You started it. [It rumbles out of him along with a laugh. Truth be told, he's never thought about those kinds of possibilities before. The transformations have all messed up their behaviours and mannerisms at least a little, but there's some things that Riku would rather not deal with.]

Yeah, of course. You're first on the list for hairball torture since you're the one that brought it up.

[As the gentle ear rubs stop, he lifts his head to looks back at Sora. There's still gentle affection passing through their bond, like a warm pulsating light, but there's also something else from Riku. Like a small twinge of regret on his end.

Because while the healing magic feels cooling and soothing to his burns, he was fine with handling it later. Getting Sora to safety is more important right now.

Still... the cat relents after a quiet moment of consideration, giving his paw to Sora. There's a smattering of burns along it, blackened skin where soft fur once was. This is what he gets for targeting the tail of the beast.]

...It's okay. It doesn't hurt that much. [Liar, but at least he can walk on it without much trouble. The purring fades and he sighs, tail flicking up just a little.]