He stepped inside and stood with his hands in his trouser pockets looking, if anything, a little awkward.
“You are generous with your welcome, Miss. I do not require refreshment, however.” He eyed the bag of kitty treats—and then let his eyes wander curiously over the rest of the room.It was actually a fairly large space, for New York, but crowded with bookshelves and electronics. A pile of pillows stood in for a couch, and a round papasan chair held pride of place before the widescreen tv, though the stack of books implied other entertainment. A tall, carpet-covered climbing tree, many-ledged, took up the space before one window, and a hallway led off on the opposite side.
No cats were actually in evidence anymore. Summer shrugged. “I’ll go ahead and do the magic trick, then.” She called out, “Kitties!” and crinkled the bag a few times before opening it, and what seemed to be a thundering rush of cats poured out of every available opening.
As she knelt down in the midst of the waving tails, the clowder resolved itself into four: a brown tabby, a blue-eyed silver tabby, a tiny tortoiseshell, and a huge seal-point and white longhair. She began to distribute treats from the crinkly bag.
Loki’s jaw frankly dropped—but he quickly composed himself.
“That is the neatest piece of wizardry I have yet to see here,” he said, his voice amused. “is THAT all it takes to summon a cat?”
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.”
