Summer snorted into a long peal of laughter. “Oh, dear gods of hell. You think that was actual magic? Sweetie, I was making a joke.” She sealed up the bag, holding it out of reach of grasping paws. “You’ll have to find a treat Macrowafter likes, and hope he’s in hearing range, but offering treats usually works.”
“No,” Loki said, his body stiff with wounded dignity. ”it is merely a figure of speech.” He eyed the milling puddle of cats.
“What sort of ‘treats’ do felines favour, generally?”
“Oh, catnip, tuna, fish … any food he’s ever tried to steal from you is probably a good choice. I suggest buying a few different kinds and seeing which ones he devours the fastest.” Folding herself into a cross-legged position, she scooped up the tortie and upended it, petting it’s belly. The longhair checked the floor where the treats had been a few times, then padded over to Loki and began to strop the tall man’s legs, stepping on his shoes.
Loki looked down—and then reached a hesitant hand to touch the cat’s head.
“Macrowafter steals carrots off of my plate when I have steamed vegetables. Is that normal? I was under the impression that he was a carnivore. Is this not the case?”
“Oh, for — honey, please sit down. You already have one cat, you can’t possibly be worried about getting fur on your clothes, and Helios wants to sit in your lap.”
Helios laid his little dark ears flat and butted Loki’s hand, rising up a little on his back feet. His plumed tail waved gently. Summer turned her feline captive loose, who promptly bolted off a few feet and furiously washed a paw.
“Now, cats are not strictly carnivores. They need similar kinds of nutrients from their foods as we do. You might have noticed Macrowafter — you have to explain that — eating grasses or flowers when he’s outside. Partly that’s to help digestion. Partly,” she made a disgusted face, “they do that to make themselves throw up. Hairballs. Brushing him will help with that. It’s not fun to step on barefoot in the middle of the night. That one,” she pointed at the seal-point importuning Loki, “likes to scarf his food, then bring it right back up. Because he ate too fast, the stinker.”