“Inconsistent watering.” Urien relaxed slightly, grateful for a familiar topic. “People water too much after letting the soil dry out. The fruit swells too fast, and the skin can’t keep up.”
“That’s exactly what I do.” Sam grimaced. “I forget for three days, feel guilty, and then drown them.”
“Dragon fruit…” Urien caught himself. “I mean, heirloom varieties especially need steady moisture. Not wet, just consistent watering... And calcium helps with the cell walls.”
“Do you mean like crushed eggshells?”
“Or bone meal mixed into the soil before planting.” Urien found himself leaning forward. “The Brandywines are worth the effort, though. They are the best flavor of any tomato I’ve grown.”
“They’re beautiful.” Sam glanced at the basket. “Almost too pretty to eat.”
“They’re meant to be eaten.” Urien’s dragon purred at the thought of Samenjoying something he’d grown. “Maybe with fresh mozzarella, basil…”
A soft thump from the doorway made Urien look up. A massive tabby cat stood frozen in the threshold, his tail swishing slowly and very deliberately. The cat’s green eyes locked onto Urien.
Oh, no.
“There you are.” Sam twisted in his chair. “Basil, come meet…”
The cat was not impressed to see his human had company. Every hair on his body stood straight up, transforming him from a round tabby into a bristling puffball twice his normal size. A hiss started low in his chest.
“Basil?” Sam seemed confused. “What’s wrong with you?”
Urien went very still. He knew that sound and understood the reaction. Animals could sense dragons. Most of them avoided any shifter instinctively and gave them a wide berth. But Basil was defending his human and wasn’t likely to back down.
“It’s all right,” Urien said quietly, keeping his gaze away from the cat’s face. “I should go…”
Basil launched himself across the kitchen floor. No warning, no hesitation - just pure feline fury, claws fully extended, yowling like a demon that had escaped from the Underworld.
“Basil!” Sam lunged sideways, trying to catch him, but he was too late.
Twenty pounds of enraged tabby hit Urien’s ankles, and claws sank through denim and sock, piercing skin. Basil wrapped his entire body around Urien’s shin, back legs kicking in a rabbit-punch motion that would have disemboweled a smaller prey.
Urien’s dragon roared to life, furious that something dared attack them.Crush it. Defend…
No!
Urien gritted his teeth, forced every muscle to stillness despite the white-hot pain lancing up his leg. It was Sam’s cat, their Treasure’s beloved companion. If he moved the wrongway, that could hurt Basil, and hurting Basil would hurt Sam. Urien would sooner cut off his own arm than cause Sam distress.
“Get off!” Sam dropped to his knees and grabbed Basil around the middle. “What is wrong with you?”
Basil released Urien’s ankle only to twist in Sam’s grip, still hissing, claws swiping at the air between them, his ears lay flat against his skull, and his tail lashed like a whip.
“I’m so sorry.” Sam wrestled Basil toward the hallway, the cat’s claws catching the air inches from Urien’s face. “He’s never - I don’t understand…”
“It’s fine.” Urien rose slowly, hands spread wide, the gesture non-threatening. “Animals sometimes react poorly to strangers.”
“Not Basil.” Sam’s glasses slipped down his nose as he adjusted his grip. “He loves everyone. Mrs. Channing’s nephew visits every month, and Basil sleeps on his lap.”
Basil chose that moment to unleash another demonic hiss. Urien’s dragon snarled back internally, demanding retribution for the indignity, but Urien shoved the impulse down and crouched low, making himself less imposing.
“Hey there.” He kept his voice soft, pitched it the way he did with skittish rabbits in the garden. “I’m not here to hurt anyone.”
Basil’s ears somehow flattened further.
“Let me just…” Sam backed toward the hallway, Basil squirming in his arms. “I’ll put him in the bedroom.”
“Wait.” Urien extended one hand, palm up. Slow. Careful. “Sometimes they just need to smell…”
