Summer noted the tiny smile, and damned herself for the answering curl of her own lips. Screw it, she thought, I barely even know this guy and I’ve already bonded. How stupid can I be.
Aloud she responded, “Helios isn’t going to throw up all over your pretty clothes, he’s just going to give you some fur.” The big ragdoll promptly leaped into Loki’s lap, turning around a few times and hitting the dark man in the face with his giant fluffy tail. “He’s a ragdoll cat, which is a breed, although he’s not purebred. They’re called ragdolls because they tend to go limp when held and are generally very relaxed and laid back kitties. Helios is so goodnatured he’s never even hissed at anyone. Go on, scratch his ears. Let him know you’re welcoming.”
Helios kneaded his paws up and down a few times, then walked off Loki’s lap just long enough to sprawl out full length nearby, using Loki’s knee for a headrest and opening his blue eyes wide. He began to purr.
Loki hesitantly laid his hand on the cat’s body, hesitantly stroking down the soft fur—smiling ever so slightly at the vibrating hum of the purr.
“Such a trusting creature.”
“Cats are. They may seem standoffish, but once one has claimed you, it’s up to you not to break that trust. They aren’t,” she hesitated, searching for the right word, “intelligent. Not the way we are. They can’t understand, if we hurt them.”
Helios increased the volume of his purr, narrowing his eyes to slits. “But they understand our emotions,” she continued softly. “Helios is saying, don’t hurt, I’m here, I care. Maybe that’s why Macrowafter came to you.”
Loki was staring down at the cat with a look of perplexed concentration, his hand still moving with calculated care over the silky fur—he found he had no answer for a long moment, and instead focused on the cat.
“…I found Macrowafter in an alley. He was hurt. I took him home and bathed and treated him, and he stayed.”
Summer reached out to lay her hand over his. “He must have known you had a good hear—” A storm of emotion blazed through her mind, pain and anger and desperation and longing — she jerked her hand away and sat for a long moment, breathing hard. Helios laid his ears back, his purr dimming.