Flit drew in the scents of home- all the more powerful, and almost intoxicating, now that he was finally home. He occasionally fluttered around Archimedes joyously like an excitable butterfly, mostly taking off ahead, but occasionally alighting on a stem or leaf to wait for him. As the rat spoke, the fluttermouse flitted back, and lit on a broad and shiny leaf, which barely stooped to his weight. His wings folded against his wings, standing bright against the myriad of greens.

Clearly, he knew how to stay safe in his home, ears constantly perked and whiskers twitching. He listened to the bird calls, and kept half an eye on the sky. "It is, isn't it?" he said proudly, with a twitch of his antennae. "And we're only a short way in! The plants get thicker the further in we go."

Flit pushed off the leaf and glided onto a flower stem. He wrapped his tail around it and scrambled up to the flowering head, where he pushed his whiskered muzzle into the centre of its petals. When he removed it, his whiskers were covered in droplets and an odd, yellowish powder.

"My home is still quite a walk. I live in a garden looked after by a big cat- he's big, but kind. If you talk to him, I'm sure he'll let you stay too!" The little mouse flitted onto the ground before Archimedes and began to clean his whiskers- a sweet scent clung to him. After a moment though, he paused mid-brush as though realizing something. "And- don't worry. I was quite scared of him at first, too. Cats are... I don't know. Frightening. But he put me at ease. He doesn't eat animals. Only plants! He was fascinated. He said he'd never seen a talking mouse before!"

He resumed grooming. "He keeps me safe from things that would eat me. No predators would dare go near him."

The tiny creature's voice was full of admiration.

"Speech."

"Yes! A cat," the little mouse had met a few cats- each just as frightening as the last. But none of them had ever tried to hurt him, not even when he'd been new, and vulnerable, and afraid. "Don't worry, I was scared too, when I met him."

The fluttermouse took off, and awaited Archimedes from on top of a fern, whose leaves were still pale and curled with springlike newness. At his question, the fluttermouse raised his head, antennae holding mostly still and ears lowering in apparent expression of thoughtfulness. "Well, I'dd just emerged, and changed. It was when I first grew in my wings. I thought he was a bush, and landed on him, but he turned out to be alive! And a cat! You wouldn't believe it! He's green, and he's covered in leaves and flowers! You'll know him when you see him." The fluttermouse thought back wonderingly, voice bright with nostalgia.

Realizing that the rat had caught up, he fluttered ahead again, and onto a tree root. "If you're afraid, though, you could always hide whilst I go ahead and introduce you, and watch from a distance. That way you can see that he's really nothing to be afraid of. But I'll need to tell him you're here to make sure he keeps you safe." The mouse fretted, eager to introduce his friend, yet nervous. If Flit and Rift had never spoken, Flit had no doubt that he'd be just as fearful as Archimedes, and although the rat wasn't saying much, Flit was certain he knew how the rat felt. To a mouse, anything in the world could be an enemy.

They were, however, drawing closer to Rift's garden, and the nest that Flit had made.


"Speech."

Flit nodded; he was a little disappointed that the rat wouldn't be coming with him, but he understood. It wasn't far to Rift's garden now; in fact, they were almost at the outskirts. Flit was certain that he would be found somewhere nearby.

The little mouse raised his muzzle and sniffed at the air, trying to pick out the warm yet harsh scent of cat from the myriad of plant scents. It was difficult, but faint traces of Rift's scent hung on the air. It wasn't surprising; the cat lived here, after all. But Flit hoped he wasn't too far away. "Of course. Cats are scary. But this one is kind."



Flit moved forward again- pressing out of the undergrowth and into a grove of carefully-cultivated wildflowers- bursting with colours and life. It was a space where no trees grew- and in its place Rift had put flowers. It was here that he'd first met Rift- and where the Fluttermouse had built his nest among the leaves. "We're here! isn't it wonderful?" he crooned, clasping his paws together and looking up at the flowers that towered over them. He sniffed, filling his nose with the scent of pollen. "Wait here! I'll try and find Rift."

The fluttermouse took to the air- he fluttered some distance away, and landed on a flower that towered above the rest- peering across the flower garden to try and find his feline friend.


"Speech."

Flit fluttered his wings, the flower he was perched on bobbing minutely in order to beckon the cat over, antennae waving joyously as he finally picked out the feline shape amongst the leaves and flowers. "Rift!" he called, unabashedly pleased to see him. The fluttermouse flitted forward, and carefully lit on an ivy leaf trailing from the cougar's neck. "Things have been well! I didn't know there were caves outside of Eridanus. But I found a way out and went exploring!"

He shifted back to the matter at hand, glancing back to the shadowed patch where he'd left Archimedes. He nodded as the rat spoke. "And I made a friend out there! Rift, this is Archimedes." He fluttered back towards the rat and dropped to the ground beside him. "And Archimedes, this is Rift!" the tiny creature gestured from the rat to the cat with his twitching nose.

"He was looking for somewhere safe- and it's safer here than anywhere else in Eridanus. I was wondering if he could stay for a while?"

"Speech."