"Gosh, you really must be hungry. I guess cats digest faster than people or something," Hhuha said, her voice going soft, and she reached out to scratch Rhiow's eyebrows. The tone of voice was one Rhiow had heard before: she got a sense that her ehhif liked being "talked to," even when they couldn't hear half of what was being said, and, even if they could, would have no idea what the words meant anyway. This tendency made them either great idiots or very fond of her indeed, and either conjecture only made Rhiow twitchier under the present circumstances. She stomped her forefeet alternately on the coverlet, as much from impatience as from pleasure at having her head scratched."Come on, then," said Hhuha. She got out of bed, threw a house-pelt around her, and headed toward the kitchen. Rhiow went after her, not in a hurry: this was no time to trip Hhuha halfway there and have to deal with an ehhif temper tantrum that might take half an hour to resolve. By the time Rhiow got to the kitchen, Hhuha was cranking a can open."Mmm," Hhuha said, "nice tuna. You'll like this.""I hate the tuna," Rhiow said, sitting down and curling her tail around her forefeet. "It's not made from any part of the fish that you'd ever eat. You should read more of the label than just the part about the dolphins.""Yum, yum," Hhuha said, putting the plate down on the floor. "Here you go, puss. Lovely tuna."Rhiow looked at the gelid stuff with resignation. Oh, well, she thought, it's food, and I need something before I go out. And anyway—manners… She reared up and gave Hhuha a good rub around the shins before starting to eat."You're a good kitty," Hhuha said, and turned, yawning, to take something out of the refrigerator.
