“I just said, /ask/.” Summer arched an eyebrow at Loki, face stern, before stroking Cat’s furry belly. “Bless his wee bones, he’s fine. He’s just verrrrry happy right now. Yes, silly Cat, your papa is all wound up over nothing.” She tried to blow a raspberry on the black belly and ended up snorting fur instead, giggling.
Nestling the relaxed Cat into the pile of pillows, she said, “Catnip affects different cats differently; it’s like liquor to humans that way. Some cats get hyper on it, like Doc; other cats get very relaxed. Stormlight gets chatty.”
Hearing her name, the tiny tortoiseshell darted up, inspected Loki’s shoes, then padded over to inspect Cat. Her tail began to wave gently, and she started to wash his ears.
“You might have warned me.” Loki said crossly. ”I thought I’d killed him! Do all ‘cat treats’ produce such alarming effects?”
“As I recall, we got more than a little sidetracked last time.” Summer folded her arms and glared at him. “Interesting that you’re this upset about it, though. You do know cats have short lifespans compared to humans, right?”
“Of course I’m upset,” Loki snapped. ”He’s Cat and I thought I had hurt him!” He stopped and gave her a very hard look. ”Why mention that? He is naught but a kitten.”
Summer smacked herself in the forehead. “A little something about you not caring, I think it was. I’m just saying, if you’re this upset because you accidentally got him stoned — oh, never mind. Just never mind. Look, he’s fine. He’s very happy right now, and in a couple hours it will wear off, and you should try to give him a smaller dose next time.” She sighed. “Why in the world is the only thing that gets you wound up a /cat/?”