Honestly that partial transformation was utterly fascinating, even moreso than the whole process that was the reason for it, and that was also fascinating, both from a spellcasting perspective and simply from an information-stored-away-for-later-use perspective.

His brows both lifted, just a little, some almost-but-not-quite question as he met the Cat's gaze, he had been told to watch for any change in the Cat's eyes after all, and it was probably some kind of unfair that he was able to do that and keep both hands steady at the same time, but that was just one of those skills he'd probably had to learn the hard way and had only had time to hone more fully in the past thirty-some-odd years.

Mostly it was only almost a question because he could feel the flux in the power around them as well, like some kind of gathering low-pressure front before an actual storm, the kind that might still dissipate again but might roil over into thunder and lightning, and he was gauging the Cat's reaction to see if it was something he had to worry about. Which really just meant that what the Cat was likely to see was a deeply fascinated curiosity, tinged with some genuine concern that hadn't yet made it to being actual worry.