Would he still accept it if he knew it meant Little Thief? Too bad Merrin is wont to keep that information to herself, as she does most things. She really did mean it when she said Voroka earned his name, though, and believe it or not, she considers that a mark of honor.

"Not more trouble than I can handle," she says, not without humor, straightening out of her crouch. Immediately, Voroka rubs against her legs, which she watches with raised eyebrows but otherwise wordlessly allows. This is her idea of fondness.

Her gaze moves to Jonathan while he speaks, quietly assessing, her head tilted slightly to one side. He seems to have a lot of affection for the mothcats, which she finds kind of endearing, but it mostly reminds her of the conversation she had with Cal the other day, and recognition dawns on her face when she remembers the name he'd dropped.

"You are the one Cal spoke about. The one who named Countess." She has a funny way of making statements that sound more like promptings for information—this is one of those times.