@Forikorder Yeah, I'm being pretty harsh here, probably too harsh.
I went back and took another look at her actions and granted she did get suspicious of Maggie right on their first meeting, but was cut short by "the beast" appearing.
I still think Nat and the doctor should appear way too suspicious to them for them to just leave after Nat willingly agreed to accompany them, because Nat had already been involved in two suspicious incidents; travelling with the suspicious Maggie and protecting "the beast" in the forest. But idk, maybe that's just not how Zera operates. You might be right and detective work might not be their thing. I might be trying too hard to see them as a kind of inquisition.
Well, I'm fine with leaving it at "it's supposed to look like a cat for the in-universe characters, while the reader can see a clear difference". Although it's weird that she instantly got suspicious of Maggie but not of Zia.
Agreed on that.