Stella sighed and smiled and soaked in the wonderfully soothing, heady feel of petting a cat. So simple, so earthy and so delightfully needed. Her expression was that of soft bliss as the wiry little body ran itself under her hand, pressing against her palm and dictating, as well he should, the pressure of their contact. She let the velvet tips of his ears rub deliciously against her fingertips as he aimed his head under her palm. She greedily traced the aristocratic angle of his jaw and worshiped it with fingers and eyes, rubbing and scritching with expert touch. It didn’t matter their size, she knew how to pet a cat and she could tell that despite this one’s slender, compact size he had the ego and personality to top even the largest of the captive big cats she’d worked with in her various posts through the years. An ego she was more than delighted to stroke just then. 

She grinned and looked away from the regal beast and was almost startled to find that Mr. Eadoré had crouched down to offer a conciliatory finger to Mowzer, a finger which was batted away. A position which put his face well in line with hers. A proximity which made her feel very self-conscious of the need so plainly written on her face. She smiled and dropped her eyes, a little embarrassed to have lost herself so much in the simple act of petting a cat. How to explain how much it meant to her, the common mundane act of petting a cat? It made it less horrible for just a little while that they were homeless, a bunch of invasive species just waiting to find the right planet to invade. 
Would they do to a planet what had been done to theirs? Such big uncomfortable questions. Questions that were not hers to decide. 

“I know I was unaware while I slept but being here, touching him, makes me feel the three years in my bones. I think of all that I missed, all that I lost. Does that make sense?” 

She shook her head sheepishly, her curls tumbling over her face, shielding her vulnerable expression while she caught up with the moment and the conversation she’d started after all. 

“Anyway,” she said as a clumsy segue, “I would love to give him a more careful exam if you don’t mind. Cat’s bodies can be so sensitive, especially their kidneys.”

She looked down at the still contented cat and lavished more attention on his delightful chin. 

“And I would never dream of picking him up. He’s got four feet and more than enough will to get him where he needs to be. Don’t you Mowzer?” 

She laughed and ran her hand once more down his deliciously sinuous spine and then stood and offered her hand to his human.

“It was a pleasure to meet you Mr. Eadoré. If you like, bring him by my office when you have a moment and we’ll make sure he’s fit as a fiddle. And if you need,” she gestured lightly towards his chest, “I have some antiseptic that’s suitable for humans as well.