Summary: Cal tries to make friends with Rosa’s perrikin.
Author’s note: This is for cora-nova’s Choices August Challenge, Day 8: Kitties
Rosa held Garnet on her lap and stroked her gently. The young perrikin purred and nuzzled her, and seemed quite content until Cal entered the room. Rosa felt Garnet tense as he came closer.
“It’s OK, sweetie. He won’t hurt you, I promise.” Rosa turned to Cal. “She’s still scared of you.”
Cal frowned. “I hope she gets used to me eventually.”
“I hope so too, since I’m not giving up either one of you. I think she sees you as a predator. She senses the wolf. I’m not sure how to get past that. She’s not going to ignore her instincts.”
Cal walked over to a cabinet, opened it, and took out a bag of cat treats. He approached Garnet, reached into the bag, and grabbed some treats. He stretched out his hand, offering Garnet the treats from his palm. She eyed him suspiciously. When he moved closer, she hissed. Cal backed away, then tossed the treats in Garnet’s direction. She gobbled them up eagerly, then raised her head and stared at him.
“Nice kitty!” He stepped closer, and the perrikin growled at him.
“I don’t think food will be enough to win her over,” said Rosa.
“Maybe I need to show her that I won’t hurt her.” Cal moved away from Rosa and Garnet, then shifted to his wolf form. Garnet’s feathers puffed up, and she snarled at him loudly.
“Cal, what are you doing? You’re scaring her!”
Cal knocked the bag of treats on the floor with his large paw. As the contents spilled out, he pushed several morsels in Garnet’s direction. When she didn’t move, he slowly came nearer to her, nudging the treats closer. He looked at her with puppy dog eyes, trying to appear harmless, or at least as harmless as possible for an 800-pound werewolf.
As Cal approached, Garnet pounced, landing on his back. She hissed as she dug her claws in deeply. Cal yelped in pain, but didn’t retaliate. He lay down on the floor and whimpered.
“Garnet, no!” Rosa cried out. Garnet jumped off Cal and moved closer to Rosa, who reached out and stroked her. “I know he looks scary, but he won’t hurt you.” Rosa reached out and rubbed Cal’s fur. “See, nice doggie!”
When Rosa started petting Garnet again, Cal leaned in and pressed his nose against Garnet. Garnet squirmed at his touch, but before she could run away, Cal began to lick her gently.
“He likes you, sweetie,” Rosa assured Garnet. “He wants to be friends.”
Cal panted and wagged his tail, then rolled over, away from Rosa and Garnet. He shifted back to his human form, then approached them and offered his hand to Garnet. She sniffed it, but didn’t attack.
“I think you actually made progress!” Rosa exclaimed.
“I think so too,” Cal replied. “My back hurts, though. She got me good.”
“Well, I did offer to play doctor for you again, remember? I think now’s a good time.”
“Me too. You should probably check me all over, just to make sure she didn’t scratch me anywhere else.”
“I’d better treat that wound first. But yeah, once that’s done, I can give you a more thorough exam.” Rosa smiled and reached for his hand. “Come on, let’s go upstairs.”