Queenslayer

Reichis swallowed and then chittered, “Biscuit.”

The sight of the squirrel cat, his face sticking out of the hot water with its mouth open, teeth revealed, made the boy look ill. “Sir, does it want me to…?”

I nodded. “Just get him another biscuit and then you can be on your way.”

The servant picked up another one of the crumbly delicacies from the nearby table and held it up to me as if for inspection. I nodded. “Just pop it in his mouth.”

The boy held one tiny edge of the biscuit between his fingers and stayed as far back as possible while reaching towards Reichis’s mouth. The squirrel cat clacked his teeth together several times, nearly sending the servant falling backwards.

The squirrel cat snorted. “You? Kellen, I love you like a, well, like a business partner. But you ain’t been on a hero’s path for years now.”

When you get like this you reek of angst and self-hatred.”

“What do I smell like the rest of the time?”

“I’ll let you know if it ever happens.”