Fevronia
Fevronia may be feline rather than human, but she’s the most consistent presence in Rowena’s life throughout the series. Rowena adopts her in Spring 2014 after her fiance Dima breaks up with her, and hauls her along on all her adventures.
Fevronia has long tan/golden hair, yellow eyes, and a difficult personality. She is named after St. Fevronia of Murom, but she is far from saintly. Here’s a typical episode involving her, from the second book in the series, Permanent Position:
John trudged into the bathroom. A moment later there was a hoarse shout that, if he ever asked me, was definitely not a feminine shriek.
“God DAMN it!” The bathroom door banged open and John came tripping out, trying to shake Fevronia off of his calf.
“Your fucking cat attacked me! She jumped out from behind the toilet and fucking chomped down on me like a motherfucker!”
Laughing would be very, very wrong. “It’s a game she likes to play,” I said, keeping my face as still as possible. “Here, let me get her off her.” I knelt down on the floor and got Fevronia to transfer her grip from John’s calf to my forearm, which she promptly latched onto like a furry fanged limpet.
“She likes to hide and then jump out and get you,” I explained. “And she likes to grab you and hang on, but she doesn’t normally draw blood. Well, not a lot. It’s just a game. Well, sort of a game.”
Fevronia is a compilation of various cats who have graced my life. She’s a golden tan like Maya:
And like Maya, she’s fairly shy but enjoys hiding in or under things and then surprising you. In Campus Confidential Fevronia hides under the bed and taps Rowena with a soft paw, which was Maya’s big thing; by Permanent Position she’s upgraded to leaping out from cabinets and attacking people (Maya never did anything like that).
Fevronia develops more and more attitude, and, let’s face it, more and more aggression, becoming rather like sweet Prince Andrei, pictured above, who was delightfully affectionate–when he wasn’t chomping down on you with all his force. And then there was the peeing and vomiting…PA earned his nickname of “The Prince of Darkness” quite honestly. He also came through when I really needed a mouser, though; will Fevronia come through in the same way for Rowena?
And finally, Fevronia is long-haired, like Zelda (pictured above). She also likes to come up and meow and demand to be petted, only to turn on you, like Ella (pictured below). So she’s basically a cat’s cat. Rowena’s family thinks that Rowena needs more friends than just a cat, but when you have a cat like Fevronia, what else do you really need?
Sid Stark, Academic Suspense Author 