The litterbox was an insult to cats.

Josh wasn’t sure what Kit was trying to prove by warding a kitten inside his rooms and providing tools for a house pet. Whatever the plan was, Josh was determined not to follow along.

A yawn stretched Josh’s jaw until his tongue curled. He crossed his front paws and laid his head on them while he watched Kit work under the artificial lights. The pillow he had commandeered was soft and fluffy, though he suspected the only reason Kit Morrison let something as questionable as a stray kitten sleep on his bed was because the man did not sleep. Kit was somewhere still in his teens (though still older than Josh - how unfair!) and had already mastered the art of voluntary insomnia.

“Whatever you’re looking at can’t be as important as sleep,” Josh muttered, partly because he was tired and partly because he wanted to crawl under the bed and get some sleep as a human. “You’re going to end up dead or crazy if you keep this up. Probably crazy.” That was the way the past - future - went.

The few books Josh had managed mangled titles from were about ancestry and restricted topics. Since Kit already knew the darkest secrets of his family’s beastkin history at this point Josh had no clue why they were lingering about the room. He couldn’t make heads or tails of the restricted books either; the most he had discovered was that they were not about dragons at all.

So he didn’t really care one way or another about them. Who cared what Kit was up to? Maybe he secretly wanted to be the prince’s brother or something. That wasn’t any of Josh’s business.

Mrewl. “I’m bored. Tired and bored. It’s a full moon out tonight.”

Kit ignored the quiet mews and continued to make notes on whatever he was working on.

“A full moon. And you said you came back from the summer retreat a few months ago, I think. Or was it weeks? Either way, that means it’s fall now. It’s going to start getting colder. I was stuck on that statue for three days, and got caught on my second day, and I’ve been in your room for… two days? So I’ve been here almost a week.” This wasn’t where Josh was supposed to be at all. Fall was the wrong season. And looking out the window all he saw was the Morrison estates always-pleasant-summer grounds.

Had he mentioned Kit was basically a genius at wards? The estate basically had its own climate! Oof! Josh had no chance against someone like that!

Grwl. Eeek! Josh covered his face with his paws as his stomach rumbled. Tired and bored and hungry. Wah! That was so embarrassing! Especially since Josh just ate a few hours prior.

The noise and the movement drew Kit’s brief attention. “I will not tolerate any more of your shenanigans with the litter bag,” Kit said sternly.

Josh almost regretted not using the litter box. Almost.

“If you need to pee you have proper cat facilities to use.”

“I hate that thing,” Josh grumbled as he glared at the box in the corner. It sat there innocently, placed on a mat for spills and accidents. “I feel like everyone’s staring at me! I can’t do my business where everyone can see. It’s wrong.” Couldn’t Kit feel the heat from Josh’s face? Embarrassing was embarrassing!

The bag of litter was now placed carefully outside Josh’s reach and blocked with a ward, which Josh felt was particularly unfair. Now he couldn’t even change his own litter!

He was sorely tempted to go in the closet and pee in Kit’s shoe next.

Josh ignored the urge to do so immediately and started to whine: “I’m hungry. And I’m thirsty. You’re supposed to give me water you know! How can I be a proper pet if I die of thirst?” Even if all Kit heard was a series of pitiful mew mew mew, Josh thought his point was quite clear.

Kit sighed before walking over and picking Josh up. “You are a terrible distraction,” he told Josh drolly. He moved back to the desk and grabbed his robes before sitting down. He made a little bed on his lap out of the robes and set Josh right in the middle.

“Why do you even have robes?” Josh grumbled as he arranged the soft cloth to be more to his liking. “You don’t sleep, so it’s not like you need them. Oh, chicken.” He happily bit into the moist offering when it was offered. He had to be careful not to bump his head on the underside of the desk while managing the small bites.

“Here, food and water,” Kit encouraged after a few minutes. He set Josh on the floor with two bowls - one with water and the other with dry food (yuck!) - and then gave Josh a scratch behind one ear. “Be good while I work, sweetheart,” Kit coaxed. “I need two hands to finish this.”

Josh barely paid him any mind. “These are rocks, not food,” he grumbled. He was thirsty, though, so he took his time and drank his fill from the water bowl. The small kitten tongue scooped up tiny amounts of water at once, making a quiet noise in the otherwise silent room. When he was finished he looked over at the dry food and almost gagged. Ewwww. Like someone had made a bland stew, turned it into a smoothie, then baked it until it turned into hard little pellets.

It probably said something about how rich Kit was that his household could even afford this kind of cat food. The process was still a novelty offered only to the super-rich. Other housecats got kitchen scraps at best, and usually had to hunt for their own meals. This food was made by a specialized branch of alchemy magic.

They tasted like medicine and felt like chewing rocks.

Josh tried to climb up Kit’s pant leg with his tiny claws. “That’s not food,” he complained again. “Can’t I have more chicken?”

After a few minutes Kit sighed and picked Josh up. He set the small kitten back in the nest on his lap and gave a few scratches instead of food.

“That feels too good!” Josh almost moaned as his eyes drifted shut. He yawned. “I’m getting too used to this.” It felt like an easy life. “Can’t forget it’s dangerous, though. I have a mission to do. But this feels so good.” He fell asleep with strong fingers massaging his neck, never feeling they could be a threat.