He doesn’t know what the two-legs is talking about. His tone is calm enough, but the sounds are incomprehensible. All but one, which he’s heard often enough to start associating with the loud, obnoxious one. His ears flatten at that sound, and his lips skim back from his teeth.

It’s not a warning of imminent attack. He doesn’t tense or move to bite the hand that’s scratching him. But his expression isn’t one that can be misinterpreted as pleasure or friendliness when that sound – one day, he’ll realize that it’s the obnoxious one’s name – gets made.

The answer here is clear. The tiger does mind. He doesn’t like the obnoxious one. This two-legs is okay. The other is not.