Page 12 of Blade

Sadly, I’d been able to relate too well to both of those issues.

“To start with, I’m going to tell you again what a good boy you are for getting me out of that tree.” And not eating me…eventually I’d stop thinking about that part, but I wasn’t there yet. “You’ve been a good partner.”

He definitely wasn’t a pet.

“You’re my good boy.” Lengthening my strokes down his neck and back, I wasn’t sure when it would be safe to move, but we weren’t in any rush. “You’re going to take good care of me.”

The tension in his muscles kept easing the more I touched him, but I wasn’t sure if that was because of my touch or because of his stress level going down. Maybe he’d been anxious about deciding what to do?

Did cats get anxiety?

Ugh.

More weird questions for my list.

“I’m going to take good care of you too.” Somehow. “At the very least, we’re going to figure out a diet that won’t get you in trouble with the locals.”

What did a cat this size eat?

Was I going with cat?

Didn’t dogs eat different things?

“I’m not sure if you’re getting enough nutrition either. I watched a video online that said vitamin deficiencies could affect mood and all kinds of things.” The clearer my thinking got, the more I realized his didn’t seem clear at all. “Are you in pain, Blade?”

Was he breathing too hard? Too fast?

“We’re going to figure out if you can take baby Aspirin or something like that as soon as we figure out a way to get back to my car without being seen.” There was no way I was going to make that work. “It’s going to be fine. You’ll feel better after a nap and something to help you feel better.”

He had the same look my father did when he’d broken his foot and was laid up for weeks.

I should’ve realized that sooner.

Cranky men didn’t do well injured in any way.

“The internet should be able to give us some help.” Maybe a zoo documentary would give good advice? Had that monster hunter podcast actually said anything productive about Blade when they’d done that episode months ago? “I’ve got a nice big roast I was going to put in my crockpot tomorrow. I should’ve done it today but I got distracted coming to find you. Either way, that’s going to be a good snack for you.”

How much food would someone of his size eat?

“I’m incredibly uneducated about creatures like you.” A cat? “We’ll figure it out, though.”

I could do anything as long as I was alive and away from my family.

“What are your thoughts on defending your partner?” I might not do a great job at defending myself but he was built different. When he just stared at me, I decided that might not have been easy to understand. “Okay, easier questions for the time being, but we’ll come back to that later. I think it’s time that I start planning what happens next.”

I needed to pick up the rope so no one hurt themselves.

I needed to figure out if he was going to eat me if I moved.

I needed to decide how we were going to get back to the state park where I’d left my truck.

Making sure to keep petting him, I slowly reached out for the rope with my other hand. He startled a bit but I could feel his muscles relaxing quickly. “That’s right. We’re both safe and I’m just going to secure this and put it in my backpack.”

Huh?

For whatever reason something made his ears twitch again. I went still as I tried to decide what I’d done, but before I could figure anything out, he huffed and stood up on all fours.

He sounded just as dramatic as Uncle Fred when he got up out of his chair.