Sam’s door opened before he could knock.
“Rux?” Sam stood in the doorway, properly dressed although he clearly hadn’t had time to do his hair, and his glasses were sitting crooked on his nose. “I thought I heard…”
The orange blur came from nowhere. Rux caught a glimpse of bared fangs, flattened ears, and eyes that promised murder...Urien was right.But even as Rux thought that, Basil was airborne, claws extended, yowling like Rux had personally threatened his home and hearth.
“Basil, no…”
The cat hit Rux’s chest at full speed. His boxes tumbled, and croissants scattered across the doorstep. Basil’s claws shredded through the cotton of Rux’s shirt to the skin beneath, and the yowling intensified to operatic levels.
“Get off.” Rux tried to pry the cat loose, but Basil clung with all four sets of claws, writhing and spitting. His dragon snarled, demanded Rux shift and show the tiny furball what real teeth looked like. Rux locked his jaw, forced himself to be still. It was Sam’s beloved, psychotic cat.
“Basil!” Sam grabbed the cat around the middle and pulled. Basil’s claws dragged four parallel lines down Rux’s chest. The cat screamed likeRux was dismembering him. “Let go, you absolute menace…”
Basil released Rux’s chest only to latch onto Sam’s arm, biting and kicking with his back legs. Sam yelped but didn’t drop him, staggering backward into the cottage. The door swung half-closed.
“I’m so sorry,” Sam gasped from inside. Basil’s yowling echoed like an air raid siren. “He’s never - I don’t understand…”
Blood seeped through Rux’s shirt in four distinct lines. He pressed a hand to his chest and felt the sting where Basil’s claws had gone deep. His dragon thrashed just like that cat, furious at being attacked by something that weighed next to nothing compared to him.
“It’s fine.” Rux aimed for a casual tone and landed somewhere near pained. “He’s protective.”
“He’s possessed.” Sam appeared in the doorway again, Basil now tucked under one arm, fur standing on end. The cat hissed at Rux, and his tail wasstill flicking from side to side. “I don’t…this isn’t normal. He loves everyone.”
Except dragons, apparently. Rux could practically see Basil’s primitive brain registering predator, threat, and most importantly – to the cat at least - danger. The cat’s pupils were blown wide, focused on Rux with laser intensity.
“Maybe I smell like something he doesn’t like.” Rux bent to collect the fallen boxes, winced as his chest protested. Several pastries had escaped their containers, croissants scattered across the doorstep like buttery casualties. “I brought breakfast. I thought you might…”
Basil lunged again, and Sam barely caught him, stumbling backward. “No! Bad cat! Very bad. Stop it!”
The yowling reached new heights. Sam’s glasses slipped further down his nose. He looked mortified, exhausted, and utterly beautiful.
“I should go.” Rux stacked the boxes on the doorstep, rescued whatcroissants he could. Blood from his chest dripped onto a custard tart. He left it. “Before he decides to go for my throat.”
“Rux, I’m so sorry…”
“Don’t be.” Rux backed toward the gate, kept his eyes on Basil. The cat watched him, still growling. “He’s doing his job, protecting you.”
“From pastries?”
“From strangers showing up at seven in the morning with seventeen kinds of baked goods.” Rux managed something like a smile. “Fair enough, really.”
Sam shifted Basil to his other arm. The cat immediately tried to launch again. Sam’s grip tightened. “You’re bleeding.”
“I heal fast.” Rux reached the gate. “Enjoy the breakfast. I’ll try again when he’s less...murderous.”
/~/~/~/~/
“He tripped me up.” Mabon stared at his wine glass like it held answers to the Universe. “Deliberately.”
Rux paused with his fork halfway to his mouth. “The cat tripped you.”
“Yes.”
“On purpose.”
“Yes.” Mabon’s jaw worked. “He waited until I stepped over the toy, then he…he kicked it under my foot. Physics. Calculated trajectory. I went down like I’d hit a patch of ice.”
Urien cut his steak slowly, although he looked as though he was trying not to laugh. “I warned you he was possessed.”
