Princess Fluffykins McGee
Sharp teeth flashed in front of him just before Drew hit the ground hard. He automatically raised his hands to protect his face, so there was nothing to break his fall. Pain bloomed across his hip and tailbone, even as a heavy weight settled on his chest.
Hot, putrid air was huffed over his face, and a long, wet tongue ran up his face from chin to temple. “Blugh!” he spat, trying to shove the urco off him. The beast ignored his attempts, wuffing happily as he continued licking every part of Drew he could reach.
“Princess! Get off him!” Andras barked as he skidded to a stop next to them. He hauled ineffectively at the urco, unable to pull the hound off Drew.
“’S okay,” Drew wheezed. “He just wants to say hello.” Despite being crushed under the urco’s bulk, Drew was rather enjoying the enthusiastic greeting.
An indignantbokrang out, and Drew twisted to the side to see a ruffled, but otherwise unharmed, Leila looking very put out after she had been unceremoniously ejected from her perch on his shoulder.
“Why are you alone?” Andras asked. “Where’s Zachariel? Did something happen to him? Is he okay? How come you never made it home?”
Regretfully, Drew pushed the urco to one side so he could catch the breath needed to respond to Andras. The urco rolled onto his side, pressed close to Drew, and panted happily as he continued to pet him. “Zach’s fine. Probably not thrilled with me, but he’s not hurt or anything. We did make it home,” Drew explained. “It’s just I left something really important behind so I came back.”
“Alone?” Andras asked, one of his eyebrows arching above a pale grey eye.
Drew shrugged. “Yeah.”
“I can see why you think Zachariel is probably unhappy with you. He’ll be worried sick.”
Drew scowled. “I’m not a child. I can take care of myself!”
“I’m sure you can, precious. That’s not going to stop him worrying, though, is it?”
Unable to dispute that, Drew decided a change of subject was in order. “What’s with Princess?” he asked.
Andras huffed in annoyance. “This fucking urco,” he growled. “He was being annoying and silly, so I made the mistake of calling him Princess Fluffykins McGee, and now he won’t answer to anything but the full name, or just Princess or Fluffykins. Like, he won’t even answer to McGee, which would have been somewhat respectable.” He looked extremely put out by this.
Drew burst out laughing, not only at the indignant look on Andras’s face, but also at the idea of this hulking, scary beast being named Princess Fluffykins. The urco yawned widely, his jaw extending well past the pointthat most canines could manage, displaying row upon row of sharp, pointed teeth. There was no doubt he could snap Drew in half with a single bite. The memory of his howls as he hunted the trio still sent a shiver down Drew’s spine. Every demon he’d come across had been terrified of urcos, and yet this menacing hound had embraced the name Princess Fluffykins. And Andras waspissedabout it.
“That’s karma for you,” Drew crowed. “I think it suits him.”
“No one is ever going to take me seriously again,” Andras whined. “Everyone should tremble in fear as I approach them, riding on the back of the most ferocious beast in the realm, but instead they’ll just laugh as Princess Fluffykins McGee waltzes past!”
At the sound of his name, the urco jumped to his feet and leapt at Andras. Its massive paws settled on his shoulders, and he began licking the demon’s face with enthusiasm.
“Oh, fuck off, you slobbering mutt,” Andras snapped, trying to turn his face so he didn’t catch a mouthful of tongue. With a heave, he shoved the urco off him and pointed at the ground. “Sit!”
The urco whined but dutifully sat, staring up at Andras with adoration in its black eyes. After ten seconds of being given puppy dog eyes by the beast, Andras relented and rubbed its leathery ears.
“And you were worried he’d eat you,” Drew teased.
“That was not outside the realm of possibility, and you know it.” Andras glared at him. “Don’t think I didn’t notice you changing the subject either. What was so important that you would risk giving my darling Zachariel an aneurysm to come back alone for it?”
“I’m pretty sure someone with Zach’s physiology doesn’t need to worry about aneurysms.”
“And I’m pretty sure I liked you better when you were being sweet and adorable, not cheeky.”
“I don’t really care if you like me or not.”
Andras scoffed. “I know a people pleaser when I see one, precious, so drop the act. Out with it—what did you leave behind?”
Drew’s shoulders slumped. “You have to promise not to tell Zach if you see him before me.”
“The likelihood of that is pretty slim,” Andras said.
Drew narrowed his eyes. “That you’ll see him first or you’ll tell him?”
