dreamy tone, "or a very trusting little spirit, and I am going to flatter myself by thinking it is the former because I don't see how you'd have survived what's happened in this past year if it were the latter..."<br/><br/>The young woman trailed off, her gaze unfocusing as she continued to stroke the cat's fur.  "No servants to tend the gardens.  So very few gardens left worth tending.  No monks to chant the sutras.  No mortal voices that aren't raised in pain or praise, not anymore.  Did you have someone who took care of you, I wonder?" she asked, looking down.  "Am I the first face that hasn't looked at you with a scowl?"<br/><br/>The idea of talking to the cat seemed perfectly normal right now.  It wasn't the first time she'd done so in her life, though the last time had been many, many years ago...