Penchant

Penchant is Valera’s tiger-striped cat, a quick-witted and magically capable companion whose actions turn a moment of terror into an effort to save a life. He answers her call after she has killed two people, removes the restraints from a bound man with a single lick, and later leaps onto her bed when she is unresponsive. His practical magic and telepathic presence make him both an active rescuer and an intimate witness to Valera’s distress.

Identity and Introduction

Penchant first enters the account in the aftermath of Valera’s violent encounter. Sobbing and nauseated by the realization that she has killed two people, she hears a low sound of pain from a burlap-wrapped figure and calls, “Penchant! Penchant, come here!” He rushes in from the back of the house, his collar jingling as its silver pentacle charm strikes the attached bell. The tiger-striped cat leaps onto Valera’s back and winds over her shoulders and beneath her hair, close to her even as she turns her attention to the bound figure.

Valera taps a long nail against the metal chain and tells him, “You know what to do. We have to help him.” Penchant is therefore not merely present for the rescue: Valera expects him to understand the task and to act. His familiarity with her command gives their partnership an established, practiced quality, even in a scene shaped by shock and urgency.

Magic and the Rescue

Penchant’s response combines comic resistance with decisive magical skill. He suggests tuna in Valera’s mind; she answers that she can get a hacksaw from the shed. He yields with an exasperated sigh, then jumps onto the heavy bundle. His tail quivers irritably as he warns her, “He’s ice cold! One lick and my tongue will stick to these chains!” The remark makes the danger tangible while showing that Penchant can perceive and communicate the man’s extreme cold.

Despite his complaint, Penchant bends his nose to the steel chain. A single lick sends soft pink energy along its length, and the chain vanishes with a twang; he repeats the act on the rope. Valera praises him as a good cat, and he raises his head proudly before leaping into her arms for ear scratches. The exchange gives the rescue a moment of warmth, but the work is not over: Valera sets him down and peels away the burlap, discovering a man in a strange violet uniform, so cold that the chill seeps painfully into her fingers. An empty leather sword sheath attached to his belt hits the floor as the body rolls free.

Penchant and Valera

The scene presents Penchant as both capable and affectionate. He carries out the dangerous, necessary task despite his complaint, then seeks the praise and quick ear scratches Valera gives him. Their rapport includes teasing and negotiation, but it rests on immediate trust: she calls, gives him a task, and relies on his magic to free the man. His arrival also interrupts Valera’s collapse into grief with a concrete purpose—helping someone who may still be alive.

Later Presence and Narrative Role

Penchant appears again when Sagan returns to Valera’s bedroom. Sagan finds her beneath covers and pillows and calls for her to wake; Penchant leaps onto the bed. In the same moment, the cats communicate to Sagan that Valera has taken pills and rebuff his assumption that she may have overdosed. Their explanation is that she has become so accustomed to Sagan holding her that she cannot sleep without him, and has piled pillows around herself to hug through the night.

The return of Penchant in this scene extends his role beyond the rescue. In the earlier episode, his magic releases a freezing stranger from physical restraints; here, his presence helps disclose Valera’s emotional dependence and the effort she makes to endure Sagan’s absence. Across both scenes, he is close at moments when Valera cannot manage alone: first as a responsive helper in the house, then as a companion beside her bed.