“Don’t be so mean!” Josh whined as he tried to stretch for his next nibble of chicken. Drakon was known for his cruel tortures, but this was just too much! Josh had happily devoured the first moist bite handed to him before Kit decided he needed separate Josh from his dinner.

Josh reached out his paws and tried to pull Kit’s fingers in closer. “I’m so hungry! Wah! Please let me eat! I’m too small to reach!” His back paws pushed Kit’s thigh deeper into the plush armchair as Josh tried to get an extra little bit of reach.

The burst of chicken flavor on his tongue was nothing more than a tease. Josh wasn’t really interested in savoring his food right now. He was hungry! Chomp! “Don’t be cheap you oversized lizard!” Josh scolded. “I haven’t eaten for two days! I almost passed out! Give!”

Kit lifted Josh up for a moment and looked into Josh’s desperate kitten eyes. “Green eyes… is that common for a cat?”

“Kittens usually have blue eyes when they’re born, I think,” Professor Thomas said slowly. “I’m not really sure. I do know the eyes can change color when they grow up. The vet might be able to tell his age or breed with his eye color.”

Kit hummed, then set Josh back down in his lap. “Be good and you’ll get more chicken,” he coaxed. “No claws, and stop with the nonsense.”

Josh sunk his teeth into a nice warm bite of chicken breast. “You don’t really think he understands you, do you?” Professor Thomas laughed.

Kit shrugged. “Maybe not the same way I understand you, but I think animals are perceptive enough to get the point when we speak clearly. It’s mostly body language and natural instinct to them instead of words, though.”

“Hmmm, you may have a point,” Professor Thomas conceded as Josh carefully licked Kit’s fingers clean without making a single peep.

Finally, after what seemed like an age, Josh had eaten enough to feel more sleepy than hungry. He let out a yawn and stretched. His butt rose in the air and his tail curled into a happy question mark shape, causing Kit to laugh. “Tired, kitten?” the future tyrant asked. “You are a bit cute.”

“Rude,” Josh humphed. “I’m handsome.” With comments like that, Josh didn’t even feel inclined to look at Kit.

Kit pushed away the plate with the chicken on it so Josh couldn’t easily reach it before Kit let Josh roam free on his lap. Josh was feeling more cat than human at the moment, so he pawed around the clothes on Kit’s lap (careful to avoid a certain spot - no need for that sort of misunderstanding!) until it was as comfortable as it could get. He laid himself down and yawned. “Soft and warm,” Josh purred as he laid his head down and closed his eyes. The gargoyle had been too cold and hard to be comfortable. Laps were better.

Those hands were moving again. Josh cracked one eye open to watch; one of those hands had been under his belly a few minutes ago, touching something very precious, and the other had been around his throat threatening to strangle him! Josh didn’t want either one to happen!

But the hand wasn’t going anywhere near Josh’s sensitive places. Instead he was picking up one of the professor’s books and thumbing through the pages idly, almost ignoring the strange new existence on his lap.

Josh relaxed again, almost crying from the relief. He was so tired and every second spent with Kit would be too stressful! Wah! Who knew when Kit would next (unknowingly) violate his innocent cat body, or when his Drakon habits would emerge to torture his new pet!

Professor Thomas’ pen scratched along the paper as he continued to make notes, and an occasional page rustled as Kit read. A maid quietly came in under the supervision of a knight and set up a tea service for three. The fire crackled gently adding a pleasant warmth and glow to the room. It was just too much! Yawn! Josh would fall asleep at this rate, and he had to find an opportunity to sneak somewhere and become human tonight! If he slept through this window… no one here knew he was beastkin. No one could feed him magic to force the transformation. He’d be a cat forever.

Sleep was the enemy! Sleep would lower his guard!

Josh stood up and turned to the table where the tea service was set up. The bits of chicken were on the table, but Josh wasn’t really hungry. Three tea cups meant the Duke was on his way. Even more reason for Josh not to sleep.

He settled back down on Kit’s lap with a sad “mewl” and scratched at the collar. The Duke needed to hurry up. Waiting was too boring, and Josh was getting sleepy!

Mission. Think of the mission. Josh needed to find out how Kit turned into a dragon beastkin. That secret had to be written down somewhere! Josh just had to find it and make sure it got to Polaris in the future. When that happened…

Josh wasn’t sure what Polaris would do with that information. End tyranny? Bring peace? It didn’t matter. Polaris had saved Josh and Josh needed to return the favor by living quietly in the past with this secret. A long, healthy, peaceful life as a barn cat or some such. That was Josh’s goal.