[Tevildo]

Tevildo threaded his way across the Common Room with Mushroom following close behind him. The two cats navigated in and out of the clusters of visitors. Some of these guests were standing and talking, while others sat listening to the music or sampling the contents of several wooden casks. The pair managed to avoid getting entangled in all the feet and long legs and finally came to the very end of the room where there was more space to walk.

"You go first!" Tevildo urged. "Slink along the wall and cut over to the window on the opposite side. You'll find a fine table sitting there: a magnificent specimen of a table with lovely legs to scratch." To the others in the room, their conversation sounded nothing more than a series of "meows" puntuated with a sharp howl or two.

Mushroom twitched her tail and scornfully replied, "Why should I go that far? There are plenty of tables right here to scratch." She whisked around and eyed a nearby piece of furniture that was no more than two feet in front of her nose.

"But this table is different," Tevildo assured her.

"Different?"

"Definitely!"

"How so?"

Tevildo snorted, "It's just the sort of table your master would never want you to touch or scratch. Very fine and old, with intricate designs carved in the legs. The sort of table you'd put in the front drawing room of a very fine home."

"But then," he observed, wrinkling his nose in distaste, "you may not be used to such a fine piece of furniture coming from a poor hole in the ground as you do. It's probably best if you leave such things to me." Tevildo arched his back standing his soft, fluffy fur on end, and acted as if he was about to prance off on his own.

Mushroom turned and snarled, "Hold your tongue, outsider. I live in the grandest house in the Shire, a place of considerable comfort and luxury. My two leggeds rule this place, and I am quite familiar with fine tables. You are just lucky I don't decide to throw you out of here on your tail." With those final threatening words, she scurried over to the table and abruptly sat upright on her haunches, reaching out with velvet paws as she unsheathed a set of sharp pointed claws.

"All right, Tevildo. Let's see if you can scratch as good as you can meow!" She glared back at him over her shoulder. With that the grey tabby began vigorously scratching at the left front leg of the table. Tevildo came up and positioned himself in front of the other front leg, and systematically began sharpening his claws against the fine wood grain of the table.