This is not the first time a talking cat has gone at him with puffed fur and big words.

This time, he could concede that the treasure held within the hole he's excavated didn't belong to him... but he doesn't. More than anything, he wants her to give him that 'swift lashing,' and not just to prove she's real, to prove he's real--

"Then take it from me--sink your claws in my flesh, rake them over my body, spill my blood and soak the earth! Prove your power, move me with it, show me the will to shape the world to your liking! Do it--do it!" His own sharp teeth flash in the island sun, single blue eye bright and glassy with excitement.