i-am-the-firechild started following you
Greetings.
Ohai there. What’s up, monster wolf?
Very little is ‘up’ as you put it. The night drags on slowly for me.
What would help with that?
I know not. Mayhaps you could stay and chat?
Sure, I can talk with you for a couple hours.
“I’m on the floor because the **** cat tripped me getting up to answer /your/ frantic knock, and there’s nothing /wrong/ with Cat if you gave him catnip!” Releasing Stormlight, Summer pushed herself up from the floor, struggling briefly against putting her hands on her own loose hair. “I’m going to cut it all off, I swear it.”
Yanking the strands into a quick lovers’ haste knot, she beckoned to Loki. “Give me Cat. He’s probably just stoned. Also, if you want my help, it really does work better to /ask/.”
Loki carefully put Cat in her hands, his fingers ever so gentle on the little animal. ”What—I did not know that this ‘catnip’ was some sort of hallucinogen! You must fix him. If I have harmed him by this—” he abruptly stopped speaking, his mouth hard and his face pale.
“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?”
“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.
Loki’s hand went rigid under hers—and he pulled his own hand away as she jerked hers back, his eyes fixed on the cat.
Summer swallowed hard. And then again. “Excuse me,” she said faintly, turning away slightly. She cupped her hands, and a flame grew inside her palms, flickering against her face and filling the room with the smell of fire. A single tear tracked down her face as she closed her eyes.
When she reopened them, the fire vanished. Apparently without self-consciousness, she smeared the tearstain from her face and turned back to Loki. Clearing her throat, she said, “I’m sorry, where was I?”