Chapter 4 · Continued
CBIE
Cam immediately headed toward the back door.
He opened it, and Seymour slipped between his legs and onto the deck.
Cam paused and looked down at him.
“Are you assisting me, Seymour?” he asked. “Similar to your previous involvement in bed construction?”
Seymour looked up at him suspiciously.
Cam carefully negotiated the single step down to the patio, placing his foot with deliberate precision.
No slip this time.
He carried the plants to the garden and set them down.
Then he watched Seymour.
The cat had already moved on. His body was low to the ground, his attention focused on something in the grass.
Cam adjusted his viewing angle.
A bird stood in the yard.
Seymour crept toward it.
Slow.
Controlled.
Cam leaned forward slightly, tracking his movement.
Seymour gathered himself, ready to pounce.
The back door opened.
Jane stepped outside, and the bird immediately took flight.
Seymour froze. Then he looked back at Jane as though she had personally ruined everything.
“Oh—sorry, Seymour,” Jane said. “I guess I spoiled your fun.”
Cam straightened and considered the situation.
“If you would like, Jane, I have multiple designs for avian-capture devices. I can provide them so that Seymour may acquire a bird as a companion.”
Jane blinked. “…A companion?”
“Correct.”
She shook her head, smiling. “Cam… Seymour doesn’t want a pet bird. He wants to eat it.”
Cam went still.
Processing.
His pause lasted longer this time. “…Clarify.”
Jane pointed toward the yard. “Seymour isn’t trying to make friends. He’s trying to catch the bird so he can eat it.”
Cam slowly turned his head toward the grass.
The bird was gone.
“…The bird is a food source.”
“Yep.”
Cam processed that. “…My previous model assumed that mutual interaction would result in a shared benefit.”
Jane snorted. “Yeah, no. Not everything is a team-building exercise.”
Cam considered that for several seconds.
“…Updated model: some interactions are competitive.”
Jane nodded. “Now you’re getting it.”
Seymour, meanwhile, had not accepted defeat.
He crouched again, his eyes fixed on something else in the grass.
Cam noticed immediately and tracked his movement.
“…Predatory behavior has resumed.”
Jane followed his gaze. “Yeah. That’s kind of his whole thing.”
Cam watched Seymour lower himself even closer to the ground.
Still.
Focused.
After a moment, Cam asked, “…Would assistance improve the outcome?”
Jane whipped her head toward him. “Cam—no.”
He went still. “…Assistance canceled.”
Seymour’s tail flicked once.
Then twice.
He launched himself forward in a blur of fur and came up with absolutely nothing.