Take the Sophiaron out of the cage

“This is stupid,” says the prince to no one. “Why should I have to read a book to tell me how to get out of reading a book? This creature is here for a reason; he’s just being lazy!”

Returning to the cage, Duncan lifts the blanket and attempts to open the door. It is locked.

“Don’t bother trying, little spareling,” says the creature without opening its eyes. “The door is locked for a reason. The knowledge in this room is too dangerous to just be given to anyone; it must be earned.”

Discouraged, Duncan is about to give up when he sees, hanging on a hook on the wall, a brass key. He takes it to see if it will fit in the lock. It does!

“MacTavish must really be old if he thinks this is a good way to keep people away from the Sophiaron,” says Duncan. “Who keeps a key right beside the lock?”

He opens the door, reaches in and grabs the feathered creature and removes it from the cage.

“Only someone who wasn’t trying to keep people out of the cage,” says the creature, in a voice that transformed as it spoke. “But it makes perfect sense if you are trying to keep something from getting out!”

Duncan looks and the creature transforms before his eyes. The large, owlish eyes shrink and turn yellow, with oval pupils. The feathers dissolve into a soft, yellow-orange fur, and the beak morphs into a nose, mouth, and whiskers. In alarm, the prince lets go of the creature, but a long, feline tail sprouts from its back and wraps itself securely around Duncan’s forearm.

As he watches, the transformation becomes complete, and he finds himself holding what looks to be a nearly-two-foot-tall combination between a woman and a cat. She is completely naked, and has breasts like a woman’s, but her body is covered with the short, soft fur. Her face is more catlike than human, with large triangular ears atop her head and sharp teeth in her mouth.

Duncan sets the creature on the table and says, “What the fuck are you?”

With catlike patience, she stands on two legs, stretches, extending her claws as she does, and, apparently seeing something on her forearm, begins to lick it rhythmically.

“Well, I’m definitely not a Sophiaron,” she says, in a voice that is mixed with a purr. “And you’re definitely easier to fool than your brother.”

The creature continues its grooming, and despite his alarm, Duncan can’t help but he captivated by the sensuous way her tail moves, snakelike, around her body, as if caressing herself.

“My name is Felixia, and I am a Felochon.”

“Felochon? I’ve heard of that. My mom used to tell me to behave — that I was acting like a Felochon,” says the prince.

Felixia looks at him solemnly and says, “Really? Well you may have more promise than I thought. I guess you can’t judge a book by its cover — I should know that, being trapped in a library for 75 years.”

“Why were you caged up? Are you dangerous?”

Felixia considered the prince for a moment before taking a few steps toward him. “I was caged up for my own protection. Mortals and magical beings are prohibited from mating, but I am sexually bound to the males of the royal family. I can’t help myself from becoming their love slaves and satisfying their every perverted whim! Oh, Prince, satisfy me now with your glorious manhood or I shall surely die!”

Duncan gulps and adjusts his crotch. “Really? You need to do it with me?”

The creature bursts out laughing and rolls over on her back, swatting at the ground repeatedly with her hand. “Of course not! Are you kidding? Me, turned on by YOU?! Have you even looked at you? I mean your skin is as bare as a naked mole rat! Do even the females of your species find you attractive?”

Duncan’s cheeks redden. “Plenty of women find me attractive!”

“Seriously? Even the ones that aren’t blind? That’s hard to believe. And don’t take it personally — all you lot are equally hideous. It doesn’t even work to try it in the dark, because of the way you are put together. I mean, not to be insulting or anything, but I just don’t understand species where there’s not much of a difference between the male and female. I don’t know how you tell each other apart. The only way I guessed you were a male was because they don’t let human females in this library.”

“What are you talking about? There’s huge differences between male and female humans. I’m a male. I have a penis—“

Felixia cut him off. “I know you do, but it’s like certain kinds of insects — you can’t really see it unless you get out a microscope. How do you pee, by the way? Do you just carry tweezers around all the time?”

“You obviously don’t know humans, Creature. There’s no mistaking what I have for anything other than a splendid specimen of cock.”

Felixia yawns. “Yeah, whatever. I’ve heard that before. All you human males tend to think you have the penis that will inspire people to write operas for centuries to come. Now the male Felochons— that’s a different matter. I dated this guy when I was a mere kitten, and he could close the bedroom door without even getting out of bed. And we’re not even among the biggest-packing of species. You should’ve seen this Minotaur my sister married; after he finished bopping her, she would lay out a full picnic on his schlong and have neighbors over for a meal.”

Duncan feels his cheeks burning. “I don’t know where you are getting your information, but you don’t know humans.”

“Well, I have been caged up for a while. I suppose my memory could be a little rusty. Care to enlighten me?” Felixia looks suggestively between Duncan’s legs.